Chapter 1: First of Many
Chapter Text
With Tommy
Tommy’s back slammed into the wall behind him, or it would’ve if not for the layer of condensed shadows cushioning him. They fortunately hidden from the news helicopters he knew were above. The shadows dissipated shortly after they had fulfilled their purpose of making sure none of the hero’s ribs were broken. He ended up only having the wind knocked out of him.
He sent a silent thanks to the villain, making a mental note to actually thank the man later. Diamond and Devil weren’t the top villains, but you’d think so. They made a habit of fighting off the top three heroes and others at the same time. They were often talked about as the most heartless duo the city had ever seen, but Tommy and his two teammates knew differently.
Very few people knew how sweet the two villains were when not in front of the city or their enemies. Even fewer saw how their analytical gazes that made even experienced heroes shiver gave way to grins and old jokes only the two would ever understand. The pair loved to bake muffins together and Devil hated swearing.
How he had gotten to see things that were usually perfectly kept from the heroes was a long, long story, starting a few weeks ago.
Five weeks earlier…...
Tubbo, Ranboo, and Tommy strode into the hero building like they owned the place. Well… Tommy did with his two friends trailing behind him. Ranboo could only sigh as Tubbo grinned at him and their friend. Nobody could really blame them; it was common knowledge in the Tower that they would officially be promoted from ‘heroes in training’ to full heroes.
Some of the older heroes let out small chuckles as they passed, each remembering similar days of their own. The city stopped for no one however, and nobody gave more than a few moments thought. Everyone in the Tower always had something to do.
It didn’t take long for them to reach the top of the tower or get the paperwork done. (Mostly Ranboo and Tubbo did all of it while Tommy complained about how boring it was.) With everything done, the trio made their way outside in their gear.
It was a brisk autumn afternoon with October fast approaching. Snow was still months off. Many people walked along the streets due to the pleasant day, and the trio were given no small amount of starry eyed stares.
They had gotten their schedules and were about to start on patrol but it seemed that that was going to be postponed.
Tommy pursed his lips in annoyance as a static crackle filled his ear, originating from his comm. A quick glance at Wasp (Tubbo) who was rubbing his ear with a slight grimace told Tommy that all three of them were experiencing the same annoyance of the hero comm system. Tubbo had made a much improved version but the higher ups had dismissed it immediately, much like all his other tech projects.
A large grin grew on his face once he thought about the only reason the would be contacted this soon. “We’ve got something for you all, district 2,” letting out a short breath, Theseus (Tommy) burst into motion, the two pairs of footsteps echoing out behind him told him his teammates weren’t far behind.
The woman on the other end of the ear piece continued, “8th street bank, robbery in progress by the Happ Duo,” Tommy altered his course slightly, taking a short path to the roof of a nearby building to optimize his time. “Your team’s assignment is to get civilians out and then do what you can to aid in the fight.” She let out a short breath as she gathered her thoughts for a moment before finishing, “We’ve got the Dream Team on distraction until you all have your job done, so try to hurry.” Theseus bit back a groan of annoyance, Dream.
Dream was, in his opinion, was the absolute worst person in the hero tower. He was obviously a favorite to the higher-ups, as well as being the main person on his team. While the public loved him, Tommy thought he was a bastard. Fire-fist wasn’t far behind on his list of least favorite people. He was rather infamous for his streak of collateral damage, and Spore?
Well, Tommy didn’t actually have anything personal against the man, except for the fact he was best friends with two assholes.
His family that ignored him, that didn't and never have cared about him, Techno, Phil, and Wilbur were infinitely better than the Dream team in his opinion. His biological father was Phill, and his dad eventually adopted the twins. Though if you ever saw the two, you would have never guessed that’s what they were. One was quiet, loved Greek mythology, and had bright pink long hair. The other was a dramatic, curly brown haired, 24-year-old theater kid that played guitar.
Theseus put those thoughts out of his mind however as he arrived on the scene, Streak (Ranboo) immediately teleporting inside the bank to get a gauge on the situation, small white particles hovering in the space beside him where his friend had been standing. The district usually had a permanent sweet smell wafting through the air, right now though all he could smell was smoke as a light dusting of ash hit his nose, making him sneeze.
All he could see through the smoke was the occasional flying blue crystal, a red blast of fire, or small green cloud. Theseus questioned for a moment why Dream wasn’t doing anything about that until he saw him and Devil come out of the haze for a moment, weapons made of condensed air going against blades of pure shadow. It made sense, despite how “amazing” and “without fault” the public seemed to think Dream was, he had his limits.
Devil used a small wave of shadow to carry himself out of one the path of Dream's attack, going back on the offensive as soon as he was out of harms way. A round kick to Dreams face caused the man to stumble back into the smoke and Devil wasted no time in following.
A loud crack and crash brought his attention from trying to see the fight through the smoke as one of Fire-Fist’s stray fire blasts caused an empty building on the other side of the street to collapse, at least this time it was a building on sale instead of one full of people.
He directed his attention back to his side as white particles filled the air for a moment before they vanished, Streak standing in their place. “Left side of the building,” the trio promptly left their perch as Streak continued to update them on the situation. “We’ve got 5 priority targets, two elders and 3 kids. I’ll get the elders out.” Wasp and Theseus nodded. “Other than that, there’s about a dozen people holed up inside.”
Streak disappeared, teleporting himself straight into the building. It didn’t take the other members of the team too much effort to find their own entry point, a large hole in the side of the bank with smoke billowing out of it was rather hard to miss. They rushed in, small cloth masks covering the bottom of their faces to filter the smoke along with the normal masks that covered the top half of their face.
Streak was halfway back to the hole, an elderly couple hobbling along slowly. Similar pieces of cloth covered their noses and mouths. Even through the mask Theseus could see his mouth pinched in a grim line.
The pair didn’t hesitate as they sprang into action. By now most of the smoke had cleared out and any new smoke bombs that were thrown were near the battle between the Dream team and the two villains. Luckily, the heroes had the sense to slowly make their way away from where the trio were trying to evacuate civilians.
Wasp quickly grabbed the three children, it was usually his job because of his power. He could use his palm as a sort of stinger to inject a venom that made a person go unconscious. Once his partner had grabbed them, Theseus started working on getting the rest of the civilians out of the building.
Streak and Wasp soon joined him and between the three of them the civilians were evacuated smoothly, and they soon regrouped after one more check through the building. “Everyone out?” Wasp asked without preamble.
His two teammates nodded and they tapped into their comms, the static crackle came on, but he was ready and took the device and held it away from his ear for a moment before he heard the woman's from earlier voice. “They're still in the fight, orders are for you all to see what you can do.”
With Skeppy
Skeppy dodged another stray spore cloud in frustration. They had plans for after the robbery. Sadly, the heroes were making them postpone said plans. Admittedly, those plans only included making blueberry muffins with Bad, but that was still something he enjoyed and preferred over fighting random heroes. “STOP FUCKING THROWING SMOKE BOMBS!” He heard Dream shout in annoyance, and he couldn’t help but let out a small laugh, at least the frustration was mutual.
Out of the corner of Skeppy's eye, he caught a glimpse of white particles. He tapped his earpiece as he dodged another spore cloud. “We’ve got three more on our tail. All I saw was Streak’s particles.” A small beep was the only response he got. Not that he was surprised, his friend was a bit tied up by Dream, but the beep signaled that he was heard and understood.
He jerked under one of the strikes Fire-fist was named for, planting his foot on the ground firmly. A wave of blue crystal shot from the ground around his heel, blocking Wasp at the last moment.
A stray blast of condensed shadow raced towards Wasp, but Streak knocked him to the ground at the last moment. After another few moments, Skeppy finally saw his chance. A distortion in the smoke alerted him to the presence of Theseus, he cast his arm to the side. A small crystal shot from his palm, hitting his target right in the leg.
The hero cried out in pain, falling to one knee and once again becoming visible. Why didn’t he just drink a potion? His teammates heads snapped in their direction and Streak teleported over to Theseus.
With Ranboo
Ranboo heard Theseus cry out in pain, only to see a large crystal sticking out of his friend’s leg. With a growl he teleported over and pulled him to his feet. He threw Theseus’ arm over his shoulder and helped him hobble a bit away from the fight. If only they hadn’t used all their potions for the week.
He saw out of the corner of his eye that Wasp had jumped to distract Diamond. The other heroes had shifted their attention to Devil once they saw the trio focusing on Diamond. Who thought it was a good idea to leave new heroes to fight the number 8 villain!
Once they were a decent ways away, Ranboo set his friend down on the ground, earning him a hiss of pain. “I know Thes, but this is the only way.” He heard him swallow then he nodded.
“Do what you have to big-man.” Theseus let out a breath and gritted his teeth. Despite this, when Ranboo pulled the crystal from out of his leg he let out an audible hiss of pain.
With Skeppy
Once the other three heroes were gone, it wasn’t hard for Skeppy and Devil to escape. Just as they were about to fully take off, they heard a voice from an alley. “Damn it, they need to increase our potion supply if they’re going to have us do that.” It sounded like Wasp. Devil heard it before Skeppy did and pulled him to the side where they could listen in.
They heard someone else scoff then speak, “Oh please, they would never.” Theseus spoke up. “How long do you think I’ll be out for?”
“That depends, did you break anything?” Streak asked his teammate. Skeppy quickly deduced that they were talking about the crystal he had shoved into the man’s leg.
“Don’t think so.” He replied, letting out a small yelp.
“Well don’t touch it dumbass. If you don’t mess it up further, they’ll shove us back out tomorrow,” Wasp reprimanded his teammate.
“Yeah, yeah, I get it,” Theseus said.
Skeppy turned to his teammate, the glint in his friend’s eye told him exactly what he was thinking, “No, don’t you dare-” he whispered.
That was how he ended up standing behind his best friend in front of the three newest heroes. He had his face buried in his hands in defeat as Devil tried to talk to the people they were just fighting.
“How about a trade?” He finally tried, which caught the hero’s attention. “You tell us what I want to know, and I give you a healing potion.”
Skeppy’s head snapped up at that, “I don’t really think giving the people tasked with bringing us in a health potion is a good idea.”
Devil turned to him and lowered his voice low enough for the heroes to not be able to hear him, “Just trust me you muffin-head.” Skeppy huffed and shook his head but didn’t object further.
He watched as Wasp stepped forward, “Fine, but how do we know you’re not lying?” Theseus’ eyes widened and he knew the expression was mirrored on his face.
“Tu- Wasp no, a health potion isn’t worth-” He was cut off by a sharp glare from his friend. Wasp stared at them, waiting for an answer.
“You have ou-” Devil started, but Wasp seemed to expect this answer and cut him off.
“Not enough,” he stated flatly, openly glaring at them. That was one thing that Skeppy could understand about this hero, the need to protect his friends. His gaze darted to where Devil stood next to him, and he came to a decision.
With Ranboo
By now, Theseus had propped himself against the wall. Leaving Ranboo, arguably the most mobile of the team, free. So, when Diamond took out two identical vials and tossed one at Wasp, he didn’t hesitate. Immediately teleporting forward, he snatched it out of the air. Wasp didn’t even blink unlike the villains in front of him who he could just barely see flinch.
He heard the villain sigh before he watched as the man pull his mask up just enough to drink to the potion but not reveal his face.
With Skeppy
As Skeppy downed the potion, the burns marring his skin from the fight earlier faded and disappeared. He then watched as Wasp took the vial out of Streak’s hands and shoved it into Theseus’s hands.
They stood silently staring at each other for a moment, but as someone who did something similar with his own friend, he knew what he was watching even if he couldn’t decipher it. Their silent conversation finally ended once Streak turned around and joined.
Theseus’ shoulder slumped in defeat, and he downed the potion. After a few more moments, he tested his leg then stood up fully.
Chapter 2: (you never know) Where deals may lead
Notes:
Finally, a new chapter! It didn't take as long as I feared it would and is now here for you to (hopefully) enjoy!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
“There.” Skeppy stated, leaning against the wall behind him. “Hold up your end so me and my partner can leave.”
With Bad
Bad smiled triumphantly under his mask as he listened to Wasp’s explanation. The gist of it was that the hero committee gave more resources the higher up the ladder in rank a hero was. Their reasoning? The higher up the ladder you were, the worse the villains you fought.
He heard Diamond scoff at that, and he couldn’t help but agree with his best friend’s unspoken words, sending brand-new heroes to fight the number 7 and 8 villains was hardly giving them on level villains. “Is that enough to satisfy your curiosity?” Wasp finally asked though clenched teeth.
“Yes, actually. Thank you for your help,” he replied before he turned to leave.
For the first time since this encounter started, Streak spoke up. “Wait.” The hero sounded hesitant, “I have a question.” Bad turned back around and gestured for the hero to continue. “Why would you bother giving up a potion for that? I mean, that information wouldn’t be all that helpful to you.”
Bad chuckled as he replied, “I have found,” he paused as he tossed a business card to the hero. “That relationships borne out of mutual benefit are often the most fruitful.”
With Tubbo
After a short discussion between the three friends, they ended up deciding not to tell the hero committee what had happened. They knew that they would have to talk and discuss what had happened. That was not an encounter that you could say a few words about and just pretend it never happened. For the moment however, they were all just tired.
Their trip back to the hero tower allowed the tension between the trio to ease. He could almost watch as Theseus’s annoyance dropped, replaced with fatigue. He had been upset that they ended up giving information to a villain, they had grown up with the heroes showing how bad the villains were. While Tubbo had given his life to being a hero, his first loyalty will always be to his best friends. That was one thing the Committee and their trainers hadn’t been able to beat out of them convince them out of.
While they may all jokingly deny it, he knew it was true for them as well. Luckily, the meeting at the hero tower went smoothly. The lie that they had seen and chased Diamond and Devil for a bit seemed to appease the higher ups. In a second stroke of luck, no one else had seen Theseus get hurt. That was useful for avoiding the awkward conversation of how he was healed while they were officially without potions.
Tubbo had to stay slightly longer than his teammates when he requested a refresh on potions before Friday. (It was obviously denied but he tried. It’s not like the Committee cared enough to try to help keep them safe anyway. He could understand why, they couldn’t afford to when the trio wasn’t going to be sent on anything important for a while. Weren’t they just earlier?)
When Tubbo walked into their Suite at the Tower, a pillow was launched straight into his face. Theseus was now out of costume, leaving just Tommy. No longer his teammate, just his best friend. Who was laughing from the couch after hitting him in the face with a pillow.
“Oh, it’s on now,” Tubbo said, as he grabbed a pillow and waved it threateningly at his friend. Tommy just grinned at him as he also snatched a pillow from the couch and stood up.
“Don’t kill each other before dinner is done, I’m not going to waste perfectly good spaghetti.” Streak, now in casual clothes, called from the kitchen. They didn’t have to live together, they had been given that choice, but they had chosen to. They had met in the academy and been inseparable ever since.
Tubbo didn’t know whether to thank Prime or groan in annoyance. The only thing Ranboo could make without disaster was spaghetti. And while it was nice to have it occasionally, having spaghetti at least twice a week eventually made you sick of it. They used to try to keep him out of the kitchen altogether after the time had had tried to make cake. It never worked very well since Ranboo had a self teleport. Now, all they let him make was spaghetti.
Eventually, after they had whacked each other in the face several times, Ranboo practically dragged them to the kitchen so they could sit down and eat. Tubbo went to grab some cold water but paused when he opened the fridge door.
“Ranboo, why is the entire bottom shelf filled with Fanta?” Tubbo glanced back at his friend with an unimpressed expression as he spoke.
“All the Fanta had to go somewhere, and cold Fanta is always best.” Ranboo stated matter-of-factly. Tubbo turned all the way around as he scanned the kitchen, taking note of the ingredients out on the counter.
“How are we going to put things away?” Tubbo deadpanned with a gesture at the food.
“I don’t know.” Ranboo admitted, looking from the fridge to the stuff he had used.
Tubbo rubbed his temples with two fingers, “so we have things that need to be in the fridge but can’t fit because there’s a shelf of Fanta.”
“I think you’re just mad you don’t have a Fanta shelf.”
“I do! Its in my FUCKING FRIDGE!” Tubbo yelled. Tommy simply watched his best friend’s interaction with amusement as he ate.
With Ranboo
It had now been three days since their encounter with the two villains. Tommy had ended up telling Wilbur that he had gotten hurt. “Well you’re fine now aren’t you?” He had said, and while it was expected, it still pissed Ranboo off.
Tubbo hadn’t been too enthusiastic about it either, but before he could go on a rant, his phone buzzed. Instead of ranting about Wilbur, he simply muttered under his breath as he snatched his phone off the counter.
Ranboo didn’t see what was on the screen, but he did see his friend go deathly still. “Bee..?” he asked hesitantly, trying to get his friend’s attention. Luckily, this had the desired effect of snapping Tubbo out of his thoughts.
Just as Tubbo was about to reply, the phone started to ring. With a distasteful look, he saw Tubbo press accept and held it up to his ear. “What do you want?” He spat to the person on the other end, venom dripping from his tone.
It only took a moment to figure out what was happening, and judging from the way Tommy tensed beside him, he had as well.
Ranboo carefully watched Tubbo’s expression shift as he listened to what the villains were saying. From angry, to confused, to suspicious. “Why exactly would we do that? Besides, that’s the most suspicious thing you could have asked for.”
Tubbo looked to them with a furrowed brow, and he finally began to explain, “Apparently, they want us to chase Diamond around the city for a little while.”
“How does that make sense?” Tommy asked, disbelief coloring his tone, “Why?”
“According to Devil, he needs to make a deal and the person has to think Diamond is busy.” Tubbo relayed as Devil spoke on the other end of the phone. “They want to owe us a favor for it.” He turned his attention to the villain talking to him, “How long do we have to decide?”
With Tommy
Tubbo paced back and forth along the length of the kitchen. They had half an hour, when they had received the phone call it had been twice as long. But now, they had half an hour to decide whether or not to help two of the most infamous villains in the city. Normally, they would’ve downright rejected the deal, but being owed by villains was more important than one would think.
Favors were a careful balancing act, if used correctly, they could cause the villains to get caught. They couldn’t just say, ‘go get yourselves caught’, that’s not how it worked. But having the villains do something stupid… was definitely on the table.
Needless to say, they were considering it. While the trio didn’t trust them, the Happ duo were powerful people to be owed from. Ranboo massaged his temples as he spoke, “So let me get this straight, they want us to chase Diamond halfway around the city, for a deal to go smoothly…”
Tubbo threw his hands up in exasperation. “It doesn’t make sense! There has to be something they’re not telling us.” Tommy was starting to think that there was going to be a hole in the floor from Tubbo’s pacing. He chose not to voice this; it was a bad idea to provoke Tubbo when he was this wound up.
It did not help that they were on a time limit. A single hour wasn’t enough time to decide whether you should go against everything you had been taught your entire life for the good of the city.
Tommy wanted to call Phil, but he wouldn’t answer anyway, it’s as if Tommy didn’t matter anymore it probably wouldn’t do much good. His father would be more upset about him talking to villains in the first place. He shook his head to clear it, it wouldn’t do him any good to be distracted.
He has to look at the situation objectively, weigh the pros and cons. That’s what he had been taught to do. Even though he was also taught there was no bargaining with villains. The first upside was obvious. Being owed a favor. Downside, helping villains. Pro, knowing where Diamond was. He let the list unfurl in his mind.
Ranboo was doing something similar, judging from his expression. Both sides of the list getting longer. After another minute, he came to an uncomfortable conclusion. “We should do it,” Ranboo muttered from beside him.
Tubbo looked as if he had eaten something sour but nodded in agreement. “Alright then, I guess its decided.” Tommy spoke with a sigh. Nobody was happy with this, but using a favor to get the number 7 and 8 villains caught would (hopefully) be worth it.
It may not have been the most moral or honorable thing to do, but they valued civilian lives over honor. If it could stop the villains from hurting more innocent people, then it could be a justified stain on their consciousnesses.
With Ranboo
The trio double checked all of their equipment before they headed out. Knives were tucked safely into belts and boots, they each also had weapons unique to them. Theseus had a staff, Wasp didn’t really use weapons but had two extra daggers strapped to his waist anyway, and Ranboo had his claws.
Apparently, if you had natural weapons the Committee didn’t think you needed much else. Luckily, due to this, Ranboo had been heavily trained in hand-to-hand combat, more than his teammates.
Even with all their preparations, the trio felt less than safe. The coordinates they had been sent led them to an alley way in district 4. Despite knowing he would be there, Ranboo still tensed when they saw Diamond leaning against a wall. He had positioned himself where he couldn’t be seen from the street.
The trio didn’t have to speak, only communicating with glances. The short version of the conversation was that they weren’t going to get fully out of the view of the street. Diamond approached them, “I almost thought you three had lied and weren’t coming. Guess I was wrong.” He let out a huff as he spoke.
“What, disappointed?” Theseus snarked, failing to keep a little of his disdain from leaking into his tone. Though the villain either didn’t notice or chose not to comment on it.
“No actually, you three showing up makes our job much easier,” Diamond said. “Basically, we need the group we are making a deal with to think I’m busy.”
Wasp raised an eyebrow from beside him, Ranboo shared his friend’s suspicion. “Why exactly?” Wasp questioned.
“This is another way of making sure that they won’t stage an ambush while we’re in the middle of something. As you know, we are seen as strongest together. With them thinking I’m preoccupied; they would be under the impression they can take one of us out…” Diamond trailed off. Letting them finish the thought.
“With you not actually occupied so you can step in before your partner gets hurt,” Ranboo murmured, his eyes widening in understanding. “That’s brilliant.” He hadn’t intended for the villain to hear, but judging by the man’s quiet chuckle he did anyway.
“It was Devil’s idea. I’m just the one who has to execute my side of the plan. Speaking of, you ready for a high-speed chase?” When he received three nods, he took off and used a small crystal pillar to fling himself onto the roof top. After barely a moment of silence, the three used whatever means they had to get to the roof, and the mock chase truly began.
Notes:
I love the Fanta shelf I'm sorry, I had to add it in. Bee duo!
My Discord server! You can always be alerted when I update and it's just a nice place to hang out. We don't have very many people yet, but everyone (who is willing to follow the rules) is welcome!
Deadly Nightshades!
(If there every any problems with the link, feel free to let me know and I'll try to fix it)
Chapter Text
Helicopters began to circle overhead; streets started to be cleared once a villain was sighted. Tommy paid all of this no mind however, he couldn’t afford to. All he could focus on was keeping sight of his target, and not falling to the pavement below.
The villain hadn’t been kidding when he said high speed. Tommy was moving fast enough that he could almost hear the wind whistling past. Either that or he was stressed enough his ears were ringing. Diamond constantly shot up walls of crystal behind him, making it look more realistic but also making their job harder.
Streak was having the most luck, a combination of having annoyingly long legs and teleportation. Wasp was better with short bursts of speed rather than prolonged chases. That didn’t mean that he and Tommy were falling too badly behind however. They might not have been as close but they were still within a reasonable distance of the villain.
Eventually, Diamond dropped out of sight into an alleyway. Though even Streak was starting to sweat at this point, they prepared themselves to continue running, only to stop when Diamond was just standing there.
Devil also ran into the alley, making the heroes jolt. “We’re good, they let me know you were being chased. We can go back and continue negotiations.” He then turned his attention to the trio. “Thank you for your help. We owe you one.”
Wasp huffed but nodded anyway. “You better mean it, we aren’t going to help villains for no reason.”
Devil sighed, “Trust me, we aren’t. In the… villain community for lack of a better term, the best thing you have is how much your word can be trusted. It doesn’t matter who a deal is with, if you made a deal, you better keep it.”
“Good to know.” Tommy muttered under his breath. The villains didn’t seem to hear his words. As the villains turned around, a wall of crystal shot up behind them in order to prevent the heroes from following them.
Wasp sighed as he rested a hand against the wall. “I wonder what will happen because of this.”
Tommy had to bite the inside of his lip to keep himself quiet. It wasn’t a great habit, but it worked when he needed it to. What did it say that he had to use it around his family and most other heroes most? They were getting chewed out by Schlatt, the head of the hero committee.
“Other than this.” Tubbo muttered from beside him, just barely audible to where only Tommy and Ranboo could hear it. While they didn’t really think about it, they knew this would happen. You didn’t lose high ranking villains and get away unscathed. In the end, they ended up banned from any actual missions for two weeks, stuck to strictly doing patrols.
Phil had been in the meeting as well. He had been sent out to try to catch the villain while he was recovering from the chase. That hadn’t gone very well either, the villain was long gone before the man could make it to the place where he was last seen.
Other than the crystalline wall still stuck in that one alley, the other heroes found no signs that the villain had ever been there. Somewhere in the city, the two villains were free, because his team had made a decision to let them go, but he knew that it would pay out in the end. Tommy’s gaze passed over to the window, to the streets far below. From the top floor of the hero tower, the people on the ground looked like ants. Busily going about their daily lives without a care in the world.
Sometimes, he had to look down to those people in order to remind himself why it was all worth it. He did what he did so those people could live without the fear of villains. He did his job, risking his life every day, so those people could keep theirs without fear. It was a hero’s job to protect the city, and that was a job he knew he could take pride in doing.
Which is why his blood was now boiling. It had been a normal day, a week into their suspension. On their usual patrol route, all they really had to do was grab to occasional guy who tried to steal a purse. It was also the reason Tubbo had decided that they were never getting a cat.
None of that mattered at the moment however, not when the hero committee was blatantly going against everything they stood for. Now, Tommy was ready to go against everything he had been taught for years. He tried to reason with himself, but he already knew the line was crossed, and the only way to fix something that wasn’t even his or his friends’ mistake, was to make a mistake himself.
10 minutes Earlier…
“Ugh, I don’t want to do another patrol.” Tubbo complained loudly as he pulled on his gear. Tommy nodded in agreement from where he was strapping on his equipment as well. They never got to choose where they were sent, much to their annoyance.
Streak was sitting outside by the time they made their way out. Swift winds tussled their hair, but the warm midday sun made it bearable. Streak stood up with a grin as he saw them. “Hey guys! You ready for patrol?” Even though the answer was obvious, he was asking them anyway.
Tommy raised an unimpressed eyebrow at his friend, and Streak practically deflated. “Let’s get this over with.” Streak said, striding off. Was he correct in the belief that his friends/teammates were going to follow him? Yes. Was Tommy going to yell at his friend anyway? Also yes.
So their patrol started. Tommy fussing at Streak, only for the tall teen to shake his head in amusement. All three of them knew he wasn’t really upset about it, leading to a laughing Wasp as Tommy tried to ‘berate’ their friend with a straight face. Streak was just laughing.
At some point during patrol, comms came alive with activity. It didn’t seem like it was meant for them, more of an accident adding them on the line than anything else. “Gambler is out, SBI minus Theseus obviously- this is the last straw, orders from the top, take him in or kill him.”
Tommy’s ears were ringing, but not loud enough to keep him from hearing his father’s reply. “Yes ma’am.”
Tommy shared an unsure look with his teammates. “If we’re going to do something….” Streak didn’t have to finish his statement. ‘We have to do it now’ went unsaid, and as the coordinates were relayed to the rest of the SBI… Tommy lurched into motion. Streak and Wasp weren’t a moment behind him.
Tommy knew what he was about to do was undeniably wrong, but he didn’t have another choice. He was going to go against everything he had ever been taught. His run didn’t impede him much as he pulled out his phone. He dialed the number as quickly as he could.
“Hello?” Devil’s voice asked.
“It’s Theseus. We’re calling in that favor.” He snarled.
“Oh? What is it?” Devil asked, sounding intrigued.
“We’ve got a big fucking problem and we need you to make sure it doesn’t go the way we think it’s going to. Just… get around here, and don’t do anything yet.” He sent the coordinates that he and his team was heading to.
The sight that greeted them as they arrived wasn’t pretty. Ghost had at least a half dozen bruises. Gambler was preventing Crow from getting near using his playing cards. There was blackened gouges taken out of the ground, most still smoking.
Apparently, no one had noticed that Tommy and his team had arrived on the scene or was listening in. Crow said something into his earpiece. Tommy heard the order as loud and clear as who it was meant for. “Put him down.”
Tommy didn’t give himself time to regret or even fully think about his decision as his blood simultaneous boiled and turned to ice. “They’re going to kill him!” He practically screamed into his phone.
“Fuck-!” Diamond shouted, shooting out of his hiding place. He landed behind Gambler just in time. The wall of crystal that shot up suddenly had a dagger imbedded in it, right where the middle of Gamblers back had been moments before.
The world seemed to freeze, Tommy held his breath. Devil walked out of his hiding spot as well, and the battle commenced.
With Quackity
Quackity’s heart stopped the moment he saw where that dagger was. Ghost was frozen after his failed attempt to kill him. He was frozen in shock for a moment.
Eventually however, the battle that followed ended. Quackity was dragged out alongside Diamond and Devil. He was still heaving with adrenaline as he fell against the wall behind him. They had reached an empty warehouse and were now trying to calm down after the fight.
Skeppy pulled off his mask. “Are you alright Quackity?”
“What the fucking hell… just happened?” Quackity said. The image of that dagger was permanently implanted in his mind. Bad was apparently also still in shock, as he didn’t say anything about Quackity’s language.
The next thing Diamond said confused Quackity. “I never thought a hero would try to save a villain.”
“By killing me!?”
Bad’s expression made Quackity pause as he finally looked up at him. “No… we only knew what was happening because Theseus called us to check in a favor we owed.”
“…...What?” Quackity said. So, in the same day, one hero tried to murder him, and another saved his life? He couldn’t wrap his head around the events that had happened in the past few minutes.
Skeppy shook his head with a breathless laugh. “We had them do us a favor, and so we owed Theseus and his teammates. Theseus suddenly called us and told us, and I quote ‘We’ve got a big fucking problem and we need you to make sure it doesn’t go the way we think it’s going to. Just… get around here, and don’t do anything yet.’ When we got there, we saw the tie you guys were in.”
Bad finished the story for his friend. “He then screamed at us suddenly that they were going to kill you.”
“And that’s when you intervened.” Quackity muttered. “A hero saved my life.” He then chuckled at the irony. “Never thought I’d say that.”
“We now owe him two favors. I’m not going to call having me save my friend’s life using a favor.” Bad said.
Skeppy nodded in agreement, “You’re right.”
With Tubbo
Tubbo watched with concern as Tommy pulled on his hair. “we just used the only favor we’ll get for a while to stop a murder. That was ordered the Hero committee!” None of the three could truly comprehend the past hour’s events.
The next words out of Ranboo’s mouth made the room freeze in horror, Tubbo felt himself tense. “What if that wasn’t the first time?”
That was how Ranboo ended up sneaking into the file rooms at 1:09 in the morning. An earpiece was tucked into his ear, but not one of the committee’s. It was one of Tubbo’s designs, allowing the trio to talk privately without fear of prying ears.
They had compiled a list of disappeared villains before Ranboo had come down to the file rooms. He found a few files from a few of the villains they were looking for. Once he had gathered had at least a few of the folders, he teleported out.
He laid the folders out on the table. Tommy and Tubbo looked at the folders hesitantly. Tommy stepped forward and opened the folder closest to him. The picture of the ‘missing’ villain had a large red ‘X’ over it. Under the picture, there was writing. “Termination ordered: success.” Tommy read out.
Tubbo snatched one of the other folders in apparent desperation. Only for him to freeze as he read out the words. “Termination ordered: success.”
They didn’t believe it. They went through all the folders, hoping to find something, anything different. They all said the same thing. “Termination ordered: success” Ranboo even teleported back, putting the folders all back where they were supposed to be, before grabbing another batch of files of random ‘missing’ villains.
But it was the same. Every. Single. Time. It was now 6:38 in the morning, the rising sun sending lights through the windows. They had gone through all the folders on ‘missing’ villains that Ranboo could find.
Tubbo said what they were all thinking. The words made dread curl in the trio’s stomach, as if saying them out loud made them feel less like a nightmare and more real. “We have to get out of here.”
Notes:
I'm back! Took a little while, but I should be good to take this fic off hiatus! I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
My Discord server! You can always be alerted when I update and it's just a nice place to hang out. We don't have very many people yet, but everyone (who is willing to follow the rules) is welcome!
Deadly Nightshades!
(If there every any problems with the link, feel free to let me know and I'll try to fix it)
Chapter Text
With Phil
Tommy had been acting weird. Not that Phil had much time that he spared to the thought. The day after the mission, Wilbur was still sulking about the fact he had failed. Then the day after that the search for Gambler had been stuck up higher on the priorities list.
Phil was sitting in his office when a knock rang out on his door. “Phil?” a hesitant voice asked.
“Daddy, Daddy! Look what I drew!” A young Tommy shoved a crude crayon drawing in Phil’s face.
Phil sighed as he put down the papers he had been reviewing. The door opened slowly, revealing Tommy, who looked like a mess, and looked like he hadn’t slept in the past couple days, who was looking slightly disheveled. “What do you need? I’m busy.”
Tommy looked away, mumbling as he shuffled out the door, “Never mind.”
Phil rubbed his temples with two fingers as he shut his eyes. “If you don’t have anything useful to say don’t bother me on a workday.” The only reply was the sound of a door clicking shut softly.
“It looks great Tommy!” A younger Phil couldn’t even tell what his son had drawn. That didn’t matter to him however, his sweet baby bird had made it for him, and he’d be damned if he didn’t show appreciation for it.
He grabbed a magnet from a nearby box, placing both it and the drawing up on the fridge. Tommy was looking at his drawing with a proud smile, and Phil matched the expression, but his was directed at his son. “There! Now we can save it for a long time!”
Phil shook his head to clear the memory that the interaction had bubbled up, before turning back to the reports strewn on the desk in front of him. A few minutes later, Techno walked into his office, and Phil greeted his son with a warm smile.
With Skeppy
Skeppy felt like he was banging his head against a brick wall. No explanation that he came up with made sense. Heroes didn’t help villains; it was a simple fact. Unless the hero was going to get something huge out of it, there was no chance.
Bad couldn’t figure it out either. All they could come up with was that the heroes were actually decent people that were just trying to help, but the fact that they worked for the hero committee directly went against the statement. The committee didn’t give two shits about it’s people as long as the money kept rolling in.
It was now four days since ‘the incident’, Quackity was a bit shaken for the first day after he almost died, but it came with the territory, and he was back on his feet soon after. He wasn’t going out as Gambler for a little while, since the heroes had increased the search for him, but he was back to running his casino and making deals as Luck.
Quackity had at least three personas that Skeppy knew about, which added too much complexity to try to wrap his head around. Skeppy and Bad were sitting at the table eating breakfast as Bad’s work phone began to ring.
Him and Bad shared a look. That could mean one of several things. Most of them didn’t have the best connotations. Bad reached into his pocket, pulling it out. “Theseus.” He read out.
Skeppy furrowed his brows, tilting his head to the side slightly. “Not what I was expecting… I say answer it.”
Bad nodded in agreement, they shoved on their masks for their voice changers, and Devil pressed accept. “You’re on speaker.” Devil said, glancing at him.
“Is it just you and Diamond?” Theseus sounded more unsure than usual. Skeppy looked at the phone suspiciously, like they could see him through the phone.
Devil responded a moment later after giving the ‘what is going on?’ look. “Yeah, it’s just me and Diamond right now.”
They heard him let out a shaky breath. “We… have something to ask of you. We’re willing to owe you a favor for it-”
Skeppy cut him off, “What do you mean owe us a favor? We owe you right now, not the other way around.”
Theseus sounded confused as he simply asked, “What?”
“You had us save our friend from getting murdered, that doesn’t count as you using a favor. Hell-” Skeppy tried not to snort as Devil mouthed ‘language!’ at him before continuing. “We now owe you twice for that.”
“O-oh.” Streak’s voice stammered as he apparently took over for his teammate. “Well, we have a favor to ask you… it’s big, so we’re ready to use both favors.”
Skeppy’s suspicion increased ten-fold, and judging from the expression on Devil’s face, it was the same for his best friend. Though the next words out of now Wasp’s mouth made their jaws drop in shock.
“We want your help to fake our deaths. We want out of here.”
With Ranboo
The response that came through the phone wasn’t immediate, probably from the shock of what Ranboo and his friends had just said, but when it came it was loud. “WHAT!?” He didn’t sound upset, more surprised. Ranboo leaned away slightly from the loud noise.
“We want you guys to help us fake our deaths.” Tubbo repeated. He was shaking slightly as he spoke, Ranboo would’ve tried to comfort his friend if it wasn’t for the fact he was in a similar state.
“That- we- huh?” Devil stammered, apparently trying to comprehend what he had just been told like they had moments before.
“Will you do it?” Theseus asked, moment of truth… Ranboo thought.
Devil had either gotten over his shock, or was doing a good job of hiding it, his voice was steady as he spoke. “Of course. We need neutral ground to meet on away from prying ears. Then we can go from there.”
With Bad
They had set up a meeting spot in an abandoned warehouse in district 10. Bad had his senses on overdrive, checking for any single thing that could indicate this to be a trick. Heroes never did something like that, it just wasn’t something that happened.
So, when Bad heard people talking, he held out a hand. Diamond, recognizing the motion, stopped in his tracks. They hadn’t yet gone around the corner into the main part of the warehouse yet, which was where the voices were coming from. Where they had stopped kept them out of sight as they listened in.
“Are we sure this is a good idea?” Streak’s voice asked. He sounded nervous. They also heard the vague sound of pacing.
“You saw those files, same as we did Boo, and the orders-” Wasp’s voice said, cutting himself off. He apparently didn’t need to elaborate for his teammates to understand what he was talking about.
“You know just as well as I do that there’s no other way out of there. It’s either make a deal with villains or you disappear off the face of the earth.” Theseus said. His usually confident voice was stained with obvious stress.
“Fake death or a real one, how is this fair?” Streak said.
“It’s not. Never will be.” Wasp replied with a sad voice. The pacing stopped as he spoke.
Bad decided that he had heard all he needed to and straightened up to his full height. Diamond, recognizing the behavior, straightened up as well. With one last exhale, Bad strode around the corner. The attention of the three heroes immediately snapped over to him and Diamond.
Theseus stood up from where he had been sitting with his legs crossed on the floor. “Devil. Diamond.” He greeted, glancing at each of them in turn.
“Theseus. Wasp. Streak.” He greeted back. They were all silent for a moment, a tense air lay over both groups. Both teams seemingly waiting for the other to make a hostile move.
Neither did. They sat there staring at each other waiting for something to happen, but no one moved. Eventually, Bad took in a breath, and broke the silence. “Well. We’re here. Can you please explain what happened that,” He paused, waving his hand at the air for emphasis. “Got us here.”
So, the trio explained after they had all sat down on the ground. They re-told the story for how, after the ‘incident’ they went looking for if something like that had happened before. Much to the trio’s horror, it had. Diamond whistled at the number of files they had found. While they knew it was something that happened often, three dozen of just files they could find was a bit excessive. “After that, we realized that we couldn’t stay there anymore. We tried to find a way out but…” Theseus trailed off; Wasp finished for him.
“We should’ve read those bloody contracts.” Bad resisted the urge to tell the hero off for his language. “We can’t quit, it was a lifetime contract. ‘Until subject is either fully unable to fulfill expectations or dead, they promise to keep in service to the hero committee’.” The hero quoted.
Diamond huffed. “There's no way it actually says that…. right?” Instead of answering, Streak pulled out his phone, showing them a picture of that exact line. It left very little room for doubt.
“We asked for a copy of our contracts, and to no one’s surprise, they didn’t want to give them to us. We snuck a copy out of the file room to read it.” Wasp said, obviously bitter at the memory, not that Bad blamed the hero much. When you had essentially signed your life away, it was rather cruel to keep you from reading the fact that you had.
“So, you want to fake your deaths.” Diamond said. Bad could see his friend was coming around to the idea. Bad had already made up his mind. He was going to help them get out of there. He had been looking for signs of them lying the entire time, but with their body language being complete messes right now, it was obvious they weren’t hiding anything.
Diamond looked at him, silently asking, ‘what do you think about this whole thing?’
Bad nodded his head to the side, sending a return glance signaling ‘I say do it.’
Diamonded nodded in response to Bad’s unspoken words. The heroes were obviously getting antsy, Streak was particularly bad about it, he kept shifting every few seconds. Wasp was obvious, but not as bad, his eyes darting around the room every few seconds.
The only one not showing outward signs was Theseus. He sat stock still, staring intently at the two villains. Bad would’ve been slightly off put by the man’s unmoving form if it weren’t for the obvious signs of fatigue.
Bad sighed, getting to his feet. Diamond followed his example beside him. The heroes almost looked vaguely panicked before Bad offered his hand to Theseus. “You have whatever help you need from us.” He his tone was sincere, and he smiled warmly down at the trio.
He saw all three heroes visibly deflate in relief. Theseus took his offered hand, and Bad hauled the soon to be ex-hero to his feet. Theseus helped his teammates to their feet as well. Hopeful smiles were traded around.
“One last order of business before we start planning.” Bad said. The heroes froze, Theseus’s shoulders drooped as he once again turned to look at Bad.
“What is it?” Streak asked, his voice full of what almost sounded like dread.
Diamond immediately knew what he was talking about and turned to face him. “Are you sure about this?” Bad nodded. Diamond sighed. “Alright.”
Wasp glanced quickly between the two as he said, “What are you talking about?” Theseus also looked about ready to attack. Bad kept himself calm, if he were them, he would be having a similar reaction.
“It’s obvious we don’t trust each other, so how about some….” He was trying to pick his words carefully. “assurances.”
The trio eyed him suspiciously. “What kind of assurances?” Theseus said.
Streak seemed to be the first to figure out what Bad was talking about. “How would that help us?”
Bad smiled. “We would be as well. It’s assurances to both parties, not just me and Diamond.
Comically, both Wasp and Theseus seemed to understand at the same time, their eyes widening in surprise. “An identity reveal!?” Theseus said with surprise, but he seemed to be at least considering the idea.
Bad nodded in response. The trio had a silent conversation, similar to what he and Diamond had a couple minutes before, if much longer. The trio nodded one by one at each other, and Bad knew he had a deal.
Notes:
I- have no clue what to say for once. XD
I am so happy with this chapter. Hope you enjoyed it!
My Discord server! You can always be alerted when I update and it's just a nice place to hang out. We don't have very many people yet, but everyone (who is willing to follow the rules) is welcome!
Deadly Nightshades!
(If there every any problems with the link, feel free to let me know and I'll try to fix it)
Chapter Text
Still with Bad
That’s how, after a couple more minutes of conversation, both groups were standing staring at each other. They all had hands on their masks. The trio and Bad all had masks that covered the top half of their faces in some way, while diamond had one that covered the bottom half of his.
Bad took a steadying breath, this was never an easy process. “This is your last chance to back out of this.” He said, trying to speed the process along would only make the situation more of a mess. It didn’t seem like the trio was going to change their minds however. His thoughts were confirmed a moment later as Streak responded to his words.
Streak shook his head. “No, we… have made our decision.” He was visibly shaking, and his two teammates weren’t doing much better, but none of them took their hands off their masks. Wasp was breathing slightly faster than what was likely normal, and Theseus looked a bit pale, all of his usual bravado drained away.
“3.” Diamond said, starting the final moments before all was revealed.
“2.” Bad said, stating the second number of the count down, he knew he was ready, and while the trio obviously weren’t, they were going to do it anyway, that was something that earned respect in Bad’s opinion.
“1.” Theseus stated, and everyone in the room removed their masks for the others to see.
With Techno
Techno ducked and weaved around the training room. He and Wilbur were sparring after an uneventful morning of patrol. His brother was always both a nuisance and a fun challenge to spar with. Wilbur was able to turn certain parts of his body incorporeal, with several limitations. Techno always used the fact that Wilbur had to think about which part of his body to change.
He had an annoyingly (not really annoying, it kept his brother alive) fast perception rate, these combined made it so that feints still worked, but you had to be really fast to use them and you had to know Wilbur’s patterns.
Techno grabbed Wilbur’s wrist, using it to try to swing him over to the side for a fight ending blow, but Wilbur knew his little trick well, and turned his forearm incorporeal. They had done this dance so many times before, but there was always something new. Techno let go of Wilbur’s arm milliseconds before it became incorporeal.
Techno grinned in triumph as Wilbur’s eyes widened in surprise. Techno took the opportunity to ram a fist into straight Wilbur’s stomach. The blow connected, and Wilbur fell to the floor, coughing slightly. “You alright Will?” Techno asked, he knew he forgot his own strength sometimes.
Wilbur nodded right before he started laughing, shoving himself to his feet. “That was fun,” he said before he added on, “I definitely didn’t expect you to do that last part though.”
Techno grinned, grabbing his brother in a hug. “That’s the point, it works.” He chuckled, before turning serious. “Don’t scare me like that, I thought I actually hurt you for a second.”
“Nah, you couldn’t hurt me if you tried.” Wilbur teased, a grin parting his face.
Techno raised an eyebrow at his brother as he stepped back from the hug. Pointing out, “I could literally snap you in half like a twig.” Being a piglin hybrid was rare, and it came with it’s perks, super strength being one of them.
“Why you little-” Wilbur was almost cat-like as he pounced at his brother. They tumbled across the floor play fighting. It was nothing like the sparring from just moments before, it was two brothers rolling on the floor simultaneously laughing and swearing at each other.
The mats covering the floor kept either of the brothers from getting really hurt, something they would be infinitely grateful for if not for the fact they were more concerned with trying to win the tussle. Somehow, the ‘fight’ ended up with Wilbur sprawled out with his legs laying over Techno.
They were both still laughing when the door opened. They were in their private training room, which meant there was only one person it could be. “Tech, Wil… what are you doing?” Phil said with exasperation.
Techno came to both a swift and easy decision about what to say. “Wilbur started it.”
Techno could basically hear how Wilbur’s head snap to the side as he turned from Phil to Techno as his brother squawked indignantly, “I did not! He said he could snap me like a twig, his words not mine, and I was just proving him wrong!”
Phil sighed fondly, and Techno knew he wasn’t actually upset, even without the grin threatening to crawl onto his father’s face. Phil turned around as he said, “Well since you guys are busy, I’ll have to go get ice cream alone.” Techno could hear the smirk in his voice.
Wilbur was up in seconds, running to catch up to the retreating form of their father. Techno was only a few steps behind.
With Tubbo
Tubbo didn’t know exactly what to expect when they removed their masks. “The name’s Tubbo.” He said, not knowing exactly what to do after both of the villains literally froze.
“Tommy.” Tommy stated simply, sharing a look with him, a simple glance shared their words as easily as saying them out loud. ‘Are they ok?’
“Ranboo.” Ranboo was avoiding eye contact with the villains, not the Tubbo was surprised. Ranboo had never enjoyed eye contact.
After a few more moments of tense silence, Diamond burst out, “You’re kids! What the actual hell!”
“I can’t even yell at you for that one.” Devil said, his jaw hanging open.
“I’m not a kid, bitch, I’m 16.” Tommy said. Tubbo was a bit confused. Heroes were almost all recruited around 9 or 10. Even if they weren’t out on the field until 15. The trio were actually unusual in that they had been going out as heroes in training since 13 instead of waiting another year. Tubbo could say he was a bit proud of that fact.
Devil looked... almost horrified and turned to his partner. “Skeppy, please tell me I just heard that wrong.”
Diamond, apparently named Skeppy, shook his head. “I wish that you had.” He then paused, and color drained from his face. “Wait. 16? You guys started showing up…”
Devil finished the thought for his partner. “…2 years ago. I knew the hero committee was bad, but I thought they would at least draw the line a child soldiers!”
With Skeppy
To say that Bad looked pissed would be an understatement. Skeppy had an insight into his friend that came from years of friendship, and Bad was furious, and that was probably still an understatement. Skeppy didn’t blame him. They were staring at three kids that had now just expressed confusion of all things that they were upset about how young the trio were.
“Say that again.” Bad said through gritted teeth, visibly trying and failing to calm himself down.
Tommy hesitated, glancing at his friends for a second. “…Most heroes get recruited around 9 or 10….?”
Skeppy hands balled into fists. Both him and Bad ended up forcibly calming themselves down, even if Skeppy still felt upset. The kids in front of him weren’t to blame for this. Once he trusted himself to not blow up, he said, “Alright, we need to plan this.”
Bad took one last steadying breath beside him. “Yeah, we need to get you guys out of there as soon as possible.” So, they started planning. By the end of the day, they had a rough plan. It would take longer than anyone would like to smooth it out, but a guarantee that it was possible and that they would get out of there obviously took a huge weight off the kids’ shoulders.
It was now around 6 in the evening. They were now a couple weeks later after identity reveal, but they were ready. “We’re getting you guys out tomorrow, if you’re sure you’re ready.” Bad said.
A tired smile stretched over Tommy’s face. Even though Bad was constantly yelling at him for his language, Bad had gotten attached to the kid quickly. “Finally.” Tommy said. Both Ranboo and Tubbo nodded in agreement. They were all ready to be out of there.
“Tomorrow, when we attack, you three know what to do.” Skeppy said. They had gone over the plan dozens of times, perfecting it, making sure nothing would go wrong. Quackity had been eager to offer his help in making sure nothing else would go wrong that day, to make sure all attention was on the attack. Apparently, the way to get Las Nevadas full support was to save it’s leader, who would’ve thought?
“Tomorrow, we’re free.” Tubbo said, as if he didn’t quite believe the words coming out of his mouth. Bad smiled at the trio, nodding.
With Tommy
Everything was going… mostly to plan. Tommy thought he was going to come out with a few more bruises than expected, but that was about it. A stray crystal upturned the ground he was standing on violently, sending him flying across the field.
The wind was knocked out of his lungs, but he didn’t hear or feel anything crack thanks to the cushion of shadow he had landed on. Turns out, when said shadows weren’t trying to stab you, they were rather soft.
Tommy made yet another tick on his list of ‘times to thank Bad for him not breaking at least three bones’. The shadows receded almost immediately after, wary of the cameras overhead. The news liked to try to analyze every movement that they made, meaning that this performance had to be perfect.
He did find it slightly amusing that ‘the most heartless’ duo in the city was actually two sappy twenty-year-old who loved muffins and Bad hated swearing. If you ignored their villain personas, which they had quickly come to find out were exactly that, personas, the duo was actually really sweet.
How he had gotten to the point that he and his friends understood a bit of who the duo actually were was a long story.
One he didn’t have time for as he rocketed back into the fight. He hadn’t missed the way Techno hadn’t even glanced his way after he was literally thrown into a building. A shadow hit one of the buildings, and Tommy knew it was time. Streak teleported inside the building, seemingly to get a better angle to ambush the villains, but Tommy knew what he was actually doing. Tommy was quick to get close to the building.
Tommy fought the grin away before it showed any signs of it on his face. Diamond threw an arm towards him, and the next moments happened in slow motion. A crystal hit the middle of his chest, just hard enough to break the incredibly large vial of fake blood under his clothing. Another attached itself to his back in the same moment, a similar vial breaking there as well. From the outside, it looked like the villain had stabbed him through the heart with a crystal.
He stumbled backwards into the building, and fell purposefully to the ground. He closed his eyes, his part was over.
With Phil
Phil faltered in the air, causing him to almost fall to the ground below. He didn’t, couldn’t let the fact that Tommy was probably dead compute in his mind. If he did, he didn’t think he would be able to keep going.
With Wilbur
Wilbur could only watch as Theseus was speared through the chest. Theseus stumbled into the building behind him, but Wilbur could still see Theseus as his brother fell to the ground. He was frozen, and could only watch the next events unfold.
Streak running up to Theseus, dragging him further into the building while trying to shake him awake. Wasp ran into the building as well, as if hoping for it to be alright. Wilbur knew it was too late for Theseus.
Every harsh word he had ever said to his brother ran though his head. Ignoring Thesus’s injuries, letting Phil ignore him he and Techno had done it as well, never giving Theseus any time or care. He felt like he was stuck in molasses as Devil grinned.
A shadow struck the building that had slowly been becoming more and more damaged though the fight. Taking out the final support with the three heroes still in it. The building collapsed, right on his dead brother and his teammates.
With Ranboo
The building shook and the entire building collapsed on top of them. Ranboo squeezed his eyes closed, but nothing hit him or his friends. A small black dome sat over top of them, steady and unbreaking as it shielded them.
Ranboo teleported out, coming back with three fake bodies, covered in fake blood. Tommy and Tubbo grinned.
Notes:
I only feel a little bad.
Phil to Tommy: if you have nothing useful to say, leave me alone
Phil to Techno and Wilbur: come on you two, we're getting ice creamThis turned out well in my opinion, not for them though
My Discord server! You can always be alerted when I update and it's just a nice place to hang out. We don't have very many people yet, but everyone (who is willing to follow the rules) is welcome!
Deadly Nightshades!
(If there every any problems with the link, feel free to let me know and I'll try to fix it)
Chapter Text
With Tubbo
“I’ll meet you guys there?” Streak said, it was more of a question than a statement, hesitance lacing his tone.
Tubbo nodded. “We’ll be alright Ran. See you there.” A flurry of white particles filled the air as Streak teleported out and to the designated meeting spot. Streak always had the habit of putting others before himself. The dome began moving, slowly making its way through the rubble. All of Tubbo’s nerves were on end, but soon they emerged safely on the other side of the wreckage into a nearby alley. The still settling dust had covered the way the rubble had been moving while they got out.
Now, to the rest of the world, all that was left of the trio was three bodies under several tons of rubble. To the trio and some of the villains, the trio was free, and all the world would find was three fake bodies.
With Techno
Chat was not being very helpful as Techno fell to the ground; horror written across his face. The battle was essentially over, but three people had died in the process, and the villains barely had a scratch on them. The heroes left didn’t any have will to fight left.
The trio is dead, wasn’t expecting that to happen so fast
Ah yes, homicide
Yall have no sympathy, do you? XD
Not really
This is fun to watch
No sympathy! Can that be a new chant?
Nah, Blood! Blood! Blood!
Devil laughed loudly. “No sympathy to those who don’t deserve it!”
Hey! Someone tell Devil to stop stealing the stuff I say!
I don’t think he was trying to lol
Oh I know
What is wrong with us?
E E E E E E E E E
E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E
You know, I’ll tell you if I figure it out
“Take this as warning heroes.” Diamond said, before the villain duo started running. They were long gone by the time anyone could comprehend what had just happened. Wilbur wasn’t doing much better and fell to the ground beside him.
Techno blindly wrapped his brother in a hug as Wilbur sobbed into his shoulder. A soft drizzle of rain started to patter against the concrete around them. A shadow fell over them as Phil landed next to them, using his wings to shield the SBI, taken from a group, down to a trio.
The world saw a family covered in grief, but there was more there than that. It was regret.
With Tommy
Tommy was laughing like a maniac, not that his two friends were much different. They were free! The realization was a weight taken off their shoulders. “We fucking did it!” Tubbo said, grinning from ear to ear.
“We just faked our bloody deaths.” Tommy replied as his laughter died down.
“LANGUAGE!” Bad yelled as he walked in, he was still in his villain outfit, except for the fact that his mask wasn’t on his face.
Skeppy, who’s mask was simply hanging around his neck chuckled as he replied, “I think they deserve that one, just a little bit.” Bad raised an unimpressed eyebrow at his friend, and Skeppy held his hands up in surrender.
Ranboo, (the one who always seemed to take the singular braincell the bench trio shared) asked the villain duo, “So, what next?”
Somehow, Skeppy’s grin widened. “Now comes the fun part. We have to set you up with civilian identities. Gambler has offered to help with that, but it would also mean another identity reveal. He’s waiting to hear to see if that’s what’s going to happen."
Tommy glanced at his friends. Tubbo shrugged and Ranboo smiled. “Alright. When are we going to meet him?”
Bad pulled out his phone and read what was likely a text message. “Right now, if you’d like. He’s waiting outside but is waiting for our go-ahead. He’s in civilian clothing so the reveals will start as soon as he walks in.”
“As long as he doesn’t try to make it dramatic.” Skeppy muttered, Tommy’s brow furrowed in confusion. Sure Gambler acted dramatic, but he had almost assumed that the flair was a part of his persona. Then again, it was hard to tell what was and wasn't real.
“Go ahead and tell him to come on in I guess.” Tubbo said with a shrug. After Bad texted Gambler again, a man burst though the door.
Tommy thought he could hear Bad mutter, “But of course he’s going to make it dramatic."
Gambler strode in. His signature joker mask that covered his face firmly where it should be. He took a dramatic bow in front of the trio as he slid the mask off, “Names Quackity, nice to meet you.” Bad and Skeppy didn’t look all that amused by Quackity’s entrance, but Tommy thought it had just the right amount of flair.
“The name makes sense.” Tubbo snickered from beside him, and Tommy snorted in amusement. Quackity had bright yellow wings spread out behind him, most people thought the villain was some kind of duck hybrid.
“It’s not like I-” Quackity cut himself as he stood up and actually looked at them for the first time. He turned to Skeppy and Bad, “I thought you said these were the three now ex-heroes?”
Skeppy’s expression darkened. “That was kind of my reaction too. That’s them.”
Quackity scowled in response. “You mean to tell me that three kids were heroes.” Bad nodded. “Wait holyshit-!”
“Language.” Bad scowled in response.
“How many time- I’m not a kid dickhead. I’m 16.” Tommy said that kind of reaction had happened twice, and it was obvious that it was starting to annoy Tommy.
Quackity’s mouth dropped open. “Okay that’s fu…” He trailed off at Bad’s glare. “uuuged up.” Bad didn’t look amused but didn’t say anything. “I should’ve killed him when I had the chance.” Quackity muttered, before seeming to remember he wasn’t alone.
He suddenly let out a clap. “Ok! At least you guys are out of there. We, are going to Las Nevadas, and then we’re going to set you guys up with civilian identities.”
“Quackity don’t take them to your casino-” Bad said, but it was already too late. Quackity was dragging a very confused trio out the door.
Notes:
I'm having a blast writing this XD
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Chapter Text
With Wilbur
They had three weeks before they were expected to be back on the field. Wilbur would be damned if he didn’t make the most of it. They hadn’t yet recovered anything out of the wreckage, so Wilbur had been made to go to the front desk.
Wilbur gulped, walking to the front desk. “Excuse me?”
The woman looked up from her terminal, looking slightly annoyed until she saw both who he was and the state he was in. “Y-yes sir?” She stuttered.
“Can I have the room keys for room 362?” Wilbur asked, his voice shaking.
The woman’s eyes softened in understanding. “Of course. One moment please.” She dug into the drawer beside her. After a tense few moments, she successfully retrieved a small set of keys. “If you have any issues, please let me know.” Wilbur nodded.
That was how Wilbur ended up standing in front of the old room of Theseus’s Tommy’s old room. Three names were written on the small plaque beside the door.
Theseus
Wasp
Streak
Wilbur turned away from the plaque and pushed the key into the lock in the door. With a small twist, the door clicked, and Wilbur took a shaky breath and walked in. The trio had always been oddly clean for teens. This was highlighted with them gone.
Dishes sat clean and stacked in the dish rack. The only thing that could be counted as out of place in the room was a jacket thrown over the back of the couch. Wilbur recognized it as one that Techno had gifted to Tommy when they were younger.
Wilbur tried to ignore the fact that Tommy would’ve just grown into the jacket that had been oversized when they were little. He couldn’t break down just yet. He closed the door behind him as he continued into the room. The living room and kitchen were in the same room, separated by the kitchen counter.
Eventually, someone would be sent in to collect the trio’s old stuff so that someone else could move in, but that wasn’t why Wilbur was there. He didn’t know how he remembered which door was Tommy’s, but he did.
He twisted the handle and walked in, only to freeze. The still made bed wasn’t what caught his attention, it was the nightstand beside it. A framed photo of the SBI sat innocently next to a small lamp. It was an older picture, back when they still hung out together as a family.
A young Tommy was busy braiding some kind of flower into Techno’s long pink hair, Wilbur playing his guitar in the background. Phil could be seen racing around in the background, collecting flowers for the busy toddler Tommy.
Wilbur walked up, and grabbed the frame, looking at it as he curled up on the bed. They were all smiling in the picture. Now their small family had slowly fallen apart. Tommy was dead. It had only been an hour since the incident, but he knew that it wasn’t right beforehand.
He didn’t know how long he sat there, curled up into a ball as he stared at a picture that was dead in more ways than one. He was shocked out of his own head as a knock sounded from the door. “Wilbur?” Wilbur’s head snapped up at Techno’s voice.
“Tech?” Wilbur hadn’t told anyone else where he was going, and Techno had gone straight for the training rooms.
Unaware of his brother’s questions, Techno walked up and sat next to him. Wilbur had always been the emotional one of the two, and it showed even now. “Uhh- are you okay?” Techno asked awkwardly. Wilbur snorted, raising an unimpressed eyebrow at his brother. “Yeah that was a stupid question.” Techno said, looking at the floor.
Wilbur sat up and scooted closer to Techno. He had decided that however his brother found out where he was wasn’t all that important at the moment. Techno seemed broken out of his own thoughts as Wilbur leaned on his shoulder. “What are we going to do Tech?”
“I don’t know Wil.” Techno laid his head on his brother’s. “I don’t know.”
With Ranboo
The small group was in civilian clothing. The trio plus Quackity approached the doors of a large casino. The trio was slightly hesitant. “Are we sure this is a good idea?” Tommy whispered. “I don’t feel like we should be here.” Ranboo nodded in agreement with his friend’s statement.
Quackity slowed slightly, apparently also hearing Tommy’s words. “Trust me,” he grinned, “With me around no one will touch you.” Ranboo sighed while Tommy shook his head.
Tubbo shrugged. “We’ll have to believe you on that. Not like we’ve been into a casino before.”
Quackity grin softened slightly into a regular smile. “Trust me, you’ll be taken care of. We’re not here to gamble, just to eat and do the start of setting up your new identities.”
Tommy huffed out a laugh. “That’s ironic. We’re not here to gamble?”
Quackity snorted at the play on his villain name. “Yeah, I get it. For today we just need to let you guys rest, it’s been hectic from what I’ve heard. We’ll be doing an actual work the day after tomorrow.” As they approached the entrance, the guard at the door seemed to be about to stop them.
Quackity turned to the man, and the guard’s eyes widened, immediately backing away from where he had been inching in front of the door. “Sorry sir, I didn’t recognize you at first.” He immediately apologized.
Quackity chuckled, waving his hand dismissively. “Don’t worry about it. I’d rather you be wary of everyone approaching than being unconcerned when someone walks up. Thank you for trying to do your job.”
“Y-you’re welcome, sir.” The guard stuttered. “Here just let me…” He reached and held the door open for the group, though he paused when his gaze hit the trio. “If you don’t mind, sir, who are they?”
Quackity barley paused. “Good friends of mine. Trust me, they won’t be drinking if that’s what you’re concerned about.”
The guard nodded, smiling at the trio as he held the door open. “He’s a good boss, you’re in good hands.”
Notes:
How Techno knew about where Wilbur was will be explained in an extra coming out either this evening or in the next two days. Depending on when I get to copying what I wrote in my notebook onto my computer.
Edit: The extra is done! It has which chapter it is so you can go find it in the series easily!
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Chapter Text
With Quackity
Quackity always loved to do things purely for dramatic effect, and showing off his casino always provided him with the perfect opportunity. He turned around to face the trio and spread his arms out, his signature grin painted across his face. “Welcome to The Las Nevadas Casino!”
“Woah.” Tubbo murmured under his breath, looking around. Tables were scattered around the room, each surrounded by groups of people varying in size. A large staircase dominated the middle of the room. The floor was covered in a red and black square carpet, organized into a square pattern. A crystalline chandelier hung high overhead. The casino was the culmination of years of effort, and it showed.
Quackity grinned at the compliment to his work. “I’m glad you find it acceptable.” Most people didn’t notice that they had entered. People were focused intently on their games, not paying attention to what was going on outside of that. It had only been a couple of hours since the trio had faked their deaths, and most of these people had been here longer than that.
On top of that, most people turned off their phones before coming in, meaning that the news of the trio’s death had not yet reached the people here. They were far enough away from where the fight had been for it to not matter much. Quackity once again addressed the trio, already walking towards the stairs. “Come on, we’re going to the second floor.”
It did not go unnoticed by Quackity that the trio seemed slightly hesitant. They were eyeing the staircase warily, more specifically, the fact that no one else was being allowed to go up. Either that, or they were still a bit stuck in the mindset of ‘villain bad’. He understood both trains of thought, and he wouldn’t blame them if it was the second one.
They were still in the early stages of both partnership and friendship, and after the heroes upraising it would take some time before they came to all their own conclusions about the situation. He understood what was going through their heads to some degree due to his own past. He was more than willing to be patient.
With Phil
Even years after their owner had disappeared, crows still liked to follow him and his family around. He knew that something was wrong immediately when there were less of the birds than usual. Most of the time, after a ‘big event’ happened, there was more, not less.
So he went looking for them, he asked around if anyone had seen any crows. No one had, but the lady at the front desk had given both Techno and Wilbur a copy of the keys to Tommy’s old room. She didn’t have another copy when Phil asked, but he had other ways.
Phil walked out of the hero tower, taking a deep breath as he rocketed of the ground with a snap of his wings. It took him a couple minutes to remember which balcony it was, but once he did he landed gracefully on the ledge.
His landing was met with two things. A shriek of surprise, and a following thump. When he looked up, Techno was sitting calmly on the bed, staring at him with slightly wider eyes than usual, while Wilbur was now sitting on the ground, rubbing his tail bone.
It stayed like that for another moment before Techno burst out laughing. “You surprised us Phil. Wil fell off the bed.”
The man in question immediately got back on the bed. “I didn’t!” But his son’s arguing wasn’t what had arrested his attention.
9 years ago
Phil was smiling as he walked into the house. “I got the job!” He announced excitedly. His three kids came running up to him. Tommy in the lead as usual. Wil and Techno were only a few steps behind their little brother, however.
Phil crouched down as his youngest grabbed onto him, burying his face in Phil’s shoulder. “Really papa?” An excited Wilbur asked, his gaze starry eyed. Phil nodded with a grin. “Our dad is going to be a hero!” His expression then turned slightly confused as he turned away. “I thought you said they might not hire you because you were a bit older than most new heroes?”
Phil chuckled, stretching out his wings. “They thought they could use a flying hero apparently.” Phil could practically see Wilbur’s concerns melt away as he made grabby hands at his father’s wings. He spread one out towards Wilbur.
Wilbur’s resulting smile made the slightly uncomfortable hands on his wing completely worth it. Even Techno, the was oldest of the self-proclaimed ‘Neapolitan trio’ (Phil decided he never would regret mentioning the fact that the trio’s hair corresponded to the colors of the ice cream) looked like he was about to burst at the seams with excitement.
The only one that didn’t seem too happy about the new development was Tommy, who had his face tucked into Phil’s shoulder. The soft sound of beating wings and talons landing on his shoulder alerted him of the crow’s and his wife’s presence.
He was met with her soft if slightly concerned smile as he looked up. The crow that had landed on his shoulder let out a soft ‘caw’ in his ear he recognized it as what he thought to be as their favorite word ‘Mumza!’. Kristen chuckled at the crow, before her gaze returned to the small child still hanging onto Phil. “That is wonderful! I’m not sure Tommy agrees though.”
Tommy’s small hands tightened on Phils shirt. Phil sighed slightly as he fully sat down from his crouch. “What’s wrong Tommy?” he asked his son softly, with as patient a tone as ever. Tommy looked down, avoiding his gaze.
“I don’t want to make you upset.” Tommy said, still refusing to look directly at his father.
Phil hugged Tommy again. “You could never, and I mean never, say anything to make me angry. This is a big change, meaning that if something is making you upset I need to know. I can turn it down, they gave me that option.”
Wilbur looked like he was about to object, but Kristen walked up and set a hand on his shoulder, shaking her head with a soft frown when he looked up at her. Tommy’s reaction to his statement was almost immediate. “No! No!” He objected before continuing more quietly. “It’s just… what if you don’t have any time for me anymore?”
Phil’s heart shattered. “Oh- oh. Oh never Toms. I will always have time for you. I promise.” Tommy looked up at him, slight tears glistening in bright blue eyes. “I promise.” He repeated.
Kristen looked like she was about to cry, probably because of how sweet it was. Phil smiled fondly at Tommy as he came to an abrupt decision. He stood up, grabbing the kid’s small hand gently. “Come on, I’ve got something to give you.”
The rest of their small family got out of the way before following behind as Phil led Tommy to his room. There was very few times that Tommy had been allowed in Phil and Kristen’s room. He had to squeeze Tommy’s hand in reassurance as the kid stopped at the door.
Tommy audibly gulped as they stepped into the room. Only for his mouth to go slack as he saw what was hanging on the wall. Phil chuckled at his youngest’s expression. A giant black feather hung on the side of the room. Phil led him up to it. “This was the first flight feather that I ever molted.” At Tommy’s slightly confused and concerned expression, he elaborated. “Lost naturally.”
Tommy reached towards it, only to freeze. “Can I touch it?” He asked. Wilbur and Techno’s heads peeked around the door, only to be pulled away a moment later, likely by their mother.
Phil smiled fondly. “No.” Tommy’s hand fell to his side in disappointment, Phil had to try not to laugh as the child’s eyes widened comically at his next words. “You can have it.” He carefully removed the large feather from the wall.
Phil crouched down once more as he held it out for Tommy to take. “This is my promise to you that I will never forget or ignore you. I love you, and that will never change.
In the present
Now that feather, that promise hung above the bed on the wall. In the room of a teen that had too many promises to him that had been broken. Now it was too late, the kid, his son was dead, and that promise could never be mended.
Notes:
I- have just caused myself severe emotional pain writing this chapter. I love it so much though-
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Chapter Text
With Ranboo
This was… oddly nice. Quackity had ordered them all food from some kind of Chinese food after a lengthy time of trying to figure out what kind of food they liked. It had been a bit hard for the villain considering they had never had fast food before. Tommy had cackled at Quackity’s expression when they had told him that. Quackity had it delivered to the casino. The only thing Ranboo didn’t understand was when Quackity put the name under ‘Luck’ instead of his name.
Mid-way through their meal, Ranboo finally decided to ask about it. “So why did you put the order under ‘Luck’ instead of Quackity?”
Quackity looked up from his own food and gave him an odd look, but Tommy swallowed the bite he had been chewing and spoke up. “Yeah, I was wondering about that as well!”
Quackity’s brow furrowed in confusion. “Technically, the casino is owned by Luck.” This didn’t alleviate Ranboo’s confusion. His other two friends had similar expressions of confusion. After another moment, Quackity asked, “do you guys even know who I’m talking about?”
Ranboo shook his head and Quackity sighed, “Of course they wouldn’t tell you anything. Luck is another one of my personas, the heroes don’t know Luck and Gambler are the same person obviously. Basically, I use Luck in order to make deals outside of just other villains. I have strict rules don’t worry; I don’t tell anyone each other’s identities.” Tommy nodded and went back to eating after hearing the explanation.
Tubbo followed his lead soon after, and simply went back to eating. He could understand their enthusiasm about the food, it was absolutely amazing. Ranboo took an extra moment while he thought about the new information. “Why would you need that? What could you need to make deals with heroes for?”
Quackity smiled. “I’m glad you asked! I, or technically Luck, have information on the criminal underground specifically outside the villain world, while the heroes have the government, including that information. If I play my cards right-” Quackity grinned at the play on his own villain name and Ranboo could see Tommy roll his eyes at the pun, “I have access to anything not classified and heroes always have little slipups that give away things that are.”
“I guess that makes sense.” Ranboo murmured, before he went back to eating as well. It didn’t take them long to finish their meal. It was normal for the trio to finish eating quickly, it was something they had to learn while at the hero tower. You always had to be prepared for anything, which meant taking over ten minutes to eat was a bad idea, at least, according to the higher ups.
Ranboo had made a bit of an effort to slow down to eat, knowing they no longer had to basically inhale their food. He could tell that his other two friends had as well, they had finished at almost the same time. Quackity looked at them with an unmistakable look of concern. He still had about a half a plate worth of food left to eat. “You guys don’t have to rush yourselves you know; we have time.” He said after a moment.
Tubbo shrugged. “It’s a bit of a habit at this point. We always had to basically inhale our food at the hero tower.”
Quackity scowled at his plate, though that wasn’t the source of his ire. “Hero assholes.” He muttered under his breath before going back to eating. It was obvious he didn’t have to best opinion about the hero tower, not that Ranboo could blame the man. If someone or something tried to kill him, he wouldn’t like them much either.
With Sapnap
By now, everyone knew about what had happened to the newest hero trio. While he hadn’t known them all that well, and he knew that Theseus hadn’t really liked him all that much, he was still sad about their passing. He was just now getting back to the tower. All heroes had been alerted on their comms of the trio’s death.
His team had been called to help but weren’t able to get there in time to stop it from happening. The trio weren’t all that well known in the tower, except for Theseus. So while the atmosphere was a bit more somber than usual, it wasn’t entirely depressive. Sapnap knew he didn’t have anything else scheduled for the day unless something else came up.
He went to the cafeteria first. He had been on patrol all morning until the call about the Happ duo had come in and he hadn’t eaten lunch yet. Unlike newer heroes, who had to work their way up to certain privileges, Sapnap had been a hero for several years, and enjoyed the benefits. The servers were polite as he got his food which allowed him to get everything he needed quickly enough.
He turned around with his food and cast his gaze over the room. Heroes, assistants, and just regular staff sat around the room. For the most part, the staff and assistants sat separately from the heroes, with a few exceptions. He saw Clay and George sitting at the table and he caught his friend’s eye. Clay grinned and signaled for him to come sit with them.
He weaved through the room. Years of hero work made navigating a crowd refreshingly easy. It also likely helped that he was a highly ranked hero and most people that saw him coming shuffled out of his way a bit.
George wasn’t quite sitting; it was more like laying down with his head on the table. Sapnap couldn’t really tell if his friend and teammate was sleeping or listening to the conversations going on around him. It was a habit had picked up after a while. It kept the Dream Team a bit more updated than a lot of heroes thought they were. Instead of trying to guess, he turned to Clay. “So….” He didn’t really need to ask his question aloud, a glance at his friend after a single word would communicate it just fine.
Clay shrugged with a small shake of his head. So, George was trying to gather information at the moment. Which meant he needed to keep his voice a bit lower to let the hero do his work. Their small group was the only ones who knew George did it which was a boon. Most others thought he was sleeping.
“So, the new hero trio died.” Sapnap said, keeping his voice a bit quieter than usual, careful not to make it too low so it wasn't an oddity. Most heroes in the tower knew each other’s identities. Though the now dead heroes were an exception, instead choosing to go around the tower in full gear, masks included.
Clay nodded. “It’s a shame. I know we didn’t like each other much, but they had potential.” His friend was just as enamored with the hero trio as they were of him. Which was not at all. “Didn’t have time to change out of costume?” His friend asked. Both Clay and George were in more casual wear while Sapnap was still in full costume aside from his mask which was tucked into his pocket.
Sapnap shrugged. “Nah, I just haven’t bothered. I was more worried about food than my clothing.” Dream nodded his head to the side in a ‘fair enough’ motion.
Notes:
Hey Spring, hope this also helps cheer you up! :)
Also, 1,000 hits!? Thank you so much for reading! There's still more to come, so please stick around for the ride!
Link to my twitter account! I post about my upcoming and published fics, as well as the occasional other random thing
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Chapter 10: Adoption x3
Chapter Text
With BBH
Bad and Skeppy arrived back at their house a bit later. Skeppy still seemed a bit salty that the children had been ‘stolen’ by Quackity. Bad snorted and shook his head at his friend’s words. They had literally called Quackity so he could get them set up with civilian lives (though would never admit that he missed them a bit as well). The teens were easy to get attached to.
Both Bad and Skeppy’s phones suddenly vibrated at the same time just as they walked in. That was slightly concerning. They shared a look and pulled out the devices. “Ah, just the group chat, and not the work one either.” Skeppy said. They had two group chats, both for the top villains. One for work and other villain stuff, and the other just because they were almost all friends. Bad nodded and pulled it up.
CottonCandy: Skeppy and Bad are you alright?
GemSimp: 1. Can we change my name already I’m not a simp, 2. Yeah, we’re alright, why do you ask?
CottenCandy: I saw the most recent fight between you and the SBI, you guys were acting weird
PokerFace: No, we’re not changing it Skeppy and it was probably because they were retrieving the traumatized children
MuffinMan: it took a bit more effort than just “retrieving”
CottonCandy: ??? I’m going to need a bit more context
PokerFace: Did you guys forget to tell everyone except me?
GemSimp: Uhhhh …no? :sweat_smile:
MuffinMan: Opps sorry, you know how that hero trio saved Q’s life?
CottonCandy: Yeah, what does that have to do with anything?
GemSimp: They asked us to help them fake their deaths
Cotton Candy: W H A T
MagicPerson: I open my phone and it’s bombarded with messages, and now I see this. What’s happening?
CottonCandy: I think, Bad was just about to get to that :knife: :grin:
MuffinMan: I was, yes. The short version is that when Q almost died the trio was horrified when they found out the committee was killing villains so they asked me and Skeppy to help them fake their deaths
PokerFace: Yeah, I’ve got them at my casino currently because I’ll be setting up their new civilian identities
Also, Bad I have something that might make you and Skeppy a bit upset
MuffinMan: What is it
Bad and Skeppy shared a look. It was likely about the trio considering what they were talking about. What could make the trio being child soldiers worse?
PokerFace: they hadn’t had fast food until just a bit ago, and they inhaled their food when they did, apparently, the committee hadn’t been giving them time to eat
CottonCandy: didn’t you say they’re kids?
MagicPerson: I didn’t see that part wtf
GemSimp: Yeah, they are. They’re like 16
CottonCandy: It was Theseus and his teammates right?
MuffinMan: yep
CottonCandy: When are the SBI coming back out again? I’m going to pull a BBH and break someone’s knees
MagicPerson: It’s going to be several weeks most likely
CottonCandy: Fine, I’ll settle for seeing them myself. Q, where are you guys?
PokerFace: I’m going to specifically choose not to answer that question
GemSimp: They’re at his casino
PokerFace: NOOOOOOO WHY SKEPPYYYY
CottonCandy: Thank you Skeppy! :grin:
GemSimp: Np
Skeppy was snickering at the group chat and Bad shook his head with amusement. Q was about to be stormed by the most terrifying pink haired menace in the country.
With Quackity
A knock came at the door. “Come in!” He called. Charlie stuck his head in the door.
“Niki of district 9 is storming through the building Quackity of Las Nevadas.” Charlie said, sounding chipper as usual. The ex-hero trio immediately looked concerned and Quackity sighed, laying his head in his hands. “Do you want me to do anything to try to stop her?”
Quackity turned to the trio. “Don’t worry, she’s just one of my friends. A bit violent, but she’s usually pretty nice.” They didn’t look entirely convinced but they no longer looked like they were getting ready to fight. Quackity felt another pang of anger. They were kids, their first reaction shouldn’t be to fight. He turned back to Charlie. “Don’t bother, you know-”
“LLLLLUUUUCK!” He heard someone yell, she was apparently going up the stairs. He grimaced. She was apparently upset. Maybe he should’ve just told her.
Charlie grinned. “Okay Quackity of Las Nevadas!” Charlie stepped into the room and stood next to the door. A couple moments later a familiar pink haired woman burst through the door. Charlie greeted her immediately with a grin, “Hello Niki of district 9! I hope you’re having a good day!”
She replied in a kind voice, unlike her yell from earlier. “Hi Charlie. I’m having a good day for the most part, but I have to talk to Q.”
“Go ahead, Niki of district 9!” Charlie replied cheerily.
Niki smiled fondly, reaching out and patting the slime hybrid on the head. “I’d like to yel- talk to him alone, can you please leave?” Charlie nodded and walked out. Niki’s sweet smile turned into a scowl as she turned her attention to Quackity.
He chuckled sheepishly. “Hiiii Niki.” She raised an unimpressed eyebrow at him. He looked around for something to distract the terrifying woman with. His gaze landed on the exact trio that she had come to the casino for. “Uhhh, that’s the trio you were looking for by the way!”
Her gaze softened once more as she turned to the ex-heroes. “Hey! It’s nice to meet you! I’m Niki Nihachu otherwise known as the villain Huntress!” She held her hand out for the trio to shake. From where Quackity was standing where the desk was between him and Niki, he could see Tommy grin. Glancing from him to Niki.
Tommy took her hand and shook it. “Tommyinnit known as the biggest man alive or previously the hero Theseus. I think we’ll get along just fine.” Quackity knew the moment Niki decided that she was going to take them. Her triumphant and slightly smug smile turned into something softer. Quackity opened his mouth to object to her unvoiced decision but was silenced by a harsh glare. Niki, was absolutely terrifying.
Niki held her hand out for Ranboo to shake. “Niki, as I said.” She smiled.
Ranboo took the offered hand and shook it. “I’m Ranboo, previously known as Streak. I apologize in advance for my friends. They’re handfuls on good days.”
Tommy and Tubbo let out indignant squawk and Tubbo said, “We’re not that bad!” Before he seemed to remember to introduce himself. “I’m Tubbo, previously known as Wasp.”
Niki smiled. “It’s nice to meet you three! I’m not letting you stay in a casino. Quackity is completely irresponsible. I have a few extra rooms, you three are staying with me, come on.”
Tommy cackled at Quackity’s expression. “I’m not that bad!” Quackity tried to defend himself. Then he thought about something that made him grin. “Besides, I’m going to be setting up their new civilian lives, you can’t,” He made quotes in the air, “‘kidnap’ them. We haven’t even started yet.”
Niki’s smile turned predatory and Quackity was once again reminded why he was so scared of the woman. “I’ll bring them back, don’t worry.” She turned back to the trio, her hostility melting away. “You guys willing to come with me?”
Tubbo shrugged while Tommy just grinned again, glancing at Quackity who was still eyeing Niki warily. “You are the only woman ever and I will absolutely come with you.”
Ranboo sighed at his friend’s antics. “Sure Niki, though I will repeat that these two are a handful.”
Niki herded them out the door. “I’ll figure it out, don’t worry. Just come on. I’ve got so much to show you.”
Notes:
I love group chats, you can't blame me! This turned out so sweet.
Link to my twitter account! I post about my upcoming and published fics, as well as the occasional other random thing
My Discord server! You can always be alerted when I update and it's just a nice place to hang out. We don't have very many people yet, but everyone (who is willing to follow the rules) is welcome!
Deadly Nightshades!
(If there every any problems with the link, feel free to let me know and I'll try to fix it)
Chapter 11: A Loveable Hypocrite
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
With Tommy
Tommy decided that he liked Niki the moment that he saw Quackity essentially cowering in fear. They were swiftly herded out the door by Niki after a short interaction. He didn’t really recognize the look she gave him or his friends anytime she looked at them, but it wasn’t disgust, so he would take it. They were now sitting in what was apparently her car. He was quickly starting to realize that villains were all rich, the soft leather seats on the interior helping his realization.
They arrived at her house a short time later. It sat comfortably between district 1 and 2, and was understandably impressive. It was clearly two stories; it was both tall enough and the windows sat at two different levels of each other. He made an effort to ignore the hero part of his brain that was screaming at him that he knew where someone who was a villain lived and how that was something that would be great for the fight against the villains.
He wasn’t going to repot her, he was done with helping the committee in any way, besides, Niki was the only woman ever. Judging by the way that Ranboo shook his head, his friend was having similar issues.
They had all been raised since they were young to hate villains, and that wasn’t something that went away overnight. He had made a start though; he would call himself friends with Bad and Skeppy. He was well and truly done with the heroes. Anything that tied him to them other than his past had been left back at their old home in the tower. Tubbo had called him ‘Savageinnit’ because he left both Phil’s old feather, the jacket that Techno had given him, and the family picture.
Niki apparently had no qualms about scaring whoever was in the house judging by the fact that she burst into the door and looked totally unconcerned about the scream of surprise that followed. “Jack stop screaming!” She yelled into the house. “I retrieved the children!”
“You fucking scared me!” A man, apparently named Jack, snapped back as footsteps approached the door. The trio assumed it was probably the same person.
It was at this moment, that Tommy finally got over the fact that someone had screamed bloody murder because of Niki slamming the door open, and he comprehended what he had just been called. “How many fucking times- I am not a child!” He complained. Tubbo snickered from behind him and Ranboo’s shoulders were also shaking from silent laughter. He sighed as he turned to his friends and said, “What?”
Tubbo apparently stopped trying to hide his amusement. He burst out laughing. “It’s funny every time.” He wiped an imaginary tear from his eye. “They’re going to call us kids every time bossman, get used to it.”
“I will punt you.” He threatened. Though they knew it was an empty threat. There was only one time that Tommy had actually hurt his friend, it had been an accident, but he had hidden in his room for weeks outside of required training afterward. It wasn’t really something he liked to think about. Tubbo, unfortunately (not unfortunate, it was a good thing that he knew Tommy would never hurt him, not again), knew the threat meant nothing and just rolled his eyes with a grin.
Niki raised an eyebrow, her face betraying her amusement. “Jack, I literally do that every single time. How are you not used to it by now?”
Jack however, looked completely unamused. “Niki, I am a high ranked villain. I’m naturally more jumpy and more aware of my surroundings. It’s called battle instincts.” Tommy was quickly figuring out that the hierarchy of the villains was different to their villain ranks. Quackity as Gambler was counted as a higher ranked villain than Niki as Huntress, and Jack as Mosaic was ranked lower than Huntress.
Between the actual people though, it was clearly much different. Quackity was seemingly terrified of Niki, even though they were apparently friends. Jack however, was standing eye to eye with her without a single care.
“So, are you three the ex-hero trio I’ve been hearing so much about?” Jack asked. Tommy finally turned back around from his friends. Jack was leaning against the door. He was wearing a mostly yellow hoodie with a teal hood that also had orange on the bottom and orange on the sleeves paired with jeans. One of the more noticeable things about the man, in Tommy’s opinion, was the fact that he was bald.
“Geeze you really are kids.” Tommy opened his mouth to object once again but simply sighed and shut his mouth. Tubbo snorted in amusement once again at his reaction. Jack backed out of the doorway and stood off to the side. “Well, come on in.”
While the outside had given off a big, impressive, and powerful feel, the inside was more cozy than anything else. Blue curtains hung over the windows, keeping the bright sun from invading the room. The overhead lights were turned off, the room was illuminated by several lamps strewn about the room. From where he was standing, Tommy could see the kitchen through an open door. Two matching stools sat by the kitchen island.
They were swiftly given a tour of the house, courtesy of Niki. The entire house had a feeling of calm and comfort. Tommy was used to the stressed air of the hero tower; the change was more refreshing than he thought it would be.
They were shown to their rooms, Tommy’s was last. “If you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask!” Niki said right before she left the door. Tension leaked from Tommy’s shoulders as he closed the door behind her. Niki, Quackity, and Jack had all been patient, nice even. The small part of his brain that still clung onto the heroes refused to let him relax. He was tired, the events of the day only just now hitting him.
He hadn’t even realized how late it had gotten. The curtains of the room were open, showing the sky slowly turning a beautiful orange. While stress continued to lay on him, he also felt lighter than he had in a while. They were free. It was an odd feeling, the world thought he and his friends were dead.
With Niki
Niki was not happy with what she had seen of the trio. They were literal kids, despite what they may say, and it was pissing her off. They hadn’t done anything themselves, no, it was the hero committee that she was mad at; the trio had been quite pleasant to be around, but it was the way they watched things.
Kids shouldn’t be watching their surroundings like war veterans. They shouldn’t watch every shadow like they expected it to leap out at them. She had seen other villains less jumpy than the trio. They moved silently in a way that could only come from years of training. Sadly, the people that were known for being around the trio would be on leave after the trio’s retrieval. So for now, she would settle for taking care of them.
It was now the middle of the night. She had gotten up to go to the bathroom and was now wide awake. She sighed in annoyance as she once again rolled over. It didn’t take long for her to realize that she wasn’t going to be able to go back to sleep unless she did something about her too awake mind. She shoved herself out of bed while muttering under her breath.
She ran her hand on the rail as she walked down the stairs. When she was about half-way down the stairs however, she noticed two things. One was the humming. She almost didn’t notice it, the soft melody was rather quiet. The second thing was the fact that there was little light coming out of one of the doors at the bottom of the stairs.
She didn’t feel threatened, but she wasn’t going to take any chances. She crept quietly down the stairs, her footsteps quiet against the carpet. The light was apparently coming from the kitchen, and she peaked her head in. She saw a tall figure standing at the stove. A long tail ending in a fluffy tuft the shape of an arrowhead swept slowly from side to side behind the figure in time with the humming.
After a moment she finally realized who it was, though she didn’t know he had a tail. “Ranboo what are you doing?” She asked, her tone non-hostile.
Ranboo let out a small shriek of surprise, and white particles with a slight purple undertone filled the space he had been standing in. (if she had been thinking straight, she would've wondered about the slight change in color). He appeared half-way across the room, a pot still in his hand. Another figure came flying down the stairs.
“What’s happen-” Tubbo’s voice started but was cut off as the pot Ranboo was holding was suddenly holding flames. Tubbo rushed onto the scene. “Fuck fuck fuck fuck-” Tubbo snatched the pot and shoved it into the sink, turning on the water.
The flames were out a moment later. Niki was still frozen in the spot as her quickly tiring brain tried to comprehend what had just happened. Tubbo turned to a slowly shrinking away Ranboo. “Ran. What the fuck were you doing.”
“Making tomato soup.” Ranboo replied sheepishly.
Tubbo facepalmed. “Boo. There is a reason we don’t let you cook! Besides, why the hell were you making tomato soup at 4 in the morning!” Tubbo continued berating Ranboo for a moment before turning to her. “Shit, sorry Niki. I hope your pot is ok. We don’t really let him cook because he causes a disaster if he does.”
Her mouth opened and closed several times as she tried to formulate a response before she finally gave up. She shook her head and muttered just loud enough for them to hear, “I’m going back to sleep.” She could hear Tubbo go back to fussing at Ranboo and she shook her head. Who knew two chaotic teens were the cure for not being able to go back to sleep?
Notes:
I had so much fun with this chapter.
Bit of a longer chapter this time, it's about a half chapter longer than usual. Though I am going to be making an effort to extend the chapters a bit.
Link to my twitter account! I post about my upcoming and published fics, as well as the occasional other random thing
My Discord server! You can always be alerted when I update and it's just a nice place to hang out. We don't have very many people yet, but everyone (who is willing to follow the rules) is welcome!
Deadly Nightshades!
(If there every any problems with the link, feel free to let me know and I'll try to fix it)
Chapter 12: Arguments, Plans, and Unresolved Trauma
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
A week later, in the “Arsonists” group chat…
CottonCandy: I want them back today
GemSimp: No! As I’ve already said, you had them for most of the week! We’ve only had them for a couple of days!
PokerFace: I haven’t even got to yet, how is that fair!?
CottonCandy: Q you see them most of the day every day, you don’t get to complain
PokerFace: Well yeah, but that’s business! You guys should at least let me keep them over for a night!
MuffinMan: We aren’t going to let them stay overnight at your casino
PokerFace: I do have a house you know :unamused:
GemSimp: Which you refuse to share the location of despite us all being friends, so our point stands
PokerFace: …………
Skeppy.
You literally have been to my house before.
GemSimp: …...
that’s not the point
PokerFace: I think it’s quite important actually! It pokes a giant hole in your argument!
MagicPerson: Why are you all arguing like you’re divorced parents during the holidays?
PokerFace: because they won’t let the trio stay with me for even one night!
CottonCandy: because we all know that you’d ruin them immediately!
MagicPerson: How long have you guys been at this?
PokerFace: Around an hour, hour and a half, if I had to guess
MuffinMan: I just looked to the start of the conversation, we’ve been at this for over three hours
GemSimp: Oh.
MagicPerson: then you probably haven’t seen the news
CottonCandy: What? What’s going on!?
MagicPerson: The trio I suspect you’re arguing about has been talked about on the news and you all have been too busy to even notice :rofl:
GemSimp: WHAT
PokerFace: Excuse me!?
CottonCandy: I’m going to go check whatever you’re talking about, brb
With Tubbo
Tubbo had begun to notice the fact that the villains had been straight up fighting over who he and his friends would stay with any day. For the past couple days, they had been staying with Skeppy and Bad, who apparently, everyone except the heroes just called the muffin duo. The duo had actually tried to teach them how to make muffins, not that it turned out well. Luckily, fire extinguishers were something that Tubbo had quickly learned how to use after living with Ranboo.
It was around mid-afternoon. The three friends were simply relaxing in Tubbo’s room while he tinkered on one of his old projects he had managed to sneak out. Sadly, most of his tech projects were too large to get out of the building without suspicion or for Ranboo to teleport out.
Tubbo’s head snapped up as a knock came at the door. Tommy literally jumped to his feet, still the most jumpy of the trio even after they had been safe for a week. That wasn’t to say both Ranboo and Tubbo weren’t jumpy, they were, Tommy was just having the hardest time with the transition. Tommy shook his head, likely to clear it before sitting back down. Tubbo gave him a concerned look, but Tommy just said, “I’m fine Tubs. Don’t worry.”
“If you say so.” Tubbo muttered before turning his attention to the door. “Who is it?” he asked loudly.
“It’s just me.” Skeppy’s voice said. “Can I come in?” All the villains had been really careful to make sure they were comfortable and Tubbo couldn’t be more grateful. Tubbo hadn’t noticed how tired he had been until after their ‘deaths’.
Tubbo glanced at his friends. They both gave nods of confirmation. It may have been Tubbo’s space, but they were all in it and he wasn’t going to let anyone in if they didn’t want to deal with anyone. With that out of the way, he turned to the door, making himself loud enough to be heard. “Yeah sure, Tommy and Ran are here as well.”
The door opened to admit a grinning Skeppy. “I have something I think you guys will want to see.” He said, holding out his phone for them to see. Tubbo walked over and grabbed it while Tommy and Ranboo got up and looked over his shoulder, which wasn’t very hard considering he was shorter than both of them.
“The shorter you are the more compact the anger is.” Tommy once stated after a full day of patrol. He had earned a pillow to the face for that one.
The phone was open to a news station. ‘Public funeral for trio of heroes’ sat proudly at the bottom of the screen. The news lady began to speak. “Hello citizens of l’manburg! As you are no doubt aware, a small hero group died tragically in a villain attack. The hero committee has announced they will be doing a public funeral for the trio. It will be open to most of the public and at least a few of their fellow heroes will be in attendance.”
It was rather obvious that the committee was turning it into a bit of a publicity stunt and Tubbo sighed. Then he really thought about what she was saying. They were getting a funeral. While still alive. Tommy must’ve had a similar thought as he muttered, “that’s a weird thought.” Ranboo snorted, likely in agreement.
Tubbo looked back up to see Skeppy grinning. “Would you like to attend your own funeral?”
With Skeppy
It had been a few hours since they had found out there would be a funeral for the trio. It was mostly likely mainly going to be a publicity thing for the committee, but they had all agreed it would be amusing at the very least to go anyway.
After another hour of argument between the villains, they eventually had the trio stay with Bad and Skeppy for another day. Skeppy couldn’t seem to sleep even though it was around midnight. He tossed and turned but something told him he needed to be awake.
He didn’t understand why his body wouldn’t let him sleep, until he heard it. An inhuman screech came from inside the house. He bolted upright even as Bad tumbled out of bed. Skeppy didn’t waste time getting up and making his way out of he and Bad’s room.
He ran though the house trying to figure out where it came from. As it sounded again, he realized it had come from the guest bed rooms, which were swiftly just becoming the trio’s rooms. In any other circumstance he wouldn’t have, but he busted the door to Ranboo’s room open as soon as he heard the screech sound from there again.
Tommy and Tubbo were sitting on the bed, struggling against a thrashing Ranboo who let out another screech every few seconds. “Ran wake up!” Tommy yelled. Skeppy was frozen in the doorway.
Tubbo didn’t stop his attempts to either pin Ranboo down or wake him up as he turned to Skeppy. “Help us hold him down! He could hurt someone like this!” He yelled, his tone commanding. It reminded Skeppy that the teen used to be a hero who walked into battle.
Skeppy didn’t hesitate. He ran up and tried to help Tommy and Tubbo. He didn’t like having to try to pin down a teen, much less a kid he had gotten attached to, but Tubbo knew how to deal with whatever this was better than he did.
They finally managed to pin the still asleep teen down after a moment of struggles. The screeches turned into whimpers. Skeppy saw Tubbo flinch, a sad grimace over his face. The whimpers disappeared soon after as well, leaving the still asleep Ranboo begging. “No no please. You said we were done for the day! Please please no!” Skeppy’s eyes widened.
Tubbo shook Ranboo violently again. “RAN WAKE UP!” The teen bolted to a sitting position, his face was pale and he was breathing hard, but his eyes were now open.
Ranboo turned to Tubbo and Tommy. “How bad was it?”
Tubbo sighed, the tension falling out of his shoulders as he slumped. “Worse than usual.” Skeppy was now heavily confused. “Plain nightmare or memory?”
Ranboo let Tubbo lay his head on his shoulder. “It was another memory. I don’t remember most of it.”
Tommy turned to Skeppy after sharing a knowing look with both of his friends. “Thanks for the help. I think… you should go for now, we’ll explain in the morning I promise.” Skeppy thought about objecting and demanding an explanation but dismissed the thought almost immediately.
He nodded and walked to the door. Right before he walked out, he said, “if you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask alright?” He got a small ‘mhm’ in response and he walked out, closing the door behind him. Bad finally made it over and Skeppy said, “I don’t really want to talk about what I just saw yet. Just know, they’re alright.”
Bad nodded, trudging off to go back to bed. Skeppy turned back to the door one last time. “At least, I hope so.” He murmured before walking away from the door. He knew he wouldn’t be going back to sleep.
Notes:
That went from funny to traumatizing real fast.
Link to my twitter account! I post about my upcoming and published fics, as well as the occasional other random thing
My Discord server! You can always be alerted when I update and it's just a nice place to hang out. We don't have very many people yet, but everyone (who is willing to follow the rules) is welcome!
Deadly Nightshades!
(If there every any problems with the link, feel free to let me know and I'll try to fix it)
Chapter 13: Our favorite magician
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Still with Skeppy
It was now morning, but Ranboo apparently wasn’t ready to talk about what had happened. Skeppy sighed as they were told this over breakfast. “Alright. Just… tell us when you’re ready?” he said. After getting no sleep the night before, he was too tired to really deal with it anyway. Ranboo deflated, likely in relief.
Just as the teen was about to respond, Skeppy and Bad’s phones went off at the same time. Skeppy sighed, it was likely just the group chat again, but considering what the villains were… planning, he knew he needed to at least check which chat it is.
He pulled out and glanced at his phone, but his fatigue melted away at the words on the screen.
MagicPerson: Skeppy, you guys can bring them over, I don’t have anything else I have to do today
Skeppy let out a triumphant laugh, throwing his hands up in the air in celebration. He did at least have the mind to put his phone down on the table before he did so. Bad gave him a slightly amused look. It didn’t extinguish Skeppy’s new excitement, however. “What’s got you so happy?” Tubbo asked, looking just as amused.
Skeppy brought his arms back down and handed his phone to Bad. A wide grin spread over his face as well. “Ooooh. When are we going?”
Skeppy was about to reply when his tired mind decided to go back to being tired. Bad saw the shift immediately and patted his friend on the back. “Go to bed you muffin head.” Skeppy opened his mouth to object only for Bad to cut him off. “I’ll make sure everything is ready to go when you get up, now go.”
Skeppy sighed, his head hitting the table softly. He wanted to go ahead and go but considering that he was falling asleep where he was sitting, that wasn’t going to happen. Tubbo laughed. “Yeah, I don’t think you’re going anywhere boss-man.”
After quite a bit of hounding, Skeppy was finally forced to go to bed.
With Tommy
A few hours later after Skeppy had finally woken up, they were herded out the door. The grin that didn’t seem to want to leave Skeppy’s face was slightly concerning, considering the man’s status as a high ranked villain.
He was still getting used to the thought that he was friends with villains. After being raised to hate them, it was a stark change. Though it helped that they were completely different from what everyone said they were like.
The Happ duo were just two best friends who sometimes seemed to be opposites but loved each other anyway.
Huntress was just a pink haired woman who acted like a big sister most of the time.
Gambler was secretly just a guy who made endless jokes and acted like a bit of an idiot even if he wasn’t.
Mosaic was just a bald guy who expressed annoyance at Niki while grinning.
It was almost funny how different they were. The icing on the cake was finding out that all the villains were basically best friends while in public they would sometimes be straight up fighting. The heroes thought that any time villains teamed up it was an unsteady alliance that could be broken to get the villains fighting each other.
That was very much not the case. Apparently, the villains had a group chat where they just all fooled around as friends. For some reason however, Skeppy had refused to show them the chat when it had been mentioned.
Tommy walked into the kitchen only to find Skeppy laughing so hard it was almost concerning. “What’s so funny?” Tommy asked with a raised eyebrow.
Skeppy wiped a tear from his eye as he made an effort to stop laughing so he could respond. “Hi Tommy. Just the group chat, don’t worry about it.”
Tommy’s brows furrowed in confusion. “Group chat?” He asked.
Skeppy snickered again as he glanced back at the phone in his hand. “Yeah, none of us high ranked villains have been going out while we’re getting you guys settled so the hero committee and the public are going insane trying to figure out what ‘we’re planning’.” He burst back into laughter a moment later.
They arrived in front of a small store a bit later. Various outfits were displayed to the windows. Dresses, suits, regular clothing, a bit of everything. Years looking at hero outfits had made Tommy more than able to recognize good quality clothing, and this stuff was obviously top tier.
Bad pulled out his phone and Tommy read what was on the screen over the man’s shoulder.
MuffinMan: @MagicPerson We’re here
MagicPerson: Just one second, do they know my identity btw?
MuffinMan: No, everyone is just introducing themselves as they meet the trio, we haven’t told them anything about you other than that you’re a trust worthy friend
MagicPerson: I’m trustworthy? I’m touched :joy:
MuffinMan: just let us in you muffin-head
A moment later, the door swung open. A man stood there; a welcoming smile painted over his face. He was wearing a long pink dress, covered in small pictures of strawberries. “Come on in guys! I closed the shop for the day, so we don’t need to worry.”
If Tommy’s guess was correct, this must be ‘MagicPerson’ based on the timing of the chat on Bad’s phone and the person’s appearance at the door. The person stood to the side as they walked in. They turned to the trio and introduced themselves as soon as the door was closed behind them. “Nice to meet you three, I’ve heard a lot. My name is Eret." He suddenly leaned in slightly closer, glancing at Bad and Skeppy as he spoke in a whisper. “You didn’t hear this from me, but everyone literally adores you.”
“Oi! I heard that! Can you not try to embarrass us Eret?” Skeppy complained. Eret shot the man a grin before turning back to them.
Tubbo chuckled. “Good to know. The name’s Tubbo, nice to meet you Eret.”
“Ranboo.” Ranboo said from beside him, eyeing the sunglasses that was covering Eret’s face. He was likely trying to figure out why they were there.
Eret seemed to notice Ran’s gaze and chuckled. “Ah, I almost forgot those were there.” He reached up and pulled them off. Tommy couldn’t help the small gasp he let out as his full face was revealed.
Slightly gnarled skin ran across his face right over his eyes. Instead of normal eyes however, Eret’s eyes were a milky white. He didn’t seem to have any trouble seeing, however. It spoke of a past slightly darker than someone would expect judging from how friendly Eret was being.
Eret chuckled. “Yeah, that’s the usual reaction. Don’t worry, I don’t mind. Some thing like this,” he gestured at his face. “isn’t really something that you see every day, and before you ask, no, I’m not blind. It really looks like it, but I’m not.”
“What happened?” Ranboo breathed before he quickly added. “If you don’t mind me asking.”
Eret smiled kindly again. “That’s a story for another day. For now, let’s get to the reason that the muffin duo decided to introduce each other.”
Tommy raised an eyebrow. “And why’s that? They didn’t tell us shit.”
“Language!” Bad chided. Tubbo huffed out a small laugh.
Eret shook his head with a clearly fond sigh. “Of course, they didn’t.” He gestured at the store around the group. “This is literally everyone who knows me’s favorite store favorite store because of quality. They want to get you guys a new wardrobe apparently.”
Notes:
Hello! I have three things to say about this chapter!
1. Spring, I have been cackling so hard every time you bring up Eret because of this, I hope you're pleasantly surprised XD
2. Thank you guys for all the comments! It really helps me too keep writing, I appreciate every single one.
3. I know things have been slow for a little while, but I promise things are going to be picking up soon.
Link to my twitter account! I post about my upcoming and published fics, as well as the occasional other random thing
My Discord server! You can always be alerted when I update and it's just a nice place to hang out. We don't have very many people yet, but everyone (who is willing to follow the rules) is welcome!
Deadly Nightshades!
(If there every any problems with the link, feel free to let me know and I'll try to fix it)
Chapter 14: Sometimes, it's better not to ask
Notes:
Am I posting at 1 in the morning? Yes. It that a good idea? Probably not.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
With Eret
Eret found the trio very pleasant to be around. He was starting to see how everyone else had gotten so attached. They had long since finished picking out casual wear and were now trying to pick out outfits for the funeral. Knowing what he did, Eret was not going to be attending. They were definitely going to be watching, however.
All three boys were currently in the changing room while Bad, Skeppy, and Eret waited patiently for them to come out. “I’m starting see why you guys have been straight up fighting over them. They’re super sweet.” Eret admitted.
Bad chuckled. “Yeah, just… never let them cook. We found out that was a bad idea the day before yesterday.” He looked slightly concerned as he likely looked back on a memory. Skeppy nodded in agreement.
Tommy was the first to walk out of the changing room. Adjusting the tie around his neck every couple seconds. Eret had chosen a black double-breasted suit paired with a red tie for the teen. Eret suppressed the immediate urge to walk up and pull everything on the outfit perfectly into place. Yeah, he was definitely picking up the parent instincts up from the two still standing beside him.
Skeppy must have noticed the twitch of Eret’s hands and let out a knowing chuckle. “What?” Tommy demanded.
Skeppy just shook his head. “It’s not you I’m laughing at I promise. Do you mind if Eret fixes it? He's obviously trying to be respectful, but I recognize that look.” Eret’s face heated up in embarrassment.
Luckily, instead of being judgmental, Tommy simply nodded. Eret smiled and walked up to the teen. Sticking his tongue out in concentration as he fixed the tie and tugged the suit in several places to get it to hang right on Tommy’s figure.
He stepped back a moment later and surveyed his work with a proud smile. “Perfect!” Tommy looked vaguely amused at his reaction but didn’t comment on it. Tubbo walked of the changing room he was in a second later.
For Tubbo, Eret had chosen a type of peak lapel suit with a few of Eret’s personal flares to the usual design. Once again, his hands twitched with the urge but this time he went ahead and asked instead of simply trying to convince himself not to. Tubbo nodded and they went through the same process he did with Tommy’s.
Ranboo came out while Eret was still in the middle of adjusting the suit Tubbo was wearing. Judging by the snort Eret heard from behind him, the tall teen was amused by the sight. Tubbo’s words only confirmed his suspicion but he paid it very little mind as he continued their work. “Shut up Ran. Besides, you’re next.”
“Language!” Bad chided, though he sounded fond even as he fussed at the teen.
Yep, Bad’s definitely gone full doting parent mode. Eret thought to himself as he finally got done poking at Tubbo. He turned to Ranboo, a hopeful smile taking over his face. Ranboo sighed, nodding and stretching his arms out. Eret started humming at some point while poking at Ranboo’s outfit. Eret had chosen a slim fit suit for Ranboo almost immediately after seeing the teen.
In Eret’s opinion, he'd had been correct. Ranboo’s didn’t require much adjusting, just a simple tug here and there and it looked perfect. The suits looked perfect on the three boys, Eret was happy that he had once again chosen the right styles.
He glanced back at Bad and Skeppy who were also looking at the outfits that the trio were now wearing. He smiled as he figured out how he was going to execute his own plans. He carefully changed his mischievous smile into a sweet if slightly smug one as he turned to face the other duo in the room. “Now, it’s you guys’ turn!” They had both objected, insisting that they already had clothes, but Eret remained adamant until they caved.
A few minutes later, the duo was shoved into the changing rooms with a few different suits in hand. Eret turned to the duo, his mischievous smile returning. “Come on, we don’t have much time until they’re done. Come on come on.” He set a swift pace as they made their way through the shop.
He walked behind the counter, pulling out three masks. They were plain looking white cloth masks that would cover the bottom half of the trio’s face. He handed one to each of the teens in front of him. Tommy raised an eyebrow. “What are these for?” He questioned.
“Well, I will start by saying those are quite as simple as they look. They are laced with illusion magic; I’ll do the full explanation of that in a second. As to what they’re for, let’s just call it a hunch.” More like knowing the trio wouldn’t just sit by while the rest of the villains are getting to be idiots. “Don’t tell Bad and Skeppy I gave you those, they’d murder me.”
“Ooooooookkkkk, so what are they?” Tubbo asked. Glancing back towards the changing rooms. Neither Bad or Skeppy had come out yet and he quickly turned back to Eret.
“The short explanation is that those can cast a full body illusion to whatever clothing you want.” The trio’s eyes all widened comically, and Eret chuckled in response as they all looked at the masks with a newfound respect. People’s reactions were always the best part of showing them that little invention of his. “Yeah, they’re pretty impressive. I only figured out how to get them to work recently.”
Eret knew an inventor when he saw one. The look in Tubbo’s eyes told him everything he needed to know about the teen. “And.. you’re giving these to us…?” The teen asked, his gaze reluctantly tearing itself form the mask up to Eret. Eret stifled another laugh and instead nodded. Tubbo straightened up, his unsure tone completely gone. “Good. Because you are not getting these back.” He shoved the mask in his hand into his pocket. Tommy and Ranboo followed his lead a moment later.
Eret grinned triumphantly. Things were about to get a lot more interesting.
Notes:
I PROMISED PLOT WOULD BE PICKING BACK UP
Eret is being a menace to society
Tubbo has been introduced to something he didn't know existed and now he is very excited
Bad and Skeppy have no ideaYeah, things are getting fun. Good luck! To the readers or the characters, we'll just have to find out. :)
p.s, the reference to the trio's not so good cooking abilities is an actual extra I wrote, so go check that out as well (A sweet disaster.... literally)
Link to my twitter account! I post about my upcoming and published fics, as well as the occasional other random thing
My Discord server! You can always be alerted when I update and it's just a nice place to hang out. We don't have very many people yet, but everyone (who is willing to follow the rules) is welcome!
Deadly Nightshades!
(If there every any problems with the link, feel free to let me know and I'll try to fix it)
Chapter 15: The funeral
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
With Ranboo
After Eret’s unexpected gift, they had gone back to where the changing rooms were to wait for Bad and Skeppy. The duo was done soon after, none the wiser of the masks the trio now had in their possession. Bad checked the time then looked back to Eret. “Thank you for the outfits, we’ll send you the money for them once we’re done. We’ve got to go if we want to get there in time for it to start.”
Eret nodded with a knowing smile. “I get it. Have fun, don’t do anything too stupid.”
Ranboo almost missed the predatory grin that slipped onto Bad’s face for a moment. “We won’t do anything stupid; it’ll be fun though.” Their words confused him and judging by the raised eyebrows that he saw on his friend’s faces they were just as confused.
Ranboo suddenly realized that they weren’t being told something. One problem that the entire trio found that they all shared was that the hero part of their brain liked to yell at them. His was now telling him to expect a betrayal. He ignored it, if they were going to betray the trio they would’ve already.
He was still curious however. He did notice when Skeppy and Bad turned away from Eret, he sent the trio a knowing smirk. He signaled with his hands about… something. Ranboo only realized that the motion was talking about the masks after they were out of the store. Whatever they weren’t being told, Eret was in on it, and the clothier had apparently given them what he thought they needed.
That left him with the question, what was being planned that they needed masks for that they weren’t being told? Ranboo shook his head to clear it. They would just have to see. Ranboo turned his head to look at Tubbo, and a silent conversation started between the two.
“Is it just me, or is something going on?” Tubbo asked silently, only communicating through facial expressions and purely the fact they that they had known each other for years.
Ranboo tilted his head to the side, glancing at Skeppy and Bad who were chatting amicably in front of them before turning back to Tubbo and nodding. “Yeah, I noticed as well.” He communicated. He then hooked his thumb in the direction they came from. “Eret seemed to know something though.”
Tubbo nodded in response. “Yeah, I could tell.” He sent an unsure look to the duo in front of them. “Do we be wary or trust them?”
Ranboo shook his head. “They haven’t steered us wrong yet. I don’t think they’ll start now.” Tommy had been watching their conversation but had apparently decided not to join into it until then.
He knew what they were saying and nodded in response before jerking his head in their direction. “I agree, let’s keep an eye on them though.” Their still silent conversation came to an end as Tommy suddenly stopped. A grin overtaking his face as he stared at a shop they were about to pass by.
“Guys wait for a moment, I need to get something.” He said, this time out loud. Ranboo turned to see that his friend was staring at a paint store. His brows furrowed. What did Tommy need paint for?
Skeepy voiced his confusion. “The paint store? Why do you need paint of all things?” Tommy and Tubbo shared a look, though it was a bit too fast for Ranboo to see what it was without it being communicated to him. An almost maniacal grin spread over his face.
“Oh, hell yeah. Great idea boss-man.” Tubbo then turned to Bad and Skeppy. “Come on, you guys are paying after all.” The duo then walked into the store, not waiting for a response. The muffin duo shared a look before following the two in. Ranboo sat down on a bench outside the store. He could still hear quiet laughter from where he was seated, and he shook his head.
He knew whatever plans his friends were concocting he would be dragged into. He stood back up as the group walked out a second later. Tommy and Tubbo were giggling as they looked in the bags. “So what did you get?” Ranboo asked as he walked back over to them. Instead of an answer, he was handed the bag.
Several spray paint cans of various colors sat in the bag. He raised an eyebrow and looked up at them. Tommy simply snickered again. “We’ll explain later Ranboob, just trust us.” Ranboo sighed fondly.
Half an hour later
They arrived at the funeral, and it was just about what they expected. The committee had put up pictures of the trio but that was about it. Heroes were everywhere. Bad and Skeppy looked a bit uncomfortable being around that many heroes. Ranboo could get why. Even he was a bit uncomfortable, and the trio had never showed their faces to the other heroes.
Tommy grabbed the backpack that he had bought and he consequently shoved all the spray paint into. He leaned close to Ranboo. “We’re going to draw mustaches on every picture we can find.” Ranboo snorted in amusement. Now the paint made sense. “Wanna help?” Tommy had forced all of them to get back packs, excluding Bad and Skeppy.
Ranboo matched his friend’s grin, pulling off his backpack. “Put a couple in my bag. I can teleport around if I’m careful about it.” Tommy nodded, shoving a couple cans of blue, white, and green spray paint into the bag. Ranboo zipped it up a second later. He mock saluted before a weightless feeling overcame him for a moment, the world going black.
He smiled, reappearing near the wall in a small flurry of light purple particles. He frowned, taking a closer look at them for a moment. That… wasn’t normal. The particles for his teleportation had always been white. He shook his head to clear it, he had a job to do.
The turned to the poster he had teleported to. He grabbed the mask out of his pocket, it wasn’t likely what Eret had meant them for, but it would work for his purposes. He stuck it on and imagined looking like someone else. They hadn’t been told how the masks worked but Ranboo knew he was correct when his appearance seemed to swirl for a moment before settling again.
He unzipped his bag, pulling the paint can out again. He shook it for a second before aiming it at the ground. The paint came out without issue and he pointed it at the poster. He held the can close to it and painted a mustache onto a masked Theseus’s face.
Only Theseus and Wasp were on the poster and Ranboo stuck out his tongue in concentration as he drew a top hat onto Wasp’s head. “Hey!” Someone said from behind him, an angry looking lady stood there. He held up four fingers before disappearing in another flurry of particles.
He continued like that for a while, drawing random things (mostly mustaches) onto posters, until the shrill sound of microphone caught his attention. “Whoever is drawing with spray paint on the pictures of the hero trio will get in serious trouble with the law. Stop now and your punishment for drawing mustaches on the dead trio’s faces will be lightened.” Ranboo slammed his hands over his mouth in a desperate attempt not to laugh.
Whoever made the announcement was too late, however. They had gotten every single poster that they could find. They met back up in the middle of the crowd. All three were still snickering from their little ‘adventure’. Bad and Skeppy found them soon after, luckily the trio had already re-hidden the masks they had been given. “You didn’t.” Skeppy said.
Tubbo cackled. “We did.” Their laughter drew some attention, but the group paid them no mind.
Skeppy looked around, before his gaze stopped on something over Ranboo’s shoulder. Skeppy nudged Bad, pointing at whatever he was looking at. Ranboo turned around, but whatever they were likely looking at was gone by the time he looked. “Ummm, we need to… goooo. We're going to have to cut our time here a bit short unfortunately.” Skeppy said, already walking in the opposite direction.
“What? Why?” Tommy asked.
“We just do, trust me.” Bad said, already speed walking. They reached the street soon and the muffin duo shared another look before stopping. “Get back to the house. We’ve got some stuff we have to do.” The duo ran off, leaving the trio confused.
“What the actual fuck just happened?” Tubbo muttered. Ranboo shook his head. It was anyone’s guess.
“We’re definitely not leaving right? I want to know what’s going on.” Tommy said, turning to them.
Ranboo looked back at where the funeral was happening. The SBI (excluding Tommy obviously) were standing on stage, it was almost funny how sad they looked considering how they had treated the trio. “Yeah no, we’re not leaving yet.” He said.
It was at that moment that a giant explosion went off in the middle of the stage. The screaming started. “Well, well, well, look what we have here?” The teasing voice of Huntress boomed as she walked onto the still burning stage.
Mosaic walked up behind her. “Hmm. I think we may be interrupting something guys.” He said, though he didn’t sound all that surprised.
Two more villains appeared. Gambler threw another card, alerting everyone of his presence, Slime wasn’t to far behind him. “I think that’s a bit obvious. Glad you could actually show up on time you two.”
Huntress scoffed. “You’re the one people have to be worried about showing up late Gambler. Don’t talk shit about me and my teammate when you’re worse.” A large shard of crystal landed in the ground between the two.
“Shut it would you. We’ve got enough to do without arguing about who’s late more often.” Diamond’s voice interjected, Devil right behind him. The heroes almost seemed stun locked. 6 of the top 10 villains in one place.
The trio was having a very different thought. “Oh those fucking assholes.” Tommy muttered.
Ranboo cracked his neck, pulling the mask out once more and rolling his shoulders. Eret’s gift now making sense. “If they were going to crash our funeral,” He said, Tommy and Tubbo’s eyes snapping to him. Grins overtook their faces as they saw what he was holding.
“They should’ve at least invited us.” Tubbo finished, both him and Tommy slid their masks on their faces.
The screams of civilians didn’t really phase them. Years of hero work took away the hesitation that came from hearing screams. Tubbo and Tommy’s appearances changed right before his eyes, and he knew his was doing the same.
A gas mask now covered the bottom half of Tubbo’s face. A beige jacket with a fluffy hood settled around his shoulders, a small radioactive symbol on his sleeve. He looked every part a villain. His grin was still slightly maniacal.
Tommy now had a red bandana wrapped around the bottom half of his face. His suit completely changed styles and the outer jacket disappeared. The red tie turned black and his shirt itself turned red. He was looking down at his new out fit with satisfaction. He looked up at Ranboo. “Ran… this isn’t a fashion show, but you look absolutely badass.”
The mask apparently had a voice changing feature and Tommy’s voice was completely different, the metal tinge now present in his voice making it clear why. These masks were awesome.
Ranboo now had a fancy black and purple masquerade mask covering the top half of his face. He was now wearing a white shirt with a black corset. A cape settled around his shoulders, tied at the front by a large endereye pendant that was glowing softly. “Thanks Tommy.” He said, before his eyes widened. An excited smile overtook his face. “Guys… we need names.”
Tubbo pumped his hands up in celebration, the screams of civilians still not hindering his good mood. “Fuck yeah! And we actually get to choose them this time!” The hero committee chose all hero’s names until a hero got high enough in the hierarchy to request a name of their choice. Ranboo had never been a big fan of his hero name. Tubbo seemed to think for a moment before his eyes lit up once more. He took an overly dramatic bow towards him and Tommy. “My name is TNT, nice to meet you. To whom do I owe this pleasure?”
Tommy snickered. “Don’t be so dramatic, TNT.” Despite his words, he took a dramatic bow as well and Ranboo let out a long-suffering sigh that was pointedly ignored. “The name’s Vengeance. Nice to meet you.” They then turned to Ranboo.
He already knew his; he had been wanting it to be his hero name but never told the name to the committee because they would never let him change it anyway. “It’s nice to meet you TNT and Vengeance. My name is Warp. How about we go mess them up?” He couldn’t help but notice, the hero part of his brain was now fully silent. After his friends nodded, he gave them a mock salute. “I’ll meet you there.” A flurry of light purple particles engulfed him, and he reappeared in the midst of the battle.
With Skeppy
After getting the trio to get away from where the battle was going to be, he and Bad quickly switched into their villain outfits and made their appearance. Huntress and Gambler were ‘arguing’. and he butted in. “Shut it would you. We’ve got enough to do without arguing about who’s late more often.” They would be laughing about their entrances alone later; he just knew it.
The battle commenced as the heroes finally shook off their shock. Huntress was the first to make a concentrated effort to hurt the SBI. She sprung forward, getting into a clash of swords against Blade. He tried not to laugh when he heard Gambler yell from halfway across the battle. “Oi! Leave some for me!”
Skeppy stayed where he was, purely sowing chaos for the moment, waiting for a good time to enter the battle properly. That also meant he was the first one to notice that they weren’t the only ones there. Oddly familiar particles swirled in the air, though he couldn’t figure out where he knew them. The occasional hero stumbled from an unseen force. The only extra person he could actually see was someone he didn’t recognize.
They were wearing some kind of gas mask with a fluffy jacket. He tapped his earpiece. “We’ve got company, who ever it is I don’t recognize but they don’t seem hostile.”
Huntress the first one to reply. “I’ve noticed. I keep seeing someone appearing, hitting a hero, and then disappearing again. Whoever it is isn’t attacking me, so I haven’t done anything to stop them.” Skeppy hummed. So, there were at least two people they didn’t know. He quickly relayed this information to the other villains.
“I say keep an eye on them. Until we know who they are and what their goals are, they have to be considered wild cards.” Gambler interjected before speaking again a moment later. “Slime is offering to back out of the fight to keep an eye on them if you want to come into the fray Diamond?”
Skeppy grinned. “Please. I’ve got business to attend to with a trio of assholes.” He ignored the barely heard mutter of ‘language’ from Devil. A moment later Gambler alerted him that Slime was out of the fight and he hopped in.
The first thing he did was attack Crow. Gambler was already there, and Skeppy fired a crystal at Crow to prevent an attack on his friend. “Wooooowwwww.” He drawled as he got close enough for the heroes to hear him. “Try to kill him and now you’re trying to hurt him again.” He dodged an attack from Ghost. “Bit rude don’t you think?” The hero simply growled in response. The fight didn’t seem to be going anywhere until a figure appeared out of nowhere. A red and black suit hugged his slim frame while a bandana covered his identity. A staff flashed out, a savage crunch rang out as it hit Ghost’s right leg.
Both of Ghost’s teammates stopped at the sound, their heads whipping towards him and the figure. The figures eyes shined with triumph. The figure gave an overly dramatic bow. “Nice to meet you all, the name’s Vengeance.” Ghost crumpled to the ground, breaking his teammates out of their shock.
Vengeance rushed up to him before whispering in his ear. “I’ll try to make sure Warp doesn’t try to burn down your kitchen with blueberry muffins again.” He disappeared soon after.
It took Skeppy another moment to realize what Vengeance was talking about, but when he did his eyes widened and he tapped on his earpiece. “I figured out who the newbies are. I’ll explain later but they’re not a threat to us.” The only thought that was going through his head was:
Eret you little shit.
Notes:
Well... shit's going down. This is going to be so much fun.
Link to my twitter account! I post about my upcoming and published fics, as well as the occasional other random thing
Chapter 16: Places to go, people to be
Chapter Text
With Wilbur – 25 minutes earlier
They had been at the funeral for around 10 minutes now. Nothing would really be starting for another 20 minutes. He had been asked to give a speech about Theseus, not that he knew what he was going to say. They hadn’t talked much the last few years, and now he wouldn’t ever get the chance to fix their broken relationship.
He was too engulfed in his thoughts to really notice anything going on until the microphone let out a high-pitched noise. “Whoever is drawing with spray paint on the pictures of the hero trio will get in serious trouble with the law. Stop now and your punishment for drawing mustaches on the dead trio’s faces will be lightened.” It was only then that he noticed that every single picture except the big one at the back of the stage now had drawings of various types.
He looked around, trying to see if there were any untouched posters so he could figure out who it was, but there were none. Whoever it was had gotten every single poster in the time it took for their activities to be noticed.
Wilbur was suddenly thrown backwards as an explosion rocked the center of the stage. Luckily Crow flew up and grabbed him from mid-air, so he didn’t hit anything. “Well, well, well, look what we have here?” The teasing voice of Huntress boomed as she walked onto the now burning stage.
Mosaic walked up behind her. “Hmm. I think we may be interrupting something guys.” He said, though he didn’t sound all that surprised. Wilbur was frozen, his tired mind not wanting to catch up to the day’s events.
Two more villains appeared. Gambler threw another card, alerting every one of his presence, Slime wasn’t too far behind him. “I think that’s a bit obvious. Glad you could actually show up on time you two.” Crow set him down, the hero’s feathers already puffing up in hostility.
Huntress scoffed. “You’re the one people have to be worried about showing up late Gambler. Don’t talk shit about me and my teammate when you’re worse.” A large shard of crystal landed in the ground between the two.
“Shut it would you. We’ve got enough to do without arguing about who’s late more often.” Diamond’s voice interjected, Devil walking right behind him. Wilbur shook his head to clear it. He had to fight. Those were the villains that had caused the trio’s deaths and now they had the audacity to crash the trio’s funeral. So even if they hadn’t been villains, he wouldn’t have been very nice.
The battle commenced, and Wilbur’s thoughts partially melted away. Diamond fell back away from the fight, while Huntress immediately rocketed towards them, only to clash blades with his brother. She grinned savagely as the two became a world-wind of blades. “Oi!” Gambler yelled out at the villain. “Leave some for me!”
Diamond attacked from a nearby roof top as Gambler joined in the fight against Wilbur and Crow. He growled, this was not going well. The stress was not doing wonders for Wilbur and he was moving more slowly than normal.
Huntress disengaged from Blade, dancing away gracefully. She gave a mock salute, the maniacal grin never leaving her face as she jumped back into the fight with the other heroes. Gambler tapped his earpiece. Wilbur couldn’t quite hear what the villain was saying but one moment Slime was helping the villain and the next he disappeared.
Wilbur’s relief was short lived as Diamond arrived to help the other villain. Wilbur’s ‘battle mind’ was interrupted by a spike of rage upon seeing the villain. Diamond shot a crystal at Crow as he tried to grab Gambler. “Wooooowwwww.” The villain drawled. “Try to kill him and now you’re trying to hurt him again.” Wilbur lunged at the villain, but Diamond dodged his attack. His voice was still frustratingly unbothered as he said, “Bit rude don’t you think?”
The odds seemed evenly matched. Neither side really making head way for a few minutes. That was until a figure appeared out of nowhere, and he only saw whoever it was out of the corner of his eye briefly before a crunch sounded in his ears and blinding white-hot pain engulfed his right leg.
The figure rushed up to Diamond whispering something in the villain’s ear. The figure then disengaged, dancing away much like Huntress had minutes before. The villain took an overly dramatic bow and announced, “Nice to meet you all, the name’s Vengeance.” Before disappearing into the flurry of movement.
Wilbur crumpled to the ground, his leg giving out under him. He couldn’t help the cry of agony that left his lips as he fell. He knew his leg had to be broken, how he had remained standing for even a moment was a mystery.
Diamond tapped his earpiece, though Wilbur couldn’t tell what the villain said over the ringing in his ears. He tried to reach for one of the healing potions at his belt, but his hands were shaking too badly to grab it, much less open the thing. The pain in his leg was excruciating.
Blade rushed over to him, the rest of the battle momentarily forgotten. His brother grabbed the potion, taking away the stopper and holding it to his lips. Wilbur’s slowly blurring vison started to clear as he gulped the potion down.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Diamond whirl around and a loud crash greeted Wilbur’s ears. The villain was about to shoot forward, only to freeze. Wilbur couldn’t see the villain’s face, but he could hear his words. “Last I checked he could decidedly not do that.”
Wilbur got up onto shaky feet. He wasn’t in a state to fight. His leg had only healed partially, the bone must have fractured in several spots. Blade growled, helping Wilbur stand. Wilbur didn’t know whether it was a good or bad thing that Diamond clicked on his ear piece. The villain’s next words confused Wilbur heavily, even if they were a relief. “We need to get out of here, we’ve got a bunch of shit to talk about and someone I need to murder.”
With ???
He watched from a dark corner as the building across the street collapsed. Vengeance was not going to get out of the way in time, that much was obvious. Warp lunged, but that would only take both of them down together.
Only for the fact that when Warp made contact with Vengeance, both of them disappeared in a flurry of light purple particles, reappearing safely away from the now collapsed building. Both of the new villains froze, likely out of shock.
Nothing had gone wrong, and he turned away from the scene in front of him. The events that would cause the world’s change had happened without his intervention being necessary. He sighed, opening the book still clutched protectively in his arms. He ran his hand over the page. A portal made of swirling purple and green energy appeared. Rune like numbers hovered around the portal’s edge, their color a dormant white.
He stepped through with only a moment of hesitation.
In the ‘Arsonists’ GC
GemSimp: Eret, I am going to murder your ass
MagicPerson: What? Whyyyyyy?
GemSimp: You know why you asshole
MagicPerson: haha I have no regrets
brb though, I have to write my Will
In the ‘Murderous Basterds’ GC (aka the villain work gc)
Shiny: Are we meeting up at LN?
CasinoMan: Yeah, let’s meet at my casino, I’m… going to be a while though
HuntingSeason: Why are we calling the attack off early? I had shit I wanted to do!
Satan: LANGUAGE
Shiny: I’ll tell you when we get there
Also, what’s going on Q?
CasinoMan:…. I can’t really tell you. Just trust me, I’ll be there soon but I won’t be there immediately
Notes:
EVERYTHING IS GOING DOWN! There's so much that this chapter sets up. New character (which I am 99% sure everyone knows who it is), what's Q doing that has him so distracted, Eret has to prepare her funeral because Skeppy has become murderous, Ranboo did something that he couldn't do before.
So yeah, there's a lot happening.
Chapter 17: Of Hurtful Words
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
With Phil
The villains finally retreated. He immediately rushed over to Ghost and Blade. “Fuck, I’m so sorry I didn’t get there in time to help mate.” Ghost shrugged, though he winced when it jostled his leg. “Let’s get back to HQ so we can get you fixed up.”
Ghost sighed, letting himself lean further into Blade. “That was a disaster.” Phil nodded, that was honestly an understatement. Six high ranked villains in the same place at the same time was unheard of. He also didn’t recognize the new villain, Vengeance, if he heard it right. This must’ve been why all of them hadn’t been seen, they must’ve been planning this.
Though Vengeance wasn’t the only new villain he saw. There was another that had grabbed and teleported both them and vengeance out from under a collapsing building. He had only seen it due to his vantage point in the air. He had also noticed Diamond’s panic when the building had collapsed with the to new villains under it. That was a point of interest.
So they had at least two new villains to worry about. The report he was going to have to do was going to be a nightmare. Committee owned ambulances rolled in and Phil let out a sigh of relief. Blade helped Ghost over to one. The hero committee had ambulances that would take injured heroes back to HQ while normal civilian ambulances took care of everyone else.
His earpiece came to life in his ear and he winced. Even years later he still hated the things. “HQ to Crow, do you copy?”
“Affirmative.” He replied, his gaze not leaving where Blade and Ghost were getting into one of the vehicles.
“We need you to come in for a full report. The boss wants a full explanation of what happened from you specifically because of your unique vantage point.” Phil sighed, looking back at his sons once more from where they were getting into the ambulance. I’ll visit them in the hospital a bit later. He promised himself. With a powerful snap of his wings, he flung himself into the air.
With Eret
He had gone through two bowls of popcorn while watching the funeral. It was incredibly funny to them as the news reporter went through the schedule for the actual start as well as what would happen once it did. Eret knew that it wasn’t going to go how the heroes thought it would, however.
He cackled as the attack started, by that time, half of the first bowl of popcorn was gone. He watch careful for a sign that the trio had joined the fight. Regardless of what his friends thought, he knew that the trio wouldn’t sit by during the attack.
So, he had done what he thought best. He gave them appearance altering masks so they could at least choose how they looked to the public. Eret finally caught a glimpse of light particles, and a grin spread over his face.
If Ranboo was there, so were the other two. Eret was curious whether the trio would go in as vigilantes or villains, but their question was answered a moment later. The SBI were fighting Diamond and Gambler, the fight an even match.
A figure suddenly became visible from behind Ghost. A staff lashed out, and Ghost’s leg bent at an angle that was definitely not natural. Eret smiled proudly. Three new villains had just been born, and Eret knew firsthand how sweet revenge could be.
Eret brought his hand up and ran his fingers across his scar. He just had to hope that it didn’t come with consequences. “Prime knows what we had to go through for revenge.” He briefly thought of Karl, wondering where the man was, mostly hoping he was alright, but he shook his head to clear it immediately.
The past was not something he could regret. He and Karl done what was necessary, even if that meant that they had to be separated. He was drawn out of their bittersweet memories by the ring of his phone.
He looked up. The villains had apparently retreated. He opened the message he received with a grin.
GemSimp: Eret, I am going to murder your ass
Eret burst out laughing, knowing exactly why Skeppy was now likely in a murderous mood. The villains had wanted to keep the trio out of the fight.
MagicPerson: What? Whyyyyyy?
GemSimp: You know why you asshole
MagicPerson: haha I have no regrets
A few minutes later, Eret heard the door slam open. Skeppy stormed into the room. “You!”
With Tommy
While the trio could tell that they were going to get yelled at, they were still snickering over both stunts they pulled at the funeral. Tommy’s invisibility had made spray painting on the posters so much easier.
He was also still grinning over the fact that he had managed to get the jump on Wilbur, even if his power made it easy. Though it did make him slightly uneasy that the only thing he felt bad about when he broke Wilbur’s leg was that he didn’t feel bad in the slightest.
Skeppy was fuming as they drove down the road. He had changed back into his regular cloths and they had taken off the masks that had been altering their appearances. They arrived at Eret’s house a couple of minutes later and Skeppy stormed up to the door.
The trio shared a look before following the man, flinching back slightly as the door literally slammed open. “You!” Skeppy yelled as they arrived in the living room. Eret was hiding behind the couch, moving anytime Skeppy did.
Eret spotted them and chuckled nervously, glancing at the angry Skeppy, “haha, heyy guys. Little help?”
“What did Eret do that has you trying to murder him again?” Tubbo asked, amusement lacing his tone.
Before Skeppy could reply, Eret piped up. “He’s mad that I gave you guys the masks. Everyone wanted to keep you guys out of the fight.”
“They’re kids! They shouldn’t be fighting, and you shouldn’t have given them the means to do so!” Skeppy growled, lunging over the couch. Eret, somehow still completely mobile in a dress, vaulted over it, landing in a roll that had him standing by the end.
Though that was when Tommy noticed that something was wrong. Eret looked… genuinely upset. He was slowly shrinking in on himself. Everyone in the room froze as a single tear rolled down Eret’s cheek.
Skeppy’s face dropped. Ranboo immediately walked up and wrapped his arms protectively around the now crying Eret, glaring at Skeppy. “Eret….” Skeppy said, reaching out towards him but not moving. Tommy stepped between them, before turning and also wrapping Eret in a hug. “I’m sor-” he began, but Tubbo cut him off.
“No. Don’t you realize you’re being a fucking hypocrite?” Tubbo spat. Skeppy reeled back, Tubbo hadn’t talked to them harshly since their second meeting.
Tommy realized emotions were running high, and that this situation could quickly spiral out of control. “Tubbo….” Tommy said, a warning in his voice.
“Don’t ‘Tubbo’ me Tommy. It’s true!” Tubbo snarled. “They help us fake our deaths so that we would have a choice in our fates, and now they turn around and take that choice away just because they think that we’re supposed to be something. How does that make them any different from the people we were forced to escape from!?”
“Tubbo I-” Skeppy started, his eyes already widening as he took a step back. He almost looked scared. Tommy was frozen in place as Tubbo cut Skeppy off once again.
“Shut it! I’d call you Skeppy but I’m not sure I ever really knew you, Diamond .” Tubbo’s voice came out almost as a growl. “I didn’t know you were the kind of person to hurt someone after they tried to help us.”
Tubbo turned, marching up to the man and poking him in the chest. “What happens next? You guys start giving us orders? Maybe you’ll have us kill someone for you like the hero committee tried to do against Quackity. Oh no, you’ll brainwash us so bad that we won’t have any will left! We’ll only care about you, nobody else. Is that what happens!? Cause that’s what I fucking see!” He snarled.
Tubbo deflated, immediately realizing what he said. “WAIT NO! I didn’t mean it!” He sounded panicked, but the damage was already done. Skeppy was shaking, and he had gone deathly still.
He shrunk in on himself, his shoulders hiking up to his ears. His lips trembled, and tears were now running freely down his face. He refused to look at them, his eyes glued to the couch in front of him. “I’m sorry. I’m so so sorry. I was just trying to help, I promise.” Skeppy said, his voice breaking.
He backed into the wall, sliding to the floor as he hugged his knees. “Oh fuck.” Eret said, once again jumping over the couch. He crouched down next to Skeppy. “Hey. Hey. I need you listen to me.” Skeppy however, didn’t respond to their words.
“Tubbo that was way too far.” Ranboo said, though Tubbo looked just as horrified over his own words.
“I-I know! I don’t even know why I said that. I didn’t mean it.” Tubbo defended, though he didn’t sound too convicted in doing just that, defending himself. Tubbo looked down at the floor.
Eret sighed. “It was too far, but it wasn’t really your fault Tubbo.” Tubbo looked like he was about object, but Eret continued before he could. “You guys are under a lot of pressure.”
“No, we’re not. We’re out from under the hero committee, there is no pressure left now that we’re free.” Tubbo immediately objected.
“Yes, you are.” Eret insisted. “You are still in recovery. You don’t go from being brainwashed heroes to being good friends with several villains without complications. It is never, and I mean never, a smooth transition.”
Tubbo walked up, around the couch instead of over it, Tommy and Ranboo following him. Tubbo crouched down, shaking Skeppy’s shoulder lightly. “Hey. We need you to listen to us Skeppy. ” He put emphasis on the man’s name, and Skeppy looked up, tears staining his face. “I went too far; I promise I didn’t mean that. Honestly, that was more meant for the heroes than you. You didn’t deserve that.”
“I- but you had a point.” Skeppy stuttered. “B-besides, I overacted.”
“No. I didn’t have a point and no you did not overreact.” Tubbo said, total conviction in his tone. “You were doing your best. You didn’t deserve any of that Skeppy. You have been an absolute joy to be friends with, and I know you didn’t mean it like that.” Skeppy’s shoulders and he stopped hugging his knees.
Tubbo wrapped Skeppy in a hug. After a silent moment of the two hugging each other, Skeppy opened his eyes and looked at Eret. “I do have a couple questions for you though Eret.”
“Ask away.” Eret replied, a kind smile on his face.
“1. Why are you in heels while just sitting in your house. 2. How the actual fuck did you vault over the couch twice while wearing heels.” Skeppy asked. Eret burst out laughing.
15 minutes later – with BBH
Bad paced to floor of Quackity’s office. “I’m sure he’s fine.” Niki said, but her tone betrayed her own worry. Skeppy was supposed to be there more than half an hour ago. He had said that he was having to take a short detour, but he had also said that it wouldn’t take more than 5-10 minutes.
Suddenly, the door burst open. “What’s up bitches!” Tommy screamed, grinning widely. Skeppy, Eret, Ranboo, and Tubbo were all behind him.
“Language!” Bad said, but he was relieved to see Skeppy unharmed. That did beg the question of what took so long and why Eret, and the trio, were there, however. “We thought something happened to you Skeppy. What took so long, and why are they here?” He didn’t miss the look of guilt that flashed across Tubbo’s face.
Skeppy sighed, navigating around the group. “I’d rather not explain what took so long. I can explain however, why the others are here.” Bad raised an eyebrow. There was obviously something that happened, but trying to make them explain wouldn’t likely do anything. He nodded for his friend to continue. “Well… you know the new villains that showed up during the funeral?”
Bad’s brows furrowed, he didn’t see where this was going. “I do… why?”
Tubbo stepped forward. “That was us in disguise. Eret gave us masks that would change our appearance because he knew that we wouldn’t be willing to stand by while you guys had all the fun.”
“WHAT?” Jack yelled. “What the hell!”
Ranboo sighed. “We already had that conversation,” He glanced at Skeppy. “Trust me. You guys made a mistake though, as Tubbo said, we weren’t going to stand by while you guys did that, masks or no. Eret was doing damage control.”
Bad rubbed his temples. “That is not… best case scenario, but I get it.” He looked up to Eret. “Thank you Eret. We probably should’ve considered it ourselves but we didn’t.”
Eret shrugged. “I was doing what I thought best with what was going on. I’m more interested in what’s going to happen from here.”
Quackity spoke up. “That’s a great question that I’m pretty sure everyone would like the answer to. I do think one thing is the most pressing however.”
“And what is that?” Niki asked, her eyebrows raised.
Quackity’s gaze locked onto the trio. “Would you like to continue being villains?”
Notes:
haha, that caused me pain. Poor Eret
ALSO, I apperently made a mistake. People didn't know what Tommy's power was, it was briefly mentioned in chapter two but I apperently did not make it obvious enough.
That is my fault and I do apologize for the mistake!
Link to my twitter account! I post about my upcoming and published fics, as well as the occasional other random thing
Chapter 18: Decisions decisions
Chapter Text
Jack objected almost instantly. “Woah woah woah woah. No.” He turned to Bad and Skeppy. “You guys helped them fake their deaths so that they wouldn’t be forced to fight anymore. I don’t think it would be a good idea to have them go back into the field immediately, even at all.” He turned back to Quackity, a challenge in his gaze. “Do I need to remind you that they’re kids?”
Niki stepped forward to glare at Quackity as well. “I’m with Jack on this one Quackity.”
Quackity, however, didn’t look fazed in the slightest. He glanced at the trio before speaking, “I will remind you Jack, that they can make their own decisions. You’re correct that it wouldn’t be a great idea, but if they want to, you know they’re going to do it with or without our help. I for one, would prefer it to be with our help.”
It was slightly surprising to Bad when Skeppy spoke up as well in Quackity’s defense, since he had been one of the ones to advocate most strongly to have the trio kept in the dark and away from their plans for the funeral. “I agree with Quackity here. The difference is that they’re not going to be forced. If they do this, it will be entirely of their own volition.”
Tommy tapped his foot, clearing his throat with an unimpressed expression. “Mind not talking about us like we’re not here?” Everyone looked away apologetically. Bad watched carefully as the trio had a silent conversation, likely about Quackity’s question.
Everyone knew what was going on, even if they couldn’t decipher the conversation. Eventually, the trio came to a decision. They turned back to the rest of the group. Tommy spoke first. “To answer your question Quackity, yes. I would like to continue being a villain.”
“I would as well.” Tubbo said, an excited grin spreading his lips.
Ranboo sighed, but Bad could see excitement dancing behind the teen’s eyes. “Well, someone’s got to keep an eye on these two.”
After another tense moment of silence, Jack muttered, “Well, fuck.”
“Language!” Bad chided, before turning back to the trio. “Are you three sure?” He asked, receiving three nods in response. “That… is going to be difficult to get used to.” He turned to Eret.
Eret chuckled before answering his unspoken question. “Yes, I can make their villain outfits.” He turned to the trio. “The masks I gave you were a temporary fix. I’ll be helping you guys do actual costumes, of course you’ll be able to decide everything…” Eret trailed off, shaking his head. “I don’t think that’s what we’re supposed to be focusing on right now. We’ll decide everything later.”
At the reminder, Bad turned to Quackity. It had actually been the casino owner who had requested that they all meet up after the battle. Quackity sighed and stood up from where he had been sitting the entire time. “Yeah yeah, I get it.” He let out a breath before continuing. “I actually have a couple of announcements, and since you guys are here anyway, I have something to give you.” He said this last part to the trio.
“What do you have to give us?” Ranboo questioned. Instead of answering, Quackity reached into one of his desk drawers and pulled out three folders.
With Tubbo
Quackity walked around his desk and handed him, Tommy, and Ranboo each a folder with their corresponding names on them. Tubbo raised an inquisitive eyebrow before opening the folder. Though the contents made his eyes widen in surprise.
Several official looking documents sat tucked carefully into the folder. The first was a straight up birth certificate. Tobias Underscore sat proudly at the top of the page. He immediately realized what it was. Tobias Underscore was the civilian name he had chosen. He flicked through the other papers.
These were the documents for their new civilian identities. He looked up to Quackity who was grinning proudly. “I had some help, from trustworthy people obviously, but all of these are safely in the government files. Your all’s new civilian identities are fully legalized in the most illegal manner possible.”
Niki chuckled; all her earlier hostility gone as she leaned casually against the desk. “In other words, he had his people hack into government databases in order to have you guys actually exist in the legal world.” Quackity nodded in response to her words with an amused smile.
“This… thank you so much Q. It means a lot that you did this for us.” Tommy finally said, his usual teasing tone replaced with one of sincerity. Tubbo nodded in agreement. It was not easy to do that kind of thing. Ranboo shut the folder in their hand and hugged Quackity.
Quackity froze for a second before returning the hug with a soft smile. “Awwww- ow!” Jack was hit in the back of the head by Niki as he spoke. A moment later Ranboo let go and if anyone saw the slightly glassy eyed look in his friend’s eyes, they didn’t say anything.
Quackity cleared his throat, “Ok. Two more things that we need to talk about. One, is the fact that I also managed to set up an apartment for you all.” For the second time in the past few minutes, Tubbo’s eyes widened in surprise. “As much as none of us mind housing you guys, you need your own space. Nothing is fully finalized yet, because we have to take you guys over there to see if you like it or if we need to find you guys another place.” Tubbo was once again reminded how different the villains were from the committee.
They hadn’t been given a choice in pretty much anything. Names, costumes, housing, they were given what they were given and expected not to complain. Of course, they hadn’t, they hadn’t known anything different. They had been raised to follow orders and nothing else. Another spike of guilt ran through Tubbo at the reminder of his earlier words to Skeppy and he suppressed a wince.
The only problem with being friends with villains, however, was that they were incredibly observant. “Something wrong Tubbo?” Bad asked, concern marring his tone.
Tubbo shook his head. “I’m fine.” He looked up again and an easy smile spread over his face. “Sounds good Q. You said there was another thing?”
Quackity looked hesitant with letting him change the subject but instead shook his head, walking once again behind his desk. “Yeah. Umm… how do I say this? Along with your new civilian identities, we decided that giving you the normal teenage experience would be beneficial.”
“What do you mean?” Ranboo asked, sounding slightly wary. Tubbo didn’t blame his friend, the manic grin spreading over Quackity’s face was heavily concerning.
“We agreed it was best, and I set it up, you guys have been enrolled in a nearby high school. The school year will starting in a couple weeks.”
Tommy blinked, an unreadable expression on his face. “Excuse me… WHAT?"
Notes:
I- um, I have no clue what to say to this chapter.
Chapter 19: A New Friend
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
With Purpled – two weeks later
Second to last year of high school, that was a relief. The place was basically a glorified hell. Though the new school year was not starting off well. He had been planning to keep his head down and go through the year without socializing much.
That plan had been interrupted when he had been told it was going to be showing a trio of new students around. He sighed, readjusting his backpack as he approached the courtyard where he was told they would be. Purpled knew immediately when he saw them.
They were looking around like they were just dropped in the middle of an island in the middle of nowhere. He groaned internally when he saw how they were acting around each other. So he would be forced to endure being stuck as an outsider to a group of friends, not like that would absolutely suck. They finally noticed his approach and he fought the urge cringe back.
There was something off about them. Maybe it was just his paranoia or social anxiety, but they had an aura of… danger. Every instinct yelled at him to back away. He ignored it. The shortest of the trio bounded up to him, an excited smile on his face. The short teen stuck out his hand, “Hi! I’m Tubbo, nice to meet you. what’s your name?” Purpled hesitantly shook his hand. Tubbo had fluffy brown hair that almost gave Purpled the urge to pat his head, but he knew that would be a very bad idea not to mention weird for a variety of reasons.
The second tallest, a blond-haired boy walked up next, hitting Tubbo in the back of the head with a smirk. “Tubbo stop acting like we’re excited to be here. Besides, the poor guy looks uncomfortable, you can be very scary bee boy.”
“Oh, shut up Tommy.” Tubbo snapped good naturedly. “If he’s scared of anyone it’s our utility pole of a friend.” Tubbo gestured at the tallest of the three as he spoke the second half of his statement. Purpled just saw his fears being confirmed, getting shoved into a group’s dynamic was always unpleasant.
“I- will you guys stop with that! I am not a utility pole!” The tall teen objected before turning to Purpled, “Sorry about them. They’re idiots. I’m Ranboo, nice to meet you.”
Tubbo turned around with a heavily unimpressed expression. “Boo. You literally almost set Niki’s kitchen on fire with tomato soup at four in the prime-damn-morning. I don’t want to hear it.” Purpled couldn’t stop the snort of amusement he let out at that.
He mentally face palmed himself. Laughing at someone in a group weas not a good idea if you weren’t in said group. Though they didn’t turn even the slightest bit hostile. Tommy simply laughed as well as Ranboo muttered, “I thought we promised not to talk about that.”
Tubbo patted his friend on the arm, not tall enough to reach Ranboo’s shoulder. “Nope!” he said cheerfully. “We are never going to let you live that one down boss-man.” He then turned back to Purpled. “What’s your name again? I’m sorry, we didn’t really give you time to speak.”
Maybe… they weren’t so bad. “My name’s Purpled, it’s nice to meet you.”
A little while later
Purpled had quickly come to the realization that these teens were not normal. He was giving them the tour and they had been looking around like they were on an alien spaceship or something. He had eventually asked, “if you don’t mind me asking, were you guys’ home schooled before?” That would make the most sense.
Tubbo looked away, a slightly sheepish look on his face. “Uhh. Yeeaah. That’s one way to put it.” Purpled raised an eyebrow that was not the kind of reaction he expected.
Tommy scoffed. “Wow Tubso. What a way to be suspicious.” He then addressed Purpled. “It’s a long story that I really don’t want to explain. Trust me, you don’t want to know anyway.”
Purpled shook his head. “It’s not really my problem, I was just curious.” And none of his questions had been answered, only multiplied. They were… weird, to put it lightly. They were at least pretty nice so Purpled wasn’t going to dig too much.
The lunch bell soon sounded after they got through a couple classes, namely math and English. Through the English had ended with Tommy reading a poem backwards to spite the teacher for some reason. Not even just the lines of the poem, no no no, he was literally reading the words backwards. The entire class was looking at him like he was insane, including the teacher. Ranboo and Tubbo had just been snickering during the entire ordeal.
Though now it wan lunch time and Tommy grinned as they walked in. “I swear to god if it’s spaghetti I’m going to break someone’s leg.” Purpled didn’t get it but the other two seemed to.
Tubbo’s cackling only got harder as Ranboo said, “I’m not sure whether to feel dejected or laugh.”
Purpled had intended to separate from the group as soon as the tour was over, but after they all got their food and Purpled moved towards his usual single chair table, he heard his name. “Purpled!” His head whipped towards the sound only to see a grinning Ranboo siting there waving at him. Tommy made the universal motion for ‘come here’ with his hand, also smiling.
Hesitantly, he made his way over. Tubbo spoke up as soon as he got close enough to hear them without them having to yell. “Come sit with us! If you’re going to sit alone, you might as well sit with us.” Purpled’s face heated slightly in embarrassment, but he did sit down. He did however notice that it was four seat table when they could’ve easily chosen a three-seat table that was nearby.
They sat in silence for a moment when Tubbo’s eyes suddenly lit up. “Wait guys! We’ve got that meeting with Eret later!” Purpled’s brows furrowed in confusion, and Tubbo addressed it a moment later. “Right sorry Purp. It’s something that we’ve going on later.”
Tommy nodded, excitement also dancing behind his eyes, “I completely forgot about that! We should probably talk about all that later though,” he turned to Purpled, “we wouldn’t want to leave you out.” Purpled shrugged like he didn’t really care, but truthfully, he was grateful.
Ranboo nodded in agreement. “Yeah, all that stuff can wait. How about we try to get to know each other a bit better first? Who’s your favorite super?”
Tubbo snorted in amusement. “Really boss man? Icebreakers? Fine, I’ll go first. My favorite is probably the vigilante UFO. He just really seems to be trying to help.” Purpled choked on his sandwich at the mention of his vigilante name. Tubbo noticed immediately, “Are you alright Purpled?”
Purpled nodded, clearing his throat. “Yeah sorry, I just almost chocked.”
They were looking at him with concern but luckily for Purpled, seemed to drop it. Tommy spoke up next. “Yeah he does seem pretty cool. Honestly though, I prefer Huntress.”
Purpled raised an eyebrow. “Huntress? As in the villain Huntress?”
Tommy put his hands up in surrender. “I know. I know. I mean come on though. She just seems cool plus her power is really interesting. Perfect Aim is a completely underrated power in my humble opinion.”
Ranboo leaned over and whispered in his ear, “by that he means he would totally try to fight anyone who disagrees with him.”
“Oi! I heard that asshole!” Tommy snapped, though his tone was too light for anyone to take him too seriously.
Purpled grinned. Unlike how he thought the day would go, he was honestly having a good time. The trio were actually making an effort to include him, unlike people he had hung out with in the past. Most of the time he would just fade into the background and people would treat him like an NPC that didn’t do anything in a video game. “Hey, I’m not judging for you liking a villain.” Purpled said. “My favorite is actually a villain as well.”
“Really? Which one?” Ranboo asked, sounding genuinely curious.
Purpled shrugged. “They actually only appeared a couple weeks ago, you know how there was a couple new villains that showed up at the funeral for that one hero trio?” The trio all nodded, sharing a look he couldn’t quite make out the meaning of. “My new favorite super is the one that actually had the nerve to go up on stage in front of everyone and break Ghost’s leg. That takes a lot of bravery, confidence, and spite. I respect the guy.”
Tommy’s grin grew impossibly wider. “Purpled. You just became my new favorite person.”
Notes:
I finally introduced one of the vigilantes! The trio has started the school day, and I don't know who to feel sorry for yet.
Link to my twitter account! I post about my upcoming and published fics, as well as the occasional other random thing
Chapter 20: Silence Is A Virtue
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
At the end of the day – with Tubbo
Over the course of the day, Purpled slowly lowed his guard around them. Now they were all chatting amicably while waiting for whoever would be picking the trio up. “What about you Purpled? How are you getting home?” Tommy asked.
Purpled shrugged in response. “I walk home, I’ve got time, trust me.” Tubbo had also realized over time, that Purpled was hiding something. He couldn’t tell what, but he wasn’t really going to look into it. He had been really cool to hang out with, besides, they had their own secrets.
Someone that they had just met hiding something was low on their list of concerns when they were, quite literally, supervillains. A car rolled up a minute later, and Eret stepped out of the driver’s side. He was wearing the usual sunglasses that covered the scar and the slightly unnerving eyes he knew were there. “Hey Eret!” Tubbo said as they walked up.
“Hey Tubbo, you guys ready to go?” Eret's eyes then landed on the trio’s new friend, and he continued in a more teasing tone, “Who is this? Are you guys gathering other strays?”
“Oh, shut up Eret.” Tommy snapped good naturedly. “This is Purpled, our new friend. No, we did not pick up a stray or something.”
“What do you mean by other-” Purpled started, but he seemed to think better of it, shaking his head. The trio had been very careful about not talking about their home lives. It’s not like they could just say ‘Oh yeah, We’re the supposedly dead heroes, we faked our deaths and became friends with a bunch of villains before becoming villains ourselves and crashing our own funeral.’ So, they were stuck avoiding any questions about their personal lives. Purpled had obviously noticed but had apparently decided not to point it out.
Eret sighed addressing Purpled once more. “Well, it’s nice to meet you Purpled. Any friend of these three is a friend of mine. The names Eret as you probably know.” Eret offered his hand to Purpled and the teen shook it after a moment of hesitation. Eret then turned back to the trio. “We should probably get going, I’ve got some stuff to show you guys.”
Tubbo’s eyes shined with excitement. Today they would either be getting their costumes or making some very few final adjustments done. They had all changed some stuff up from their first outfits from their ‘debut’. After everything had been said and done, Skeppy had pointed out how ironic that they had made their funeral their debut.
“Death of three heroes and the rise of three villains.” He had said. Tubbo still thought about it occasionally a few days later. Some days he still questioned his choice to leave the heroes. All of them did, but then they looked at their lives now.
They were together, surrounded by new, but good friends. They were free, they weren’t forced to do anything, listen to anyone. Sure, the other villains sometimes acted more like parents than anything else, but Tubbo knew they were doing it out of actual care rather than a hunger for power over them.
A lot of the time, however, they were treated like equals. They had just as much say in anything that happened as anyone else, the villains had made even more of an effort to that after the ‘funeral incident’.
Tubbo was shaken out of his thoughts as Tommy dragged him into the car. “See you tomorrow Purpled!” Tommy called excitedly right before he closed the door. Yep, they had gotten attached.
With Purpled
Purpled fell onto the couch with a tired sigh. His roommate chuckled. “Bad day?” Fundy asked with an amused expression as he walked into the room.
“No, I’m just exhausted. They had me touring some new students.” Purpled replied, forcing himself to sit up and look at his friend.
Fundy winced sympathetically. “Oh that sucks, on the first day?” Purpled nodded and Fundy shook his head with a sigh. “Were they assholes?”
Purpled shook his head. “No actually. They were really nice, and they called me a friend, so I have no idea. They were really weird though.” Fundy made a noise that told Purpled to keep talking as he went back to the kitchen to set what was likely a pot of tea to boil. “I can’t fully explain, but I can tell you that they felt…. dangerous.”
Fundy turned to Purpled with a frown, his brow furrowed. “Dangerous? What do you mean?”
Purpled shrugged in response. “They just had an air of danger around them, you know what I’m talking about, the feel that anyone that’s been in the field does.”
“You think they’re in one of the factions?” Fundy asked, looking more troubled by the second.
Purpled threw up his hands in frustration. “I don’t know!” He then winced and apologized. “Sorry, that wasn’t meant for you. I’ve just been trying to figure this out all day and I haven’t gotten any closer to an answer. I also feel a bit bad digging into it because they’ve been super nice all day-” his short rant got cut off by getting a hot mug shoved into his hands, luckily wrapped in a small hand towel to keep from burning him. A small tea bag already rested in the mug.
Purpled looked up to see Fundy smiling kindly, his roommate’s own mug sitting on the coffee table next to a small bottle of honey. Purpled let out a snort of amusement and Fundy rolled his eyes in response. “You looked like you could use some tea.” he said as he sat down opposite Purpled.
Purpled dipped the tea bag in and out of the cup before adding some honey. After a quick stir he took a sip. The warm liquid was pleasant even while near boiling hot and he let out a happy hum. The tension in his shoulders eased. “Yeah,” he said after a moment. “I apparently really did need some tea.” Fundy smirked and opened his mouth to speak but Purpled cut him off. “If you say, ‘I told you so’ I am going to come over there and punch you in the face.”
Fundy chuckled, “Fine fine. Are you going to be going out on patrol or are you too tired, because whatever you’re doing changes what I’m going to be doing.”
Purpled took a minute to think about it before nodding. “Yeah, I’ll be going out. I won’t get into fights I can avoid. Though I think a good run around the city will do me some good though.”
Fundy nodded. “Alright then. I’ll go out with you, when do you want to go?” Fundy was a rather important person in the vigilante community. He was the one who set up any vigilante meetings, as well as coordinating vigilantes on designated high-risk nights or the occasional actual mission. Aside from that, he was UFO’s partner Fox, sometimes going out alongside him or just helping from the safety of the couch.
“Right no..” he trailed off. He was about to say ‘right now’ but he was hesitant to leave his mug. “Right after I finish my tea.” He corrected; Fundy laughed knowingly.
Notes:
I am having so much fun with this. Poor Purpled, he doesn't know what he just got into becoming friends with the trio.
Also, now we're over 2,000 hits!? Where are all you guys coming from? Thanks for being here!
Link to my twitter account! I post about my upcoming and published fics, as well as the occasional other random thing
Chapter 21: With A Breath
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
With Techno
Techno’s face only showed his usual indifference, but in truth he was eyeing the building in front of them with distaste. The Las Nevadas Casino. They had set up a meeting with Luck a couple weeks back right after the funeral incident. Wilbur was still back at base; he was still in recovery from the broken leg he had obtained from the event. Luck had been very obviously delaying their meeting, though they weren’t entirely sure why. Usually, the man would jump at the chance for useful information.
Anyone making a deal with Luck was directed to the back of the building so that they wouldn’t get swarmed. That’s where they were now. Luck’s assistant came out to lead them inside. They weren’t actually sure of the man’s name.
Luck’s assistant was a bit of an eerie figure. He didn’t talk and he didn’t really interact with them otherwise. Techno shared a look with Crow, and Luck’s assistant guided them inside and through the halls until they came to stand in front of Luck’s office.
Luck’s assistant knocked on the door and Luck’s voice came through right after. “Come in!” The man’s assistant opened the door and the duo stepped inside. Luck gestured for them to sit down. “So, what brings you to my fine establishment?” Luck asked, waving his hands at the space around them.
It was well known that Luck didn’t show his actual appearance. All they knew about the man’s true identity was that he owned the casino. His appearance changed slightly every single time they met. At the moment, the man had mid-length blond hair compared to the bright red hair they had seen last time.
They were expecting their dealing with Luck to go without much problem. The man only refused to give important information about the high ranked villains.
Crow let out a breath. Techno knew they had pretty much the same opinion about the man, but they were going to do what they thought necessary. “We came to make a deal for information. It doesn’t go against anything you’ve said you wouldn’t talk about.”
Luck scoffed, leaning back in his chair. Techno kept his face neutral even though it was hidden by his mask. “Well obviously. We’re not all idiots here.” Techno’s hand twitched for his weapon but a light brush from Crow’s wings kept him from it. “So, tell me who or what you want info on and then we can talk price.”
Techno was no where near scared of the man, but the look of hunger in Luck’s eyes was still slightly unnerving. “We need information about the new villains.” Crow said. There shouldn’t have been an issue. The man had always given up small bits of information that would eventually lead them to smaller villain’s identities if they asked.
This time was apparently different, however. Luck tensed, going completely still. His already predatory look turning more…. angry. “Which... ones?” he asked though gritted teeth.
Techno raised an unimpressed eyebrow. “The ones that appeared at the funeral. Vengeance, Warp, and we’re pretty sure there was another one but we didn’t find out their name.”
Luck abruptly stood, his hands slamming down on his desk. They both flinched, quickly getting to their feet. “Get out.” Luck said, his voice a deadly calm. They couldn’t see his face from where they were standing.
“We still have-” Crow began.
“No.” Luck cut him off. “Get out. There is nothing I will tell you. Consider them under the same rules as the high ranked villains.”
Techno spoke for the first time in the interaction, his hand blatantly resting on the hilt of his sword. “Watch your tone Luck. You forget who you’re talking to.”
Luck finally looked up at them, anger plain on his face. “No Blade. I remember exactly who you are. I own the building you’re standing in and I want you out. Now leave.”
“Why are you trying to protect them? The only villains that you ever worry about are the high rankers.” Crow snapped.
Luck let out a humorless laugh. “You really want to know? Fine. That trio, Vengeance, Warp, and TNT saved my life. So both of you assholes can fuck right on off.”
Techno grit his teeth, turning on his heel. “Come on P- Crow. We won’t get anything out of him.”
With Purpled
Purpled hummed as he strapped knives to his thighs. Fundy relied mostly on his shapeshifting out in the field, meaning he was done preparing long before Purpled was. Aside from his soft humming, the room was silent.
“Do we know if Red Cross is out?” Fox asked. Purpled shook his head and his teammate sighed. “That’s unfortunate, it would be good to know if our favorite, well, only healer is out tonight.” Red Cross was a vigilante with a healing power. The man was usually helping Warden or other vigilantes.
Purpled slipped on his mask, and Fox stood up. “Well. Let’s get going.” Purpled jumped out the window, catching himself on the opposite windowsill. Fox transformed into his name’s sake and hopped onto Purpled’s shoulder at the same time. Purpled bent the light around them to hide their presence.
He swung up onto the rooftop and the fox perched on his shoulder hopped off. Transforming back to a human. “You go left, I’ll go right.” Purpled nodded, and the pair went in their separate directions.
They lived in district 8. One of the poorest in the city. District 9 was arguably worse, but crime ran rampant in both just the same. His thoughts from earlier in the day melted away as the wind whipped around him. The occasional civilian waved enthusiastically at him as he passed, and he smiled.
The heroes didn’t bother with the lower districts, leaving the vigilantes to be the only ones keeping people safe. The heroes only came down to the district if a vigilante was reported, but they never were. He wasn’t going to get into unnecessary fights due to the fact he was still tired from his day, but he wouldn’t sit aside if something was happening either.
The sun had long since set when he heard the sound of a window shattering. He changed direction towards the sound. A gun sounded and Purpled grit his teeth. That would be a problem. He dropped gracefully to the ground and walked though the shattered glass door.
Yet as he did, the cold metal of a gun rested against his temple. He froze.
Notes:
I have no regrets whatsoever.
Chapter 22: In a "enemy's" defense
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Still with Purpled
An arm was wrapped around his neck, whoever it was slightly taller than him. “Listen here you little shit.” The man snarled. “You’re going to call your little partner and tell him to come get ya. We have some… unfinished business.” He was about to use his powers when the unmistakable feel of power suppressants clicked around his wrist.
Purpled kept his movements slow as he reached towards the panic button that they shared, not that he planned to actually press it. Several plans ran through his head on how he was going to get out of this. A gun to his temple, several armed men scattered throughout the room, yeah it wasn’t looking great for him.
He had already thrown out the idea of contacting his partner. Calling Fox would just stick his teammate and friend into what they were likely planning to be an ambush. The gun pressed menacingly to his temple. “Hurry up alien boy, or I may lose patience.” The man snarled in his ear.
A disgusted shiver ran through Purpled. He grabbed the panic button, not intending to press it. Yet the man apparently expected him not to and snatched it from his hand. “Well well well, look at what we have here.” The man’s accomplices chuckled.
Fear once again ran through Purpled as the man pressed the button. The earpiece came alive in his ear. “You alright UFO? I’m already on my way but I need to know what’s going on.” Fox’s voice said. Though the gun still pressed against his head was a clear reminder not to say anything. “I’m almost there, just hold on a bit longer.”
Purpled screamed in his head for his friend not to come, but his pleas went as unheard as they were silent. The room was dead silent, until it wasn’t. Light purple particles began to swirl in the air, seeming oddly familiar to the vigilante.
A figure appeared, and Purpled realized exactly where he knew the particles from. If he was afraid before, he was panicking now. The figure was wearing a dark purple hooded shawl paired with a fancy purple masquerade mask. Other than that, Purpled could see the villain was for some reason wearing a white corset. “What do you think you’re doing?” The villain announced to the public as going by the name Warp asked in a low voice. The tell tale sign of a voice changer making it sound odd.
The man who was holding Purpled hostage tightened his grip. Was this guy an idiot? “None of your business teleporting asshole. Who are you to stick your nose in my affairs?” Purpled came to the conclusion that yes, this guy was an idiot.
A chilling laugh came from behind him and the idiot holding him, made all the worse by the man's own voice changer. “You don’t know? Bloody hell. I knew you were an asshole already, but I didn’t know you were an ignorant asshole.” The guy’s henchmen were already backing off. They apparently didn’t want to deal with dangerous villains, not that Purpled blamed them, he would rather be anywhere else.
This was only amplified when the idiot holding him turned around and dragged Purpled to now be stuck right in front of the other villains that had entered the room. Purpled’s blood ran cold. The gun being held against his head let up pressure but he was too frozen in panic to make use of it.
At least the idiot recognized Vengeance, not that it helped Purpled’s situation any. He did notice that the villain looked slightly different. The villain wore a red suit with black accents and a white under shirt. His eyes showed an excitement that greatly unnerved Purpled.
Just because Vengeance was his favorite super didn’t mean he really wanted to meet the man. Behind Vengeance was someone that Purpled didn’t recognize. A gas mask now covered the bottom half of the villain’s face, hiding his identity. The villain was wearing a beige jacket covered in pockets of varying sizes. It was then that the idiot finally realized he had just fucked both of them over.
“L-Look,” The man stuttered, “I- I didn’t know you uh, liked this vigilante or this was your area or something, we didn’t know you three uh… gentle men would have a problem.”
The unidentified villain scoffed; his voice had an odd buzz like sound from his voice changer. “Oh please. I’ve always been fond of vigilantes; you fuck with the good ones, you fuck with us.”
One of the guy’s friends spoke up, getting a burst of confidence from somewhere apparently. “Your villains, why would you care for vigilantes. Shouldn’t you be against them?”
The mans confidence deteriorated like cotton candy in water as Warp stalked over to him. “We became villains to go against horrible people that decided to screw us and other people over, not so we could hurt the people that were actually trying.”
Purpled knew the men were getting desperate, and the gun pressed further against his temple. “D- don’t touch my people, or I shoot your precious vigilante.”
It was at that moment that Fox arrived on the scene. “What the hell is going on?” Purpled knew the moment that his friend realized the full gravity of the situation. A gun pressed to Purpled’s head, three villains, and a bunch of armed dudes who looked ready to kill.
“TNT.” Warp said simply, and all hell broke loose. The previously unidentified villain, apparently called TNT lunged forward. The man almost pulled the trigger while the gun was still pointed at his head but TNT hit his arm.
Searing pain rocketed up Purpled’s leg and he let out a cry. Fox hopped into the fight as the villains attacked the men that had ambushed him minutes before. His teammate looped his arm over his shoulders and helped him hobble away from the fight.
Shots were fired and screams rang out. Purpled’s vison had gone blurry due to the pain. Though he knew someone had or was about to die a small stream of blood came out from under the door. They tried to get up again, not wanting to still be around when the villains were done attacking their attackers.
Purpled collapsed again as soon as he tried however. “Go Fox. I’ll meet you back home.” Fox was about to object but Purpled cut him off before he could. “I’ll be alright, you didn’t hear them but they won’t hurt vigilantes.” Despite his words of encouragement, Fox didn’t move from his spot.
When the three villains walked out, they were splattered in still steaming blood. Well, it was obvious who the blood belonged to now since they were walking just fine. Warp teleported over ot them immediately, making both of the vigilantes flinch.
Warp shoved some kind of vial into his hands. “It’s a healing potion. TNT said he could tell the bullet went right through.”
“And how do you know that?” Fox asked, his tone a borderline snarl.
Vengeance walked up behind his teammate. “A really fucking sad amount of training and practice. Now drink the damn potion.” After a moment of hesitation, Purpled drank the potion, figuring if the villains really wanted to kill them they would’ve already.
TNT had walked over as well and hit his teammate in the back of the head. “Be nice V. You know what we used to be like to villains.”
Purpled’s vision was slowly clearing. “You used to be vigilantes?” He asked.
For the first time since the start of the interaction, the villain trio were giving off an air of confidence. Though Purpled still couldn’t quite put his finger on what it was now. “It’s.. hard to explain.” Warp said hesitantly. “Just know that the only group we have anything against is heroes. We did mean it when we said that we like vigilantes.” Warp stood back up.
Neither of the vigilantes got the chance to say anything else before the villain trio shared a glance, Warp disappearing in a flurry of particles and the other two setting off at a run. They had all disappeared over the rooftops before he had a chance to truly comprehend what had just happened.
“I think… we’re going to need to host a vigilante meeting.” Purpled murmured, sitting the rest of the way up.
“Yeah… looks like it.” Fox replied, sounding just as dumbfounded.
Notes:
Double update!!!!
Chapter 30.. wow. Yeah this fic is going to get really long. I'll probably combine a few chapters at some point.
Hope you enjoyed, see you next chapter!
(or in the comments, I make sure to reply to every single one)
Link to my twitter account! I post about my upcoming and published fics, as well as the occasional other random thing
Chapter 23: A Confusing Broadcast
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
With Tubbo
It was now morning which meant another day of school. He was still wondering exactly who though sending them to school was a good idea. They had long since arrived but had chosen to wait to go in. They were still talking about the night before’s events. “I’m still mad that you hit me over that Tubbo.” Tommy said.
Tubbo let out a huff. “Oh come on. I stand by my point. We used to treat the others like they were the scum of the earth as well. You can’t blame them.” Just as Tommy was about to respond, Purpled arrived. They couldn’t really talk about their little excursion from the night before in front of the teen.
Not that it mattered much, the bell began to ring at that exact moment. Tubbo ended up getting into an argument with his social studies teacher about the motivations of the heroes. He couldn’t help but notice the inconsistencies.
He knew normal civilians didn’t notice it unless it was specifically pointed out. The fact he used to be a hero offered him a unique perspective. Needless to say, he would not be going to that detention he was supposed to. Luckily lunch was next, and he let his head fall to the table when he got there.
Tommy was next to arrive. “Rough day?” he asked, sounding vaguely amused at his friend’s misery.
“Stupid ass teacher started glorifying heroes.” He complained, looking up at his friend. Tommy’s face fell slightly. He didn’t say anything else, but his silence spoke volumes. They had seen firsthand what the heroes actually were, it was irritating for everyone else to be so oblivious.
Ranboo walked up a couple minutes later, sitting down. “What happened this time?” he asked.
“Teacher decided that she would go off on a tangent of how amazing the heroes and the hero committee is.” Tubbo explained for a second time. Ranboo shook his head with a sigh. They all had a very similar opinion on the topic. One that wasn’t very positive.
Purpled walked over, obviously hesitant. “Mind if I sit with you guys again?” he asked, not quite looking at them.
Tubbo gestured at the last open seat. “Yeah, go ahead boss-man.” Purpled sat down with a grateful smile. Tommy looked like he was about to say something, only for Tubbo’s phone to go off. He fished it out of his pocket but paused when he saw what was on the screen.
A notification for a news headline sat at the top of the screen. ‘Hero Fire-Fist makes a public apology’ Tubbo’s brows furrowed. That was odd. He showed the others his phone and they had similar reactions. He clicked it, and turned the volume high enough for them all to hear. He set his phone on the table to where they could all see it.
The reporter on the screen took in a breath before starting her report. “Civilians of L’manburg, the have an interesting new story. The ranked 5th hero Fire-Fist has just made a public announcement that he has to apologize for something, not that we’re entirely sure what yet. Due to the reactions from the other heroes and a couple of statements, they have no idea what’s going on either. Onto Dave who is on the scene for more on this.”
Tubbo shared a look with Tommy and Ranboo. There was only one thing that the hero really had to be guilty about. It had been covered up every single time and it didn’t really make sense for the hero to actually admit to his mistakes. Their attention was brought back as the second reporter started talking.
“Thank you, Sharon.” The man said. “The crowds here are ridiculous, everyone wants to know what’s going on. Talking to any of the heroes has gotten to the point of being impossible. We expect for Fire-Fist-”
The reporter was cut off by the sound of a microphone. Fire-Fist stepped up onto stage. The hero looked… nervous. Which was unusual for the usually boisterous hero. “Hello everyone, thank you for coming or watching. This will be incredibly short, I... don’t have much to say.” The hero rubbed the back of his neck with the hand not holding the microphone and he once again took a steadying breath.
“Some one that I don’t have the best relationship with pointed out one of my biggest flaws. You know who you are, we ran into each other right after the funeral incident.” He shook his head with a laugh, though it didn’t seem very humorous.
“I don’t know why I decided to listen, but you had a point.” He looked up, visibly steeling himself. “I have a horrible trend, one that I am highly ashamed of. Over the time of my career as a hero, I have collapsed, brunt, and otherwise mutilated buildings all over the city.”
The trio shared a surprised glance once more. They hadn’t expected the hero to actually admit it. Tubbo wondered who pointed it out so thoroughly that the hero was actually making a public apology. By now, the other heroes were making moves to stop the hero. A satisfied smile bordering on a sneer spread over Tubbo’s face. The committee never did like it when their faults were pointed out.
Fire-Fist continued his speech, “This has not been brought to attention as much as it should’ve been, and I am very sorry for that.” That was a nice way to say they had been covering it up, and everyone knew it. “I will be making an effort to avoid this in the future and even reimburse the ones that have happened in the past.”
The hero’s teammates finally arrived on stage, Dream taking the microphone out of Fire-Fist’s hand and handing it to Spore. The man’s teammates didn’t seem very happy with this turn of events. He noticed Purpled’s surprise, the teen’s gaze fixed on the screen. This meant he was unaware of the growing grins on the trio’s faces.
Dream looked like he was not happy with his teammate, years of reading expressions through masks made being able to tell incredibly easy. Spore spoke into the microphone, “Sorry about that everyone, the announcement is now over, you can all go home.” The most noticeable thing was that even though Fire-Fist was obviously getting borderline yelled at by Dream, the man had a very distinct lack of shame.
Tubbo powered his phone off, putting it back in his pocket. “That was… something.” Ranboo said, by now the trio had all schooled their expressions into just their surprise instead of grinning. Tommy nodded his head in agreement.
Purpled looked slightly conflicted. "I didn't notice that before. He's been burning down buildings? Why hasn't it been mentioned before? He said it himself that it had been ignored."
Tubbo snorted shaking his head. "You saw the response his friends had. The committee didn't want people noticing, Sa- Fire-Fist chose to reveal himself, against literally everyone he works with and for's wishes." That had been the first time that he had almost slipped a hero's name. All the heroes in the hero tower knew each other's identities except for those who chose specifically to hide theirs like the trio had. He had been lucky to catch himself.
If Tubbo had been paying a bit more attention, he would've noticed he slipped he knew more than most. The public didn't know the relations between hero teams, and the DTeam's usually seemed more of a tense team. Most of the public thought that the heroes had been put on a team together for power synergies.
Notes:
Sorry for the slight decrease in quality, I wrote most of this at three in the morning while ignoring my mental and physical needs.
Link to my twitter account! I post about my upcoming and published fics, as well as the occasional other random thing
Chapter 24: Reunions of Pain
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
With ???
He let out a sigh, stepping out of the portal. The sigil like numbers glowed a stark green right before the entire thing faded behind him. He cast his gaze around, unfortunately the thing he was searching for wasn't anywhere nearby. He knew he would rather not go out into public, but it may be inevitable.
He pulled his hood up and walked out of the dark building as he tucked his book into a small bag at his waist. Bright light hit his eyes, making him grimace. People walked along the street, uncaring of one more person joining the crowd. He hunched up his shoulders. He had hated being in crowds as far back as he could remember.
He shook his head to clear it. Trying to remember anything before his current task always gave him a headache. That task being making sure the timeline stayed stable. He looked around for a specific alleyway, not really paying attention to what was in front of him.
His inattention led to him knocking into someone, and they fell to the ground. He pushed his hood back as he turned to help them up. He paused; however, this person looked... vaguely familiar. They froze as well, a brief flash of grief taking over their face before they shook their head. “Sorry about that.” He apologized, once again reaching to help the person up.
The person took his hand with a grateful smile as he pulled them up. Yet he did notice the lingering sadness in their eyes. “If you don’t mind me asking, what’s wrong?” He asked the person.
They looked off to the side. “Sorry about that, you just… remind me of someone I lost a long time ago.”
Despite not knowing this person, he felt sadness for the stranger. “Ah. I’m so sorry for your loss….” He trailed off, realizing the didn’t know the stranger’s name.
The stranger chuckled humorlessly. “The name’s Eret, and he’s not dead, just... gone. It’s hard to explain.” He felt the unmistakable feel of something being wrong. This was not supposed to happen. Yet when he thought of going back to make sure the encounter never happened, his heart ached.
He noticed that he had been silent and quickly said, “Oh, alright. Well my name’s Karl and I hope one day you and this person you lost reunite.” Karl looked around once more. “I’m sorry, but I have to go. I’ve got some stuff I have to do. Bye.” Eret waved at him as he walked away. Karl returned the wave.
Karl knew he wasn’t supposed to run into this Eret person, but something in him told him that it would be wrong to stop it as well.
With Eret
Eret just managed to get into a secluded alley in the direction that Karl was decidedly not going in. He leaned against the wall and finally let the tears run down his face. That had been their first meeting in… he didn’t even know how long.
He had thought of so many imaginary scenarios for if they ever met again. Yet the reality ended differently from those fantasies. His friend hadn’t recognized him. He expected it, yet it still hurt. They had been teammates, best friends once. He knew those days were long behind them, yet he still longed for them to come back.
Karl had paid the price. A price that Eret still wished that he had taken instead. He had retired as a villain because it had been their thing. They were the number one villain duo, but there was no Quick Silver without Lapis. They had started their careers together and ended them at the same time, but not together.
Eret muffled his sobs with his hands. He fished out his phone shooting Niki a quick text.
Butterfly: I won’t be able to pick up the trio after all
Strawberry: I’ll take care of it, don’t worry. Is everything alright?
Butterfly: saw Lapis
Strawberry: Oh shit, do you need someone for emotional support? Even if they don’t know the full story I know from experience that having someone there can help
He had never told anyone what fully went down. No one except him and the gods knew went down in those weeks. His friends never pushed him for information, which he was eternally grateful for.
Butterfly: I... I’ll be alright Niki, I need some time alone
Strawberry: alright, I’ll just tell the trio something happened and they can’t see you?
Butterfly: yeah that works, thanks Niks
Strawberry: anytime Eret, we’re here if you ever need anything
Eret hugged his knees to his chest. He'd go home soon. For now he had to calm himself down enough to actually go out in public.
With Charlie
Charlie was... slightly confused to say the least. The hero Fire-Fist had made an announcement. Quackity had actually told him of the events that happened after the funeral. It seemed like his friend’s words had actually had an impact on the hero.
Quackity had been just as surprised when Charlie had alerted him of it. That wasn’t really his concern at the moment. He walked into Quackity’s office with his usual grin. “Hi Quackity of Las Nevadas! Someone wants to set up a meeting with you!” Quackity looked up from his papers at him.
“Who would that be, and which of my personas?” Quackity asked, setting the paper down to give him his full attention.
Charlie cocked his head to the side, showing his confusion even while his expression didn’t change. “Fire-Fist of the heroes wanted a meeting with Luck.” Quackity’s brows furrowed in response to his words.
After another moment Quackity murmured, “That’s… odd. What could he want talk to luck for? Maybe to find a way out of his promise from the announcement? No, he did that too publicly, besides he seemed genuine…” He trailed off, obviously deep in thought.
“Maybe he wants to be friends with people outside the heroes?” Charlie said, Quackity gave him a flat look and Charlie shrugged. “Don’t look at me, I don’t know either.”
Quackity sighed, letting his head fall against his desk. Charlie was quick enough to slide the small cushion that sat on his desk for that exact reason. Quackity was always annoyed when it came to having to deal with heroes, and the last meeting with a group had not helped any. After another moment, Quackity muttered just loud enough for Charlie to hear, “Fine, let’s set something up.”
Notes:
Spring I already mentioned this to you
I actually was not planning for Eret and Karl to have a backstory together until that first scene with Eret that Karl was mentioned
Karl was originally just going to be one of my vigilantes
But instead I decided to use his involvement in anything as an angst stick :)Link to my twitter account! I post about my upcoming and published fics, as well as the occasional other random thing
Chapter 25: Chat and Protection
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
With Techno – a couple hours earlier
The Dream Team finally managed to drag Fire-Fist back inside the building. The man was now getting yelled at by Clay who had removed his mask to reprimand his teammate. Not that Techno cared much. Why Clay or the committee cared so much was beyond him. Though it was slightly amusing to watch while he sipped on his tea.
Chat putting their three collective brain cells together to talk about the situation was almost just as amusing.
Where’s George? We need more people to yell at fire boi
Sapnap getting yelled at gives me unreasonable amounts of serotonin
Well, he was doing the right thing at least
FOR ONCE IN HIS LIFE LOL
E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E
Guys I’m crying
Uhhh why?
Have you not gone and bothered K or E in the past like 10 minutes? I am in p.a.i.n
That’s one way to avoid identity reveals I guess
I just had to get out of those two’s chats because my heart couldn’t take that
LORE!?
I assume so
Blood! Blood! Blood! Blood!
Ok, can we talk about the fact that Sap is possibly about to have a fucking REDEMPTION ARC?!
Oh shit wait
Yeah, I didn’t even think about that!
E E E E E E
From what we’ve seen from the current characters and lore, I doubt that’s the case
E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E
Geeze I’m late, I need to stop spending so much time at home because I keep missing important stuff
Wait oh my gods speaking of home, Mumza's about to have to deal with Drista
Wait really!? Oh shit, brb to everyone sticking around here
E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E
Chat went quiet for a little bit, as they usually did when whoever those two people were mentioned. Though it didn’t take very long for them to start getting loud again.
Am I the only one actually watching Sapnap get yelled at?
Nope
Ok but really, why is he getting yelled at?
Well, at least we know he was being sincere about it
True
Techno was done with his tea quickly however, and he turned away from the scene. He set his cup down and walked out of the room. Today would be their first patrol since the trio’s death. They had been off longer than the committee could really afford.
Most of the time they weren’t sent out on patrol, the committee preferring to be able to send them out at need, but with this being their first thing in weeks it’s what they had been assigned. Techno shook his head at the complaints ringing in his mind. “Shut up chat.” He muttered, making sure no one else could hear him.
Not that chat was paying much attention. They just kept on talking. Though he was more than used to it. It was when they started mentioning villains that he started paying attention.
Heh, they have no idea do they?
Nope, let’s keep it that way
The villain’s chats are so much fun to be around in
I got to watch the funeral event from Phil's chat, that thing was amazing
Ok, I need to know, who is everyone’s favorite villain?
Villain villain or villain?
Villain
Does Quick Silver count? I know he retired but I love him so much
Fuck it, sure he counts
I’m still recovering from his chat god damn itttttttttt
They still haven’t fully dropped what’s going on there, I need to know!
The poor thing was sobbing, I think we can wait XD
I think we all just need some sleep
No disagreements there! :D
I haven’t slept in over 36 hours, I don’t need any sleep
I– am not even gonna try
Someone get Mum or Dad to come yell at these idiots for self negligenceeeeeee
Who needs sleep when there’s pure spite!
Oh you run off of pure spite too!?
Going to go bang my head against a wall, brb
In the present - With Niki
Her worry for Eret was still fresh on her mind as she pulled up to the high school. It didn’t take her long to find the trio with her gaze, though she didn’t recognize the boy they were with. The teen had dirty blond hair with a bright purple hoodie.
The interaction didn’t seem hostile, however. Tommy had a large grin that usually meant that something was about to go wrong. She rolled down her window, sticking her head out. “You three coming or not?” Niki shouted, drawing their attention. The mystery person looked a bit confused and hesitated as he walked behind the trio who pretty much skipped over.
“Hey Niki!” Ranboo greeted enthusiastically, “I thought Eret was picking us up again.”
She looked away saying, “Uhh. Well, something happened earlier so he couldn’t come. He just wants to be left alone now.” Ranboo nodded in response, though all three of them now looked worried. Even the stranger looked slightly concerned. That thought brought her to her next question. “Who’s this?”
Tommy’s grin returned, but the look in his eyes showed that his concern for Eret had not been dissolved. “This is our new friend Purpled! His presence is more than tolerable, and he said his favorite super was Vengeance.” That explained so much, of course Tommy got attached when he was literally this kid’s favorite.
Niki smiled fondly, shaking her head with a slight eye roll. “Of course.” She sighed quietly. Though Purpled seemed to notice, seemingly choosing not to comment on it. Though this did give her a slight problem. She had to figure out a way to get a picture of this kid.
If the trio had gotten attached, then Purpled was now someone that was going to be put under the villains’ protection. Any time one of the villains gained a civilian friend they always got a picture of them and sent it to the other villains so that if that civilian got caught in any fight zones, they knew to get them out.
She didn’t want to go full on stalker methods. She was a murderer and villain, not a stalker. Thankfully, she came up with the solution rather quickly. She fished her phone out of her bag. “Can you guys get a bit closer together? I need a group photo.” Tubbo looked slightly confused, giving her a ‘what the hell are you doing?’ look. The trio didn’t know of the little protocol so she wasn’t caught off guard by his confusion.
Purpled spoke up, “Uhh, why?”
She smiled, this little maneuver would embarrass the trio a bit, but it was necessary. “Oh! You’re their first friend outside of my friend group, and we basically take care of these chaotic little shits.” She ignored the squawk of protest from Tommy. “So I think this is an important moment that should be remembered. Now, group up please.”
Tommy was still muttering complaints, Tubbo looked a bit pink in the face, Ranboo was pouting, and Purpled looked slightly amused, but they did as she asked. She wasn’t lying, the photo would serve that purpose as well. Though its first purpose remained the same.
She smiled after taking a couple pictures of the group, putting her phone back away. “Alright, we’ve got to go you three, come on.” They said their goodbyes, and soon she drove the trio back to their apartment.
After they were out, she pulled up the gc
CottonCandy: *sent attachment* Bench Trio made a new friend at school! Protocol Periphery.
PokerFace: Nice! That was kind of the point. I’ll watch out for him
GemSimp: Same here. Bad’s busy but I’ll let him know when I see him next
BaldGuy: It’s like 4 in the afternoon, I thought you guys went shopping yesterday, what could he be doing?
GemSimp: Hehehehe, don’t worry about it :smiling_imp:
Also on that note, I’m going to be busy soon so I won’t be able to talk
CottonCandy: I am… so concerned right now
Notes:
scale of evilness (in Niki's opinion)
Murder - this is fine, normal Tuesday activity
Stalking - this is weird and creepy, will murder anyone stalking anyone else
Link to my twitter account! I post about my upcoming and published fics, as well as the occasional other random thing
Chapter 26: Was It Forgetfulness.... or Abuse
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
With Tommy – a few days later
Tommy let himself sink into the soft couch cushions with a contented sigh. It was now the weekend. He had no idea what he was going to do for the day, but he wasn’t in the mood for anything big. He had texted Purpled, though the teen was apparently busy with something.
Even around 2 months later after their ‘deaths’ they still were getting used to the fact that they were no longer expected to work around the clock. Tommy had noticed that he wasn’t doing quite as well as he seemed. They had all been having frequent nightmares, Ranboo just had to deal with twice as many.
They all still jumped at any loud noise for one. Other than yelling that is. Anytime someone yelled he found himself slipping into the old habit of a domesticated teen hero. It had been drilled into them from day one of the academy to listen to every single word the committee said, and Schlatt had a habit of yelling at them.
The first time the villains had found out about that little problem they had gone off on some random lady that had started yelling at him for accidentally bumping into her. He had spent the next few hours in a bit of a haze, it was not a pleasant experience.
The villains had told him later that they had been straight up panicking until he came out of it. A frown tugged at his lips. His left-over habits were not things he liked to think about. He shook his head to clear it, no point in dwelling on it now.
He grabbed his phone off of the nearby coffee table. Ranboo had made his villain persona a twitter account just so he could cause twitter drama purely for fun, and Tommy was considering doing the same. It had already caused a small uproar on social media that ended up being incredibly amusing.
After another moment, he shrugged to himself. Why not? It didn’t take long for him to start poking at it.
With Ranboo
Ranboo walked into the living room. Tommy was sprawled out across the couch, taking up most of the space on the piece of furniture. He let out a sigh at his friend’s antics. “Tommy scoot over.” He said, approaching. His friend didn’t react to his name, however. “Tommy?” Ranboo repeated. He realized a second later and he facepalmed. He forgot that happened occasionally.
“Theseus, scooch. You’re taking up the whole couch” Ranboo said with an unimpressed expression.
Tommy looked up with a smug grin. “You know, I don’t think I will boob-boy. You can use a chair.” he said, putting his phone down and stretching out further. Ranboo raised an eyebrow and Tommy chuckled. “Yeah yeah, I get it.”
Ranboo plopped down next to his friend who had once again grabbed his phone. “So, what are you doing Tommy?” Once again, Tommy didn’t respond to his name. Ranboo sighed. “Theseus.”
Tommy looked at him, “Yeah big-” he froze, facepalming. “Shit, I did it again didn’t I?” Ranboo nodded. It was a problem that the trio were completely used to. The SBI had started calling Tommy Theseus after it had become the teens hero name.
With them never showing their identities around the rest of the tower, it got to the point that the only ones that actually called Tommy by his actual name were him and Tubbo for several years. Just as that thought was going through his head, the door to Tubbo’s room burst open to admit the teen. “DESTINY IS CALLING AND I HAVE A BRILLIANT IDEA!” Tubbo shouted with a manic grin.
Tommy groaned, grumbling as he leaned his head against the arm of the couch. “Well destiny can go lose my fucking number, I’m going back to sleep.” Tubbo did not look impressed in the slightest.
He wasted no time in walking up and dragging Tommy off the couch by his ankle. “Too bad, Tommy we haven’t been seen as villains since our debut except for our borderline vigilante work. We need to go out and do some villain shit and I’m going to blow something up with or without you.”
Ranboo had seen what was about to happen and had already gotten away from his two friends. This led him to be able to watch with amusement without being dragged into it. “I don’t want to do anything important right now!” Tommy complained, though his words were betrayed by the excitement growing on his friend’s face.
Ranboo snorted with amusement before turning his attention back to his shortest best friend. “So, what are we doing this time?”
An hour later
The trio were now scoping out one of the many store houses owned by the hero committee. The thing that set this particular building apart, however, was the fact that it was in the 3rd district. “You know, this was not what I expected when you said you had an idea.” Vengeance said from beside him, looking dubiously at the building that TNT wanted to raid and then blow up.
Ranboo nodded his head in agreement. TNT grinned in response as he spoke. “It’s perfect. You know that they’re going to be paying attention when this goes up in flames, we needed to show our faces at some point, especially after Silver put so much effort into our costumes.” They didn’t think anyone was listening in, but the careful concealing of identities was something that had long since been drilled into them by the hero committee.
Vengeance gave his friend a dubious smile. “TNT, are you going to try to tell me after that entire thing earlier, that you don’t want an excuse blow something up?”
TNT didn’t respond, instead jumping off their perch. Ranboo followed soon after. The plan was basically just to rig the building and then grab everything that they could carry. TNT gave them directions as they went in addition to the plan they had gone over beforehand.
They knew the moment that their presence was reported. The noise helicopters was something that the trio had long since been desensitized to. The trio shared an excited glance. They were going to cement who they were in the faces of the public for the first time. The funeral had been a great chance for a debut, even if it was unplanned, but none of them had really made an appearance appearance.
While robbing the heroes was a positive benefit to their plan, their main goal arrived in the form of the annoying trio that was the Dream Team. Ranboo saw TNT pocket the button to all of their explosives, and the presumed dead ex-hero turned villain trio turned to the heroes.
Notes:
Hello everyone! Nice to see you here! Thank you so much for 3000 hits, I am so happy that people are (hopefully) enjoying my work!
Not that anyone really cares, but I may be getting with my best friend who I have been head over heels for after months of loving her.
For those of you on my discord server, I decided to push back the topic of that last poll back one more chapter. It just didn't feel quite right for this one.
Link to my twitter account! I post about my upcoming and published fics, as well as the occasional other random thing
Chapter 27: Mistakes Are Made
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
With Sapnap
His two teammates were still not happy with him for his ‘stunt’, but they were still a team. The newest villains had been sighted and they were sent out to deal with them. Sapnap did not want to be there. He had made an attempt to terminate his contract with the committee, without his teammates’ knowledge, only for his own contract to be waved in his face and told he couldn’t leave.
He had been taught to recognize the smell of gun powder so he didn’t accidently blow something a villain had rigged. The scent was present in the air, and he grimaced. This was not a great situation for him in any sense.
The goal of the current mission was not to bring the villains in, if they found an opportunity they would, but more to see how big of a problem the villains actually were and who would be best matched against them. The trio landed on a nearby roof and held up a hand for them to stop. Sapnap’s troubling thoughts faded, his mind focusing full yon the battle ahead and following orders.
Dream tapped his earpiece and Sapnap heard him quietly make a report. “Villains spotted. It looks like they’re doing a raid of some kind. All three in sight. Permission to engage?”
The answer came a moment later. “Permission granted.” The team lurched into motion, landing in front of the villains. Warp’s eyes were an odd glowing purple, and when the villain smiled slight fangs became visible.
Even though the villain’s mask covered the bottom half of their face, Sapnap could tell that the shortest villain was smiling as well. Vengeance still had his back turned to them but had frozen in place. Sapnap had no doubt that the villain was ready to turn and attack at any moment.
Each of them looked different from their debut. Warp and the villain they still didn’t know the name of only had slight changes. Warp had creepy eyes that weren’t there before as well as having a black and gold necklace hanging across their neck.
The ‘mystery villain’ now had two different colors on his gas-mask like mask. Yellow and green. His jacket looked like leather, pockets interrupting the material every few inches. He had a couple rings on display, one a simple gold band.
Yet the most noticeable change was Vengeance’s mask when the villain turned around. It looked similar to a masquerade mask but different. It looked to be made from a silver plate, stylized into four dragon wing like shapes that flared out around his face. It was decorated with various materials, most of them expensive.
The mask had two large rings in the back, held tilted to where the silver rings were behind his head but tilted above it, giving them an almost halo like appearance. At the bottom of the mask, it had small silver chains hanging from it, ending in small purple gems. Now that he noticed it, they all looked oddly regal.
Warp had new jewelry, gold silver and a few gems on display. The short one also had a gold band around his arm. Their outfits were of obviously high quality. Vengeance spoke first, “well, there they are. Seriously though, why did it have to be them, I have never liked Narcissus, Sisyphus is a bit better now that he’s admitted he’s a bitch though.”
The shortest villain snorted in obvious amusement. “I knew you wanted to do that, but geeze Vengeance, Narcissus?” The villain then looked at Dream then turned back to his teammate. “You know what, that checks out.”
Dream did not look happy at that remark. Sapnap, however, was struggling not to laugh, even if he was a bit confused. From once wanting to be friends with Blade, he had a basic overview of some Greek mythology. The myth was one that he was familiar with, a man that had died from not wanting to look away from a mirror if he was remembering correctly.
With that, Dream launched into the attack. Sapnap first went for the villain they didn’t have the name of, firing a blast of fire. Though he received a heel to the gut for his trouble. He didn’t miss the fact that the villain didn’t seem to be at all bothered by the sight of flames.
The gleam in the villain’s eye could only be described as excited. “Ah, Fire-Fist! Nice to meet you properly, the name’s TNT!” Well, they at least had a name for the villain, that was something. Sapnap suddenly felt the back of his white bandana grabbed and panic ran through his system, interrupting his battle haze.
Yet whoever had grabbed him didn’t yank his mask off as he feared, and instead yanked him towards the ground. He found Vengeance in his spot, apparently the one that had grabbed him. Sapnap twisted and landed on his feet. Vengeance tapped something in his ear and spoke softly before disappearing again, likely to fight Sapnap’s teammates.
He was about to jump back into the fight, only for that plan to be knocked off course as he was surrounded by light purple particles and his stomach dropped. He felt dizzy as the ground returned a moment later. Warp gave him a mock salute, teleporting away.
Sapnap realized where the villain had dropped him off right when the door slammed shut. He was now stuck inside the warehouse the villains had just been robbing. He rushed up to the door, about to melt the lock off, when he heard a sound.
He saw a figure creeping up to one of the bombs that he had just noticed. “Hey! What are you doing?” He called, just as the figure lit a match… and dropped it on the bomb. A chain of explosions rang out, but he kicked the door down and ran out just in time.
His chest heaved, adrenaline coursing through his body. The entire building collapsed behind him. He caught the villains that had just tried to kill him sharing a look. Through ringing ears, he vaguely heard TNT say, “I didn’t set that off.”
Spore ran over to him, slinging Sapnap’s arm around his shoulder. They glared at the villains, and Vengeance gave a mock bow. “Well heroes, I’m afraid we have to-” the villain cut himself off when as he looked at Warp. “Warp, why the fuck are you wearing heels?”
Even through the mask, Sapnap could tell the villain did not look impressed. “I have been wearing heels the ENTIRE TIME we’ve had our costumes, and you just now noticed?”
Vengeance turned fully to his teammate. “Last I checked you could barely walk in heels, since when could you fight in the damn things!?”
Warp sounded almost smug as he spoke next. “Blame Quick Silver, he taught me a few tricks and I asked if I could have heels as part of my costume.” Vengeance’s mouth opened like he was about to say something else, though he shut it a moment later. The villain turned, disappearing.
TNT grabbed onto Warp, and they were gone as well in a flurry of particles. All of the stuff they had stolen from the heroes going with them. Sapnap stood on his own, no longer leaning on his teammate. “We’ve... got a lot to report. I’ll see you guys there.” Spore said, already walking off, Dream followed behind him like a lost puppy.
Sapnap wasn’t quite ready to head back yet, after he had almost been blown to smithereens. Helicopters and other news reporting tools were already approaching the scene and he really wasn’t in the mood to deal with them.
He ran into a nearby alley and sat against the wall, placing his head against his knees. He was tired. Only after the hero committee started treating him worse and worse did they notice how badly they were treating heroes.
His thoughts were only interrupted when he heard three voices, and they made his blood run cold.
Notes:
A day late, but that's not all that bad.
Hope we're all having fun here!
Chapter 28: Never Their Fault
Chapter Text
Still Sapnap POV
A sigh could be heard before TNT’s voice said, “Well, that was fun.” His voice was devoid of the unnervingly cheery tone he had used when talking to the heroes, replacing it with a genuinely satisfied tone.
He could hear someone else make a snort of amusement. “Of course it was fun, we just robbed some assholes and beat some bitches up.” Vengeance’s voice said, lacking the mocking tone he had adopted earlier.
Warp was next to speak. “If Devil heard that he would be screaming about your language for at least an hour. I do have to agree though, that was a lot of fun. On that note, why’d you blow the explosives so early? I locked S- Fire-fist in there, I wasn’t trying to kill him.” It didn’t seem that the villains had noticed him yet, and he shifted back behind a dumpster.
TNT sounded almost confused as he said, “I didn’t, they went off without me pressing the button, and I kept my eye on that thing the entire time. I’m checking the camaras, because that wasn’t us.” Sapnap’s mind skidded to a halt. They… hadn’t been trying to blow him up?
A minute of silence passed, and then. “Mother fuckers.” TNT muttered.
“What?” Vengeance asked.
“Damn hero committee tried to blow up their own damn building. Wait, didn’t you say that Fire-Fist was the only one in there?” Sapnap couldn’t bear to hear another word, he ran out of his hiding spot, and against his will, he turned towards Las Nevadas.
With Karl
He flipped through the book rapidly. “No, no, no, no, no no no no no no no no.” He searched for what he could do. He had tried over and over again to find a way to make the man die, but it wasn’t possible. The man named Sapnap was supposed to die in that explosion, but every single thing he had tried always failed.
The timeline was undergoing a major shift, one that was not supposed to happen. He had gone back and changed events several times over. Yet everything stayed the same. With Sapnap’s survival, another would have to go later in his place, after all, death was a delicate balance. A portal opened next to him, and he closed the book.
He had failed, and he knew that going through the portal would not end well for him. It wasn’t like he could run, however; he was bound to the life he had. With dread, he forced himself to walk through the portal.
He fell to one knee, his hand over his heart. For a long moment, everything was silent. “I am not pleased with you, Red Herring.” Karl still grimaced at the name.
Karl shoved down his feelings, however, they wouldn’t help him here. His voice wavered as he spoke, “I’m sorry, XD. I couldn’t find-”
XD cut him off. “I don’t want your apologies. You failed. You know what happens when you fail me, Herring.” Karl shoved down the urge to tell the god that that ‘Red Herring’ wasn’t his name. “Don’t think I didn’t notice that you didn’t fix a mistake in the timeline like you were supposed to.”
Karl was about to ask what he was talking about, and then he remembered. When he bumped into that one guy that seemed familiar. Eret. Even though it had thrown off the timeline slightly, it hadn’t been enough that would change the course of history. It had felt wrong to Karl to make it so that the meeting never happened.
He was about to speak but decided against it. Drawing more of the god’s ire would only make everything worse. “Therefore, it will further two of my goals to erase your memories of your meeting with Eret. Do you wish to know what those are, my Red Herring?”
Karl remained silent. Almost anything the god asked was a trick question, even if Karl did genuinely want to know. In response, the god chuckled darkly. “You forget I can read your thoughts, Herring. That man, Eret, used to be very close to you. We can’t have you remembering, now can we?”
As part of a deal that Karl didn’t remember, he had been forced to give up all his memories and serve XD for a set amount of time. He could only just remember the day that it happened. The person that had been there with him and the god was suddenly filled in. His memory revealed Eret, crying and begging for him not to leave.
“No, please Karl! Let me go instead!” Eret had tears running down his face. “You shouldn’t be the one to suffer for it!”
Karl shook his head. “No, you don’t deserve it, no one does, but I’ll do it anyway. Keep living Gemstone, let me go. We always knew we would be pulled away from each other, by death or separation. Gods are not forgiving beings.” He turned to go, his expression hardening as he turned to face the god now staring at them with a cruel amusement.
Yet Eret grabbed his wrist, as if it would stop him from being forced to leave. “I won’t be able to keep going without you! We’re a team, a duo, best friends. How can I live without the only person who has always stood by my side? Let me go instead, it’s my fault we got here anyway.”
Tears ran down Karl’s face as well as he turned back to his friend for the last time. “You can do it, I know you will. You can’t fight anymore, but you can still help others. Give those assholes hell for me. I’ll find my way back to you eventually, Gemstone, I always have. Goodbye, my friend, until later.”
Eret encased him in one last hug. One of warmth and comfort, of years of friendship, of goodbye. It felt like an eternity until they let go. Karl knew it was, but he held a hope in his heart, maybe selfishly, that it wouldn’t be the last hug they ever shared.
Karl stumbled up from his kneeled position at the force of the memory. XD clicked his tongue with obvious disapproval. “This is what I’m talking about, you’re my property, you don’t need a reminder that you have ever been anything but.”
A lime green glow surrounded Karl’s head, sinking into his skin. He let out a gut-wrenching scream as he fell to his knees.
Notes:
Oops?
My Discord server! You can always be alerted when I update and it's just a nice place to hang out. We don't have very many people yet, but everyone (who is willing to follow the rules) is welcome!
Deadly Nightshades!
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Chapter 29: Meetings
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
With Fundy
Both vigilantes were in their gear. It had taken a lot longer than anyone would prefer, but they finally managed to set up a meeting with all of the others. UFO sighed beside him, looking at the vigilante base. “Let’s get this done.” Fundy nodded and they walked in.
Red Cross was standing by the door on the inside and waved at them with a smile. “Fox, UFO, glad to see you both made it alright.” The vigilante always stayed at the entrance until everyone arrived because most of them chose to do a patrol right before meetings simply because they would be busy for usually a couple hours.
The man hadn’t been asked to, but it was always appreciated when someone needed it. The heroes wouldn’t do anything, making the vigilantes’ job a dangerous one. Add in the fact that all of them had day jobs, any healing they could get was invaluable.
The meetings were usually held once a month, though circumstances could cause extras to be held. “Who else are we waiting on?” Fundy asked, his tail moving side to side slowly behind him.
Red Cross nodded towards the meeting room. “No one actually. You two were the last ones.” With that, they walked off. UFO looked calm and confident as he walked towards the meeting room with Fundy. The teen always acted a lot different when he was in his vigilante costume.
Fundy understood. Across the city rooftops, his civilian life faded to the back of his mind. There were no power dynamics, there were no rumors, nobody looked down on each other. While doing what they could to keep the city safe, they were all equal.
None of the vigilantes knew each other’s true identities, aside from the duos of course. Fundy trusted Red Cross when the man said that everyone was there, though he couldn’t help checking over the attendees himself.
Poultry Man and Redstone were sat in the seats at the table that were left of the door, talking quietly. Red Cross sat down next to his teammate Warden on the other side of the table. Moon had several different screens in front of her of various sizes, it wasn’t like the woman was idle, however, on the contrary, she was watching the city through cameras that she had planted everywhere.
Seaward had her long white curly hair gathered into a ponytail as she sat next to Moon, also watching the screens. With their arrival, the two women put the devices away. The room quieted. Now that everyone had arrived, they were all ready to be told why Fundy had called a meeting.
After him and UFO sat down, Fundy took in a breath and started to speak. “First of all, it’s nice to see everyone. We don’t get to see each other often.” He received nods around the room in response to his words. All of the vigilantes had positive relations with each other, even if it was with strictly hidden identities.
“Now, onto the reason I insisted on us having a meeting. UFO, you’re up.” Fundy said, looking to his friend who nodded in response, standing up.
UFO took in a breath, much like Fundy had done earlier and started speaking. “Mainly, it’s the three new villains.” It’s not like they weren’t being listened to before, but that caught everyone’s attention. The trio had been some of the biggest news in a long time, and their attack in the third district had only made it that much bigger.
There was talk on motives, powers, and much more. The committee had tried to take attention off of the villains after a certain point but had failed miserably. “A couple weeks ago, me and Fox ran into them. Though not in the way we would expect. Moon, if you would?”
The woman in question nodded, she had a camera in the area when it had all gone down, and they had arranged beforehand for the footage to be played at the meeting. She hadn’t intervened herself when it happened because she hadn’t been watching the cameras. She already knew some of what was being talked about, though the audio had been corrupted in the footage.
An image came to life on the projector. UFO could be seen leaping off the building the camera was situated on. Fundy didn’t hold back a growl when someone grabbed onto his friend, making the other vigilantes lean away from him a bit, it was well known that he was a bit protective of his friends.
“They were forcing me to call Fox so that they could ambush him.” UFO said, providing the context for the situation. A very feint glow could be seen from inside the store, and a moment later the meeting could see two villains walk into view. Vengeance and TNT walked into view, going right behind UFO and his captor.
“The guy who was holding me didn’t recognize Warp, though he did recognize Vengeance. He tried to get out of it, though the villains didn’t seem to care.” UFO said, his gaze trained on the screen as he explained.
Fundy remembered how he had been absolutely panicked when he came across the scene they were now watching. Three villains that they knew absolutely nothing about in the same room with his best friend who was incapacitated.
He also remembered when the villains had jumped to attack the assholes. He watched as he went and supported UFO away from the battle. Even though he knew everything turned out fine, he still grimaced when UFO collapsed. Each of the vigilantes glanced at UFO with worry at some point or another.
While it wasn’t specifically stated or mentioned, everyone knew UFO was a teenager. Neither Fundy nor UFO had told them, but they knew. He wasn’t babied, however, they knew he could handle himself just fine in a fight.
They watched as blood was splattered against the windows until the three villains walked back out of the dark store. The incident had happened when the villains were still in their old costumes, Fundy mentally cataloged the changes.
Fundy spoke up for the first time since the recording started when he saw himself check UFO’s wound. “He actually tried to get me to leave him there. I refused though.” Fundy thought he saw a borderline motherly disapproving look from Seaward directed at UFO.
Not that he was surprised, the woman did make a habit of acting like a mom to the group. Most of them didn’t complain though, almost none of them had particularly great childhoods, him included.
In the recording, the villains could be seen walking out of the building. Warp teleported up to UFO, shoving a small vial into his hands. UFO spoke up once more, “he gave me a health potion, they said several times over the course of the entire incident that they liked vigilantes. I figured that if they really wanted to kill me, there wasn’t much I could do about it.”
With that, the recording ended. Fundy didn’t miss the fact that Poultry man and Redstone didn’t look too surprised about the villains’ like of vigilantes. “That was… interesting.” Seaward said after a moment, once again leaning back in her chair, this time with furrowed brows.
Warden placed his elbows on the table, resting his chin on his hand. “So let me make sure I have the facts right.” The room’s attention turned to him. “UFO got ambushed but ended up getting saved by Vengeance, Warp, and TNT who apparently like vigilantes?”
Fundy and UFO nodded, and Warden looked down muttering, “That’s not normal.”
The room was silent for another few minutes until finally, Moon spoke. “That is most definitely something that we all needed to know about. Since we’re all here anyway, I have something as well. Not necessarily about those three specifically, but it should include them as well.”
UFO sat down, allowing Moon to take the floor as she stood up. With a few pokes on one of her many tablets, a new image popped up on screen. “The recording should explain itself. I caught this on one of my most hidden camaras.”
The recording showed two low ranking villains, and Moon turned on the volume as she pressed play. One of the villains could be heard speaking. “-hould we go this time? It would be a perfect chance to climb the ranks.”
The other looked to be considering whatever they were talking about. “I disagree, it wouldn’t do shit for us in terms of climbing the ranks. Though, a party will mean alcohol. Alcohol makes people talk. We could get some tidbits of info from the big boys.”
“Exactly Ryan! A party for villains. You know they do this anytime a new villain is fully inducted into villain ranks, and we always get something from going!”
The villain sighed. “Fine, there’s no har-”
Moon paused the recording. “I found a possible way to infiltrate it with fake identities. I thought I would bring it up.”
Red Cross spoke up. “It could be beneficial. The two in the recording were right, something like that would be an absolute information bounty. Especially for us. Even what is considered common knowledge for the villain community could give us a giant advantage.”
Poultry Man spoke, pointing out, “Would the reward be worth the risk though? If whoever goes in is discovered, it would likely be lethal. No one here disagrees with me when I say that a lot of villains are absolutely ruthless.”
Redstone nodded in agreement from beside him. “The city relies on us a sad amount, it might not be the best idea to risk it in an already dangerous information arms race.”
One of the perks that Seaward gained from being the mom acting like a mom, was that when she said something, she was listened to. “I think, it’d be worth the risk. Not without a fuck-ton of contingency plans, but worth it. The villains are constantly growing in power, the heroes are only growing more neglectful. As much as I don’t like it, I’m not sure we can pass this up.”
Fundy felt like he had swallowed something sour but nodded in agreement. “Seaward’s right. Going off of what she said, we’re getting completely left behind in terms of- everything, pretty much. Unfortunately, we need every edge we can get.”
The debate continued for a while longer. Each member of the group put their thoughts into the discussion. Fundy knew where the conversation was going to end. He had agreed with it, but that didn’t mean he much liked the idea.
UFO stood up, and the room quieted. “I say we take a vote. As much I as I looove a debate, I unfortunately made plans with some friends for after this.” All heads snapped to him and UFO. Fundy bit back a sigh.
“You let it slip that your roommate doesn’t have any other friends once and now they all won’t leave you alone about it.” Fundy thought to himself, though he refrained from speaking aloud.
Moon mouthed, “you better show us a picture of them” at Fundy, before standing up as well and speaking aloud. “Fair enough. All in favor, stand up.” She herself sat back down.
In the end, it was voted for someone to go. Nobody was happy about it, but it was necessary. Moon shifted over to sit next to Fundy and held her hand out. He looked at her with a miserable expression, but the woman didn’t seem to care.
He pulled up a picture of Tommy, Tubbo, and Ranboo and handed it to her. She smiled, looked at the photo, and then handed it to Redstone who was next to her. It continued like that until he eventually got his phone back.
Somehow, they managed to pass his phone around without UFO noticing. Yet the slightly mischievous feel in the air evaporated as Warden spoke up. “We need to decide who’s going to infiltrate the party.”
It was not a job that would be easy to take. It was dangerous at best and a suicide mission in worst case scenario. Fundy was about to volunteer, but UFO beat him to it. “I’ll go.”
“WHAT!? NO!” Seaward immediately objected. “Absolutely not. I’ll go, I have the most experience going undercover.”
Against the wishes of everyone in the room, UFO stood his ground. “No. I want to do it. If anyone is, I’m going. I will not back down on this.”
Fundy stood up, his tail lashing at the air behind him. Years of keeping his hybrid traits under control being forgotten as his ears went back. “You can’t be the one to go. Please, nobody wants you to get hurt.” He knew his friend was right, UFO was not going to back down, but damn it if he wasn’t going to try to make him anyway.
“It has to be someone. I know the stakes. I’m going whether you all like it or not.” UFO said, panning his gaze over the room.
Both vigilantes held their ground for a long moment. Fundy finally slumped, his tail falling still. “Fine.”
Notes:
Longer chapter this time, over 2000 words. Things are about to get really fun.
I needed more characters and more chaos, so the Hermitcraft crew has now been added. Don't worry, they won't be just completely side-lined, I plan to traumatize them as well!
My Discord server! You can always be alerted when I update and it's just a nice place to hang out. We don't have very many people yet, but everyone (who is willing to follow the rules) is welcome!
Deadly Nightshades!
(If there every any problems with the link, feel free to let me know and I'll try to fix it)
Chapter 30: History Repeats Itself
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Still Fundy POV
UFO left the room as soon as he had conceded to him being the one to infiltrate the villain party. Fundy was still not happy with how the meeting had turned out, the fact that they would be sending a teen who was basically his kid best friend into what could be a suicide mission was agitating.
Seaward came up beside him, laying a hand on his shoulder. Her voice was soft as she looked towards the door that UFO had gone out of a couple minutes before. “He’ll be alright Fox, he’s strong as the rest of us.”
He smiled gratefully at the vigilante. He wasn’t happy with anyone going into the event, it was even worse that UFO was going to be the one doing it. “I’m just…” he trailed off, not really knowing how to finish his statement.
“Worried?” she finished for him. He nodded and she let out a sad sigh. “I get it Fox. I have a son myself.” Fundy turned to her with surprise, Seaward almost never talked about herself. She chuckled, then her smile turned… almost sad. “He was a sweet kid, he changed in recent years though.”
Fundy frowned, once again looking at the door. Seaward patted his shoulder, “UFO won’t turn out like him. UFO does his best for the people, and he has all of us watching out for him, I don’t think you have anything to worry about.”
Fundy nodded, honestly feeling a bit better after the woman’s words. They all knew how protective he was over the vigilante. Poultry Man walked up with Redstone as well. “She’s right you know. We’re all watching out for him.”
“We would’ve volunteered ourselves if we weren’t stuck in previously made plans.” Redstone said, Poultry Man nodded in agreement.
“We’ll watch out for his new friends as well, wouldn’t want the only people other than you that like him in his civilian life to get hurt now would we?” Poultry Man said, a mischievous glint in his eye. Fundy let out a huff. Their attempts to cheer him up were working annoyingly well. They would actually do it, he had no doubt about that.
Warden and Red Cross didn’t say anything as they left, though Red Cross did smack Poultry Man in the back of the head. Redstone sighed as he followed behind his partner who was now yelling at the healer.
With Purpled – a couple minutes earlier
He turned on his heel, striding out of the meeting room before anything else could be said. He knew that they just wanted to protect him, though he didn’t appreciate it. He had proven time and time again that he could more than handle himself if it came down to it.
He didn’t enjoy them treating him like a piece of glass. He let out a breath, willing himself to calm down. He had been getting frustrated and lashing out at people would not make it any better. He phone let out a notification sound and he pulled it out.
With practiced ease, he unlocked it and navigated to his messages. He let out a sigh when he saw what was there.
Accidental_Arson(Ranboo): Sorry Purpled, we’re going to be late. One of our friends says that they have to see us
Purposeful_Arson(Tubbo): Yep, he refuses to let us ignore him, apparently it’s urgent
The_Quiet_Kid(Purpled): That’s alright, I’ve got some stuff I have to do before I can head over to you guys’ apartment anyway
Can_and_has_started_a_food_fight (tommy): I still say we change my name btw. Feel free to hang out at our place in the meantime Purp, not like we have something to hide from you anyway
Purpled hesitated to reply. They trusted him in their house without them being there. He glanced back towards the building he had just come out of. Yet he knew he could never do the same. He enjoyed their company and could call them friends, but did he trust them?
‘I have something to tell you guys’ sat in the response bar, and his finger hovered above the send button.
The_Quiet_Kid: Thanks Tommy, I’ll take you up on that. I’ll be there when you guys get back.
He pocketed his phone, the message he had desperately wanted to send deleted before it could be made.
With Quackity – 15 minutes earlier
Quackity grinned once more at the replay of the day’s earlier events. The trio had decided to make their mark and show up to the world and make a mark they did. While their debut had done a minor job of putting their names on the wind, their actions had brought focus on them.
While he wouldn’t admit it out loud, he had basically adopted the teens. The others had as well, and he knew that they were likely be watching the same thing he was. He had already been planning their introduction to the villain world at large.
Anytime a new villain became a villain instead of just a criminal, a gathering was held. Usually by him because of his casino being an easy spot for it to be held. They had already been planning one, and the timing the trio had chosen just made it all that much better.
A knock came at the door and his attention was pulled away from the fourth replay. “Come in!” he called.
Charlie opened the door. “Hi Quackity of Las Nevadas! You have a visitor.” Quackity’s brows furrowed. Charlie was familiar and pretty much friends with the trio, he would’ve specified if that’s who he was talking about.
“Who is it?” Quackity questioned.
“Fire-Fist of the heroes. He says that he ‘really needs to see you’ and that it’s urgent. He seemed hysterical.” Charlie reported, smiling despite his slightly concerning words. “Should I let him in?”
Quackity sighed, “yeah, let him in.” Charlie nodded, leaving without another word. Fire-Fist came in a moment later, looking almost pale. Charlie closed the door behind him. “I don’t usually let people in who don’t set it up ahead of time. I hope, that you have good reason.” Quackity had already changed to his ‘Luck’ identity.
Fire-Fist let out a shuddering breath, looking up at him with desperate eyes. “I need help.”
Quackity…. did not expect that. “I- what?” He stuttered, trying to make sense of the situation. Fire-Fist was quite obviously in the recording and had seemed fine then. Something must have happened after the battle.
“I need help.” Fire-Fist repeated, the man was obviously in some kind of shock. Quackity sighed, grabbing his cup and taking a sip out of it. The normalness of the action seemed to break Fire-Fist out of his haze, and he eyes the cup with a look that Quackity couldn’t quite decipher. “Is that alcoholic?”
Quackity snorted, taking another sip. “Could you blame me if it was?” He looked at the cup. “It’s not though, it’s just hot chocolate. Being around three people I’m rather fond of has changed my taste in drinks.” Once you tried the hot chocolate that Tubbo made, you never wanted anything else.
The hero didn’t say anything, likely caught up in his own thoughts. Quackity rolled his eyes, grabbing a small box off a cabinet as well as a mug. He would just have to request another tray of hot coco bombs from Tubbo.
A minute later, Quackity sat a mug of hot chocolate in front of the hero. The hero looked at him with surprise. “Drink it, it’ll help you feel better.” Fire-Fist took a hesitant sip, only for his eyes to light up as he looked down at the mug with surprise. Quackity chuckled as he sat down across from the hero. “Yeah, he makes some mean hot coco bombs.”
“Who exactly?” Fire-Fist asked, taking another sip of his drink with a slightly embarrassed smile.
Something had obviously happened to the hero and wasn’t in a state to speak. If he was going to figure out what was going on, he had to calm the hero down enough to talk. “A friend of mine. I’d tell you but, you know, you’re a hero, and identities are a dangerous thing in this city.”
“I- about that...” Fire-Fist said, Quackity turned his head back to look at the hero quickly. “Something happened after a battle just a little bit ago. I was fighting-”
“I’m well aware who you were fighting. I saw the battle.” Quackity said, unable to keep a slight edge out of his voice.
Fire-Fist shrunk down on himself slightly. “Then you know how the building collapsed?” Quackity nodded, wondering where the hero was going with this. “I was inside it when that happened.” Quackity whistled. Well, that explained why the hero looked borderline traumatized.
Though Quackity’s expression turned serious. “I already said I wouldn’t go against Vengeance, Warp, and TNT. If that’s what you’re asking, then you can-”
“No!” Fire-Fist exclaimed, and then more softly continued, “no. They weren’t the ones to cause the building collapse.” Quackity tilted his head. “The hero committee was.” Fire-Fist finished, looking down into his mug.
Quackity got up and started pacing while muttering to himself. “Well fuck. This isn’t- I know they guessed that the fuckers would but I never thought- damn it.” Fire-Fist was staring at him with concern. Quackity stopped, addressing the hero. “Did you try to quit?”
The hero’s shocked expression was enough of an answer. Quackity chewed on the inside of his cheek. “Do you trust me?” He suddenly asked.
Fire-Fist looked down, contemplating the question. “You at least haven’t tried to kill me. That’s better than pretty much everyone else.”
Quackity sighed. “Alright, good enough. I need to trust me when I say the people I’m about to call are not going to try to murder you on sight.” He pulled out his phone, quickly dialing Tommy’s number.
“What did you do? What's on fire? Who do I need to stab? I’m sure Tubbo wouldn’t complain if you asked us to blow something up as well.” Tommy said as a way of greeting.
“Oh come on! I'm not that bad! Nothing's on fire!” Quackity complained. Fire-Fist looked a bit concerned.
“Mhm, suuuure.” Tommy drawled.
Quackity rolled his eyes. “Do I need to remind you that you guys have almost burnt down two houses? You’re worse than I am!”
Tommy immediately jumped to defend himself. “Yeah well, that was mostly Ran.” Quackity could hear a muffled ‘Hey!’ from the teen in question.
“Well tell our dear Oreo boy that he’s not allowed to cook anymore because by god it all catches fire.” Fire-Fist was now looking as if he was debating whether he should’ve come, but stayed where he was sitting. “I need you all at the casino. It’s urgent.”
“We did have plans with Purpled you know. Can’t it wait?” Tommy asked.
Quackity sighed, running a tired hand down his face. “As I said, it’s urgent. This is something that you three really should be here for. Also, come in your gear, I’m not the only one here.”
With Ranboo
He still felt a bit bad that they were having to postpone their plans with Purpled. Though Quackity sounded stressed, even if Tommy’s usual banter did seem to help. The man didn’t just ask to see them for no reason, and he always specified if he just wanted to spend time with them.
They made their way through the building, the path familiar. They knocked on the door and heard a muffled “Come in.” from the other side. What he did not expect to see when they walked into the room was a pale Fire-Fist. Luck took the initiative. “I don’t think any of us need to be introduced to each other.”
“Wha- Why’d you call them in!?” Fire-Fist asked, quickly standing up.
TNT let out a snort of amusement from beside him. “Damn, are we that scary? We haven’t really done anything yet.”
Luck sighed. “Everyone please calm down. Fire-Fist, meet the trio, trust me, they’re not here to murder you.”
Vengeance smiled cheerfully. “If it helps, if we wanted you dead you already would be!” Ranboo hit his friend in the back of the head, and Tommy turned to him with a betrayed expression. “What? He would!”
Luck sat down and his head hit the desk with a loud thump. “Why do I even try?” He then looked back up at them and then pointed at Fire-Fist. “He tried to quite being a hero.”
“Ohhhh. Yeah now it makes sense why you called us.” Tommy said, before addressing the hero. “how’d that go for you again? Bet they didn’t let you leave, they’re assholes. How trustworthy is he?” Vengeance said this last part to Luck.
Luck shrugged. “He’s traumatized and his boss just tried to murder him, you tell me.”
Notes:
I'm not even going to lie, I am causing myself emotional pain with these chapters, and it's only all the worse because I know what's going to happen.
My Discord server! You can always be alerted when I update and it's just a nice place to hang out. We don't have very many people yet, but everyone (who is willing to follow the rules) is welcome!
Deadly Nightshades!
(If there every any problems with the link, feel free to let me know and I'll try to fix it)
Chapter 31: Reality Upends Itself
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Ranboo saw what his friend was planning and shook his head. Vengeance borderline pouted, much to the shock of the hero in the room. “Oh come on! You can’t tell me it would be so much easier if we did!”
“It’s not a good idea Vengeance. That is quite literally the stupidest thing we could do.” Ranboo pointed out. Vengeance didn’t say anything else, apparently waiting on something.
“Does anyone want to explain for the other people in the room?” Luck asked with crossed arms.
TNT was the one to explain. “He wants to reveal the reason that you called us specifically.” Luck’s eyes widened. “I actually agree with him. It’s not like he could really make use of the information and if he tries…” TNT trailed off with a savage grin, he didn’t really need to finish his statement. This did not seem to help the hero in question calm down.
Ranboo sighed, “fine.” Before he turned to the hero and stepping into his space. “But I will tell you this. If a single word of what you’re about to find out reaches anyone else’s ears, there’s nowhere you can hide from me. I will have your head on a pike outside the hero tower’s doors within the week. And if I don’t get to you, the others most definitely will.”
Vengeance and TNT didn’t look the least bit perturbed, they knew what he could be like. The other two people in the room however, had very different reactions. Fire-Fist was slowly shrinking away from him, even as he stepped into the hero’s space.
Luck looked almost just as horrified. He was used to the happy teen who was upset he couldn’t cook. Not the one who was dangerous when protective. “Nobody can protect you. I can have every villain this city is deathly afraid of on your tail within an hour. You won’t be safe anywhere. You can’t hide anywhere. We have the best hacker in the fucking world with us, do you understand me?”
The hero nodded frantically. TNT stepped up and put a hand on his arm, and Ranboo looked at his friend. “I think he gets the point.” Ranboo nodded at his friend’s words and stepped back.
Ranboo smiled cheerfully, “glad we understand each other then!”
Luck looked, completely horrified. “Warp. You’re as bad as Huntress and that woman scares the shit out of me.” Fire-fist look as if he was having a brain malfunction.
Vengeance snickered. “To be fair, we did try to warn you that he could get protective.”
“You didn’t say that he was downright terrifying! Even I’m scared and he’s usually nice to me!” Luck said, still eyeing Ranboo warily. He felt like he should be hurt, but the man’s reaction was honestly amusing.
TNT clapped once, bringing the rooms attention to him. “Now that the necessary preparation is done with, we should get back onto the original topic of the conversation!”
Ranboo almost thought he heard Luck mutter, “preparation as in scaring the shit out of everyone.”
TNT heard it as well and turned to the man with a smile. “necessary preparation. Vengeance, you were the one to suggest the idea, you want to go first?” They had kept the first masks that Eret had given them for sentimental value, though they could come in handy.
Vengeance slipped the white mask over his face, and his appearance suddenly changed. Ranboo jumped at the sight of his friend’s old Theseus costume. He took a dramatic bow towards the hero. “Nice to meet you again. I used to be called Theseus. Made a few changes though, as I’m sure you can tell.”
The hero’s jaw dropped. TNT chuckled, slipping his own mask on. Suddenly he once again looked like Wasp. “Yeah, not everything was quite like it seemed.”
Ranboo slipped his own mask on, and he regained his old appearance as well. “It was pretty effective. Everyone does actually think we’re dead.”
Fire-Fist looked like his brain was malfunctioning for a second time. Not that Ranboo could blame the man. “You- I- what?” The man stuttered. “You’re dead!”
Vengeance’s eyes widened. “Oh no, we’ve been discovered We’re actually ghosts that can be seen. We can’t let him leave, he’ll reveal that the new villains are actually ghosts!”
TNT turned slowly towards his friend. “If you do not shut the fuck up, I will dip your head into boiling water.” Vengeance, for one, stopped talking.
Luck spoke up after seemingly recovering from his shock of seeing a murderous Ranboo. “Yeah, that’s what everyone thinks. In reality they faked their deaths.”
Sapnap POV
They weren’t dead. They were now villains. Streak just threatened to have his head on a pike. It felt like his reality was crashing down around him. For the entire interaction, they had seemed to find the entire thing amusing.
That changed suddenly, however, as Vengeance hung his head. “We tried to quit too. We tried to leave. This was not our first plan.” Sapnap looked at the villain with a frown but didn’t say anything. “We didn’t want to fake our deaths, but it was the only viable option we had.”
TNT spoke up as well, “Trust us, on this at least, we did what we could to get another option.” He let out a dark chuckle. “Hell, at first, they wouldn’t even let us see why they wouldn’t let us quit. We had to break into the data vaults to find copies of our contracts.”
They had at least put his contract in front of him when he had asked. They had to go to extreme measures. He hadn’t noticed before how shitty the committee was to low ranked heroes. It felt like he was seeing the world for the first time.
He needed time. Time to think, time to live, just time to process the day’s events. “I- I need to go. My teammates will start looking for me soon.” He looked to each of the trio individually. “My lips are sealed. I promise, no one will hear a word about this.”
Notes:
[insert gremlin laugh]
My Discord server! You can always be alerted when I update and it's just a nice place to hang out. We don't have very many people yet, but everyone (who is willing to follow the rules) is welcome!
Deadly Nightshades!
(If there every any problems with the link, feel free to let me know and I'll try to fix it)
Chapter 32: NIGHTMARES
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
With Foolish
Foolish… was not having a great day. First thing in the morning, he had to deal with XD, who was, quite frankly, being a bitch. Not that it was unusual for the god. The guy seemed obsessed with torturing mortals.
It was when the god said he was summoning his ‘tool’ and Foolish was annoyed enough that he straight up decided to just go back to the mortal plain for a while. The screams that had started soon after certainly didn’t make him change his mind.
Foolish honestly felt bad for the kid. He had watched the journey Karl and Eret had gone through on their quest. One of his domains being the god of travels and journeys had made their lives something that he paid attention to. He had not been the only god crying when watching them getting separated.
Fucking with a god’s chosen was not a great idea, and old pacts had made him unable to intervene. Not that he didn’t want to.
Foolish had taken a much different approach. XD tore mortals apart in more than one way to understand them, he lived with them. Being a god gave him a view of the world completely different to that of a mortal, but it also made him blind to how they worked.
Mortals were complex. They went against their own interests ridiculously often. Betrayal was one that he was particularly interested in. He didn’t get it. Well, he didn’t used to. Before his time with mortals, he didn’t have a chosen, or even a favorite.
The man he had picked didn’t know he was a gods chosen, which was unusual. Most of the ones gods picked were told. He had specifically chosen to hide that little piece of information from his. Speaking of his favorite and chosen mortal, he picked up the phone as it started to ring with a smile. “Hey Quackity!”
“Hola amigo mío!” Quackity greeted back in Spanish before continuing in English. “I’m having the most chaotic day, and I could use being around someone who isn’t about to try to murder someone.” Foolish knew to normal people it would sound like a harmless joke, but considering the people his best friend was actually around, it was no joke.
Sometimes, mortals scared gods. An upset Ranboo was not someone he wanted to deal with. The trio was dangerous, and volatile, and quite frankly, terrifying. Foolish wasn’t all that worried for Quackity though. They were fond of his friend, and with Quackity being his chosen he had a lot more leeway with helping the man. “Yeah sure! I was actually about to visit Niki’s café if you’d like to meet up there?”
Foolish heard a sigh of relief from his friend and chuckled. “I’ll meet you there Foolish, see you soon.” Quackity replied, before hanging up. Foolish kept walking towards his destination, it seemed that the trip would be a little more interesting than he thought.
It didn’t take him long to arrive at the café. The small bell above the door rang as he stepped inside. “Hello welcome to Niki’s café what can I get y- oh! Hey Foolish!” Niki said, switching her words as she looked up and saw it was him.
It shouldn’t have been so odd to him that a high ranked villain with gallons of blood on their hands was a cheerful café owner considering he was a god, but it was. Nevertheless, he smiled in return. “Hey Niki! Can I just have what I usually get?”
She grinned. “I’m sorry, I don’t think we’ve met before. What would that be again?” He sighed, giving her an unimpressed look. She chuckled in response, turning around. “Yeah yeah, I get it. Just a minute.” The café was relatively empty. The late afternoon rush had subsided, and the place had a cozy atmosphere that Foolish always found comfy if slightly different from what he was used to.
He settled into a seat in the far corner. After a couple minutes, he started to get out his headphones to listen to music while he waited. That was interrupted when someone walked up to his table. “Hi, excuse me.” He looked up a the woman with raised eyebrows, though he made sure not to look hostile. “I can’t help but notice you’re sitting here alone; did you get stood up?”
Foolish rubbed the back of his neck as he smiled in discomfort. “Uh no sorry. I’m waiting for someone.” He looked around the room. Niki caught his eye with an amused smile. She was most definitely enjoying watching him squirm. In his head he thought, “I will smite you damn it!” he wouldn’t actually do it. He only had one favorite and chosen one, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t fond of other mortals.
“Well then, mind if I join you? See where it… takes us?” She asked, leaning forwards slightly. He glanced desperately at Niki, who was now trying to contain her snickers.
“No thank you ma’am. I’m afraid I’m not interested.” He said, trying to get the lady to leave him alone.
“Come on, just give me a shot? I promise I’m nice.” She pushed, apparently not getting the hint.
Niki, as much as she found the situation amusing, looked like she was about ready to intervene. Just then, the bell to the café rang, and Quackity walked in. Foolish almost always chose the same table, so Quackity made his way over without delay. “Hey Foolish! What’s going on?” He asked, glancing between Foolish and the random lady.
Now, Foolish was still getting used to being around mortals. He had only started spending time in the mortal plain around a year and a half earlier. He had gotten used to the people he hung out with regularly, but anyone else made his brain seem to short-circuit. So, desperately trying to get out of the situation he had found himself in, he pointed to Quackity. “He’s, my boyfriend.”
Both people in the conversation turned to him, both with wide eyed looks, but every different ones. Quackity looked absolutely flabbergasted at his words. The lady looked, a bit embarrassed. “Ah- I’m sorry. I shall take my leave then.” She walked away with red cheeks.
Quackity immediately turned on him. “What the fuck was that!?” He whisper-shouted. “The fuck you mean ‘boyfriend’!?”
Foolish winced. “I’m sorry. She wouldn’t leave me alone and kept trying to flirt with me! You know how socially awkward I can be. I panicked!”
Quackity sighed, sitting down. “Fine. I get it. Just, please use any other excuse next time.” Foolish nodded, he was not planning to do that ever again if he could help it.
With Techno
It was finally nighttime. It had been an all too busy day in his opinion. Raid on one of the hero store houses, Fire-Fist was almost declared missing until he showed up around an hour later than he should’ve looking pale as a ghost, or like he’d seen one. The man’s teammates had been ready to yell at him, again, until they saw his condition.
The man had waved them all off, choosing to head off to his room instead. Not that Techno was all too concerned about it. Unless it involved Techno or his family, it wasn’t something he was all too worried about.
Techno flopped into bed. A tired huff escaping his lips. Chat was silent for once, they usually were once night hit, unless he had a patrol or if something dramatic was going to happen in the middle of the night. The only nice thing about them was they were usually a great early warning system.
The soft sounds of a guitar could be heard from the room next to his. Usually he would complain, but it was oddly comforting. With that, he drifted off to sleep.
YES, TECHNO STREAMMMMMMMM
Hell yeah!
This looks fun!
I hope something gets stabbed!
Good to see nobody got any less unhinged since the last time I was here, helllllloooo technochat
Techno groaned in annoyance. Of course, he woke up and Chat was immediately at it again. He looked around, suddenly realizing that he was, in fact, no longer in bed. He looked around, brows furrowed, only to see a familiar scene.
“No, no not again.” He muttered. The sword was heavy in his hands. A battle raged around him. Diamond grinned as they fought relentlessly. He tried to lunge towards Theseus in a desperate attempt to prevent what he knew was happening as his brother was thrown into a building.
Yooooo nightmare sequence!
HAHAHA He regrets it guys!
Damn, this is almost sad. Didn’t give two fucks before!
This is why I get popcorn anytime I turn on a stream, this is heavily entertaining
Diamond prevented his escape with a wall of crystal. In the corner of his eye, he saw white particles appear as Streak teleported into a building. He knew what happened next, and the world seemed to slow. Techno lunged violently towards Diamond as the villain cast out an arm.
A crystal shot out, and speared Theseus through the heart.
Techno screamed as he shot up out of bed. His chest heaved as Phil barged into his room. “What’s going on?” Phil asked, apparently searching for a threat that had caused Techno’s scream. Techno, shuddered, sitting back down. His hands trembled.
Phil slumped in the doorway, suddenly understanding. “Can I come in?” He asked softly, Techno huffed, though Phil knew what he meant. Warm wings wrapped around him like when he had a nightmare when he was younger, and he leaned into it. Phil hugged him. “Nightmare?” His father asked.
Chat… did not seem to give two shits.
Oh shit, they’re traumatized
Yep, it’s honestly kind of funny to watch
I’m still scared of Warp, did anyone watch that stream? I had no idea a gentle giant could make someone so scared for their life.
You’re not the only one. Then TNT straight up threatened to dip Vengeance’s head in boiling water, so I’m a bit concerned
Is Tech going to start crying? If he cries I may cry, and I need some warning.
Techno nodded in response to his father’s question, curling into his side. “I keep having a nightmare of… that day. It always feels like if I change something I could change the outcome.”
We know the secret!
Of course we do, we’re amazing!
The level of ‘idgaf’ in this chat is the funniest thing ever
He ignored them. As much as they liked to taunt him, there was nothing he ever could’ve done to prevent what happened that dreadful day.
Notes:
I may have traumatized him. Oops?
It's two in the morning and I am operating purely off of spite and trauma. I'll leave you to decide whether I'm talking about my trauma or the trauma I can give the characters :)
My Discord server! You can always be alerted when I update and it's just a nice place to hang out. We don't have very many people yet, but everyone (who is willing to follow the rules) is welcome!
Deadly Nightshades!
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Chapter 33: Storyteller
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
With Tubbo – earlier
Fire-Fist wanted to meet up and talk with them at a later date after he was done trying to process all the stuff he had learned. They had all agreed to use Luck as a go between. After Fire-Fist left they didn’t stay in the casino very long. Purpled was likely waiting for them and they had already stayed later than they should’ve.
After a quick change out of their villain outfits, they made their way outside into the city. The sky had darkened in the time they’d been inside, the first stars making their appearance in the night sky. Tubbo took in a breath of cool air.
Winter was fast approaching, and the air had been slowly growing colder, snow likely wasn’t all too far off. He chuckled at the thought. Snow was months off when they had become official heroes, now, they were wanted villains. “A lot has changed.” He murmured quietly.
Tommy nodded, similarly quiet. “Snow will be coming soon. Back when, you know, we always thought that by now the public would recognize and respect us in our own right separate from just add-ons to my…” Tommy trailed off.
Ranboo patted their friend on the shoulder. “We know. How about we get going? Purpled is probaba;y getting impatient.”
Tommy groaned dramatically, though Tubbo could see the tell-tale traces of a grin of his friend’s face. “Oh come on Ranboob, we were having a moment! Why did you have to ruin it! Oh I get it, you just couldn’t stand my greatness when I’m vulnerable!”
Tubbo laughed. “Shut up Tommy, my threat from earlier is still on the table.”
Tommy took off running. “You can’t hurt me if you can’t catch me asshole!” Tubbo shared a look with Ranboo, and they promptly took off after their friend.
With Puffy – the next day
She wanted to be back home. She had spent her entire life in the tower, but it wasn’t home. She would give up the respect that came from her position in a heartbeat. The Captain. She was on the committee, but she wasn’t listened to. She did what she could to help people, though the board made it nearly impossible.
She was given respect; any hero followed her orders without a second thought. She would rather be down in the streets. White hair flowing in long curls as she stopped robberies. Seaward. That is who she really was. Any chance she got, she left the tower, donned her vigilante persona, and did what she couldn’t as a hero.
Puffy wanted to be back home. Though it was currently daytime, which meant she was forced to spend her time doing useless shit that only benefited rich assholes. Her time was completely wasted at her day job.
Though her position allowed her enough freedom that she could go home at least once every day. She owned a quaint home in the 8th district. It was one of the better ones in the district, but it wasn’t great. She preferred it to no end, however.
She preferred to spend her time around Fox, Red Cross, Warden, Moon, all of the others. Politicians and stuck-up board members were not people she enjoyed being around. She had returned from the meeting feeling conflicted but refreshed.
She had not wanted to go undercover into the villain party because it would benefit the heroes. She wouldn’t have told the heroes anything, but because she would’ve been better than sending UFO. The vigilante was a teenager, not someone who should’ve had the safety of the city placed on his shoulders.
After the meeting the night before, she had gone on a patrol as Seaward. It had been relatively quiet, which she had been grateful for. The vigilantes would be having another meeting soon to set up everything that UFO would need.
She had arrived just in time to find out that Fire-Fist hadn’t shown up after the man’s battle, only for him to appear right after her. She recognized the look on the man’s face though. Something had happened, something big.
If she had to guess, the committee made an attempt on his life. She had heavily advocated against killing anyone, but she had been outvoted at every turn. She once worn the same look. His entire world view had been uprooted.
The only half-decent thing about the hero tower was that she got free food. Breakfast in the tower was luckily quiet. Nobody ever really bothered her in the mornings, usually they were too tired from a night patrol or had just gotten up.
She managed to get her food without any trouble, and then turned to find somewhere to sit. Clay and George were sitting on one side of the room, though Sapnap was mysteriously missing from their table. She cast her gaze around the room, trying to find the man.
She followed her son’s gaze. Sapnap was sitting on the opposite side from his teammates. She walked over to the man with a smile. “Mind if I join you?” She asked, Sapnap startled. She caught Clay’s eye and he looked away.
Sapnap stuttered out a response, “I- uh yes Captain. Go ahead. I’ll move-” he grabbed his food to change spots as she sat down.
She cot him off though. “No, don’t worry about it!” She gestured back at the seat he had been sitting in. “I didn’t ask to join you to force you to leave or something, you can sit back down.” She groaned internally. She wanted to just go back to when she was equal with people, though that would never happen while she was Captain.
After a minute of silence, Sapnap spoke up again, sounding slightly awkward. “So uh, why’d you come to join me? I’m not complaining I’d just like to know.”
She leaned forward slightly and lowered her voice. “Let’s be honest. Most of the people here are kind of assholes. I would prefer to be here over dealing with stuffy politicians that have sticks up their asses.”
Sapnap looked like he almost spat out his drink, quickly swallowing before snickering. “Not fond of your fellow board members?” He asked still laughing with an amused expression. He didn’t look quite as tense.
She rolled her eyes with a smile. “Dear god no. They’re all a bunch of idiots. Not to mention, as I said, absolute asshats.”
He laughed again in response. “Good to know. Do you have any stories to back up these claims?”
Puffy’s eyes shone. “Oh you have no idea.”
With George
George’s gut was telling him that something was off. Sapnap was acting incredibly weird. The argument from the night before was not helping. He supposed he could’ve been a bit less hostile but when Sapnap had tried to claim that the hero committee tried to kill him, all bets for a civil argument went out the window.
Clay didn’t put up with it either, arguing valiantly against their friend’s outrageous claims. It had not been a nice night. Sapnap had avoided them the entire morning, even when they had invited him over to their table.
George had decided to eat breakfast like a normal person instead of doing his usual routine of pretending to be asleep. He did take the occasional glance at their friend from the other side of the room occasionally, right up until the Captain herself decided to sit by Sapnap. At that point, you try to ignore it.
Though it did make him a bit sad when he heard the two burst out in laughter. They should be over there. George was now regretting his decision to yell at his friend, even if he knew he was right, and the committee wouldn’t try to kill any heroes.
Though that thought did upset him a bit. Sapnap accuses the committee of trying to kill him yet the very next morning he’s laughing with one of its members! He could see a similar thought behind Clay’s eyes as well as his attention was pulled towards the Captain and Sapnap. “This is rich.” Clay muttered.
George nodded in response, laying his head down on the table. “Accuses them of shit and then just goes on ahead and buddies up with them.” He then snorted in amusement, dryly remarking, “I think he’s trying to steal your mom.”
Clay didn’t look too impressed with his statement. “She’s been barely talking to me recently.” He huffed before stabbing his fork into a piece of egg. “Hell, she’s barely around the tower at all except for meetings.” He muttered.
George glanced at his friend with concern. He was starting to think that any hero family had severe issues. George hadn’t been quite as blind to the issues of the SBI as the heroes would believe. He often overheard how badly that Theseus had been treated by the top three heroes.
It wasn’t really something he had stuck his nose into, however. It was not a great idea to do anything that could piss the top three off. It was not a great idea to do anything that could piss the top three off, a few heroes had learned that lesson in the past, he was not planning to be next to learn.
That and the fact that it was not his family, it was not something he thought he had the right to intervene in. He had to agree with what Clay said when he mentioned the matter to his friend, “Not your family, not your problem.”
Not that it really mattered anymore, with Theseus dead. His thoughts were interpreted as some kind of purple blur moved in the corner of his vision. He looked towards it, only to find nothing there. He shook his head; it was probably nothing.
With his gaze now in that direction however, he saw as Sapnap and the Captain got up from their shared table.
With Sapnap
While he didn’t trust the Captain in any way, she was fun to talk to. “And so he had to beg her to come back!” They both laughed out loud as the Captain finished her latest story about the stupid/funny things the committee members had done.
Still laughing, he said, “So let me get this straight. Schlatt fired his personal assistant only for everyone who took the job to quit every couple days, so he had to beg that poor girl to come back and work for him?”
The captain nodded, banging her hand on the table with her laughter. “You should’ve seen his face. She ended up getting her pay doubled, and he just had to suck it up, it was a hilarious day.” Apparently, the woman had no qualms with just slandering her fellow committee members.
“I can tell.” He snickered. The hair on the back of his neck stood up, and he looked around. He caught Clay’s eye and slinked back slightly; his friend was obviously not happy. Though when the Captain looked over as well Clay averted his gaze.
She looked slightly troubled at his reaction, though she shook her head. The atmosphere turned tense until he spoke up again. “Uh, Captain? I have a request since you’re here anyway.”
The inner conflict he could see in her eyes didn’t melt away even as she smiled kindly. “Oh? What is it?” He briefly considered telling her never mind but he would rather ask the lady he had been laughing for the last half hour with rather than another committee member.
“I was wondering if I could have the day off? I was going to make some plans that I would like to happen today.” It was vague, but he couldn’t just say, ‘yeah I’m going to meet up with Luck and possibly three supervillains who are actually heroes that faked their deaths.’
Fortunately, she nodded. “Yeah, I can get you the day off. I was planning to tell them I won’t be in today anyway, so I’ll just do both at the same time.”
He smiled gratefully. “Thank you, ma’am.” She looked at him with a raised eyebrow, she had told him several times to just call her ‘Captain’ because she felt it was a bit less annoyingly formal. “Thank you, Captain. I’ll get the stuff I need and then go if you don’t need me to do anything?”
It had just then occurred to him, that he had never actually requested a day off. He had only ever had a break when he had been recovering from injuries. He shook his head, he had limited time, he would prefer not to waste it.
It didn’t take him long to get into his gear. He passed by the Captain one more time on his way out, and she waved at him with a smile. He returned the wave, still feeling conflicted. Something wasn’t making sense, and he was beginning to think, that maybe all was not what it seemed in the tower.
Not that it wasn’t already a bit obvious. Before they tried to drop a building on him, he didn’t think that the committee would try to kill one of their own heroes. With one last glance at the tower, he took off towards Las Nevadas.
Notes:
You guys someone's work was inspired by mine and I am so happy right now.
I'm also running off of three hours of sleep so good luck to me!
My Discord server! You can always be alerted when I update and it's just a nice place to hang out. We don't have very many people yet, but everyone (who is willing to follow the rules) is welcome!
Deadly Nightshades!
(If there every any problems with the link, feel free to let me know and I'll try to fix it)
Chapter 34: Ẃ̵̙͚̮̤̗̞̦̜̑̓͒̏̾̅́͑h̶̛͖̻̫̣̰̣̭͓̜͇͙̉̏͆̓̈́̾̓͝͝å̴̢̻̳̞̰̗͖͎̺͌̓t̵̛̹̪̰͓͈͍̝̣̪̄̇̉̅̒̏͊̃̍̅́̕͝ ̶̨̭̟̤̣̟̩̹̠̘̭̭̙̏̅̿f̴̲̯̥̠͚́͊̃̀͐̐ư̶͎̭̩̱̱̯̲̠̱̮̞̯̠̐͆̑̋̊̒̌ǹ̴͎̘̘̗͎͚͉̝̼̣͍̀̀͜ͅ
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
In The “Arsonists” GC
PokerFace: Guys I’m scared
MagicPerson: Niks what’d you do to the poor man this time?
CottonCandy: I didn’t do shit!
MuffinMan: Language!
PokerFace: Actually it’s not Niki I’m scared of this time, it’s Ran
GemSimp: Ranboo? As in our favorite gentle giant? Why are you scared of Ran?
PokerFace: Because he’s absolutely terrifying, why the fuck else?
MuffinMan: Language! But no he’s not, he’s the sweetest kid you’ll ever meet
PokerFace: Yeah. SOMETIMES. You didn’t see it when he was threatening to have someone’s head on a pike
MagicPerson: You sure you’re not confusing him with Bee? He’s the scary one of the three
PokerFace: I’M NOT!!! STAR IS ABSOLUTELY TERRIFYING
BladGuy: No he’s not! Dandelion and Bee are definitely worse
PokerFace: Bitch let’s see if you’re saying that when he’s threatening to murder your ass
*WARNING WARNING*
*SYSTEM HACKED*
CottonCandy: WHAT’S GOING ON!?
GemSimp: GREAT FUCKING QUESTION
*Tubbo has joined the chat*
*Tommyinnit has joined the chat*
*Ranboo has joined the chat*
Tubbo: Hey guys!
BaldGuy: What the actual fuck.
Tommyinnit: You guys forgot to add us to the GC so Tubbo hacked us in :D
Ranboo: What’s with the nicknames?
MagicPerson: SHIT DON’T BACK READ
Tubbo: HOLY SHIT BLACKMAILLLLLLL
MuffinMan: Language!
PokerFace: Against who exactly?
Tubbo: :smiling_imp: everyone
BladGuy: See this is what I was talking about, Tubbo’s scary
PokerFace: Ran tell them about how you were threatening to have a guy’s head on a pike
Ranboo: I have no idea what you’re talking about :innocent:
CottonCandy: That’s something I would do, not something Ran would
Tubbo: Yeah Ran has the backbone of a chocolate éclair, he could never
PokerFace: THIS IS GASLIGHTING
*CottonCandy changed Tubbo’s name to BeeBoy*
*CottonCandy changed Ranboo’s name to Gentle_Giant*
*CottonCandy changed Tommyinnit’s name to (not_so_sweet)child*
(not_so_sweet)child: Oh fuck off
PokerFace: He’s not gentle, he’s terrifying!
CottonCandy: I’m about to come over to your casino and beat you over the head
With Eret
Was the trio supposed to be in school? Yes. Did Eret pick them up early just to hang out anyway? Also yes. He glanced at the trio who were all snickering at the group chat that Tubbo had decided to hack their way into. Contrary to his words, he did, in fact, know that Ranboo could be terrifying.
He'd found that out after the teen had threatened to hang someone’s organs up like party streamers among a few other things. After that, he definitely was a bit more wary of him for a while. It wore off quickly though, Ranboo was too oddly endearing for someone to stay scared of.
Eret saw it a bit better than the rest of his friends, who were blinded by the fact that they were adorable kids who were traumatized. The trio were people to be afraid of. It was a simple fact. Any of the three knew could incapacitate someone in less than three seconds flat, and that was a scary thing to be able to do.
Add in the fact that they were hurt and angry, they were volatile, dangerous, and objectively terrifying.
Eret didn’t love them any less though. He planned to take care of them aggressively despite it. Just because they were ready to strike back at the world that struck them first didn’t mean they were undeserving of love. He had made a promise to Karl once, one that he planned to keep.
Eret jumped as someone tapped his shoulder. When he looked over he was greeted with the concerned expression of Ranboo. “Are you alright?” he asked.
Eret tilted his head slightly. “Yeah of course! Why wouldn’t I be?” He kept her tone light, but Ranboo didn’t look convinced.
“Are you sure? You looked a bit sad and didn't look concerned like you usually would when Tubbo and Tommy walked out with grins.” That caught Eret’s attention, he looked up, and the teen were indeed no longer where they had been sitting moments before.
Eret let out a sigh, shaking his head as he stood up. “Just thinking about an old friend of mine. Now come on, lets go before they decide to blow something up again.”
Ranboo smiled, rolling his eyes, “Yeah that’s probably for the best.” Eret walked up to the door though he turned around after realizing that there wasn’t a pair of footsteps behind her.
Ranboo was standing next to where Tommy had been sitting, a large red feather in his hand. Eret walked back over to examine the feather. “What’s that?” he asked.
Ranboo hummed. “I don’t know. It was just sitting in the middle of Tommy’s seat. We've been finding these feathers everywhere recently. I have no clue how it got in or what kind of bird it would be from which is also weird because Tommy used to go on long rants about different types of birds when we were a bit younger.”
“That’s odd.” Eret muttered then glanced at the door. “We really do need to go check on them though….” He trailed off as the ground shook. “Twenty bucks that was them.”
“I would take that bet but I would also lose.”
With Quackity
Quackity groaned miserably as he let his head fall once again against the desk in front of him. Not a single person believed him. Not that it was too surprising, prior to the day before he didn’t know that Ran was an absolutely terrifying individual either.
He knew Ranboo would never hurt him though. Even if he was a bit scared of the kid he would still trust Ran with his life. It said quite a lot that the first time Quackity had even seen it was when Ran was being protective of the people he cared about.
It wasn’t like the teen was a blood thirsty maniac.
It was still annoying no one would believe him though. A knock came at the door and he looked up. Fire-Fist had peeked in the door, looking slightly concerned. “Are you alright? I heard a loud bang.”
Quackity chuckled gesturing for the hero to come in. “Yeah, my friends refuse to believe me when I tell them that Warp is apparently fucking terrifying. He scares me almost as much as…. Well I can’t tell you but there was only one person who can actually scare the shit out of me, now there’s two.” Quackity got up during his explanation, reaching into his desk drawer and pulling out a small box.
Fire-Fist sat down in the chair across from his and let out a chuckle. “Really? No one really talked to them in the tower, so I can’t really say what he’s like. You guys didn’t know he could be… like that?”
Quackity shook his head as he placed two mugs of milk in the microwave. “Nah, he’s known as a gentle giant. Honestly, he’s one of the sweetest people I’ve probably met aside from… damn it. Telling you about how problematic my friends are is really hard when it’s dangerous for you to know their names.”
Fire-Fist looked conflicted, and Quackity shoved the now finished mug of hot coco into the hero’s hands who then glanced at him with surprise. Quackity shrugged as he plopped himself back down into his seat with his own mug.
The hero glanced from him to the mug several times, opening and closing his mouth as if to say something but never actually speaking for a long moment. Fire-Fist set his mug back down after taking a long sip. Without warning, the hero reached up, an unclipped his mask.
With ???
She let out a cackle, lounging upside down with a pair of headphones. This was getting quite fun, as much the others complained about the chaos.
But she always asked anytime they objected. What is life if not a chaotic, dancing fire to either tend or put out?
Notes:
I won't say a word.
My Discord server! You can always be alerted when I update and it's just a nice place to hang out. We don't have very many people yet, but everyone (who is willing to follow the rules) is welcome!
Deadly Nightshades!
(If there every any problems with the link, feel free to let me know and I'll try to fix it)
Chapter 35: A reunion and a rampage
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
With Sapnap
He knew what his decision was. He was done with the heroes. It wasn’t a good idea, but it was the only way that he could think of to get the man to actually trust him enough to help. If neither of them do anything to build trust then nothing was going to happen. So, he unclipped his mask.
Luck quickly turned away. “What are you doing!?”
Sapnap tried but failed to keep his voice level as he next spoke. “I’m done. I want out from under the committee and the only way for that to happen is to place at least some trust in you.” Luck looked back at him slowly, only to freeze with his jaw now hanging open. After a moment Sapnap said, “Are you alright?”
Luck suddenly laughed, shaking his head seemingly with disbelief. “There’s no fucking way. Sapnap is it really you? You crazy bitch”
Sapnap startled. “What- excuse me? How do you know my name!?”
Luck reached up, pulling his own mask off. The man’s appearance changed, yellow feathered wings sprouting from his back. Yet it was his face that caught Sapnap’s attention. “QUACKITY!?”
With Tommy
Ranboo was pacing the length of the floor in front of them, tugging on his hair with his hands, one of his many unhealthy calming habits. “I know I recognized him. If he’s in the city, we can follow him….” Tommy frowned with concern as the tallest of the three spoke. “Damn it, I should’ve killed all those assholes when I had the chance.”
“Then you wouldn’t be you Boo. Besides, you were a child, you couldn’t have expected yourself to have been able to fight them.” Tubbo spoke with a gentle but concerned tone.
Tommy nodded in agreement. “Tubs has a point. You were a child, and it wasn’t like you knew how to fight or control your powers. If you had tried you only would’ve gotten recaptured.”
Ranboo looked to be about to object to their words, but instead he simply sighed, and sat down. “I know you guys are right. I know. Doesn’t mean I like-” a loud crash from the next room cut him off and all three heads in the room snapped towards the sound.
They shared a glance. If someone was breaking in, whoever it was would regret it rather fast. It was not a good idea to mess with ex-heroes, much less when said ex-heroes turned to villainy. Ranboo didn’t waste time, and teleported into the room, his claws already showing on is right hand. Yet he cursed loudly not even a moment later. “Oh shit- GUYS GET IN HERE NOW!”
The urgency in his voice spurred both teens into action without a second of delay. Tommy froze as he saw what was in the room however, Tubbo doing the same. In Ranboo’s arms was a heavily injured UFO. A large slash occupied his left side right under the ribs, and he was bleeding, heavily.
After the moment of shock, Tommy rushed forward to help Ran lower the vigilante to the floor. “Tubbo medical.” He said quickly, Tubbo taking off not a moment later. He didn’t know why UFO chose their apartment, but he’d ask later.
….That was until the vigilante he almost thought was already unconscious reached a shaky hand up and pulled of his own mask. Purpled. “Oh fuck. Come on, stay with us Purp.” He muttered, trying to stop the blood flow.
Tubbo returned with haste, quickly handing him the medical kit and crouching down to help. “The only thing those damn assholes were useful for was making me teach myself to take care of wounds.” Tommy muttered, trying to put a stop to the blood flow.
Years of practice let them work quickly, and soon their friend was bandaged up. Tommy’s blood boiled in his veins the entire time of taking care of Purpled’s wounds. After they got Purpled situated, Tommy balled his fists. “Can you two take care of him?” He asked, they knew his true question though. ‘Can I go kill whoever did this or do I need to stay.’
Tubbo turned to him with eyes full of fury. “Go fuck them up Vengeance.” Tommy nodded, stalking out of the room to retrieve his gear. Practiced movements allowed him to be out quickly. He heard people yell as he was sighted, but he paid them no mind.
There was a reason he chose his name to be ‘Vengeance’. He pulled on his old knowledge of the innerworkings as he flipped his earpiece over to news broadcasts. Due to the nature of the fight, whoever Purpled was defending against would still be at the sight, dealing with the news reporters.
A reporter’s voice greeted his ear. “Welcome everyone to L’manburgain news! We’re here today in district 7 with the heroes Dream and Spore after their fight with the vigilante UFO. Now Dream, would you mind giving the gracious civilians of our great city your opinion on the vigilante problem.”
Tommy grit his teeth. ‘Vigilante problem’ they wouldn’t even be there if the heroes actually did their jobs and the heroes who tried to do it weren’t prevented. Though that did give him two pieces of critical information. The first being where he needed to go.
He shifted his course. If Dream was in the seventh district, then the man was specifically after vigilantes. Whether he had been trying to kill or capture was not a question Tommy was all that worried about the answer to.
The second piece of information being that Fire-Fist had not been present. That was quite interesting. It only took a couple minutes of searching before he found where the fight had happened, who didn’t like an ambush?
With Sapnap
Sapnap was trying to get over how Quackity was Luck. “I- did not expect that. You? Luck?” He said, his surprise plain in his tone.
Quackity let out a laugh. “Damn right. I’m the one person that didn’t have to fake my death to get out from that damn place. Which I actually find pretty funny. Aside from the obvious, how’ve you been? It’s been a while since we’ve seen each other.”
Sapnap shook his head. “Yeah what the actual-”
He was cut off by the door slamming open. He jumped out of his chair at the sight of a maskless Huntress. “Vengeance is on a rampage!”
Notes:
My Discord server! You can always be alerted when I update and it's just a nice place to hang out. We don't have very many people yet, but everyone (who is willing to follow the rules) is welcome!
Deadly Nightshades!
(If there every any problems with the link, feel free to let me know and I'll try to fix it)
Chapter 36: When the Prey becomes the Hunters
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
With George
Vengeance spun his staff quickly in his hands, hitting George in the jaw causing him to stumble back. The villain tilted his head, a manic grin on his face. George recoiled. Well that’s not creepy as fuck. Though George grinned a bit himself, it came to mind that he was the first hero to draw blood.
Vengeance wiped a bit of blood from his lip. “Congrats~ you’re not entirely useless!” The villain’s tone was eerily cheerful even as he bent straight backward to avoid one of Dream’s air blades. Dream let out a scream as what looked like a baseball bat crashed into his shoulder.
Dread filled George’s body. Now one of the villain’s teammates came to help. Vengeance danced away from both of his opponents. “Warp! I thought you were… keeping watch as well.”
George saw Warp grin toothily. “TNT said he had it covered.” He cracked his neck. “Besides, can’t let you have all the fun now can we?” Vengeance shrugged, an almost teasing grin on his face replacing the mocking one from before. "V, no." Warp didn't sound impressed with the villain's silent refute.
"I mean you could-" Vengeance started, but a pointed look from his teammate cut him off. His entire personality seemed to shift once again, going back to what it had been while previously fighting. “Yeah yeah, I get it. Now let’s get some shit done.”
George jumped back, but the battle was already back underway. He had wasted his time to breath paying attention to the sudden conversation between the two villains. He pressed the button to call for his missing teammate once more. Even when they weren’t working Sapnap always kept his alarm on him in order to come to their aid when needed.
He had pressed the damn button several times in the past few minutes since the fight started. He didn’t know what happened, but Vengeance seemed a lot stronger than the last time they had fought. Either something had happened between the two times to multiply the villain’s strength, or the more uncomfortable answer, he had been toying with them the last time.
Something impacted his arm and he stumbled to the side. It didn’t seem to break anything, but it was going to cause one hell of a bruise. Warp tossed the baseball bat in his hand into the air with a grin, not even looking at it as he caught it. “Hello~ I don’t think we’ve talked much.” The villain stalked forward towards him.
George was now regretting using his powers so much early in the fight. Now all he could do was desperately dodge the teleporting villain. He once again regretted that he was not a great hand-to-hand fighter.
George didn’t reply to the villain, instead darting to the side to avoid another hit with the bat. “Why so quiet~? You know this isn’t even my preferred weapon, I just grabbed it so I could get here before Vengeance could live up to his name with your blood~.”
Why were these two so fucking creepy!? He hit the button to call for Sapnap again. Dying was not on his list of things to do for the day.
With Sapnap
Sapnap was not unaware of the fact that the ‘HELLLP MEEEEEE’ alarm, as it was called by his teammates, was frantically going off. He was also not unaware of the fact he had made the mistake of not adding a mute button to the thing. Not that it was the main thought on his mind after Huntress noticed his presence.
She looked at him, her nose scrunching up. “Well, that’s unfortunate.” Her expression then relaxed. “If you say a single god damn word to anyone about what I look like I’ll scoop your eyes out with rusty spoon and feed them to stray cats. Actually, That’s not our biggest problem right now.”
She then turned back to Quackity. “I don’t know what fucking happened, but Vengeance is out for Dream and Spore’s blood. Also Fire-bitch, I’ll still do it, just warning you.”
What was with everyone and threatening to kill him in overly graphic ways!?
Sapnap now thought he knew who Quackity was probably talking about when the man said there was someone who scared him. On the way to the sight of the battle, and the shocking reveal that Luck and Gambler were the same person, coupled with another creepy threat, he had stopped by a convenience store while the other two kept going to go watch and possibly intervene in the battle.
Now he was snacking on a bag of popcorn while watching the fight from a safe distance. How he had managed to still have an appetite after Huntress had threatened to hang his organs up like party streamers he didn’t know.
The help me button was now lying in pieces in a dumpster somewhere.
With Tommy
His knife missed Dream’s throat by a hair, though it put the Hero off balance. Tommy darted forward, hooking a leg under Dream’s, and knocking the man to the ground. He grinned manically; his tone sickly sweet. “I thought you were supposed to be good at this~?” He knew the theatrics were unnecessary, but every visual recoil he got from the hero felt like a dip in the pot of how much fear the man must’ve instilled into an innocent teen.
While he was enjoying the fight, he was careful not to lose sight of the reason he had gone almost murderous in the first place. While he wanted to kill the hero, he didn’t. That was for a later day, but making the hero fear would be enough for the time.
He was trained by the SBI, if he tried to kill the Dream, there was nothing that the hero could really do to prevent it.
“Get up.” Techno said, the training sword in his hand still held out towards Tommy.
Tommy’s chest heaved and he shook his head. “N- no. I’m done for the day. I don’t think I can keep going.” He was already going to have more than a few bruises; it was looking like he was going to have to request for more bruise cream from the academy.
“A villain won’t accept that; they’ll kill you with no mercy. Come on, get up.” Tommy let out a breath, shoving himself onto shaky legs. And so they began again.
He watched the hero and tapped his foot on the ground, as if bored. He may have looked relaxed but he was anything but. His senses all stood on end, his eyes darted around, always wary of the next attack. He stayed hyper aware of the air movements around him.
A pair of boots slammed painfully into his back, and he crashed to the floor. “If you can’t interpret your environment without your sight and move faster than that, any villain will be able to sneak up on you. Again.” The blindfold over his eyes made him rely much harder on his other senses. He tried not to regret asking for his dad’s help with training.
Dream looked like he was struggling to breathe. Did he hit him too hard? Eh, it’d be fine, the assholes have healers anyway. Just for the glare he knew he’d get, he let out a loud yawn. Dream looked at him with the most offended expression, and he couldn’t stop it that time, he burst out laughing.
His laughter caught the attention of both Warp and Spore. Warp simply shook his head, his friend was used to him not really bothering to take the people he was fighting seriously.
Dream took the momentary distraction to his advantage however and lunged at Tommy. Arms wrapped around him, and a brief thread of panic ran through his body.
The room slowly shrunk around him. He didn’t even know these rooms existed until Wilbur told him it was his turn to train Tommy. All he had to do was solve a simple puzzle. Simple right? Wrong. Wilbur would phase into the room and grab onto him at random times.
He got damn fast at puzzles and getting out of any kind of grapple. Claustrophobia was a bitch though.
With a smooth movement, he threw Dream over his head. Spore jumped forward and caught him before he hit the ground luckily for the hero. It left both of the heroes with their backs turned to Warp, however, big mistake.
His friend swung the bat down, and the crack of Spore’s shoulder could be heard from several feet away. Tommy grinned, about to jump back to the attack. That was until the comm in his ear came online with a small beep. A brief look shared with Warp let him know it was both of them being contacted.
Tubbo’s voice greeted his ear. “Both of you get back here now. He’s showing signs of waking up soon, and I’m not going to explain you not being here or you getting here right as he wakes up in your costumes, with Tommy covered in blood.” With another beep, the line went dead.
He looked down at himself. He hadn’t even realized he had blood on him. He had used the retracting blades on his staff more than he had thought apparently. Warp teleported over next to him, laying a hand on his shoulder.
They both bowed theatrically. “Well, it’s been fun heroes, but life calls.” Tommy said with a grin. The heroes didn’t look happy with their ‘prey’ escaping.
“See you all soon~.” Warp cooed, and they disappeared in a flurry of purple particles. A single red feather being the only thing left in their place.
Notes:
Sapnap: Oh shit their fighting! *looks around with an excited smile* Who has some popcorn!?
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Chapter 37: Tense conversations
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
With Fundy
He had gotten injured on his last patrol and hadn’t been able to go out. He had specifically asked Purpled not to go out without him, but his chaotic roommate was apparently losing impulse control every moment he spent with Tommy, Tubbo, and Ranboo. Fundy had gone looking for Purpled once he had woken up from his nap, only to find a note placed on the table instead. It had smudged pencil lead, as if Purpled had wrote and erased his words several times before he had been happy with it.
Hey Fundy! I went out on patrol. I’ll be back soon, don’t worry! Don’t come out looking for me just to tell me off, I know you would, but you know you’re not in a state to, so please don’t.
- Your favorite vigilante, Purpled
He hadn’t been at all happy, but his friend was right about one thing, he was not in a state to go out safely (as safe as being a vigilante could be anyway.) So, against his better judgment, he sat back down. That hadn’t lasted long, however. His phone had buzzed with a notification from the news.
‘After a hard fight where the vigilante UFO got likely fatally injured, Vengeance launches attack on Dream Team members Spore and Dream.’ He didn’t waste time as he pulled his gear on after hearing that. His son best friend had gotten hurt.
He grit his teeth as he used shifted claws to cut the cast off his right arm. It had been healed by Red Cross, but the man had also told him that it could easily be rebroken if he wasn’t careful. He quickly shifted into a small robin as he got to the window. His wing ached but he paid it no heed as he took to the air.
It didn’t take long for him to find the sight of the battle. Yet two villains he recognized well were already mid-fight with the two heroes. Vengeance and Warp were quite clearly winning the battle, Dream and Spore were looking much worse for wear.
He wasn’t dumb enough to inject himself into the fight, especially when he was still trying to get over an injury. He did fly around, however, looking desperately for where his friend was. If the reporter was right and he had gotten fatally injured, then Fundy needed to find him before anyone else did.
Fundy watched as Warp hit Spore in the shoulder with the baseball bat the villain was holding. Vengeance moved to attack but froze, tapping his ear as if listening to something. Fundy landed in an alley, not particularly interested in the fight itself.
He was about to shift back to his human self, only to freeze as he caught a glimpse of purple particles. It was just his luck. It seemed the fight had ended… and the villains had gone right into the alley he was in. Fundy almost didn’t dare breath as Vengeance spoke. “We need to get this blood off of me and get back.”
It sounded like Warp let out a huff. “Why would you use the blades? I grabbed my baseball bat because maximum damage and minimum blood.”
Vengeance chuckled, almost sounding sheepish. “Well, I was a bit mad. Besides, it’s stabbing people!”
“You’re starting to sound like TNT about blowing buildings up but with stabbing people.”
“Hey!” If it was any other circumstance, Fundy likely would’ve laughed at the offence in the villain’s voice. Yet as it was, the vigilante was in an extremely risky situation.
Which was only made all the worse as another voice spoke from the other side of the alley of the villains. “Vengeance, Warp.” He recognized the voice, who wouldn’t? The Captain was one of the most famous people in the country.
The joking atmosphere dissipated, replaced by tension. Fundy cautiously shifted into a mouse, creeping under the dumpster and carefully moving to watch the interaction. “We don’t have time to fight, Captain. I’m afraid we have places to be.” Vengeance growled, glancing over his shoulder.
The Captain balled her fists, looking at the ground. “I’m not here to fight, I just want to ask a question.” She ground out her words as if they pained her. Warp tilted his head to the side and she continued, “Do you know what happened to UFO? He was fighting them right before you were.”
Everything was silent for a long moment. When he spoke again, his voice was… softer. “You care about the vigilantes, don’t you?” Vengeance fully turned around to look at her. She stayed silent, her only response being a tightening of her fists. Vengeance chuckled, though it almost sounded sad. “We do know what happened to him.”
The Captain looked up at them, her mouth pinched in a grim line. Warp put a hand of his teammates shoulder. “Careful, we can’t trust her. She’s on the board, you know that.”
“I know Warp. I know.” He then turned his attention to The Captain. “Not all heroes are assholes even if most are. We’ve always thought you better than the rest of the board, so I will tell you this. UFO is safe, and with people we trust. We were there when he went into their home, and we helped care for his wounds before leaving. He is safe.” Fundy… didn’t like the sound of that. At all.
His best friend was with people who were friends with some of the most terrifying villains. The next question that The Captain asked was something he hadn’t even thought about, but it terrified him to no end. “Do you know his identity?”
Vengeance tensed again. His tone going almost back to a growl. “We do. I refuse to-”
The Captain put her hand up. “I’m not asking you to give it to me, I don’t want to know. Are you planning to tell anyone? From what I’ve seen, you’re close to a bunch of the high ranked villains.” The silence after her question had to have only been a few seconds, but to Fundy it felt like hours.
“No.” Fundy felt tension drain from his body. Not all of it, but some. He could see a similar reaction from the Captain, her shoulders slumping. “He may not trust us, but he trusted the people he showed his identity to. We may be villains, but we aren’t as cruel as people like to believe.”
The Captain turned back towards where the sight of the battle had been. “I will take my leave then. If I hear any word of his identity or he got hurt…” She trailed off, the threat in her words obvious.
Vengeance turned around as well. “I could say the same to you, Captain. It would be in your best interest not to talk a word about this conversation.”
“Glad we understand each other then.” The Captain said, and with that, she took off at a run. The two villains disappeared in another flurry of particles, and Fundy was once again left alone with his thoughts.
Notes:
HEHEHEHEHEHEHE
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Chapter 38: Oh- oh no
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
With Purpled
He woke up. That was unexpected. He remembers… blood. A hell of a lot of blood. Which was probably why his memory was so hazy. He remembered knowing he wouldn’t make it home, so that was quite obviously not where he was.
He hadn’t opened up his eyes yet, opting instead to try to make sense of his surroundings without revealing his consciousness. He felt a soft material both above and below him. He didn’t feel any danger, but he had been wrong before.
He once again tried to remember where he was. He had managed to escape Dream but his apartment had been too far away for him to get to without dying. He had gotten… somewhere. Somewhere safe. He remembered seeing a flash of purple and then hearing concerned voices.
He also remembered taking off his mask. He bolted up in what revealed to be a very fluffy bed. He felt like he should recognize his surroundings but his still recovering mind didn’t want to catch up with why the room was so familiar.
He felt the familiar feeling of stitches in his side. Where had he gone? How much blood did he lose that he could barely remember what happened? On that note, he once again wondered how he wasn’t dead. He looked around the room, immediately noticing two things.
The first being that he was no longer in any of his gear. The second thing he noticed was that all of said gear was neatly folded on the bedside table next to him. His weapons were also just sitting on top of his costume. Wary of the apparent stitches in his side, he reached towards his stuff and pulled it onto his lap. He quickly looked though it all, but everything was present.
A knock came at the door and Purpled tensed. Until he saw whose head peaked around the corner. Dread and relief started an absolute war in his mind at the sight of Tubbo. Though the teen didn’t look judgmental, more sad than anything, the short teen did perk up a bit as he met Purpled’s eyes however. “Oh you’re awake! Thank fuck, I thought we’d have to go to extreme measures if you didn’t wake up soon.”
Purpled could only stare at his friend with open mouthed confusion as he walked into the room, a mug in his hand. “Are you hurting anywhere? Have the stitches torn? Do you need anything? Tommy and Ranboo will be back soon, they went out to refresh our first aid supplies, but they got a bit held up by a hero villain fight.”
Purpled almost panicked, what if they got caught up too close to it and needed help!? He threw off the blankets and tried to stand but Tubbo put a hand on his chest to stop him. “Nope. Sit your ass right back down. Their fine, traffic was held up and that’s why they’ll be late. They’re staying far away.” Tubbo shoved the mug into his hand and he glanced between the steaming mug and Tubbo, still unable to speak.
Tubbo glanced at the mug and then him. “It’s some hot chocolate with a tiny dose of a health potion. I had one of my friends fork over one of his, didn’t tell him why I needed one though, so don’t worry about that.” Tubbo reached towards his shirt while he spoke, silently asking for permission.
Purpled nodded and Tubbo lifted his shirt to look at the stitching. It was also Purpled’s first time seeing the stitches. He couldn’t help but notice they looked incredibly neat. Tubbo opened the drawer of the nightstand and took out a cotton pad and some water. Tubbo hummed a weirdly familiar tune under his breath as he worked to clean the area around the stiches carefully. His movements were careful and confident, as if he knew what he was doing.
After a minute, Purpled found it in himself to speak. “Why?” He croaked out, his words failing him. Why would they help him? Why wasn’t he scared, when most people were afraid of vigilantes? Why hadn’t they turned him in? Why would they patch him up? Why would they look at him like he betrayed them by lying about something so important-
“Because we’re your friends.” Tubbo’s soft voice answered. Purpled looked up from his hands which had been slowly curling into fists. Tubbo met his eyes, and Purpled was reminded why he had first thought they could be with one of the factions. Tubbo’s eyes were dark, but soft.
“No one is truly innocent, not in this place, but we all try with the hand we’ve been dealt.” Something told Purpled, that there was more to this story. Tubbo looked down as he spoke, his voice sad. “If we all abandoned each other for every dark secret, the world would’ve already gone up into flames.”
Tubbo then paused in his work. “Aren’t I a hypocrite.” He muttered to himself, shaking his head before going back to cleaning up the area around the wound. “No no Tubbo, don’t go regretting it now, you did the right thing.” Purpled was confused by his friend’s words but decided not to comment on them.
They sat there for another minute until Tubbo was done tending to the stitches. Tubbo stretched as he stood up. He turned to leave but Purpled stopped him by grabbing his wrist. “Thank you.” He murmured softly.
Tubbo smiled, engulfing him in a hug. “Any time. If you ever need anything, and I mean anything, just ask.” Purpled felt warm tears start falling down his face, and a sob clawed it’s way out of his throat. Tubbo just continued to hold him, not a single complaint was made.
With Dream
He nearly collapsed after the battle, only managing to stay sitting through pure force of will. Spore wasn’t doing much better, his chest was heaving and he was cradling his likely broken arm with a miserable expression.
Clay felt the sting of the wounds all over his body, and they were not pleasant. He was a bit more worried about his teammate, however. He kept his voice quiet, wary of the audience that had not so slowly gathered. “Come on Gogy, we have to get back so we can get healed up.” Spore nodded wordlessly, getting to his feet with the help of his non-broken arm.
He knew help would be arriving soon in the form of vehicles supplied by the committee. All they had to do was wait. A blast of air alerted him to someone else coming to investigate either before or in the place of the same people. “Are you both alright?” Crow asked from behind them.
Clay turned around with frustration. “Bit late for the fight Crow. To answer your question, of course we’ve not alright, they’re apparently fucking ruthless!” Clay huffed, turning away. It didn’t help that one of their teammates didn’t show up. Even if the man had asked for an ‘off day’ which, who does that? But he also didn’t respond to the device that was likely going off like crazy that told him that they desperately needed help.
“I’m sorry I didn’t get here sooner Dream. I was a bit busy.” Crow said, but that only set Clay off.
Clay whirled back around to face the number one hero in a heartbeat. The sky had been slowly darkening over the course of the last hour and soft rain started to patter against the rooftop. The wounds all over his body stung, he was not in the clearest state of mind as he marched up to the number one hero.
“Busy? Doing what? Sulking? Hiding in Theseus’s old room? You know as well as I do that you and your sons were already supposed to have cleared it out. I’m surprised you haven’t yet.” He spoke the last part with a slight smirk, a fact that hadn’t gone unnoticed by Crow.
The hero’s wings puffed up, spreading out menacingly. “What’s that supposed to mean?” He asked, a dangerous glint in his voice.
Dream lowered his voice, the thing he was about to say was not for the ears of the public. “You obviously never cared for the damn kid, I’m just saying I don’t understand why you haven’t burnt all his stuff to clear some space yet.”
Crow snarled, his hands balling into fists. It was obvious he was only just barely keeping himself from attacking Clay. “You know NOTHING about me or my family. I recommend, that you keep your gods forsaken nose out of where it doesn’t belong.”
The heroes words brought up a memory of a time when he had just been an apprentice. Of a confrontation with two villains that had cost him the protection of something more powerful than anybody knew.
This only caused to spur Clay on. “Are you sure about that? You can ask anybody who actually matters if they’d seen bruises on that little shit’s body caused by the kind of training that, last I checked, was deemed inhumane.”
That was apparently the last straw for Crow. The man lunged forward and Clay only just barely managed to get out of the way in time. He nearly collapsed again with just that, maybe making the hero want to attack him when he was ready to fall over wasn’t a great idea.
Luckily Spore was right there, moving to stand between them. “Both of you stop!” Clay opened his mouth to defend himself with the fact he wasn’t lying at all. Spore must’ve expected this as he turned his head to look at Clay. “BOTH of you. We can all fight and try to fucking murder eachother when we’ve not where the world can see us.” He hissed.
Clay came back to reality. Oh they were screwed. The entire world had just seen that argument, even if they couldn’t hear what had been said by the two heroes. Clay turned away, looking at the ground with shame.
Crow simply growled before shooting himself into the sky without another word.
Notes:
I actually can not believe I just actually wrote that. I- wow. I am so sorry XD
My Discord server! You can always be alerted when I update and it's just a nice place to hang out. We don't have very many people yet, but everyone (who is willing to follow the rules) is welcome!
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Chapter 39: Words hurt
Chapter Text
With Sapnap
After watching the entire spectacle that was the battle and the apparent argument between his teammate and Crow, Sapnap was quite frankly, exhausted. It was still only mid-afternoon so if Sapnap headed back to the tower there would be no avoiding his teammates.
Sapnap scrunched his nose up at the thought. Even with everything, he still cared about his friends. Clay’s teakettle laughter, George’s grumpiness, making fun of stupid costumes together, old inside jokes, it all felt like home. They had always been together as best friends. Yet he knew there had to be a change. Clay didn’t laugh anymore, George was only ‘grumpy’ when a hero ‘woke’ him up while he had been eavesdropping, the snickers at other heroes had become cold professionalism, jokes had long been forgotten.
Sapnap had tried for a long time to hold onto everything. To hold on to the warm feeling of being around the people that had always cared the most about him. He had known it had changed, as much as he hadn’t wanted to admit it. They had changed, and that same warmth had become a cold chill.
His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of footsteps. Gambler and Huntress had both been ready to step in incase anything went wrong in the battle, which was evidently not unusual. The two had apparently gotten out of and had hidden their costumes as the two were now approaching him in civilian clothing. Quackity looked troubled. “That was interesting. They weren’t there for no reason, something must’ve happened.”
Huntress nodded. “They moved different, they were pissed about something, more so than usual. We need to message them and ask if everything is alright.” She went from frowning to smiling in less than a second. “It’s great to see you though Q, we’ve both been so busy we haven’t gotten to hang out much.”
Sapnap was honestly a bit confused. Literally everyone knew all the top villains pretty much hated each other’s guts, yet here two of them were talking like old friends. They acted friendly with each other earlier as well, but it had been overshadowed by their worry about Vengeance and Warp.
He didn’t stop himself from staring at them with open confusion. “I know! Life’s been super chaotic, especially for me. The world decided to go the moment Esos niños showed up.” Quackity chuckled. “We need to find some time to just hang out. Stop staring at me like that match box.”
Sapnap chuckled. “Haven’t heard that one a while. Sorry for staring, it’s just weird to see you two acting like friends when last I checked you guys hated each other.”
Huntress burst out laughing. “We sold that one pretty well didn’t we? That’s just in public, and on twitter. Which counts as in public…?” She trailed off, seemingly contemplating something before shaking her head with a grin. “Never mind, but no, in reality we’re good friends. Most of the big villains are.” That was news to Sapnap.
Quackity grabbed his phone out of his pocket. “I’m going to message the trio real quick and see if anything happened. Tu- TNT wasn’t there so he’ll probably be the best to ask.” Sapnap didn’t miss Quackity almost slipping what was most likely TNT’s real name, but he wasn’t going to comment on it.
After a minute, Quackity’s frown deepened, and he quickly sent another text. He glanced up before responding to the questioning glances he was getting from both him and Huntress. “I got a reply from TNT. He says they’re alright, but no one can go by their house for a while.” He shook his head as he put his phone back up. “I told I would let everyone else know and to just call if they need anything.”
Huntress nodded. “That works. How about we get back to the casino so we can address what we’re doing about him seeing what I look like. I would also like an explanation as to what the actual hell I walked in on.” She gestured at Sapnap as she spoke, this was going to be a long day.
Around an hour later after they had arrived back at the casino. Huntress was now staring at him with her mouth hanging open. He glanced at Quackity who just shrugged in response. After a moment, she face-palmed with an exasperated laugh. “What the fuck. That’s the stupidest coincidence I’ve ever heard. How did you two even recognize each other?”
Sapnap shrugged. “You know, I have no clue. We haven’t seen each other in… what 9? 10 years?” He addressed the last part of his statement to Quackity who nodded in response.
“Yeah that sounds about right. I can only just barely recognize match box here as that insane kid.”
Sapnap narrowed his eyes at his newly rediscovered childhood friend. “You ate a bug. We literally met because you ate a bug.” Huntress spat out the sip of water to the side, covering her mouth with a hand to stop her laughter.
Quackity made panicked eye movements that were practically begging Sapnap to stop talking. “Uh, how about we don’t talk about the dumb stuff I did as a kid.”
Huntress finally stopped laughing and leaned forward with a grin that could almost be described as predatory. “No no, keep going, I love a good bit of black mail material. It’s always... useful to have.” Quackity was rapidly shaking his head, gesturing for Sapnap not to do as the villain in front of him requested. Which only had the opposite effect.
Sapnap leaned forward with a grin, resting his elbows on the table and folding his hands. “Oh do I have plenty of that.” Quackity… looked completely miserable, and it was quite frankly hilarious.
Several hours later
Sapnap was finally packing up to head back to the tower. Night had long since fallen and he couldn’t put it off any longer. He had spent the last little while just hanging out with the two villains. He sighed as he glanced at the dark sky out the window. “You know you don’t have to go back yet, you could stay here for the night?” Quackity offered, looking at him with something akin to concern.
Sapnap shook his head. “No I’ve got to get going, I’ve been away too long anyway. My teammates will probably be waiting for me…” he trailed off, most likely they would be demanding to know where he was, and he’d get yelled at by them when he refused to tell them.
Huntress didn’t say anything, instead choosing to watch the conversation. It was almost odd considering she had been happy and talkative just minutes before. She looked like she was contemplating something. Quackity sighed, “If you’re sure then. Don’t let the assholes give you too much shit?”
Sapnap huffed in response to the villain. “Yeah yeah, sure.” He shouldered the small back-pack like bag he had brought with him. “Well, I’m going to head out now. It was nice to talk to you both, I can’t say when the next time I’ll be able to get in contact though.”
Quackity waved as he walked out the door. They had been just talking in Quackity’s office the entire time. It didn’t take him long to navigate himself to the door of the casino, and the crisp night air greeted him. He shivered and pulled his jacket tighter around his shoulders, he had always preferred the heat rather than the cold.
He suddenly heard footsteps behind him, and he turned around to see Huntress (still in civilian clothing) running towards him. “Hey, wait up!” she called, against what was likely his better judgment, he paused. Once she got close to him, she stuck out a hand for him to shake. “I thought I’d actually introduce myself. The name’s Niki. Niki Nihachu. It’s nice to meet you.”
His eyes widened in surprise, and she snickered at his reaction. He grabbed and shook her hand. “Uh- the name’s Spanap, though you already knew that.” His brain had still not caught up by the time she walked away.
He now had the identity of three of the most powerful people in the city, two if you counted that Luck and Gambler were the same person. He shook his head with exasperation. What a day.
He took the long way back to the tower. He needed the time to think. It didn’t take as long as he’d like to get back to his suite inside, and he used his key card to open the door. He let out a long breath as he stepped inside.
The light flipped on a few seconds later. Clay was standing next to the light switch, his face set into a scowl. “Where the actual fuck were you Sapnap?” Clay’s voice came out as a snarl, Sapnap could see bandages covering his teammate’s body.
Sapnap looked off to the side. He did feel some regret for destroying the alerter, but he would’ve done it again. His voice came out small when he spoke. “Like you care.”
Clay marched up to him and shoved a finger in his face. “That’s not a fucking answer. Where the hell were you? We called for your help several times, Vengeance and Warp made fucking fools out of us!” That stung a bit. He didn’t care that Sapnap hadn’t shown up for several hours, he just cared that his reputation got a bit of a stain.
He decided to point the fact out. “Don’t you care that I was gone? What if I had gotten hurt or something?”
Clay didn’t move, but his response was like a slap to the face. “That’s not what matters right now! You didn’t show up, we’re a team! If we didn’t work so well together and it was anyone else, I would’ve kicked you out as soon as you made that stupid ‘apology’!” He said the last word with a mocking tone.
The hurt in Sapnap’s chest quickly flamed into anger. “We’re a team? Are we Dream!? Because teams actually care for and respect each other! That ‘apology’ that you keep bloody making fun of? Meant so damn much to me, I realized I made a mistake! Why can’t you see I’m trying to be an actually good person instead of someone who pretends to be one!”
Dream scoffed, looking at Sapnap with disgust. “Respect is earned! I don’t trust you, I’m not sure I ever should’ve! Your starting to sound like those damn villains with your talk of righteousness. Do you want to sound like heartless assholes?”
That did it. The memories of an afternoon filled with laughter bubbled to the surface. Him and Niki teasing Quackity for childhood memories. Heartless? He didn’t see them as heartless anymore. Not after they were more worried about a trio they took care of more than their own identities.
His hands balled into fists, and he had to fight to keep flames from curling around them. “Villains are people too Dream.” Dream looked to be about to spit venom, but Sapnap cut him off. “And respect is earned? Really? Have not earned your respect Dream? I have stuck by you, for YEARS. Through thick and bloody thin, does that not account for something!?”
Dream took a step back, letting out a laugh that was almost manic, the tea kettle laugh that was the sign of the friend he was oh so fond of was long gone. “It did matter, but then you changed Sapnap! You are not the person I knew.”
Fire curled freely around Sapnap’s arms. “You’re a fucking hypocrite Dream. We all changed, but you did it for the worse. So did George. We told ourselves we had to but we lost the very things that made us, us.” He looked away with gritted teeth, his tone going icy cold. “Answer me this honestly, Dream, do you even want me here anymore?”
“Maybe I don’t! Maybe you should just leave!” Dream snarled. Sapnap’s head snapped back to look at Dream, his anger dissipating. Its place was filled instantly with hurt and he recoiled. Dream covered his mouth, as if realizing what he had said. He looked like he had regretted it the moment he said it, but the damage was done.
Sapnap turned on his heel, stalking to his room. “Sap wait!” Dream called, running up and grabbing his arm. Sapnap yanked himself out of Dream’s grip.
“Don’t touch me.” Sapnap’s lips were curled as he turned a withering glare on Dream. The man shrunk back from his gaze. Sapnap pulled the door open before walking inside and slamming it shut. He stood against it as it rattled. “Sap let me in! I’m sorry, I just want to talk!” Sapnap didn’t budge.
He watched the clock for at least 10 minutes as Dream begged to talk to him from the other side of the door. Footsteps finally signaled the man walking away. Sapnap sank to the ground, wrapping his arms around his knees, he let out a sob.
Notes:
SPRING GO TO BED
My Discord server! You can always be alerted when I update and it's just a nice place to hang out. We don't have very many people yet, but everyone (who is willing to follow the rules) is welcome!
Deadly Nightshades!
(If there every any problems with the link, feel free to let me know and I'll try to fix it)
Chapter 40: Who are we to judge?
Notes:
TWs: Mention of blood? An argument? Nothing serious in this one
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
With Tommy – a few hours earlier
The blood had all come off eventually, though the stuff was frustratingly stubborn. They quickly stopped by Eret’s place to drop off their suits. They briefly explained what had occurred, carefully avoiding mention of Purpled’s identity. The man didn’t look very happy about any of it, likely because they went to beat up the heroes without telling anyone first, but he was willing to hang onto their outfits while they dealt with everything.
They had also requested that he didn’t tell any of the others, which he had hesitantly agreed to. With everything still in chaos they wanted some time to take care of the new information without anyone putting their two sense in. The trio loved the other villains, but they were incredibly nosey people.
They didn’t waste time getting back to their apartment afterward. The faster Tommy could check on the situation with his friend the better he would feel. The villains had originally tried to get them a full-on house, but they had vehemently denied the offer, stating that it was too much and that they didn’t do anything to deserve it.
It had taken quite a while to convince the villains, but they had gotten it done. Not until after they got lectured for saying they didn’t deserve it, however. He sent a quick text to Tubbo, asking that he close the bedroom door so they could just teleport in.
After receiving the go ahead, Tommy grabbed Ranboo’s shoulder, and they disappeared in a flurry of purple particles. His stomach dropped and he stumbled as the ground returned a moment later. He was still getting used to that. Ranboo reached a hand out to steady him.
Tommy took a deep breath and stood up straight. “We’re back!” He called out, and the door promptly opened. Tubbo had a raised eyebrow and looked him up and down, likely looking for any blood splatters, before nodding and stepping aside.
He walked into the room and the first thing he noticed was that Purpled’s face look red and puffy as if he had been crying. “What’d Tubs do? Why do you like you’ve been crying? If he said something rude, I have no qualms throwing him out a window.” Tommy pointedly ignored the very loud complaints from his short friend.
Purpled shook his head with a chuckle, though he grimaced when the action tugged on the stitches that Tommy had oh so carefully sewn. “No, he didn’t make me cry.” Purpled then paused, his brows furrowing. “Well, he sort of did…. But he did it by being nice? I don’t know blood loss makes my brain stop working.” The teen scratched his neck awkwardly.
Tommy let out a sigh of relief. “That’s good, because an angry Tubbo is not on my list of things to deal with.” He grinned, “Still would’ve done it though.” He was sent forward slightly by something impacting the back of his head.
He turned around only to see Tubbo on the back of Ranboo with his foot held out where Tommy’s head had been moments before. Tubbo burst out laughing at the offended look on Tommy’s face. “Bitch- did you just kick me in the head!?” Tommy demanded. Tubbo responded by grinning before jumping off of Ranboo’s back and running in the opposite direction.
With Purpled
Around fifteen minutes and four unwilling piggy back rides later, Tommy and Tubbo finally stopped trying to stab each other with the foam swords they had both at some point picked up. The two were still glaring at each other with absolute murder in their eyes, which would’ve been concerning if it wasn’t for the fact that they would never actually hurt each other and they were some of the most harmless people he had ever met.
The silence that followed that followed was nearly overwhelming. He had just given up his biggest secret, and despite Tubbo’s reassurances, the other two hadn’t really said anything about the new information. Purpled squirmed slightly, not really knowing how to broach the topic.
He tensed when Ranboo finally opened his mouth to speak. “So you’re a vigilante? UFO?” It was spoken both as a question and a statement, everyone in the room knowing the answer. Purpled nodded, it wasn’t like there was any point in denying it now.
There was a long pause before, “Can you get me Fox’s autograph?” Purpled immediately turned an incredulous look on Tommy, who only grinned shamelessly after his request. The tension in the room dissipated in an instant.
“Tommy what the actual hell-” Ranboo ran a hand down his face as he spoke. The poor teen looked just completely done with everything. Which wasn’t surprising considering who he lived with. “That is not the first thing you should say in this situation.”
Tommy shrugged. “What do you want me to say? ‘Oh I’m going to turn you in because I hate vigilantes’? We all know I wouldn’t. Being a vigilante is too poggers to report.” Purpled could feel his worries falling away by the second. He visibly sagged in relief as a small smile made its way onto his face.
Meanwhile, the trio were once again starting to bicker. This time it was mostly Tommy and Ran however. “No Tommy, you say something like, ‘it’s okay, we’re not upset you hid something like that because we understand why.’ You don’t ask for his teammate's autograph!” Ranboo threw his hands up in exasperation as he spoke.
Tommy smirked, raising an eyebrow with a smug look. “I’m not the one who tried to ask for the Captain’s signature once and fail miserably.” That caught Purpled off guard, and he turned to look at Ranboo.
Ranboo was a bright beet red in the face. “That was one time. Besides! That was years ago, I mean come on would you please Let. That. Go.”
Tommy snickered, “Nope, I’m never going to let you live that down.” Ranboo’s mouth opened and closed, though he didn’t seem to be able to say anything to defend himself.
“Oh fuck you.” Ranboo muttered, turning away.
“Oh my god he swore!” Tommy was grinning from ear to ear. “Tubbo did you hear that!? Someone tell me that they got that on some kind of-” Tommy was abruptly cut off by Ranboo lunging at him.
The two teens rolled on the floor, both attempting to put the other into headlocks. Purpled’s shoulders shook as he started laughing. Unbeknownst to him, the two arguing friends shared a triumphant smile. The tension in his body was gone, replaced by amusement.
For a moment, only a moment, Purpled was a normal teenager, laughing until he couldn’t breath with his friends. The secrets, battles, betrayals, threats, all of it melted away. Even if it was only for a moment. Finally, Ranboo wrapped his arm around Tommy’s neck. “Hey no stop that!” Tommy complained loudly as Ranboo ruffled his hair.
Purpled winced slightly as he accidently pulled his stitches. The world came crashing back, but the weight wasn’t quite as heavy. He no longer had to lie to his friends, it was a relief he didn’t know he needed.
He glanced out the window of the room. It was beginning to get late and he frowned. He swung his legs off the bed. “Woah woah woah, what do you think you’re doing?” Tubbo chastised, immediately moving to stop him. Tommy and Ranboo stopped fighting, also standing up.
Purpled smiled softly, shaking his head. “I’ve got to go. I’ve been gone for I don’t even know how long, at least hours. My roommate is probably panicking right now.”
The trio shared a glance. He recognized a silent conversation when he saw one, even if he couldn’t tell what they were saying. It struck him that he had no clue how the three had actually met each other. Ranboo sighed, addressing Tubbo and Tommy. “We’ve got to let him go guys.” They looked to be about to object but the tall teen shook his head. “He has a point.”
Tubbo looked like he had swallowed something sour but nodded. “Fine. Just- if you need anything just let us know.” Purpled wasn’t quite sure he liked the look in the teen’s eye as he doubled down. “And I mean anything.”
Tommy didn’t look happy about it at all. After a moment of tense silence, he finally muttered. “Fine.” He then turned back to Purpled. “Rest as much as possible, no patrols for at LEAST a week. Be sure to clean around the stitches. Don’t take them out unless you get a medical professional to look at it-” Tommy kept going on about things he should and shouldn’t do.
He looked to Tubbo and Ranboo, but instead of also looking at Tommy like he had gone mad, they were looking at Tommy as if he knew what he was talking about. That meant one of two things. He knew what he was talking about, which was concerning. Or he didn’t which was also concerning.
It took another 10 minutes for him to actually be able to leave. He slumped as soon as he got outside the door. It was going to be a long evening. He wasn’t trying to eavesdrop, but he could hear the voices of the trio from the other side of the door. “Guys, I just got a text from Q.”
“Well don’t keep us waiting, what’s it say bee boy?” Tommy huffed.
“Sapnap is ready to get out. We need to get everything set up and do what we were talking about.” Tubbo responded, sounding excited.
Ranboo’s grin could be heard in his voice. “Well, we’ve done plenty since leaving, what’s one more crime?”
“Eh, not a crime if we’re helping someone.” Tommy replied. Purpled didn’t want to know what they were talking about. Maybe they meant crime like a metaphor? He nodded to himself. That had to be it. Shaking his head, he walked away from the door.
When he walked into his apartment, Fundy was sprawled over the couch. He smiled. The man had likely been waiting for him only to fall asleep. He briefly debated waking the man up before deciding against it. The day had been draining, likely on both of them. He quickly pasted a note on the door saying he had made it back. Just in case the man tried to run out to go look for him.
He fell into bed with a groan. The city didn’t stop for anyone, which was too bad for it because he was going to pass out.
With Sapnap
Sapnap didn’t know exactly how long he had sat there crying that night. It had felt like hours, but he was too drained in more ways than one to bother checking the actual time. He was used to late nights, but it was worse that time. Even with the extra sleep deprivation, he was still the first one awake in the suite. He couldn’t be more thankful for the fact, considering his argument with Dream the night before.
The words that had been said were still a fresh wound in his mind. The open window let the cool air in, he had been too tired to bother closing the thing the night before. The sky was still dark, the sun not yet rising. He didn’t move for several more minutes, instead choosing to stair blankly at the white ceiling above him.
He did eventually peel himself out of bed. He was careful when opening the door, he didn’t want to wake his teammate up yet. Sapnap wasn’t quite sure whether or not he could see Dream without either blowing up at him or crying, neither would be pleasant.
He turned the lamp on the kitchen counter on, taking in a deep breath as he leaned on the countertop. It had been an eventful few days, and Sapnap needed a break. Not that he was really going to get one. The city stopped for no one, and he was unfortunately one of the people who the place relied on.
That thought gave him pause, however. His words to Quackity from the day before bubbling up. “I’m done. I want out from under the committee” If he actually succeeded in escaping, that would change. He was likely going to follow in the trio’s footsteps and fake his death. He would no longer be someone the city relied on, he would be ‘dead’. He could barely even imagine it.
What would he do? Get a normal job? Be a normal person? He didn’t know what any of that entailed. After the accident that had caused the separation of him and his two best friends, he had been orphaned and alone. For a while at least. That was when he had met Clay and George.
They’d been inseparable. Clay had been a rebellious teenager, continuously running away to spend time with him and George. They didn’t even know exactly where Geoge came from, only that he had just appeared one day and attached himself to their little duo, turning it into a trio.
Those had been the fun times. Running through the streets of the city, unconcerned about the worries of the dangerous world that was always so close, yet always so far from them. Heroes vs. Villains. They were three chaotic teenagers, what did it matter to them?
That had changed one day. He still wondered what would’ve happened if he hadn’t heard those screams, if that hero hadn’t been nearby, if- he cut off the train of thought with a shake of his head. There was no changing the past.
Sapnap grabbed a piece of paper off the notepad that was hanging up on the fridge. He quickly wrote a note to Dream.
Going out to clear my head, I’ll be back in a few hours.
Don’t coming looking for me, we’ll talk later
-Sapnap
He left it on the counter before going back in his room and pulling on his gear. He passed by the note on his way to the door and paused. He pulled his phone out and snapped a picture of it, quickly sending it to Dream’s phone. If the man didn’t see it on the counter, he’d at least see it on his phone.
The first rays of orange light were peaking over the horizon as Sapnap walked out of the suite. He took in a deep breath, leaning against the door heavily. A couple people were still or already up, and many gave him odd looks as they passed by.
He wouldn’t be surprised if it was due to the argument the night before, considering that neither one of them was too worried about screaming at the top of their lungs at each other. He ignored them, attention wasn’t something he was unused to.
He stepped into the elevator, which was thankfully empty. He paused before hitting the button for the bottom floor. He could at least go check on George. After getting his shoulder broken by Warp the man would be in the infirmary. With only a second more of hesitation, he pressed the button.
The elevator ride was quiet, almost uncomfortably so. He tapped his foot impatiently; he had never really liked elevators. The door opened and he was greeted by an unpleasant, if expected sight.
Night patrol was only just coming to an end. Heroes with varying levels of injury were coming in and walking around the floor. It was a grim reminder of everything. Villains injured heroes daily, but on the other side of that coin heroes shamelessly killed and covered it up, villains stolle from people but many heroes didn’t care about the people, only being there for the glory.
Sapnap hated everything about it. The entire thing was completely messed up. No one that had any true power over events had blood on their hands, and the ones that knew the fact didn’t seem to care. Not that he could really talk, he hadn’t seen it either until Quackity had put on the grim picture of reality that he had been ignoring.
He walked up to the front desk, trying to put it out of his mind. It was not the time to have a crisis. The lady seemed bored, and she didn’t look up from her computer as she spoke. “We’re a bit full so if you don’t matter much or it isn’t life threatening go sit your ass down and wait.” Sapnap froze for a second. It had been a while since someone said something like that to him. He had gotten too used to the comforts of being highly ranked.
The pause was apparently long enough for her to look up. She evidently didn’t expect to see the number 5 hero staring at her with absolute astonishment. She straightened in her chair, her cheeks bright red. “So so sorry about that sir, it’s been a long night. Do you have an injury or are you here to see Spore?”
Sapnap brought his expression under control. Most people found talking to anyone in the top 10 nerve racking, and his expression probably didn’t help the fact that the poor woman looked to be about to panic. “I- it’s alright ma’am. I’m here to see Spore if you wouldn’t mind.”
She nodded, tapping at her keyboard with a focused expression. “That’ll be room 304. From what I see here, it seems that he’s just being kept in to make sure everything is alright and he heals properly.” She smiled politely at him after relaying the information. “Is there anything else I can help you with?”
He shook his head. “No that’ll be all, thank you for your help.” He had been lucky enough to get a mentor instead of just being sent to the academy like most people were, meaning he had gotten the perks of the hospital floor much earlier than most.
It had been near essential honestly. He hadn’t really used his powers until the hero commission had basically picked him up. For the first while he had no clue how to control the flames, due to the resulting burns and medical floor trips resulting, he knew the floor like the back of his hand.
Room 304 was luckily close by so he didn’t have to deal with going through the entire floor. The door was already open, and he could see George inside the room. The man caught sight of him and turned away with a scowl. Sapnap fought not to curl into himself.
Despite his friend apparently not wanting to talk to him, he walked into the room. “Hey George.” He said softly. “You doing alright?” George turned back to him with an unimpressed expression before glancing at the cast on his shoulder and then back to Sapnap.
George seemed to attempt to roll his shoulder but winced and slumped. “I feel like shit if you’ve got to know.” He let out a humorless chuckle before turning serious. “Where were you Sap? We needed your help. Badly.”
Sapnap looked at the ground. “I know. I’m sorry I wasn’t there to help. My alerter was broken and I was really busy.” He did actually feel terrible. They hadn’t actually deserved for him to do that. He couldn’t go back and change the past however.
George nodded. “I heard that bit at least. The tracker in it hadn’t moved in a while, so someone went to go see if you were ok, they found the thing in pieces. I don’t know if you heard about the little fight between Crow and Clay but that’s apparently what Crow was there to tell us.” So they had found the pieces. Not that he was surprised.
George shook his head. “This entire city is an absolute shit show, and considering it’s the capital… geeze. Everything is slowly falling apart and I’m not sure what to do.”
Sapnap laid a hand on his friend’s unbroken shoulder. “It’ll be alright, this can’t keep on forever. We’ll figure it out.”
George smiled at him, lifting his arm with a non-broken shoulder for a hug. Sapnap gladly took the offer. “Thanks man, I really needed to hear that.” George said softly. Sapnap could feel eyes on them but he did his best to ignore them.
“Anytime George, anytime.” Sapnap replied, backing up and sitting back down in the chair he had pulled up.
George’s next words made him wince however. “Let Clay know that I’m doing alright please? He’ll be taking it easy after the fight as well, even if he didn’t make it onto the medical floor.”
Sapnap shook his head. “I- not really. Me and Dream had a really bad argument last night and he said some really hurtful things. I don’t think I’m really ready to talk to him yet. He tried to apologize, or at least talk to me afterward but I didn’t think I could talk to him without punching him in the face.”
George looked a bit concerned. “What’d he say? It couldn’t have been that bad.”
“He said he didn’t respect me anymore, that I changed, and that he didn’t want me to be around anymore and that I should just leave.” Sapnap listed each thing off like every word Dream had said hadn’t been a slice to the throat.
“He probably wasn’t thinking clearly. You know how he is; he says first and thinks later. He probably didn’t mean it.” George’s response cause Sapnap to do a double take.
“I- George what the hell. That doesn’t make him saying that okay!” He objected, throwing his arms up. The doctors and nurses had long since started to avoid the area around the room. None of the Dream team members had been able to be around each other for more than 5 minutes before getting into an argument.
He recoiled slightly as he made eye contact with his teammate. The man looked dead in the eyes. “Sapnap you’re overreacting. He didn’t mean it. End of story. You should’ve let him apologize.” Sapnap didn’t respond to Spore. He was too drained to get into another screaming match.
He didn’t look back at Spore as he got up and walked out, slamming the door behind him. His nails dug into his palms hard enough to sting. He didn’t bother going to request permission as he walked out of the tower and left. They didn’t need to know his every move anyway.
Notes:
It's been a bit longer than I meant it to be, but it's finally done! The chapter is 3 almost 4 times longer than usual, which is pretty good I'd say.
I've been awake for almost 20 hours straight at this point and I've got enough going on that I'll probably just continue to deny myself rest.
On that note, sorry if the chapter isn't quite the quality it usually is, from the line "it was not the time to have a crisis" to the end was written in the past hour and I am exhausted. I'll probably do a re-edit at some point in the near future.
See you in the comments or next chapter everyone!
My Discord server! You can always be alerted when I update and it's just a nice place to hang out. We don't have very many people yet, but everyone (who is willing to follow the rules) is welcome!
Deadly Nightshades!
(If there every any problems with the link, feel free to let me know and I'll try to fix it)
Chapter 41: Introductions and thievery
Notes:
TWs: Panic attack (I think that's the right thing, I couldn't think of something better to call it), threats of violence
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
11:30 am – Sapnap POV
Sapnap didn’t know exactly how long he had been walking. The sun had long since risen, and judging by its position it was around noon. He had decided not to go by Las Nevadas again, he had already went and bothered Quackity two days in a row, the man was probably sick of him. Not that he had anywhere else that he was honestly safe.
His entire life had been consumed by the hero committee. He lived, breathed, ate, bled, fought for the committee. He had become purely another one of their instruments. His head was too loud. Cars rushed past, conversations overlapped, everything was just too loud.
His ears were starting to ring painfully, and he grimaced. For once he was thankful that his mask hid his facial expression. At the same time, he was regretting not retrieving civilian clothing because the stares and pointing he was receiving was not helping his mental state in the slightest.
He knew he needed a break. From everything. From everyone. He felt guilty about the idea taking one however. He had taken a break the day before, what had he done to have deserved two days off in a row? That was for people who had actually contributed to society. Regret was starting to plague every step he took. It felt like he was running away from conflict, the very thing he was supposed to run towards.
Maybe Spore and Dream had a point. Maybe he was overreacting. Maybe he had changed for the worse and his teammates had just changed for the better, to being who they needed to be. Maybe they were right, maybe it was his fault.
He reached up and carted his hands through his hair in an attempt to calm down and settle his racing thoughts. Everything was overwhelming his senses and it was all just too much. He paused in his walking to look around. He almost didn’t recognize where he had gone, but the pleasant aroma indicated that he had at some point reached the entertainment district.
The place looked the part. The roads had slowly gotten more crowded, not quite as much as they would be if it had been evening instead of midday, but still noticeably. Sapnap realized that he really didn’t have any goal to be out aside from being away from his teammates.
Without any kind of warning, something slammed into his back. Thankfully his reflexes allowed him to catch himself but judging by the thump and almost impressive line of swearing behind him, whoever had bumped into him hadn’t had the same fortune.
He turned around and offered his hand to help whoever had bumped into him up. This gave him the opportunity to actually see her, but she came across as oddly familiar. The woman looked up with an apologetic expression. “Sorry about that, I should’ve watched where I was-”
He didn’t seem to notice the fact she had stopped talking in the middle of her sentence and was now staring at Sapnap with a distasteful expression. “No, it was my fault! I shouldn’t have stopped in the middle of the walkway.” It was only after a moment of tense silence that he noticed the woman’s scrunched up nose. He squirmed uncomfortably. “Can I help you up?” He asked, his hand still outstretched.
It was quite obvious the woman was hesitant to accept the help, but she reached up and grabbed his hand. Sapnap pulled the woman to her feet with a step back. She pursed her lips as she dusted herself off. It was then that Sapnap noticed the apron she was wearing, more specifically the logo on it.
‘Niki’s bakery:
Where the batter(ed) comes to rest’
‘Blame Jack, I didn’t want to agree to that slogan’
His encounter with Huntress the night before sprung to the forefront of his mind. Niki Nihachu. If it was the same person that would be one hell of a coincidence. That also brought the question of if it was, did this woman know who she was working for? Or maybe this person’s name was also Niki and it was her bakery?
The silence stretched out for an uncomfortable amount. He scratched his neck, looking away. “I’m sorry again for stopping like that, it was not my intention to make you fall.”
She raised her eyebrow skeptically. “Are you a cosplayer? Damn good costume if you are.” That caught him off guard, and it must’ve shown on his face considering her next words. “You’re not? I didn’t know heroes had human emotion, much less were capable of feeling sorry towards anyone but themselves. Fine. Apology accepted.”
Well ouch. That hurt. Not only was this the most up-front hero hating person he had ever met, but she had also just decided to emotionally scar him apparently. He had been considering asking her if he could accompany her back to the bakery, but if she was going to be mean then he wasn’t sure he really wanted to.
He shook his head to clear his thoughts. That was a child’s way of thinking, not a functional adult. The strange woman suddenly spoke, though her words didn’t make too much sense, “So you belong in a mental hospital for hallucinations as well, can’t say I’m surprised.”
With that, she stepped around him and continued on the path she was on before bumping into him. He was still frozen in shock for a few moments before he shook off his shock and jogged to catch up to the woman. She was walking rather fast, and he had to half-way jog to keep up despite the fact she was shorter than him. “I- what do you mean?” He asked.
She only paused to glance at him dismissively before beginning to walk even faster. “I didn’t say anything, and you shook your head in reply to something that wasn’t there. Auditory is the most common type of hallucination.”
“I was shaking my head to clear my thoughts, not because I thought you said something.” He insisted. It was probably weird to see from an outside perspective. One of the top heroes trying to convince a random civilian that he was, in fact, not insane.
“So you’re hearing voices in your head? Doesn’t really invalidate my point now does it?” The corners of her mouth were curled into a small smirk, one that Sapnap only just then noticed.
“I-” he ran a hand down his face in exasperation. “Never mind. I was wondering if you were heading towards the bakery on your apron? If you are I’d like to join you.” Despite the urge to just turn around and walk away from the woman, his curiosity had gotten the better of him. He was starting to regret leaving so quickly.
She glanced at him briefly then shrugged. “Yeah I’m headed that way I guess.” The walk there was most definitely uncomfortable. She kept glancing at him and for once he was minding the looks that he was getting.
Finally, they arrived. It was a nice little place. Rose bushes lined the front and climbed up the walls in a way that suggested they were grown using some kind of plant power. The woman’s entire demeanor changed as she opened the door.
A small bell above the door rung to signal their arrival. Tables were scattered around the interior, each made of pristine wood. He never really went out into the city for anything but patrol (which couldn’t have been healthy but oh well-) so even the simplest of places proved to be interesting.
The place was currently devoid of any customers, but the silence wasn’t uncomfortable in the cozy atmosphere. The droning voice from the counter immediately brought his thoughts away from his curiosity and examination of his surroundings.
“Welcome to Niki’s bakery where the battered come to- oh welcome back Hannah!” The woman behind the counter had uncomfortably familiar long pink hair. Sapnap’s expression quickly morphed to one of surprise, and a bit of horror. Knowing her name was bad enough, now he knew where one of the biggest villains in the city worked.
The woman, apparently called Hannah was smiling as she walked up to the counter. “Hey Niki. No problems with the delivery, they seemed really happy so as long as we don’t get any nasty calls I don’t have to stab anyone.” She apparently didn’t need to turn around to know that Sapnap had blatant horror written across his face at her words, as she said a moment later, “Chill hero, I’m kidding.”
At the mention of him being there, Niki looked over Hannah’s shoulder at him. There was no trace of the woman who had been willing to threaten a high-ranking hero in her tone or body language, but he wasn’t going to let himself forget the fact that she was a dangerous person.
She bowed her head in greeting. “Hello Fire-Fist, it’s an honor to have you- shut up Hannah,” Hannah had been rolling her eyes, and gave Niki an offended look as she was told off for it. Though the small smile tugging at Hannah’s lips told him that it was all in good fun.
“As I was saying, it’s an honor that you would visit my humble little bakery. Though I will have to ask you to step out for just a moment please.” Sapnap’s brows furrowed, but he nodded, quickly turning and walking straight back out.
It was only after the door closed behind him that he realized just how used he was to just following any orders he was given without question. He froze. When was the last time he actually refused to do something when he was directly ordered or asked to? It scared him that he couldn’t remember. Maybe in his academy days?
The last time was before everything. Before the heroes had picked him and his friends up and told them exactly who to be. Though that was starting to change. He was slowly undoing the damage becoming someone his child self might have actually been proud of. That started with getting out from under the strings of the committee.
His rabbit hole of a line of thought was interrupted by the sound of the door swinging back open behind him. “Sorry about that, you can come back in now.” He turned around to Niki standing in the doorway with a smile, though judging by the scowl on Hannah’s face, whatever had either happened or had talked about hadn’t been pleasant.
Not that that wasn’t obvious the moment he walked in the door. He froze as cool metal pressed threateningly against his neck. Hannah was no longer standing where she had been. “If you use any of the information you learned yesterday or today against me or my friends I promise you’ll regret it.” Hannah’s voice hissed from behind him.
Niki didn’t look at all bothered as she stepped around them with a laugh. “Don’t hurt him Rose Thorn, I already told you it was my choice to give up my identity.” Rose Thorn. He was reminded about the fact that all the top villains were friends.
Rose Thorn, despite being only the 7th highest ranking villain, she was probably the most feared person in the city aside from Huntress and Gambler. His situation was getting worse by the second, even if he wasn’t there as a oppositional presence to the two women.
Thankfully, the blade at his throat eased and then disappeared. “Ah come on Niki! There’s nothing for me to do! I might as well.” Her joking tone was a harsh difference from the deadly cold it had been before.
“Emotionally scarring people shouldn’t be your go-to cure for boredom.” Niki admonished, though the grin on her face told him that she didn’t truly care that he had been threatened. Not that he was surprised, she had been doing much the same thing the day before until they had started teaming up to bully Quackity.
Hannah shrugged, stepping around his still frozen frame. “It’s my working hours Niki, being terrifying may not be part of my work as a civilian but it is part of my work as a villain. I’m just doing my job~” Sapnap felt incredibly awkward, he didn’t know the rules of a world that they knew all too well.
Rose Thorn and Huntress were the most famous nemesis duo that you could ever hear about. Yet here they were with a quite blatant friendship. “Well in that case, we need to get you on break before you traumatize someone else. I was going to tell you that you were on break as soon as you got back but-” Niki turned around, leaning towards the door behind the counter. “JACK STILL HASN’T GOTTEN HIS LAZY ASS UP FROM HIS BREAK!”
The reply from behind the door was almost instant, as if it was like clockwork. “OH FUCK OFF!” Sapnap snorted with amusement at the antics. They were entertaining people to be around at the very least. The door swung open a moment later, admitting a bald man wearing a t-shirt and jeans with an odd pair of blue and red glasses. “We both know-”
Though Niki cut him off, addressing Sapnap. “That can’t be comfortable, would you like to get out of that costume? We have some extra cloths for when other people come around and don’t want to draw attention if you’d like to change.”
It seemed that both of the other people in the room knew about recent events judging by both the lack of surprise on their faces and Niki’s flippancy with his identity, even if she had been nice enough not to say his name to them, at least not in front of him. He debated her offer for a moment. Even if they knew his identity, did he really want to show his face to even more people? He knew as well as anyone how dangerous the world of villains and heroes was, and how important information was in it.
Even so, he nodded. Niki smiled brightly, quickly pointing him to the door. “There’s a couple extra cloth bags that you can put your costume in so you don’t have to worry about leaving it behind.”
It took a couple minutes to find some stuff that fit, but he eventually walked out in normal clothing. Any trace of him being a hero was in the zipped up bag that he walked out with. The clothes seemed brand new, which he appreciated to no end. Though that was not his focus for long as a scream from outside caught his attention. “HELLLP!” He wasted no time as he quickly ran outside, he just barely took the time to register that Hannah was already standing there as he caught sight of a blur that was quickly approaching.
The person came to a stop, quickly hiding behind Hannah. “Hannah help me please, I think he’s going to stab me.” The person looked vaguely familiar, but Sapnap couldn’t quite place where he would know whoever this was from. Judging by the fact that the person was grinning from ear to ear, it didn’t seem like they were actually in danger.
Hannah sighed, though she was smiling fondly. “What’d you do and who’d you piss off Tommy? If you pissed off Ran or something you’re on your own, that kid scares the shit out of me.” Sapnap took a step back away from the situation, as long as no one was actually in danger then it wasn’t his place to interfere.
Anyone who scared someone that was infamously terrifying scared him. He didn’t really want to meet whoever this ‘Ran’ person was. He did recognize the person that came running up moments later however. “Quackity?” Sapnap asked, his brow furrowed.
Quackity was panting rather hard, it seemed he’d been running for a while. “H- hey Sap. Nice to see you but I’ve got a little shit to deal with.” He spoke while glaring at the blond kid evidently named Tommy. It briefly crossed his mind that he was learning quite a few people’s names that day.
“Oh it’s just duck boy, that’s fine.” Hannah’s grin only widened at the offended expression on the man’s face. “Leave Tommy alone, whatever he did couldn’t have been that bad, he’s a teenager!” Tommy looked completely and utterly smug.
Quackity scowled, his yellow wings puffing up in irritation. “He and Tubbo quite literally hijacked every single machine in my casino in their favor. Not to mention the fact that they bribed all of my employees not to say anything, I only found out because Charlie can’t be bribed.”
Sapnap jumped when he suddenly heard a snicker from behind him. He whirled around, seeing the person who had snuck up behind him. The culprit of the laugh appeared to be some kind of brown haired kid. “Not our fault your employees like us better than you Quackity.” The kid said, strutting up to stand beside Tommy.
Quackity looked to be about to object, but Hannah cut him off. “Quackity, we both know that even if you did get to him, you wouldn’t do shit. So, stop making a fool of yourself. Do you WANT me to sick Niki on you?” Sapnap was only getting more and more curious about the dynamics he was watching. They way they were acting with each other was going against pretty much everything he’d been either told about villains or just how he had seen people act with one another.
They were fighting and acting like there was on going feuds between them, but at the same time they all seemed… oddly fond of each other. Quackity’s anger seemed to be more exasperation than anything else, Hannah’s threats and jabs all held an air of humor. That wasn’t mentioning the connection between them and the kids.
Quackity puffed up again, only to slump in defeat a moment later. “I hate that you have a point.” He then gave the short kid a slight disapproving look. “Though I would a appreciate if you two fixed all the machines, it would take my employees hours to figure out whatever the hell you did to them Abeja.” (Bee)
Sapnap was starting to regret not keeping up with his Spanish lessons, considering there were random times when Quackity would just start speaking Spanish and then refuse to stop just because it annoyed everyone. There was only one person who could understand the language that he could remember all those years ago. Not that he knew where the man was. If he could run into Quackity by coincidence, maybe he would be able to track down Karl on purpose.
Maybe Quackity would know, the man was an information broker after all. There was no way he hadn’t attempted to track down the last member of their old trio. He pushed the thought to the side of his mind; deciding he would worry about it later. The kid shrugged. “Fine, but it will have to be later, me Tommy, and Ran all have something to do.”
The door swung open at that moment, Niki walking out. He hadn’t noticed anyone go in, but a tall person walked out beside her. Niki snorted. “Well that’s about ten levels of concerning. What are you guys going to be doing?”
The new person simply smiled, their teeth oddly sharp. “That’s for us to know and you all to find out.”
Hannah looked at the new person and then at Quackity. “This is why I’m scared of Ranboo and not you. Ran is actually creepy.” So that was the ‘Ran’ person she had mentioned earlier. He made a mental note of the fact that getting on their bad side was likely a bad idea.
The more he learned about the groups of people he was meeting the better. As much as he got along with some of them, he was still in danger. These were not people he could afford to disagree with. He reminded himself to stay on high alert. If anything, he needed to count himself to be in enemy territory, even if they weren’t actually enemies.
He knew as well as anyone exactly how long people could pretend to be someone they weren’t. It had been years since he had seen Quackity, just because the man seemed to be the same kid he had been friends with all those years ago didn’t mean he actually was.
WIth that thought, he forcefully switched his mindset. Sapnap was in a dangerous area, and he had to remember that. A hand waving in front of his face finally pulled him out of his thoughts. “-ellooooo, anybody in there?”
Sapnap looked up, revealing the blond kid from before. “Ah you’re back from the depressing corners of your own mind!” It took him a second to comprehend what had just come out of Tommy’s mouth
“Wha-” Sapnap started, only to be cut off by Tommy speaking again.
“We haven’t met before.” Tommy reached a hand out for him to shake. “My name’s Tommy. Tommy Beloved Underscore Innit.” That was a bit of a mouthful, nevertheless, he shook Tommy’s hand.
Sapnap’s voice sounded awkward to his own ears, and he cringed internally. “Uh- my name is Sapnap…” He paused, was it concerning that he didn’t remember his last name? “Just- Sapnap” He almost missed the oddly pitying look that crossed Tommy’s face for a moment, but he didn’t really understand why. “So how do you know-”
Tommy’s face had a bright grin as he interrupted Sapnap once again. “Well it’s nice to meet you Sapnap! Those two idiots,” He pointed at the short kid and the person he learned was named Ranboo, “are my best friends. The short one is Tubbo and giant with the back bone of a chocolate éclair is called Ranboob.”
Tubbo scowled, “I’m not short asshole.”
Tommy’s grin widened, looking around exaggerated. “Did anyone heat that? Could’ve sworn I just heard an ant.” Without Warning, Tubbo lunged at Tommy. Sapnap took a step back hastily from the two now fighting on the ground. Hannah wasted to time in attempting to pull the two apart, but neither seemed too keen on the idea considering the fact that they just shoved her away.
Ranboo(b?) walked up with a sigh, apparently unconcerned about the fact that Tubbo was now assaulting Tommy. “Sorry about them, this is completely normal behavior for those two.” He also offered his hand out for Sapnap to shake. “My name’s Ranboo, Tommy has just been calling me ‘Ranboob’ since we met. He didn’t really like me at first.”
It was official. These people were absurd. Still, he shook and reached Ranboo’s hand. “You probably heard already, but my name is Sapnap, it’s nice to meet you.” Something about Ranboo was oddly familiar, but he couldn’t place why. He would’ve remembered if they’d met before, maybe he’d seen him in a picture somewhere?
A shout of alarm pulled Sapnap’s attention away from the teen. He was greeted by the sight of Tommy and Tubbo hanging upside down from vines sprouting on the ground. Hannah had her arms raised like a conductor; light swirls of green energy wound around her wrists. The fact it was a sparkling green was a point of interest for Sapnap, considering any other time he had fought Rose Thorn the tell-tale magic was a blood red color.
The vines disappeared a moment later, the boys falling to the ground. “Now, if you two want to stop being idiots, I’m going to go take my break now.” Luckily, it didn’t seem like anyone had seen the power usage. It was illegal to use your powers unless you were a hero, which was always something Sapnap didn’t understand.
He’d always released civilians when they had used their powers in self-defense, even if he wasn’t supposed to. What the committee didn’t know couldn’t hurt them.
In the end, he ended up just hanging out with them all afternoon. He only almost got attacked once when he had asked about Tubbo’s age and made the mistake of guessing 12. He would call Tubbo ‘hell beast child’ as a nickname if not for the fact that he would probably get his throat ripped out by the teen in question. He never got a straight answer on how the three teens knew the villains though, which was a bit annoying.
It didn’t seem like they were villains themselves though, which was a bit amusing considering the company they were keeping. There likely wasn’t anyone who would have more protection in the entire city. They didn’t act like villains, they were just normal teenagers, if a bit more violent to each other than usual.
Not a single person mentioned his identity, which he appreciated, but eventually, he had to leave.
10:48 pm / 22:48 – Sapnap POV
Even though he hadn’t let himself get fully comfortable, he still felt refreshed as he left. They were villains, sure, but they were also fun to be around. He had spent hours just laughing and joking around. Quackity had ended up having to head back to his casino immediately due to the problems apparently caused by two of the three chaotic teens.
Tommy, Ranboo, and Tubbo had all left around an hour earlier than Sapnap had, simply stating that they had ‘something’ they had to be doing. He didn’t understand why the others had all looked so nervous by the fact that the trio was being vague about the nature of their plans, they were three teenagers. What was the worst they could be doing? It wasn’t like they would go on a murder spree if left unattended.
Sapnap shook his head, a smile on his face. He had a lot of fun. He also had found out that Jack was also Mosaic, leading to yet another small crisis in his mind. Yet a fight between Tommy and Ranboo broke out just in time for him to be distracted from the rabbit hole that was his own brain.
The night was quiet, the sky clear. Flickering street lights illuminated his path as he took a long walk back to the tower. He was going to have to face his teammates again, but the thought didn’t bother him as much as it had earlier in the day.
His walk was quite nice, until the hairs on the back of his neck started to stand. He kept his pace even, and his shoulders, relaxed, but his gaze darted around. He was being watched. He didn’t know by who or what, but his instincts screamed that he was in danger.
The fire under his skin begged to be let out. He didn’t want to do that yet, he still hadn’t figured the problem out yet. Maybe he was just being paranoid.
His optimistic hope was immediately dashed however as a hand grabbed his neck. Not painfully so, but it did jerk him back. He summoned his fire, lashing out to retaliate. His attacker dodged backward. They looked like one of those robbers in cowboy movies. Just as he was about to attack, a cloth was held over his mouth from behind, a power suppressant snapping around his wrist at the same time.
He jerked and kicked, but his attackers didn’t budge. He felt a small prick on his shoulder, and everything went black.
Notes:
IT'S DONE! IT'S FINALLY DONE!
FREEEDOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
This one is longer than even last chapter, coming in at 4,577 words. Sorry it took so long, but at least it's a long one right?Sorry if the quality isn't quite as good as usual, I was so done with this chapter, feel free to point out any mistakes and I'll go in and fix them
My Discord server! You can always be alerted when I update and it's just a nice place to hang out. We don't have very many people yet, but everyone (who is willing to follow the rules) is welcome!
Deadly Nightshades!
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Chapter 42: A warning
Notes:
TWs: Nightmares, cryptic warning, character death, mentioned character death, brief mentions of bets
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
With Phil
His eldest two sons at his side, Phil walked up to the academy’s doors. Kristen was already inside, waiting for it to start. The graduating class was being announced and those who had passed would become hero apprentices that day. Kristen had declared she wouldn’t miss it for the end of the world. Not that he was surprised, Phil was the same. Their youngest son was finally being admitted into the world of a hero.
He was incredibly proud of Tommy, not just anyone got to be introduced to the ranks. Soon, Tommy would become a full hero, and they would get to bring him into their team. He was already hoping that the kid was going to be placed under their team as an apprentice, he always liked to find excuses to be around his sons. He had already received confirmation that Tommy had passed, but it was going to be news to everyone else. Not surprising news, but still.
He was grinning from ear to ear as he approached. He had chosen to forgo wearing any of his hero gear, instead going like a normal civilian with all of the first-generation hero parents. They were stopped at the door by someone who he would recognize, the woman had a huge grin as she spoke. “I’m afraid I’ll have to see some ID sir, not just anyone is allowed inside.”
Puffy was a loud woman, shamelessly so. If she had something to say, you knew there was nothing that would stop her from saying it. She had also gone without her usual outfit for the event, instead masquerading as a regular security guard. “Puffy, come on, let me in. You know me.” Whale his tone was annoyed, his expression matched his friend’s in a large smile.
Puffy’s grin only widened, her goat-like ears twitching with amusement. “I’m sorry sir, if you are a homeless loser with no ID then I’m afraid I can’t let you in. I have no idea who you are.” She leaned slightly to the right, catching sight of Techno and Wilbur behind him. “Oh, you two! Go on in, what are you waiting for? Sorry, I’ll get this random guy to leave, but I’m not going to make you wait.”
This earned a rare smile from Techno while Wilbur simply grinned, walking past Phil with a teasing tone. “Move old man, we’ve got places to be.” Puffy snickered behind her hand, opening the door as his sons walked through.
Phil rolled his eyes with a fond smile, though something felt… off. He tried to ignore it as he spoke again. “Can I go through now? You know I can’t miss it.” He really couldn’t, it was one of the biggest events in any hero’s life, in his son’s life, he couldn’t afford to miss it.
Puffy sighed before shrugging, opening the door a moment later. “Fine fine Phil, tell me how it goes. Tommy will probably be top of his class.” Considering the fact that she had trained him personally on multiple occasions, it would have been more surprising if he wasn’t.
As he walked though the door, he glanced behind him. Though it didn’t look like Puffy closing the door, maybe Dream? He shook his head as the it closed. It must’ve been his imagination. The academy was large, but he knew the layout well. He and Kristen had often came by to visit, much to Tommy’s ‘annoyance’.
Though he knew the teen enjoyed their frequent visits, his large smilies when he saw them always gave the fact away. He assumed that Wil and Techno had already made their way to the auditorium, and he didn’t bother trying to locate them anywhere else.
Finally he arrived, quickly shuffling around people to take his seat next to his wife. Kristen had told him over text that she had secured seats for them right near the stage. It didn’t take long to spot her, the ebony crow sitting on her signature black sunhat made it nearly impossible to miss her despite the large crowd.
His two elder children were already next to her, and Wilbur waved at him enthusiastically. Techno shook his head at his brother’s antics. Kristen spoke as he made it over, tipping her sunhat up. “You were almost late my feather, what took you so long?”
He laughed as he sat down next to her, entwining their fingers. “Puffy was the one at the door. You know how she loves to mess with us, well, mostly me.” Kristen shook her head with a smile. Puffy had become good friends with Kristen as well over the years. Kristen opened her mouth to speak again but the crow on her head did first. “Dadza!” it cawed enthusiastically.
Another crow landed on his head, shamelessly poking at his head even as it spoke. “Don’t be late, Tommy would probably strangle you.”
“Or Mum would, let’s be honest” The crows had always had this weird habit to either argue with each other or act like their family was going to be more violent than it actually was. IT was always weird, but they had all grown used to it.
“Why not both?” The second crow tilted it’s head, the intelligent things were always fun to listen to.
“Yeah I agree, both.” The first crow
Kristen could talk to crows and let those she chose speak to them as well. It was always fun to hear the birds’ opinions on what was going on, they always had something to say. The lights suddenly dimmed, and the room went quiet.
Phil couldn’t stop smiling as the first class stepped on stage. Tommy being the first in line. His normally carefree son looked nervous to no end. Many of the parents cheered, Phil being no exception. Though, Tommy didn’t seem to hear or see him. A boy he didn’t recognize tapped on Tommy’s shoulder, and his son immediately brightened up at the sight of who Phil assumed to be one of his new friends.
The headmaster, Schlatt, stepped up to the microphone. “Welcome everyone, to the graduation ceremony! As you all know, today, a few select bright young pupils will go on from here to become hero apprentices, and eventually,” the man paused for dramatic effect, “our next generation of heroes! Let’s give them another round of applause before we get right into it!”
That nagging feeling that something was off was only increasing, even if Phil tried to ignore it. A sense of dread was building up in his gut, but he saw no reason for it to be there. Despite his growing unease, he clapped along with everyone else. He spread his gaze across the room, there had to be something right? He chewed on the inside of his cheek but kept himself in place as the headmaster spoke again. “For our first student, Thomas Craft!”
Phil cheered, so did everyone else, but he was the loudest. It was a competition of who could scream the loudest and he was determined to win. Tommy walked out of line, a large grin on his face. He turned his back to the crowd to take his certificate from the vice-headmaster.
Time seemed to slow, as he turned back to the stands. His face flickered, as if he was watching through a faulty TV. Then time stopped altogether. It was no longer a happy Tommy staring right in his eyes. Tommy’s eyes were wide and terrified, tears ran down his now blood splattered face.
A giant crystal stuck out of his chest. “Why dad? How could you let me go abandoned? I was alone in those last moments, why did it have to be like that? What- what would mom say?” Phil looked to where Kristen had been sitting moments before, but she wasn’t there.
She never had been. The sickness had taken her before Tommy ever graduated. “Tommy-!” He was cut off as the ground fell out from under him, his wings no longer responding as he fell through a black void. The building he had seemed to be in just before collapsed, but nothing fell with him.
“Do you understand me, Crow?” Phil found himself sitting in a chair once more Schlatt was the head of the hero committee. He remembered this moment. He just wanted to get back to his son but found himself not in control of his own body.
Phil nodded, like he had when it happened. “I will keep an eye on the Endarian, don’t worry sir. You can count on me.” He had; he had kept on eye on Streak until the moment the kid had died.
Schlatt sat back, his smirk predatory. “The other one on your sons team as well. Wasp is someone who I’m suspicious for betrayal for.” Once again, Phil simply nodded. He had done that as well. He had watched the two as much as he could, but they had always had this weird hatred for him that he didn’t understand.
“You still don’t see it?” a voice boomed in his mind. It was oddly familiar, but he couldn’t place it. “Maybe this will remind you.” He fell again, the world disappearing. It returned a second later, his vision swimming slightly.
The new environment was revealed to be his office as his sight cleared. He didn’t understand what was going on, until a light knock sounded at the door. He froze, even as his body kept moving. He knew the scene that was about to play out. “Phil?” Tommy’s voice asked, sounding small and hesitant.
Where went the loud and excited boy he remembered? He struggled, but his body moved on it’s own. He could feel the irritated expression on his face as the door creaked open. He set the papers down to give his son his attention, though it had been grudging. Tommy looked disheveled, the bags under his eyes were a dark contrast from much too pale skin. “What do you need? I’m busy.” He snapped, even as he yelled and screamed in his mind to say anything else, if only he could talk to his past self, and tell him what happened because he didn’t.
To tell Tommy to stay for a while. To see what his baby bird needed that he interrupted Phil, even when he knew that Phil would be working. The look in Tommy’s eyes as he turned away hadn’t phased Phil then, but now it hurt. That had been the last attempt Tommy had even gotten to reach out to him, and he had ignored it. “Never mind.” Tommy mumbled, shuffling back out.
His past self turned back to the paperwork. “If you don’t have anything useful to say don’t bother me on a workday.” That had been the last time him and Tommy had really talked to each other, it had been short, and dismissing. He wished he could go back in time.
The oddly familiar voice returned in his mind as the world stopped once more. “You even promised, do you remember?” He didn’t fall, his surroundings just faded away only to come back a moment later. Though it was not in the same place, it was somewhere that would forever be burned into his memory.
A hospital room. His wife was lying on the bed, a familiar weak smile on her lips. Her skin was deathly pale, her eyes sunken and dark. Phil clutched her boney hand in his, tears running down his face. She cupped his face with her hand, her arm shaking. He grabbed it, putting it back at her side. “No- no don’t spend energy, you need as much rest as you can get so you can be strong and get through this illness. I’m sure the doctors will figure out what it is soon-”
She shook her head with a weak chuckle, but the movement set off another coughing fit. Blood splattered on the white bed sheets. She grimaced as it ended. Phil felt the helplessness of that moment once more. He knew what would happen next, but he was powerless to stop it. When she spoke, it was raspy and pained. “It- it’s no use, my crow. They won’t figure it out, much less find a cure.”
A single tear rolled down her cheek. “Just- promise me to always take care of our beloved children. Tommy, Techno, and Wilbur will all need help to grieve and process-” she cut herself off with another coughing fit. Her shoulders shook and the beeping of the heart monitor was getting concerningly fast. “-everything. You can do it, promise me, please.”
He nodded. “I promise.” He murmured, crying as he kissed her on the back of the hand. The world slowed for the last time as doctors rushed in, yelling that she needed immediate help if they were going to save her life.
The black void returned, but nothing came afterward. He sat on the ground, hot tears running down his face. “You’ve broken promises to those who loved you the most. Those who know about everything wonder if you regret it. I, for one, can’t help but hope you do.”
The voice was no longer in his mind, and he whirled around, only to freeze. A tall woman stood there. A long black dress hugged her figure, blood red petal lace seemed to be almost in motion on the fabric. Large wings that looked to be plucked straight from the night sky were folded at her back.
Though the most noticeable thing, was her sun hat. Black mesh hung from the edges, hiding her features. He knew that sun hat. Kristen had always made jokes of how it made her seem dark and mysterious, when Tommy wasn’t running through the house yelling about victory after stealing it at least. The only new thing about it was the single red feather wrapping around the band of the hat.
She reached her arm out to the side, a singular black crow perching on it. She brought the arm in, gently stroking the crow’s feathers. No sound was made as she approached him, shimmering gold footprints were left in her wake however as if she had been walking.
He recognized the face of Kristen as she looked down at him. “Get up Phil, you look pitiful.” He scrambled to his feet, taking a step forward to hug her, only for his heart to shatter once more as she took a step away. “How could you? You, Wilbur, or Techno.” Her voice was angry, in a way he had never heard before and he stumbled back.
He opened his mouth, to do what he didn’t know. To defend himself? To apologize? Not that he got the chance. “Don’t even try to deny it. You hurt Tommy, even while showing love to our elder two sons. How could you Phil?” He hadn’t even seen her move, but he felt it as she slapped him across the face. Her hands ended in black claws, the movement had caused lines in his cheek that began to bleed.
He shrunk back, holding the side of his face. His eyes were wide as she spread her wings out. She bared her teeth, seeming to be about to yell. She froze however. Her head tilting, and seemingly unconnected from the events that were happening, she smiled.
He was about to ask why, but she turned her gaze back to Phil and he found himself frozen in place. “I have much to attend to and more to watch.” She began to walk away, but Phil ran after her. Against every nerve in his body telling him not to, he grabbed her wrist.
“Kristen please-” he begged, only to be sent flying by a single brush of her wing.
“Don’t touch me.” She snarled, looking back at him with that angry gaze. “I hope you regret your actions Phil, because you no longer have the gods’ favor.” His vision went black once more, and he bolted up in bed. He reached up, wiping his face with the back of his hand, only for it to come away wet with tears.
He wasn’t surprised. That freaky nightmare was horrifying. He could still feel himself trembling, his wings were visibly puffed up and he took a deep breath. “It was just a nightmare, it was just a nightmare, it was just a nightmare-” He repeated the words to himself like a mantra until he eventually calmed himself down. That was probably not going to leave his mind anytime soon.
He reached to touch his cheek, but no blood came away with his hand. He smoothed his wings down. He was the number one hero, not someone who should be shaken by a simple nightmare. He went about his morning, trying to clear the strange nightmare from his head. A beep came over the speaker, alerting him and everyone else to an announcement.
Phil paused, glancing up at the system. He sighed at the words that came over it. “Would all heroes above rank 11 please report to the meeting room. Again, would all heroes rank 10 and above please report to the meeting room.” It seemed the world was willing to provide him with a distraction after all. It didn’t take long for him to adorn his gear; years of practice would do that to you.
The meeting room was luckily only one floor above his room, so getting there didn’t take long. The sight he was greeted with was not the one he had been expecting. Spore, who he vaugly remembered being called George, was sitting at the table with a scowl, his eyes eerily wide. Dark bags hung under the man’s eyes, which was a sight no one expected to see considering how much sleep the hero usually got.
Dream was pacing behind him, looking agitated. His hair was a mess, and he was muttering to himself quietly. The man usually held a quiet confidence, Phil couldn’t recall a time where Dream was so outwardly agitated. Unless you counted when he was yelling at his teammate, but then he was just angry, not flat looking panicked.
He didn’t miss the fact that their teammate was missing from the room, however. Did he get kicked out of the group? Even so he should’ve still been there. Just because he was no longer part of his team wouldn’t mean his rank had changed, it just would’ve meant that everything was a bit awkward.
Puffy stood in the corner of the room, silently watching the room with a silent glower that had become her usual. The loud and teasing woman in his dream was the person she used to be; she had changed years ago.
Techno and Wilbur were there as well, looking about as confused as he felt. Sphynx and Assassin sat across from them, the two talking quietly. He had never liked the 7th and 8th heroes; something had always ticked him off about the two. Not that he had any basis for his suspicions. Maybe it was the fact that the two had made the unusual decision to keep their identities secret even within the tower, but he couldn’t be sure.
The only two singular heroes filled in two of the last three seats. Sally and Minx. He remembered their names for two very different reasons. Sally because of Wilbur’s massive crush on the woman and Minx’s because the number 10th hero had a severe drinking problem, almost always fighting while drunk.
Schlatt cleared his throat as Phil sat down. The committee head was oddly sober, which was just making him more concerned. The care-free air that usually surrounded the man was absent as he spoke. “Thank you all for coming. Let’s get right into it.”
The next words out of the man’s mouth shocked everyone in the room aside from Dream and Spore.
“Fire-Fist, also known as Sapnap, is missing.”
With Kristen
Kristen sighed, shaking her head. He thought it had just been a nightmare. Why had she married an idiot? If she was still mortal she would’ve divorced him. A small crow came over and landed on her head. “Mumza!” She laughed, they always loved attempting to cheer her up.
Though it was hard to be happy when every few days XD would do something that would leave his ‘mortal toy’ screaming. She hated not being able to step in, but the old pacts kept her hands tied. She turned her gaze to her son, at least he had found a family again, she would’ve found someway to step in if someone hadn’t stepped in to take care of him soon.
She frowned again. If only Phil hadn’t become a terrible father, it would’ve saved so many people unnecessary pain. A shout suddenly pulled her out of her thoughts. “FOOLISH YOU OWE ME TWENTY BUCKS! SHE’S BROODING OVER HER EX AGAIN!” Drista’s unmistakable voice yelled, though judging by the way it slowly grew quieter she was running away.
She shook her head as Foolish yelled back. “NO! FUCK O- DON’T THROW A FORK AT ME WHAT THE HELL!?” The two gods acted more like siblings than Drista did with her actual brother. What was with people and being more family with their friends than their actual relatives?
Notes:
Another long-ish chapter! Not quite as much as the other two, but it's still pretty good. I get it may be a bit confusing what the order of the heroes is so here you go!
1- Phil/Crow
2- Techno/Blade
3- Wilbur/Ghost
4- Clay/Dream
5- Sapnap/Fire-Fist
6- George/Spore
7- ???/Assassin
8- ???/Sphynx
9- Sally/Salmon
10- Minx/Whiskey (someone let her choose her own name)
My Discord server! You can always be alerted when I update and it's just a nice place to hang out. We don't have very many people yet, but everyone (who is willing to follow the rules) is welcome!
Deadly Nightshades!
(If there every any problems with the link, feel free to let me know and I'll try to fix it)
Chapter 43: When chaos reins
Chapter Text
Tuesday morning, 9:05 am - With Etho
(All underlined text in dialogue is to help show silent communication, anything underlined is not said out loud, this protocol will be added into earlier chapters as well)
Etho eyes widened in surprise. Missing? That was not what he had been expecting when they had been called. He shared a look with Sphynx. The others were going to need to be informed of the newest development. He adjusted his mask before speaking, finally breaking the shocked silence. “Missing? How could this happen? Do we have any leads?”
He doubted it was Grian or Mumbo, if it had been them or any of the other Hermits they would’ve at least alerted their inside members before making a move like that. Any information they could get would be beneficial. Etho tapped on the table, thank the gods for their morse code.
The Hermits had all created a new version of morse code in order to communicate without being understood. In the world of violence they found themselves in, information was key. Being overheard was not something they could afford. He coded over to Sphynx. “Doubt it’s one of us. Would’ve been warned.”
Crow gave him an odd look, but he ignored it. Schlatt either didn’t notice or didn’t care about the taps. “We don’t know how it happened.” Schlatt said, addressing his question. “This is not a good situation, we don’t have any leads either, his suit’s tracker was suddenly disabled but no one found out until this morning. We only knew to start looking when Dream and Spore told us they hadn’t seen him since yesterday morning.”
Maybe Pearl would know. The woman had eyes all over the city in the form of an extensive series of cameras. Depending on what she found, changed what he and Sphynx would do. Sphynx leaned back, looking deep in thought, if even Sphynx was acting concerned, then they had a problem. He loved the man, but he was infamously unserious.
Sphynx tapped out a short message. “Convene after this is done. We need to discuss.” Etho nodded discreetly, once again thankful for silent communication.
George rubbed his temples, finally speaking for the first time since arriving. “He could be anywhere by now. He had stormed out after me and him had a small argument, he had left a note saying don’t come looking for him because he’d be out for a few hours, but he ended up not coming back at all.”
Sally leaned forward, fiddling with her braid with a troubled expression. “It should’ve been impossible to disable the tracker without the thing alerting us. I thought it was impossible, but someone apparently figured out a way to do it.” Sally was their resident tech expert, though she didn’t hold a candle to someone like Mumbo.
Everyone’s attention was turned to her, and she sighed. Leaning back, she went on to explain, “I put in several measures that would first have to be disabled before it could be turned off entirely, and if any are disabled it would’ve still sent a rather loud distress signal. I hate to say it, but I’m at a loss.” This was troubling for almost everyone in the room.
Etho however, was less than worried. He had no real attachment to these people, the fact that someone he didn’t know or really like was missing was not a source of distress. Sphynx was likely under the same opinion, but he wouldn’t make that assumption until they could talk after the meeting.
For the first time since they had all gotten there, Blade spoke. “So we have no leads, no idea what happened, and no way of searching for him effectively without making the public panic.” Etho could see the grimace on everyone else’s faces. The situation was quite bleak for the heroes.
Crow sighed, shaking his head. “Not letting the public know may not be an option. This isn’t something we can just cover up unless we decide to take the entire Dream Team off duty until he’s found.” Schlatt sat back, watching the heroes debate.
Minx pinched the bridge of her nose with an annoyed expression. “That’s not an option either. The villains have been stepping up their game, we can’t afford to have anyone going off the clock. Much less two of us.” Everyone knew she was talking in her own interest, the woman valued her free time, but her point was still valid.
Sphynx tapped on the table, his expression one of contemplation even as he gave a message. “This could cause us an actual problem, we have to pay attention unfortunately.” He also spoke aloud for the rest of the group to hear. “I agree with Whiskey here. New villains are popping up everywhere and the high-threat ones are obviously making dangerous plans-”
Crow however, interrupted him. “Obviously? How is it obvious?”
It was obvious because Pearl had told them that she had seen villains meeting up and talking more often. They had been all too quiet. Aside from twitter of course, the chaos going on there was fun to watch. They couldn’t tell the heroes about their resources though, they would have to be very careful here.
Etho sat up straighter, taking in a breath. It wasn’t new that they had to be careful, they were always in a dangerous position in the tower. Besides, he didn’t like Crow. Insulting him without insulting him was a plus side. “If you haven’t noticed I don’t think you’ve been paying attention, only an idiot wouldn’t notice.”
Crow’s wings puffed up, but before he could retort The Captain finally spoke, she didn’t sound bored, she just sounded straight up angry. “Phil stop cosplaying an offended porcupine and pay attention. Tensions are high but we can’t afford fighting.”
Schlatt had been taking a swig of his bottle but promptly spat it out at The Captain’s words. Everyone froze staring at her with shock, but she leaned back against the wall without glancing at anyone else. She gestured at him. “Continue Assassin.”
Etho cleared his throat, shaking off his surprise. “Thank you, Captain. Now, as I was saying, it’s quite clear. None of the high-rank villains have really been seen since the funeral. The only exposure we’ve had is on Twitter.”
Ghost scowled. “What about the Havoc Trio? They may not be high-ranking but we’ve seen evidence that they are heavily connected to and have a possibly family-like connection with several of the villains.” It wasn’t surprising he would be the first person to speak up about them, he was likely still salty about the fact that Vengeance had broken his leg.
Dream finally stopped pacing. The sudden stop of the background footsteps caught the attention of the room. “We need to bring up their risk-rating. None of you have fought them for more than a minute, except my team. They’re dangerous.”
Sally shook her head, clearing her throat to bring attention back to herself. “You may have been the only ones to fight them, but I have been watching those battles through the cameras in your suits. They may be skilled, but their ranking should still be fine. They haven’t been villains for very long anyway.”
Spore jumped to his feet, slamming his good hand on the table. “Bullshit! The only reason we didn’t fucking die was because they were obviously holding back! Then we almost died any-fucking-way!”
Crow stood up. “Maybe if your team wouldn’t have been so damn useless without your little fire-bender you wouldn’t have lost asshole.” His condescending tone only added to the tension in the room.
Arguments broke out throughout the room. He and Shpynx shared a look, both instead choosing to stay silent and out of the debate turned heated word clash. At least they could tell the rest of the group that the heroes all pretty much hated each other and couldn’t be in the same room for very long before an argument started.
Finally, Schlatt held up a hand. It took a minute for all the arguing parties to notice before the room fell silent. “Everyone leave and reconvene in 15 minutes. Once you all are done acting like feuding toddlers the meeting can resume. Captain, please stay here so we can make a few decisions.”
The Captain scowled, but still nodded. Dream and Spore were the first to make their way out, Whiskey following close behind. Etho didn’t want to stay there longer than he really had to, and made his way out soon after. Sphynx wasn’t far behind him, and they quickly headed to their suite, which was luckily close-by.
Scar took off his mask, running a hand through his hair. The man quite obviously had thought of something he hadn’t have, so he waited for his friend to speak. “This is bad.” Scar laughed humorlessly, “This is really really bad.”
That was unexpected. Especially from Scar. No to mention he was confused about why it was a problem for them. “How so? It’s just a hero, not like it’s someone that we’re attached to.” It was a bit cold, but it was the truth. If it had been one of the Hermits he would’ve been panicked, but the simple truth was that it wasn’t.
Scar took a deep breath. “Think about it Etho. Somebody managed to get one of the top ten heroes without any kind of trail or alert going out when it happened. If it’s someone dangerous with nothing to stop them and no loyalties…”
Etho finally caught on. “They could start going after us.” The Hermits were infamous, a powerful group of rogues with motives nobody but them knew. If whoever it was had decided to get famous by taking powerful people, catching one of the elusive Hermits would be a sure way to success. The people could take care of themselves, but the harm a sufficiently dedicated person could do to their interests was a problem.
They had spent plenty of time in the country of L’manburg, time they couldn’t afford to go to waste. Not without finding what they were looking for. Etho sighed, rubbing his temples. “Well, it’s at least still a stretch. We should report to the others and just keep an eye out for anything suspicious. If we’re lucky, it’s just someone with a personal grudge against the guy.”
Scar nodded, glancing at the door and the clock hanging above it. “We can only hope.” Scar chuckled. “Let’s head back to the meeting, maybe they’re done fighting.”
The more information they could gather now the better off they would be if it became a problem for them later. The air in the meeting room was nothing short of tense as people started coming back in. Dream was absent, not that anybody said anything about it.
Crow was glaring at everyone he passed by. Which was understandable, but still a bit annoying when some of that ire was focused on him. Was insulting the number 1 hero a bad idea? Probably. Would he do it again? Absolutely.
Etho settled into his chair with a sigh. It had already been a long morning, and the deep scowl on the captain’s face wasn’t helping. He shared a look with Sphynx. Something about this entire situation felt off, and he couldn’t place why.
Everyone settled down finally, glares were still being thrown freely across the room but at least they weren’t arguing verbally. Schlatt only waited another moment before speaking. “Now that we’re all done arguing, me and The Captain came to a decision.”
The room held it’s breath, but it ended up being The Captain to deliver the news. “We’ll be alerting the public, Schlatt said if we have to turn the city upside down to find him, we will, as he is too valuable to lose.”
Schlatt stood up. “This is going to be top priority unless one of the top ten villains show their faces. Your individual instructions will be delivered to you soon. Meeting adjourned.”
Monday(the day before), 9:38 am - with Fundy
He awoke with a start, only to relax a moment later. The smell of bacon hit his nose with a pleasant aroma. A soft hum could be heard, and he melted into the couch. Food smell and soft cushions, what more could a vigilante ask for?
Other than the fact that they had to defend the city instead of letting the heroes do the work. The heroes were too busy getting into glamorous fights for the news. Not that the villains cared much for being glamorous.
He shot up, remembering exactly why his stress levels had gotten to a dangerous point before he had essentially collapsed. “Purpled!?” He shouted, luckily his son teammate leaned to show his head around the corner, Fundy’s shoulders slumped in relief, and he sighed.
Purpled was safe. “Ah you’re awake! I’m working on breakfast so don’t worry. I also called my school and let them know I won’t be there. I knew you probably won’t let me leave after the disaster that was yesterday.” His friend was right in that regard. He still needed to look at Purpled’s injuries.
Though that thought brought up an uncomfortable question. Such as who Purpled had escaped to that apparently the ‘Havoc trio’ as they had started being referred to, trusted.
“ We were there when he went into their home, and we helped care for his wounds before leaving. He is safe.”
If they were there during Purpled’s wound treatments, there was a possibility that he had seen their identities. Fundy’s stomach rumbled, reminding him he hadn’t eaten since lunch the day before. His arm was aching, using it to fly as a bird while recovering from an injury likely wasn’t a great idea.
Shoving himself to his feet, Fundy walked into the kitchen and plopped down onto a chair at the table. Purpled laughed, setting down a plate of steaming food in front of him. “Tired?” Fundy nodded, that was probably an understatement. “That’s fair. I know you probably want a rundown of what happened when I went out because you’ve likely seen the news.”
Fundy reached out and ruffled Purpled’s hair with a fond smile. It wasn’t until the teen had frozen that he had realized what he had done. He pulled his hand back quickly, his face turning red. “Er, sorry. I don’t know why I did that.”
He knew, but he really tried to ignore it. The fox part of his brain was quick to start on calling Purpled his kit again. He had adopted Purpled legally, but they had both agreed that Fundy was no parent. Not that Fundy could seem to smother the parental instincts and love he felt towards the teen, no matter how much he tried to ignore it.
Purpled looked away. “I didn’t mind, don’t worry too much about it Fun.” Fundy shoved some bacon into his mouth to avoid speaking, his face still bright red. Purpled just seemed a bit amused about how embarrassed he was about it.
After another minute of silence, Purpled sighed. “Fundy I’m serious, it’s fine.” Fundy nodded, letting out a sigh. “I guess I should start at what happened after I disappeared from view of the news huh?” Fundy looked up at him, now fully awake. His confused expression must’ve conveyed his thoughts for him as Purpled elaborated. “How I’m not dead right now.”
While he had thought that the injury looked fatal, this was the first time he had gotten confirmation of it being that bad. He nodded. “Alright. Go ahead kid.”
Purpled smiled, punching him in the shoulder. “I’m not a kid Fun, stop calling me that.” The joking tone disappeared though as his face fell and he took in a deep breath.
At the time of the story – Purpled POV:
Purpled knew he was bleeding. Badly. Dream had torn open a rent in his side with an air blade, and he was lucky to even be away from the battle sight with his life. He was breathing heavily and he knew he didn’t have much time to get some help.
Red Cross wasn’t out that day and even if he was there was no guarantee that he would be able to help anyway. He wouldn’t be able to get home in time either, he and Fundy’s apartment way too far away for him to get to without bleeding out first.
No one was close enough to help him. Then he realized the one place close by that wasn’t hostile to him. It wasn’t a good idea, but he didn’t have time to think of another.
He set off running, or at least attempted to. He held his hand to the gash in his side, but blood was pouring out. His vision quickly grew spotty and blurry, and he stumbled every few seconds. He was pretty sure if any gods existed they probably hated him.
The couple minutes it took to reach the window of his friends’ apartment felt like hours. He didn’t have time to unlatch the window, so he hoped that they wouldn’t be too mad about him breaking it.
The sound of glass shattering was the last thing he heard before the ringing in his ears got too loud. An odd flash of light crossed his vision and he heard the vague sound of shouting. Luckily, he recognized Ranboo and the other two were soon to appear.
In a moment of odd clarity, he had the trio removed his mask, before promptly blacking out.
Back with Fundy
Purpled had finished telling the story, and holy shit. So, whoever the villain trio was had made friends with the only people Purpled liked outside of the vigilantes. That was not ideal in the slightest. His mouth hung open as he stared at his friend in shock.
He buried his face in his hands. It would likely be better to at least properly meet the teens before he figured out whatever the hell he was going to do. “that’s one hell of a story at least.” He muttered. “I’d like to meet them if possible.”
Purpled nodded. “I can set that up.”
Notes:
I had to do the entire story and the part afterward on my phone, so I hope it didn't turn out too badly. I really hope everyone is enjoying this so far.
See you next chapter!
(or in my discord server)My discord server! You can always be alerted when I update and it's just a nice place to hang out. We don't have very many people yet, but everyone (who is willing to follow the rules) is welcome!
Deadly Nightshades!
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Chapter 44: No danger afterall
Notes:
TWs: Kidnapping aftermath, character is tied up, mentions of human trafficking, distrust
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Tuesday at 11:58 pm - With ???
His friend poked Sapnap’s face. “Did we kill him?” That would not be the best case scenario. They had a lot of work ahead of them and him dying would cut it short an unfortunate amount.
Another one of his friend’s chuckled. “Let’s hope not, the others would probably kill us, they’re already going ballistic because he’s missing.” That was the understatement of the century. Both sides, heroes and villains, were going on the warpath because of the hero’s disappearance.
“At least he’s getting some good sleep for once?” He said. The dark circles under Sapnap’s eyes definitely said that he needed it, even if he would likely deny the fact when asked. Just then, the sleeping hero began to stir.
Yet the hero didn’t move. He smirked. Of course he didn’t know they could tell he was faking still being unconscious. Well, might as well fuck with him. He glanced at his teammates, seeing a similar look in their eyes.
Tuesday at 12:03 pm - With Sapnap
Sapnap woke up quickly. His back was sore and he could feel restraints on his arms and legs. It was a good thing he had long since learned how to be alert immediately on waking up. He pretended to still be unconscious. It would do him good if he could gather some information on his captors. With the power suppressants on his wrists, he couldn’t use his powers to take charge.
He didn’t recognize the first voice, but it did seem oddly familiar. “Should we sell him to the villains? I’m sure they would love to get their hands on such a high ranked enemy.” The thought of being straight up sold like he was an object was more than sickening.
Though that wouldn’t be a disaster. There were several high ranked villains that knew him at this point, Quackity would probably hear about it even if he was sold to someone else. Another voice scoffed however. “We’re in the capital of the richest country in the world. We all know the hero committee pretty much runs the entire thing, they’d pay a lot more for this one-” something impacted his chair, the soreness in his back made the slight jiggle of his seat unpleasant. “-than the villains would.”
That would be the more unpleasant idea. Though it’d still work, if they were willing to pay at least. He paled when he heard a third voice’s suggestion. “Or we could kill him and hang his body up. If we scare them, we’ll have quite a bit more bargaining power.”
“Damn, didn’t expect you to recommend that kind of thing, but it’s a good idea…” the voice trailed off, and the hair on the back of his neck stood up. Suddenly, he heard laughter. “Oh calm down Sapnap, you’ll be fine.”
The sudden use of his real name made his head shoot up, and he looked at his captors, finally seeing who it was. His mouth dropped open. TNT laughed, leaning back. “Sorry we scared you. We knew you were awake and wanted to fuck with you.” His voice wasn’t what it usually was, but it was undeniably the villain in front of him.
Vengeance walked into view, a large grin on his face. “Yeah, our voice changers can change our voices in multiple ways so we just switched the settings so you wouldn’t realize.” He reached up, tapping his mask. His voice was back to normal when he spoke. “We wouldn’t do any of that, though the other villains are actually panicking because you’re missing.”
Warp’s voice from behind him made him jump. “My two idiotic teammates decided it was a good idea to not tell anyone we were doing this, so several of our friends are currently on the warpath.” That.. was both scary and oddly comforting. Scary because somebody was willing to kill to find him but comforting for the same reason.
Suddenly, both the power suppressants and handcuffs fell off of his wrists. He rubbed his skin where the items had left slight red marks. “You guys scared me. Was making your suggestions slowly get worse really necessary?”
Vengeance grinned. “Of course it was, wouldn’t be as fun otherwise! Seriously though, are your wrists alright? We didn’t want to tighten them down too hard but if you panicked when you woke up it could’ve a bit of an issue.” They were wary of him, good to know.
He had to remind himself once more not to get comfortable. These were villains. He may be looking for a way out from the committee but that didn’t mean he would ever choose to become a villain. These three had. While they seemed nice, he knew he couldn’t fully trust them in any way
It had been rash to trust Quackity as well, but he didn’t have much of a choice. It wouldn’t be possible to fake his death or run away without someone from the hero, much less his team, noticing without the help of someone else. Finally, he shook his head in response to Vengeance. “No they didn’t hurt me at all, the red is probably just from how long they were there.”
TNT scowled, not looking at either of his teammates as he spoke. “I knew we should’ve taken them off of him for a part of the time he was unconscious.”
Warp had a deadpan tone as he replied to his teammate. “TNT, he said it didn’t hurt. Stop scowling at the wall like it owed you money then killed your grandma.” Sapnap was glad he didn’t have a drink, cause he was sure he would’ve spat it out. Vengeance nearly fell over laughing, Sapnap wouldn't be surprised if there were tears in the man’s it was hard to tell since his mask covered the entire top half of his face.
Not that Warp seemed to care that his words had caught everyone else off guard. The chains wrapped around his torso fell away, and he was finally fully free to move. “Sorry it took so long.” The villain apologized, sounding sincere. It was actually a bit surprising, why would they care?
The only reason they were associating with him at all was likely because of Quackity. Though that also didn’t explain why they had decided to kidnap him. He mapped the room in his head, he needed to know what to do if he had to escape quickly. The memory of them taunting Dream and Spore rose to mind. They were dangerous, and worse, unpredictable.
He got up, stretching. His joints popped in several places. “That was unpleasant.” That was an understatement.
Vengeance shrugged. “For everyone, trust me. You were a pain in the ass to kidnap. Which would probably protected you if it was anyone else. We’re just too stubborn to let something like that stop us.” The villain didn’t seem to have any shame about anything that he did. While it had been concerning, it wasn’t the worst trait in a villain he’d heard of. Until that exact shamelessness led to his kidnapping.
TNT nodded in agreement with his teammates words. “Yeah, those stupid trackers were a pain in my ass as well. This is why we left our hero suits behind instead of repurposing them. They make the damn things a pain to turn off.” It was almost easy to forget that the havoc trio used to be heroes. They were violent and chaotic on a good day from he’d seen.
“So,” He finally said. “What now?” He needed to know why they kidnapped him and what they were doing. Sapnap knew he was in a dangerous situation, they had the training of the hero academy and any wrong move to make it look like he was in opposition to them…
Yeah, dying was not on his list of things to do that day.
Vengeance finally spoke after a long moment. “We decided to kidnap you so the committee wouldn’t get to you first.”Sapnap didn’t try to hide his confusion, and so Vengeance went on to explain. “They were trying to kill you, we would really rather you not die when we’ve already started planning. You will have to agree of course and all that.”
Planning what? What did they need him to agree to? It was a bit of a comfort to know that they needed him alive, that meant they weren’t going to kill him. “..Agree to what?” He asked, he was almost hesitant to know.
The villain grinned. “How to fake your death of course!”
….WHAT!?
W̴͖͓̄ḯ̷͔̣̹̈͊t̶̨̖̪̚ḧ̷̟͍́̂ ̸̯̆̋̇?̸͇͎͆̈̐?̸͉͍͑?̸̣̮̣̾̈́̕
The meeting room was empty, but he didn’t mind all that much. The others were busy with their respective problems or projects. He had to stay behind to keep everything under control. Most of the group was actually still around the country, but they were all dealing with building projects. He hoped the infiltrators were alright, they all had more limited communication time in order to protect themselves, each other, and their carefully hidden home.
He sat back in one of the chairs, wiping sweat off his forehead. “I’m too tired for this.” He muttered. He didn’t have any project he had been working on so he had pretty much just been given the job of cleaning up and checking to make sure everything was still in order in the capital.
“You’ll be more tired before this is done.” A voice suddenly said, accompanied by the lights in the room dimming slightly.
He stopped, not turning around to look behind him. His tone was much more serious as he spoke. “I hope whatever you’re here for is good, you may be powerful, but I get protective over my people.”
She laughed. “Of course. But no, I’m here in good faith. Lady Death has sent me to deliver a message for her, not to cause you or your people any issues. The deal still stands strong.”
He nodded. “I’ll contact the others.”
“That would be wise.”
Notes:
This was such a fun chapter to write I'll be honest. I have so many plans for this fic it's not even funny
My Discord server! You can always be alerted when I update and it's just a nice place to hang out. We don't have very many people yet, but everyone (who is willing to follow the rules) is welcome!
Deadly Nightshades!
(If there every any problems with the link, feel free to let me know and I'll try to fix it)
Chapter 45: 'Meaningless' legends
Chapter Text
The next day
Wednesday at 4:30 am - With Techno
He had always been well aware of his limits, but he had increasingly ignored them. With Fire-Fist missing, all free time had he was caught up in searching or fighting villains. So if he wanted any time to relax, he had to get up increasingly early. He had gone down to the gym, only to hear a voice. Not recognizing it, he crouched behind a wall, listening in.
“As I said, there's no way that we’ll be able to make it to a meeting anytime soon. Fire-Fist being missing has stripped away any kind of stuff we can get away with. It’d take a while to get there, then we’d have to be at the meeting, and then we still have to get back.” Techno didn’t like the sound of that, at all.
His tone also wasn’t hostile to whoever he was talking to, which Techno took a mental note of. Who was this and who were they talking to? What kind of meeting? Chat wasn’t helping much.
Ah yes, drama
No, trauma
Wait I know who that is!
Trauma or the person talking?
Me too! We saw him last stream remember? Unless you weren’t watching his or Ṡ̴͈͛i̷̹̝̲̊̇j̷̳̝̅̄̊ḟ̷͇͇͊͜k̷̜̙̇d̷͉̩͙͌̇̚s̴̪̻̯͒̎̀’s streams.
I want to know but we can’t tell techno
Look it up, see who you don’t know
I’m going to go check on Fire boy, brb
Wait is he streaming!? Yes!
They hadn’t known for a couple of hours what had happened to Fire-Fist, but apparently they had found out. They had acted all excited about it, not that they let anything useful slip. They didn’t like telling him anything.
Choosing to ignore them, he continued listening in. “I know it sounds important, none of those… people bother us unless it matters. Just ask the messenger if it can be delayed any, because I know we need to be there but we can’t.” The man emphasized the last three words of his statement. Techno slinked back slightly, careful to remain hidden as the man began to pace. He still didn’t recognize the figure, neither their outfit nor mask were familiar to him.
Let’s give the poor man a break
Nah, he’ll probably be fine, Mum will understand teh shit he’s dealing with
There was a long pause before anything else was said. “Well I know they’re all impatient beings but she can tell ‘her lady’ that unless she plans to fix my problems then it’s going to be a while.” He sounded exasperated by whatever was going on. “Thank you. I guess we’ll actually try to find him. I mean we're trying, but not all that hard- that doesn’t make me an asshole!” He then laughed. “Yeah yeah, talk to you later Tango. Bye.” The man sighed after what Techno assumed to be the end of the call.
He had already decided to check the records for whoever this ‘Tango’ was, but chat’s reaction only served to solidify that plan.
TANGO!?
This crossover between my two favorite fandoms is just getting better and better
Are we going to get the entire crew!?
Am I the only one in this chat who has no idea who these people are?
Nope.
The man exited the other door, luckily saving him from having to deal with suspicions that he had been listening in. It seemed his early start was not going to be used for what he had thought. Training could come later, for now he had to investigate.
It didn’t take long for him to get to his office. The paperwork on his desk was stacked high, but he chose to ignore it for the moment. Sitting at his pc, he put in everything to actually let him in. They had put all sorts of verification methods to avoid anyone they didn’t want getting into their systems getting in.
Going through the records, he couldn’t find any matches to the name. He had access to all the living civilians’ government files, yet he couldn’t find anything. He doubted he’d get anything, but he went to the regular web. The only thing he could find on the name were legends, curious, he clicked on a article.
Tango Teeka
Tango Tekan was supposedly born around 9,000 years ago. Little is known about this ancient figure aside from several myths surrounding him and others. According to myths made by ancient peoples, he was part of ‘The hidden Kingdom’ as one of its earlier members.
Like many legends regarding the city-state and its members, Tango was well regarded.
Clicking on the link of whatever the kingdom was, he kept reading.
The Lost Kingdom
An ancient civilization akin to ‘Eldarado’ in stories of ancient times. Many conflicting myths have been found about this city-state. Existing only in legends, many societies actually reference this place as a utopia of safety. Many archeologists and historians dismiss this country as myth do to no evidence of it ever existing ever being found.
The only reason the city-state is still called into relevance today is because of a partly intact journal found that only dates back 3,000 years. As stated in the journal:
‘I love this place. I really do. They take care of us well, and any wars are [ineligible]. We all take pride in the fact we’re safe. I’ll go by one of the shops soon, maybe there’s still some [ineligible], I’m running out. I hope I’ll see one of the council, they like to walk around with us normal folk. Anyone here would recognize them, even without [ineligible].’
Unfortunately, this was the only passage that could be fully strung together from the ruined records. Many believe that this is an early work of entertainment made by early peoples-
He stopped reading there; ancient myths wouldn’t help him any. Why somebody would name their kid after an obscure myth was beyond him. Was still interesting however, so he left the tab up. He checked the time, it’d only been around 3 hours. With a sigh, he turned his attention to the paperwork he had pushed to the side.
Yet a knock came at the door. “Come in.” He grunted, not wanting to deal with the papers yet. The door opened slowly, emitting Phil into the room. Techno’s gaze softened slightly, even if his tone was still it’s usual monotone. “Hey Phil.”
Phil sighed, sitting down. “Hey Tech. Sory if I’m bothering you, I just needed some company.” Techno studied his dad’s body language, he was trembling slightly.
“Are you alright?” He asked, he didn’t like fine. There was a number of things that could be bothering him, but not much got the cool-headed man to the point he was shaking.
Phil chuckled humorously, shaking his head. “Truthfully? Not really. I had a nightmare about Tommy and… her again. I had the exact same one yesterday which makes it worse.” That was concerning. He had a time years back, before he became a hero, that he had studied psychology. Recurring dreams could mean a lot of things.
He wasn’t caught up considering how he had dropped it in favor of mythology. So instead, he muttered, “That’s… concerning.” He wasn’t going to ask what it was, having had his fair share of nightmares after the incident. He had never wanted to talk about what they were afterward.
Just as Phil was about to reply, a red light started flashing. They shared a look. His radio bloomed to life. “Gambler has been spotted! I repeat, Gambler has been spotted! We need the SBI immediately!” they both jumped up from their spots, running out the door.
Gambler was not someone who could be dismissed. The man was the number one villain for a reason. His playing cards were deadly on a good day. Years of training allowed him to get into gear without much delay. When it came to the world of supers, seconds counted.
He ran towards the balcony without an ounce of hesitation, his cape flaring behind him. Just as he jumped off two bird like claws wrapped around shoulders, quickly lowering him to the nearest rooftop. He gave a two fingered salute towards his father, already turning back around running.
Ghost wasn’t far behind either, having appeared beside him at some point. It had always been one of their strong suits to be able to get anywhere within a matter of minutes. Putting his earlier thoughts out of his head, he focused on not stopping. Gambler needed to be taken down, and he wasn’t going to let being late getting in the way.
The smell of smoke was think in the air. Plumes of smoke were visible even far away. The sound of static filled his left ear for a moment before Schlatt’s voice came through. Whenever it was one of the top five, the man usually gave orders personally. “Sphynx and Assassin were on patrol when he was spotted near the bank. Hurry, they need backup.”
The scene they arrived to was less than pretty. Police had formed a barricade to prevent civilian casualties, more than there already were at least. Burnt bodies were scattered sparingly on the ground. Sphynx and Assassin were desperately trying to avoid the playing cards. The explosions and resulting fire seemed worse than usual.
Without delay, Crow picked him up. Dropping him off right behind Gambler, Crow quickly flew back into the sky. Techno lunged forward just in time to throw off the villain’s aim, and the card he was about to throw slammed into the side of another building instead of the two heroes on the ground. The man growled, turning on his heel to face Techno.
The chanting in his head was steadily growing louder.
Blood
Blood
Blood
We demand it Techno
Blood for the blood god
Blood
Blood
He tried to ignore it. When the voices got too forceful it could send him into a mindless rage. He couldn’t let that happen. They were in a vulnerable position. The usual smirk in Gambler’s tone was absent, replaced by what sounded oddly like frustration. “Why do you assholes have to bother me?” Two daggers clashed against a sword.
Ghost was off helping Sphynx and Assassin, so he wouldn’t be much help until they were take care of. This was a complicated situation.
“Why do you have to rob a bank?” He countered, attempting to keep his tone unbothered despite actively trying not to be stabbed. He planted his left heel, spinning once to gather momentum, only for Gambler to dodge under the strike. Crow dove down to grab the villain but missed by mere inches.
The villain scoffed, using the opportunity to get under his guard and slash up, Techno saved himself from a nasty gash by jerking backwards. “I wasn’t aiming for the bank until I got attacked. Believe it or not, I have reasons for the things I do other than money.”
An arrow whizzed past his face, planting itself in the ground. Gambler jumped back. Crow swooped down, quickly dragging Techno away right before another arrow flew right where his head had been only moments before. “So nice of you to join us Huntress, but I’m afraid I’ve got this one covered.” The smirk had returned to his tone.
“It’s been since the funeral right? I’d say good to see you, but I’d rather do that while your head’s on a pike.” She let out a laugh that would’ve sent a chill up any normal person’s spine. “Besides, you misunderstand what I’m here for. I’m rather…” she rubbed two fingers together. “…strapped for cash. You’ve done most of the work for me, so if you’d step aside, I have a robbery to complete.” She took aim, and another dance of death commenced.
Despite her power being having a perfect aim, Huntress’s weapon of choice was a trident. Huntress’s mask was unconventional to say the least. The best way to describe it was a tight band of large flowers made entirely of metal. He had broken one of his early swords when he had hit it, though that was years back.
He could see the number two villain’s mouth moving but couldn’t hear what was being said at his distance. Gambler’s joker mask fully encompassed his face, but Techno assumed there was entire conversation going on. Likely death threats, there was a joke that the villains hated each other more than they hated the heroes. After seeing countless conflicts, he was almost inclined to call it not much of a joke.
With Quackity
Heroes. They never could keep their noses out of things now could they? First it was Sphynx and Assassin, it’d been his first time interacting with them for more than a moment unless you counted previous fights. They were… weird. Not only had they not wanted to fight him, but they’d also been more interested in pretending they never saw him. They had asked a few questions, which he had been hesitant to answer but it wasn’t anything invasive to he did so truthfully.
The only reason they attacked is they had been spotted standing with him. Next it was the SBI, which was worse. His kids The trio, especially Tommy, had gone through abuse at the hands of the assholes. Every muscle in his body told him to kill them, but he still held himself back.
As much as Quackity hated the SBI, Tommy had still made the request to all the villains to not kill them. He still loved them, even after all they had done to him. He bantered with Blade, which was not something he wanted to be doing. Can’t a man complain without it being turned into a conversation?
An arrow whizzed past his face. Quackity jumped back. He knew who it was, no one else would’ve or could’ve made that shot. Huntress stood on the edge of the rooftop, how she had gotten there without alerting anyone, he didn’t know. Blade was quickly gotten away by Crow, no one wanted to get between a fight of two of the city’s most powerful people.
She lashed out at him, and he parried. They both trusted the other not to seriously hurt them. As usual, they turned the fight into a show, even while making it look like they were attempting to kill each other. “What are you doing Quackity?” Huntress hissed quietly. “Never mind that, are you alright?”
He faltered slightly, not quite expecting that from his friend. He was quick to recover however, deflecting her trident with a shoulder. “I was trying to go looking for Sap, stupid fucking heroes though.”
Her tone was softer as she spoke next, even as she relentlessly pelted him with attacks, though they never caused much more than a scratch. “They’re on high alert and more violent right now. I know he’s not well liked with the assholes but that is a superpower on their side, going out is dangerous.”
He sighed, lashing out with a dagger towards her neck which she danced away from before coming back into range. “I know Niki, but I just found one of my best friends again, and he needs help.”
“We’ll help him Q, but we can also do that by finding him. We don’t know what happened, seconds may count.” Her trident hit his arm, bending it the wrong way. At least, that’s what it looked like. It seemed that Jack had finally arrived. Anytime he and Niki fought, Jack usually made anything they did look worse than it actually was. The bruise developing on his arm was no where near as bad as his seemingly broken arm made it look. They had never asked him to, but it honestly made everything a bit more fun.
“We’ll talk more later.” He quickly whispered before dancing back from his opponent. After an injury like that, he would retreat, he couldn’t break his pattern and risk the heroes figuring out what was up.
He let a smirk enter his tone. “You’re lucky the bank was not my goal, your princess,-iness.” He spoke his last
two words with a mocking tone, dipping into a bow. “Until next time, you get to live another day.” With that, he took off. He still had searching to do.
Notes:
Hehe, lore
My Discord server! You can always be alerted when I update and it's just a nice place to hang out. We don't have very many people yet, but everyone (who is willing to follow the rules) is welcome!
Deadly Nightshades!
(If there every any problems with the link, feel free to let me know and I'll try to fix it)
Chapter 46: Thirst for revenge
Chapter Text
Monday a week later at 8:10 am – With Ranboo
School. The unfortunate part about having a government identity that was semi-accurate. Classes didn’t start for another 20 minutes, but they had gotten there early. Some teacher had yelled at them for a good 5 minutes after they had been late because of a fight between Redstone and Firecracker that had been on the path they took, that had been annoying enough for Tubbo to start yelling at them to get up an hour earlier.
They had been used to getting up closer to four in the morning so while doing that was a bit of a struggle, they had quickly adapted to the new schedule. They had been talking as normal, well, not entirely normal considering their usual talks for the past week were their hostage, but normal for most teens. When someone had come up to them. “Hi, I’m Talila!” This was far from the first time some random kid had come up to them.
Tommy smiled politely, though his eyes dripped venom. He had been the one she interrupted. “Nice to meet you, do you need something?” It sounded a bit passive-aggressive, and Tubbo elbowed Tommy. Though all the action did was earn him a glare from the blond.
Unfortunately, she must’ve caught onto Tommy’s tone. “I’m trying to be nice, you don’t have to be mean!” Tubbo rolled his eyes at that, and Tommy didn’t look all that impressed either.
Ranboo stepped in between his friends and the girl. “Uh- sorry about him. He’s just like that.”
“Hey-” Tommy complained, but before he could say anything else Ranboo slapped a hand over his mouth. If he was going to keep this from turning into a mess (as it usually did) he did not need Tommy making it worse. He loved Tommy as one of his best friend, but he was like a walking bomb.
Contrary to expectation, her face softened when he stepped up. “Oh it’s alright, I get it.” She batted her eyelashes, and he fought not to make a disgusted face. Tubbo looked close to laughing. “Also, mind if I get your number? I’d like to get to know-”
Purpled walked up at that moment. “Hey guys!” He eyed the girl warily, his next words a bit hesitant. “What’s… going on?” Ranboo nearly sagged in relief as the girl sneered at Purple then walked away, though she whispered something in Purpled’s ear as she walked by that Ranboo didn’t catch.
Nobody else seemed to notice, Tubbo bursting out laughing. “What’s going on is you just became Ranboo’s savior.” The look Tubbo’s words got from Purpled likely didn’t help, and Tubbo slowly collapsed to the ground from laughing so hard.
Tommy was snickering as well. “The asshole was trying to flirt with boob boy and that’s probably the most entertaining thing I’ve seen all day.” Purpled let out a surprised laugh at that, shaking his head. His good mood dissipated as he look behind him though, catching sight of the girl staring at them, aside from Ranboo, with distaste.
“You alright?” Ranboo asked, noticing their friend’s discomfort.
Purpled quickly turned back to them, a sheepish smile on his face. “Yeah I’m fine, I just… don’t have a great history with her.” The joy was sucked out of the air around them, and Purpled quickly found himself in the center of their attention.
“What’d she do?” Tommy asked, his face in a frown. Purpled likely hadn’t expected the space around them to go murderous.
Purpled shook his head, glancing behind him once more. “Don’t worry about it. If it comes up again I’ll tell you.” None of the three were happy with the answer, but decided to not prod him about it. If she became an issue, they were capable of dealing with it.
Purpled was a vigilante, so his morals were a lot less grey than theirs were. Ranboo could see the, ‘I’m not above murder’ look and Tommy’s eyes. It was a bit concerning how violent they were, especially considering they used to be heroes. Ranboo wasn’t sure if the change was necessarily a good thing.
The bell soon rang, and they hurried to class. Chemistry was first, it was both fortunate and unfortunate he shared the class with Tubbo.
Fortunate because he had someone he was friends with, unfortunate because he had to keep him form setting something on fire.
Five minutes later
“…god damn it.” Fire was starting to spread around the room, and the fire alarm started to blare in their ears. Ranboo flinched, it was uncomfortably familiar. Tubbo grimaced as well, the alarms from the hero tower apparently left some marks on their minds. Tubbo grabbed his bag, taking out a coat and throwing it over Ranboo’s head. “Wh-” just as he was about to question his friend’s movement, the sprinklers came to life.
Tubbo shouldered his bag. The rest of the room was empty, everyone having already fled. They didn’t waste any time as they quickly got out as well. Tubbo always kept masks for filtering smoke on hand, and they came in handy.
Ranboo was happy for the jacket as water poured from the sprinklers. They got out quickly. Tommy and Purpled were already outside, and chaos had apparently erupted. The teachers were unable to keep the panicked students under control.
The only ones that weren’t panicking was their small group. Not that the fact was surprising to him. They had been in more burning building than he cared to count, and UFO’s literal debut was running into a burning building to rescue civilians after the heroes had said it had gotten too risky for them to go in.
Surprisingly, heroes showed up on the scene soon after. The captain being the most surprising arrival. She had announced that because of Fire-Fist’s disappearance they were personally checking out any fire that had been made. That also meant she had to talk to.. the person who had… started the fire…
“Well fuck.” Tommy muttered. It was going to be the first true test of the technology that Tubbo had made to help with the kind of situation they were now in. It had been an old project Tubbo’s old mentor had come up with, the one before the hero tower that is. Though his memory of that time was foggy, Tubbo had said he remembered having someone teaching him before he had gotten to the academy.
The device was a mix of illusion magic and ‘technological genius’. It was supposed to make it so that the people they put into the system would see them looking different than they actually did. It was mainly to protect Tommy since he was at the most risk of seeing someone he knew, but they all had one.
The Captain was rapidly approaching their position. Their chemistry teacher had apparently pointed him and Tubbo out to her. “Hello kids, sorry about having to talk to you guys like this, I know it can be stressful to talk to someone like me.” She was a lot more right than she thought she was.
Tommy had stepped back, almost hiding behind him. Not that was unexpected. He had been close to Puffy, before Kristen had died at least. According to him, she had personally trained him before. Even after Kristen’s death she had tried to take care of Tommy.
That had actually been the reason why Phil and her were no longer friends. She had tried to protect Tommy and Phil… well he didn’t appreciate it. Eventually she went on from being the top hero to being one of the committee members. While she still tried to reach out to Tommy, she never really got the chance.
That was why she was the only hero they truly respected anymore. Any friend to one of the three was a friend to them all. They had chosen to leave that life behind however, and being so close to it was probably bringing back some unpleasant memories.
Purpled didn’t understand their hesitance in talking to the hero, but he stepped forward, bowing his head. “It’s nice to meet you ma’am. Do you need something from us?” The captain was one hero that Purpled also respected. He respected a few others as well, but she was the one that they all agreed on.
She smiled. “I just have to talk to whoever started the fire.” That’s unfortunately when she finally noticed Tommy. “Uh, you alright kid?” Tommy wasn’t usually one to avoid eye contact with someone, but he did this time.
Tubbo stepped forward. “He’s a bit shy sorry. I’m the one who started the fire.” Despite the fact it was expected, Tubbo didn’t bow head towards the woman. They had sworn never to bow to the heroes, and they would never break that oath. The Captain looked at where Tommy would be behind them with concern, but did turn her attention to Tubbo.
“It’s fine…. I get it. How did the fire start exactly?” Her goat-like ears twitched as the crowed began to gather more. Everyone wanted a glimpse of someone as important as she was, it had to have been annoying.
That was one nice thing about being a villain, people were usually too busy running away to gawk at you. Her annoyance with the crowd was likely what caused her to let the authoritative voice that she often used at the tower to slip through. Ranboo noticed the wince after her words.
Tubbo cleared his throat, his back straightening. Unfortunately, that tone was something that they had been trained to listen to and give a report. His tone had shifted to one they knew all too well. “It was an oil fire in the chemistry lab, Captain. One of the burners was knocked over and touched a stay cotton ball. Unfortunately it had been sitting in an oil puddle and the fire escalated from there ma’am.”
She obviously hadn’t expected a thorough report, and she nodded in approval. “That was what I needed to know. Thank you. We’ll be going over the security footage to make sure you’re not lying but I don’t see any problems arising for you.”
Tubbo smiled, “thank you.” As she turned and started walking away, he called out one last time. “Oh, Captain!” She turned over her shoulder at him. “We’ve always liked you better than the other heroes, keep it up.
She smiled, nodding. Then she turned around, and let the crowd engulf her.
Puffy POV
There was something oddly familiar about those kids. She couldn’t quite place why however. Except for the blond. She understood why he was so familiar. He looked a lot like Tommy. Not the same, and the kid she knew was loud and rambunctious. He was never afraid of speaking his mind, and always had something on his mind to say.
Though Tommy was dead. Killed by villains while being ignored by the very people who should’ve loved him most. She had been going to quit, they wouldn’t have been able to stop her. She had been one of the founders and she could leave when she pleased.
If it meant she could find the men who killed Tommy however, she would stay a little longer.
Notes:
I need to stop hurting myself emotionally, but it makes such a good story!
My Discord server! You can always be alerted when I update and it's just a nice place to hang out. We don't have very many people yet, but everyone (who is willing to follow the rules) is welcome!
Deadly Nightshades!
(If there every any problems with the link, feel free to let me know and I'll try to fix it)
Chapter 47: Who let gods have meetings?
Chapter Text
Tehecan at 42:35 - With Karl
A meeting had been called. XD had called him back from his assignment for it. In the human world it was a Monday at 11:47 at night, but the gods had an entirely different system. It was rare to see all the gods together, this would be the first time Karl had seen it in his life. Supposedly they hadn’t had a meeting in over 200 years. It was a terrifying thing to think about. Especially since the timeline still hadn’t resettled after his failure to kill off the hero.
Every event that happened was uncontrolled. For once, not even XD knew what the next action the mortals would take. It was impossible to tell. His boss was not happy about the fact, the god’s ‘punishments’ had been more frequent and much more severe.
It was worrying to say the least. He likely would be left alone for the entirety, not that it made him feel any better. They were the first to arrive. The one who had called the meeting was always supposed to arrive last apparently. Thrones of various shapes and sizes were aligned in a circle, behind each one were the portals to each of the god’s domains. Small symbols were etched on the floor on the left side of each of the thrones.
XD sat down at his, which was just a mass of black and lime green crystal shaped into a throne. Karl stood on the right side of XD’s throne, standing farther away from the front.
The next person to arrive was Drista. Oddly, she chose to go by her name instead of her title. Unlike many of the other gods, she chose not to have a face covering. Her smirk was on full display as she sat down on her throne.
Karl would never voice it, but Drista’s throne was the most interesting, even if a bit odd. It was a mish mash of different materials, the only connection between the materials being a dark lines of some black substance acting like stitching.
“Hello brother.” She greeted, her green wings retracting. “It’s been a while, how are you doing?” Her gaze landed on Karl and the edge of her lips turned downwards for a moment. Karl slunk back a bit as she spoke. “I see you haven’t let your ‘servant’ go yet.”
She finally moved her gaze to the god as he replied. “It is not your concern, Chaos, what I do with my servants.” She seemed to be about to reply when the lights suddenly dimmed. The goddess of death’s presence was announced by a singular crow flying to sit on the top of her throne, letting out a harsh caw.
The woman emerged from her portal only a second afterward. She bowed her head towards Drista and XD respectively. “Chaos, Time.” Drista was the only god to blatantly call the gods by name. The mesh hanging from Death’s sunhat that hid her face oddly stayed in place, somehow not showing her face in any way despite the fact it waved with an invisible breeze.
Other than her short greeting, she sat down without a word. The lighting returned to normal as she did so. Despite being a god of death, her throne was beautiful.
Made of twisting green vines and spotted with sunflowers, you’d almost think her to be the god of life. The crow quickly moved from her throne to sit on her head. It let out another caw, but it was much softer. The woman could understand the crows, but no one other than her messenger and chosen could.
Karl was technically XD’s messenger, but the forced nature of his contract made it so that he got almost none of the perks or respect that usually came from the position. “So Kristen-” Drista started, but was cut off as the brazier in the middle of the room flared.
The fire turned a bright gold color, the now tall flames coalesced into a ball and flew over to another throne. It was made out of pure gold aside from emerald accents. The ball of flame shaped itself into… a person? Normal person sized as well, no where near the giant size of the gods. The flames disappeared, leaving a man in their place. The man was blond, streaks of pure gold scattered through his hair.
“I apologize for my unusual entrance everyone; I have much to do for my life in the mortal world.” The man said. Karl finally put it together. That must be the god of journeys. XD had mentioned him as being one of the gods to go down to the mortal realm. His clothing was regal, as if straight from a fairytale.
XD’s sneer was clear in his voice as he spoke. “It is impolite if nothing else to appear in a mortal form here. You could not be bothered to show up in your true form?” Karl wanted to do nothing but hide as the tension in the room rose.
“I could be, but I was also in a rush. My mortal life has gotten caught up in the very events this meeting was called because of, making sure I don’t push the timeline off course by my presence should be of use to you, should it not?” XD scowled, but backed down, nonetheless. Had he not told the other gods about the timeline having gone out of control?
The smell of blood wafted through the air. Karl grimaced; he had never enjoyed the metallic smell. At least he thought so, maybe he had before he came into XD’s service. Not that he was sure what was before it. He knew there was something, and that he didn’t become the god’s servant willingly, but that was pretty much it.
Karl had caught glances of each of the god’s before, but the blood god was odd. Sometimes the god appeared male and other times female. Though whether the gods actually had genders Karl couldn’t be sure, maybe they didn’t.
This time the god looked more male as he sat down. “We cannot afford fights. The mortal world would fall apart with us.” The god spoke. Despite being the god of blood and war, they were the one stopping fights. That was a bit ironic.
Kristen nodded. “I have to agree with your statement, War. Nonetheless, we have much to discuss.” Both XD and Journey settled back into their thrones. “Now that we’re all here, shall we start the meeting?” Karl’s brows furrowed. There was still an empty throne? He chose not to speak however; it was not his place.
War(blood god) stood up. “Yes we shall. Everyone summon your chosen now so we can move forward.” The symbols on left of each of the thrones lit up. A moment later 2 more people had appeared in the room next to their respective patrons.
Kristen, Journey, and Drista all lacked their champion at their side. Drista was glowering at death while the goddess kept her gaze straight ahead. Karl recognized the chosen who had appeared, and the blood drained from his face. There was no way this wasn’t going to turn into a mess.
XD’s champion was Spore. The teammate of the very man who had thrown off the timeline by surviving. The other was the War god’s champion. Blade. Karl’s eyes darted towards Lady Kristen, the air had become colder in the area around her. “I hope, this was unintentional, Blood.” She spoke.
The god of war’s voice was no different as he spoke. “I am aware of your connection to my champion, lady death. Though it is not meant to be a slight against you. He was simply the best representation of my domain.” Lady death did not seem pleased with the answer, but the air went back to its regular temperature.
“I have also taken measures to prevent his status from causing harm to your interests. Unlike most chosen, he will not retain the memories of this meeting once it is over. While on the mortal plane, he holds no memory of anything to do with me.” That was another thing. The gods often had meeting with their chosen, usually instructions or just finding out what was going on bottom side.
The gods couldn’t see everything, unlike what many myths would leave one to think. They were able to see much more about things within their domains, but unless they were looking at specific places, they were blind as any mortal. Just, on a cosmic scale with a fuck-ton more power.
Kristen huffed but still nodded in response. “Fine.”
“You enquired as to mine, so I shall do the same. Where would your champion be, Lady death?” War asked with a tilt of his head. “Where would all of the three missing chosen be?” He looked at Drista, Kristen, and Journey.
Drista was the one to speak up first. “Me and Kristen have been arguing over the same person. He fits my domain perfectly and she already had a champion, yet she won’t let me choose him.” She kicked her feet up on the brazier as she spoke, folding her hands behind her head.
Now Kristen actually looked at Drista. “We all know about my previous champion’s title and status being revoked, he no longer has any right to serve as my representative on the mortal plane, Chaos. You are trying to claim my son as your chosen, I don’t appreciate it.”
Drista shrugged. “Again, can you all please just call me by my name? Titles are boring.” She then looked towards Journey. “Enough about me and Kristen's little spat, where’s your chosen, Foolish? You being on the mortal plane means you must’ve found one.”
Karl didn’t know the gods could be embarrassed, but Foolish’s face turned bright red. “Uh- he doesn’t know he’s a god’s- my champion.” Karl’s jaw dropped.
War tilted his head in what was likely confusion. “Do you mean you have a similar arrangement with yours as I do mine? That shouldn’t mean-”
Drista let out a single harsh laugh, leaning over the edge of her throne towards Journey as she cut War off. Foolish looked like he regretted being next to her. “Wait do you mean he has no idea at all!? As in he hasn’t met you in god form in any way!?” Foolish’s silence spoke volumes.
It would’ve been almost comedic how uncomfortable the god looked if not for the circumstances the Karl was there. XD’s presence beside him was a constant reminder of his lack of free will. “Ignoring those amongst us who can’t be bothered to follow rules as old as we are,” XD spoke up, making a direct jab at Foolish who scowled in return, “We have much to discuss. War, we first need to discuss why you called this meeting.”
War nodded. “We do. As my domain is war and bloodshed, I have noticed more than anyone the increase in conflicts. While I do enjoy it, it is a point of concern. The immortals that call themselves 'Hermits' have also become more active outside of their own haven, I have not been able to investigate this due to not being the main point of contact. Death, I hope you have news?” The god sat down, and Kristen stood up.
“I have. I sent my messenger to talk to them but have heard very little back. However, she has told me that they are still standing by the old pacts. According to what she told me, they will not be interfering with our interests for the moment. There will be more information on that soon as the immortals have planned to have a meeting of their own.”
“As to your concern of more conflict, I believe we should speak to someone from the mortal realm, Time?” Lady Kristen turned her attention to XD. “I believe your champion would be one of the better candidates?”
XD nodded. “As you say. George, you have the floor.” The hero looked a bit nervous as he walked off the symbol used to summon him and to the middle of the room. While the gods simply stood when they spoke, the mortal man had to stand in the center.
George took a deep breath before beginning to speak. “I feel I should introduce myself. My name is George, otherwise known as the hero Spore in the country of L’manburg.” His voice grew more confident as he spoke. “The conflicts have indeed been rising. The villains have become much more active, first it as an increase in simply the top ten, but the rest of the villains have become bolder.”
“Just a couple of months back a trio of villains made their debut, and activity has spiked by almost ten times.” Karl could’ve sworn he saw Death stiffen at the mention of the new noticeable villains. Though he tried to ignore it. “With a spike in villain activity, the heroes have pushed back twice as hard, while the vigilantes have stepped up once more to take care of the petty criminals we have no interest in.”
XD stood briefly. “Thank you George, you can come back now.” There was an odd fondness in XD’s voice that was almost concerning. Journey must’ve noticed as well, his eyebrows raising for a moment. XD sat back down as George returned to his side.
Drista stood, not giving anyone else a chance. Her smirk had returned, not that Karl really understood why. “So, the new villain trio have caused a domino effect that caused an increase in activity, and the immortals aren’t interfering. Sounds like there isn’t a problem other than we need to keep an eye on those three mortals, which,” She glanced at Kristen, “is nothing new.”
Drista glanced around the room. “I don’t see a reason for this meeting to continue unless someone else has something to add?” She sat back down, an invitation.
No one spoke for a long moment. Suddenly XD stood. “Unfortunately, another matter has arisen. One man who was meant to die didn’t, and it has been too long to fix the event. The timeline has been thrown off. Lady Death, I know this is important to your domain, as life and death have to stay balanced.” He sat down and Kristen stood.
“That is… much unfortunate. Once the timeline resettles we will have to investigate who is going to end up dying instead.” She sat back down.
“If that is everything,” War paused, and no one else spoke up. “Then this meeting, is adjourned.” Foolish transformed into gold fire, and was the first to disappear.
Notes:
Well I'd say that was quite something. This was a very interesting chapter to write and had lots of little lore tidbits, I hope you enjoyed!
If you did, think about joining my Discord server! You can always be alerted when I update and it's just a nice place to hang out. We don't have very many people yet, but everyone (who is willing to follow the rules) is welcome!
Deadly Nightshades!
(If there every any problems with the link, feel free to let me know and I'll try to fix it)
Chapter 48: A final test
Notes:
I'm putting this out at two in the morning and I've got to get up early tomorrow, good luck to me!
TWs: Distrust
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Tuesday at 6:24 pm / 18:24 With Tubbo
One more test. Throughout the week they had done tests on Sapnap to see if they could truly afford to trust the man. They couldn’t afford information leaks, and the hero had the potential to be the biggest problem yet. They had told him that any device that had originally been his could pose a risk to them.
According to what they had told the man, they were currently in one of Quackity’s safe houses, all of which were seen as assets and seen as valuable. While that was true, it was one of the ones that was devoid of use to anyone but then. While they did feel a bit bad for lying to the man, blind trust was an even worse option.
Quackity had already told them that he had been childhood friends with the man, but that meant almost nothing. People change, and the hero committee had long gotten into the hero’s head anyway. They would know better than anyone about change. Phil had become abusive, Sally going from being a mentor to Tubbo to acting like he didn’t exist, regular testing of Ran’s abilities had become something much more sinister, and they had changed as well.
Even excluding what came before the academy. They had gone from devout students, to heroes, to… being dead. In a sense They were alive, but those kids who had a love of the heroes had died in that building collapse. “I don’t like this plan.” Ranboo muttered as they watched the cameras.
Tommy shrugged, sitting back in his red beanbag. “We can’t afford to make a mistake. He passed everything else with flying colors, why not try one more time?” While Tommy was acting casual, both of the others in the room saw through the façade. He had pushed for them to see if Sapnap was trustworthy more than either of them.
Tubbo chose not to say anything however, instead nodding. “Alright.” They watched the cameras as Sapnap entered the main room. They had told him that any device in the area could be detrimental to their goals as it would be easy to hack by the committee. While they hadn’t lied, it was an omission of truth. The devices that they brought in were more than immune to any tampering the committee wanted to do.
They had watched the meeting the heroes had, even Sally was stumped. It struck Tubbo, in that moment, that they were practically untouchable. The vigilantes were hesitant to start fights with them, they were friends with almost all of the top villains, and they beat the heroes in every way except fighting power. Even then, they could stand face to face with the dream team.
There were only three heroes that they saw a true threat. The SBI. They were the top heroes, and not for no reason. Tubbo shoved that thought to the back of his mind however. Sapnap had found the planted phone. “Now, let’s see…” He trailed off, not expecting the sight of Sapnap breaking the device in half.
“I was not expecting that.” Ran muttered. The thing about the phone, was that it was Sapnap’s. It wasn’t just random, it was the one they had pulled out of his bag. “I’ll be right back guys.” The teen disappeared, reappearing on the camera in full gear.
They had refused to show their identities to the man, so it wasn’t too much of a surprise. Well, more of one than somebody randomly popping up behind you would give. Sapnap screeched when Warp tapped on his shoulder. The villain tilted his head silently. Ranboo had decided to turn up the creepy factor around the hero, whether it was for fun or for some purpose Tubbo hadn’t been told.
Sapnap glanced at the broken phone in his hand and then back to Warp. He held out the pieces out to the villain. “Uh- you guys said devices would be a bad idea so I broke it, will that be enough to prevent the committee, I don’t know much about tech…” Warp stood up straight, making it so that Sapnap had to look up at him. Without a word, Warp took the pieces, and teleported away.
Unlike Sapnap, Tubbo didn’t even jump when Warp tapped on his shoulder. “So, what next?” His friend asked, slipping his mask back off his face. Ranboo dropped the broken pieces on the table. “Stage 2?”
Tubbo nodded, letting out a breath. “Stage two.”
Tommy got up with a grin, stretching with a loud pop of his shoulders and a yawn. “We can’t make him stay here forever that’s what guest rooms are for. Besides, I want to go home.” He muttered. Tubbo patted Tommy’s arm and walked to the elevator.
Tubbo turned around, “let’s go then. What’s one more secret right?” He stepped into the elevator, quickly pulling up his mask. They had all switched into their gear before coming, choosing to just not have their masks on while in the surveillance room. Tommy and Ranboo quickly followed him.
Sapnap turned at the ding of the elevator. He took a step back at the sight of them approaching. Tubbo was confused until he thought about it. Three villains walking towards him in a triangular formation that he had been on edge to be around all week. Tubbo mentally shrugged, it was probably fine. “I feel we owe you an explanation.” Tubbo said as a way of greeting.
Sapnap looked at them skeptically. “What do you mean?” He asked as Vengeance shoved the pieces into the man’s hand. “Uh, what’s going on? Why are you handing this to me?”
Vengeance was the first to speak, the metallic undercurrent from his voice changer made it hard to read his tone. “I’ll be the first to say I’m sorry, we didn’t trust you. We’ve been testing you.” He pointed at the broken phone. “That was the last one, you passed.”
Warp chuckled. Sapnap jumped slightly, he hadn’t heard Warp speak more than a couple words the entire time they’d been there. “We didn’t expect that you’d break it, I’ll be honest.”
“I- what?” Sapnap stuttered, if he had been an anime character his eyes would’ve been the little spirals. Tubbo almost snickered at the mental image. “Testing? I hadn’t noticed. I though you guys just wanted to help me…”
“We do!” Tubbo was quick to reassure before his tone softened. “But you know as well as we do how deep the committee burrows into our heads. We can’t afford any mistakes.” Sapnap sighed, nodding. “Though, this does mean we can move on to stage 2.” He grinned at Sapnap’s confused expression. “We’re getting you out of here.”
Sapnap seemed to be in a state of almost constant confusion, but that was okay. “What’s stage 2?” He asked, eyeing them warily. “…why are you looking at me like that?” Tubbo was aware his grin was almost manic looking, and Warp's oddly sharp teeth probably weren’t making his much better.
Vengeance cracked his neck. “Stage 2, is where the real planning begins. You’re going to move in to our apartment.” Sapnap’s jaw dropped. “Which means…”
“If you had a D&D alignment it would be chaotic chaotic-” He knew that wasn’t an actual thing, but his friend was probably chaotic enough to break the rules of nature anyway.
“Shut up T, that doesn’t exist. Masks off everyone?” Vengeance smirked, Sapnap opened his mouth seemingly to object. Tommy didn’t seem to care about the fact and simply pulled his mask off. With the loss of his voice changer the metallic tinge disappeared. “Nice to meet you properly…again. I don’t think I need to reintroduce myself?”
Tubbo sighed, pulling his own mask down around his neck. “Tommy you’re a fucking asshole. At least give the poor man time to process.” It was a bit funny though, he would admit. If the hero’s jaw was any lower it would likely be on the floor.
Ranboo chuckled, unhooking his masquerade-esk mask. Amusement colored his tone as he spoke. “You look like a fish out of water. Are you alright?”
Sapnap’s gaze quickly jumped between them. “You were those teens at Niki’s café! Wait, so do you know the identities of-”
Tommy suddenly jumped forward, slamming his hand over the hero’s mouth. His grin from only moments before had disappeared as his expression became serious. “Shut up.” He tilted his head, his gaze towards the ceiling. “Does anyone else hear that?” Tubbo strained his ears, for a second not knowing what he was talking about.
The ground suddenly shook, distant screams suddenly greeted his ears. It wasn’t from the warehouse luckily, but something was going on. Tubbo slipped his mask back on. “I sure as hell do now.”
Notes:
Poor Sapnap has no idea what's happening half the time and for some reason I haven't stopped finding it funny.
Seriously though, what do you guys think is happening?
Feel free to fix any mistakes you find in the chapter, I can't catch everything.
If you enjoyed this chapter, think about joining my Discord server! You can always be alerted when I update and it's just a nice place to hang out. We don't have very many people yet, but everyone (who is willing to follow the rules) is welcome!
Deadly Nightshades!
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Chapter 49: A break never caught
Notes:
TWs: Near death experiences, slight mind invasion, general fighting
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Tuesday at 7:04 pm / 19:04 - With Tommy
He quickly made his way out, the others not far behind. Sapnap had elected to stay behind, not wanting to risk going out. This turned out to be a good thing as they followed the hints of explosions to their source. Large scale battles were few and far between, bur it was always a mess when it happened. The last one had been their funeral, which they had only gotten because of Tommy’s connection to the SBI.
Tommy surveyed the battle from a nearby rooftop. Firecracker seemed to be the cause of the explosions. A new rocket went off every few seconds in a fierce fight with Redstone. The number 4 villain was one of the few not in the tight nit group most of the top ten had. Niki had told them that the man was elusive, not that the other top villains tried to reach out all that often anyway.
His rival was a vigilante. Aside from the most petty villains, they didn’t fight with vigilantes unless they were actively in the way. It was frowned upon for the most part, not that Firecracker seemed to care.
Plenty of the people in the hero/villain world had ‘rivals’. Duos that actively fought against each other and messed up each other’s plans as much as possible. Huntress and Gambler, the bench trio and Rose Thorn, Redstone and Firecracker. There were plenty more but at the moment those were the ones that mattered.
Rose Thorn was going against Spore, every movement left thorny brambles in her wake. Mosaic was toe to toe against Blade, his movements were hard to track, his presence also meant that they couldn’t trust everything they were seeing. “Holy shit. That’s one mess if I’ve ever seen one.” Tommy jumped as Diamond’s voice suddenly appeared behind him.
“Language Diamond.” Devil said. “You’re right though, that’s a huge mess. I’d rather you guys not dive into that but…” The villain fished into a small pocket Tommy hadn’t noticed before, pulling out some kind of device. “Can you guys hand me your earpieces for a second?” Tommy shrugged, reaching up to his ear and unhooking the safety mechanisms from his mask.
Both his and TNT’s earpieces were swiftly given over to the man. Devil tapped the device to them, quickly poking a few buttons on it. “Warp can I have yours?” Tommy only then noticed the hesitation in his friend’s gaze.
Warp’s hand was on his ear, touching the small device. His shoulders were ever so slightly hunched, his gaze seemingly miles away. Tommy bumped his shoulder and the villain seemed to return to the present. “Yeah… sorry.” Warp handed the small device over.
Devil shook his head, quickly turning to poke at the devices again. “Don’t apologize. You did nothing wrong.” He swiftly handed it back, Warp’s not taking as long as theirs had. “Now if you put those back on, you should be able to tune into the villain’s communication system.” Tommy looked at his then back up at Bad. “Fair warning though it can be quite-”
Tommy slipped it into his ear, immediately grimacing as a shout came through. “-OPE YOU DIE YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!” He rubbed his ear, glancing towards the field. He recognized the voice as Huntress, who was apparently trying very hard to stab Dream through the face. He poked at the device, turning the volume down a bit.
More talking slowly came through. “He’s only falling for half of these, I may need some help soon.” Mosaic’s voice came through, slowly growing slightly more concerned. Tommy glanced at where the man was located. He had several illusions up, a trick only time and practice had allowed him to be able to manage.
“I’ll be over there soon, let me try…. Oh, what the hell- he stabbed me!” Rose Thorn whined. “Now there’s blood on my clothes, I have to wash these later!” Tommy nearly laughed. They all had silencers built into their costumes so they could talk freely without the heroes hearing what they were saying when activated.
It was something the heroes knew about, but not a thing they had yet managed to get around. Despite being in the middle of a fight, the villains apparently still had the time to tease each other. “It’s rather childish to whine Rose- oi stop sending vines after me! Mother fucker-!” Gambler quickly devolved into swearing, now having to deal with brambles as well as Salmon.
Tommy had never understood the woman’s hero name. This was once again brought to mind as she changed color once more to fit the surrounding environment. Gambler’s job was just continuously becoming harder.
“Is it childish to cut out your fucking tongue?” Rose Thorn replied, finally letting the vines tripping up her friend disappear. Salmon didn’t get a chance to readjust to the change leading Gambler to have the opening he needed to send her flying with a well-placed card.
“Language!” Devil chided towards the two as he fitted his own earpiece on.
Tommy finally let his mic come one after shaking his head, he let his voice broadcast across the channels. “Let’s not cut out each other’s tongues. Unless it’s Mosaic’s, I still haven’t forgiven him for that pie to the face.”
“Oh fuck off Vengeance.” Mosaic’s snappy response came immediately, ignoring the complaints from devil. “You guys coming into the fray?” Tommy let out a hum of affirmation, quickly hopping off the building. He smirked when a small platform of vines quickly caught him out of the air. “Of course you had to be dramatic.” Mosaic muttered, but there was a barely noticeable air of fondness in his tone.
And so, the fight began. The villains were coordinating to make sure none of them got over whelmed by any of the groups. The first thing Tommy did was bat one of Firecracker’s rockets to the side with his staff to prevent it from hitting Redstone, the vigilante gave him a quick nod of appreciation before going back to his fight.
Redstone fought with more machines than his actual powers. No one was quite sure what his abilities truly were. Some said that he could pull things out of thin air while others tried to claim that the man was invincible. Not that Tommy had the time to focus on the odd man as new heroes arrived. Some he didn’t recognize, though he did remember two. Sphynx and Assassin.
Warp’s voice came through only moments after he spotted the new arrivals. “We’ve got 7 and 8 on our tails now!” The warning came just in time as visibility lowered, sand swirling through the area violently. The only drawback that Tommy was aware of was that the hero couldn’t control who the sands did and didn’t hit/surround. “I can barely see, I won’t be as able to teleport anyone out.”
Tommy looked around, trying to catch sight of his friends. A knife suddenly dug into his arm, making him hiss in pain. He spun around trying to locate the source, noticing another dagger just in time to deflect it. Tommy grit his teeth as he locked eyes with his attacker. Assassin had superspeed from what he was aware of, he was silent too. The man was a dangerous opponent, one that very few actually ended up fighting.
Much to the chagrin of the hero committee, the hero mainly went after smaller villains. Last Tommy had checked, the man held the world record for most villains caught in a week. The white ears on the hero’s head weren’t pinned back as they usually were, instead pointed straight up. Tommy didn’t waste time, quickly going invisible. Assassin hopped forward, slashing at where his neck had been moments before.
Tommy let out a breath of surprise, which turned out to be a mistake as Assassin quickly aimed towards him once more. Tommy silently cursed. Cat hybrids, which is likely what the hero was, had exceptional hearing. Which means he’d have to rely on speed. The sandstorm raging around them didn’t seem to be bothering the hero oddly enough. Tommy spun his staff, just barely missing making a blow to Assassin’s side as the hero lunged once again.
Unexpectedly however, Redstone dove in, catching Assassin’s arm before the skirmish could continue. The hero whirled to attack the vigilante only to freeze as he saw who it was. Tommy’s eyes narrowed as the vigilante slowly shook his head before jumping back into the maelstrom. Assassin quickly rolled, creating space between them before disappearing into the chaos of the rest of the battle.
Tommy’s stomach suddenly dropped and he stumbled. Purple particles swirled around him. He glanced at Warp, who now had a hand resting on his shoulder. “Salmon.” The villain explained, his tail sweeping at the air behind him giving away his agitation. “She almost snuck up on you.”
“Thanks Warp.” Tommy nodded in response. Warp let out an odd endarin sounding coo before teleporting away. Tommy tapped his earpiece, crouching down. “Guys something odd happened. Assassin seemed to listen to Redstone.”
“That’s odd-” Niki’s voice panted, he tried to see who she was fighting but it was hard to tell with the storm. “Why would- fuck, one sec-.” Her voice cut out as she seemingly turned off her earpiece.
“And I was curious of why Devil doesn’t yell about our language during fights- but yeah that is really weird. What hero listens to a vigilante?” TNT’s voice asked over the system. “I’ll see if I can look into that when we get- another vigilante alert!” The device let out a pleasant hum, switching back to over a private line between the trio. “Can anybody hear me?”
Both Warp and Tommy said they could. “Good I was making sure none of the others could. Guys it’s UFO. We need to see if we can get him out of here. His stiches can’t be fully healed yet!” Tommy swore silently, quickly moving to try to find the teen. “Vengeance you’re the most-” he paused for a moment “-free right now, can you take of it?”
“Already on it.” Tommy replied. He was thankful of his vantage point on the rooftop as he surveyed the field. Civilian bodies littered the ground, but those had been there when they had arrived. By now anyone who was going to escape the conflict already had. “Fuck, where are you Purp…”
Then he finally caught sight of the vigilante color drained from his face. UFO was fighting Crow with Huntress. “Shit-” he switched is earpiece back on. “WE HAVE A PROBLEM! HE’S FIGHTING CROW!” Tommy started running. Crow was not to be trifled with, especially for someone who was still recovering from a fatal injury.
Not that it mattered much. The next moments came in slow motion. Crow diving down, his legs turning into giant scaled talons, then they were in they air. Both Huntress and UFO struggled against the hold only to stop as they realized how high they were…. Only for Crow to drop them. They had almost reached the clouds when they slipped from his grasp, he had likely over estimated how much he could carry. Tommy didn’t stop running. “VENGENCE CAREFUL-”
He didn’t stop running when the warnings of his friend’s hit his ears, he didn’t stop when the edge of the building raced up and he realized that he couldn’t jump to the next. No, he didn’t stop. “VENGENCE STOP-” Purple particles swirled around him, but Warp’s hand just barely missed his costume as he rocketed off.
“Trust the air, death shall not have you or your kin yet my child.” Wind whistled past his ears, but an oddly familiar voice was still clear. Something tore through his skin, warm blood soaking through his costume. Yet his body never hit the ground, wings of a dark red color split the air with giant heaves. He raced forward through the air, letting instinct take over the use of the new limbs on his back.
A huge bird, larger than he’d even seen, dove through the air, catching UFO. He stopped focusing on catching both. He could only hope that whatever that thing was it was a shapeshifted Fox. The screams of Huntress were shrill, but he ignored them.
He slammed into her mid-air. She clung onto him which didn’t help as he tried to adjust to using the wings with added weight. A minute later he touched down on the ground, pain shooting through his legs with the impact. He didn’t think they were broken, but he wasn’t sure he could fight anymore.
Huntress was bent down on the ground, looking as if she might throw up. Tommy stumbled, though a crystal shot up to his left that he quickly grabbed onto. For the first time since the hero causing it had arrived, Tommy was grateful for the sandstorm as the other villains quickly made their ways over. “Are you both alright?” Devil asked without preamble.
Tommy looked down at Huntress, then the crystal holding most of his weight, then back to Devil. “Short answer? No. Long answer….”
“Long answer… what?” Dimond asked as he walked up and stood next to his partner. TNT rolled his eyes when he saw the slight grin on Tommy’s face. Warp quickly teleported over to support Tommy, allowing him to let go of the crystal.
“The long answer is…. Nooooooooooo.” Mosaic walked up behind him, quickly hitting him lightly in the back of the head. Tommy made a look of mock offence. “How dare you injure me more? I just saved your best friend!” He looked up, the sandstorm was easing up. The sound of alarms being sounded signaled a retreat. “They’re retreating.” He muttered.
“I’ll address the elephant in the room since no one else is going to, Tommy you have… extra limbs.” Gambler said, gesturing to the wings sitting uncomfortably on his back. “I feel we should probably talk about how the fuck that happened.”
“Language.” Devil said, glaring at Gambler. He turned his attention back to Tommy. “I do have to agree with Q however. Since when could you randomly sprout wings?” Tommy didn’t really have an answer to that question, but he could at least explain what he did. Though their cover was running out, and it would be a bit of a mess if it was shown that the top villains could be around each other without fighting.
“Since 2 minutes ago. Let’s go though, we can talk more in a safe location.” He replied.
Notes:
Aaaaaaaand cut! How was that one everybody? It's a longer chapter again! I have been planning that scene since the first red feather showed up lol
Chapter 50: Memories we thought we'd buried long ago
Notes:
This chapter was brought to you by Goodbye by Bo Burnham on repeat!
TWs: Past character death,
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
[Years back] - With Tommy
He had always loved his father’s wings. It was rare for avian hybrids to have wings, and that just made them even more special in Tommy’s eyes. Tests had shown that Tommy was incredibly likely to develop the power and he was beyond excited. “What’s it like? Can you eat the clouds? Are they hard to use-” The child’s incessant questioning was cut off by a chuckle from his dad.
A large and familiar field spanned out in front of them, a singular tree sat in the middle of the area. They had taken a family day a week earlier and just hung around the tree. Maybe if he was lucky, he’d get to put flowers into Phil’s hair like he had with Techno’s. “Since you’ll be getting wings soon, I thought I’d teach you a bit about them.” The child’s eyes shone with excitement.
Phil scooped him up into his arms, jumping up into the air and rocketing towards the sky. Tommy clung on desperately, but his excitement and wonder quickly overtook his fear. There was only a small spattering of clouds in the sky that day, and Phil went towards one. They flew through it, water assaulting Tommy’s face. He giggled as they emerged out the other side. It just felt so right to be up in the air.
Unfortunately, they had to go back to the ground, it wasn’t like they could stay in the clouds forever. They spent hours in that field. Tommy blissfully unaware of the sadness lingering behind his dad’s smile. They had been about to go back into the sky when Phil’s phone rang.
The smile on his dad’s face immediately disappeared. “We have to go. Now.”
An hour later they arrived at the hospital. A perfectly sunny day had slowly turned dark as rain began to fall. The radio had blared about flash floods. It hadn’t been meant to rain that day at all, which is why his dad had chosen that day specifically to go out. Tommy still hadn’t been told what was going on as they walked in.
“Philza Watson and Tommy Watson. We’re here to visit Kristen.” His dad said, his hand in an iron grip around Tommy’s own. The secretary quickly ushered them to a long hallway, her tone tight. If not for the serious expression on his dad’s face Tommy would’ve asked if the woman was okay.
“Her condition has only gotten worse, and the doctors don’t think she has long left. We’re suspecting…” She paused, as if not wanting to say her next words. “That she may not live through the night.” Who was the lady talking about? Usually, they only came to visit his mama. A little crow came and sat on his shoulder, the bird being all too familiar.
Tommy stroked its soft feathers with his free hand. He recognized the route they were taking, they were heading towards his mom’s room. Which didn’t make sense! They lady had said that ‘that she may not live through the night’. His mom was strong! She’d be fine! Tears were building in his eyes.
They reached the door, and Phil told Tommy to go in first. The foot of the bed faced the door. The bed was tall, almost the same height he was. Devices of all kinds were scattered through out the room, no small number connected to the bed in the center of the room. A heart monitor beeped steadily to the left side, the small green line concerningly low.
None of that was what caught Tommy’s attention, however. His mother was sitting up, all those devices connected to her instead of the bed. Her skin was taut and pale. Her long black hair was unusually thin, strands of gray running through it as if she was 70 instead of 24. “Mama!” He yelled, running to the side of the bed. Her eyes were closed, her chest going up and down slowly.
He knew what death was, but it shouldn’t get to have his mom yet! She opened her eyes slowly, turning her head towards him. Her soft smile was still on her lips, despite the dark purple veins running up her arms from her fingertips. “Hey little-” she was cut off by a coughing fit, every word seeming to strain her. “-little crowling. How are you baby?” She reached and ruffled his hair, the movement was familiar, usually he’d complain.
His knuckles were turning white from how hard he was gripping the bed frame. “Will you be okay mama…?” He asked, his voice quiet. Tears fell down his face as silence stretched on after his question. “You’ll be okay mama…. Right?” The unnatural veins on her arm were visibly lengthening, slowly but it was still noticeable. The lines had almost reached her shoulder.
His mom was shaking as she reached out to pat his head once more. “I’ll always watch over you, my son.” He didn’t like that Kristen hadn’t told him she’d be okay. At the same time something in him told him that she couldn’t promise that. “You’ll grow up to be a fine young man, I just know it.” The door opened as she finished her statement.
Phil stood there, his wings drooping at the miserable sight that was his wife and Tommy’s mom. “Hey Kristen.” He said, his voice soft.
If Tommy had known that would be the last time he’d ever get to see his mom, he didn’t think he would’ve followed her request when she asked him to give them a minute. He walked out the door. The oddly silent hallway doing nothing to comfort the small boy. He’d been in the hospital few times before his mom had gotten sick.
It had been nothing like this. Here, the walls were bare and white, only broken by the out lines of the tiles and the blue line running along the floor. Tommy in a chair next to the door, the secretary was gone, but a nurse now stood next to the other side of the door. The man was going over notes on a clipboard.
Footsteps suddenly echoed down the hall, lots of footsteps. Doctors and nurses all in bio-hazard gear raced down the hallway. His dad was pulled out of the room, kicking and screaming to be allowed to be beside his face.
Tommy tried to run into the room, though he was pulled back. Phil had given up trying to go in, instead sinking to the floor and sobbing into the unsympathetic ground. Three more pairs of footsteps rounded the corner. Puffy’s expression was grim, tears fell down her face. Techno and Wilbur were worse, their expressions could only be described as a mix of panic and heartbreak.
Tommy rocketed forward, clinging onto Puffy’s leg.
[Present day] - with Tommy
“-Tommy?” A soft voice asked, and his gaze was torn away from the wings on his back. Tubbo and Ranboo had helped get the remaining blood off his form, they had taken great care with the task. Only an avian’s ‘flock’ were usually allowed to touch their wings, something the two knew. “You alright? You’re crying.” Hannah was looking at him with concern. “Do you need a minute?” She asked.
He wiped the fresh tears off his face, sniffling. “No.. it- it’s fine.” His tone quickly strengthening. “They just…” He glanced at the appendages again. The day he’d been taught most about wings had been the same day his mom had died. “…bring back memories is all.”
Tommy didn’t usually accept hugs from people, but when Ranboo hugged him in that moment he couldn’t find it in himself to push him away. His friend was thankfully careful to avoid touching anywhere near his wings were set on his back as well as the wings themselves. Ranboo and Tubbo knew which memories he was referring to. They had done deep-dives into both his and Ranboo’s trauma before.
Tubbo didn’t remember anything before the academy, which is something they were still trying to figure out the cause of. The other villains looked at a loss as Tubbo also came up and hugged him. As much as neither party would admit it, they had adopted the trio, and it likely bothered them immensely that they didn’t know how to help him.
He’d almost wish to get to talk to Puffy again. His one regret was not telling the woman what their plan was when they left. It had been all too dangerous however; she was a good person at heart but also a devout hero. He would’ve liked to think she would abandon the heroes for him, but he knew that the thought was naïve.
Eventually, his friends let him go and he finally hobbled over to a chair to sit down. They had ended up going to Bad and Skeppy’s house. Niki was in no state to talk after almost being delivered straight into deaths claws. Eventually they all got settled down, Eret arriving only a couple minutes later. “Okay, so we should probably start with how exactly that happened, if you’re willing to share.” Jack was the first one to speak, gesturing at the wings.
Tommy took in a deep breath, slowly letting it out. “Truth be told,” he looked around the room, meeting everyone’s eyes one by one. “I don’t really know myself. It’s had to explain but I just kind of… knew? That if I jumped off, I’d be alright. I heard a voice I think, as I was falling. But I couldn’t really tell who or what the voice was.”
This interested the others in the room, except for Eret, who only seemed to go a few shades paler at the news. “What did it say?” She asked, their tone unusually serious, it borderlined on panic. Tommy didn’t reply for a second, having been caught off guard. “Tommy. What did it say? And was it masculine or feminine?”
Tommy shook his head. “I don’t really remember what it said either, but I think it was feminine.” Eret let out a breath of relief, slumping into his spot on the couch. They had all (excluding Tommy and Niki) dragged over chairs and other furniture to sit on into the living room. Everything was arranged in a circle so that they were all facing each other. “…Does it matter?” He asked hesitantly.
Eret tensed slightly, before nodding. He didn’t say anything else on the subject however, or anything at all really, seemingly lost in thought. Silence stretched on for another few moment before it was broken by Quackity. “Could we get a good look at them? If you’re uncomfortable with the idea you can say no. An avian’s wings are a precious thing.” The man would know, being an avian himself.
Tommy hesitated for a moment before turning around. He pulled his shirt off and the people in the room gasped. “I’ve never seen that before…” Skeppy murmured softly. “Quackity you’re the wing expert, have you ever seen or heard of anything like that?”
Notes:
Lore. Lots and lots of lore this chapter. The first part of the chapter hurt me to write, but it turned out so well.
What happened with Tubbo that he can't remember? What's going on with Tommy's wings? I know this chapter likely raised a few questions, and they will be answered in time.
Also, 11,000 hits!? I am absolutely honored! Thank you all being here and reading my story!
If you enjoyed this chapter, think about joining my Discord server! You can always be alerted when I update and it's just a nice place to hang out. We don't have very many people yet, but everyone (who is willing to follow the rules) is welcome!
Deadly Nightshades!
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Chapter 51: Hackers never mind their own business
Notes:
Took longer than usual but it's finally done! I hope you enjoy! :D
TWs: hacking, mentions of kiddnapping
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Tuesday at 7:48 pm / 19:48 - With Mumbo
As the heroes called their retreat, Mumbo took refuge in a partially collapsed building. Well, it wasn’t really refuge because he wasn’t actually hurt at all, but it was a nice little resting spot. He took a deep breath as he pulled the red mask down around his neck. He had his eyes closed, but he recognized familiar footsteps before something thumped down beside him. “Hey Grian.” He grinned.
“It’s been like half an hour Mumbo. It has not been that long.” His friend replied, his Firecracker voice changer disappearing mid-way through his words. “Was pretty fun though.”
Two more pairs of footsteps approached. “Speak for yourself, I was on a video call with Jellie when they forced us out.” Sphynx complained, Assassin shaking his head next to him. “You’re both unharmed though, right? I have some extra health potions in my inventory need be.” The man pulled off his full-face cat mask off as he spoke, tossing it into the air where it then disappeared.
Mumbo looked at the health bar in the corner of his vision. “I’m all good. With my armor I’m pretty much invincible to anything they have here anyway. What about you Grian?”
Grian shrugged, stretching his arms above his head. “My armor is as good as yours Mumbo. The only thing that could really get to me is one of those stupid end crystals.” They’d taken to blowing each other up with the things a few thousand years back and it was still amusing even now. Though they’d agreed to a truce until they were back home. End crystals were not a common sight to these people, other dimensions had faded into myths long ago.
Scar chuckled. “I still check over my shoulder every now and then to make sure one of you hasn’t dropped one behind me.”
Etho shook his head again, though his smile was fond. “I’m still glad I wasn’t there to join your boat cult. Getting blown up and having to retrieve my stuff every five seconds would be a pain. Also, you couldn’t pay me to attend one of your nightmare meetings.”
“Hey! I work hard to set up those meetings!” Grian squawked indignantly. “Besides, you haven’t gotten shoved into the boatem hole enough to be considered to join our group. Also, stop saying it’s a cult. We’re not a cult.” They’d only admitted it being like a cult once, and they wouldn’t ever again.
“Tell that to Tango, Bdubs, Keralis, Doc, and Ren,” The sabretooth hybrid counted the people off on his fingers. “Who you all decided to drop entire boat monsters on just to make a point.” Etho’s expression was deadpan as he spoke, but amusement danced in his eyes.
Mumbo grinned. “That was totally worth it. Those weren’t really the message anyway, that’s what the giant boat in the sky was for.” Which Grian and Tango had to clean up a week later, but the message had still been successfully sent. His expression then turned serious, “Speaking of Tango, does anyone know why the meeting was pushed back? All me and Grian heard was that it had to be shoved back, much to Death’s messenger’s annoyance.”
Etho rubbed his temples with four fingers, sighing. “Yeah, that would be me and Scar.” The groups attention moved to the man, and he took it as the sign it was to continue his explanation. “With Fire-Fist missing the hero committee is paying a frustrating amount of attention. We could just leave, it’s not like they could really stop us if they wanted to, but that would mean giving up the game.” He wasn’t wrong. The mortals had no idea how to kill them, much less how to stop them from simply respawning.
He would admit to missing his elytra though. Being able to fly everywhere was incredibly convenient. Yet that was another thing the rest of the world somehow had forgotten and then still hadn’t figured out. “We need to put more effort into finding him then.” Mumbo said, his expression unusually serious.
Grian bumped his shoulder in a comforting manner. They couldn’t leave until they found what they were looking for. What Mumbo was looking for. Grian then stood, stretching once again. “Yeah, has anyone asked Pearl if she’s found anything yet? I heard you two had already asked her to take a look?” He addressed his question towards Etho and Scar.
Scar nodded in response. “We did! Unfortunately, she ran into a few… issues.”
A day prior – with Etho
“Find anything yet?” Etho asked with a grin. Armor stands were great when it came to making it look like he was still at the hero tower. He’d been bothering Pearl for the past hour, but it was all in good fun and they both knew if she legitimately asked him to stop he would. The woman was still in her vigilante gear, purple swirling mask on her face was still firmly in place. It was just a simple curved plate, feeling like metal but constantly swirling like a liquid. It didn’t have eye holes like most did, but Etho knew she could see perfectly well.
They knew each other’s identities, they’d been friends for longer than the country they were in existed, but just hadn’t bothered to take off their masks. She groaned, her head dropping onto the desk in front of her. “For the 837th time Assassin, I haven’t found anything.” She picked her head back up. “whoever took this guy did a good job doing it.”
He opened his mouth to respond, wholeheartedly planning to keep asking the same question again, until an error flashed up onto his friend’s monitors. He went silent, getting up from the couch he’d been sitting on to look over her shoulder. She honed in. “What the…” She trailed off, her fingers dancing across the keyboard much faster than they had only moments earlier.
Going into the code her lips slowly curled into a slight snarl. “Oh no you don’t.” Errors popped up across the different screens. Without pausing for even a moment, she addressed him. “Someone’s trying to get into my cam system.” His eyes widened with surprise, suddenly paying even more attention. That wasn’t good, at all. “Understatement of the century.” Right, he always forgot that she was a mind reader.
All her screens suddenly went black, a single message popping up in a large yellow box on each monitor.
‘You’re better than Sally. I’m impressed, you have my respect. :)’
They shared a look. It seemed like whoever was trying to hack into her stuff was tired of fighting. A text box sat right under the words, obviously inviting a response. “Who’s Sally?” Pearl asked, directing the question towards him.
It took him a minute before the name clicked in his head. “That’s Salmon’s real name…” He trailed off. After a moment of hesitation and a deep breath, she typed into the box. ‘Who are you and why are you trying to get into my stuff?’
The box disappeared and another popped up into its place nearly immediately. ‘A teenager with too much time and too much spite’ He gave the screen a dubious look. No teenager could beat someone who was almost 3,000 years old. Then more words appeared just under that. ‘As for why I’m trying to get into your stuff, I don’t want you to find what you’re looking for.’
‘And how would you know what I’m looking for? Random teenager.’ She quickly typed out her response, and leaned back in her chair. While everything else had been immediate, there was no response for a long moment.
Then it finally came, and she shot up in her chair. ‘because we’re the ones who took him’ more text appeared before she got a chance to respond. ‘I don’t know why you’re looking for him, but I can tell you’re not heroes. So, I will tell you this, he’s safe.’
‘Nice to know, but not why I’m looking. We need him returned to where he was.’ She replied, Etho snorting in amusement.
‘Oh? Why is that?’
They had to be very careful what they told this person here. “Maybe say he’s getting in the way of our own plans by being missing?” Etho suggested, Pearl nodded, quickly typing it in.
‘Is it the search for him itself what’s getting in your way?’ Pearl typed in an affirmative. ‘Seems like there’s less of a problem than there could’ve been. A bit less than a month. That’s all we’re going to take. Then whatever you have going on can continue.’ With that, the box disappeared for a final time and each monitor was returned to what it had been on.
Present day - with Etho
“Well then.” Mumbo said with a look of surprise as Etho finished the story, his expression mirrored by the others. “Did she manage to figure out who it was?” Etho shook his head. As much as the woman had tried to reverse hack the ‘teen’, she couldn’t find the IP or anything else.
Grian grinned. “So that’s not really our problem. We can tell Tango and Death’s messenger that it’ll be around a month.” He glanced at the open window, pulling his mask up around his face. “We have to go, the heroes will be looking for you guys soon.”
With that and a few words of departure, the group separated. Something told him it was going to be one hell of a ride for the next little while.
Notes:
How was that? I know most people are here for the DSMP crew but I just finished season 8 of hermitcraft so they were fresh on my mind. This was an important chapter for the lore, so I hope you paid attention.
See you next chapter! :DIf you enjoyed this, feel free to check out my other stories! You can also join my discord server! You can always be alerted when I update and it's just a nice place to hang out. We don't have very many people, but everyone (who is willing to follow the rules) is welcome!
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Chapter 52: Tattoos! Wait that shouldn't be there-
Chapter Text
Tuesday at 7:54 pm / 19:54 - With Quackity
“Quackity you’re the wing expert, have you ever seen or heard of anything like that?” No, no he hadn’t. Tommy hadn’t had any tattoos, but there one was in the middle of his back. A single black feather tattoo surrounded by jagged back lines that reached out about 3 inches (7.62 cm) away from the feather before stopping. It sat right between where his two wings were attached to his back.
That wasn’t all there was, however. The coloration of Tommy’s wings was like nothing he’d ever seen. The feathers closest to his back were almost green looking, the color getting more prominent by the second. The neon green then transitioned to harsh black feathers, which almost seemed to suck in the light. Then there was the blood red coloration of the rest of his wings, which also shouldn’t have been possible.
Tommy’s father was Crow, the fact was common knowledge. It was the only reason the hero committee had set up a funeral for them instead of covering their deaths up like they did with their other new heroes. As much as the teen disowned the number one hero, they were still blood related. His wings should’ve been that same almost-black coloration. The black on Tommy’s wings was different from the hero’s as well however, while Crow’s weren’t quite black, Tommy’s were, at least the one part was.
Even without the odd coloration the symbol on Tommy’s back gave Quackity a bad feeling. “why didn’t either of you mention the symbol of the weird coloring?” He directed his question towards the teen’s teammates. They had helped clean the blood off his wings, which means they should’ve seen both the coloring and the symbol.
Tubbo, however, was also staring at the wings of his friend with a look of shock. “Because they weren’t there five minutes ago.”
Tommy shifted. “I’m getting more and more concerned about whatever the hell you all are looking at. Can someone please take a picture!?” Moments later a phone was deposited into Tommy’s hand. “What the actual fuck… What the hell is that!?” He knew that wasn’t there, but now Tommy had confirmed it.
“This is giving me some major deja-vu. This is like what happened when that mark appeared on you Quackity.” Hannah pointed out. The room’s attention moved to him, and he let out a sigh. Hannah grimaced, a look of something akin to panic flashing across her face. “Shit. Sorry I forgot I wasn’t supposed to-”
“No it’s fine Hannah. I was thinking about asking if anyone knew anything about it sometime anyway.” With that, he pulled the collar of his shirt down and to the right, revealing a tattoo. Hannah had been there when it appeared, it’d caused both of them quite a fright when it appeared. “It’s something called a ‘totem of undying’. Supposedly they could give someone a second chance at life in ancient myths. I have no clue how it got there; I wasn’t drunk when it appeared meaning it couldn’t be something I’d gotten while intoxicated.”
Eret narrowed his eyes, peering closer at it. “I feel like I’ve seen that before. I can’t remember where…”
Skeppy sighed. “Okay. So, to recap,” the room’s attention shifted once more. “Two people we know had random symbols appear out of nowhere, one being something from myths and the other appear when said person grew wings when they supposedly were never supposed to come in.” Silence followed his words. “Anything else I forgot?”
“Oh!” Tubbo spoke up, glancing at Quackity. “We won’t be needing that safehouse now. You can have it back.”
Quackity smiled in amusement. “Can I know what you guys needed it for yet?” They’d refused to tell him for some reason, all the explanation they gave him was that it was for something important. If it was important to them, it was important to him, and he gave it over without much trouble.
Tubbo shook his head, a wide smile on his face. The look in the teen’s eyes told him that the trio was up to mischief. Ranboo sighed. “Guys we have to go.” Quackity could’ve sworn they were going to get whiplash with how many times the room’s attention moved. He met Tommy and Tubbo’s eyes. “We left our little…. ‘project’ alone.”
“Oh shit!” Tommy jumped up, though he almost fell over due to the new weight on his back. “Yeah we’ve got to go.” He quickly threw on his shirt and looked towards Ran. No one else looked happy with the idea, but Ranboo grabbed both his teammates and disappeared before anyone had the time to speak up.
“Well fuck.” Niki’s voice said, still sounding shaken as she walked into the room. “What’d I miss.”
With Ranboo
They reappeared in the safehouse in a flurry of purple particles. He to move immediately and catch Tommy due to the fact his friend hadn’t learned to balance with the new weights on his back. Sapnap jumped back, likely not expecting them to appear out of nowhere. His eyes were immediately drawn to Tommy’s new wings, and his jaw dropped. “…Where the fuck did those come from?”
Tommy chuckled, standing up straight with a little difficulty. “It’s a long story. One we’ll have time to tell you. Tubbo?”
His friend grinned. He seemed to be doing a lot of that. Reaching into his bag, he retrieved a small device and handed it to Sapnap. “This,” he paused before laughing, “is very precious number one, so don’t break it or I’ll have your head.” Sapnap shrunk back slightly at the threat, looking like he’d rather be any where else. Tubbo ignored him, continuing with his explanation. “Number two, it will help you cloak you identity. Anyone you designate will not be able to see your face as it truly is.”
Sapnap went from staring at the device with fear to staring at Tubbo with shock. Tommy chuckled. “We knew we couldn’t walk free without something like this. All it would take would be Phil or techno to walk by and our freedom could be ripped away.”
His voice switched, the sorrowful tone disappearing. “They came in handy actually, Tubbo caught our school on fire because he wanted an extra bomb using free resources and Puffy had to go check it out to make sure it wasn’t you. Apparently, they have it so any fire has to be checked out by the top ten personally.” Ranboo couldn’t really tell if the shock on Sapnap’s face was from Tommy’s words or the casual way he said them.
Tubbo clapped. “Since I predesignated everyone in the hero tower we can go ahead and get going. Just keep that on your person and you should be fine until we make it back to our apartment.”
“I- you know what, okay. Let’s get going then.” The poor man sounded almost defeated.
Ranboo patted the hero’s shoulder. “It’ll be alright. We’ll answer all your questions soon, and then we can put the finishing touches on your ‘death’.”
Notes:
Well that was quite the ride. Not much longer until we can officially call Sapnap a free man. :D
If you're enjoying this, feel free to check out my other stories! You can also join my discord server! You can always be alerted when I update and it's just a nice place to hang out. We don't have very many people, but everyone (who is willing to follow the rules) is welcome!
Deadly Nightshades!
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Chapter 53: Conversations to be had
Chapter Text
With Sapnap
Sapnap was almost glad for them leaving to go take care of that fight. It gave him time to process the new information he’d been given before their departure. They’d been gone for almost an hour, only to reappear with a new addition. Two appendages that quite obviously weren’t on Tommy’s back beforehand. Instead of explaining, they gave him a device that didn’t even sound like it could exist and shuffled him out the door.
It occurred to him that he’d not seen the sun in like a week as they walked out. He grimaced, covering his eyes. It was windy, but clear. The three villains were in casual clothes, which was an odd sight when his brain still saw them as Warp, Vengeance, and TNT.
Warp was no longer black and white for one. Instead appearing completely human except for a long black scaled tail that ended in a small white tuff of fur. In his villain outfit, his eyes were a deep glowing purple, but in civilian form he had one red and one green eye. Neither of which glowed.
TNT and Vengeance had much less of a difference in terms of appearance. In his villain outfit, TNT’s left eye was bright yellow, the pupil was shaped like a biohazard sign. He’d seen and heard a bunch of people talking about how freaky the teen’s eyes were.
Vengeance had the least of a change out of all of them. His hair was slightly lighter, and he’d also hidden his wings, but that was about it.
They looked… causal. The air of danger around them was still there, but it was much less noticeable when Tubbo decided to jump onto Ranboo’s back with no warning and then proceeded to get a piggyback ride. Judging from how little Ranboo reacted, this was something that happened regularly. They were chatting amongst themselves, and Sapnap would admit he felt out of place. He couldn’t help checking over his shoulder every few seconds, like Dream would pop up and try to convince him to go back to the hero tower.
That wouldn’t happen, however. His hand strayed down towards the device at his hip. They had made sure that he’d be safe. It still didn’t stop him from jumping at every sound. Heroes spent almost every waking minute fighting. Minor heroes worked in the city, taking down fledgling villains before they could be come an issue. Top heroes were sent out of the capital when bigger villains arose, not to mention having to handle the biggest villains.
His eyes drifted towards his new companions at that thought. Judging off of the current plans for his ‘death’, they’d likely be brought way up in the danger ranking. “Finally! Home sweet home!” Sapnap startled out of his thoughts at the sudden exclamation from Tommy. They hadn’t really said anything about where they lived, but Sapnap assumed they had a house of some sort.
That assumption turned out to be wrong. A tall apartment building stretched up into the air in front of them. It was higher end, neat balconies made of glass with clean brick. Tommy led the way in through the door, giving the secretary a short wave. “Hi Samantha! I trust that no one’s been problematic?”
The brown-haired woman smiled as she looked up from her computer screen. “Hello you three! Just the usual karens. You know how it is.” Waving her hand dismissively over her shoulder as she spoke, she used her other hand to throw a small ring of keys to Tubbo. The teen caught it without any issue, which wasn’t all that surprising when Sapnap thought about it. Training in the academy then being put in the field for several years would condition anyone to move smoothly. “I kept your keys safe as you asked. Purpled did come by yesterday, but I told him you guys weren’t home.” Purpled? Who was that? Sapnap glanced at Ranboo questioningly, but the villain just shook his head. Looks like that wasn’t a question he’d get an answer to.
“Thanks Samantha! We owe you one!” Tommy grinned before motioning towards the elevator. “Let’s go guys.”
A few minutes later they finally walked into the trio’s apartment on the top floor. The first thing they emerged into was the living room. A black wrap around couch sat in the middle of the room. In front of it was a coffee table and a large TV mounted on the far wall. Floor lamps stood in each corner of the room, though they were off for the moment. It was rather dark; the overhead light was also off and the only light coming in was from the windows that covered the entirety of one wall.
In the middle of the window wall was a glass door, leading to a balcony with two metal padded chairs. He’d be worried about it being a security risk except for a couple key reasons. Who would want to break into random teenager’s apartments? If they did, they wouldn’t survive an encounter with the trio, and third the villains probably had the place trapped all to hell. With that thought he looked around. Better be extra careful actually.
Tubbo ran forward, vaulting over the couch and grabbing a remote off one of the cushions. He pointed it at the lamps, clicking a button. The lamps came to life, bathing the room in a soft green light. “Best purchase we ever made.” Tommy snickered as he pulled off his shoes, setting them on the shoe rack on the right side of the door.
The floor was made of wood, no carpet or rug in sight. Sapnap saw that as a bit odd, but not all that important. Sapnap followed the villain’s lead. He didn’t know the rules of their home, and he wouldn’t want to accidentally be disrespectful or something.
As he walked further in he could take in more of the room. Two chairs sat at each end of the couch, one being blue and the other green. He’d thought that maybe he just hadn’t seen a rug due to the fact that the door was set behind the couch, but as he walked around the piece of furniture that turned out to not be the case. Most people had rugs and carpet in their living rooms right? Then again these weren’t normal people.
“It’s in-case we get injured.” Ranboo said, staring at him. Sapnap startled slightly. He opened his mouth to question what the villain was talking about, but Ranboo cut him off. “You’re confused about the lack of carpets, right?”
Sapnap’s jaw clicked shut. Could the villain read minds!? That didn’t make sense!? “A friend of our asked when he first came over, he had the same expression.” That made a bit more sense, was still a bit weird though. “It’s easier to clean blood out of wood than carpet.” Not that it really mattered. Some people were convinced the trio was invincible considering there was only one time anyone had been able to draw any kind of blood. And that had only been while Vengeance had gone completely murderous .
“Boo stop being creepy. Wait for people to ask their questions before you answer them.” Tommy chided his friend. Sapnap was once again reminded that he was the outsider here as Ranboo simply grinned in response. Tommy then turned towards him. “Now, we told you that we’d answer any questions you have, so sit down somewhere and you can freely interrogate us.”
Sapnap was a bit hesitant, but he dragged the green chair over to sit opposite the couch. The trio settled down on the couch. It felt like they’d be interrogating him, not the other way around. He swallowed nervously. This was a lot harder than he thought it’d be. “How…” he trailed off. “How did we get here?” He gestured around the room for emphasis.
Tubbo took in a large breath, before his face split into a grin. “Well first we went from the warehouse, walked down the street for a while, got to the apartment building, talked to Samantha, went into the elevator, clicked the button-” The villain was cut off as Tommy slapped him in the back of the head, sending him forward where he almost fell off the couch.
Tubbo jumped up, immediately tackling the offending villain. Sapnap leaned away with wide eyes. Ranboo, however, didn’t seem fazed in the slightest. “Ignoring them! It’s… a long story.” He glanced at his teammates. “….One I have time to tell. So it started on the day we were promoted to full heroes….”
It had been about a half hour before Ranboo had gotten done with the story. Tommy and Tubbo had eventually stopped fighting, and had added extra details and context during the recounting. It been a shortened version, and they hadn’t said the identity of anyone involved, but it was still a decently thorough tale. Sapnap was still curious about the person named ‘Purpled’ that the secretary had mentioned, but it was clear they wouldn’t say.
For the moment, he was trying to process the new information. It was one hell of an emotional rollercoaster. “I- well then.” Sapnap let out a breath after a moment. “So basically, you found out the heroes were killing people so you tried to leave, found out you couldn’t, faked your deaths instead, and when the villains tried to crash your funerals without you…”
“We jumped in and helped crash it. Yeah that’s pretty much all you need to know.” Tommy shrugged, like that was just the kind of thing that happened every day. “They don’t give any other heroes that die funerals but did for us because of the common knowledge that I’m related to Phil,” The villain spat out the man’s name like a poison, but a savage grin appeared on his face right after. “If they were going to use our deaths as a publicity stunt, why couldn’t we use it?”
That made sense, but there was another pressing question he wanted to ask. “You turned against the committee for killing people, but you mentioned that since then you’ve killed people? What- that’s a bit hypocritical don’t you think?”
Instead of deflecting the question like Sapnap had almost expected they would, Ranboo nodded, his shoulders slumping slightly. “Yeah. The first day we killed was in defense of a vigilante. Afterwards we had to have a long conversation about our motivations and how we would procced moving forward.”
Tommy jumped in, likely to give Ranboo a break since he’d been the one doing most of the talking. “When we say it was a long conversation, it was a long conversation. We came to the conclusion that anyone going after civilians had to be put down. What was truly wrong with the committee going after Quackity was that the only people he went against was the heroes, he doesn’t go after civilians.”
It was a bit twisted, but Sapnap could sort of see the reasoning. Sapnap supposed he couldn’t really talk. He’d killed villains before at the committee’s command… people who’d never done anything but fight against the heroes. Maybe he’d volunteer at the animal shelter and do as much community service as he possibly could to make up for a fraction of the shit he’d done. “Ah yes, welcome to having a mental crisis.” Sapnap was startled out of his thoughts by a vaguely amused sounding Tubbo. “Try not to think too much about it, that’s a spiral hard to get out of.”
He glanced towards the windows, taking note of the dark sky. He didn’t the exact time, but it must be late. “We should probably head off for the night.” He pointed out. “I’m used to late nights, but I think I’d like to get to bed.”
Tubbo stretched, draping himself over the couch. “That’s fair. I think we all need the rest after the afternoon we’ve had. Tommy or Ran can show you to the guest room, I’ve decided not to move until morning.”
“Lazy bastard.” It was still odd to hear people openly insult each other but it still be positive. Tommy’s teasing tone showed no actual malice towards his friend.
“Shut up Tommy.” Tubbo complained with a grin as he covered his eyes with the crook of his elbow. “I’m sleeping.”
Ranboo sighed at their antics. “Come on Sapnap. I’ll show you to the guest room.”
Notes:
FINALLY! I'm so sorry it took so long. Writer's block and burnout hit me like an 8-pound cinderblock from a pirate cannon. The next chapter won't take nearly as long. The ending was a bit rushed because I was desperate to get this one out, but I hope it still turned out okay.
Chapter 54: The search continues
Notes:
TWs: Guilt, possible depression, and minor stabbing
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Thursday at 8:37 am - With Dream
Sapnap still hadn’t been found despite the constant efforts from heroes since he disappeared. It’d been a bit over two weeks now. For all they knew, Sapnap could be getting tortured! He rolled over in bed, knowing full well he had to get up. He and George had gotten up day after day, searching through the city for clues, anything that would allow them to find their missing friend. Not knowing even where Sapnap was when he disappeared had made the task nearly impossible.
He didn’t like the other possible thought, as irrational as it was. That maybe, just maybe, Sapnap had left of his own accord. That maybe his teammate decided to flee the city without even a goodbye. He wouldn’t. Dream knew that. Sure, his words had been a bit harsh, but they weren’t nearly bad enough to leave them and never return. Even so, the idea made Dream sick to his stomach. Sapnap could be eccentric, but he wasn’t stupid, and usually wasn’t irrational.
Not that he couldn’t be. The man had started making less and less sense in the recent months. Dream’s alarm chose that moment to go off for what must’ve been the sixth time that morning. He waved his hand at it lazily, a slightly too strong blast of air slammed it into the wall behind his nightstand, sending pieces flying. It’d be annoying to get replaced but the committee hadn’t been too stubborn about giving him what he wanted with the given circumstances. Dream rolled out of bed, hitting the ground with a soft thump. He laid like that for a few minutes before his peace was interrupted. “This is just sad.” George’s voice startled him.
He hadn’t noticed or heard the door opening, but that didn’t matter all too much. Dream didn’t bother picking himself up off the floor yet. “What? How is me laying on the floor sad? Can’t a guy lay down wherever he pleases when he’s not bothering anyone?” he asked, his chin digging into the floor as he spoke.
George walked over, leaning over him. “You should probably get up off the floor.” He observed, apparently opting not to answer his Dreams’s questions. “Unfortunately, we have to meet with Luck today.” Luck. Fucking bastard. The man may have been a rogue, but he had an obvious preference for villains. They’d have arrested him long ago if not for the fact they couldn’t prove anything.
Instead of once again mentioning the dozens of reasons they should arrest the man, Dream grumbled, “But he’s always so smug looking. Annoying bastard.” George simply chuckled with a shake of his head and walked back out, once again leaving Dream to his own thoughts. As much as he disliked the idea, Luck may know something about their missing friend. At this point they were getting desperate, and the committee was getting agitated. Not to mention the public’s reaction. If they didn’t find something soon the people may start to suspect that Sapnap had left the heroes and him being missing was an attempt to cover it up.
Dream let out a sigh, pushing himself to his feet in one fluid movement. George was already in the kitchen, standing over what Dream assumed to be a pan on the stove. He walked over and laid his head on George’s shoulder. “Whatcha makin?” He yawned as he spoke.
George chuckled, slowly stirring the yellow liquid in the pan with his spatula. “Aww is the powerful hero Dream sleepy?” Dream glared at him, but his gaze didn’t hold any true heat. He moved to leave but George grabbed his shirt before he could. “No, I wasn’t telling you to leave!” The man whined. Dream raised an eyebrow at George and the hero shrugged, turning back to the stove. “To answer your question, I’m making scrambled eggs and those frozen sausage links we got a while back. Speaking of, mind grabbing them out of the freezer?”
Dream nodded in response, quickly walking to the other room. Who thought putting cooking appliances in another room was a good idea needed to be fired. He didn’t need to look for long before he found the box, but just as he grabbed it George swore loudly from the kitchen. “Can you all shut the fuck up!?”
Dream ran back to the room and found George staring at the space beside him with a glare. “You alright?” Dream asked, drawing his friend’s attention.
George sighed before nodding. “Yeah, just chat again. You know how it is.” He did indeed. Any god’s chosen could hear the spirits of the dead. Or at least that’s what XD had told them they were. Some gods chose not to let their champions hear ‘chat’ as they called themselves. He’d ask what they were talking about, but his status as an ex-champion would’ve made it against the old pacts if it wasn’t already. No champion was allowed to share what chat said, even if they wanted to.
“Yeah… I do. Here’s the sausage by the way.” George frowned at the change in tone, but likely understood the change in mood. His friend had been there when those bastards had forced XD to take away his status. It’d taken months for him to recover mentally and physically. Sapnap hadn’t been told about Dream being a champion and had been very concerned after it had happened. Even afterward neither him nor George told him anything about it, the man still believed in the church of Prime.
The thought reminded him once more of the day’s agenda. They had to meet with Luck and depending on what the rogue told them they’d go out looking again. If only he hadn’t said all that stuff, then their friend would still be safe and sound in the hero tower. Sure, he’d been blinded by frustration but there was no excuse for what he’d said. There was a lot he had to apologize for, something he wished he could be doing instead of having to desperately search for someone he wasn’t even sure was still alive.
“We’ll find him Dream.” George assured, likely knowing which way his thoughts were going. “No matter how long it takes.” ‘Even if it's his body we have to carry home’ went unsaid, but it was still heard loud and clear.
With Sapnap
Yup. Sapnap was convinced. This was what torture felt like. “I’m going to stab you motherfucker!” Tubbo screamed, running after Tommy with a steak knife while the villain in question ran like the hounds of hell were chasing him. If not for the fact that the trio had evidently found a way to mute any sound from coming in or out unless they wanted it to he was sure they’d have gotten kicked out from the sheer number of noise complaints they’d receive.
A few minutes later Tommy walked into the room with an annoyed expression. Annoyance was the last thing Sapnap would expect when there was A KNIFE STICKING OUT OF SOMEONES SHOUDLER! “Ran would you mind grabbing me a potion? I’d get one myself but-” Tommy didn’t get to finish his question before a small vial filled with red liquid was thrown towards him, Ran didn’t even look up from his book.
Notes:
It'd done! It's not too surprising this is the one I'm taking of hiatus first, but still. I'm back with more plans, more ideas for lore, and more than a few new ways to torture our favorite characters! I'm sorry for the wait but I'm feeling much better now and my creative juices have started flowing again. A new extra has been posted for anyone who's not on my discord server and hasn't heard about it yet. :D
Chapter 55: *sigh*
Chapter Text
With Dream
The air whipped around him, but the shouts of his friends were still audible. People were yelling, a couple even trying to keep up with them and filming, but it didn’t do them much good. Their favorite game had become much too fast for people who weren’t used to it. “Get back here you bastard!” George shouted from somewhere behind him. The city was bright, the sun was setting but the street lights had long since come on, Dream would’ve taken the time to take in the beautiful evening if not for the fact he was much too busy running like he had the devil on his heels.
He turned around while still running. “Come get me then!” He yelled back before booking it as fast as he could into an alleyway. A ladder leading to the roof of a building offered him the advantage he needed to put distance between him and the others. Dream pulled himself up two pegs at a time, praying to Prime he didn’t fall. His mom already hated their game, mostly because it included a bit too much trespassing for her comfort, he didn’t need her to find out they were playing it again from a hospital.
Dream kicked the ladder down just as he scrambled onto the roof. His friends yelled instructions to each other before splitting up. Bad and Ant ran on the ground parallel to where he was while Sapnap and George disappeared from sight behind him. What was their plan now? He kept running, thankfully used to parkour from the very game they were playing and more than able to vault gracefully over any gaps.
He quickly realized where Sapnap and George had gone as they began to catch up to him. His goal was to get to the hero tower, the end point of the game. If they managed to stop him from running before he touched the outside of the main building then they won, if they didn’t then he did. It was a game by the fond name of ‘Manhunt’. Bad and Ant were likely trying to cut him off while George and Sapnap ran him right to them. Too bad for them, he wasn’t quite on board with that plan.
Dream took a sharp right, grinning toothily at the swears and frustrated shouts from behind him. The teen finally spotted what he needed a second later. He braced himself for the maneuver he was about to pull. He jumped off the roof, landing on the balcony railing of a now very shocked looking woman. He gave her a two-fingered salute before falling backwards. His stomach dropped and with no small amount of energy, sent a concentrated blast of air at the ground to soften his fall. A shock was sent through his legs as he landed, but there was no tell-tale crack that would’ve signaled that the move had been a bad one.
His friends didn’t have the convenience of air powers to make what he’d done possible, meaning they’d have to find another way. Sapnap might’ve been able to get down with his fire, but the teen had sworn off ever using his powers before they’d met for reasons he still refused to tell them. Dream stumbled slightly as he began to run again, his body still recovering from the shock of his landing. Night had fully fallen by now, making their game all that much harder for both teams-
Dream pushed the memory to the back of his mind, where it usually was these days. Spore straightened up, rolling his shoulders and pushing his mushroom hat down to cast his already covered face in shadow. Dream followed his lead, pulling his shoulders back and tilting up his chin. The doors to the back of Las Nevadas were nearby, just around the corner. Luck was doubtless already waiting for them inside.
With an air of confidence Dream wasn’t entirely sure was real as they finally approached the door. Luck’s assistant had always unnerved him, and this time was no different. The man stared at them for a long moment, his glowing green eyes didn’t blink as he studied the heroes. Dream shuffled slightly but didn’t look away. “Luck of Las Nevadas is waiting for you inside. Dream and Spore of the heroes.” His voice was cold, but Dream didn’t have time to try and decode all the little extra emotions in the assistant’s voice as he turned around and walked through the door.
Dream and Spore shared a look before hurrying behind him. The hallway was long, leading by several closed doors. Sound could be barely made out from each room, and Dream itched to yank one open. Who knew what kind of people had paid Luck for a secure meeting spot. Nonetheless, he kept walking. They couldn’t afford impulsive action here. The assistant stepped up to the door and then moved to stand beside it, eyeing them with an impassive stare once more. “He’s waiting for you inside.”
With only a moment of hesitation, Dream pulled the door open. Luck sat behind the desk, a brand new appearance as usual. His hair was a medium-dark brown, a light stubble dotting his chin. He wore a white shirt with a blood red tie, the only thing that hardly ever changed between their interactions. Usually he’d be grinning, a smug look Dream could’ve sworn never moved from the man’s face, but this time it was almost a glare that he leveled at them. He gestured towards the two chairs on the other side of his desk across from him. “Sit down, then we can get down to business.”
He looked… tired. Dream attempted to ignore it, sitting down as the man had asked. Spore didn’t follow his lead, instead moving to stand next to the door. Luck raised an eyebrow at his companion but after a moment of tense silence, turned his attention back to Dream. “Now. What do you ‘lovely’ folks need?”
Yeah he was definitely acting weird. Dream read all the reports of those who interacted with him under the committee as well as meeting with him a couple times before, none of them had anything about him acting tired or straightforward. He usually played mind games and picked at their brains, not whatever this was. “We’re here to ask if you have any idea about the whereabouts of Fire-Fist.”
Luck’s lip curled into a snarl, and he opened his mouth to speak, but closed it a second later. He deflated, even if there was still a glare in his eyes. “I don’t have much, but I do have something you might be able to find useful. In return, I want any information you have on the same thing.” Dream’s brows furrowed. Why would Luck care?
Dream turned around, catching Spore’s gaze from underneath his mask. After a second, Spore nodded. Luck seemed to take that as all the confirmation he needed, pulling out a folder, one of the ones used in those over-dramatic detective scenes in movies. It was kind of fitting if Dream thought about it. He pulled out a single piece of paper before the folder back wherever it came from. Spore came up from the back of the room to look at it as Luck set it down in front of him.
It was a map of the city, two points circled in bright red pen. One was the hero tower while the other was near the edge of the entertainment district, specifically one of the main roads out of the district. “All I can give you is that he was between these two points when he was taken.” Dream’s eyes widened in surprise, his gaze snapping up to the rogue. His jaw was clenched, as if he hadn’t wanted to give them the information.
“How did you get this information?” Dream asked. They hadn’t been able to figure out anything in two weeks and they had the entire commission helping them look.
He glared at them once again. “You know I can’t and won’t tell you that. Now,” he addressed, “What do you two have for me?”
Spore spoke up for the first time since the encounter started. “Unfortunately, we don’t have anything as good as what you’ve given us.” He grabbed it, as if expecting Luck to snatch it away or something. “But we do know they’re a damn good hacker. They somehow managed to disable everything on Sa- our teammates gear without setting off any alarms. And we know they have it because we would’ve-”
Luck’s eyes lit up, and his jaw fell. “Oh my fucking Prime.”
“What?” Dream asked, shocked by the sudden change.
The man facepalmed, standing abruptly. “I have what I need, thank you for the information. Get out.” Dream was about to demand answers when the watch on Luck’s wrist let out a ding. He looked close to laughing at whatever was there. He grabbed a tv remote from somewhere (how many drawers does this guy have!?) and pointed it towards the TV in the corner. The text on the screen made Dream go a few shades paler. ‘Breaking news! SBI getting demoted!?’ “I recommend getting going.” Dream didn’t try to object this time, running out of the room with Spore hot on his heels.
PokerFace: Tubbo I fucking hate you
BeeBoy: Wha- I did nothing
PokerFace: You made me panic over nothing
Gentle_Giant: Ohhhh, you figured it out didn’t you?
CottonCandy: What’s going on?
(not_so_sweet)child: Quackity say nothing or I’ll set Ranboo on you
PokerFace: Sorry Niki, I’m not in the mood to die. Wait, is that what you needed that warehouse for!?
CottonCandy: ….fine.
(responding to PokerFace)
BeeBoy: >:D
Notes:
This was a really fun chapter to write XD
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Deadly Nightshades!
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Chapter 56: A board no one else can see
Notes:
TWs: Schlatt (yeah that guy deserves his own warning here), minor mind games
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Half an hour earlier - With Purpled
In hindsight, this was probably a bad idea. The hero tower stretched into the sky not too far away, the city center was far below where he crouched on the roof. The area was crawling with heroes, meaning it was crawling with everyone else too. Small villains crouched in the shadows, some watching the proceedings and others looking for a chance to make their mark. His fellow vigilantes were also in the shadows, keeping the latter of those two from doing so.
The heroes were setting up for something, it was anyone’s guess as to what. Purpled bent the light around himself to better blend into the shadows caused by tall buildings. The ability to do so gave him the best vantage point of anyone else. “Anyone see anything noteworthy? I don’t see anything out of the ordinary on my cameras.” Moon’s voice asked from his earpiece. “UFO, Fox, you two have the best vantage points here, see anything?”
“Nothing from my end.” He heard Fox reply. “Seems like they’re setting up for a press conference or something though. Or another public apology like that time with Fire-Fist.” His friend mused. They weren’t stationed together, instead split up to cover more ground.
Purpled hummed in thought. Another sudden apology was possible, but he doubted it. That kind of thing didn’t happen often. Fire-Fist’s being the first he’d ever heard of or seen. “Nothing from here either.” Purpled spoke, holding down the button on the device in his ear. “Addressing what you said Fox, I doubt it’s another apology or something. Not only was that bizarre event likely a one off, but I also don’t think they really want to remind anyone about it, especially with the whole Fire-Fist being missing thing.”
“I agree UFO. They’re not going to let another hero pull something unexpected again so soon.” Warden huffed with a tone of slight annoyance. He was usually incredibly sweet, but recent weeks had put everyone on edge. “Me and Red Cross don’t see anything. Redstone, Poultry? You two have been quiet, are you alright?”
Redstone’s earpiece seeming had just come back online, as his voice cut in just slightly when he spoke. “-eah we’re good. We just talked to a couple friends; they don’t know anything either. Moon, you know who I’m talking about. They have no idea.” Purpled’s brows furrowed, that was really weird. He mentally saved the man’s words for later; they didn’t have time to interrogate each other about weird behaviors right now. Not that they would ever truly interrogate each other at all. The vigilantes all worked together willingly, not because they had to.
Purpled couldn’t quite decern Moon’s tone as she responded to Redstone. “Really? Alright. I’d say tell them to be careful but I’m pretty sure they’ll be fine.” She ended her sentence with a slight laugh. Everyone was pretty sure Moon, Redstone, and Poultry Man knew each other’s identities, but no one could be sure. Not like they asked cause of the aforementioned not truly having the right to know.
Purpled held down the button on his earpiece, interjecting into the conversation. “I hate to interrupt, but has anyone seen Seaward? We’ve got everyone aside from her.” She’d been seen less and less, and it’d been worrying to everyone. Fox had asked her the last time he’d run into her what was going on and the only explanation she gave had been some issues in her civilian life, he hadn’t pried, because that was a dangerous thing, but everyone wanted to know what was going on, she should’ve been there. He just hoped she was alright.
His question was met with a unanimous no, it was times like this where he wished they all knew more about each other. Yet they couldn’t afford to do that, any information was dangerous in this city, even among people you could consider friends. Purpled put the thought aside for now, reminding himself he couldn’t be distracted.
A committee member stepped up to the podium that had long been set up, tapping the microphone twice to gain attention from the crowd. “Oh look, one of the human bird nests is about to share whatever fucked up thing their going to do to this god forsaken city next.” Fox’s remark caused a round of snickers across the comms, everyone giving a wordless agreement.
The cameras in front of the podium flashed, reporters held microphones with a plethora of different logos as close as they could. Everyone wanted to know what was going on, something the news crews knew. Some were focused on the heroes standing near the back of the makeshift stage. The SBI and the other top heroes were there. Oddly, this excluded Dream and Spore, as they were no where to be seen. The Captain sat with the other committee members in a row of chairs back and to the left of the podium, though she didn’t look all that happy to be there. Not that she ever looked happy to be pretty much anywhere.
The committee member at the podium smiled, from Purpled’s position from the rooftop he couldn’t really read any of the man’s true thoughts nor his expression. “I’m sure everyone has been wanting to know a couple things, both of which we plan to address today. These include the disappearance of Fire-Fist and our progress on the matter, as well as a few new plans for taking care of the villains and vigilantes plaguing our country.”
The plethora of cheering and clapping that the man’s statement received almost made Purpled sick to his stomach. Though he almost expected it to be louder, the crowd wasn’t as excited as they usually were. It still didn’t help him feel better. He and the rest of the vigilantes were viewed as nothing more than a problem by the richer side of the population, something they never failed to remind them of. Not that those people needed them, they were the ones that the heroes actually protected.
He and the vigilantes focused on the poorer districts, the people the heroes refused to help. “It’s days like this where I consider just suggesting having us stop all our operations for a week and watch them beg us to come back. Couldn’t do that to the civilians though, innocent people don’t deserve that.” Purpled heard Fox grumble, a few of the others snickering in agreement.
“For now, I will be handing over the microphone to the head of your hero committee,” The committee member paused for dramatic effect, like that mattered. There wasn’t a single soul in the city who didn’t know who that guy was. “Schlatt!” Another round of applause rippled through the crowd Purpled’s nose scrunched up with distaste. He’d only came in personal contact with the man once, but the smell of alcohol radiating off him had been so strong that Purpled could swear he still smelled it to this day.
The man in question stepped up to the podium, his teeth bared in a slightly off-putting smile. “Good afternoon my beloved country!” Schlatt addressed the crowd. His country? His country? He owned the hero committee, not the whole country. At the same time though, he wasn’t entirely wrong, was he? L’manburg’s government differed to the heroes and the hero committee, the only people who truly went against the words of Schlatt were themselves and the vigilantes. The thought made Purpled feel a bit powerless. What was he in the face of a countrywide power that had nothing holding them back?
Purpled shook his head, as if that would do anything to clear the thought. He’d know what he was doing when he decided to be a vigilante. There was no turning back now. Leg bouncing, he turned his attention back to the speech. The cheering was just dying down, like this man being in charge was something to celebrate.
“Without delay, I would like to address the very concerns brought up by my fellow committee member. Starting with our dear missing hero, Fire-Fist. I’m happy to announce we have made some massive steps forward towards locating our missing comrade. Dream and Spore are currently out confirming information that we have gathered, which is why they are not here to join us for today. We are on track to find him sometime within the next few weeks.” The cheers were louder this time, as if people were more excited about the idea of Fire-Fist being found than Schlatt being present.
Honestly? Fair. “I’ll be taking questions at the end.” Schlatt cut off the crowed as the reporters present started hurling words his way. They quieted down, and the man began to speak once more. “The next order of business is how we’ll be fixing the villain and vigilante problem plaguing our city. This may be a bit controversial, but the committee has agreed it’s necessary.” There was an uneasy murmur passed through the crowd, and Purpled felt a pit of dread pool in his stomach.
“I don’t like this. I don’t like this at all.” Redstone said, his voice as tense as Purpled felt. The others each gave their own agreements, this couldn’t be good. Whatever it was, something was telling Purpeld to be prepared for the worst, and his instincts hadn’t failed him in a long long time.
Schlatt clapped once, breaking the tension. “However, before I get into that! The Captain has stated she has a few words to say!” The captain stood up, a smirk that wasn’t present before had appeared. Even Schlatt looked to hesitate before handing her the microphone as she slowly made her was over.
Even so, he did and she stepped the rest of the way up to the podium. “Good afternoon, citizens, villains, vigilantes, rogues, and heroes of L’manburg.” She greeted, which was much different and much odder than Schlatt’s greeting had been. “As you all know, there has been some controversy surrounding our top three heroes as of late, specifically in regard to Crow.” Schlatt shuffled next to her, and even from his spot on the roof Purpled could feel the unease oozing off his posture.
The was a lot of shouting, and she waited until it died down to start again. “As everyone knows, heroes aim to incapacitate, not kill.” Purpled scoffed. Yeah right. “This rule was almost broken when Crow pulled a risky and admittedly stupid move to drop the villain Huntress and vigilante UFO from almost 200 feet in the air.” Schlatt looked about ready to snatch the microphone, but he glanced at the crowd and stayed put. Crow looked unhappy, and even though his face was covered Purpled had enough practice reading people to tell he was glaring at The Captain. “In light of this, I have come to a compromise that is not as good as most would like, but better than letting it go.” Her wording was odd. What did she mean by ‘I’? Shouldn’t it be a ‘we’ to refer to the rest of the committee?
“The SBI shall be demoted.” There were shouts of confusion and some outrage from the crowd, but she ignored them. She turned around to face the heroes, the (former?) number one, two, and three heroes were staring at her with shock, seemingly frozen. “Crow you are now placed in the eighth ranking. Blade you are now in the nineth, and lastly Ghost you have been brought down to tenth.” Schlatt stepped up, his mouth open in what was obviously about to be a snarl, she turned to the man before he had a chance to speak, however. “Isn’t that right Schlatt? For the unity of both the committee and the city as well as inside the tower itself you agreed to this decision?”
She was playing a game. Purpled realized. A game no one else could see. And judging by the way Schlatt stepped back, it was a game she was winning. “Yes. It was.” He said, and Purpled could tell he was gritting his teeth. “Congratulations to the Dream Team for moving up in the rankings.” The Captain scowled at the mention of the team but seemed to decide to hold her tongue.
“I don’t think anyone agreed to what she just did beforehand.” Poultry Man pointed out, his tone something between bored, intrigued, amused, and straight deadpan.
“Yeah, definitely not.” Warden agreed.
Notes:
This chapter was about to be much longer, but I didn't want the shit that's about to happen to overshadow what Puffy just did, Ima let her have her moment.
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Chapter 57: Character guide! :D
Chapter Text
Hello everyone! First things first, thank you so much for making it this far in the story! I dearly hope you're enjoying it as much as I am writing it. :D The next chapter is well on its way and trust me when I say it's quite an interesting one. xD
That is not why I'm posting this, however. As you can tell by the chapter title, I have made a new character guide! If you don't know, a few months ago I made an incomplete 1-chapter character guide with only the most basic information. The new version is separate from the fic and much more complete, such as laying out some lore for each character and some plot points if I got carried away. All information is based off of information already in the fic, which means if you're caught up there's no spoilers.
The link to the character guide:
I hope you enjoy what I have planned, and I hope to see you all next chapter! :D
Chapter 58: No. No no no no no-
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
With Sam
“Yeah definitely not.” Sam agreed. Why she would do that was anyone’s guess. Sam switched off his mic and let out a heavy sigh. “I don’t have a good feeling about this.” Red Cross nodded from where he was crouched beside him.
“Something’s not right here. First Fire-Fist disappears and now the SBI get demoted? I know they don’t tell the public anything, but this feels…” the vigilante trailed off, but Sam understood what he was saying anyway. Dangerous. The powered world was getting more and more dangerous by the day. Things were moving behind the scenes of every faction, the heroes were pulling ridiculous political stunts, minor villains were growing clearly bolder, bigger ones had been more violent overall, vigilantes planning to infiltrate the villain party, and the rogues were pulling back, the already elusive faction had almost disappeared entirely from the public eye despite Sam always seeing one or two lurking in the deepest shadows at night.
Sam opened his mouth to reply but was cut off as Schlatt stepped up to the stand, all but shouldering The Captain out of the way as he did so. “Since that’s now been dealt with,” Schlatt turned his head to look at The Captain briefly before turning back, his smile growing once more. “We will move onto our last order of business, the way I’m going to capture the villains and vigilantes poisoning our city at last.”
Sam held his breath, leaning forward as if that would make the man say it sooner. Yet the words that came out of the man’s mouth made Sam wish that the moments before had lasted so much longer. “In a week from today, a new mandate will be placed upon every working adult in the country. Monthly blood power tests will be a requirement for anyone currently working or getting a job.” He- what? The implications of that statement hit Sam like a semi-truck speeding down the side of a mountain.
That would put their civilian identities at risk. Which was obviously the goal. For the villains, it’d force them to be bolder. Steal more, be out more. It’d make them easier to catch. For the vigilantes? Well they were just screwed. They wouldn’t steal. They weren’t like that. Schlatt would starve them out and they wouldn’t be able to do anything to stop it. Sure, they had ways of gathering civilian donations, but that wasn’t enough to keep even one of their group fed. Sam’s breathing picked up. There was nothing they could do. Nowhere they could run.
The crowd was shouting questions, more desperately now. Some were even shouting jeers. Schlatt glared down at them with a cruel smirk before lifting his gaze and turning around, grabbing the microphone as he did so. “But!” He shouted. “In compromise of this, I have an offer for every single one of you… misguided vigilantes and villains. Anyone who gives up their identities freely and comes to the hero committee to be rehabilitated, will be set free without punishment!”
The way out. Nausea swirled in Sam’s gut. He felt guilty for even considering that for a brief moment. It wasn’t a real option. Not only was it likely a trap, but that’d require betraying not only the other vigilantes, but the civilians too. Normal people had no shield between themselves and villains looking to make names for themselves other than the vigilantes. Giving himself over to the heroes would mean they had one less line of defense.
Not to mention what the heroes had done. Maybe not the heroes themselves, but the committee. Sam had worked in those facilities. He’d seen the warped things that had once been people. Their screams always hovered in the back of his mind. A reminder of why he didn’t make sure he disappeared off the face of the earth entirely. A hand landed on his shoulder, and he flinched away from it violently. His eyes were wide and panicked as he met the gaze of a concerned Red Cross. He didn’t look much better to be honest.
His friend was trembling, the usual calm amusement gone from the man’s expression. “We have to go.”
Not that Sam didn’t want to go. Put as much distance as he could between Schlatt and himself as he possibly could, but there also might be- a voice in his ear cut off his thoughts. “Warden? Do you copy? You guys have gone silent. I- I don’t blame you if you’re quiet from shock, but we need to have a meeting.” Moon’s usually steady voice was as shaky as Red Cross’s. There was a second of silence, before her next words. With a pleading undertone in her voice she said, “Wait please don’t tell me you guys are going to be taking-”
A shred of hurt tore through Sam at the suggestion. He would never take up the offer Schlatt had set out. He activated his earpiece, cutting her off. “No of course not,” he replied, shoving himself onto shaking legs that almost collapsed under him. “Those assholes have done too much for us to even consider it.” Consider it for more than a brief moment at least. “We’re on our way.”
Turning his back to the city’s center, Sam ran. Red Cross kept pace with him easily, after so long they’d learned exactly how fast each other could go. Concrete and buildings sped by in his peripheral vision, but he didn’t stop. Well, not on purpose. A force slammed into his side, sending him roughly to the ground. He just barely rolled, his shoulder absorbing most of the impact with a jolt of pain. His trident clattered to the ground a few feet away. The reason why became apparent rather quickly, but knowing just made him feel worse. Dream and Spore. The number 1 and 3 heroes. “Where do you think you’re going?” Dream demanded; his face covered by his white smiling mask.
Sam didn’t have the emotional or physical energy for an encounter with the man. “We can’t tell you.” Red Cross snapped. “Just like any other day you decide to stand in our way when we’re just trying to do what you won’t.”
Dream swiped at the air, his hand closing around an invisible blade. “Well. Maybe you’ll be more talkative under interrogation.” And so the fight started. Sam darted to the left, going to pick his trident up from the ground. Spore stepped in to stop him, sending his stumbling back with a kick to the stomach. Sam put his fists up, ignoring their shaking. Maybe he could pull enough spite out of the nether to do this. Even so, he pressed the emergency button hidden on his gloves. Hopefully someone could get to them in time.
Notes:
...sorry?
The character guide has been updated with the new information from this chapter
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Chapter 59: Are you scared of me?
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
With Pearl
Pearl tapped her foot anxiously. This was bad. Very very bad. Not for the hermits of course, they’d not be affected in the slightest, but anyone else they had grown fond of in this place was now in danger. Everyone was on their way to the meeting spot, but Red Cross and Warden had been caught up against Dream. She wished she could help, but she wouldn’t be able to get there without using enderpearls and still have time to do anything. Hopefully someone else could get to them in time. Mumbo and Grian were already in the meeting room as well, seeing as she’d set off their stasis chambers as soon as she could. Mumbo was pacing the room, his brows furrowed.
His mask was sitting on the table, they all knew that Pearl would warn them before any of the others got there. “Mumbo, calm down.” She said, staring at the man with concern. His eyes had turned a stark black the only indication of where he was looking was a small white dot in the middle of them. Four red lines dug into humanlike skin from the corners of his eyes down his face like tear tracks. The slight glow from them casting his face in an eerie light. His ears had turned long and pointed as well, which wasn’t a good sign. “Your true form is coming out; you know we have to keep it under control while we’re here.”
Mumbo lifted a hand to his face quickly, feeling along the red divots with a look of surprise. The lines raised back up and regained ‘normal’ color. His ears shortened and became round once more, his eyes fading to a usual human coloration. “Yeah, I know. Sorry. Thanks for pointing it out.”
“Don’t apologize Mumbo, no one blames you.” It wasn’t his full form, but even small bits of their true appearances could be seen as… unnatural. Anyone who thought so wasn’t entirely wrong though. Not in most of the Hermit’s cases. There was no such thing as a natural immortal, at least as far as Pearl was aware. Such as Cleo, who was unashamed about her nature as a vampire. Or Etho, who found a way to break the world’s magic enough to cause a rift between two dimensions, the magical backlash rendering his soul oddly fractured and his flesh immortal.
Then there were people like Grian and Xisuma, who were both something else entirely. They showed their true forms even less than everyone else. Though Grian did have a habit of opening extra eyes just to startle people on occasion.
Pearl… didn’t entirely know how she became immortal. It'd been a bit over two and a half centuries since she'd woken up with no memory of who she was. It'd been pure luck that she'd run into Impulse and he dragged her along to season 8, starting her journey of being friends with people who liked to blow each other up and start weird cults. She wouldn’t say she regretted any of it though. As eccentric as they were, her friends were good people.
An alert on her laptop pulled her out of her thoughts, Seaward had finally made an appearance. Warden and Red Cross had a wall of dark ice between them and Dream and Spore. Seaward was circling the two heroes, but already was looking worse for wear. Bloody rents were torn in her outfit, no doubt a product of Dreams blades.
Spore was hanging back, evidently not entirely sure what to do. Seaward had found some kind of mask that made his power null against her. She hadn’t been able to get enough of the odd material to get any of the other vigilantes masks, something she’d apologized for many times over. A ding sounded in her ear piece, and Seaward’s voice came through a moment later. “Shit- sorry guys. I didn’t have a chance to get over here until just now.” She apologized a lot, didn’t she? “What are we doing?”
Pearl wasn’t usually the one doing the work as communications hub, but Fox was out in the field which meant it fell to her anyway. “We need to have a meeting about… you know.” She’d seen some fucked up rulers over the years, but Schlatt was probably one of the worst. Pearl switched her mic to broadcast to all the vigilantes. “Warden, Red Cross. Do you both need any more help or will Seaward be enough?”
“Could use some extra help, yeah.” Red Cross’s voice came through only seconds later. “Both me and Warden got beat up pretty bad and we weren’t in a good state for a fight anyway. Seaward’s doing what she can but that’s Dream and Spore we’re talking about.” Seaward was arguably the best vigilantes. She’d explained that she’d been through some training in her earlier years and her time as a vigilante had only served to hone those skills. Even so, every person had their limits.
Pearl opened her mouth to respond, but UFO’s voice cut her off. “I’m the closest. Hang in there just a bit longer.” His tone was cold, but Pearl didn’t blame the kid. He wasn’t under the same threat of being uncovered that everyone else was, but that didn’t mean he wasn't going to be affected.
Pearl flinched as she saw a blast of air slam into Seaward’s chest, sending her flying backwards into a nearby building. Dream stalked towards the woman as she stumbled, likely still trying to get her bearings again. Two blades of air condensed in front of Dream, aimed towards Seaward.
Time stilled for a moment. Then a voice cut through it. “Close your eyes!” UFO called though the comm system. Pearl only had a brief second to process the shout before a bright flash of light went off. A knife went flying through the air at the same time, digging itself into Spore’s thigh. Both heroes stumbled, blinded and in Spore’s case, bleeding as well. The teenage vigilante stepped into view of Pearl’s camera with another knife tucked comfortably in his palm.
Grian, who was looking over her shoulder, let out a celebratory cheer. On screen, Seaward gave UFO a grateful nod. The vigilante returned it before reaching his hand out towards her, curling his fingers. Light visibly bent around Seaward, hiding her mostly from view as she ducked into the shadows cast by buildings. Dream was still shaking his head, likely trying to get the spots now dancing in his vision to clear. Pearl had been on the other end of that once, she knew the feeling. It was a painful thing to have to deal with.
“Both of you put your masks back on.” Pearl said, one of her other cameras showing Fox rapidly approaching through the maze that was the warehouse’s layout. Grian and Mumbo scrambled to pull on their masks. She turned her attention back to her screen in time to watch UFO grab Dream’s wrist and swing the hero into one of the light poles lining the street. Oh that had hurt. A crunch echoed through the room, and Pearl flinched as Dream let out a scream of pain.
Even injured however, Dream was a formidable foe. He swiped at the air and a slash of air swept mostly past UFO, though mostly was not completely and the gouge in the teen’s shoulder was a testament to that. The vigilante stumbled back, the blood from the wound running down his arm. Dream lunged forward with another blade in his hand, UFO just barely meeting it. His fighting arm was the one that had gotten injured! Pearl realized with concern. This wasn’t looking good at all.
Seaward came out of the shadows behind Dream with an angry glare. Water droplets lifted off the ground and collected into a whip into the woman’s hand. “Oh shit.” Pearl breathed.
Seaward was levelheaded at almost all times. She didn’t hurt anyone unless she absolutely had to. Most of the vigilantes had killed at least once, usually by accident, but she hadn’t. All this goes to show, when she ruthlessly lashed out, and struck Dream hard enough for another loud crack to be heard, Pearl physically recoiled. Seaward did the same though, the whip dissipating in her hand and splashing back against the ground. She reached back out towards the hero, almost like she was wanting to help him. Pearl couldn't see the woman's face, but her body language screamed guilt and horror.
She didn’t get the chance. Spore kicked her in the side and rushed to his teammate’s. Warden and Red Cross ran up to them. Red Cross immediately rushed over to UFO and hovered a hand over the teen’s injured shoulder. A light red glow spread out from the man’s hand and over the still bleeding injury. UFO let the man do his work, even while not turning his gaze away from Dream and Spore.
Seaward was… she didn’t look good. Her hands were shaking, and she was staring at them like she’d done a heinous crime. Pearl didn’t understand why if she was being honest. Sure that was a little more violent than the woman typically preferred to be, but it wasn’t like she’d killed the man either. She didn’t react when Dream and Spore quickly limped away from the area of the fight. Pearl sighed in relief though. The vigilantes had won.
A beep in Pearl’s ear alerted her to someone’s comm activating. Warden’s voice came through soon after. His voice was much more steady than it had been a few minutes before. “We’re all good here. We’ll be over there soon. Red Cross says that the hit on UFO’s shoulder isn’t deep enough that he’ll still need immediate care after he gets healed. Though he’ll still have to be bandaged up.”
That was better than it could’ve been. “Oh thank fuck.” Someone muttered from behind her. Pearl jumped, the chair she had been sitting in rocketing backward and slamming into the person. It turned out to be Fox, who she’d just accidentally slammed her chair into. “That hurt.” He said, his voice slightly strained.
Poultry Man snickered from his seat. Pearl glared at him. It didn’t do much, not only would he know she wasn’t actually angry, but her mask covered her face completely so he couldn’t even see it. She jabbed a finger at him. “It’s your fault I get so startled when people sneak up on me. Shut your mouth.” Turning to Fox, her tone lost its edge. “Sorry Fox, you scared me.”
Fox waved his hand in a ‘it’s fine’ motion while Poultry Man gasped in mock offense. “How is it my fault you’re jumpy!?”
(Underlined text is without using words)
Pearl reached down and tapped her fingers against the table in their version of morse code. “You were the one that started the end crystal pranks Grian. If not for having to avoid getting blown up every two days I’d not be so jumpy when someone was behind me.” Poultry Man simply shrugged, still snickering.
Around 10 minutes later
Finally everyone had arrived. They all looked haunted. Especially those in the group who legitimately called this country home. None of them looked in a state to start the meeting’s discussion, so Pearl took a deep breath and spoke, “I- we all heard what Schlatt said, right?” She asked, everyone nodded. “this- it isn’t looking good for anyone.” She’d be fine. The hermits would be fine. Though there were so many people who were trapped in this place. Who could be forced to stay and comply.
Fox let out a bitter laugh. “What you mean is ‘we’re in a fuck-ton of danger and there’s literally nothing we can do about it.” A tense silence fell over the group at Fox’s words. No one disagreed, but giving an affirmative answer would’ve just made it all the more real feeling. The public wouldn’t stand for the new policy, but how much damage could be done before the committee finally listened to the protests? If there were protests. Worst case, the public just rolled over.
As much as this city and country weren’t her home, Pearl had to admit that she’d grown to care for the people that were the vigilantes. She’d almost call them friends. Her fingers drummed against the table in thought. It was a dangerous move, and not one that would be good for them to pull. But if necessary. Pearl looked up locked eyes with Redstone and Poultry Man. Shifting the rhythm of her drumming, she used their code. “I have an idea, but I don’t think anyone will like it.”
Redstone tilted his head, tapping on the table in response. “Something you can’t share? What do you mean Pearl?” By now, the other vigilantes had taken notice of the conversation, even if they didn’t understand the codes being shared. They hadn’t been too careful about hiding their longtime friendship from the group, but they hadn’t exactly made it obvious either. The rapt attention they were now being paid was uncomfortable, but she didn’t blame the rest of the vigilantes.
“I’m not usually the voice of reason here, but if you’re suggesting what I think you are,” Poultry man paused in his rapid tapping. “It’s reckless Pearl. I want to help these guys as much as you do but letting outsiders in has never been a good idea. The games I host are bad enough.” He struck his palm down against the table with the last word, giving it an emphasis.
Redstone reeled back, finally realizing what she likely was insinuating. “P- Moon no.” He objected. “That’s not a good idea and we all know it. Besides, you know the agreement we came to.” Their agreement with the gods was becoming more and more of a problem. Then again, this is was what they added the ‘null in extreme situations’ clause for.
Pearl raised an eyebrow at him. “Code, Redstone. Speak in code.” She reminded. “I’d say that this counts as an extreme situation.”
“Yeah but it’s not against us! You know how much of an issue the gods can be. They can’t kill us no matter how hard they try, but that doesn’t mean they can’t hurt our people.” Poultry Man argued, his tapping becoming more agitated. "And you know I don't mean the civilians here, End knows they won't try and hurt any of the mortals from this country, but they could go after the citizens back home."
Seaward’s hesitant voice cut through the tension like a hot knife through butter. “Do any of you three want to clue us in to what you’re discussing? I mean I think that’s what you’re doing if I’m reading the increasingly frustrated tapping right.”
Pearl sighed, sitting back in her seat. Her fingers regained their steady taps as she spoke in their code once again. “Alright, compromise. We suggest an identity reveal and only drag them to Hermitcraft if things get worse or one of them gets caught.”
The other two immortals seemed to consider this for a moment. Poultry Man was the first to nod. “If you’re sure. We’ll have to let everyone else know as soon as we can. I still don’t like this.”
Redstone seemed to consider it a moment longer than Poultry Man did. As if the situation was another contraption that wasn’t quite working right. Honestly, that’s probably how he was looking at it. “I don’t see an issue with that. Hopefully it won’t come to the second part of the idea.” He then turned his attention away from Pearl and towards the rest of the group. “We’re talking about a possible… measure just in case, but it could put us and a few of our friends at risk.”
“What… are you suggesting? Moon?” Warden asked, his voice tense. “If you’re about to say what I think…” He trailed off, unsure of how to continue.
She took a deep breath. “We have something of a sanctuary, far away from here, that you all would be safe in. It’d only be for if this place gets too out of hand, but I’d like it to be a possible option. For that to be possible… I think an identity reveal is in order.” The group recoiled with surprise. She held up her hand. “I know. Trust me, I know. But before anyone outright says no-”
Red Cross cut her off. “I agree.” The room’s attention turned to the healer in an instant. His tone remained calm as he spoke, though Pearl saw the way his hands trembled. She wanted to look into his head, see what he was thinking, but she didn’t. She didn’t read any of the vigilante’s minds, no matter how much she wanted to some days. “It makes sense, doesn’t it? We’ve considered each other allies, even friends for a while now. We have to trust each other, especially now.”
The silence was so thick you could hear a pin drop. Fox broke it with a shaky breath. “I agree. I think we should.” He looked around, making eye contact (or as close as you could get with some people’s masks) with everyone in the room one by one. “If we trust each other at our backs in a war zone, why can’t we trust each other with our names and faces?”
“If Fox agrees, so do I.” UFO said, sitting up straight and meeting her gaze.
Slowly, one by one, each and every member agreed. Finally, all eyes turned to Seaward. She’d been silent through the entire meeting, simply watching except for her question earlier. For a long moment, Pearl thought it’d stay that way. Seaward shuddered violently for a moment, before pulling her shoulders back and standing. Pearl thought she was about to just walk out until she spoke. “Fine. But if we’re going to do this, we’re going to do it properly.” A ghost of a smile passed over the woman’s face. “I mean stand up and put your hands on your masks you idiots.”
The tension drained out of the room at the joking tone in her words.
Notes:
I was told by this chapter's beta reader that my readers would be reeling, so, are you reeling? xD
Seriously though, this chapter turned out really well in my opinion. It's also like 3x the length of a normal chapter- I think this one is my apology for not updating for like a month or something XD
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Chapter Text
"ℸ ̣⍑ᒷ ↸ᔑ∷ꖌ ⎓ꖎᔑ∷ᒷ ᒲ⚍ᓭℸ ̣ ʖᒷ ℸ ̣ᒷ∷ᒲ╎リᔑℸ ̣ᒷ↸."
“╎ ᒲᒷᔑリ リ𝙹 ↸╎ᓭ∷ᒷᓭ!¡ᒷᓵℸ ̣, ʖ⚍ℸ ̣ ╎ᓭリℸ ̣ ╎ℸ ̣ ℸ ̣𝙹𝙹 ꖎᔑℸ ̣ᒷ?”
“リ𝙹. ╎⎓ ℸ ̣⍑ᒷ ↸ᔑ∷ꖌ ⎓ꖎᔑ∷ᒷ ↸╎ᒷᓭ リ𝙹∴ ℸ ̣⍑ᒷリ 𝙹⚍∷ ℸ ̣╎ᒲᒷꖎ╎リᒷ ∴╎ꖎꖎ ∷ᒷ⊣ᔑ╎リ ᔑ ᓭᒷᒲʖꖎᔑリᓵᒷ 𝙹⎓ ╎ℸ ̣ᓭ 𝙹∷╎⊣╎リᔑꖎ ℸ ̣ ∷ᔑᓵꖌ”
“╎ ∴╎ꖎꖎ リ𝙹ℸ ̣ ℸ ̣𝙹ꖎᒷ∷ᔑℸ ̣ᒷ ᔑリ|| ⎓⚍∷ℸ ̣⍑ᒷ∷ ᑑ⚍ᒷᓭℸ ̣╎𝙹リ╎リ⊣”
“ᔑᓭ ╎ℸ ̣ !¡ꖎᒷᔑᓭᒷᓭ ||𝙹⚍, ᒲ|| ꖎ𝙹∷↸”
“⊣𝙹𝙹↸, リ𝙹∴ ∷╎ᓭᒷ ᔑリ↸ ʖᒷ⊣𝙹リᒷ ⎓𝙹∷⊣𝙹ℸ ̣ℸ ̣ᒷリ ᓵ⍑╎ꖎ↸. ↸𝙹 リ𝙹ℸ ̣ ⎓ᔑ╎ꖎ”
“╎ ∴𝙹⚍ꖎ↸リ'ℸ ̣ ↸∷ᒷᔑᒲ 𝙹⎓ ᔑリ|| ᓭ⚍ᓵ⍑ ℸ ̣⍑╎リ⊣”
Notes:
I know someone will recognize this
No Spring, I'm not going to give you any hints
Good luck!
Chapter 61: The Marionette's Strings are wound up tight
Notes:
If you're enjoying this, feel free to check out my other stories! You can also join my discord server! You can always be alerted when I update and it's just a nice place to hang out. We don't have very many people, but everyone (who is willing to follow the rules) is welcome!
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(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
With Wilbur – 25 minutes earlier
Puffy. The woman who pretty much helped raise him, Techno, and Tommy just… WHAT!? Demoted. Completely and utterly demoted. Also, more than a bit humiliated. From Wilbur’s point next to Phil he could see his dad’s jaw hanging open. Phil’s wings were puffed up, and if the man weren’t so shocked, he’d likely be trying to defend his actions. As it was, nobody could quite process what just happened. There were so many things they could’ve done to rectify the situation instead, options that they had discussed with the committee beforehand. Puffy, currently still dressed in her hero costume, turned around to face them, her face stuck in a smirk that could almost be described as cruel.
“Crow you are now placed in the eighth ranking. Blade you are now in the ninth, and lastly Ghost you have been brought down to tenth.” She spoke with a finality in her tone that reminded Wilbur of when he was young and she would babysit them. Crow looked over towards Schlatt, silently demanding to know what was going on. The man stepped forward, opening his mouth to speak before hesitating. The Captain turned to Schlatt, unfortunately speaking before he could get over his hesitation. “Isn’t that right, Schlatt? For the unity of both the committee and the city as well as inside the tower itself you agreed to this decision?”
Wilbur’s heart sank. That was just it wasn’t it? She’d made the announcement to the public, so it was either leaving the SBI demoted or going against a beloved hero and showing that they weren’t as unified as they should’ve been. He glanced to the side as well, the rest of the committee sitting in as much shock as everyone else. They wouldn’t, couldn’t help fix this, meaning… “Yes. It was.” Schlatt said, taking a step back. The committee head glared at The Captain, but she only smiled in response. “Congratulations to the Dream Team for moving up in the rankings.” Wilbur had enough experience with Puffy to be able to read the scowl that warped her features at the mention of her son’s team.
No one really knew why Puffy and Dream seemed to hate each other so much. Not even Wilbur, Techno, or Phil. Years ago when Kristen was still alive, Dream had often come along with Puffy when she’d come to babysit them for Phil and Kristen. Wilbur had never been all too fond of the teen in those days, when he thought about it, he still didn’t really like the guy. Sometime not too long after Dream’s hero career fully started, he and Puffy began to avoid each other. Wilbur would’ve asked her about it, but she’d started ignoring him and Techno too by the time he’d noticed it.
It seemed that the rifts between them and Puffy had been deeper than they thought if she was taking steps to significantly hurt them like this. What had they done that she hated them so much for? She’d always been nice to… he stilled at the thought. Tommy. What would he say if he could see them now? Would he have- no. No, he would’ve been just as upset. Sure, they'd make a few mistakes, but he wouldn’t wish their reputations harm, right?
Wilbur didn’t know. His heart ached. He didn’t know most things about his now dead brother he realized. He knew that the teen had hated all three members of the Dream Team with a passion, had two teammates who hated the SBI
which made sense now
, and that was pretty much it aside from fighting abilities and shit.
Wilbur didn’t have the opportunity to think about it any longer, much less still show his shock. As Schlatt shouldered Captain out of the way, Wilbur took the change in attention from them to straighten back up and appear confident, even though he was still trying to process what had just happened. “Since that, ” Schlatt paused to send a glare at The Captain. She just smirked in response. “Has now been dealt with, we will move onto our last order of business, the way I’m going to capture the villains and vigilantes poisoning our city at last.”
No one but the committee knew what Schlatt was planning, despite many drunken days in the recent weeks he’d evidently had been planning this, Schlatt had remained tight lipped. Wilbur had to say he was eager to find out what it was. “In a week from today, a new mandate will be placed upon every working adult in the country. Monthly blood power tests will be a requirement for anyone currently working or getting a job.”
That- well then. That’d definitely work. Force the bastards to abandon any pretense of a civilian life and make them come out of their little hide-y holes. Just them quitting wouldn’t really help either would it? The heroes had access to the country’s work records, and if anyone spontaneously quit their job without reason… Wilbur grinned, his shock from minutes before leaving his mind momentarily.
The Captain wasn’t smiling. If anything, she looked more than horrified. Had she not been consulted beforehand? It wouldn’t be all that surprising if he was honest. “But!” Schlatt shouted, interrupting Wilbur’s spinning thoughts. “In compromise of this, I have an offer for every single one of you… misguided vigilantes and villains. Anyone who gives up their identities freely and comes to the hero committee to be rehabilitated, will be set free without punishment! ” ‘Rehabilitated’? They didn’t have a rehabilitation program, Schlatt wouldn’t be stupid enough to try and reform those bastards- oh. This was what the cells in the lowermost levels were for. Interrogation outside of normal means.
Schlatt. The crazy bastard. Wilbur didn’t like him, but he was a dangerous man who knew how to win. Offer them a fake way out that won’t make questions arise when they just disappear off the face of the planet.
Years ago, Wilbur might’ve felt sick at the idea. Felt sick about the fact they would do that to people. Been horrified about the interrogation methods that he’d read about in the files he’d gotten to see. Sick at the very idea of killing another person.
Wilbur no longer had any of those reservations. Any villain had lost their right to be called human as soon as they became a villain.
What would Tommy say?
The Captain didn’t say a word, instead striding off the stage with a confident stride. Wilbur saw the way her knees shook and her hands curled and uncurled into fists. He honestly couldn’t see why she was so upset. Sure, it was a little overboard, but the vigilantes and villains deserved it. They broke the laws meant to keep the peace and started an unnecessary war. How many heroes had been killed in cold blood? How many people had they taken the money of right in front of them at the bank? How many hostages had they tortured? How many buildings had been burned down with people still inside?
What was wrong with a little retaliation? Most heroes shied away from calling it a war, most civilians too, but he didn't bother trying to ignore it. They were at war, and sometimes you have to do a couple unsavory things to win. Especially when the people you were against more than kind of deserved it.
Notes:
Congratulations to ZGisTooShort, Kumori29, and TABEE002 for breaking the code from last chapter! As promised, here is the full translation:
"The Dark Flare must be terminated."
"I mean no disrespect, but isn't it too late?"
"No. If the Dark Flare dies now then our timeline will regain a semblance of it's original track."
"I will not tolerate any further questioning.""As it pleases you, my lord."
"Good, now ride and begone, forgotten child. Do not fail."
"I wouldn't dream of any such thing."
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Chapter 62: To barely stand
Chapter Text
With Puffy - Back in the present
Puffy’s hands were shaking. They’d been doing that a lot lately. That day hadn’t helped either, first she’d gone and demoted the SBI. One member she’d been friends with for years and the other two she’d practically been the aunt of. She felt horrible for doing it, even if she knew they more than well deserved that demotion if not more. It was bad enough that she was lucky if the public hadn’t noticed her turmoil when she’d gone on stage.
It’d taken every nerve in her body to stay up on that stage for even a moment. Then there was the rest of Schlatt’s speech, where he’d not only lied about the effort’s to find Fire-Fist but also made a move that could put everyone in danger. Her facade had quickly been cracking and she’d had to leave after that, despite Schlatt demanding she stay the entire time.
Puffy’s hands didn’t stop shaking.
Then there was the fight. Where she’d… she’d hurt Clay. Her own son. UFO wouldn’t have survived that attack and she’d panicked. Sure, she’d hurt other heroes before, but never enough to break any bones, especially Clay. Puffy avoided the kid when she could. Now she’d hurt him. Her own son. She hated what he’d done. Hated what he did to Quick Silver and Lapis, even if they were villains. But she didn’t hate him. No matter what he did, she would still love her son.
Puffy’s hands didn’t stop shaking.
Now she was sitting in a meeting with her fellow vigilante’s, whose fate was looking grim. With the new mandate Schlatt was pushing, they were going to lose their civilian lives. The villains would be fine, but it was the vigilantes that Schlatt had truly just screwed over. They leaned more into their homes lives than their powered ones.
The heroes had their tower. The villains had the darkest parts of the city where even they could go free. The people in this meeting? Nothing. They had this single building and even that wasn’t safe. Not when life outside of it was fractured and dripping.
Puffy’s hands wouldn’t stop shaking .
Moon’s finger’s began to drum against the table, breaking the silence after Fox’s words a few moments before. The woman looked straight towards Redstone and Poultry Man with an odd intensity. It was only when Moon’s finger’s stopped and Redstone tapped in a specific pattern on the table that Puffy realized what was going on.
They were talking. Just not in a way anyone could understand. Puffy knew morse code, but that wasn’t it. This was something similar but with completely different meanings for each sound. Puffy watched the conversation, despite not understanding a word of it. The others were starting to take notice as well, some with confusion and others seemingly figuring it out as well.
“P- Moon no.” Redstone objected, immediately going back to tapping. So it was an argument. That was something at least? Though he went back to communicating through the weird morse code before giving anything else away.
Puffy’s hands didn’t stop shaking .
“Code, Redstone.” Moon reminded with a stern tone. “Speak in code.” The ringing in Puffy’s ears almost drowned out the woman’s voice. The tapping rang too loud in Puffy’s ears. Why now!? She wasn’t even the one in danger!?
Nonetheless, Puffy’s hands refused to STOP.
Selfish, selfish, selfish, selfish- Puffy’s mind chanted it like a mantra. Her fists clenched until she felt warm blood pool under her nails. The feeling brought her out of her head as she pressed her bleeding palms against the black cloth of her pants leg to cover the bleeding. She spoke before she could be engulfed by her mind again. Her voice shook, and she hoped they just thought it was from the events of the day and not because she was on the edge of a breakdown. “Do any of you three want to clue us in to what you’re discussing? I mean I think that’s what you’re doing if I’m reading the increasingly frustrated tapping right.”
Her hands wouldn’t stop shaking.
The tapping ceased for a moment, the room’s attention shifting to her. Even the brief moment in the spotlight caused Puffy to want to curl up into a ball and disappear. Moon sighed, sliding back in her chair from where she’d slowly shifted to the edge of it. The tapping of her fingers against the table became calm once more. After another moment of silence, Poultry Man nodded with a sigh. “If you’re sure, I still don’t like this.”
Redstone tilted his head, and the silence stretched for yet another agonizing moment. “I don’t see an issue with that. Hopefully it won’t come to the second part of the idea.” He then turned his attention away from Moon and towards the rest of the group. “We’re talking about a possible… measure just in case, but it could put us and a few of our friends at risk.”
Puffy’s hands didn’t stop shaking.
She didn’t like the sound of that. Neither did her trembling hands. Not something else. Please anything but more emotional effort. She hoped she’d be able to take her melatonin instead of just passing out, the nightmares would be much, much worse today if she didn’t.
“What… are you suggesting? Moon?” Warden asked, his voice tense. “If you’re about to say what I think…” Puffy looked between Warden and Moon, unsure of what he was talking about. What could put them at ris- fuck. Oh fuck. No no no no. That was dangerous. Dangerous for all of them.
Puffy’s hands stilled.
Dangerous for her. While her face wasn’t known outside the hero tower, anyone inside had seen it and knew her name. It wouldn’t take much. Then they would turn on her. Because she was a part of the evil hero committee that had done so much to hurt them. She wasn’t sure she’d even really blame them. She was a liar after all. No one likes a liar.
Moon took in a deep breath. “We have something of a sanctuary, far away from here, that you all would be safe in. It’d only be for if this place gets too out of hand, but I’d like it to be a possible option. For that to be possible… I think an identity reveal is in order.” Puffy recoiled, and she wasn’t the only one. She’d realized already what the suggestion was, but hearing it said out loud just brought reality knocking on her mind’s door all that much more. “I know. Trust me, I know. But before anyone outright says no-”
Puffy’s heart sank as Red Cross interrupted Moon with an, “I agree.” His voice was calm and steady, but his hands shook and his brows were furrowed. “It makes sense, doesn’t it? We’ve considered each other allies, even friends for a while now. We have to trust each other, especially now.”
She wanted to trust them. She desperately wanted that. But what if- “I agree. I think we should.” Fox said, meeting each of their gazes with an odd determination. His fox ears weren’t flat against his head like they’d been when she’d first arrived. “If we trust each other at our backs in a war zone, why can’t we trust each other with our names and faces?”
Ah… she’d forgotten about this part. In the hero tower, friendships didn’t really matter. You worked with whoever you had to and didn’t complain. But here… that was different. Fighting side by side made people come together. I guess I forgot that after so long… she thought to herself. Names and faces had brought both heroes and villains down over the years and having the trust to share both was heartwarming. At least, when it wasn’t when someone was dying. That kind of changed things a bit.
Even so, it didn’t change the facts. If even one of them got caught, they’d all be in danger. Puffy knew how to hold up under torture and interogation, but these people didn’t know the same. “If Fox agrees, so do I.” UFO said, sitting up straight and meeting Moon’s gaze.
UFO. The teenager. The one who was in both the most and least danger. He shouldn’t have even been there. The powered world shouldn’t be placed on the shoulders of teenagers. This war had already killed three kids. Three that were precious to Puffy, even if she was only truly close to one of them and they had accidentally been on the wrong side.
Tommy, Tubbo, and Ranboo. They had been just like UFO. Loyal to a fault, hard working, and had an urge to deal justice. She’d only really been close to Tommy of the three, but from the little she’d heard about the other two they were all too similar. Distantly, Puffy wondered if maybe in a peaceful world, if the trio would be friends with the teenage vigilante.
It was months too late to find out. The hero trio was long dead. They wouldn’t have the chance anyway even if the trio was still alive. They had been trapped, completely and wholly, and had no idea that’s what they were.
Not that she had the time to think about that at the moment. By the time she started paying attention again, everyone had agreed to do a reveal. It was a bad idea. It was dangerous, stupid, and reckless. But… she wanted to. Give the other vigilantes that trust that she hadn’t cared about that came with revealing your identity in years. Puffy stood up, and she watched something akin to hurt flash across the others faces like they thought she was about to leave.
It was a fair assumption. She had always been the most cagey about her thoughts and life. Puffy felt herself shudder, as if trying to shake off the rest of her hesitation. She spoke before anyone could interject. “Fine. But if we’re going to do this, we’re going to do it properly.” Puffy almost smiled at the pure confusion painted across their faces. “I mean stand up and put your hands on your masks, you idiots.”
The teasing time in her voice apparently helped, the tension in everyone's shoulders dropped, leaving only excitement and nerves in its place. Everyone got to their feet, moving to stand behind their chairs. Puffy’s legs buckled, but she kept a tight grip on her own chair to support her. “Anyone want to go first?” Poultry Man asked, glancing around the room. No one responded. “Alright me first then.”
He pulled off the mask he was wearing without any other prompting and flashed them all a mischievous grin. “My name’s Grian or depending who you ask,” he started counting off on his fingers. “Mother spore, that one boat cult leader, the resistance guy-”
Redstone sighed, cutting him off. “Grian I’m pretty sure they get the picture.” The man pulled down his own mask, revealing that he evidently had a mustache. Puffy hadn’t known that. She didn’t know why she would though. Still a weird sight. “My name’s Mumbo. For a little context, those are all inside jokes.” He glared at Poultry Man- Grian, though the vigilante just flashed him another grin.
“Wait, I've seen you two!” Fox said, staring at them with surprise, pulling his mask off as well. “You guys come browse at the greenhouse like twice a month!” Fundy, Grian and Mumbo were staring at each other with looks of surprise.
“Oh shit- Fundy!?” Moon swore, pulling her own mask off as well. “I never would’ve thought. You’re a vigilante!?” Moon’s mask covered her entire face, meaning her appearance was completely new to Puffy. Her eyes were a bright blue, the color set of all the more by the weird silver markings around her eyes. Puffy’s brows furrowed slightly. That wasn’t something she’d seen before. Moon turned to UFO. “Wait… does that mean you’re-”
UFO pulled off his mask, looking a bit sheepish. “Yeah, hi Pearl.” He turned to the rest of the attendees. “I’m Purpled- Red Cross are you okay?” Puffy turned to the man in question, who looked like he was having a bit of a crisis.
Suddenly he let out a loud groan, his head falling into his hands. “It makes so much sense now.” He pulled off his mask then dead panned towards Purpled. “I’m not giving you any more ice packs.”
Puffy thought the comment was weird, what did- “YOU’RE THE FUCKING SCHOOL NURSE!?” Purpled shouted. Puffy choked on air.
Notes:
I felt so bad writing this entire chapter XD
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Chapter 63: A leader once more (when were you ever one?)
Notes:
Did I have this ready to send 5 minutes ago? Yes.
Did I want to use the permit office music to put my discord server on hold? Also yes.I have no shame, I've been cackling the entire time.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
With Fundy
Okay so all the vigilantes knew each other as civilians. Even with the current circumstances it was a bit funny. Pearl though? Last person he’d ever expect to be involved in any of this. And evidentially Purpled’s school nurse was Red Cross, which just kind of fit for some reason but was still weird. Red Cross scratched his neck, a sheepish smile on his face. “Yeah, that’s me.” The vigilante let his hand fall to his side. “I would’ve never thought the random teenager who wouldn’t stop showing up in my office was a vigilante. At least all the bruises make sense now.” Fundy let out a small huff of amusement. Purpled had mentioned all his trips to the nurse’s office and said that he’d citied clumsiness as the reason he was showing up so often.
Purpled, who was also one of the most weirdly graceful people Fundy had ever met. His ears twitched as he brought his attention back to the present. Hilariously bad excuses were not what they were there for. Red Cross sighed, turning his attention away from Purpled and to the group as a whole. “My name’s Ponk. It’s nice to meet you all face to face for once. This was probably a long time coming anyway.” He then turned an expectant look on Warden.
Warden nodded his head to the side in an acknowledgement of his teammate’s silent demand. He reached up and tapped what was likely a code into the side of his mask. It slid silently from his face. Fundy’s eyebrows raised in surprise. His eyes were completely black aside from two small green circles where his irises were. It was a bit creepy if Fundy was being honest, but he wasn’t one to really judge. The man was his friend, and besides, Fundy knew a thing or two about inhuman hybrid features. “Names Sam.” The man said, bowing his head slightly. The movement was… oddly familiar, though Fundy couldn’t quite place where he’d seen that specific inclination before. His smile was warm as he lifted his head again. “It’s nice to meet you all properly.”
It was a bit odd hearing Sam’s voice for the first time without a voice changer. It was weird hearing everyone (aside from Purpled and Pearl, though hearing her voice when she was being heavily associated with Moon was still a bit disconcerting) without voice changers was weird. He’d grown used to the odd inflections and metal tinge the voice changers caused, and hearing their unadulterated voices just sounded straight up wrong after so long to get used to them.
Finally, the room’s attention shifted to Seaward. The woman tensed slightly. Fundy had quickly realized when he’d first met her that she didn’t like it when people looked at her for too long. Which was a more than understandable trait for a vigilante who could be put at the heroes mercy with one slip of her identity, but she’d always been more jumpy than anyone else. She shook it off quickly though, pulling her mask off with only a moment of hesitation. “My name is Puffy,” she paused, as if considering saying more. “Yeah just- just Puffy.” Fundy’s brows furrowed. That was weird.
“Oh wait I’ve seen you!” Sam said, tilting his head as his eyebrows furrowed in concentration. “You’re that one lady who sits in the corner table of Niki’s bakery.” Niki? Why did that name ring a bell? Fundy glanced towards Purpled, and judging by the fact he was staring at both Sam and Puffy with a look of bewilderment, he knew what they were talking about. Or he’d seen them in public before. Either would be an understandable reason for him to be giving them that expression.
Puffy’s eyes lit up with recognition. “Oh wait, yeah! I’ve seen you talking to the owner of the place before!” She laughed, smiling widely. “I’m not going to lie, I completely doubted anyone here had seen me before. I’m…” she trailed off for a moment before speaking again, her smile fading slightly. “Not out much.” The woman’s smile reappeared as quickly as it’d gone.
Purpled thankfully spoke up before the silence stretched on uncomfortably. “Wait you know Niki?” he directed his question towards Sam who chuckled, shaking his head.
“One of my few friends actually,” he confirmed before inquiring, “How do you know her?”
Purpled shrugged before speaking. “Friend of a friend.” Fundy’s brows furrowed at the teen’s words. Niki wasn’t someone he knew, so it must’ve been one of the trio’s friends. The trio he was still suspicious of. From overhearing that conversation between Warp, Vengeance, and Captain he knew that the havoc trio trusted Tommy, Tubbo, and Ranboo, since they’d said they had been there when Purpled had his identity revealed. With everything going on, he still hadn’t been able to meet the teens, which wasn’t best case in the slightest.
Did Tommy, Tubbo, and Ranboo know the havoc trio’s identities or were they just working with them? Honestly in that case, which would be worse? Then there was the third option, which Fundy liked even less. The havoc trio trusted the teens because they had blackmail on them. If the villains were blackmailing the teenagers, then maybe it would be for the best to stop them. He doubted that was the case, however, from what he knew about them, they seemed to be some of the better villains he’d come across during his time as a vigilante.
The conversation had continued on without Fundy. Luckily no one seemed to notice his quickly deepening frustration, and he quickly figured out what the new topic was. “-need a plan.” Puffy finished her statement, leaning on the table heavily. She glanced at Pearl. “You said the idea you had was a backup?” The woman in question nodded. Puffy sighed, standing back up with a contemplative expression. “Alright. So, what’s plan A?”
The silence that followed her question was rather telling. No one had a plan. No one had planned for this. Who would? They knew that they were in a war. It was a tale as old as time itself wasn’t it? It didn’t matter what the winner did, cause whoever won wrote the history books. “I fucking love being a part of resistances.” A whisper broke though the silence like a hammer though a glass window. Fundy could swear he got whiplash from how quickly he turned to look at the source. Said source was evidently Grian, who was grinning like a madman.
Pearl facepalmed with a sigh. “Oh gods. Here we go again.” Fundy’s brows furrowed once more. ‘Again’? Not to mention Grian said ‘resistances’. Plural.
Mumbo looked just as tired. “Every time.” He threw his hands up. “Pearl you can’t complain. I get dragged into it Every. Single. Time. He does this.”
Rolling his eyes, Grian leaned forward and set both his hands on the table just like Puffy had moments before. “It’s not that bad! Besides, I’m good at this. Remember G-team? The mycelium resistance? Nether, even the Rentheking era?” He looked to the rest of the room. “Are you all wiling to work with me?” though most people seemed almost hesitant, all he received were nods around the room before he turned back to Pearl and Mumbo with raised eyebrows and a wild gleam in his eyes.
Pearl raised her hands in defeat, taking a step back. “Floor is yours Grian.”
Grian nodded, and suddenly the very air around him seemed to shift. He exuded an air of confidence, his very presence seeming to command respect. Fundy took a step back, as did everyone but Puffy, Pearl, and Mumbo. He plowed on, either not noticing the shift or not caring. “First things first, supplies. No one will be able to keep their day jobs if they work in this country so money is going to be an issue for anyone without another source. I know I have some money saved that I can dip into to help everyone else, but I need to know if anyone else does as well.”
Puffy nodded, her lips pinching into a thin line. “I do. My job pays well and I’ve been collecting for a while in case of shit like this happening.”
Courtesy of Mumbo, a paper and pen was deposited in front of Grian. Fundy had no idea where it came from. “We need to know exactly how much you have, if you can find out.” Grian said. “I’ll be checking my savings as well.”
“Understood.”
“Second of all,” Grian continued without wasting time, “is the more uncomfortable question.” He looked around, locking eyes with each and every person around the table. The vigilante wasn’t a hybrid from what Fundy knew, but there was something distinctly inhuman lurking behind his eyes that sent a shiver down Fundy’s spine. “Does anyone here have any allies they think will or can help us. Usually I’m talking about friends who would agree with the cause, but for this group, I’m talking about people from other factions who you might be in contact with.” Fundy grimaced. Yeah, that was definitely an uncomfortable question alright.
***
If anyone had been paying attention, they would’ve seen the guilt cross Puffy’s face.
But they weren’t, and that was something the double agent was grateful for. Sure she wouldn’t think of suggesting any of the heroes if they did know, but the reminder that she didn’t truly, fully fit here was a punch to the gut.
***
No one spoke up. Fundy was relieved if he was being honest. When the other factions in questions were a bunch of murders, arsonists, and otherwise violent criminals or the heroes which weren’t any better, it was kind of nice that no one was allying themselves knowingly with the factions in question. Grian let out a breath. “Okay. Honestly that’s for the best.” He said, unknowingly echoing Fundy’s own thoughts. “From my experience, I know that people won’t just take this.” There it was again. This was not something anyone in L’manburg had ever seen before, why would he have experience with it? Fundy tried to ignore the thought. Grian was his friend and ally. No point questioning him now when he’d always proven trustworthy and reliable. “All we have to do it wait it out.”
Notes:
This was a fun chapter to write for me. Grian just went 'oh fuck yeah, resistance time' and everyone just kind of went along with it 🤣 Anyone who's watched hermitcraft knows that Grian is THE resistance guy.
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Chapter 64: Put on the blindfold and burn it to your skin (or they'll do it for you)
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
With Tubbo - a half hour earlier
“Now, the first thing you need to learn in technical training is that no matter what, you should follow orders.” 9-year-old Tubbo listened eagerly. He didn’t have anything better to do, and he was almost just happy to be doing something other than sitting in a classroom. A grassy field stretched out around the class. He wasn’t too interested in his classmates if he was being honest. There were about a dozen others that had been brought out as well, including a kid that had only joined that day. That one was interesting, but not enough for Tubbo to investigate why he joined late. “The hero committee knows what’s best for me, you, our city, and our very country.”
Tubbo supposed that made sense. From their history lessons they knew that the hero committee had only been created 65 years earlier, but there had been chaos beforehand. The committee had restored peace and had made way for prosperity. He may not have been allowed to leave the academy, but he had been told all about the city. “To question them is to question our very lives and lifestyles. Do we want to question the prosperity that they’ve given us?”
Everyone shook their heads, and the woman that was their teacher smiled. “Good! Now, for today’s technical training we will be-” the woman sighed, her words being cut off. Tubbo glanced around for why, his gaze finally resting on his newest classmate. Had they all been standing; the kid would’ve been taller than Tubbo.
His hair was a bright curly blond, and his blue eyes shined with a mischief Tubbo had a feeling he shouldn’t engage with. The boy had his hand raised and was smiling from ear to ear. He didn’t know you could blink expectantly, but this kid was managing it. Their teacher stared at the kid for a long moment, as if expecting him to put his hand down so she could continue with their lesson. Tubbo happened to agree with the sentiment. They could be learning cool stuff, but this stupid kid wouldn’t put his hand down! “Yes Tommy, what is it?” The teacher finally sighed.
The kid-- named Tommy evidently-- put his hand down as he posed his question. “What if the committee is having a bad day and they tell you to do something stupid?”
The teacher went almost red in the face, sputtering, “the committee doesn’t bring personal mood into work, they are more professional than that-”
“Okayyyy,” Tommy drawled, “but what if they did anyway?”
Never mind. This kid was absolutely the kind of person Tubbo wanted to be friends with.
He never liked that teacher anyway.
THERE WAS A HERO IN THEIR HOUSE OH SHIT PANIC- oh wait no that's just Sapnap. That happened sometimes, he'd just forget Sapnap was there and have a mini-heart attack. Tommy and Ranboo did it too. He'd seen them flinch violently and then brush it off like nothing happened. The soon to be ex-hero seemingly hadn't noticed and that was something he was grateful for. Sapnap, as they'd grown to find out, was actually really sweet, when the hero committee wasn't completely in his head at least.
It was a bit weird if he was being honest. Back the hero tower, their team and Sapnap's would make snide comments at each other or purposely embarrass each other, and now… “Tommy if you don't get your wing off of me, I'm going to jump out the window.” Ranboo complained, shoving the feathery limb away from him once more.
“You know, maybe don't do that… please.” Sapnap pleaded, reaching forward as to help but going still as he realized he didn't know what he could do and if he should do it. “Your friends would kill me if any of you three got hurt.”
Tommy huffed, hitting Ranboo in the face one last time with his wing before retracting the thing. “Well, they're useless for anything else.” That was the unfortunate thing, Tommy couldn’t fly. Getting down with Niki during the fight had been a miracle where he’d just had to try and catch the air. He was too scared to even try to learn on his own.
Traditionally, this was done by the parents. Supposedly it was a sacred thing for an avian, with no one but family even being allowed to be nearby when they first took flight. Unfortunately, this meant that Tommy… wouldn’t ever be able to really fly. His father was an asshole and thought they were dead, so asking him for help was definitely out of the question. Quackity was an avian, but they’d already ruled out asking the man. Not only did he choose to hide his wings most of the time, but teaching was just as sacred as learning and Tommy had said he didn’t want to force the man to do anything. They knew that if they asked, he’d do it whether he actually wanted to or not.
They didn't have any other avian friends, so Tommy was stuck on the ground. Tubbo felt bad for his friend. He’d always admired the ability to fly. Tubbo lounged back on the couch with a smirk. “No don’t stop them. Ranboo, throw Tommy out the window instead. It’d be funny.” He couldn’t fly, but he could glide, and the complaining would be funny for at least a little while. Tommy jumped across the couch and attempted to tackle him, but Sapnap lunged forward, grabbing him by the waist and holding him back. Everyone froze.
Then all hell broke loose. Tommy’s face grew into a savage grin and he twisted in Sapnap’s hold, slamming his forehead into Sapnap’s own. The hero dropped him and the teen landed in a crouch before lunging forward once more, just at Sapnap this time. Ranboo jumped forward, grabbing Tommy’s arm and swinging him around so he slammed him into the wall. Tubbo jumped over the back of the couch to avoid the fight. He grabbed his phone to start recording. They recorded when they sparred to train, this was no different.
Sapnap backed up to escape the impromptu fight, and Tommy luckily seemed content to let him go. Tommy pushed off the wall and went low, moving quickly to come up under Ranboo’s guard to punch him in the jaw. Ranboo stumbled back, massaging his jaw with a wild grin. His tail lashed against the air behind him, causing Sapnap to back off further. Something told Tubbo that this was going to be one of those days that they’d have to come up with an excuse of why they needed to use so many healing potions in one day. None of the others would be happy.
That was until the shrill sound of the phone ringing cut through the air, causing everyone in the room to collectively flinch in surprise.
Tubbo walked over to check what it was. They hadn’t really allowed Sapnap on any electronics (a bit of paranoia was still warranted right?) and Tommy and Ranboo were too busy worrying if the other would make a move if either turned their back to see what it was. Picking up the phone, the caller had already disconnected. Though a few text messages clogged up the notifications. It then occurred to Tubbo he had no idea which of his teammates’ phone it was.
Then again, it really didn’t matter. They had made it so that any of them could unlock each other’s phones with the face recognition so all it took was him holding it up for a brief moment to get into the thing. Now open, he could see why.
Niki Nihachu
Niki: One missed call
Niki: Guy the heroes are setting something up in the city center
Niki: Looks like some kind of stage
Niki: Thought I’d let you guys know
Ranboo: I’ll let everyone know
Tubbo paused, seeing that it was Ranboo’s name on the reply. Well that answered that question. It was only polite to identify himself right?
Ranboo: This is Tubbo btw, I have Ranboo’s phone
Niki: Hey Tubbo, but yeah, this is looking suspicious. Schlatt looks all too proud of himself and I don’t like it one bit
Tubbo’s brows furrowed. Well that was never good news. The villain gc was also going off, talking about what it could be. “What’s going on?” Sapnap asked from across the room, seeing his conflicted expression.
“Schlatt is setting something up. Niki doesn’t trust it and neither does anyone else.” He looked up, handing the phone to Tommy who had a similar reaction to his own before handing it over to Ranboo. “I think we should go check it out, or at least watch it. Prime knows that man doesn’t do anything in public without broadcasting it everywhere.”
Sapnap grimaced. “This can’t be good.”
“No, no it can’t.” Ranboo agreed, powering off his phone and reaching for the TV remote, the impromptu spar momentarily forgotten. “I guess we’ll just have to see then. How badly is the city going to be fucked over today I wonder.”
Letting out a snort of amusement, Tommy walked over and settled down on the couch. “It probably depends how drunk he is.” Tubbo quickly joined him, and so did Ranboo a few moments later.
It seemed like that day was going to be interesting after all.
Notes:
This was an... interesting chapter to write. Definitely not one of the best chapters and nowhere near my favorite but I've been having some really bad writers block lately, sorry.
I hope you enjoyed it though and found it as interesting as I did.
If you're enjoying this and/or want to discuss this chapter and fic with other readers my discord server it's a nice little place if I do say so myself :D It's also a nice place to sit and chat. Talking is encouraged but not required :)
Chapter 65: Quiet admission and tales (are always the important ones)
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Still with Tubbo
They had elected to stay home and watch the news instead of going to investigate in person. Of course this limited them, but Sapnap wouldn't be able to safely go with since the area was likely crawling with every faction in L’manburg. If this was one of Schlatt’s big moves, they didn't want to leave him alone. He may not have been their friend for very long, but they still cared about him.
While they typically chose to have colored lights on in their living room, Tubbo (who was usually in control of the remote and that was the way he liked it-) had chosen to keep their lamps off. Instead, he'd turned on the overhead lights. It wasn't as nice, but that was okay.
It didn't take long to find a channel covering the latest hero news. It was just as Niki had said. The hero’s makeshift stage was set up, heroes walking around everywhere, and Schlatt smirking like the bastard he was on the far side. The last of the chairs were being set up at the back of the stage, employees scrambling to get everything set up. He didn’t see either of Sapnap’s teammates, but that was to be expected. Quackity had told them he’d be having a meeting with Dream and Spore, expressing his frustration that he might actually have to give them some information to see if he could figure out anything so that he could find the man himself. It was lucky that they weren’t on call. The trio had all burst out in cackling. Sapnap had, understandably, been very confused.
The Captain was standing behind Schlatt at the side of the stage, though Tubbo could tell she was glowering at the man. She had never complained to any of the trio outright, not even Tommy who she’d always been closest to, but they had all heard her muttering. It was a bit ironic if he really thought about it. She had always been the one questioning and insulting Schlatt but was still following his orders without betraying him even once, while the trio, who had never liked him but had never complained or questioned the man, were now supposedly dead and had become villains.
They’d considered telling Puffy before they left. They really had. She had always been kind to them. Tommy had argued the hardest for telling her. She’d practically helped raise him after all, and even if Phil had turned out being an asshole and most of his memories with the man had become bittersweet, his memories with The Captain were still something Tommy looked back on fondly. Yet she was loyal to the heroes and would’ve tried to stop them. Probably not reported them, but would’ve stopped them nonetheless. It’d hurt, but they knew it was necessary.
The top heroes, except for Dream and Spore of course, were stationed near the back of the stage. The hero committee was finally making their way onto the stage and to the chairs that lined the front. Schlatt didn’t yet come on stage, as per usual. One of the other committee members, the one Tubbo had always referred to in his head as ‘weasel’ (he looked like a rat in human form, it was less of an insult and more of an objective description-) stepped up to the podium.
He tapped the microphone twice, capturing both the crowd and everyone else’s attention. The news guy that Tubbo had been completely ignoring when completely quiet and the camera panned away from him, zooming in on the stage. ‘Weasel’ smiled. Who thought zooming in that far was a good idea? Tubbo could practically see the man’s yellow teeth. Or maybe that was just because he knew they were there. Either way, Tubbo nearly wished right then that he didn’t need to be paying attention to this. “I’m sure everyone has been wanting to know a couple things, both of which we plan to address today. These include the disappearance of Fire-Fist and our progress on the matter, as well as a few new plans for taking care of the villains and vigilantes plaguing our country.”
Tubbo rolled his eyes. ‘Problem’. Yeah sure. Like the vigilantes weren’t the only reason the city hadn’t gone up in flames yet. Then the first part of the man’s sentence caught up to Tubbo’s brain, and he was a lot more interested. Sapnap’s disappearance? They couldn’t have found him right? If they had then there would already be a bunch of assholes at their door. Had Moon reversed hacked him somehow and given the info to the heroes? Even if she could, she wouldn’t, right? He glanced at Sapnap, just then realizing the man in question had gone deathly still, his gaze rooted on the screen.
Tubbo turned his attention away from the screen for a moment, wordlessly bumping his shoulder into Sapnap’s own. The man jolted, turning towards him with wide eyes. Tubbo tilted his head in silent question. His mind was heavy with concern for his friend. He knew what it was like, watching them talk about you while knowing behind all those smiles are bloodthirsty monsters who want nothing more than to have your corpse at their door. Sapnap shook his head, turning his attention back to the screen. Tubbo looked at him for a moment longer. He knew the man wasn’t okay, but for now they’d have to wait.
The entire interaction took only a few seconds, and when Tubbo gave the screen his attention once more all that had happened was Schlatt coming up on stage. “Good afternoon my beloved country!” he addressed the crowd. His country? His country? Sure he owned the legal side of the country, but that was only a fraction of it. The country only ran because of the countless underground operations and black markets, only ran because the vigilantes kept the more destructive bastards in line. He hardly owned anything. It wasn’t his to claim. The cheering was lackluster at best, a fact that made Tubbo raise an eyebrow, Ranboo snort questioningly in amusement, and Tommy to shove another handful of popcorn into his mouth- wait when the hell did he get popcorn??? Tubbo wasn’t given time to question as Schlatt kept talking, and the words that came out of his mouth made sure that Tubbo wasn’t thinking about it much longer anyway.
“Without delay, I would like to address the very concerns brought up by my fellow committee member. Starting with our dear missing hero, Fire-Fist. I’m happy to announce we have made some massive steps forward towards locating our missing comrade. Dream and Spore are currently out confirming information that we have gathered, which is why they are not here to join us for today. We are on track to find him sometime within the next few weeks.” Tubbo stood abruptly at that, eyeing the screen with wide eyes. Wild cheering accompanied the moment after his words, much louder than the earlier bouts of cheers had been.
Not that he was considering that. No. What he was worried about was the fact that the bastards knew something. Tommy caught his arm before he could run off to his room to look though any place he fucked up. He turned on his friend to tell him off only to pause when he saw Tommy’s serious expression. “Tubbo, calm down.”
Panic quickly turned to rage in his chest. Confusion was there too, because this was their friend’s safety they were talking about, but still rage. “Calm down!? The fuck you mean calm down!? We have to protect Sap-”
“Tubbo!” Ranboo shouted, cutting him off, his expression matched Tommy’s. “He’s lying. You know he’s lying.” Tubbo jerked backwards, taken aback. Ranboo plowed forward without waiting for a response. “Quackity is meeting with Dream and Spore today because they haven’t found anything. They wouldn’t be willing to try making a deal with Q unless they hadn’t found anything.” Sapnap had about looked ready to spring up out of his seat as well, but at Ranboo’s words he let out a shocked if slightly manic laugh, falling back in his seat and putting an arm over his eyes.
“That scared the shit out of me.” The man let out a shaky breath as he spoke. He leaned forward once, narrowing his eyes at Schlatt as he muttered, “I guess I never realized just how much he lied.” There was that conflicted look. Tubbo would recognize it well, having seen it in his own reflections time and time again.
Tubbo always enjoyed it when he or his teammates were right about something that was legitimately important, but in this case, he was especially grateful.
…he was still going to double check everything when they were done.
Just in case.
Sitting back down, Tubbo forced himself to calm down. Schlatt didn’t seem to care about the importance of that little announcement. Of course he didn’t. Hard to care about a lie when people would believe you no matter what you spat at them. Tubbo’s lips curled back into a disgusted sneer as the man plowed forward with his speech. “I’ll be taking questions at the end.” Schlatt cut off the crowd as the reporters present started hurling words his way. They quieted down, and the man began to speak once more. “The next order of business is how we’ll be fixing the villain and vigilante problem plaguing our city. This may be a bit controversial, but the committee has agreed it’s necessary.”
Oh this should be good. Anyone with half a brain knew Schlatt couldn’t ‘fix’ shit. Unless he planned to try and reform the hero committee, which was less likely than everyone losing their powers within the next 10 seconds. Tubbo started counting down, but was interrupted when on screen, Schlatt clapped once, shattering the tension that had been building. “However, before I get into that! The Captain has stated she has a few words to say!”
Tommy sat up straight at that. Despite himself, Tubbo smiled slightly. If not for the circumstances they were all in, Puffy would probably be considered part of the little fucked up family they’d built with the other villains. It was moments like this that he was reminded of the fact. His smile fell. How many people had they ended up leaving behind because of this war? Did anyone even remember how it started anymore? What was the point? Had they known what they were creating when they started all this? If they knew, would they regret it? Tubbo shook his head to clear his thoughts, and began paying attention just in time to watch as The Captain gave her greeting. “Good afternoon, citizens, villains, vigilantes, rogues, and heroes of L’manburg.” She spoke softly, but the microphone caused her words to carry much further than they would’ve otherwise.
Despite the far angle of the camera, Tubbo saw her take a deep breath before continuing to speak. “As you all know, there has been some controversy surrounding our top three heroes as of late, specifically in regard to Crow.” Now, it was Tommy’s turn to go deathly still. Even though the avian had long since renounced his father, Tubbo knew there would still be some part of Tommy who thought of Phil as his dad. A terrible dad, but still. A barrage of shouting came after her words, though it was impossible to pick out much of anything from the news broadcast they were watching. The Captain waited a long moment until most of it had died down before continuing her part of the speech. “As everyone knows, heroes aim to incapacitate, not kill.”
There it was. She knew that was a lie as much as any villain because she was on the hero committee and yet she still lied. Loyalty over honesty. “This rule was almost broken when Crow pulled a risky and admittedly stupid move to drop the villain Huntress and vigilante UFO from almost 200 feet in the air.” Tubbo’s jaw dropped. Did she just- she insulted the number 1 hero in public. Not to mention she wasn’t trying to excuse Phil’s actions. He knew from what Tommy had told him that The Captain wasn’t friends with the man anymore, but her publicly insulting Crow had not been on his list of things he expected to happen.
Schlatt shifted from foot to foot behind her, his gaze locked on Captain. She didn’t turn around to look at him. “In light of this, I have come to a compromise that is not as good as most would like, but better than letting it go.” A steadily growing grin made its way onto her face as she spoke, a look Tubbo could only describe as vindictive.
“The SBI shall be demoted.”
She spoke with finality, her wicked grin not wavering, even as the crowd went absolutely wild. Tubbo couldn’t find it in himself to care about how the crowd reacted, not when The Captain had just dropped that absolute bombshell on them. Everyone in the room had gone silent. Until Tommy started laughing. Tubbo’s head whipped towards where Tommy was sitting just in time to watch his friend fall off the couch with a yelp. He immediately went back to giggling. “Oh my fucking Prime-” he wheezed. “Look at their faces! Puffy I fucking love you.”
Suddenly, Tubbo’s phone vibrated on the table in front of him, along with both of his teammates’ phones as well.
PokerFace: Tubbo I fucking hate you
Tubbo smirked, quickly typing out his response.
BeeBoy: Wha- I did nothing
PokerFace: You made me panic over nothing
Ranboo picked up his own phone, sharing a smirk with Tubbo. Tommy jumped back up onto the couch, still giggling. He also quickly grabbed his own phone, bursting out into another round of cackles.
Gentle_Giant: Ohhhh, you figured it out didn’t you?
CottonCandy: What’s going on?
(not_so_sweet)child: Quackity say nothing or I’ll set Ranboo on you
PokerFace: Sorry Niki, I’m not in the mood to die. Wait, is that what you needed that warehouse for!?
CottonCandy: ….fine.
(responding to PokerFace)
BeeBoy: >:D
Tubbo put his phone down after that, luckily that whole interaction hadn’t taken more than a minute at most.
Sapnap didn’t have the nicety of a phone connected to the villain GC, meaning he wasn’t paying attention to it in favor of the news broadcast they were technically supposed to be watching. “Huh…” Sapnap muttered, drawing Tubbo’s attention away from the screen once more. “I don’t… she wasn’t supposed to do that.” He said, staring at the screen with furrowed brows.
Tubbo didn’t get to ask what he meant before Schlatt’s next words. “Yes. It was. Congratulations to the Dream Team for moving up in the rankings.” Wasn’t it everyone in the top 10 that moved up technically? Maybe Schlatt was too drunk to think about that-
…
Oh shit.
It was only then that it hit him. Sapnap. Who was sitting next to him, was technically the number two hero now. He could practically see it when the man in question came to the same realization and visibly blue-screened. “I… holy fucking shit I’m the number two hero.” Sapnap muttered finally, falling back in his seat and running a hand through his hair. “Guys… I’m the number two hero.” He sounded almost horrified at the realization.
“Sanap-” Ranboo started, but Sapnap cut him off.
“I’m just-” he stood, turning to walk away. Small flickers of flame twirled around his fingers, even as he clenched his hand into a fist to try and stop them. “I’ll be back in a few minutes, I need to get some air.” They all watched as he went, not daring to try and stop him.
Tubbo hesitated before standing up. “I’m going to go check on him.” Ranboo opened his mouth to object, but stopped after glancing towards where Sapnap had disappeared. “If something important happens just let me know when I get back." He didn’t waste anymore time, hurrying off to go find where Sapnap had gone off to. He checked in the guest room, but found nothing despite that being Sapnap’s space. Searching the rest of the apartment didn’t take long, but yielded similar results until he got to the dining room. He had almost just passed right through it when he saw Sapnap sitting on the balcony on the left chair.
Tubbo approached slowly, pulling the door open with a gentle tug. The air was cool, but not uncomfortable as he sat down in the other chair. They sat there in silence for a few long moments, the only sounds coming from the city far below. It was almost peaceful. It reminded him of his early days in the hero academy, when they’d all sneak out onto the roof and just talk until either morning or someone found him. “What has this all come to?” Sapnap asked, breaking the illusion. Tubbo glanced towards him as he spoke, allowing to continue talking when he was ready. “I never… this was never my dream. Not even when I was a kid.”
Tubbo smiled softly, returning his gaze to the city. “I don’t think anyone really dreams about this. Maybe the idea of it, but not the actual thing.”
Sapnap snorted. Tubbo pretended not to notice the tears welling up in his eyes. “True. Anyone who knows…” he sighed, looking down at his hands as if they had the answer to his problems. “You know, when I was a kid, I swore off ever using my powers.” The admission was soft, and Tubbo almost thought he’d misheard the man before he continued on. “I lived in a group home from when I was about 6 to when I was about 12, it’s how I met Quackity actually. Him and this other kid named Karl were my best friends back then.” Tubbo saw the way this story was going, but didn’t dare interrupt even if he wasn’t sure he wanted to hear the ending. “As you probably know, powers are… volatile when they first appear. Out of control fire powers and wooden buildings don’t mix very well.”
While he’d been expecting it, hearing the fact Sapnap had burnt down his home was still shocking and he couldn’t help the gasp he let out. Sapnap chuckled humorlessly. “Yeah, ‘gasp’ is about right.” He looked up, letting his hands fall to his lap. “I got trapped inside, and when I got out… well I couldn’t find either of my friends. I thought… well to be honest I thought they’d died.”
He hadn’t signed up to hear anyone’s life story, but this was obviously something Sapnap had been carrying for a long, long time. And if what Sapnap needed right now was just somebody to listen to him for once, Tubbo would be happy to provide. “When I became a hero, I looked them up. Mostly just to reminisce if I’m being honest. But I found out that they were never declared dead, just missing. All the other bodies were found. I wasn’t sure that they were alive, but it gave me some hope. And when I found Quackity…” Sapnap trailed off, likely struggling with his words
“You realized that not everything was quite as black and white as you thought.” Tubbo finished for him.
Sapnap looked towards him with wide eyes, but his surprise lasted barely a moment before his gaze softened. “Yeah. You’d know, wouldn’t you?”
With Sapnap
“Yeah. You’d know, wouldn’t you?” Sapnap asked. The villains had told him their story, or the overview at least.
That was just kind of the way it was in that city. You couldn’t take anything at face value. There was always going to be another lie, another manipulation, another accident. That was something they had all grown familiar with and accepted. Silence had settled once more, heavy with the weight of the previous topic.
It was weird to tell the story out loud. He’d never told anyone else about what had happened that night. Yet here he was, telling a villain who’d beat the shit out of him at least once on the balcony of said villain’s apartment. He felt oddly lighter, having finally told somebody. Maybe it was a bit selfish. Tubbo had probably suffered more than he ever did and yet here he was complaining. With that in mind, Sapnap moved to stand. “Sorry for suddenly unloading all that on you Tubbo. I didn’t mean to bother you-”
Now, usually it’d be frustrating to be cut off. He didn’t think he minded this time. “You’re not bothering me at all.” He said, causing Sapnap to pause. Sapnap opened his mouth, but Tubbo seemed to expect that as well. “Yes I’m sure. You’re my friend Sapnap. If you need someone to talk to, I’m always there.” He said, looking towards Sapnap with that half-amused smirk that would’ve been completely expected to be on Tommy’s face.
Shifting to sit back down, Sapnap allowed the quiet to settle once more. It gave him a moment to think. He was the number two hero now. That was… damn. Those very same powers he’d sworn to never use again had given him a position more coveted than even most ‘successful’ careers. Not that he could really enjoy it. It wasn’t actually a good thing. The irony was funny at least. He’d gained the position while sitting in an apartment owned by a bunch of villains.
“You know. I don’t feel like I should be here most of the time.” Tubbo suddenly spoke up after another few minutes.
Sapnap’s head moved so fast to look at Tubbo he was almost surprised he didn’t get whiplash. Sapnap almost wondered if he’d heard the villain wrong, or maybe he was joking, but Tubbo wasn’t laughing, and hadn’t taken his gaze off of the sprawling expanse of the city. “No one’s wronged me enough that I should feel this much… hate for the world.” Tubbo sighed before continuing to speak, glancing down at his hands. “I don’t have a sob story like Tommy or Ran does. Though I guess that’s not the right term for it, they don’t ask for sympathy.” Sapnap didn’t say anything in the short silence that followed, and Tubbo must’ve taken it for the invitation to continue that it was.
“I wasn’t abused and neglected. I wasn’t… well that’s Ran’s story to tell. Sure, my mentor suddenly abandoned me just when I started seeing her as family, but that’s not that bad.” Tubbo’s lips curled as tears threatened to fall down his face. “What has the world done to me that makes me so desperately blow it up? What’s wrong with me?” Before that moment, Sapnap didn’t think he really truly saw the trio.
They were powerful people. They held sway over events that most could only dream of. The friends they made could raze the city to the ground, and all it would take was a wave of the trio’s hand. They could even do it themselves, Tubbo could very well build a nuke, Ranboo could get anywhere and ruin everyone, and Tommy had the power to bring the top three heroes- or who technically should’ve been the top three heroes to their knees through his very presence, and that wasn’t to mention his tactical and physical prowess.
But that’s not all they were. They didn’t do any of that. They didn’t use their sway, they didn’t try to break the country. They were just kids. Kids who had struggled and fought for where they were. Kids who wanted the best for the people around them. They’d once dreamed of being heroes, of being people that the world would look up to. Sapnap guessed… he kind of forgotten that. With everything going on he hadn’t considered that they weren’t the forces of havoc that they could’ve been.
They chose to be hated and feared. They chose it because they didn’t want to live the lie of being good people when they weren’t. “No one has hurt me enough to be like this.” He whispered.
For once, Sapnap knew exactly what to say. “Yes they have.” Now it was Tubbo’s turn to be surprised. Sapnap kept talking before he could object. “Sure you haven’t been physically abused and all that, but you’ve gone though the domestic equivalent of mental torture.” War. They were at war. These villains- these kids- couldn’t catch a break, and here Tubbo was saying he had no reason to be angry. Bullshit. “Not only have you been abandoned by people who were supposed to make sure you were okay- both your mentor and the committee- you are fighting a war. A war, Tubbo. As much as you three try to either ignore or deny it, you are kids. Kids who’ve been used and abused. If you don’t have a reason to be angry, then neither do I. Or Quackity. Or Niki. Don’t try and excuse what people have done to you, because they fucked you over first.”
Sapnap’s rant left him huffing for breath. Tubbo was staring at him with shock, his eyes searching Sapnap’s face for any sign he was lying, or just saying what he did to make Tubbo feel better. He didn’t find any of course, because it didn’t exist. Without another word, Tubbo scooted his chair over to be right next to Sapnap and laid his head on Sapnap’s shoulder. He didn’t flinch at the sudden contact by pure force of will and shock.
It wasn’t a bad thing. Not at all. On the contrary he found it rather endearing. But the trio, as much as they fought and sparred with each other, were not the kind of people you’d expect physical affection from. Not just with him, but with each other too. Sapnap chose not to say anything though, simply offering silent companionship. It was getting late, which wasn’t surprising at all. The sky was cast in a mix of orange, pink, purple, and red. It’d been a chaotic day, one that was finally coming to an end. Sapnap drew in a deep breath, letting it out slowly.
Yeah, one hell of a day.
It wasn’t until he heard soft snoring that he realized that Tubbo had fallen asleep. Yeah, he was starting to understand why all the villains had adopted these three despite their habits as chaotic forces of chaos. The door behind him slid open with a quiet ‘swish’ and he looked over the shoulder that Tubbo wasn’t laying on to see who it was. “Everything okay yet? Cause there’s- ah.” Ranboo stopped mid-sentence, staring at them. He lowered his voice before he spoke again. “Is he asleep?” Sapnap nodded, and Ranboo let out a fond sigh. “It can wait until morning then.” Sapnap was beginning to notice that the trio mirrored each other quite a lot as Ranboo tilted his head with a quiet hum. “I’m surprised you got him to sleep like that. He’s always had about as many problems with going to sleep that I have.”
Sapnap glanced at the teen still sleeping on his shoulder. He looked… peaceful, for once. Carefully, as to not disturb Tubbo, Sapnap moved his hand under Tubbo’s head and stood up. It took a few moments of careful maneuvering, but he eventually managed to get ahold of Tubbo and hold him up. Ranboo watched the whole time with no small amount of amusement. Sapnap hesitated, not wanting to give him up for some reason, before holding out the sleeping teen towards his teammate.
Contrary to his expectations however, Ranboo simply shook his head. “If he trusted you enough to fall asleep, I don’t see why it’s necessary to risk waking him up to pass him to me.” He whispered, gesturing with his head towards the rest of the apartment behind him. “Tubbo’s door should be unlocked, just drop him in bed and lock his door as you leave.”
Sapnap nodded, quickly making his way through the apartment. Tommy was on his phone, texting rapidly as he passed. Sapnap didn’t try to bother him, knowing it was likely important. Finding Tubbo’s room didn’t take long, and he quickly maneuvered Tubbo under the covers before moving to leave. He paused as he did so. Sapnap thought that while maybe he hadn’t wanted to be here at first, he’d be kind of sad to leave.
He locked the door and let it click shut behind him.
Was this what it felt like to be somewhere where you were cared about?
Notes:
WOW. Okay. This was a long as hell chapter. Like 4x the amount I usually do kind of long. I love it though, it turned out so well.
For those of you on my discord server, thank Genloss for being the only reason I didn't stick you all on hold again /lhj
Speaking of, I highly encourage you join my discord server it's a nice little place if I do say so myself :D It's also a nice place to sit and chat. Talking is encouraged but not required :)
Chapter 66: A god's haunting
Summary:
Who's really to blame? Question everything you know.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
3000 years prior to current events… with [???]
Watching the mortal world had become boring. It wasn’t something Nature particularly liked to admit. The most entertaining ones on that plain were the immortals, though they had hidden themselves from the gods’ sight for a very long time. With the contract they kept it was nearly impossible to pry. That was the way the immortals liked it. Nature turned away from the mortal plain with a sigh, standing from her chair and making her way out of her office. Her heels clicked against the floor and echoed in the long palace halls. Golden curtains hung over the tall windows, pulled back to allow the bright sunlight to pour in.
Now, it wasn’t the usual day in the high palace. Of course, how usual could you truly get when you were a god? Even so, it was even less typical than usual. The doors to the meeting hall were only a short distance away, and she arrived at them all too soon. She pulled the gold band out of her hair to let the white strands fall around her shoulders and let her antlers make themselves known. While they didn’t have to be formal around each other in the slightest, being in her truest form was simply courtesy.
Pushing the door open, she was greeted by the sight of her friends on their individual thrones. XD with his black and green crystal that spiked towards the top, Drista with mismatched materials sewn together with a black substance Nature couldn’t identify, Foolish with his gold and emerald, Kristen with her obsidian and gold. Her own chair was made of swirling blue energy that looked as if you’d go straight through it, but the material was solid if you actually touched it.
The conversation stopped when she stepped in, she received waves from each of them. Drista was sitting upside down, as she usually was. XD and Kristen both sat in their chairs in a way that was considered more normal. Blood lounged in hers as if the place was only hers and she was an empress, but supposedly that was because she found it comfortable. Nature still thought it odd that the goddess had chosen to leave behind her old name, but she wouldn't judge the decision.
“[???]!” Drista greeted excitedly. “Finally! I was wondering when the meeting would start!” The youngest of the gods grinned as she spoke.
This elicited a huff of amusement from XD. “Patience Drista!” He scolded, but the grin playing on his lips betrayed his true feelings. Drista smirked at him. Instead of continuing his bickering with his sister, XD then turned his attention towards Nature and nodded his head in greeting. “We haven’t spoken in quite some time [???] I’m glad to see you.”
Nature smiled in response, making her way over to her own throne. “Yes, I’ve been quite busy. It’s good to see everyone.” With all of the preparations she’d been doing for this very meeting, it’d been a little while since she’d gotten to catch up with her friends. It felt like the last time she’d been so busy, she had been mortal. That wasn’t accurate of course, but it’d still felt like it.
Kristen nodded her head in greeting, but otherwise remained silent as was usual for the death goddess. Though Foolish spoke up with a chuckle and shake of his head. “I think we’ve all been busy. None of us have talked to each other in a while.” He then paused, glancing back towards Nature as his grin faded. “And as much as I always enjoy when we get together, this is an actual meaning that we should probably get to.”
The amused smile fell from Nature’s face, and she nodded. “Yes. I’m sure we’ve all noticed that the mortal plain has fallen… silent.” She knew they noticed. She knew that both Blood and Drista had grown bored. Foolish had complained about the fact there were no paths important enough for him to bend, Kristen had gained more apathy for her domain and the souls in it than she already had, and XD had begun to grow restless and twitchy.
Drista let out a loud huff, flipping back over in her throne with one smooth movement to sit upright. “That’s true. Literally nothing had been happening.” Nature wasn’t the only one who rolled her eyes fondly at the goddess’s words. “I’m usually good at sowing chaos,” she gestured down at herself as she spoke. “I became the god of chaos after all, but it’s… difficult when there’s nothing to base it on.”
Kristen tilted her head and looked up in a gesture that Nature had come to recognize as something the woman did when she was thinking. “I’ve been busy so I haven’t noticed much, but I can see what you mean [???].”
XD looked at Kristen with a look of bewilderment. “Wha- how have you not noticed? If there was something going on there’d be more souls to deal with. I’m pretty sure you notice when that happens?” Kristen smirked at him without answering. He huffed but dropped the question. “I’ve noticed as well. Judging based off of the fact you called this meeting, I assume you want to change that?”
Nature nodded. “If we don’t give the world something to bother with, it will fold in on itself.” She had said. And it was true, wasn’t it? Humanity was prone to attempting to destroy itself when not given anything else to focus on. So did the gods for that matter... but she very carefully decided not to dwell on that fact.
The mortals were the gods’ to control. If said mortals all died, the gods had nothing to watch over. “I will allow each of you to touch an element of the world, changing the way it works. Tell your champions to make their moves.” It wasn’t something she’d liked to do, but it was necessary.
Blood smirked, her brows raised in question. “You want us to create war… with each other through our champions?” Then the god leaned back, the savage grin on her lips widening. “It’d put us at odds, but I don’t think that will truly cause problems as long as it stays in good fun.”
Power swirled at XD’s fingertips, a tell-tale sign of when the timeline was falling into place. Nature raised a questioning eyebrow at him, and he leaned back in his throne with a dismissive wave of his hand. “This could be entertaining as long as the old rules are followed to the letter.” Ah how he loved his letter of the law. Always using what the pacts didn't include to his advantage.
The others didn't mind of course. They got to do as they pleased all if they did the same. Kristen tilted her head, staring down at the fire pit in the middle of the gods’ palace with vague amusement. “I don’t see why not. I have places for any mortal soul that comes to my door, some small conflicts full of death will not change that.”
Foolish snorted. “This’ll be entertaining to watch. War heroes are fun little bastards to mold and play around with.” Some days Nature wondered if her fellow god had an addiction to killing off parents. Then again, it made for a good story.
Dristra didn’t give her assent or denial for a long moment, taking the time to consider that was unusual for their pseudo little sister. She reached up, grabbing an apple from one of the trees surrounding the circle of thrones. Drista bit into it with a smile, likely basking in the disgusted looks she received as she spoke with her mouth full. “I’ll be poking at all of your all’s conflicts, trust me,” she then paused. “And if we get to mess with the world’s magic matrix to add something…” she trailed off, her smile only widening.
Nature shook her head but couldn’t deny the smile tugging at her own lips. “It is decided then. Come to me when you all have chosen your adjustments that I can implement. Afterwards we separate for a while to prevent accidental cheating about battle plans.”
They thought it’d be a fun little game and give the world something to occupy itself with.
Unfortunately, they were more right than they’d hoped.
Puffy bolted upright in bed, sweating fiercely despite the cold room. Her breathing was fast, even if she didn’t remember whatever dream had caused her to be like that. The room was dark, and the silence was nearly palpable.
A headache pounded at her skull, as was typical when she woke up in the middle of the night. So was the nausea, which was arguably the worst part about it every time. She’d gone to the doctor time and time again and yet they had never found anything.
She sighed, pulling the covers off of herself and swinging her legs off the side of her bed. Maybe splashing some water on her face would help.
Notes:
....
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Chapter 67: Late Nights That can't Last Forever
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Friday, 2:02am – With Sally
The door shut behind Sally with a soft ‘click’. The security systems didn’t go off, as they never did. She was the one that built them after all, if she wanted to bypass them, she could. The air was chilly, but not to the point of uncomfortable. Winter was coming to an end, and the freezing nights that came with it were fading away. Even so, she pulled the jacket tighter around herself. If she got a cold, it’d be nearly impossible to hide the excursion.
Sally quickly made her way away from the building. Getting caught by other heroes would be inconvenient at best and a legitimate issue at worst. Unless they were on patrol, heroes weren’t supposed to leave the building, much less the ‘important’ ones. Only once the hero tower base was out of her sight did she slow down. The streets were quiet, or as quiet as they could get within the busy capital.
District one didn’t have any roads, just sidewalks. Many people complained of course, but it was necessary for the security of the area. Supposedly at least. Though Sally wouldn’t complain. It was a nicer environment, and it made getting out unseen incredibly easy.
Sally’s footsteps echoed lightly against the sidewalk as she walked. The sound of traffic was growing closer however, and it was becoming had to hear them. District 3. In the bright streetlights, Sally let her hood fall. She pulled her red hair over her shoulder and combed her fingers through it, trying to get it halfway presentable after sticking it in her hood without grabbing a hair tie. After it was no longer frazzled, she made her way towards her destination. Not only was district 3 closer than district 6, the business district, there was only one place open at two in the morning.
People brushed past her with no attention paid. It felt odd to be completely invisible in the crowd, even though these outings were something she was more than used to taking by now. Sally was well used to being swarmed in these busy streets. Though she wasn’t out often, her position as the number 9, now 6 she supposed, made her rather famous. It was an uncomfortable thing, but at least it reminded her that she should take pride in her work. It was easy to forget sometimes. With all the blood and death that came from a hero’s line of work, remembering that they were helping people was difficult. Of course she felt bad, who wouldn’t? People had died as a direct result of the things she’d built. Yet in war, sometimes pure force was necessary. And even though they weren’t quite at the point of calling it a war, the rules were pretty much the same. If only they hadn’t come this far. The villains killed heroes, heroes killed villains, death was often necessary to avoid civilians getting caught in more crossfire than they already had to.
Most people didn’t share her opinion, but some people just deserved to die. Anyone who was destructive to the city and civilians just needed to go. Hero or villain. She probably had more blood on her hands from ‘accidents’ than anyone else. The heroes gave her the resources she needed to create, and she used that opportunity to the best of her ability. If a villain needed to die, she could make that happen. If a hero needed to die, then she’d rather not, but she would still make that happen. Heroes were usually right in their dealings at least, she didn’t have to do that most of the time.
Being in the crowd was also a good reminder that there was life outside of the world they were trapped in. She didn’t get to enjoy it for long however. Her feet had taken her to her destination while her mind had wandered to questioning her probably nonexistent morals. Sally paused outside the door, taking in a deep breath and holding it for a few long moments before releasing it slowly. A smile slipped onto her face as she pushed the door open.
A small bell stationed jingled, and warmth hit her suddenly. She quickly stepped through the door, not wanting any more warmth to escape than necessary. Unlike most floral shops Sally had seen, ‘Immortal’s Secret’ was stationed in a giant greenhouse. Pots hung from the ceiling with flowered vines emerging from them, lanterns lit up the space from shelves, the air thick with a moisture that made the back of Sally’s mind hum with contentedness. The floor was wooden, but for some reason never seemed to become even the slightest bit damp. Sally guessed it was the result of a power, but who actually cared if unlicensed people used their powers anyway when they weren’t bothering anyone?
The woman she was looking for came around the corner, but didn’t seem to notice Sally. She was humming away as she watered her plants with a soft smile. Pearl was wearing a simple green dress decorated with embroidered sunflowers, white gloves that reached up to her elbows, and simple boots. A slight silver sheen shimmered across her skin in the soft lantern light, a testament to a hidden hybrid type, though Sally didn’t know what type that was. The woman’s brown hair was loose around her shoulders, the hair tie that would usually hold it back was on the woman’s wrist.
Pearl was an odd person. Nice, but odd.
She was also the only one who had a floral shop open at absurd times. Sally had long since started to suspect the woman didn't sleep.
It was slightly terrifying.
Pearl looked up from her plants and jumped nearly two feet into the air when she saw Sally, making a noise not incomparable to a startled racoon. Sally flinched back, her hands darting towards weapon that weren’t there. She didn’t let them linger where the handles to her glaives usually were, instead shoving them in her pockets (hopefully) before Pearl noticed. The woman in question put a hand to her chest and exhaled audibly, staring at Sally with wide eyes. “Oh dear End- you scared me Sal!” She said with a breathless chuckle. “I nearly jumped out of my skin!”
Sally scratched the back of her neck with a sheepish grin. “Sorry Pearl. It was by complete accident.”
Pearl shook her head, returning to a casual stance. “It’s fine Sally. It happens. End knows I’ve got friends that’ll do worse than jump scare me at…” she trailed off, glancing towards the back wall and the clock that hung in the center of it. It was an odd style of clock. The frame and hands were made out of gold, half of the inside was made of a dark metal, there were painted moons and stars on it in silver. The side was some kind of blue metal, painted with clouds and rain. There were no lines or numbers around the edges, so how Peal was able to tell the time using the damn thing was a mystery. “…two in the morning.” She finished, turning back around. “It’s a bit late, even for you. Do you have a special request or is it your usual order?”
Now it was Sally’s turn to shake her head. “No, just the usual order.”
Pearl smiled. “If you say so Sal. Just a minute, I’ll grab those for you.” With that, she turned and disappeared into the maze of the greenhouse. She came back a few minutes later with a bundle of assorted flowers, and she poked at them as she walked. “You know, I hope whoever’s ghost you’re putting these at the grave of appreciates them. Not just everyone appears at two in the morning for this kind of thing.”
Sally smiled sadly as the flowers were placed into her hands. “I think he’d just call me pathetic honestly. I wasn’t the nicest to him.” Though she knew what the bundle was, she quickly went over each flower in her head. Belladonnas, geraniums, columbines, zinnias, daisies, and a singular forget-me-not.
A loud sigh brought her out of her thoughts, and she looked up to see Pearl giving her a sympathetic look. “Well… knowing what I do based off of the meanings of what we picked out in flower language…” she trailed off, a sad but genuine smile on her face. “I think he’d forgive you by now.”
“I doubt it, but it’s nice to pretend.”
Notes:
She started writing herself I'm sorry. She was genuinely meant to be an actually innocent character who had very little blood on her hands. That was apperently not who she is. I didn't know this until I started writing this chapter.
She's a little blood thirsty and that was not my intention at all-
Writing her view was very interesting. It didn't go the way I was expecting at all. Originally she was just going to be going to a grave with flowers as a short cameo attached to what's going to be next chapter, but instead we got the events of this chapter.
Also, no idea she was friends with Peal xD
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Chapter 68: The memories we try to forget
Notes:
TW: mentions of underage drinking, implied murder
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
With Wilbur – 3:02 am
Broken glass littered the floor, blood soaking steadily into the carpet. The stench of alcohol filled the air, coming from the bottle that had been shattered. A body was slumped against the wall, a dark crimson liquid trickling from their head. The furniture was a mess, splattered in rapidly cooling blood. A teen stood over the body, a shard of green glass in his hand that was visibly cutting into the skin of his palm. Blood trickled down the reflective surface of the glass slowly, some of it leftover from the now dead man and the rest originating from that hand clutched around it.
The room was dark. The night outside silent. Yet even in the dim lighting from the streetlights that streamed through the open livingroom curtains showed the grim sight in near perfect detail. Even after watching this exact moment hundreds of times, it was a horrifying thing to see once more. Right. This was in the past. Something that had happened years ago. It was something that should’ve been long behind him.
The emotions running through him now were his own, yes, but they were from another version of himself who was much more naïve, trusting, idiotic, and didn’t understand the world they’d all been dragged into. Phil had accidentally dragged them into the powered world, whether he’d known it back then or not.
The knowledge that it was something from years ago didn’t ease that dreaded sting of betrayal in his chest. A man- well, he was a man now. He’d been a teenager when this had happened. They’d both been teenagers. Though the difference was that one of them had blood on their hands. He balled his hands into fists and focused on the fact the sting that should have been there was absent. It served as a reminder that nothing he did in that moment would change anything. Even if he could go back, however, he had no idea what he would change.
The first time, he’d stumbled backwards as the teen he’d called a friend desperately tried to explain the dead body at his feet, and the costume he’d been wearing. Then the dream split from the reality of what that moment had been. Now, they both stared at each other silently. The air was heavy, no words were passed between them. Wilbur felt like he was drowning in the quiet. The nightmare version of a man he’d once known had no face, but he knew it was staring at him. Blood trickled down his clothing like crimson raindrops, sliding right off. Wilbur couldn’t remember the teen’s face. All he remembered was his name, and the memories that came with that name.
The nightmare version of his friend tilted his head at him, half of his face shrouded in shadow. His featureless face didn’t move, but the same words came from where his mouth should’ve been that always did. “You never told anyone. Even though you know who I am, Wilbur.”
And Wilbur gave the same response he always did. “We were friends once.”
“Yet you condemn me all the same.”
Wilbur’s eyes snapped open. He didn’t move for a long moment. The room was dark, the curtains open to allow the light of the city to be seen even from his spot high in the hero tower residential area. The balcony was glass, allowing an uninterrupted view of the city aside from the black metal railing. He turned his attention back up, the plain white ceiling and the fan hanging there. It spun around in an endless circle. He traced it with his eyes, letting his mind quiet for a long moment.
Eventually, the distant sound of sirens brought him back to reality, dragging him out of the tranquility of not having to think. He was a hero now. Someone the city relied on. He couldn’t be held back by the past. Wilbur had left his childhood behind the moment he’d stepped through the hero tower doors for the first time as a hero. Every crime in the city, was technically his responsibility. He didn’t take care of them all, no one could handle all of them, but he would do his best to take care of the biggest ones. The ones that caused the public true fear. The ones who had forfeited… he couldn’t finish that thought.
It was harder to remind himself of what the villains were anytime he had that nightmare. They didn’t deserve mercy. They killed people for no reason. Heroes that got in the way, that did absolutely nothing wrong. But they- Wilbur let out a groan, running a hand over his face. Every time. He really needed to get stronger sleep medication, cause that stupid nightmare kept coming back and gave him a moral crisis every damn time. Though that also wasn’t a good idea, cause last time he’d requested for them to be stronger Sally gave him an incredibly concerned look.
Wilbur scooted up and pushed himself up to a sitting position, pulling the covers off himself. He swung his legs up and over the side of the bed. He stood up with a slight wobble, placing his hand of the wooden nightstand beside his bed to steady himself. He glanced at the clock, and cringed at the time. 3:20am. Usually he’d go sit on the balcony for an hour and wait to get sleepy again, but with it only being early march it was sure to still be cold out.
He'd fallen asleep in the clothes he’d worn through the evening, so he had no need to get dressed before going to open the door. He turned the handle slowly and slipped out silently into the hallway. The carpet was soft under his sore heels, he’d done too much standing apparently and hadn’t noticed until he was actually awake and not on the wooden floors of his suite.
The corridors of the second residential floor were empty as he walked through them. The lights were off, but he was more than familiar enough with the layout to get by with just running his hand along the wall.
There were three floors where heroes actually lived in the hero tower itself. The lowest one was for apprentices of top heroes and the families of the important people (hero committee, top heroes, ect.), the second one was purely for the top ten heroes. The community areas were plain, but they each had full control over their own rooms. Supposedly it was supposed to be much more homey everywhere, but it was a bit hard when everyone you shared the space with was a bastard. The Dream Team who were disgustingly egotistical, Assassin and Sphynx who refused to give basic respect or even take their masks off, and Minx who was as much of an alcoholic as Schlatt was. Sally was half-decent to be around, but she spent less time on the floor than she did anywhere else.
Puffy also lived on the second residential floor, but she never seemed happy to be there.
Which is why when he came to the floor wide snack room, the last person he expected to see was the committee woman herself, rifling around the fridge. The only light in the room came from the fridge, but it was enough to bother Wilbur’s eyes after he’d adjusted to the darkened halls. It was tempting for his to turn around and leave, but he didn’t get the chance before Puffy turned around. She flinched violently, throwing something at his face. He moved to catch the flying dark green bottle, but it stopped midair, floating for a long moment before rocketing backwards into Puffy’s hands. Right. Water powers. The committee woman didn’t fight much, so it was easy to forget just how fine control she had over her powers.
That wasn’t something he really had the time to worry about, however, because it was only then that he saw how tired she looked. Dark circles hung under her eyes, the tank top and jeans she was wearing were wrinkled to all hell, and her hair was completely frazzled. Her shocked expression quickly fell, and she scowled before turning around and placing the bottle back on the shelf. “Hello Wilbur.” She greeted tersely. “Do you need something?”
Questions ricocheted around in his head, but Wilbur chose not to voice them. 3 in the morning was not the time to demand answers. That’s what meetings were for. She turned around and raised an eyebrow as the silence stretched. “…I was getting something to drink.” He finally settled on, averting his gaze. She shrugged, turning around again and throwing a bottle of water over her shoulder at him. You’d think that he’d have better reflexes after being a hero for so long, but he fumbled to catch it. “Thanks.” He muttered before he turned to leave. He hesitated, turning back around to face the committee woman. “Are you okay?” He inquired suddenly.
She stood back up from where she’d crouched to access the bottom shelves of the fridge, slamming the door with more force than strictly necessary. The room was cast into the inky darkness once more, now that the fridge light was gone. “I’m fine.” She said curtly. It was clear she was lying though.
While they no longer got along in any sense of the word, they had once cared about each other’s well-being. It was for that reason that he didn’t feel like he should let it go. “We both know you’re lying Puffy. I grew up with around you, I’m not stupid.” He reached over, flicking the light on.
She flinched as the room was filled with light, and covered her eyes. “Can’t you warn a girl before you flashbang her- you know what never mind. How I feel doesn’t affect you Wilbur, stop sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong.”
A ten year old Wilbur peaked around the corner to his dad’s office. The only light there was a single lamp on the front left corner of the desk. Puffy paced the length of the room in in the length of the floor closer to the door. Phil sat at with his elbows propped up on the desk, his head in his hands. “Phil this isn’t healthy. You have to stop.”
“I can’t stop Puffy. I have to pay for Kristen’s medication somehow.” Phil’s voice shook, it was like being dunked in a pool of freezing water for Wilbur. His dad had never been anything but string and put together. The pure despair on his face was as unfamiliar to a young Wilbur as death was.
Puffy stopped pacing to stare at Phil, her voice lowering to nearly a whisper. “Phil please. She’s not getting any better. And you’re tearing yourself apart, morals included.”
Phil flinched, lifting his head up to respond, only to freeze as his gaze locked onto Wilbur. “Wilbur! What are you doing there? This is a private conversation between me and your aunt!” He stood as he spoke, his face contorting in anger as his feathers puffed up. Wilbur jerked backwards away from the door, but Puffy spoke up before the situation escalated.
“Phil calm down.” Her tone was harsh, and it scared Wilbur. He’d never heard her sound like that before. She crouched down in front of him, her voice softening once more. “Wil you should know better than to eavesdrop.”
“But-” Wilbur tried to protest, but Puffy held her hand up to silence him.
“Don’t worry about things that you shouldn’t.” Her voice was warm, and she patted his head.
Those days were long gone. Puffy was not someone Wilbur could turn to anymore. She hadn’t been in a long time. “I disagree, Captain.” He said, and she flinched at the use of her hero name. “You’re part of the hero committee, which means you’re my boss. And as someone who is my boss, your satisfaction is part of my fucking job.”
Puffy rolled her eyes. “Even if I cared a single bit about my job, Wilbur, we both know you don’t see me as your boss.”
“Of course not, but you should care about your job-”
Puffy cut him off. “I was almost out, Wilbur.” Wilbur froze, and his eyes widened. She looked off to the side, and her hand tightened around the neck of the bottle she was holding until her knuckles turned white. “Don’t look at me like that, Wil.” When Puffy looked back towards him, there were tears glistening in her eyes, even as she glared at him. “I had everything prepared to leave the heroes. I was going to turn in all my gear and just leave.” She let out a huff. “I was going to take the trio with me. I just needed a few more days and I would’ve had myself and them out of there.”
Wilbur could do nothing but stand there in shock and disbelief as she marched up to him. “But I didn’t get the chance, now did I Wilbur? Because you let three teenagers die on YOUR WATCH because you didn’t give enough of a shit to make sure three new heroes weren’t put against villains that even you fucking struggle with.”
They both stood there for a long moment, Puffy glaring and trying to catch her breath after her words while Wilbur just tried to process what she had just said. She walked past him, forcefully shoving him with her shoulder and causing him to stumble. Wilbur didn’t turn around as he heard the door open, but his hands clenched into fists. “You’re not the only one who mourned them Puffy.”
“No, but I’m the only one who they died knowing didn’t hate them.” The door slammed shut from behind him, leaving Wilbur alone once more.
Notes:
...
Lore.
Well moving on- the chapter of Wilbur getting punched in the face that the people on my discord server bribed me for has had to be pushed back a chapter, but it will be next one. Unfortunately the lore needed to be the main focus here and it also would've taken like another 2-3 weeks before I could get that part done as well.
I actually had this chapter done last night but decided to wait until this morning to post it. It was actually a very hard chapter to write, and I at least almost cried once xD But it's finally out for you to hopefully enjoy!
Thank you to everyone who completed the survey in the end notes of last chapter, I was pretty surprised by some of the answers I got! If you haven't taken it yet, it would be appreciated if you did! Click this to get to it :) (Also Theseus, I think the one that told me to guess who it was is you, am I correct? xD)
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Chapter 69: Wrong
Chapter Text
With Quackity
He’d slept in his office the night before. It had been a terrible idea, but there’d been so much he’d had to deal with and double check. Schlatt was trying to force blood tests. What a fucking joke. Unless he wanted his economy to collapse, Schlatt knew better than to try and touch Quackity, well, Luck technically.
It was well known that the entirety of the underground was practically run by Luck. Information networks, black markets, alliances and deals, assassins, hacker and rouge groups, hideouts, and so much more. The city ran on it. Quackity got rich on it. And Luck was a powerful man because of it. As much as his friends liked to make fun of him, not that it’d ever actually bothered him, he was the most successful of the villains. It was something they all knew and had acknowledged, even if he himself didn’t like to say that.
Needless to say, Schlatt wouldn’t try shit against him no matter how much he wanted to. While that was a satisfying thought, it was also a saddening one. It hadn’t always been like that. With them on opposite sides. Hating that they couldn’t just tear each other down.
Maybe it’d be different if Schlatt knew who he was. If Schlatt knew that the man who rivaled his power was once someone he’d loved. Quackity shook his head, chuckling at the thought. Of course not. Not after what they’d both done. Even if Schlatt didn’t hate him now, Quackity would hate Schlatt until the end of time for what he’d done. Not a single thing would change. Not one, because Quackity was owed in blood for what that man took.
…that itch was back. The urge to go find something alcoholic to drink, to go back to his teenage years and drink till him and his old drinking buddy didn’t have to worry about their problems. He wondered where the man was now. Probably somewhere less illegal than him if Quackity had to guess. It was almost funny, he couldn’t even remember the guy’s name. All he remembered was his face, and the memories that came with that face.
The sky was still dark. Though that may have just been because of the heavy rainfall. Thunder echoed outside, and Quackity let out a sigh, laying his head down on his desk to stare out the open curtains. He had undoubtedly the best view in the city, beat only by the roof of the hero tower. The street lights lining the roads were on, looking like little miniature lighthouses in the dark city avenues. It would’ve been a beautiful sight, if not for the fact he knew what happened in those streets. He knew all the little lies that got passed around, heard people brag about the things they did in those dark corners that society didn’t reach. There was something so freeing about being a villain, but it also changed you, and never for the better.
At some point, being civilized was nothing more than a mask. Something to hide how much of a monster you’d become. Quackity straightened up in his seat, and then stood. It wouldn’t do anyone any good for him to sit hear and wallow in his own thoughts. He needed to check on his friends, including Sapnap, who was currently stuck with the trio. He’d quickly messaged Niki and Hannah about the update in Sapnap’s location before he’d tuned into the news to see what Schlatt’s new plan was. It’d been quite the surprise, and Quackity knew he’d have to act fast to make sure no one he cared about would feel any of the affects. He was only hoping a week would be enough time to prepare. Knowing Schlatt, the man was already sending out people to ‘talk’ to the key brand and business leaders to get them to cooperate.
The one who would have the hardest time would likely be Niki. She’d be seen as someone they could easily bully into compliance. Of course, that wouldn’t go as well as they thought. Quackity reached for his phone, he had several calls he needed to make-
A loud crash and the sound of shattering glass stopped him in his tracks, and his head shot up to look at the door. He quickly pulled on the handle one of his desk drawers, pulling out a plain white mask and slipping it on over his face. He closed his eyes for a moment, focusing until he felt the cloaking ability of the mask slip over his form. With his disguise in place, Quackity vaulted over his desk and out the door. The sight he found was not a pretty one. The window was shattered, allowing the rain to come through. Charlie stood in front of him, bleeding from a cut in his shoulder and facing off against a man Quackity would recognize well.
Phoenix looked the exact same since Quackity had last seen him. His red glasses perched on his nose, a black vest and red long sleaved undershirt, black leather boots, and a glowing blue and purple axe hanging of his waist. A wiry tail flicked back and forth in the air behind him, the end a small flame that left a small trail of light as it moved. Despite the fact that he’d clearly come from the outside, he didn’t seem to have even the smallest rain drop on him.
“Both of you stop it,” Quackity ordered, just loud enough to be heard over the pouring rain.
“He broke in.” Charlie stated, dropping from his defensive stance.
Quackity sighed. “I can see that. Thank you, Slime. Please just go heal up, I’ll take care of it.” A silence descended over the hallway until Charlie disappeared around the corner, the only sound the pattering of rain and occasional peal of thunder outside. “Hello, Phoenix. I haven’t heard about you being in L’manburg in over a year,” Quackity’s gaze flicked over to the glass littering the floor, the bullet proof glass. It was going to be a pain to replace that. “Then the first time I’ve even heard about you in that long, you break my window.”
Phoenix sighed as he followed Quackity’s gaze. “And I apologize for that,” he sighed. “No need to use my alias. You know my real name, and I checked that there was only one guy before I came in.” Like that would matter much. He was a terrifying force of nature on the battle field, Quackity had seen him take down over a dozen guys in mere seconds. The fact that Charlie had only a small scratch had alerted Quackity to the fact that the man wasn’t there to fight.
“I didn’t figure we were close enough to be going by first names, Tango.”
Tango shrugged. “We aren’t. But you know my name anyway, so why not use it?” he chuckled. “Now, we’re not friends, and I’m not here to catch up, so I’ll cut right to the chase. I need some information from you, Luck.” He spoke confidently for someone who’d broken in without an appointment or warning, a fact Quackity wasn’t keen to let go.
Quackity gave Tango a flat look. “You broke my window, and while I know you could’ve done much worse, you hurt my assistant. You also didn’t set up an appointment with me, most people with that level of disrespect wouldn’t be leaving alive.” The red carpet wasn’t just for show, not when blood stains refused to come out no matter how much cleaning they received. Tango was dangerous, but Quackity also wasn’t the number one villain for no reason. The only reason Quackity kept his words as well mannered was because he wasn’t going to sign up for an all-out rogue war.
Tango glanced over his shoulder towards where Charlie had disappeared around the corner a couple minutes before, letting out a huff. “I didn’t mean to cause you any issues.” He stated, turning back towards Quackity. “I hope you don’t hold it against me, it’s been a while since I had to deal with Manburg’s customs.” Quackity couldn’t think of anywhere that breaking into someone’s property was a regular thing for somebody else to do, but Tango was not an ordinary man. Nobody was quite sure what was wrong with the rouge group known as ‘The Hermits’ they appeared and disappeared randomly; the same member almost never being seen more than once. The only way anyone could tell that they even knew each other was by that little metal ‘H’ pin.
As someone who controlled the darker half of the city, Quackity had more encounters with them than most. There was always something unsettling about them. Something that made you feel like a mouse in the paws of a hungry feline. Like they never quite fit in with the rest of the world around them. It was a feeling that never failed to make his skin crawl. “I guess that depends on what you’re here for.” Quackity finally said after a long moment of silence. “Cause I’m pretty sure it’s not just for a friendly chat.”
“No, I’m not here to catch up. As I already said, I’m looking for some information, and last I checked, you’d be the person to go to for that.” Tango said. “Why don’t we talk in your office? I’m sure neither of us want to deal with the rain.”
Without a word, Quackity turned on his heel and pulled the door to his office open.
Notes:
No, Wilbur hasn't gotten punched in the face, I'm sorry. Yesterday (or the day before???) Tabee pointed out while we were arguing (if you know you know) that having Wilbur get hit randomly might now makes sense and she was right. Though I added that point as a joke, what she said still stands. I promise the next time there's a proper hero/villain fight y'all will get your Wilbur getting punched in the face.
Now! Onto actually talking about the chapter! This one was meant to be longer but a) I didn't want it to take longer and b) I'm just so fucking done with it dude. I don't want to even look at this chapter any longer.
Hey, at least you got some lore, right?
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Chapter 70: Intersection
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
With Eret – A few hours later
Morning came all too soon. And with it, the troubles that came with a life in a corrupt city. The ground shook with distant explosions, as was unfortunately typical. He could’ve just not moved. Not had to deal with the fact the entire country was a sorry excuse of a ‘democracy’ (sure the government officials got elected, but Schlatt didn’t, and it was that bastard who actually ran the country). But judging on the insistent knocking on his door coming from downstairs, it wasn’t much of an option.
Eret groaned, rolling out of bed instead of going through the effort to sit up. He grimaced as he hit the floor, but it jolted him awake enough to force himself to his feet and quickly get dressed. The knocking on his door still hadn’t stopped, and he frowned. Who needed something from him at 6 in the morning? Not to mention the rain he heard pattering against the roof. Who would be there? He wouldn’t have let anyone make appointments that early. He paused in the doorway to his room, glancing back towards his nightstand. He reached out towards it and pulled, both his phone and a pocket knife rocketed through the air towards him. He snatched them out of the air and let his powers fizzle out.
He was grateful that he’d added metal bands onto all of his hair ties as he passed by the bathroom. Metal was the only thing his powers would work on after all. He quickly tied his hair into a ponytail before he walked down the stairs and arrived at the door that was currently being abused by whoever his unwelcome guest was.
After a quick check to make sure his pocket knife was hidden, Eret finally opened the door. The sour words he had for whoever interrupted his sleep died on his tongue. A man stood outside his door, one very famous for his signature smiling mask.
Blood dripped from Eret’s clothes, but he couldn’t find it in himself to be concerned as he pressed his heel down harder on Dream’s neck. Blood mixed with tears on the man’s face, his green eyes blown wide with panic as he scratched fruitlessly at Eret’s boot. A human life at his mercy. The excitement running through his veins was disgustingly delicious. Nobody knew they were there. Dream wouldn’t be discovered until the next day. It was so tantalizing.
A chuckle sounded from behind Eret, making him aware of the fact he was slowly pressing down harder and harder. “I think that’s enough, my friend. It’s no fun if he doesn’t live to tell the tale.”
Eret looked down at Dream, and reluctantly backed off. His powers itched under his veins. To kill. Dream stumbled back, turning his head away from to pull his mask down and cough. Blood splatted on the concrete. Eret wrinkled his nose. “Let’s go, Lapis. I didn’t sign up to see a pathetic sight today.”
Lapis let out a dark chuckle. “You’re one cold bastard my friend.”
The next time Dream was seen in public, his mask covered the entirety of his face instead of just the bottom half.
Eret had to press down a smile at the memory, even if the sight tried to dig up more unpleasant memories alongside it. Dream was otherwise alone that morning, and had no visible weapons on him, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t dangerous. Why was he here? For most intents and purposes, Eret was a normal civilian. The reason the number one hero- because that’s what the asshole was now- would be coming to bother Eret specifically was a mystery.
Did they know? It was impossible, right? He’d retired years ago and erased any sign of he and Karl’s existence off the hero/villain scene. Unless one of the others had been compromised? It couldn’t be that, those assholes were stubborn enough to hold up under torture.
Besides, if they actually knew who he was, they would’ve sent more than one hero, even if it was the current number one. With that thought, he schooled his expression from dear in headlights to a forced calm. “Hello sir, can I help you?” He asked, trying to resist the urge to maim the man in front of him. The last time he’d been face to face with Dream like this… the hero had been freshly stripped of his rank as XD’s champion. “I don’t know what I did to warrant a visit from the hero committee.”
Dream’s posture seemed relaxed, Eret knew better than to be fooled. He could see in the little ways the man held himself that he was poised to strike at any moment. “You've done nothing wrong mister,” Dream paused as he spoke, glancing down at the clipboard in his hands. He looked back up and then did a double take at the clipboard in his hands. “…you don’t have a last name.”
Eret’s eyebrows raised. He’d forgotten that they wouldn’t have that on file. He was associated with Luck after all. They didn’t just give out his information to just anyone. “Just Eret is fine.” He said. He didn’t want to offer what he was about to have to, but he had to play the normal civilian card. “Would you like to come in? I’m sure you don’t want to just stand out there.” Eret asked, moving aside with the door still open to allow the man entry. Rain poured outside, and judging based off the flashes in the sky and distant crack of thunder it was a worse storm than usual.
Every bone in his body screamed for him to kill Dream. Between the two of them, Eret had always been more violent than Karl. And even though he hadn’t killed anyone as long as he’d been retired, old instincts died as hard as old habits did. The hidden pocket knife in his robe was a reminder of that. He’d sworn off violence. Taking a knife, even a small one, everywhere was like he was trying to tempt himself to break that vow.
Dream looked around as he walked in, analyzing every surface. It made Eret’s skin crawl. Even if the bottom floor where they were was just the shop part of the building, having a hero in his space made him more than a little uncomfortable.
While living in district 6, which was the business district, wasn't a common thing, it wasn’t completely unheard of. It wasn’t Eret’s first choice. Once upon a time, he’d lived in a villa in district 2 (the old money district). It had been he and Karl’s home and base of operations when they’d been villains. After he’d retired, he couldn’t stand to be somewhere with that many memories, and hadn’t been back since he’d gotten his store. Nowadays, Quackity owned the villa. He made sure nothing changed. Eret hadn’t asked the man to do something like that, and he never would, but Quackity had taken it upon himself anyway.
This was nerve racking. Eret’s home was right above them. All it would take was a flick of Dream’s hand for an absolute disaster to happen. If not for the fact it would’ve been a lot more suspicious for him to bar entry, because Dream definitely would’ve asked to come in anyway, Eret would’ve never let Dream past the door.
It was a good thing he kept all of the projects for the villains upstairs, because helping or hiding villains was a serious crime. The hero committee had been investigating him a while back because they thought he had. The heroes had only left him alone after Luck told them to knock it off because he’d done nothing wrong. Which was technically true, by his morals he’d done nothing wrong by helping his friends with their costumes, but under the law he was most definitely guilty.
Luckily, the connections and information Luck gave them was more useful than catching one guy. At least that’s what he let them think. “We can talk in my office.” Eret said, striding past Dream towards the back of his shop. Even if everything was hidden it was still a bad idea to let the hero poke around more than necessary.
The sound of Dream’s footsteps behind him was both a relief and a source of unease. Eret let his hand brush against all the different racks of clothes as he passed by them, the metal at the end of the frames sent a tingle up his arm as it reacted with his powers, reminding him that he wasn't completely defenseless. It wouldn't take much to trap Dream in a metal coffin to slowly suffocate.
Actually, that sounded rather tempting- Eret shook his head to clear it. That'd be a bad idea. While bringing the hero committee down on his head wouldn't be the worst thing in the world, it'd still be more trouble than it'd be worth. “This is a nice little shop.” Dream observed casually. Eret's shoulders tensed.
“Thank you,” he replied tersely. Silence descended between them once more, something Eret could count himself thankful for. They reached the back of the shop quickly, a glass wall took up the area, with a wooden door leading to an office-style room. Usually it was for customer consultations but it worked fine for anything else.
Eret cast his gaze around the room as he walked in, but there was nothing out of the ordinary that would make him seem suspicious to the trained eye. Directly across from the door was a plain wooden desk, with one plush black chair behind it and two identical blue ones on the other side that had their backs facing the door.
A bookshelf ran along one wall, filled with his personal collection of random books, most of which Niki had lent to him and never asked for back. In the back left corner was a giant Venus fly trap almost as tall as a person, courtesy of Hannah. The painting that sat right behind his desk was a scene of the city at night, something Jack had made while experimenting with his powers a while back… huh. Most of his decorations were courtesy of his friends. The thought brought a smile to Eret’s face.
A pair of footsteps quickly approached behind him, and Eret quickly remembered why he was there in the first place. He quickly went around the desk and settled in his chair, pulling his laptop slightly towards himself on habit. Dream walked in not a moment later, examining his surroundings quickly before moving to sit down. Straightening his shoulders, Eret folded his hands in his lap.
“I’m sure you know why I’m here, Eret.” Dream said, his tone left no room for questioning. It would’ve scared most people. Eret was not most people, however, and it was hard to be scared of someone when you’d heard them beg for their life at your hands.
His tone was cold as he spoke. “No, I don’t believe I do. I don’t see what could be so important that you needed to come and bother me when my store is closed.” Eret had to fight the smirk on his face when Dream scowled in response to his words. While he could no longer bother them in fights, he could still very well annoy heroes as a civilian. Even if it was Dream, who was at fault for both Karl’s situation and Eret's handicap. “So, Dream, what do you want from me on this oh-so-fine morning?”
Dream sighed, leaning back in his chair. “You’re not stupid, Eret. Luck doesn’t tell us to fuck off over stupid people. You know as well as I do that I’m here to talk about the new mandate for power tests that Schlatt is instating.” Eret’s lips pressed into a grim line as Dream spoke. So he was right. Eret had known this was coming but had thought he had more time to prefect how he was going to get out of them. Letting them test his powers wouldn’t be a good idea. He had no hybrid type that would connect him to any known villains, but his powers were too distinct. He felt bad for any unlucky souls who had the same ability, even if it was only one or two throughout the whole country.
Even so, he knew vaguely how to navigate the rest of this conversation. “I do.” He finally said after a long moment. “Well, I regret to inform you that I won’t be cooperating with that.” Dream opened his mouth to respond, and likely to tell him he didn’t have a choice, but Eret didn’t give him the chance. “Not only have I submitted all the paperwork against blood test of any kind, even for medical reasons, I will not submit to this willingly,” his smile morphed into something closer to a sneer. “And I don’t think our dear Luck would take kindly to me being forced into things.”
Being know by the heroes to have connections to Luck wasn’t a good thing. But it did occasionally have it’s perks. Eret couldn’t see Dream’s face through the man’s mask, but he would swear he still saw the cogs turning in Dream’s head. Finally, Dream stood. “I guess we have nothing to discuss for the moment then.”
Eret scowled. “We won’t have anything to discuss in the future either.” Silence settled between them once more. One the third most powerful man in the country, and the other someone who’s name was still whispered in deep shadows in fear and children’s stories to make them behave. Eret opened the laptop in front of him, a clear sign of dismissal. “I believe you can see yourself out, Dream.”
“This is not the end of this conversation.” Dream said, turning on his heel and walking out the door before he disappeared around the maze of shelves. Eret waited until the front door audibly opened and closed before he allowed himself to slump in his chair. That was exhausting. Not to mention he’d not been as polite as he should’ve been. He didn’t want to be anything resembling nice to any heroes, much less Dream, but it was what he needed to do. He’d managed to do it when Dream had first arrived at his door, but pretty soon after that he’d begun slipping into his villain persona. It was dangerous, and not to mention stupid.
He sighed again, navigating to his email as he quickly began writing a few emails. He needed to reschedule any appointments. The rest of the day was going to need to be spent making sure everyone had what they needed to get through the storm that was coming.
Little did Eret know, the storm would be much worse than anyone would’ve ever been able to prepare for.
With Foolish
The paths he walked on were all sorts of colors. Green, blue, gold, red, purple, and some that couldn’t be described by a human eye. They twisted and weaved over and around each other in a dazzling display of color and movement. They constantly moved, shifting as mortals made decisions that shifted their course. The horizon beyond the pathways was a mute gold, a constant color that neither changed nor shifted. He walked along the world, along the timeline itself. XD kept the timeline in line, but Foolish walked it. Adjusting the lives of every human being as he saw necessary. Sometimes he walked on the mortal world, silent and unseen, leaving golden footsteps in his wake that slowly faded until they no longer existed at all.
Nowadays, Foolish was much more aware of his tampering. Aware of the results. The last time he’d bent a major path, it’d been with Niki. Back when he found that small crying girl, he wouldn’t have called her much more than a child, he had no idea that freeing her from her situation with a small shift in her future path would lead to him having a friend. He’d known he was shifting her onto a path of power, but not that it’d become almost personal.
Though every good move had to be balanced with a bad one, and he’d brought ruin upon someone else. It hadn’t been until he’d seen the locked paths of two immortals near that woman that he’d realized the mistake. She hadn’t been important. But the Hermits liked to play games as much as the gods did. And they twisted the situation far out of control. They couldn’t directly control the paths as Foolish could, but when they meddled, it often had unforeseen consequences. They knew this, and they played their games anyway. They knew it often left destruction in their wakes, and they still did it. He didn’t care they had been stolen from. It was common sense to not mess something up if you couldn’t fix it.
Foolish paused, shaking his head. He knew he shouldn’t think like that. They did try to fix it. He didn’t know much, The Hermits liked to hide themselves and anything they did from the gods, but he knew that whatever had been stolen from them had ended up having disastrous effects on several paths. The magic matrix had been a mess for almost a year, even after the timeline had long since resettled.
Foolish continued walking along the black swirling path he’d settled on. He hadn’t found a reason to change it yet. The path itself was made of swirling geometric shapes, laid flat and constantly twisting in on themselves. Three others ran along side it for a short time, one red, one dark purple, and one gray. He’d already known about that of course. Not that the mortals had figured it out yet.
It wasn’t until he got farther along that he found something wrong.
Something that was very, very wrong.
Those two had no reason to intersect.
Why did they intersect?
Foolish paled as he saw that the path came to an end only two steps afterwards.
Notes:
Ooooooooookay. That one was a doozy XD Not only was there all that with dear old Eret, we finally see a god actually working with their domain lol
Y'all there was so much goddamn lore this chapter that even *my* head is spinning a bit 😂
This chapter was originally meant to be before last one, but there was a slight change of plans, and this one got moved back. That whole scene showing Eret's brutality? Yeah, that wasn't there when I first started writing the chapter. Then he apparently decided he wanted that moment shown, and who am I to tell him no? xD
If you have any theories about *anything* absolutely anything, please put them in the comments xD No matter how ridiculous they may seem please, I love reading people's theories
Or if you'd prefer to discuss them with other readers, you can join my discord server! :D I promise everyone who talks regularly on there is super chill xD Don't be afraid to talk if it seems tightknit or something, because literally everyone on there MET there 😂 We're always happy to see new people talking :D (lurking is also fine, my server is literally the only one I'm on that I don't just lurk on lol)
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Chapter 71: The lightning Storm
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
With Foolish
Foolish crouched down, running his fingers along both paths. It didn't make sense. He hadn't been back here since just after the meeting with the other gods, and hadn't messed with anything. That meant that this was unnatural and unstable. Dangerous. His lips pursed as he stood. He'd have no option but to intervene.
Taking a deep breath, Foolish stepped off of the paths and onto the golden abyss. His eyes glowed a deep emerald green as he reached towards the paths. Divine power flooded through his veins. He had to redirect them. The dark flare still had a part to play. Foolish forced a deep exhale out his nose as he abandoned the semi-physical form he preferred, shifting to pure energy as he sunk into the path. He pulled. Godly power pushed back, sending a shock through his form.
Of course. That fucking bastard. If Foolish had teeth in that form, he’d be gritting them. Changing directions, he pressed onto the intersecting path, tearing it away from the black one. Usually, this was a gentle and delicate job. That was not a usual day. The sound like snapping stings echoed through the realm, making no noise but somehow Foolish heard it anyway. That was never a good sign. Neither path moved an inch, though they trembled as the area around them became unstable. Foolish coalesced back into his previous form, glaring at the two paths. This was going to take more power than he wanted to or should give.
Unfortunately, he hadn't been given a choice in the matter.
Instead of trying energy ball form once more, Foolish let himself fall into his true form for the first time in almost a thousand years. The other gods would know that he was doing something drastic, but that didn’t matter. He didn’t know what that asshole was thinking. Without using the proper methods and having Foolish’s power set, doing something like this would have devastating consequences for the timeline as well as the first and second mortal realms. The third would be completely fine, but that was only because nothing there was truly mortal anymore anyway.
Foolish shivered as wings of molten gold sprouted from his back, drops of pure godly power fell from them and disappeared to the abyss as his skin turned to the same material. He could feel the bones in his body lengthen and snap to adjust to his new form. It'd been painful the first time he'd switched forms, now it was simply an uncomfortable experience. His fingers lengthened, sharpening down into emerald claws. Light yellow symbols appeared all along his body, shifting and spinning around themselves in a mirror of the paths he controlled.
With a deep breath, Foolish slipped his claws between the two paths and tore.
The golden abyss shuttered around him once more, the divine power radiating from the intersecting path lashed out at him in sharp ribbons that dug into inhuman flesh. Multicolored blood fell from the cuts, dripping onto the paths. Foolish let out a hiss of pain, but grit his teeth. Whispers from beings from plains beyond even his touch whispered in his ears. Some of the gods listened to them, Foolish was not one of them. Those beings only had so much say in anything that happened, and had proven themselves petty at best.
The ribbons wrapped around his arms, cutting into his skin. How much power did that little asshole pump into this shit? Foolish shook his head, ignoring the thought. It didn't matter. He couldn’t tell how long he’d been there when it finally gave way. The black path shot out, continuing on from where it’d stopped. The intersecting path still hit it, but instead of bouncing off after, went through it, curving wildly. The ribbons dispersed, the power returning to their owner.
Foolish’s chest heaved. Deep marks along his body bled. Where the strings had wrapped around his arms were left with bloody welts. He stared at the two paths. There had to be some reason for it. No god would expend that much pure energy for no reason. He didn't move until he wavered on his feet, the world spinning.
Foolish let himself fall. The paths raced passed him as he fell further and further into the golden world around him.
Foolish only just barely pulled his mortal form around himself before he slammed onto the second plain.
His vision went dark.
With Tommy
It was still dark outside when Tommy woke up. The sound of thunder had been what did it, judging based off the fact his alarm wasn't set to go off for at least another hour. He rolled in his bed, reaching to the curtains and pulling them open. The sky flashed, lighting echoing through the city. Rain beat against the windows in a steady cascade. Tommy reached over and pulled on the cord of his lamp, illuminating the room. The walls were painted a soft gray, mostly empty aside from the couple of pictures he’d taken from his suite back in the hero tower. His desk sat against the right wall, a couple of papers and schoolbooks he hadn’t touched since Tubbo almost burned the school down. They’d be going back today, so he likely needed to shove those in his school bag.
It was going to be absolute chaos, if the events of the evening before were any indication. Puffy had no shame and Schlatt was on a power trip. Both had done things that would cause massive fallout. Students would be buzzing with gossip, adults would be either upset and tense or be trying to quiet the rumors. Large amounts of people from each faction would be panicking, which never ended well. That fallout was the only real reason they were going back to school. After the few days it’d taken for the school to reopen after the fire incident, the trio just hadn’t bothered to go back. Making sure Sapnap was settling in well was more important, and it’d given them the perfect excuse.
Now though, they had someone else they had to worry about. Purpled. Tommy knew the villains would be fine, the ones they cared about at least, They had their ways and could more than take care of themselves. The vigilantes on the other hand? They would be the faction in the most danger. Schlatt hadn’t mentioned anything about the schools, so Purpled himself would likely be fine, but Fox and the others wouldn’t. Being a vigilante wasn't just highly frowned upon, it was also highly illegal.
Tommy and Ranboo had discussed the plan of action for the day the night before after both Sapnap and Tubbo had gone to bed. They needed to check on Purpled, and then see what kind of help they could give without revealing who they actually were. Originally, Tommy had wanted to go first thing in the morning, but Ranboo had vetoed that. Citing that they needed to at least alert Tubbo of the situation. The teen had gone off to talk to Sapnap before the worst news of the evening. Tommy sighed and walked around his bed to the door before pulling it open. The halls were still dark, only illuminated every now and then from the flashes of lighting.
Another crash of thunder echoed through the apartment, and Tommy flinched slightly at the sudden sound. Seemed like the weather had decided it was going to be a violent day. He reached the living room quickly, and he sighed quietly with a small smile at the sight that greeted him. The room was dark, but the flashes of lighting outside gave a clear enough picture. Ranboo sat cross-legged on the floor next to the ‘window wall’ as they liked to call it, just staring out into the rain. While the teen typically kept his hybrid traits hidden throughout the day, both his horns and tail were showing. Half of his tail laid on the ground, but the other half thumped against the floor in a steady rhythm, going up in a wide arc and hitting the floor with a dull thump over and over again, side to side.
Tommy leaned against the door frame, raising one hand to knock on the wall. Ranboo jumped as the noise rang out, whipping around with wide eyes. “Shit- hey Tommy,” he greeted. “I didn’t notice you there.” Ranboo turned around fully as he reached out towards his left. Light flooded the room a moment later as the lamps turned on, directed by the remote now in Ranboo’s hand.
“I figured.” Tommy chuckled, then his smile faded. “Are you alright though?”
Shrugging, Ranboo glanced back at the windows. “Yeah, just watching the storm,” he sighed as he turned back to Tommy. “We still planning to head to school today?” At Tommy’s nod, he sighed again. “Alright. It’s like 6 right now so we’ve just got to talk to Tubbo and then we can go.”
“Talk to me about what?” Both villains jumped in surprise as Tubbo suddenly interjected. The teen’s hair was sticking out in all different directions, and his clothes were crumpled. He ran his hands down his face before yawning. “What’s going on?” Ranboo and Tommy shared a look.
In a distant past with people no longer recognizable from it…
“Good luck, immortals. Your life has been something that you dismiss, but that is no longer an option.” The creature said, flexing its purple wings out wide and casting shadow across the group. “Your life is now the most precious thing for you to protect.”
“Whether green, yellow, or red, everything is at stake. With that being said, let the Life Blood games…. begin .”
Notes:
This chapter was going to be longer, and include the conversation with Tommy, Ranboo, and Tubbo, but my brain decided that it really wanted that end bit instead, so here we are xD
Chapter 72: Let them have their game
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Back in the present - A few minutes later
Tubbo was still visibly seething, and Tommy didn’t blame him in the slightest. The hero committee did a lot of shit, but this? This felt like a new low. All of the good mood from the morning had disappeared as they’d explained the situation to Tubbo, as it reminded themselves exactly what they were dealing with as well.
Blood tests. That could spell disaster for countless people. Whether they were a villain, vigilante, or just a regular civilian. “Me and Tommy were planning to head to school to check up on Purpled.” Ranboo spoke up, cutting through Tubbo’s muttering and making him glance up sharply. “We’ve already messaged the gc. Hannah volunteered to pick us up.”
Tubbo pursed his lips, looking off to the side. He didn’t speak for a long moment and then said, “I’m coming with. I know Quackity won’t be happy because he wants an explanation for us kidnapping Sapnap but oh well.” He started pacing again. “Maybe we can leave early or something, because Sapnap needs the support and to be updated on the situation…”
The conversation was interrupted when Ranboo’s phone let out a ding on the coffee table. The trio shared a look. Tommy stood from where he’d sat cross-legged on the floor and picked up the teen’s phone. After reading the message displayed there, he walked over and pulled the curtains that covered the ‘window wall’ to the side. Sure enough, there stood Hannah across the street, leaning against her car with a black umbrella, apparently unconcerned about the lightning storm. She smiled when she saw him through the window, offering a wave. “Yeah, Hannah’s here and waiting for us,” he said and turned back to his friends after returning her wave. Ranboo reached out towards him, and Tommy quickly handed back his friend’s phone.
Ranboo took it back and stood before he stretched, his neck letting out an audible pop. “I’m going to go ahead and go meet with her, you guys get ready. I prepared my stuff last night.” Ranboo said, walking away and grabbing his backpack from beside the door. He had only been out the door for about ten seconds before it opened again and he stuck his head in. “Oh, and one of you two needs to make sure Sapnap knows we’re going.”
Tommy, who had already been heading back to his room to grab his stuff, simply gave Ranboo a thumbs up and continued walking. Making it back to his room, he organized the papers on his desk quickly and slid them into his bag, not bothering to grab the books.
He slung his red backpack over his shoulder before leaving his room. Tubbo passed by him in the opposite direction as he went and knocked on the guest room door. Tommy heard Tubbo pause, but Tommy paid him no mind. A groggy looking Sapnap opened the door a minute later. “Hey Tommy. Need something?” The man asked, yawning. Tubbo’s footsteps resumed down the hall, Sapnap must’ve heard them too, if the fact he stuck his head out the door and looked was any hint. His face lit up. “Hey Tubbo, good morning!” he called.
Tubbo stopped again, turning around with a slight grin. “Morning to you too Sap.” He said, “see you later.” With that, he disappeared around the corner. The sound of the door opening and closing could be heard from the living room.
Tilting his head, Tommy watched the conversation with curiosity. They’d filled Sapnap in on what’d happened the night before, but he hadn’t told them what he and Tubbo had talked about. Not that they’d asked of course. “’see you later?’ Is he going somewhere?” Sapnap inquired.
Tommy nodded. “Yeah, that’s actually why I came to bother you. We’re heading off to school today to…” he paused, how to explain without revealing they knew a vigilante? “Check on a friend.” He finished. “We haven’t seen him in a while and with everything going on-”
Sapnap lifted his hand, stopping Tommy before he started rambling “it’s fine Tommy. I get it, you don’t have to explain yourself to me. See you guys later.” And it was in that moment that Sapnap just looked so tired. The bags under his eyes were clear, and his shoulders sagged with exhaustion that spoke of a sleepless night. He’d seemed more alive since he’d been around them, but that didn’t mean he was okay. Even when they left the hero life behind, it seemed like heroes couldn’t ever catch a break. You could leave it all behind, but that life would follow you anyway. Call you back to it. Without a word, Tommy opened his arms in the offer of a hug. Sapnap startled slightly, but stepped forward and took the offer, his forehead falling against Tommy’s shoulder as he sighed. “Do I really look that bad?”
Tommy chuckled in response as he stepped back. He didn’t typically give or receive hugs, but he’d felt like Sapnap had needed it. “Yeah. Feel any better?” Tommy asked, a slightly teasing grin on his lips. Sapnap chuckled, and opened his mouth to respond. An audible buzz in Tommy’s pocket cut him off though, and Tommy fished it out to see a message from Hannah asking where he was. He sighed. “Sorry Sapnap, I have to go. Hannah’s waiting for me.”
“Rose Thorn is the one taking you to school?” Sapnap asked. Tommy’s eyes widened in surprise and he stared at Sapnap for a long moment with an expression bordering on horror. “Why are you looking at me like tha- oh shit, you do know I met Hannah and know her identity right?” Sapnap quickly, Tommy shook his head. “Yeah, that day I met you in civilian clothes I met Hannah and she told me her identity while threatening me.” That checked out. It was something Hannah would absolutely do. “I’ll tell you the whole story later if you want.”
“It would be appreciated.” Tommy laughed. “Now I’ve got to go, see you.” he said, turning away.
“See you.” Sapnap said, before closing the door once more.
Tommy quickly left his apartment and locked the door before he hurried down the stairs. He could’ve taken the elevator, but the idea of dealing with anyone else wanting to use it was annoying enough for him to avoid that option. He only just barely remembered to hide his wings before he exited the building. Hannah’s car still sat across the street. A black and red McLaren 720S, specifically modified to have 4 seats instead of the usual two. The woman actually preferred her motorcycle but had gotten her car for when she worked publicly with other villains.
The storm was still going in full force, and Tommy sprinted across the street to Hannah’s car. The 7 seconds it took for him to open the door and get inside left his hair plastered to his forehead. Tubbo laughed at his misery. Hannah turned back and looked at him with a raised eyebrow, but she was smiling at him with amusement. “Took you long enough, did something happen?”
He shook his head, still panting slightly. “Just talking to someone. Sorry. We can go now.” He apologized. Hannah shrugged, turning back to her dashboard. A few seconds later the car started up and they were finally off to school after several weeks. It was in one of the arguably better district, number 5. It was a middle class area, which meant that it had a hero presence, but was mostly overseen by the police. Tommy idly watched the surroundings as they passed by as he usually did. Which meant he noticed when Hannah took an unusual turn. “Uhh, Hannah?”
Tubbo spoke up before Hannah did. “She said there’s something she thinks we’d be interested in seeing. She told me and Ranboo while we were waiting for you. We’re going to be heading to the city center first, and then we’ll be going.” Tommy pursed his lips, but sat back in his seat and waited. He got more and more antsy the farther they went, until he finally noticed.
The closer to the city center they got, the more people lining the sidewalks. People with signs and posters, standing under overhangs and any other shelter nearby. There had to be at least a few dozen. People from all areas and walks of life. “Protestors.” Hannah whispered, just loud enough for everyone to hear. She leaned one elbow against the center console as she spoke. “They’ve been gathering slowly all morning. Niki was the first one to see them when she went to start baking for the day.”
“They’re… protesting?” Ranboo asked from the front seat, his head turned towards the window. “I’ve never-” he cut himself off, struggling for words.
“Never seen that before?” Hannah asked, the trio nodded. “Yeah, I’ve been on the scene longer than you guys have and not seen it before either. I saw some people posting about doing it when I got up this morning, but I thought they were just trolls until Niki messaged me.”
Tommy turned back to the window reading signs as they went. ‘Don’t listen to the vampires’, ‘if they get our blood they take our voices’, and many more. There weren’t as many people as Tommy would like, but there was more than anyone would expect when it was something done by the hero committee. Sure there’d always be people who disagreed with shit the hero committee did, but no one ever actually did anything about it unless they were a villain. Seeing people protest? Now that, that was a shock.
Hannah continued on her path, not yet turning to head back to their school. Tommy didn’t find it in himself to complain. It wasn’t a crowd, it wasn’t much, but there was people. Civilians who were finally seeing that there was something wrong. Tommy’s hands curled into fists. Why was it the fact that they were directly threatened that people above the very lowest rungs of society were finally seeing a problem? Why was this where it had to get before anyone bothered to notice?
Why had it taken murder for him to realize something was wrong? Tommy’s lips curled, whether it was into disgust or anger he couldn’t tell. How selfish of him.
Suddenly, a wave of unnatural calm passed over him, and his shoulders untensed. His hands uncurled, and it felt almost like he could breathe again. They’d reached the city center, something he thought definitely should’ve done the opposite. The crowd had thickened, not enough to block anything but notably. Hannah suddenly pulled to the side of the road and parked, looking around with furrowed brows. “This place was a lot more chaotic earlier.” There were still people with signs, some yelling and all but preaching to anyone who walked by.
“More chaotic?” Tubbo asked dubiously. “This looks pretty bad already.”
“Yeah but, on the verge of violence more chaotic.” Hannah said. “Does anyone else have a weird feeling or is it just me?” She asked, turning the car off. The trio all shared a look and then nodded. Since they were under an overhang, Hannah rolled down the windows.
That was all it took for music to reach their ears. Tommy’s head whipped towards the source of the sound. A fountain sat at the very center of the city, and sitting on the edge was the person responsible for the noise.
A woman sat, playing a harp. Her hair was blond, an odd silver sheen to it. She wore a black high neck halter top, with a pair of black slacks. She was sitting on a dark green jacket, the inside a stark black color. She had her eyes closed as she played, plucking the strings with a practiced grace. A glowing green shield hovered above her, protecting her from the rain. Her harp was made of dark wood, green swirling patterns painted across it that almost seemed to glow.
Next to her stood a man, who seemed clearly uncomfortable. He wore a fancy black and red suit, and he stood in a way that would’ve screamed royalty. An axe swung from his hip made of gleaming black metal, something a hero would likely be unhappy about if he was seen, not that he looked too concerned about the fact. He was a red wolf hybrid, if the blood red hair and flicking ears were any indication.
The woman’s eyes suddenly flew open, but she didn’t stop playing even as her head turned directly towards them. She whispered something to her companion and then gave them an amused wave. The man tilted his head, glancing towards them as well. Tommy looked out the windows. They were really the ones in this direction. “Okay that’s enough.” Hannah said, unbuckling her seat belt. “I’m going to go talk to them. Are you alright with a slight delay?”
Tommy considered for a moment. They had gotten out incredibly early anyway. He unbuckled his seat belt as well. “I’m coming with you.”
Ranboo and Tubbo agreed to stay in the car as Hannah and Tommy got out and quickly made their way over to the two strangers. The umbrella that they had grabbed became unnecessary as they approached, the green forcefield extending to allow them a safe break from the rain. “Heya strangers.” The woman greeted, grinning at them. Her eyes were a bright lime green and sparkled with mischief. “Need something?”
“Were you waving at us?” Hannah asked, cutting right to the chase. The woman laughed, pausing in her playing of the harp. That seemed to enough confirmation for Hannah, considering she narrowed her eyes at the blond woman. “Let me rephrase, why were you waving at us?”
This level of hostility wasn’t something Tommy had seen from Hannah before. She was usually either very level headed or the kind of dangerous that you didn’t hear or see coming. Needless to say, seeing Hannah so riled up was a shock. The unnatural calm feeling he’d felt before had dissipated. The woman playing the harp resumed with her task before she spoke again. “Because you’re interesting.” She said, grinning ear to ear before turning to her companion. “War, should I introduce myself or be a cryptic asshole?”
‘War’? Who the fuck named their kid ‘War’!? The man, named War evidently, ignored the dumbfounded stare Tommy was giving him. “Do as you please chao- Drista, the only reason I came was because you asked for my aid with your task.”
Drista? Why did that name sound so familiar? Tommy could’ve sworn he’d heard it somewhere before. It felt important.
“Mama who was that?” A young Tommy asked.
Kristen looked up from her phone, with a sigh. “My… little sister, Drista.” She said. Tommy tilted his head. Then why had she sounded so angry? It seemed, though, that she knew the question before he asked. “We don’t get along much anymore. We’re not technically related, but we used to be sisters by choice.”
“You can choose your family?”
“If they’re good enough not to leave you behind.”
“You’re my mother’s sister!?” Tommy asked, startled. Three people’s heads snapped towards him, each with a different expression. Hannah was looking at him with shock, Drista with amusement, and War with just straight surprise. Though that may have just been from the sudden loud noise. Tommy slapped his hands over his mouth as people turned to look at the noise, his face burning.
Drista only laughed. “I didn’t know she talked about me. Tell me, what’d she say?” She asked, leaning forward slightly with an almost predatory grin. Tommy took a step back, and Hannah stepped in front of him. Drista tilted her head, leaning back. “Sorry. I forget that I can be… unnerving.” She apologized, though it almost sounded like she struggled to do so. “You don’t have to answer me if you don’t want to, Tommy. I know your mother must still be a sore spot for you.” Tommy hid his trembling fist behind his back.
To tell the truth, it was really the first time anyone had mentioned his mother in a long time. No one talked about his mother. They hadn’t in years. The only ones who really knew or should’ve cared were his family or Puffy, and they all avoided the topic with a passion. The last time he’d heard something about his mom… well, it was when he found out exactly why his family hated him so much during one of Wilbur’s drunken rages. Tommy didn’t have to find the words to answer Drista, because War spoke up before he could. “Drista…” his tone held a warning. “Don’t push. We do not want to upset Lady Crow.” The more these people spoke the more questions and suspicions that popped up in his head.
Drista gave him a deadpan stare. “This’ll be the only time I get to talk to Tommy for a long while at least. Lady Crow knows better than to begrudge me that. Besides, I already said I’d not push.” Tommy opened his mouth to ask what she meant by that, but a shout cut him off, many more joining in quickly as a crowd gathered. Drista sighed, her hands lifting back to her harp as she began to play. The shouting slowly died back down. She watched the crowd carefully, not speaking for a long moment before she stopped playing again.
“What was that about?” Hannah asked, looking towards where the crowd shad now started to disperse.
Drista shrugged. “One of- I mean, my power is able to calm people down. I don’t use it that often, but me and War are here to make sure the protests don’t break out into violence.” She then snorted, shaking her head. “Well, really that’s why I’m here. He’s here to take care of it in case it does anyway. So he’s just gotten to stand around doing nothing.”
War huffed, watching the area around them. “I always love a good fight. But only if they’re fair and have actual meaning. Things in this city have long since spiraled out of control.” Hannah and Tommy shared a look. That was… weird. Or it was a weird thing to say at least.
“You do know using powers in public is illegal, right?” Hannah asked hesitantly.
Drista shrugged. “Trust me, I’m not all that worried about that.” Tommy opened his mouth to say why exactly not caring was a terrible idea, but Drista cut him off. “You have much to do, Tommy. You’ve got people waiting for you. I’ll see you at some point in the future, I’m sure.” With that, she raised her hands once more and continued to play. Tommy didn’t want to leave. He wanted to know more. More about who she was. What she was doing there. More about his mother. What had happened that he’d never met her before. Who was Lady Crow? And what say did she have in anything of that conversation?
Unfortunately though, the blond-haired woman had a point. They still needed to talk to Purpled as soon as possible, and they’d already taken way too much of a delay. That was how he ended up having to say his goodbyes.
It was only about 10 minutes later, when he was in the car and they were heading towards the school, that he realized two things. One, that he’d never told her his name, and two, that despite her promises to run into him again, he had no way to contact Drista.
And yet, something in his gut told him that they would meet again anyway.
Notes:
Me: Drista, you weren't supposed to show up this chapter-
Drista: I don't care. I wanted to talk to him, and you were already planning for them to see the protestors
Me: Yeah but-
Drista: Now if you don't mind, I need to go find a rusty fork *disappears*
Me: [long sigh]
Links that may be of interest:
My tumblr, incase you want it. I post an OPF meme when I make them, though I haven't done that in a while
The discord server for all of my fics :D though this one is usually the main focus tbh xD
Chapter 73: :]
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
With Schlatt
Schlatt was not always a violent man. Not always someone who saw people as the pieces to a game they didn’t know they were playing. Was once someone kind and gracious, as much as many people would try to claim otherwise. And sitting high in his office that morning, with a view of the city that worshipped at his feet, Schlatt… well he didn’t know how he felt about losing who he once was. Everyone had a part to play on the board. The heroes, villains, civilians, even those stupid little vigilantes who’d grown too bold for their own good. Everything was going to plan. The rogues had shut their mouths, from Dream’s report of the fight the day before, the vigilantes were desperate, and the villains…
Well it seemed both major players were waiting to make their move. Schlatt took a swig of the bourbon from his flask, barely paying attention to it as he sorted through the papers on his desk. Countless reports scattered in random piles, each containing new information. The storm raging outside the windows meant very little to Schlatt. It was just another day after all.
He’d gone most of the day without drinking anything the day before, so his head wasn’t aching as much as it usually did in the mornings. Being alert the day before had meant more than how much better he felt when his brain was clouded with the sweet sweet liquid.
He knew it wouldn’t last long. The mandate would have no small amount of backlash attached to it. The reports of people in the streets had already started to come in, brought to him by his assistant that morning. He was corrupt, not stupid. It wasn’t meant to last. What it would do, however, was apply pressure in all the right spots. Something it was doing nicely. Soon, Dream would come baring the news that the little business owner names Eret wasn’t cooperating, and he’d get a new chip for bargaining with the bastard named Luck.
Though, it’d already done much more than that.
It’d already given him a crucial piece of information. One he hadn’t been expecting to get for quite some time. It seemed that they had a traitor in their midst. Though he’d already known that. Who it was on the other hand… that’d been quite the shock. Well, shock might’ve been a little too harsh of a word. She’d made it no secret how much she hated him and everything he did.
“Oh Captain Puffy, you stubborn bitch. You thought I’d not find out.” Schlatt chuckled to himself. If only she hadn’t run off so fast, maybe she’d have gotten to keep her secret a bit longer. He’d let her keep her lies for now.
As someone he once knew used to say, ‘keep your cards closer than you keep your friends’.
Notes:
....
:)
Also Spring knew about this beforehand.
Chapter 74: How many torches does a bridge need?
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
With Ranboo
Both Tommy and Hannah seemed tense when they’d returned to the car, and had explained what happened after they’d gotten moving again. Ranboo agreed that it was more than a little weird. Unfortunately, they really didn’t have time to analyze the situation to figure out what had made Tommy feel like it was so off. Maybe they’d come to regret that, but oh well. Right now they needed to focus on the present.
Arriving at school almost half an hour later was an almost surreal experience. It looked the same as usual. Students ran to escape the downpour while cars moved about the parking lot with almost no semblance of order. After so long of settling into the new chaos that had popped up after they’d kidnapped Sapnap, such normality felt weird.
Instead of just driving through the drop off line like Ranboo had been expecting, Hannah pulled into a parking spot. “I’ll go in and convince the office to ignore the fact you guys have been out.” She said by way of explanation as she retrieved her umbrella.
“But we never told you why we hadn’t been going?” Tubbo said, though it was more a question than anything else. To the villains, it really just looked like they’d suddenly taken a vacation for no reason. Sure, there’d been a couple of surprises, such as Tommy’s wings and Fire-Fist’s disappearance, but none of those really should’ve done anything to impede them after a day or two. “Why would you cover for us if you don’t even know what we’ve been doing?
Hannah simply shrugged however. “I trust your guys’ judgment. You have as much say in what you do and why as anyone else, and that includes not explaining your actions if you don’t want to.”
Not for the first time in the past few weeks, Ranboo was hit with just how different the villains were from the heroes. “Thanks Hannah. We appreciate it.” Ranboo replied with a smile. It was moments like that when the difference between the villains and the heroes were made incredibly clear. Moments where the fact that they were now long free were so strongly felt.
The group hurried towards the building, only slowing down once they got to the covered entrance area. Their school had a relatively large area in front of the entrance, not that Ranboo was entirely sure of its purpose other than a glorified rain cover. Tables were scattered around the area, most having other students that chattered quietly to each other, though many groups of people just stood around to talk to each other. So many people around made Ranboo dearly uncomfortable, but he’d grown used to it.
Hannah quickly said her goodbyes, since she didn’t want to stick around other than to deal with the office. Once she was out of sight, Ranboo spoke. “Alright,” he said, glancing around, “so where’s Purpled?”
A few seconds later, Tommy saw him. Purpled sat at one of the outdoor tables under the awning, his black backpack leaning against the seat. The teen was absorbed in whatever was on his laptop, and didn’t seem to notice them as they approached. It was evident that this was not the case however, when he spoke without looking up. “I didn’t expect to see you guys today. Is there something special going that I should know about?” he smiled, finally lowering his computer screen to look at them.
Tommy sat down first, and spoke in a low voice as to not be overheard. “We’re here to check in on you after the whole blood test reveal thing.” Purpled’s face fell. He glanced at both Ranboo and Tubbo for confirmation, both of which nodded their heads as they sat down as well. “Schlatt may not have mentioned the schools, but from what we know, the vigilantes work together often.” Tommy continued before falling silent.
Purpled’s jaw clenched, and he looked off to the side. “Ah.” he said mildly, and then sighed. He spoke quietly, barely above a whisper. “Yeah, you’re right. The vigilantes are close.” That little nagging voice of his mind that had been trained to gather information on people in opposing factions purred in interest. Ranboo wholeheartedly ignored it. The vigilantes weren’t an opposing faction. Slightly atomistic? Sure. But that didn’t mean they were enemies of the trio. Even if they were, he’d never use information he was willingly given against his friend. “We’ve all been panicking.” Purpled admitted.
“Yeah I'm not surprised.” Tubbo sighed. “Do you guys have a plan? We were actually wanting to know if we can help with anything.”
Shaking his head, Purpled sighed as he spoke. “I doubt you all can do anything to help. Not for this at least.” If about 8 different plans for how to murder Schlatt flashed through Ranboo’s mind to circumvent the problem entirely in that moment, nobody had to know.
“It’s not like you’re all in any of the factions anyway, I don’t feel like you guys should get involved when it’s just more danger for no reason. I’d rather you stay safe and unseen than stick your neck out for us.” Purpled continued. That statement would’ve been really heartwarming if not for the fact it was completely wrong. They were already involved. They had been forced to be involved years ago by the same people they fought against now. At the trio’s sour expressions, Purpled sighed. “Don’t look at me like that. It’s not like we’re completely fumbling. We’ve done this for a long time, especially some of the others, we know how to handle a crisis. We already have a plan in place.”
Despite them being in a VERY different position than Purpled thought, he was right in the fact that there was very little they could really do. They could ask the villains to find a way to protect them, but Ranboo fought some of the vigilantes before and knew that they’d never accept that. Just watching over them wouldn’t do any good either, because the threat was to their civilian lives, not their vigilante personas. “A plan?” Ranboo prompted, hoping for some kind of information.
Purpled nodded, glancing around to check for anyone eavesdropping before he spoke. “I won’t go into detail, because this both isn’t a safe place and it’s mostly classified, but the simple version is that they’re pretty much all going to abandon their civilian jobs and dip into any and all emergency reserves until we can figure out a better solution. It’s not great but-” the ring of a bell cut him off. He sighed. “You guys get the point anyway. We all need to get to class.”
With Hannah
A couple of lies and over dramatized offence later, Hannah walked out of the office with a self-satisfied grin. The bell had long since rung, and the entrance areas, both inside and out, were mostly empty aside from the errant staff member or student. She didn’t immediately go to her car when she made it to the end of the school’s canopy. Instead, she stopped right outside it and tilted her head back, letting the water run down her face.
It'd always been something that calmed her down, even back in her childhood. Her and her sister used to run out into the rain to escape their parents and their incessant instruction. Splashing in muddy puddles and playing make believe until the sun had set or they were dragged back home. Though those days were long gone, with one bridge burning and the other two broken, the memories remained. Hannah smiled slightly. She probably looked insane just standing there. Not that she was all too concerned about that, she’d been called worse things than insane.
Hannah tilted her head back down, letting out a sigh. She had places to be. Niki and Jack were likely already at the bakery waiting for her, and with everything going on it’d be better not to make them wait. “Excuse me?” An oddly familiar voice asked from behind her. Hannah flinched violently. She’d obviously been much too distracted if she hadn’t heard their footste- she froze when she saw the person. Him? How long had it been since she’d seen him? Years. At least. He was wearing a regular hoodie and blue jeans, a stark contrast to the outfit she'd last seen him in. His orange hair was a mess. His tail flicked back and forth with uncertainty. “Are you okay?” He asked.
Fox didn’t recognize her. Hannah quickly shook off her stupor. “Of course, why do you ask?”
She repeated the words ‘keep calm’ over and over again like a mantra in her head. Fox scratched his neck awkwardly, though she assumed she should really be calling him Fundy since they were both in civilian outfits. “I had a feeling I should ask, I guess. Sorry to bother you.”
Hannah blinked at him slowly, and then let out a huff of laughter. “A feeling?” She asked incredulously. She understood it though. Gut feelings kept you alive out in the field, and anyone who spent any time fighting quickly learned to follow them. It was probably a good thing anyway, she’d been distracted enough that she’d not heard him, something that wasn’t a good thing no matter how you looked at it. “You came up and talked to a stranger, over a gut feeling?” Not that they were technically strangers, he’d helped her all those years ago. It was a surprise he didn’t recognize her, even if it was probably for the best that he didn’t.
She ignored the nausea rolling in her gut. She didn’t like thinking about that day.
Fundy’s face turned red, his ears folding back in embarrassment. “I already said I was sorry for bothering you,” he muttered.
Hannah shook her head. “It’s fine dude. I’m just giving you a hard time.” She forced a smile, hopping it didn’t look to strained. “Thank you for checking on me, but I’m fine.” She quickly checked her watch, acting as if there was actually something on it and the screen wasn’t still dark. “Sorry, but I’ve got to go random-feeling-person. Bye.”
She ignored Fundy's cursing at himself about the awkward conversation as she speed walked away. Her mask of calm finally cracking.
“Sorry Jack. Sorry Niki. You guys will have to wait.” Hannah muttered to herself. “I’m in the mood to go kill something.”
Notes:
:)
Chapter 75: Blood Tipped Thorns
Summary:
CW: MAJOR BLOOD, GORE, AND FIGHTING! THIS IS NOT A PRETTY CHAPTER!
Notes:
This hasn't been edited because I'm high on pure crack thoughts- if you see any mistakes, just let me know in the comments and I'll fix it :D
Once again saying this, CW: MAJOR BLOOD, GORE, AND FIGHTING! THIS IS NOT A PRETTY CHAPTER!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
With Hannah
“They- they’re dead I didn’t mean to- oh what have I done!? Prime I beg you have mercy-”
Hannah’s hands glowed a deep red, her powers thrumming though her veins. Police sirens sounded from all around. The people the cars belonged to were trying to herd the panicked civilians away. Vines sprouted out of the ground all around her, lashing out at her behest.
The first people she'd run into on her outing were a pair of mid-tier heroes. She couldn't remember their names, but they'd given away their powers rather early in the fight. The man, wearing some kind of spandex suit oddly reminiscent of some old superhero movie, could condense the water in the air into icy weapons. The woman wore a long sleeved red tank top with a black jacket and pants, her skin the dark gray of stone.
They’d been the ones to initiate, something they were likely now regretting as the fight wore on. Her opponents were growing more and more desperate. It was fun to watch, if Hannah was being honest. She hadn’t broken a sweat the entire time.
A spear of ice came flying at her, and Hannah bent backwards to avoid it. She turned to the offending hero with a manic grin, he looked suspiciously like he was from an old superhero movie she cared as much about as she did the man’s name. She flung her arms out towards him.
“Run!”
“No! I can’t just pretended I didn’t-”
“And if they find out you did, they’ll kill you. I’ll make some noise to draw their attention, just GO!”
The plant life around her responded quickly, and he was just a moment too slow. Massive vines and stems wrapped around him, each thicker around than the hero’s head. A massive flower bloomed around him, trapping him from view. The screams abruptly cut off with a wave of Hannah’s hand, even as the man’s teammate came rushing at her.
The woman over extended, and Hannah took the shot at her side. The hero skidded across the ground, spitting blood as she slowed to a stop. The sound of helicopters approaching was like music to Hannah’s ears. She’d always loved an audience. With the second problem momentarily out of the way, Hannah turned back towards her masterpiece, stepping towards it.
Plant matter littered the ground, the concrete hadn’t gotten in the way at all. The entire city street had been overturned. It’d be a long while before it would be back in a functioning state. Not that she paid much attention to that. It didn’t matter. The destruction was beautiful in Hannah’s eyes. Leafy vines climbed up the sides of nearby buildings, the flowers blooming up and down them could’ve had really any effect since she hadn’t been truly paying attention.
“I’m sorry ma’am. They were dead long before we got here.”
“I’ll kill them. Whoever did this won’t-” the girl took a steadying breath, turning away from the body bags. “They won’t escape me for long.”
Hannah pressed harder against the wall, her wounds flaring with bright hot pain. She kept her hands clamped over her mouth, desperate not to make a sound.
Hannah stepped forward, her footing sure despite the ruined ground.
The flower unfurled, unveiling her handy work. The body was maimed. Blood dripped down the vines slowly, coating them in a familiar crimson. Its head was entirely gone, seemingly absorbed by the plants around it. Giant thorns pierced its body, hanging it up in the air as one of her infamous living sculptures. Its rib cage had been torn open, both sides now sticking out and to the sides at a 280 degree angle, leaving its outsides visible to anyone with the stomach to look at it. Hannah smiled.
It was as beautiful as ever. And Prime did it make her feel better.
Hannah could hear the man’s teammate retching from behind her. Hannah rolled her eyes, turning around as her last opponent glared up at her through tears. “You’re a monster.” The woman choked out, before looking to the side when the sight apparently became too much.
The only person she could still trust probably didn’t want to see her now. Not after what she’d done. Maybe the people who’d bandaged her wounds were still willing to deal with her…
It was well known that Hannah, or Rose Thorn technically, fought completely silently. She didn’t speak in fights. No matter what. Her mask muted anything she said, or at least to the outside world. Even before her current mask when she’d just been starting, she had always been careful to be quiet. Mainly, it’d been because she didn’t used to be able to afford a voice changer, but it swiftly became a staple of hers. Even now, she doesn't use one.
Most rumors, especially when the villains were involved, were horrendously wrong. One about her, however, was true. ‘ It said if you hear her voice, you’ll know that you won’t get out of wherever you are alive.’ Hannah reached out with her powers, vines wrapping around the woman much as they had her teammate only a minute earlier.
She strode forward, watching impassively as the vine constricted around the woman’s throat. Her stoney skin was only really helpful to hold off slashes, strangulation still worked just fine. Hannah turned off the muting on her mask. “I’ve been called much worse than a monster, you could’ve at least been more creative with your last words.” The hero could do no more than inefficiently claw at the vines around her throat.
“That’s more than enough, Rose Thorn.” The voice of Crow cut in, wing beats behind Hannah coming to a stop as quickly as they’d appeared. Two more pairs of footsteps could also be heard, alerting Hannah to the fact that the fun had really begun.
With Techno
The scene they came to was a grisly one. Plant life was everywhere, most of it sharp or covered in debris. The entire area had been torn up, much of the destruction had seeped into adjoining streets and up the nearby buildings. The scent of blood was heavy in the air. He tried not to think of the axe sitting in the back of his closet, the same smell emitting perpetually from it. One of the villainess’s macabre sculptures was strung up, though Techno couldn’t see it from his position. The blood dripping down the cluster of standing vines was a tell-tale enough hint of what it was.
“That’s more than enough, Rose Thorn.” Crow said from beside Techno. Rose Thorn turned around, her hand still raised and swirling with blood colored energy. She yanked her hand down without looking behind her. The screams of the hero she’d been fighting were cut off as the woman was dragged under ground.
Techno only felt a twinge of sympathy for the duo of heroes who had decided to take the villain on. From the information they’d been given, the two had been the ones to initiate. Rose Thorn had a very distinct look. Her villain outfit consisted of a double slitted black skirt, the edges where the stitches would be outlined in bright gold. She wore a dark top with a heart shaped neckline, though that was mostly covered by her dark leather jacket.
A necklace with the symbol of prime hung around her neck, something that felt ironic considering who she was. This was all topped off with a full-face mask, with only two eye holes allowing her to see. The thing was vaguely face shaped, though made entirely of the same dark metal all the villains seemed enamored with. The right half of it was painted with flowering rose vines, though most people never got close enough to her to see that little detail before they were dead by her hand. Her long brown hair was wild, the normally controlled tactical ponytail it was usually in was nowhere to be seen.
Techno drew his sword, the metal gleaming in the light. It wasn’t as well balanced as the axe. It was almost like a gun shot had gone off, everyone bursting into motion at the same time. The ground was dangerous, but that was something you signed up for when you went toe-to-toe with Rose Thorn. Chat didn’t seem too concerned, so neither was he.
YEAH H- ROSE THORN THE QUEEN COMMIT SOME MURDER LET'S GO
EEEEEEE
E
EEEE
Techno Anarchy for the Anarchist Pig or whatever anyways ROSE THORN ROSE THORN ROSE THORN-
I wish I could go to her chat but she can't hear us :( Makes me sad
Can we like, petition the gods to give non… you know whats an ability to hear chat?
No, let’s stab that one that we all hate and then force him to give the ability to our favorites
Every move in a fight had to be carefully calculated, otherwise you risked either failure, or more often, death. Techno had backed off, looking for an opening. Crow was in the air, taking diving shots and distracting Rose Thorn at key moments. His bucket hat had been lost at some point leaving only his bird head shaped mask covering his face. Not that any of them had the time to pay attention to that. Massive plants erupted out of the ground, some poisonous and others sharp. Plants curled up Rose Thorn’s arms, thorns poised.
Holy shit Rose Thorn looks fucking good
I know the hero/villain scene is male dominated, but why are all the women so fucking majestic-
Yesss, also EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEe
They’d been trying for months to get her to be brought up in the villain rankings. She was a monster both morally and as an opponent. The only reason the hero committee refused was due to the fact she didn’t show up very often. Rose Thorn used one of the vines that had curled around her arms as a whip to throw Crow out of the air, sending him to the ground. Crow immediately pulled a small vial from his belt, quickly downing it. It’d take him a few seconds to get back in the fight, but that was okay.
Trusting that his dad could take care of himself, Techno jumped forward to take his place. Ghost disengaged, taking on Crow’s role and letting Techno take his. After years of carefully going over and practicing strategies, they were a well-oiled machine. Techno switched his earpiece off. He needed to ignore any orders if he wanted to be able to do his job. Ghost jerked to the right, a seemingly stupid move that almost cost him when Rose Thorn tried to sweep his legs out from under him. To Techno though, it was a signal.
Ghost didn’t dodge Rose Thorn’s next attack, instead taking it directly and only avoiding it by turning his midsection incorporeal. He ran forward, tackling Rose Thorn with his daggers in hand. It didn’t look like it did Ghost much good, however. Rose Thorn kicked him off of her without anything as much as a sound.
It wasn’t as useless of a move as it appeared, though. As Rose Thorn used the momentum from her kick to jump to her feet, Techno took his shot at her. He aimed for the back, but she jerked to the side and all he scored was a deep slice on her arm. It fell limp. She jumped back, her chest heaving. Techno pushed his advantage. Rose Thorn had to direct her powers with her arms, and with one out of commission the fight tipped ever more in the heroes’ favor.
Chat roared in his ears, but he’d gotten more than used to hearing them as he fought. Some roared for blood, others simply cheered, while more told him not to dare.
Techno dont you fucking dare murder Rose Thorn
Blood! Blood! Blood! Blood!
BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD BITCHES!
NO! WE LIKE HER DAMNIT, DON’T YOU DARE
If you kill my baby Rose Thorn (I call her that platonically, I want to adopt her-) I’m staging a rebellion I swear to gods
Rose Thorn apparently saw that she wasn’t going to win that fight. A wave of plants rose up between her and the SBI, hiding her from view. By the time anyone could get to the other side of the wall, she was long gone. Techno gritted his teeth, sheathing his sword. There were bloody rents dug into his clothing, running all along his body. Crow wasn’t looking much better, only Ghost having gotten out with little more than a badly bruised jaw due to his abilities.
The villains, as long as they weren’t working together, were manageable to fight. Catching or killing them was a whole other problem. They were slippery little bastards, and they treated it almost like a game.
With Hannah, half an hour later
Having changed back into regular clothing and cleaned herself off from, Hannah walked into Niki’s bakery with a freshly bandaged arm. She’d taken a potion, but Blade had gotten her bad. She had full range of motion, but the skin was still too raw for her to want to put a sleeve over it.
Jack was lounging at one of the tables when she walked in, and looked up when the bell rang. He took his feet down from the table, staring at her with concern. “Two things, are you okay after that fight, and are you okay? That wasn’t like you.”
Hannah shook her head, she sat down heavily next to him as she spoke, letting her head fall onto the table. She was definitely in a much better headspace, but she was absolutely exhausted.
“I’m fine Jack, just was in the mood to kill something. The SBI showing up was unplanned, but it was nice getting to beat the shit out of them, even if they scored a couple of hits. Never mind the fight though, I think that sculpture was one of my better ones.”
“Eh, I’d say more of a 2 out of 10 if you consider that they're gonna turn that guy into a martyr. Probably the lady too.”
Niki, who had been wiping the counter, looked up. “I disagree. You’ve got to factor in the style points. That thing was definitely one of the coolest ones you’ve done. I think it could only be outdone by that time you threaded the vines under that one dude’s skin.”
Hannah’s shoulders shook with laughter as Jack and Niki debated. “Yeah, that one was definitely the best. I’ll say a 6 then, cause it was pretty cool looking. Nice job Hannah.” He suddenly chuckled after a short pause, shaking his head. “Dear Prime, I think there’s something wrong with us. We’re debating how cool your brutal slaughter looked.”
“Okay but it was a really cool looking slaughter-” Niki said only to be cut off by the ring of the door bell. “Welcome to Niki’s bakery! What can I get for you today?” She quickly served the man, a yellow winged avian that Hannah didn’t recognize. They waited for him to leave before they continued their conversation. “Now, as I was saying, the style points Jack, the style points-”
Notes:
Now that was one hell of a chapter- you've got several bits of lore, including something I don't think you all will think about until it's too late to stop me :D Good luck piecing this shit together
Links that may be of interest:
My tumblr, incase you want it. I post an OPF meme when I make them, though I haven't done that in a while
The discord server for all of my fics :D though this one is usually the main focus tbh xD
Chapter 76: The moments in silence
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
With Pearl, several hours later
The night sky sparkled with stars, a clear night outside a dark city. Pearl climbed an all too familiar hill. A single tree sat on top of it, the willow's branches swaying slightly along with the cold wind of the evening. Right under the tree, was a man she would recognize any day. His dirty hair was messy and unkept, something unsurprising with the chaos of the day. A black leather jacket hung around his shoulders, something he’d been wearing more and more as of late.
He was staring out over the horizon, just talking. “-and I guess that’s the plan.” he was saying. “Of course, it’ll only work as long as the other vigilantes cooperate, but people have always trusted my leadership. Whether the wars were real or not-”
“Hey Grian.” Pearl greeted softly, as to not startle Grian. He jerked, turning around to stare at her.
He only relaxed when he realized it was her. “Hey Pearl.” He greeted back just as softly. “Do you need something?” He asked, turning back around and going back to staring at the sky. A long silence settled between them as Pearl struggled with her words. Pearl had plenty to say, but moments like this left her with very little time to truly say them. She finally opened her mouth to speak, but Grian patted the spot beside him. “Come on, you can sit down, you know.”
His usual bluster wasn’t there. It usually wasn’t at times like this. His wings were out. What was left of them, at least. Where he’d once had brilliant multicolored and shifting wings were just two discolored purple stumps, despite the fact that the slits in his shirt were tailored for full wings. Pearl wordlessly walked up and sat beside him, joining him in his star gazing. Another moment of silence, and then, “talking to the watchers?”
Grian nodded in response to her question, though he didn’t look at her. “Yeah.” He sighed, looking down and to the side. “I know the ones that can hear me anymore don’t like to, but I like to think they pay attention anyway.”
Pearl chuckled softly, reaching over and giving Grian’s hand a squeeze. He glanced at her, but her gaze had returned to the clear sky. Pearl chuckled. “They probably do. We were above them once, after all. The watchers are lot of things, but disrespectful to the True Council is not one of them.”
Grian let out a half amused, half sour huff. “Didn't stop them.” Then Pearl's words registered the rest of the way and Grian’s eyes widened in surprise, his head snapping towards her. “Y- wait what?”
Now it was Pearl’s turn to look away. “I’m remembering more and more these days.” She whispered, her jaw clenching. “Not that it matters.” Frustrated tears slipped down her cheeks, tears she hadn’t even noticed until the cold wind bit at the tracks they left behind. “The memories disappear too quick for me to make use of them.”
Wordlessly, Grian scooted towards her and laid his head on her shoulder. She leaned her head against his as they both stared out towards the horizon. “It’s okay Pearl. Our lives have assured that we have time. Whether that be by grace or curse.”
And they did.
Immortality didn’t disappear just because you wanted it to.
_______
"All of you stop this! If we fall to infighting, so will all after us! "
"I don’t care! I’m not the one wanting to break the natural order that I'm supposed to be PROTECTING!"
" I am not abandoning my domain!"
"Will all of you shut up?! We don’t have time for this! "
" You’re the one who decided to spend most of her time with her kids instead of placing full attention on her responsibilities, you have no room to talk."
" Don’t bring them into this!"
"Everyone calm down-"
The argument continued, unabated, for much longer.
Notes:
This is will be the last short chapter like this, I'm sorry I've had two in quick succession. Someone in the discord server provoked me into doing lore.
The colored text took me the better part of two hours. I am in PAIN.
Links that may be of interest:
My tumblr, incase you want it. I post an OPF meme when I make them, though I haven't done that in a while
The discord server for all of my fics :D though this one is usually the main focus tbh xD
Chapter 77: In a domain
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
With Antfrost
“-still bet on the kids.” Punz was saying as he lounged back and examined his cards. The beanbag behind him was being neglected in favor of sitting on the floor. Though, Antfrost supposed that his friend had always been weird like that. Probably another leftover habit from his more… stressful days. The man’s light blond hair was pulled into a short tight ponytail at the back of his neck, his white hoodie was slightly wrinkled, but that didn’t seem to bother the man as much as it used to. His black sweatpants were rolled up to his knees, just up above his stupidly high socks. The gold chain usually around his neck had been placed gently on the coffee table, where it still rested hours later while they played.
Punz had his feet perched on the coffee table right next to it, despite the fact they were all sitting in the floor. How the man found the position comfortable, Ant had no idea. “I mean come on, they’re pretty talented and they’ve got some damn good backing,” Punz continued, waving his hand in the air for emphasis. Unfortunately, he had too much practice to allow either of his opponents to glimpse at his cards. “They’re the best of the villains.”
Their other friend, an elk hybrid named Callahan, narrowed his eyes at the mercenary. His voice echoed in both their heads, “You’re just saying that because they’re friends with your brother.” His tone was accusatory, but his wry smile gave away his teasing intention. Callahan sat cross-legged on his light brown coat, the warm air in the room made it just a little too hot to be wearing coats, even if Punz wore his anyway. Callahan wore a plain white t-shirt and khaki shorts, with his hoof-like feet needing no kind of socks.
From his antlers, which stretched up and out about a foot from the man’s head, silver cahins necklaces and beads stretched and hung down. In the right lighting, he almost had the illusion of a silver halo. He didn’t wear them often, but Antfrost had always thought it looked cool when he did.
Punz shrugged, a smile playing at his lips. “Yeah, true.” The ex-mercenary agreed, not denying his bias.
“My point still stands though,” He continued, before pausing to place down a yellow 5. “They’ve got the backing, they’re well trained, they’re intelligent, and they’ve got what? Two champions in their circle? Those are some good odds.”
Antfrost tilted his head in an acknowledging gesture. “Good point, but you’ve got to remember that the heroes have also got two champions,” he pointed out. Setting down a plus four and tapping the floor twice to indicate red. None of them particularly remembered how their little tradition of not speaking the colors aloud had come from, but it didn’t really matter. Callahan let out an unhappy huff and drew four cards. Ant continued speaking. “And one of those champions is the only one to actually know they’re a champion.” There was some level of discomfort for him to talk about them, but most of it had faded over the past few years.
The elk hybrid shook his head. “There’s too many pieces moving,” he said in their minds. “Nothing is certain right now. The gods are plotting, the major players are making moves, and there’s not a single person alive with the full picture.”
“Things should calm down after fucking Sapnap fakes his death and fully severs ties with those…” Punz tailed off, he’d never been very eloquent with his words and was struggling to find another way to phrase what he was trying to say.
It wasn’t really necessary, but Ant appreciated the gesture, as did Callahan to his left. “Ties with the heroes?” Callahan asked, not looking up as he placed down a red 8. “Don’t worry so much, Punz. They’ve twisted quite a bit since I had any say in anything, I won’t speak for Ant, but since you dealt with them more recently I won’t complain about you insulting them.”
Ant shook his head. “Yeah, the only real connection I have to them anyway is Dream, George, and Sapnap, and those three have changed enough for the worse that all I really care about is the memories.” It was a sad truth, but it was what it was. There was enough blood on their hands that all Ant could really do was look back on the times before it all. Sure, at least Sapnap was trying, but even he had done some things that Ant wasn’t quite willing to look past. “Call them assholes as much as you want for all I care.” He shrugged.
Punz gave them both a slight smile, an expression that morphed into a smirk when he glanced between his hand and the discard pile. Antfrost frowned at his friend, their conversation momentarily forgotten. “Don’t you dare-”
He was cut off by Punz slapping down a green 8 and yelling, “UNO!”
Antfrost’s eye twitched. His ears pinning back and his tail thumping against the ground in agitation. They’d been hanging out playing games for hours and Punz had somehow won every single game aside from the singular round of poker the ex-mercenary had dragged them into playing. Callahan had won that one. No one was really sure how but being beat at the game he had the most experience with had left Punz unwilling to try another round.
Resisting the urge to throw his cards into his friend’s face, Anfrost analyzed the board. He still had seven cards, two of which were plus twos. If they were lucky, Callahan also had a plus two and they could prevent another one of Punz’s easy wins. Ant glanced at the elk hybrid, but the man was similarly focused on the card pile. There was a slim chance, but a chance none the less. Callahan only had six cards, meaning this could either go very well or go very very wrong. Ant pulled his green plus 2 out slowly and set it on the pile.
Callahan glanced towards him, and he just barely caught a hint of a grin on the man’s face before he looked back down at his cards. Callahan grabbed one of the cards in his hand slowly, staring Punz down as the ex-mercenary’s face slowly fell. A blue plus two. Punz groaned, Ant cheered, and Callahan laughed. Punz reached for the draw pile, but a knock sounded from the door before he had the chance to draw his four cards.
The three shared a look before Punz removed his feet from the coffee table and stood. He stretched, his spine letting out a series of audible pops that just cemented Antfrost's doubts that Punz’s sitting position wasn’t a great thing. Neither Ant nor Callahan moved as Punz made his way to the door. From his position on the floor, Ant couldn’t see who had come to Callahan’s door, but he could hear what Punz said.
“Messenger Aimsey.” Punz greeted coldly. Ant and Callahan both tensed. “I was under the impression that you were dealing with… other matters.” It was easy to forget who Punz used to be, but there were some moments where they received a harsh reminder.
Callahan and Ant both stood, but Ant didn’t go to the door along with Callahan. Ant’s sensitive ears had no problem listening to the conversation. “I was, yes.” Aimsey said, not sounding but more unimpressed. “However, the people I was dealing with have decided to delay because of a situation that shouldn’t affect them. In the meantime, I have come to retrieve Callahan.”
Despite the fact that he wasn’t participating in the conversation, Callahan still projected his words to Ant so he could keep track of what was going on. “Retrieve me? Why?” His voice held no warmth, just the neutral diplomacy from times long past.
Ant could practically hear Aimey’s shrug as she spoke. “Because your presence was requested, you should need no other reason,” she said. “There is only one person I receive orders from, after all, and I have my orders to retrieve you. For all I know, my lady wants to invite you for tea.”
“I’m going to go see what she needs. I’ll let you both know if it’s anything to be worried about.” With that, Punz moved out of the way to allow Callahan past, and both he and Messenger Aimsey disappeared through the winding streets.
Notes:
Heyyy! I came off my hiatus much earlier than I was expecting, simply because I got this chapter done and every bone in my body went 'POST IT!' xD Thank Spring for this chapter, because without her encouragement I totally would've ignored the urge and waited another three weeks :D
This was a really interesting chapter! They did hijack it though, considering that this was meant to be a whole different thing with the bench trio -_- Instead, we've got 4 new characters! I'm really looking forward to seeing if you guys figure these three out, and Aimsey too. I wasn't planning to introduce them until later, but the muses decide what the muses decide xD I was going to give them a brief teaser cameo but it spiraled into this instead.
Hope you enjoyed, and I will see you all next chapter! :D
Links that may be of interest:
My tumblr, incase you want it. I post an OPF meme when I make them, though I haven't done that in a while
The discord server for all of my fics :D though this one is usually the main focus tbh xD
I've noticed some new readers, so I thought I'd link this again. I made a survey about this fic, mostly for my own curiosity but also to get a feel of how you guys are feeling. This is the same survey as before, but anyone is welcome to take it again or for the first time :)
Chapter 78: Who, Why, and How?
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
With Tommy – 10:02pm / 2202
School had ended several hours earlier, with nothing else of note happening. It'd led to a rather boring day, but that was quickly setting up to no longer be the case. They’d received a message from Quackity almost an hour ago, requesting a meetup with Sapnap in tow. Ranboo had predicted that the man would ask, and it wasn’t much of a surprise. Currently they were just hanging out in the living room, ready to go. Quackity had told them he’d drive them to a secure spot. “This wouldn’t have been an issue if you’d just told everyone ahead of time.” Sapnap said, shaking his head. He was sitting in the floor and leaning against the couch like there wasn’t a seat right beside his head.
Tubbo shrugged from his perch on the coffee table. “Yeah, but it also would’ve been a lot less entertaining.” All the teen received in response was an unimpressed look from the soon-to-be ex-hero. Ignoring him, Tubbo leaned back and called towards the kitchen, “Hey Ran are you almost done with the drinks?”
“Yeah almost, I was about to add the coca bombs.” Ranboo said, coming back with four thermal flasks. They’d been told it was likely going to be a while, so they were bringing drinks. Tubbo had made coca bombs a few days before, and Tommy had recommended using them. “Quackity ‘s almost here by the way, I don’t know if you heard your phones go off.” He dropped the coca bombs in one by one, and closed the flasks, handing them to their respective owners.
Tommy took his with a grateful smile, leaning down to grab it. He had convinced the others to install a wall mounted hammock in the corner that he could get up to with a little help from his wings. He couldn’t fly, but a well-placed jump and flap gave him enough leverage. The only other person who could use it was Ranboo by means of teleportation, which the teen had done several times to push Tommy out of it for fun.
“Yeah, we saw.” He said before turning to Sapnap with a grin. “You ready to see other people for the first time since your kidnapping?” It’d been almost 2 weeks since then, but it felt like much longer than that.
Sapnap sighed, shaking his head. He opened his mouth to speak, but a knock at the door cut him off before he could. They all shared a look. Tommy jumped down from his spot and went down the short hallway to the door. He unlocked it and pulled it open. Outside stood Quackity with an exasperated look. He looked like a mess to put it lightly, and his yellow wings had several feathers out of place. “Alright, where is he you damn gremlin?”
Tommy stepped aside with a chuckle. “Come on in, see for yourself.”
He followed right behind Quackity after closing the door. Sapnap had stood up and had now been pulled into a hug by the duck hybrid. Sapnap was tense at first but finally relaxed enough to return the embrace. “Good to see you too Quackity.” The man laughed.
Quackity pulled back, putting his hands on Sapnap’s shoulders. Tommy was behind the pair, but he could hear the pouting scowl in Quackity’s voice as he spoke, “do you have any idea how much chaos the city has been thrown into because of you?” he asked, “There’s been about 4 different people on utter rampages.”
“In his defense I don’t think he meant to get kidnapped. We didn’t ask ahead of time.” Tubbo chirped, shame nowhere to be heard in his voice.
Quackity turned an unimpressed look on the teen and opened his mouth to respond. The man stopped himself before he said whatever he was about to though, instead just shaking his head. He stepped back from Sapnap, finally freeing the hero from his embrace. “Well, you can tell me all about it in a bit.” Quackity said, “we’ve got a bunch of stuff to discuss that we’ve been putting off for too long, the addition of talking about whatever the fuck happened with Sapnap’s kidnapping can just be added to the list.” He made his way towards the door. “Come on you four, I’ve already warned the staff at our ‘meeting spot’ that we’ll be there.”
Several minutes and one car ride later, they were stepping out in front of a plain looking restaurant. The sign outside, “The… Pancake Parlor?” Ranboo asked with uncertainty. Tommy could feel a similar look of confusion on his own face. The place was almost old timey looking, made mostly of brick and decorated with a large black and yellow sign. People occupied the inside of the building, families and people sitting down and eating. Employees walked around, serving customers effortlessly. They were all moving at the same time, but miraculously no one seemed to get in each other’s way despite the busy area.
Quackity chuckled. “Don’t look so doubtful.” He told them and then turned around with an almost predatory grin. “The real business is far underground.” With that statement, he turned back around and strode towards the door without looking to see if they were following. The four shared a look but hesitantly started after the man.
Employees kept their eyes lowered as they passed, a fact that Tommy took note of. Quackity led them to a sparsely decorated back office. It had a simple wood desk and desk chair. On one side of the room was a bookshelf, the only real decoration in the room. Quackity walked over to it, pulling off books seemingly randomly. He shoved them back in place in the same order, and a ding echoed through the room.
A large panel on the opposite wall slid back, the noise drawing the attention of the room’s occupants. Quackity walked past them, ignoring their flabbergasted expressions. The door slid open, revealing a gleaming elevator. Quackity stepped in, and then turned around and grinned. “You four coming?”
The rest of the group scrambled in, and the elevator started moving downwards only moments later. This left them a moment to gawk at the sight. “This… shouldn’t be possible.” Sapnap muttered. “The heroes’ underground scanners…”
“Are useless when someone with enough power want them to be.” Quackity finished for him with a smirk. Tommy stared at the man, his expression troubled. Tommy had been a hero once, and his position as the son of the number one hero had given him more insights to things most people of his rank had no business near. One of those things, were the underground sensors. Back when the hero committee had first been established, underground bases had been a massive problem. This had been rectified by a woman only ever called by her alias: ‘Lady Fate’. Even now, no one could figure out how they worked, much less how to disable them. Tubbo had tried and failed as well.
“How’d you do it?” Tubbo asked, his eyes shining with curiosity and a more sinister hunger for knowledge.
Quackity shook his head. “I got some help from someone I don’t talk to very often. We’ll be talking about her and some other people here in just a minute.” Just as he finished talking, the elevator doors slid open, and they stepped out.
With Sally
Sally was lucky that most of the higher-up heroes were early sleepers. It meant that she had plenty of time to sift through the files in the receptionist’s desk. Normally, she would trust the receptionists to do their job, but it was not a normal day, and she was doing something much out of character for her.
As the lead engineer for the technical department, she had a lot more keys than the average hero. None of the locked drawers provided her any issue as she searched through them. Her goal? The advance prepared assignments. Schlatt always planned things a week in advance, meaning the lists for the blood test and who would be going where had already been decided. These were always given to the receptionists.
The receptionists, as much as it seemed like they were just there to give a pretty face for civilians, were a critical part of how the tower ran. Along with their obvious job, the receptionists gave out heroes’ assignments, called emergencies, and were the first ones expected to throw hands if people who weren’t supposed to got into the hero tower. Sally had nothing except respect for them.
Normally, there would be at least three people at the desks at all times, but Sally had used the excuse of looking at systems to shoo them off, and they knew better than to question the number 6 hero.
Sally let out a breath as she opened another drawer and found what she was looking for. She flipped through the folders, having her fingers walk across the top of the sliding folders. She stopped on the letter ‘I’. She was in the middle of carefully pulling it out when a voice sounded from above her. “What are you up to?” Sally heart sank as she looked up. Minx stood above her, leaned against the desk from the opposite side and looking over. Her long purple hair had been tied back into a tight bun, leaving her confused and slightly displeased expression on display.
Sally slid the drawer shut, standing up and brushing herself off. Minx leaned back as she did so, still not speaking. Sally took the chance to properly examine the woman. Her eyes were more clear and sharp than they usually were, and the odor of alcohol was much more muted than was typical. Her clothes consisted of a black hoodie and sweat pants, both wrinkled. The black ribbon choker that she constantly wore was still present, despite the fact it looked like she'd only just gotten out of bed. “Whatever I please, Minx.” Sally said, her voice edging on almost hostile. It wasn’t deserved, Sally knew that, but her stress was too high to reign it in. “What are you doing? It’s getting late.”
Minx stared at her for another long moment, and the shrugged, breaking the tension. “Fine, don’t tell me.” She glanced around, likely noticing the absence of the usual staff. She appernetly decided against commenting on it however, “I’ve got sleeping problems which is why I’m up, if you really need to know.” She pushed herself up and away from the counter, immediately turning and beginning to walk away. Sally simply stayed still, staring after the woman until she suddenly stopped and turned back around. “It wouldn’t be something against the hero committee’s interests would it?” Sally should’ve said no, should’ve denied it, but something made her hold her tongue instead. Minx chuckled. “Damn. Never expected that from you.”
That finally brought Sally out of her stupor. “You have no reason to wor-”
Minx cut her off. “Oh I’m not worried.” She said, turning to look over her shoulder with an unreadable expression. “After all, if you knew how I came to be a hero, you’d just be happy you got here first.”
Sally’s brow furrowed. “How you got- what are you talking about?”
Minx just laughed, resuming her walk towards the elevator. “I guess,” she said, pausing to hit the elevator button. The doors opened only a second later, and the hero stepped through. “That’s for me to know and you to never find out."
Notes:
Not my best work, but I'm ready to have this part out tbh. I don't want to work on it anymore.
What does Quackity want to talk about? Who is 'Lady Fate'? What was Sally doing? What is Minx alluding to? So many questions, each answer more horrifying than the last. Good luck everyone, and see you next chapter! :D
Links that may be of interest:
My tumblr, incase you want it. I post an OPF meme when I make them, though I haven't done that in a while
The discord server for all of my fics :D though this one is usually the main focus tbh xD
Chapter 79: Clearing Things Up
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
With Sapnap
A few minutes later, they were walking into a well-lit room after being led there by staff. The woman who unlocked the door gave a polite nod of her head before scurrying off. Quackity locked the door behind them as they settled in.
The lighting of the room was a soft yellow. It was warm, but not uncomfortably so. A chandelier hung over the center of the table, it was more ostentatious than what Quackity had shown of his decoration taste, but Sapnap wouldn’t ask what the point was. The table itself was a dark spruce wood, its top shiny with a coat of finish. The legs were delicately carved. It felt more like they were in some kind of weird royal dining room from a fantasy book than a meeting room. A shelf with various books, boxes, and various things sat against the right wall, while the entire back wall was empty.
A large painting occupied the left wall. It was of a large open plain, backdropped by mountains and the rising moon of a beautiful starry night. Sapnap’s gaze lingered on the painting a moment longer than necessary. The moon seemed to almost move, if only very slightly. Rising with the darkening night.
Sapnap shook himself out of his stupor, tearing his gaze away from the curiosity and settling down in one of the chairs. Quackity sat at what somehow still felt like the head of the table directly across from Sapnap, despite the fact that the table was round. His plain white button up shirt was slightly crinkled, something that Sapnap hadn’t noticed earlier. His muted yellow wings were folded neatly at his back, the feathers clean and immaculate.
Ranboo sat to the right of Sapnap, his clothing casual with a black and white hoodie and gray sweatpants. He was examining the room carefully, his tail thumping lightly against one of the back legs of his chair.
Tubbo sat beside Ranboo, poking at his watch. Knowing Tubbo, he was likely poking at some weird tech thing. His jacket from his villain costume sat around his shoulders, he'd turned it inside out until they'd gotten to a safe spot before he flipped it back and put it on.
Then there was Tommy, who was sitting directly across from Tubbo with his feet up on the table. He had retracted his wings before they’d left the trio’s apartment and hadn’t shown them again since. His clothing consisted of a simple red and white t-shirt and blue jeans, as well as a green bandana that seemed… oddly familiar?
He wasn’t given much time to ponder it, because with everyone fully settled in their chairs, the meeting finally began. Quackity took charge of the conversation immediately, “okay, now that we’re all here and in a secure spot…” he looked up from where he’d been letting his head rest in his hand. “What, the actual fuck happened with kidnapping Sapnap?” He asked, looking at each member of the trio with a sour expression.
Tommy was the first one to respond, taking his feet off the table and sitting up as he spoke. “Sapnap said he wanted out, but me and my team knew he always had too many eyes on him to get away with doing what we did, so we made an executive decision,” he summarized, as if it was the simplest thing in the world and not a plot to kidnap and ‘kill’ a top hero.
Quackity raised an eyebrow at Tommy. “And why didn’t you, I don’t know, tell anyone?” he asked. Quackity was… genuinely upset, Sapnap noticed. “I don’t mind if you send the heroes into a frenzy, but not alerting any of the villains caused unnecessary issues. Personnel, money, time, and energy were all spent unnecessarily trying to find a man who was perfectly safe.”
The trio at least had the decency to look slightly sheepish at the fact. In the game that the factions competed in, all those things were extremely valuable. Though, Tubbo spoke up to defend the trio’s decision. “We knew you guys would try to talk us out of it, because it was a stupid move and could’ve gotten us dangerous attention, or worse, caught. Sapnap didn’t have more time. He only decided he was ready to get out because they tried to kill him, what if they tried again and succeeded? We had to move quick and decisively.”
“You-” Quackity deflated. He was conceding to the point. He ran his hands over his face, apparently trying to keep his composure. Sapnap knew it’d been stressful for everyone, especially for someone like Quackity. It was almost a miracle he had any patience left, even for people he considered friends. “Okay, here’s what we’re going to do. You are going to tell me exactly what’s been going on the past couple of weeks, and then we can go on from there.”
His tone left no room for argument, and the trio quickly launched into their explanation. It would’ve been considered oddly detailed in most cases but made sense when you took into account their history as heroes and writing mission reports. It felt like a report too, with the way they went over events and key points feeling uncomfortably similar. Sapnap occasionally pitched in, adding his perspective on things when it was necessary. Quackity listened mostly silently, only asking the occasional question or sighing when they went over the steps they took to keep the whole operation under wraps from the rest of the villains.
By the end, Quackity was once again left rubbing his temples. Sapnap shared an unsure glance with the trio while they waited on the villain’s response. Quackity had calmed down at least slightly after hearing the whole story, instead of just relying on the patchwork version that the trio suspected he had. “You all… are a pain in my ass.” Quackity finally said with a shake of his head. “I hope you know that.”
“Pretty sure we noticed.” Ranboo replied with an almost smug grin. Quackity’s unimpressed expression was enough response to tell the other occupants of the room exactly how he felt about that statement. Ranboo giggled, Tommy snickered, Tubbo laughed, and Sapnap just shook his head.
It was another couple minutes until everyone was settled enough again to do anything else productive. “Alright, now that you know, what next?” Ranboo asked.
Quackity sighed. “Next, we need to talk about an event coming up.” He glanced at Sapnap, and then each member of the trio. “But before that, we need to get everyone on the same page.”
“Same page?” Tubbo asked, raising an eyebrow.
Sapnap sat back as the conversation continued on. This was the kind of conversation it was better to not remind people you were – he shook his head. He didn’t need to think like that. These were his friends. His allies now. Even so, he kept his mouth shut. Quackity nodded at Tubbo’s question. “First of all, what do you all know about the top villains? Other than the ones we hang out with regularly?” He glanced at Sapnap, “For you, we’ll have the others of our little friend group introduce themselves, so I’m afraid you’ll have to be a bit behind with them for a bit.”
Sapnap shrugged. He could deal with that. It was unfortunate, but it made sense. Ranboo’s brow furrowed, and he was the first one to speak. “Honestly? Not much other than their aliases, ranks, and power- what are you doing?”
Quackity had stood up when Ranboo started talking. He walked over to the bookshelf, quickly pulling of a projector and setting it on the table pointed towards the wall behind where the man had been sitting. “I’ve got a whole presentation for introducing people to the true side of the villain faction. A business partner of mine took on an apprentice and asked me to put together a comprehensive introduction. We’re not going through the whole thing, but it does make it easier to go through the explanations.”
Quackity flipped it one, and then quickly passed through the slides. Sapnap caught glimpses of Quackity, Niki, and Jack in their villain outfits before he stopped at the 4th and 5th ranking villains.
Number 4 was named Genocide. His villain outfit was a simple black suit with a white undershirt and red tie. His mask was almost reminiscent of a fantasy samurai masks, the type that covered the bottom half of his face. His hair was black and slicked back out of his face. His eyes were an intimidating dark red, reminding Sapnap of Techno’s eyes. Usually he went barehanded, but when he did, he used a variety of guns or crossbows to fight.
The number 5 villain was named Firecracker. His costume consisted of a red shirt and black leather jacket with three heart embroidered embellishments going down the left sleeve, the top green, the middle yellow, and the last red and a small clock embellishment under them. He wore black cargo pants with it. His mask? A simple pair of blacked out sunglasses that seemed glued to his face. It had pissed off over a dozen heroes when they’d tried to pull them off and the guy just sat there while they tugged and failed. Sapnap included. Some people were surprised they’d even tried, considering a pair of sunglasses were almost nothing as a mask and they thought they could just find the man’s identity despite them, but the efforts made to do just that had come up entirely empty.
“These two,” Quackity said, “Are named Genocide and Firecracker, as you all likely know.” At the nods he received, he continued on. “Not even I know what their actual powers are, but that’s not important. What you need to know is that they are dangerous. Very kind people, but they’re incredibly skilled and reclusive. They may both have pathetic rivalries with the vigilantes Poultry Man and Redstone, but don’t make the mistake of judging them solely by that.”
Kind? Sapnap had learned quite a lot about public vs. true personas in his time, but it was still hard to believe. He’d seen Genocide rip a man’s head off with brute strength and then study the consequences to the top of the same man’s spine. Firecracker had shoved literal fireworks down a hero’s throat and cheered when the man was blown to smithereens.
Something in the back of Sapnap’s mind wondered what those heroes had done, how many people they’d killed while laughing themselves.
The trio was nodding along, paying rapt attention. They knew as much as anyone else that the war was a game of information. “Oh and fun fact, Genocide has a huge mustache.” Quackity chimed without warning, and then abruptly started flipping through slides to find the next one he wanted to show. Sapnap had exactly 4 four seconds to stare at the man with an expression akin to judgment before he settled on the slide he was looking for.
“The number nine villain, also known by her alias as The Seer.” Quackity sighed. Sapnap had only had one run-in with her, and he didn’t want to have another. Despite her unassuming figure, with her costume consisting of a mid-thigh length dark purple dress with a black long sleeve undershirt and black high socks. Her gray cat ears and tail may have looked fluffy, but the woman was a savage fighter. Her lightning powers could kill with even a- “her real name? Tina Kitten.” The entire room froze. Sapnap’s thoughts froze in their tracks as he looked at Quackity with wide eyes. The reaction was mirrored by the bench trio. Quackity nodded. “Yes, I know. But her real name is common knowledge within the villain faction, and she has made it plain that the fact doesn’t bother her.”
He took a deep breath. “You all were wondering who took out the hero sensors in this area? Her. She was also the one who had me put together this presentation. She went into retirement but came back in order to truly guide her apprentice. She may look young, but trust me when I say that I don’t think she’s any normal hybrid, because she hasn’t aged in the almost 8 years I’ve been doing this. As in, truly hasn’t aged. She’s incredibly sweet and clearly does her best, but don’t trust her. If you decide to make her one of your contacts, be wary.”
Sapnap knew what he meant. Not with The Seer, or well, Tina, but Puffy was the same way. He’d known her since he was a teenager, but while everyone else aged, she didn’t. She looked the exact same way she had the day he’d met her. For the first time since this part of the meeting had started, Sapnap spoke, “I know what you mean, there’s another person I know like that, her name’s Pu-” a hand slapped over his mouth before he could finish saying her name. Tommy shook his head slightly, giving Sapnap a warning look. The hand was removed from over his mouth, belonging to Ranboo, and the trio settled back down.
Quackity sighed. “I take it that was a name of a hero?” Sapnap nodded, and Quackity shook his head. “Tommy, Tubbo, and Ranboo have decided to not tell any of us the true names of any heroes, even though they hate them.”
“Yeah, but her name especially. She was the only one we truly regret that we had to leave behind.” Tommy said, his lips pressing into a thin line. “For the rest of them, we don’t share because it feels like cheating. For her? It’s out of purely respect.”
That… made sense. Both it feeling like cheating and not telling Puffy’s out of respect. Puffy was a kind woman, one who always did her best to take care of those around her. When she found out he was homeless in his younger teenage years, she had often loaned her guest bedroom to him. Many of his things were still in that room, even though he never went there. “Sorry,” he apologized after a long moment. “I didn’t… I didn’t think about that. You’re right in the fact that she shouldn’t have her name revealed.” He glanced around, “and I won’t tell any of the other heroes’ names either.”
Tubbo sighed. “Thank you,” he then turned to Quackity. “Go on boss man, we’re listening again.”
Quackity nodded tersely, flipping slides again. His tense body language eased as he went back to his explanations. The next villain was a woman with long slivery hair. She wore a corset and long sleeve under shirt that cut off three quarters of the way down her arms, pants were form fitting, and they were coupled with a pair of boots that were almost knee high. Her entire outfit was in black, with purple holographic accents and coloring. Her name? “Phantasmagoria.” Quackity said. “You’ll probably notice a pattern with me saying this, but please avoid her. You’ll have to meet her at some point, but I’d recommend against befriending her. She’s more of a cold-blooded killer than any other villain I’ve met.”
“Oh we will.” Ranboo said, staring at the picture of the woman with a look that was almost… fear. “I’ve fought her once before. And I never want to do it again.” Tubbo silently bumped Ranboo’s shoulder with his own, shaking Ranboo out of whatever he’d been about to spiral into.
A look of rage crossed Quackity’s face. “She… used her power on you?” he asked. Sapnap’s senses screamed danger. At Ranboo’s nod, Quackity’s fists clenched. He turned around, running his hands through his hair. “She couldn’t have known he was a kid until after she did it.” Sapnap heard him mutter. “Fuck!” He turned back around, letting out a breath. “I’ll have her avoid you, then.”
Ranboo shook his head, but his jaw was clenched. “No, if we’re going to have to meet all the other villains at some point, then I’ll need to meet her too.” Sapnap stared at Ranboo with overwhelming concern. Sapnap had never experienced it himself, but he knew what her powers did. Phantasmagoria’s power was unnamed, but what it allowed her to do was stick her fingers into your head and pull out any memories she could skim off your mind then force it to engulf your mind if you didn’t have the will to resist it. The only reason she wasn’t higher on the villain ranks was she’d only used her powers an incredibly small number of times.
Tommy was the next to speak, but his gaze was still locked on his friend. “Why did we need to go over this now, anyway? You never told us what all this is for.”
Quackity sighed. “Because your three’s debut party is coming up.” That got their attention, and Sapnap’s as well for that matter. Quackity went on to explain, “anytime a villain makes a big enough splash to be considered a full villain, we top ten villains hold a debut party for them. It’s a chance for the new villains, and everyone else, to truly network and get the information that is common within the villain faction. Every villain that can get to L’manburg from anywhere in the country is invited.”
“That sounds… huge.” Sapnap said. How? That’s not the kind of thing that should’ve just been able to happen. The heroes would’ve noticed right? A sudden influx was always suspicious, even more so when that whole influx went to the same place. “How do you…” he trailed off, trying to find the words to ask his question.
With a smirk, Quackity answered. “Because we’re in the capital, and it’s not suspicious if it’s on a national holiday.” Sapnap’s eyes widened. Heroes’ Day. Heroes’ Day was in one week. No one ever noticed because plenty of people always flew to the capital to celebrate because that’s where the Hero Committee was founded, it was customary. Had been for over 30 years. “Yep. Heroes’ Day. Pretty cool huh?”
Tubbo frowned, “does that mean the party is in a week? On Heroes’ Day?”
Quackity scratched the back of his neck. “Unfortunately, yes. So much has happened that we’ve not gotten the chance to talk to you all about this, and I am incredibly sorry for that. Eret has agreed to help you all with outfits, all of the top villains have already gotten theirs done.”
Sapnap matched Tubbo’s frown, glancing at each member of the trio. “Isn’t that when you all were planning my ‘death’ to be?” It was. There was no question. They’d gone over the plan countless times. When the whole country was celebrating, they were going to ‘kill him’ and hit the country with it like a speeding train.
A savage grin overtook Tommy’s face. “Who says we have to change that plan?”
Notes:
Wow. I actually do really like this chapter. Not only is it the length that's best for me, it finally introduces the rest of the top villains and sets some things straight. You know that party that was mentioned in like chapter 29? Yeahhh that was it. I didn't mean for it to take thins long but there was a bunch of stuff that needed to happen first it just was an issue.
Also, we're almost to 1000 kudos!!! Like, what!? Thank you all so much and I'm so glad that people are enjoying this story with me. We've got a long way to go, but I ask that you stick around until the end :D
So, how we feeling y'all? xD This chapter has plenty of interesting little nuggets and I really do adore watching you guys find them, so in this, I wish you luck until we meet again :)
Chapter 80: May their paths never cross
Notes:
TW: Physical abuse, power imbalance, manipulation
(if you wish to skip these, just skip the George POV part and a summery will be in the end notes).
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This long beginning note (hopefully it's long, I have to check that the spacing stayed after I post) was so that people won't forget to look at the TWs, because they're important this time
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
With Puffy - Two days later
“-and honestly that was ridiculous so I just told him: ‘Grian if you don't turn that stupid music off I will go get Gem and Joel and we'll storm the building.’“ Pearl laughed out loud, though she was complaining, it was clearly a fond memory. “It took us threatening to steal his fishing poles to turn it off. Seriously, that damn place was the most annoying thing I’ve dealt with in a while. Never let that guy do anything bureaucratic if you value your sanity.”
Puffy shook her head, an amused smile on her face. Now that it was common knowledge among their group that Pearl, Grian, and Mumbo were friends and had known each other for a while, they often shared stories about their adventures. Such as the ‘permit office’ which apparently was a part of a long running D&D game.
For the moment, they were taking a walk through the city just to hang out (which was the first time they’d had a designated just hangout-) and were all just in casual clothing. Sam was laughing along to Pearl’s story. “Good to know,” he said. “I don't think I could see him in any kind of government position though, he doesn't seem like the type.”
Puffy trailed behind them, preferring just to listen instead of interject. “Oh he’s not.” Pearl snickered. “There was one time he had to start a resistance to resist overthrowing the government, and then went back to help the resistance by offering ‘resistance assistance’, which actually ended up backfiring spectacularly.”
Even with the threat of the blood tests rapidly approaching, they were still able to have fun. They all knew the peace and quiet wouldn’t last very long, not when the start was scheduled for two days after hero day, a date Schlatt had released publicly only a day earlier, but they could enjoy it while it lasted. “How so?” Sam asked, but he didn’t get the chance to hear the response.
“Pearl!” An excited shout rang out, Puffy’s hands curled into fists and her breathing picked up as she recognized the voice. Sure enough, Sally, also known as Salmon the head of the tech division was making her way towards the group with a smile. Her red hair was wild and free, a stark contrast to the tight ponytail she typically kept it in.
Now, Puffy wouldn’t say she and Sally were necessarily hostile with each other. They could work together cordially, but that didn’t mean they were particularly warm with each other either. That would make whatever was about to happen very, very complicated.
Pearl took a step forward to greet the woman as she finally made it to them. “Sally! I don’t usually see you until late at night,” she said with a chuckle. What that meant was a question Puffy would have to ask later when her identity wasn’t at a dangerous risk, and Sally was away from people she could use against Puffy. “I thought you had work today?”
Puffy’s gaze flicked between Sally and Pearl. Did Pearl know who she was talking to? There was no way right? Luckily, Puffy’s worries were relaxed minutely with Sally’s next words. “So did I, but apparently they didn’t need me. My company is swept up in heroes’ day stuff, and none of that is something I’m involved in.” Puffy remained stock still, watching the interaction with a growing sense of dread.
“Well that’s always go-” Pearl was cut off.
“Ca-” Sally stopped herself before she finished the title and her gaze darted to Pearl and Sam then back to Puffy. She shook her head just slightly, hoping that whatever Sally said next, it wouldn’t be something that would screw them both over. Sally had always seemed intelligent, but Puffy had learned better than to put money on what others were thinking. Puffy saw both Pearl and Sam’s eyes narrow slightly. Vigilantes survive by force of observation. Something that might condemn Puffy if she didn’t control the situation. “Puffy,” Sally ventured, the name sounding wrong from her mouth, “I didn’t… expect to see you here.”
Puffy smiled, hoping the facade of calm would hold. “I could say the same, Sally.” Her brain was simultaneously repeating the phrases, ‘don’t be suspicious’, stay polite’, and ‘fuck’ over and over again all at the same time. “You know Pearl?” She asked.
Sally’s smile could only be described as tight lipped. “A friend of mine.” She stated. They both knew exactly what situation they were in it seemed.
“You two know each other?” Sam asked, glancing between them. Pearl nodded in agreement, her brows furrowed.
“We’re colleagues.” Puffy said, forcing the tension out of her shoulders. She then turned back to Sally, angling her face just away from her friends. Her friendly tone remained, but her gaze turned hard. “Sally, if I could talk to you for a moment?” Sally’s eyes narrowed, but she nodded. “One second you guys, we’ll be right back.”
Puffy speed walked away from Pearl and Sam and into a secluded corner. Sally was hot on her heels. As soon as they were out of ear shot, Sally spoke. “Hello Captain .” She greeted, using Puffy’s title. “What are you-”
Puffy held up a hand to stop her. “Have you told Pearl anything you shouldn’t have?” Sally looked almost offended at the suggestion, but shook her head without saying anything. Puffy sighed. “Neither have I, let’s make this quick then.” She offered out her hand. “You don’t say anything about where or who I was with and I don’t mention your ‘late night escapades’. Deal, Salmon? ”
She didn’t like threatening people. In fact, it was one of the skills she hated the most. But there was too much at stake for her to not make sure Sally would stay quiet. If she said anything, that would get attention put on Pearl and Sam. And attention is the thing they needed the least right now.
Sally’s expression darkened. “Are you… threatening me?” She asked. Her voice was low, and angry. Puffy chose not to respond, instead allowing Sally time to think it over. It was made both better and worse that she didn't know why Puffy needed her to stay quiet. Better, because there was no way she'd accept the deal with the knowledge of who Pearl and Sam were vigilantes. She was too loyal for that. But it was also worse because Sally wouldn't understand why it was so important. It left her weary. Nonetheless, she finally nodded through gritted teeth. “Fine,” she spat, “I'll keep my mouth shut.”
Puffy nodded, reaching out to shake Sally's hand. Her smile dripped venom, even though it made her feel sick. “Glad we've come to an understanding then.”
They didn’t know their goals aligned, or at least very similar, but that was okay. Because the deal was made, silence for silence.
Days left until Heroes’ Day: 6
With Tubbo - 4 days later
“Sorry Sapnap, we just need to beat the shit out of you.” Tubbo stated with a shit eating grin.
“I- can’t you just not?”
“Nope!” Tommy chimed, swinging his staff. Sapnap doubled over as it hit his stomach with a loud ‘ thwack’. They’d been dreading this. Or, more Sapnap he’d been dreading this. His death would have to happen in public, which means they needed to make his captivity look like it’d been miserable and not just... him dealing with three insane teenagers.
To do this without traumatizing him and in a more controlled manner, they’d all get a chance to spar with him. They’d also have to do the same thing the next day, to give the bruises and cuts from that day to heal and to replace them. It wouldn’t be perfect, but they were banking on nobody paying enough attention to notice. Who cares what a dead man looked like before he died right? “Alright, looks like Tommy’s first.” Tubbo said, stepping back. They had once again commandeered Quackity’s warehouse for final preparations and a stage ground. Luckily, he said he wasn’t attached enough to it to mind if it got destroyed.
Heroes’ Day was only a few days away. Their preparations were helping their nerves. First was Sapnap's death, which needed to be a perfect performance. Everything they did as their alternate personas was a delicate performance, no matter which faction they were on, but faking deaths was especially delicate. Every hero had hellish perception training, even heroes who hadn't gone through the academy had some basic training in that area. Every single move past the first quarter of the fight would also be recorded, which was where the real danger was.
Tubbo watched as Tommy and Sapnap circled each other in the ring. Sapnap had agreed not to use his powers (for obvious reasons) and in return Tommy kept his wings sheathed. It was a friendly spar, but both of them were also horrendously competitive.
Actually, it almost reminded Tubbo of when they'd first met. The Dream Team had just joined the academy in sixth year even though the academy didn't usually allow that kind of thing. Tubbo and Dream picked a fight with each other, but it’d been their friends that decided to but in and escalate the situation. One of the instructors had decided it was a good way to check the skill of both parties and had them spar. It had been quite messy, since Sapnap had been wholly untrained and Tommy was still getting used to both his weapons and settling into a fighting style. Tubbo had thought it was cool at the time, but looking back it was a buffoonish showing of inexpertise.
That inexpertise was long gone now. Leaving only two very capable and experienced fighters. The spar officially began as Tommy surged forward, his staff fully extended. Sapnap blocked it with a forearm and attempted to grab it. Tommy expected the move however and danced back without pulling his weapon away, the result was one of the blades slicing open one of Sapnap’s palms. He hissed in pain, but didn’t falter. He ran forward, feinting right and then going hard left. Tommy dodged back just a moment soon enough to avoid a nasty bruise.
The difference between their fighting ability in hand to hand was because of two very specific reasons. Between the Dream Team and Bench trio over all, actually. One, was a longer time to train. The DTeam had joined the academy when they were already teenagers, and hadn’t had the time to go through the comprehensive training. Time and experience had closed that gap quite a bit, but not completely.
The other reason was simply fighting styles. The trio was very weapon focused, while the DTeam all relied heavily on their powers. Their powers were great in a longer or even mid range fight, but anything other than that got dangerous for the Dream Team. This was somethin Tommy, Tubbo, and Ranboo had known both of the times they’d fought the DTeam, and they’d taken full advantage of it. In a sparring match, the weakness was still very much there, but at least Sapnap was aware of it. Yet it still posed a problem: Sapnap wasn’t using his powers. It left what would’ve been an even fight an absolute beat down.
Tommy knew this and seemed to remember the fact at the same time Tubbo did. With a grin, the teen faded from view. His invisibility was highly useful in something like this. Sapnap closed his eyes, listening intently. Even though Tommy couldn’t be seen, he could still be heard.
Sapnap pivoted, slamming an elbow into Tommy. The hit caused him to loose focus and allow his invisibility to fall. The teen jumped forward like a feral racoon, spreading his arms out like asking for a hug. Sapnap’s shocked expression lasted maybe a second before Tommy used his shock against him to punch the man square in the nose and slam his staff into the man’s left ribs.
Sapnap stumbled back, staring at Tommy with indignation. “What the fuck was that!?” He demanded, jumping back into motion. He attempted to take Tommy’s feet out from under him while deflecting the teen’s weapon staff with his arms.
Tommy smirked. “Distraction,” he replied, just before he tried to punch Sapnap again and got thrown over the man’s shoulder for his effort. Tommy used the time on his back to kick Sapnap’s back with both his legs.
The spar lasted for several more minutes, only ending when Tommy eventually got a blade to Sapnap’s neck. They were both breathing heavily. They were staring at each other with neutral expressions, before both breaking out into grins. Tommy retracted his staff, reaching down to offer Sapnap a hand. Neither of them had gotten too badly hurt, but that would soon be rectified.
When Sapnap turned towards Ranboo and Tubbo, the man was smiling from ear to ear. “Alright, which one of you want to challenge me next?”
It’s all in good fun, of course. It’s also training. Prepare for the worst, and you’ll be the best off when it all goes wrong
Days left until Heroes’ Day: 4
With George - 7 days later
Going to sleep that evening was no different on the outside, but George knew what would be happening. He felt himself sink into the bed, and then through it. It was like falling through a portal, which it kind of was.
Only moments later, he was thrown out onto the bank of an endless lake. Practice allowed him to keep his composure. The bank was dry, despite the water just behind George. He shifted to one knee, placing his fist over his heart. George kept his head down and eyes on the ground. Chat was silent. They couldn’t come here, not to this place. It was disconcertingly silent until a man’s voice finally spoke. “Hello, my champion.”
“Lord god of Time.” George greeted back, not moving from his kneeling position. He wouldn’t dare. “It is always good to see you.” He chose his words carefully. “Shall I proceed with my repor-”
“There is no need.” XD cut him off. George looked up with surprise, but only caught a glimpse of the god before he controlled the reaction to lower his head. XD sat on a throne of black and green crystal that spiked on the top. It was massive to accommodate the god sitting in it. XD’s three pairs of wings were folded in, but not invisible. The gold halos spun around his mask in a dizzying display. He wore the same spotless green and white robe as he always did, the accents made of pure gold. “I have been watching recent events closely.”
George swallowed down the lump in his throat. “Of course, my lord.” That couldn't have been a good thing. The god didn't just pay attention out of care. The question slipped past his lips before he had time to think. “You still called me for our monthly meeting however, if you truly didn't need me, then you wouldn't have summoned me.”
XD's amused laugh was loud but tinged with unmistakable annoyance. “You constantly surprise me, little mortal.” The light in the area seemed to grow brighter. XD either didn't notice or didn't care. “The reason I still summoned you is not because I need you, my dear champion, it is because you need me.” Footsteps came towards George, the god's form was shrinking as he approached George, based off the sound of his steps. “Do you know what you will need me for?”
“I always need you, my lor-” He didn’t see the slap coming, but he felt it as he flung out a hand to catch himself. His cheek stung, the back handed slap would’ve left a bruise if not for the soul-like form George was in. It still would’ve had XD wanted it to. The anger radiating off the god was almost palpable. He never did appreciate a wrong answer
The god grabbed George’s jaw roughly, lifting him into the air. Bruises bloomed across his skin. “You need me, because you want your little friend back. Don’t you?” George’s blood ran cold at XD's words. Sapnap. The man was still missing, and the villains had gone terrifyingly silent. Sapnap, who still hadn’t shown up and was likely being tortured for information. It’d been three weeks. George had started to wonder whether it was a dead body they should be looking for.
George couldn’t see the god’s face behind his mask, but he had a feeling XD was smiling widely as he dropped George back to the ground. George landed with his legs folded under him and his arms loose at his sides. He felt powerless. Truly and fully powerless. But who would dare feel powerful in the presence of a god? He didn’t move as XD spoke. “When the time comes, I want you to use the Time Spear.” Oh. Oh no. He didn’t want to. He hadn’t called on XD to let him use it for a reason. He didn’t want to.
XD reached down, tilting George’s head up gently. XD’s head was slightly tilted as he spoke, the smile behind his mask sounded almost sadistic, morbidly pleased, but also gentle. It was both sickening and comforting. Blood filled George’s mouth as he bit down on his tongue, but the copper taste only became more nauseating at XD’s next words.
“You didn’t turn in your own villain parents to fail here, did you?”
“No sir.” George replied. He let out a shaky breath. XD was right. More than right. He couldn’t afford to waste the gift he’d been given. He didn’t know what XD was getting at, where he’d be able to change something important just by using the spear, but he trusted the god.
The god finally stepped back, turning around. His wings glittered as he walked back towards his throne. “Good. You will use the spear then.”
George’s voice didn’t shake as he replied. “Of course, my lord.”
Revealing that he had and was willing to use this weapon may have been a mistake, but it was his mistake to make.
Days Until Heroes’ Day: 1
Days Until Heroes’ Day: 0
Notes:
Alright, first things first here's the summary for people who skipped the Geroge POV:
XD and George have a meeting where XD tells George to use something called The Time Spear (it's not explained what that is) and when George shows hesitance XD gets manipulative and tells George '“You didn’t turn in your own villain parents to fail here, did you?”', this finally convinces George to use the spear
Alright, summary overOnto actual end notes of the day: How we feeling guys? 😅 I'm sorry for this in many ways xD
Links that may be of interest:
My tumblr, incase you want it. I post an OPF meme when I make them, though I haven't done that in a while
The discord server for all of my fics :D though this one is usually the main focus tbh xD
Chapter 81: Bitter dreams once dear
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
With Dream
Dream had awoken with a sense of dread that morning. The feeling that something was about to go horribly wrong. Nothing went wrong on heroes’ day. Or it wasn’t supposed to, at least. The villains were always quiet on heroes’ day. It reminded everyone that the country was under control. Safe. It was just his anxiety acting up.
Until he’d walked out of his room and saw George pacing the length of the living room, hand curling around a weapon that wasn’t there. Said he’d been awake for hours. The look in his eyes had told Dream everything he needed to know. There was something dangerously wrong.
All heroes had a day off on heroes’ day aside from emergency forces, even the top heroes. Even so, both Dream and George kept their gear on. They received several weirded out looks as they went to breakfast, but they paid them no mind. A few also kept their gear on, seemingly having detected the danger in the air as well. Those ones gave them nods of respect. Even Puffy, who was running around barking orders and making sure everyone was up to standard, despite it being their day off. Not that anyone said anything in complaint, not when the energy she exuded when mad was almost worse than what Dream had felt from XD the last he’d seen the god.
None the less, nothing happened until it hit 9:32. Schlatt was mid-way through his morning Heroes’ Day speech when the ground shook.
Dream was already moving as a distant plumb of smoke rose into the morning sky.
With Niki, a few minutes earlier
The preparations had been done, now all they were waiting for was go time. Niki along with Jack, Hannah, and Quackity had all volunteered to make sure nothing went wrong and help make sure everything was in place.
Unless it was absolutely necessary, none of them would actually be participating in the fight. It was Tommy, Tubbo, Ranboo, and Sapnap’s moment and they couldn’t afford to take the spotlight for several reasons. With the trio’s debut ball only around 12 hours away, something like this was a perfect chance to make one more big impression on the faction as a whole before they met the kids in person. There was much preparation to do for the party itself, but that would have to wait.
Sapnap looked… much worse for wear. Quackity had flipped out when he’d seen the man, but the explanation had been sound enough that the group was left only occasionally glancing at the man dubiously. They’d been sparring for several hours every day for the last four days to give the illusion of a not so pretty stay. But at the same time, to Niki, Sapnap looked almost more… alive? Than when she last saw him.
Then again, not being near heroes every day of every hour would probably do that.
Nerves permeated the room. Even if it was a fake death, this would be a huge move for the villains. The number two hero. Felled by a group of villains that weren't even in the top ten. Of course, the trio had the making to be, but that wasn't something the public or the heroes would take into account. On Heroes’ Day it was more than a statement, it was going to be seen as a tragedy.
Sapnap had it the worst. Hannah had pulled Niki aside before they'd arrived to tell her to be extra kind to Sapnap, despite their more than tense history of valiantly attempting to murder each other every time they ran into one another. Niki already hadn't been planning on it, but she understood what Hannah meant. Besides, Niki would trust Hannah anything that Hannah said about the kind of situation Sapnap was in, with Hannah's past, she was the one most capable of knowing what and what not to do.
When they'd arrived, Sapnap had been almost vibrating with nerves. While the trio greeted them warmly, Sapnap had stood to the side and watched with a bouncing heel. Hannah had stared at the man with a look of concern.
It'd been about half an hour since then however, and with the time for operation quickly approaching, they had less time to worry about that.
“Alright, is everyone ready?” Tommy asked. He’d become the unofficial leader of the mission at some point. He had been the selected leader of the trio's team back when they'd been heroes, and the conditioning of that dynamic seemed to have stuck. Add that to the fact none of the actual adults were willing to take over, that left Tommy as head of the mission. At the nods he received, Tommy sighed. “Alright everyone, let’s get this moving.”
With Sapnap
As Sapnap watched the villains he’d once fought file out the door, he felt almost detached. There was no going back. In a few short hours he’d be standing among the villains as someone they’d taken in as one of their own. In the eyes of the world, he’d have died today. The people he’d known for over a decade were going to mourn him.
The air in the warehouse was cold. They’d emptied it out of anything of any value in order to prepare for the place’s destruction. Cold and empty. Maybe it was fitting. Fitting that it was going to be destroyed. The life he was preparing to leave behind had become much the same. Frigid and unfeeling.
Sapnap sat in Puffy’s kitchen with Dream and George. Their noses were red and it’d be easy to mistake them for being sick. The snow outside and the large grins they wore belied that assumption. “No regrets.” George said, sipping on his hot cocoa. Dream and Sapnap nodded in agreement. Puffy just groaned with a mix of frustration and amusement.
So why did it hurt? It was the right thing to do. Both for himself and morally. To leave it all behind. But why did he wish he was home? Sitting on a balcony in the middle of the city with two best friends who had stood beside him in the dark moments and overlooking the city that felt safe because of them. Home. Where it was all guaranteed. Home. That home.
…
Did that home exist?
Honestly the more important question was: did that even matter anymore? He was already what he’d once vowed he’d never become. A traitor. He had turned on the heroes, and he didn’t plan to go back. There was nothing that could bring him back to those people. In the end, he was a traitor, through and through. It was a title he’d never envisioned for himself, and one he’d have to carry for likely the rest of his life. It would still be there, even if he was in the right by choosing to leave.
“Hey, whatever comes next, we’ll do it together… Right?” Dream asked, leaning against the railing overlooking the city. It was a majestic sight at night. Always had been.
Sapnap chuckled. “We promised each other ‘until the end’, I don’t think the end is coming before ‘whatever comes next’.”
When that game of manhunt went from an average game to something that delivered them to an opportunity, why hadn’t he thought twice about it? It’d seemed like a fun adventure. They could be heroes, going down in the history books. Or maybe legends, going down in myths as saviors.
Was everything he’d done, everything he’d become, so flimsy that it shattered like glass at the lightest bit of pressure? Was he being pathetic? When had those dreams disappeared? When had he gone against what he had always said he wanted? Was it when he left the heroes? Or was it the heroes that stole them away in the first place?
Was anyone at fault? Was he just broken-
“Sapnap? Are you… okay?” Ranboo’s voice asked. Sapnap hadn’t even realized he’d gone silent.
Sapnap searched their faces one by one. All he found was genuine worry and concern. His shoulders hiked up to his ears, and before he knew what was happening, tears began to slip silently down his face. Sapnap cursed at himself. When had he become so weak that a little concern brought him to tears? He was supposed to be the strong one. The person that people could look to and expect to be steady. He’d been a hero, technically he still was one. There was no reason for him to be acting like this.
“Please welcome our new top hero team to the stands!” The head of the hero committee. It would be his last event before his replacement took over, making it all the more special. “Dream, Spore, and Fire-Fist. They may be young, but they are talented and have spirit.” The man turned and smiled at them. “I know they will help guide the future of this city well.” Sapnap glowed with pride alongside his teammates. Who knew they’d ever come this far?
As they took the stand, Sapnap's gaze swept over the crowd. Happy, excited hopeful faces stared back at him. Something told him that nothing would ever be the same.
Contrary to his expectation however, Ranboo just came up and hugged him. Sapnap froze in place as both Tommy and Tubbo came over as well. They didn’t speak as he cried for a long moment. And then, “I don’t know if I can do this.” he whispered.
“It’s alright Sap, we’ll wait here as long as you need.” Tommy replied.
A few minutes later, they were ready to go. Tubbo handed him the button. It’d blow the warehouse up and then the act would start. Supposedly it was to draw attention, but Sapnap was pretty sure the trio just liked to be dramatic for the fun of it.
Notes:
Alright, next chapter's it. Sapnap's death. I'm sorry this took so long, I've been working on a couple of original books for the past week or two and fic writing fell to the side a bit.
Links that may be of interest:
My tumblr, incase you want it. I post an OPF meme when I make them, though I haven't done that in a while
The discord server for all of my fics :D though this one is usually the main focus tbh xD
Chapter 82: Never the One We Meant to Hurt
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
With Puffy
Explosions rocked the area, vibrations shaking the ground violently. Puffy didn’t have the luxury to pay them any more mind than required to not fall and avoid occasional debris. She cursed repeatedly as she rushed around. She had known it was getting bad, but this? Sure, it’d been a whispered possibility, but it seemed ╎ リ ᓵ 𝙹 リ ᓵᒷ ╎⍊ ᔑ ʖ ꖎ ᒷ even now. If they were ⎓ ╎⊣⍑ℸ ̣ ╎ リ ⊣ … Puffy forced herself to put that thought to the side. What the current events meant for the future wouldn’t matter if everyone was dead. With the amount of magic flying around, she couldn’t be sure the building would hold, which meant everyone needed to be out and they needed to be out hours ago.
A pair of footsteps matched up with Puffy’s. She knew who it was, even before he spoke. “They’re ⎓ ╎⊣⍑ℸ ̣ ╎ リ ⊣ , they’re really ⎓ ╎⊣⍑ℸ ̣ ╎ リ ⊣ , I never-”
“No one did, ⊣ᒷリᒷ∷ᔑꖎ.” She cut the man off. While relieved that he was alright, Puffy couldn’t spare the attention it took to be nice. “We need to get people out and away. I ↸𝙹⚍ʖℸ ̣ they even noticed that they’re so close.”
“Already working on it Ma’am. Protocols for リᔑℸ ̣ ⚍∷ᔑꖎ ↸╎ᓭᔑᓭℸ ̣ ᒷ∷ᓭ are the closest we’ve got that may work, so I instructed my people to follow those with as much ᓵ⍑ᔑリ⊣ᒷ as they saw リᒷᓵᒷᓭᓭᔑ∷||at any given time. I’ve also got people in the rest of the city already ᒷ⍊ᔑᓵ⚍ᔑℸ ̣ ╎リ⊣ from there as well.”
“This may be anything but リ ᔑ ℸ ̣ ⚍∷ ᔑ ꖎ , but it is a ↸ ╎ ᓭᔑᓭ ℸ ̣ ᒷ ∷ . Good work, ⊣ ᒷ リ ᒷ ∷ ᔑ ꖎ . Go back to doing what you can.” Puffy said, even as she was moving to help more people. They looked terrified.
She didn’t blame them.
The General saluted quickly. “By the Gods’ ⎓ ᔑ ⍊𝙹∷ , Mi’lady.” It was what knights always said with a salute.
“By the Gods’ ⎓ ᔑ ⍊𝙹∷ , ⊣ ᒷ リ ᒷ ∷ ᔑ ꖎ .” Puffy whispered, though she was already moving again in the opposite direction.
The memories flashing though her mind didn’t seem like hers. At least, it’d not been anything she could think of ever experiencing. She didn’t have the time to pay any attention to whatever the hell her brain was coming up with now, however.
There was doubtless more people scrambling to get ready back at the tower, but anyone knew they couldn’t get to the area in time. Almost no one had been ready, and whatever that smoke cloud was had clearly been an attack. The explosion looked to have been on the border between the 9th and 10th districts, which were the farthest from the center of the city.
Behind her were Dream and Spore, talking quickly in hushed tones. They had been just as tense as she had been all morning. Dream sat in one of the other seats, his leg bouncing as he ran his hands though his hair. Spore stood next to him, his knuckles white around the weapon in his hand. The weapon wasn’t on that Puffy recognized, but it still seemed… oddly familiar. It was a slivery spear-like glaive. The back end of it had a medium sized analog clock. The case was entirely black while both the numbers and hands were made of a dark green material. The numbers weren’t in any style Puffy was familiar with, which just added to the bizarre aspect of the weapon.
“Situation is looking bad.” The pilot’s voice came through the speaker. Every head snapped up towards the sound. “Drones are already there and it’s… it’s ugly.” The pilot’s voice shook, but none of the passengers had as much sympathy for the man as they probably should’ve.
“Project it.” Dream demanded. Each helicopter had several functions, while used mostly to stream fights to the media, they were also for hero transport in emergency situations. This meant they were outfitted with projector that connected to committee owned drones for quick debriefs on situations.
It was only another minute before a screen glowed to life, the images displayed causing Puffy to suck in a breath. The destruction was centered on what appeared to have been a warehouse but was now little more than a pile of dust and rubble. Several other buildings nearby had also taken a hit, many of which had also fallen since the explosion. Nothing was on fire, which was a surprise, but a mercy. No civilians could be seen, any that hadn’t fled fast were likely dead.
In the center of it all, a fight was raging. Fire-Fist was in the middle, defending himself desperately against who had started to be called ‘The Havoc Trio’. It was only possible at all because he was managing to keep them at a distance using his fire. He was covered in bruises and cuts, many more than a few minute fight could’ve caused, even a brutal one. His costume was torn in several places as well. It would be difficult to repair, but there was no shortage of craftsmen who would likely be more than willing to help once they got back to the tower.
If they could get him home safe.
Puffy could practically see the rage pouring off of Dream and Spore. That could be dangerous. Anger would only be a hindrance in the coming fight, especially if it compromised their judgment. Nonetheless, Puffy would have to trust the two not to do something stupid to get them all killed. The havoc trio had developed a reputation. One of chaos and unpredictability.
That wasn't all there was to them though. She'd seen it before. Yet, it was hard to connect what she was seeing to the villains who were being oddly protective over UFO for seemingly no reason other than honor. She’d watched carefully for any kind of slip for so long, but none ever popped up.
She wouldn’t let that stop her from what she needed to do though. They were still attempting to either kill or re-kidnap someone who Puffy had hope for, and she could see what they’d done to the man already. Puffy refused to let them subject someone to that. It didn’t matter how out of character it seemed for the Havoc Trio.
It was only a couple minutes later before they were right over top of the battle sight. The situation hadn’t changed much, with only the fact that their opponents were quickly closing in. It reminded Puffy of a constrictor snake.
She took in and let out a deep breath before going over to the door and unlatching it. A wave of sound and rushing air hit her like a battering ram, and only practice allowed her to grit her teeth and stay upright. With no more time to deliberate, Puffy jumped. They were about 100 feet in the air, but that would give her more than enough time to do what she needed. She reached out into the air around her and pulled. Water coalesced rapidly beneath her, a tower of water coming together.
She slammed into it about 50 later. The impact rattled her body, but she was otherwise unharmed. As soon as Puffy’s feet touched down on concrete, she was ready. Water splashed down as she let go of it with her energy.
The unfortunate part of her way of getting down quickly was that it wasn’t all that discreet. This meant that she barely had time to get her bearings and take some water to orbit around her before she was facing off against Warp. The villain’s dark purple masquerade mask glittered in the light. The bottom half of his face was uncovered. He wasn’t smiling. Wasn’t even moving to attack. “I’m sorry Captain,” he said, his tone somber. Puffy startled. Why would he be apologizing? “You’re never the one we meant to hurt, with anything we’ve done. Please leave, I don’t want to fight you.”
Puffy searched his face for an answer to whatever the fuck was happening, what he was talking about, and found none. Even so, Puffy hardened her stare and shifted to a defensive position. “I can’t do that. Saving Fire-Fist comes before the feelings of a villain in my eyes.”
They began to circle each other. Out of the corner of her eye, Puffy saw Dream and Spore quickly beginning to engage with the other two villains. “Then I can only apologize again,” Warp said. “Because he has chosen death.”
“What you mean to say is that you chose for him to die.”
Warp didn’t reply before he rushed forward, signaling the true beginning of the fight.
Notes:
...
Have fun with that
Links that may be of interest:
My tumblr, incase you want it. I post an OPF meme when I make them, though I haven't done that in a while
Playlist I made for this fic! As well as a spotify version
The discord server for all of my fics :D though this one is usually the main focus tbh xD
Chapter 83: And another one down, another one down, another one bites the dust~
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
With George
Fuck fuck fuck fuck- George was currently facing off against TNT while the Captain kept Warp distracted. What this should’ve meant, was that at least someone was free to help Fire-fist, who was desperately defending himself against Vengeance. That would’ve been the case too, if TNT had only been fighting Geroge. Dream was right alongside George though, and neither of them had managed to land a blow that would allow one of them free. “Wooooow,” TNT drawled, his eyes glittering with an amusement that contradicted his deadpan tone. “The number 1 and 3 heroes, and you haven’t been able to do shit against me.”
Chat cackled in his ears. He could typically tune them out, but with emotions running high, it’d gotten harder and harder to ignore.
Death! Death! Death! Death!
Oh look, the children are fighting
Fucking finally! Someone’s gonna die today and I can’t wait to see who!
We know who’s going to die though-
Yeah but that’s only if everything goes right though~
George grit his teeth focusing on the fight. TNT was a hand to hand fighter, though had been known to use knives on occasion. Typically, this would put George at an advantage with the glaive in his hand, but TNT had clearly done enough sparring with Vengence that it wasn’t much of a hinderance. Dream was doing the best out of the two, having managed to land a couple of hits. He didn’t have to get in close range in order to fight like George did.
Neither Dream or George responded to the villain’s taunts. The rage burning under George’s skin was already bad enough. It wouldn’t do them any good. The glaive in his hand responded to his emotions, thrumming with energy. Even only partially charged, it was like a beast lying in wait.
Second ticked past. The stalemate was beginning to chip at George’s nerves. Neither side could do anything decisive. At least, until TNT tried to disarm him. The villain’s right hand wrapped around the handle of George’s glaive, yanking it out of his grip. George and Dream shared a smirk when the villain dropped it, jerking back with a yelp George caught a glimpse of the palm of TNT’s hand. It’d burnt straight through the villain’s glove and to the skin underneath. George took the chance the villain’s shock offered, dashing forward. He held his palm open, letting the glaive return to his hand.
At the same time, George swung the weapon at the villain, trusting his skill and the weapon’s ability to be where he needed it to. The weapon slammed into TNT’s side, cutting a small gash, but a gash nonetheless in his side. TNT jumped back, the amusement gone from his face. “Well that’s a neat trick.” He growled, his hand straying up to his side. George didn’t respond this time either. He didn’t take his eyes off the villain though. Not even when the blood lingering on the end of his blood condensed together into a small river and ran down the handle of the blade to the clock at the end to be absorbed. The clock ticked faster with the blood of the villain.
Oh hell no!
Or hell yes? I mean hear me out that was kinda cool
Bitch no it was not! They stabbed my boy!
By The Council I forgot about that-
Yeah, but as cool as it is, it all still stems from thievery
Ugh, yeah true
George didn’t care. He pressed his advantage, going in for blow after blow. He couldn’t get much without another moment of surprise however, and now the villain was treating him like an actual threat instead of like someone he could do the minimum required to keep him distracted.
The trio ducked and weaved around each other. TNT did what he could to get Dream and George in each other’s way, which was inconvenient but something they’d dealt with before. The villain ended up ditching his partially burnt glove. He was refusing to use the palm of his right hand, only using the back of it. The reason was obvious, considering the blisters that had quickly formed.
It was a really bad idea to grab a champion weapon that didn’t belong to you. He’d only seen it once before, and it was still satisfying.
Even so, they weren’t getting anywhere. At least not until Dream threw up an air wall and pushed TNT back. George was confused what he was doing, until the man offered his arm out to George. He grit his teeth, and swung at his friend, ignoring chat’s cheers. When George had first acquired the glaive, he’d spent a lot of time getting used to it and learning to use it. This had included quite a lot of time sparring with Dream, the previous user of the weapon.
It was during this time that they learned a very interesting fact that still didn’t make sense. Dream’s blood… was much more potent for powering up the weapon than anyone else that they’d seen. When they’d asked XD about it, not even the god had an answer.
Booooo that’s cheatinggg
Fucking L
George didn’t let himself hesitate more than a moment. TNT saw what they were doing, but wasn’t able to move fast enough. Dream let out a his of pain when the glaive cut down the side of his upper arm. George felt the effect immediately. The background ticking of the clock grew loud in his ears as the entire world seemed to grind to a halt.
George took a breath, and then moved. He crossed the field quickly, arriving in front of Vengeance and Sapnap. He avoided the two’s attacks to grab Sapnap, quickly dragging him away and towards TNT and Dream. They’d have a better chance all together than separated. To everyone else, this all took a fraction of a second. He knew he only had a few seconds. Only moments to turn this fight. Dream wouldn’t be able to help him charge it again.
Now with Sapnap close by, he could deal the blow that would likely end the fight. He got into TNT’s guard and lashed out, going for the villain’s stomach. It’d be a killing blow. He wanted it to be a killing blow. That’s what he needed it to be.
Time continued mid-swing, but George had been ready for that. What he hadn’t been ready for, was the result of his swing.
The glaive never hit. Pieces of rubble underfoot flowed together like water, a metallic barrier taking place around his glaive and hardening, stopping it in its place. It was too familiar. He knew that move. It terrified him. Could only be done by one of the two people that George had ever truly been afraid of. He searched the area with his eyes, and finally he saw the source.
In one of the buildings that had caught fire, standing just inside a long-collapsed wall stood a lone figure. Their head was slightly tilted as they stared down. George’s heart froze in his chest as he locked eyes with them. Their long brown hair swayed in the breeze, a stark contrast to the short cropped hair that George remembered.
They wore a black waist coat over a white top with frilled sleeves. 2 Silver chains hung delicately from different areas on their outfit. One across their chest the other hanging from their belt. The buttons on their coat gleamed in the light, reflecting the fire that raged around them. Their black tie wasn’t there anymore, but George could almost imagine it there. The black high waisted pants and riding boots completed the outfit.
A pair of pure white eyes stared back at him. Silvery eyelashes and eye liner surrounded the uncanny eyes, and George knew that it was no makeup. A mix of hate and pain reflected in their eyes. The villain wasn’t bothering to hide their face. Not from George, at least.
“Quick Silver.” George breathed. The villain was meant to be gone. He and his partner had disappeared off the face of the planet for all the public knew. George knew the real story. Knew that Lapis was currently a servant to XD and Quick Silver had vowed to never be a villain without his partner again. At least, that was the story last George checked. What he’d seen with his own two eyes.
HOLY FUCK HOLY FUCK HOLY FUCK-
HE’S RETIRED WTF!?
WAIT WHAT!?!? LAST I CHECKED HE WASN’T EVEN MEANT TO BE HERE!?!?!?
CHAT WTF
I… what the actual hell chat, this man waSN’T EVEN AT THE PRE-FIGHT MEETING!
Quick Silver turned, disappearing into the burning building. The entire thing had taken maybe a second. Short enough for George to question if he was seeing things, but long enough for him to know he wasn’t.
Later, George would realize that it was the distraction that got the villains what they wanted. He’d realize that if he’d been paying even an ounce more attention, the villains’ plan likely wouldn’t have worked.
But right now, George only looked back in time to see purple particles fading, and a knife through his friend’s throat. George’s ears started ringing as blood pooled at Sapnap’s lips and the man collapsed. The villains were momentarily forgotten as both Dream and George realized that there was nothing they could do.
“H-hold on Sapnap. Just until a healer gets here.” George said, tears gathering at the corners of his eyes that he refused to let fall. It couldn’t be over. Not here. Not now. They said they’d stick together until this war was over, and then they’d leave. Live a peaceful off the grid somewhere as they were hailed as legends. It wasn’t meant to end like this. They’d vowed to never leave each other. Not since that fateful day when Manhunt turned into saving a life and then turned to being picked up by the heroes. George cradled Sapnap’s trembling body close, Dream helping prop the man up as well.
Sapnap didn't cry only giving them a mournful smile, his mouth forming words that made no sound. ‘I’m so sorry.’
“No, no no don’t apologize. Just keep your eyes open.” George heard Dream say. It was too late, Sapnap gave them one last bittersweet smile as the light left his eyes.
George thought he was screaming. Dream was beside him, the man’s sobs the only thing cutting though the ringing in his ears.
George screamed until his throat was raw. Until the area was flooded with after fight people. He screamed until they tried to pry Sapnap’s dead body out of his arms, and then he screamed some more.
With Tubbo
“FUCK YEAH HE’S DEAAAAAAAAAAAAD!”
“…You do know I’m not- I’m not actually dead? I’m standing right here.”
Tubbo turned a deadpan stare on the man. “No. I thought you were a ghost.”
The fight had been an absolute mess. Whatever weird ass weapon George had been using almost threw off the entire plan. Tubbo’s hand still ached from when he’d grabbed it. If not for the save by Eret, Tubbo wasn’t sure they would’ve managed to ‘kill’ Sapnap.
They were waiting in the meet up spot, which was one of Niki’s safehouses apparently, a few blocks over. Sapnap decided that he didn’t want to see his old teammates reactions to his ‘death’ and so they’d gotten him away from the area as quickly as possible. Ranboo had managed to knock Puffy out using a bit of the poison Tubbo’s powers produced, but they hadn’t used much so the woman had likely already woken up and discovered what happened.
Eret had said he was going to join them at the meeting spot, and was actually the first to arrive. The ex-villain rushed up to Tubbo immediately, circling him quickly. “Uh, Eret?” Tubbo asked. Maybe he was looking at the damage to Tubbo’s costume? It’d gotten pretty banged up, he would admit.
Tubbo was surprised when the first question Eret asked was, “where did Spore hit you with that gods damned thing and how hard?”
“I can handle myself just fine in a fight Eret-”
“I trust that, Tubbo. I’m asking because that fucking weapon was wielded against a child and that thing is dangerous.” Tubbo glanced up, sharing a slightly confused look with his teammates. Both Tommy and Ranboo looked as surprised as Tubbo felt. Sapnap just was slowly inching away from Eret.
Eret was not typically one to swear, even if he had nothing against it. “Uh, just my side, and it burnt my hand when I grabbed it. Neither are really that bad. Just first degree on my hand and a bit of bleeding on my side.”
At this, Eret shoved a potion up at him, couching down to inspect his injured side and hand. “Drink this.” Tubbo was confusedly reaching for it when the door to the safe house opened, admitting the last people they were expecting. Tubbo gave them a quick wave before downing the potion. He shivered as it made its way through his system, and then hissed in pain when the area around his hand and side started to burn. The feeling thankfully passed quickly, and Eret stood after poking at both wounds. “Not enough residue magic to cause any issues, seems speeding up the healing process purged it.” Tubbo was still… immensely confused. He had no idea what Eret was talking about.
“Eret what’s going on?” Quackity asked, unknowingly voicing Tubbo’s thoughts. “You… you retired. And yet-“
Eret shook his head. “That weapon that Spore was using isn’t something I’m willing to just ignore. It’s something me and…” He trailed off, glancing towards Sapnap before continuing, “Lapis ran into during our time fighting him and Dream.”
Tubbo saw Quackity’s jaw clench slightly at that. “Oh.” He said simply.
An awkward silence descended across the group. This was broken when Jack suddenly spoke up. “Alright, we’re not doing this.” The room’s eyes were all drawn to him. “In the public’s eyes, you three just managed to kill the number 2 hero. Unless we’re all in imminent danger, I say we celebrate the win instead.”
Niki gave the man an unimpressed look. “Jack that’s what the party this afternoon is for.”
“No Jack’s right.” Eret said, brushing himself off as he sighed. “I got… carried away, I think. No one got seriously injured and I’m sure there’s enough trouble coming in the near future for us to be trying to worry now.”
Notes:
Alright I'm exhausted and feel half dead inside, but it's done! Sapnap is 'dead'. if you have questions about how they got Sapnap out, it will be explained later because I'm too tired to write that part and I promised people I'd get this chapter out tonight. It's currently 2am.
I wrote massive parts of this with a headache, I'm not sure how much of it actually makes sense any more and I can't spell anyume lolWe're almost at a 1000 kudos though! :DDD 5 more, I never thought this would get there :)
Other links:
None because I'm too tired to give a shit. You can find them last chapter
Chapter 84: Time is ticking
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
With 𐌕𐋅𐌄 Ᏽ𐌵𐌉𐌋𐌕𐌙
A woman caught the falling god, preventing him from hitting the ground. He’d be fine of course, but his recovery would take time she didn’t feel anyone had. She carefully brought him back into her domain, the shifting paths bent to allow them to pass before snapping back into place. Her hair was the color of a silver ash, stylized golden claw armor adorned her fingers, their patterns matching that of the paths around them.
The ticking of a clock was slowly growing louder in the distance. It’d been doing that for years. Getting louder and louder, chiming, and then beginning the cycle again. “I know. I don’t need the reminder.” She said, though no one else was around to hear. The ticking didn’t stop. As if it was mocking her.
It probably was.
The woman turned back to the god. She was intimately familiar with the power radiating off his injuries. That power meant the latest iteration of the council was falling. They always fell. Ever since the first, they were all guaranteed to fall.
The clock kept ticking in the background.
Bless Lady Nature for doing what she had. Replacing them over and over couldn’t have been easy. Only the goddess’s left hand ever stayed. Their work was likely the only reason any of it was still running. At this point, she had likely ruled longer than any the original council had, as much that hurt the silver haired woman to admit.
Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick-
She wondered absently why the goddess hadn’t done so with the current iteration yet, but she put the thought out of her mind. She needed to hurry, after all. She didn’t have time to worry about the god’s decisions; she’d have to trust Nature to do what she needed to. Time was quickly going by and letting the god stew in his injuries would do no one any good. Her golden claws glowed as she reached out, trailing her fingers gently along the wounds. The Godly Power making them worse disappeared as she did, leaving only normal injuries and the clean energy of the unconscious god behind. Her claws soaked in the power. It was stolen anyway, so what did it matter if she took it away from the god who had hurt a fellow council member? Lightning crackled beneath her skin, and she could hear its echoes from across the realm barriers.
She sat down, watching to make sure nothing went wrong. It felt like minutes, though she knew that was an inaccurate count. Time wasn’t different in the Path Space, but it always felt like it was. When she was satisfied that her work wouldn’t be undone, it’d been at least a bit over a week in the realm of mortality.
The air vibrated, a bell tolled in the distance.
One, then two, and then three. The ticking resumed, though quieter now. It drove home what she already knew. Time had run out. She had places to be, and the future wouldn’t wait for anyone. It never had and it never would. Taking the god gently back into her hands, she placed him somewhere he’d be safe to recover in. It’d be hours before the owner of the home found him, but that was okay.
She stood, dusting off her dress as she turned around. “Well, let’s see how the course of history is changed this time, shall we?” She waved her hand, a tear in the space opening to allow her though. She stepped through it, and both her and the tear disappeared, as if she’d never been there at all.
Back with Eret, 20 minutes earlier
Eret raced through the city, willing himself faster. Spore was using XD’s champion weapon. Spore was using XD’s champion weapon. That was dangerous. Too dangerous. He could reliably trust one of the main villains to deal with it if he could give a warning, but the havoc trio were teenagers.
He couldn’t afford to be seen. He couldn’t come back to the villain scene. But he also couldn’t afford to stand by. The champion weapons weren’t supposed to be used against non-champions, but knowing XD there was some way he’d worm around that little rule.
Eret slotted the earpiece into his ear, being careful not to drop it. It came online with a sickeningly familiar hum. “Guys what’s the situation?” He demanded immediately, there were several shocked exclamations, but he ignored them. “Questions later, answers now.” The ex-villain still wasn’t quite close enough to see what was going on, even if he could more than see the smoke rising into the sky. He also sure as hell wasn’t going to look at news footage, anyone who could see past the top layer of the conflict knew that any news was quite thoroughly warped.
Huntress was the first to speak up. “Warp is fighting the Captain and while he’s having some difficultly, he’s holding out, TNT is fighting against Dream and Spore with no issue, and Vengeance is having what looks like the time of his life fighting Fire-Fist.” No issues yet. Hopefully that’d stay the case, but there was no guarantee.
Helicopters circled overhead, meaning Eret had to take more roundabout paths to stay out of their sight. A public appearance would cause too many problems to count.
A plan was rapidly forming in Eret’s head. He knew the trio had a plan B, but they weren’t going to be able to execute either plan properly, not when they hadn’t accounted for the abilities of XD’s champion weapon. “I need you all to do exactly as I say,” Eret said into his earpiece. “And I need it exactly when I say it.”
He got confused but sure confirmations from the others. That was good. He rapidly came up on the scene, seeing pretty much the same thing that Huntress had described. His gaze immediately came to Spore, Dream, and TNT. He tensed, countless memories rushing through his head when a dark clock glinted in the light. Eret’s hands shook. That thing, and the god it was owned by, had taken almost everything from him. And now it was being used against a child.
Eret forced his hands to still. He had been the number one villain once. One of the most feared people in the history of L’Manburg. He couldn’t, wouldn’t allow the sight of a mere weapon to shock him into inaction. Raising a hand to his earpiece, Eret jumped back into movement. “Mosaic I’m going to need your help. Rose Thorn, I hate to make you do this, but I need the flames from the building on the west to be larger. The cameras’ view need to be obscured. Huntress, Gambler, I’m going to need Dream’s attention away for a moment when I give Mosaic orders so I’m going to need some noise.”
By now, they’d realized something was wrong, and were quick to follow his orders. He made his way to the building to the west, the one most intact and, on fire. This was going to be unpleasant. His hands shook, and his powers threatened to spiral out of control as he reached out towards the metal of the building and moulded it into stairs. He ran up it and into the building, covering his mouth as he did. He hated this. He really really hated this. He raced through, seeing vines and plants creeping into the building and catching ablaze. It made the flames and more importantly the smoke worse, though it likely felt like torture to Rose Thorn to sacrifice the greenery to the flames like that.
As he navigated his way through, he activated his earpiece once more, though this time to communicate with the trio. It was Tommy that he contacted, as he was the one having the easiest time at the moment and therefore would be the least dangerous to interrupt. “Vengence, it’s Quick Silver. There’s a problem.”
There was a noise of surprise from the other end, and then a hiss of pain, and then a response finally came through. “Shit, Ere- Silver you scared me. I stumbled into one of Fire-Fist’s attacks.” Before Eret could apologize, Vengeance interrupted him. “That doesn’t matter though, what’s going on? You’re retired, what problem-”
“I’m not coming back to the villain scene, but things just get very very dangerous and I need you to listen to me. Tell TNT and Warp that I’m here when it’s not dangerous for them to be distracted, I’m going to need them to listen to and do what I say immediately when I say it or we’re not going to get another chance.”
“Understood.” Vengence’s tone had shifted from surprise to serious in seconds. It reminded Eret, in that moment, exactly who and what these three teenagers were trained to be. Killing machines. When he spoke next, it wasn’t Tommy, it was truly Vengeance. A villain who’d been abused by heroes and was ready to do anything to hurt them back. “They’ve been made aware, we’ll trust you to know what you’re doing.”
“I do.” Eret stated, no hesitance in his tone. Just a cold knowledge he was right. He’d been a terror once, and old instincts never fully left. finally coming to the other side of the building to the collapsed wall he’d seen on the news footage. He was further back as to still be obscured, but now able to watch.
He knew the trio’s original plan. There was a large river canal right by where they were fighting. The over simplified version was they planned to ‘stab him’ and then dump his ‘body’ in the river. Hannah, their resident water elemental hybrid, would then use her hybrid powers to make him able to breathe in the time it took to get him out at the safe extraction point. The Time Spear though, would make that nearly impossible. A proper hit with it would knock any one of the trio out of the fight, the fact that it sped up the personal time for its user when activated and add in the fact that there were reinforcements on their way at that very moment, made the success of the mission a dubious prospect at best.
TNT lunged forward suddenly, reaching for the Time Spear. “TNT DON’T-” Eret didn’t manage to get his warning out fast enough before TNT’s hand had wrapped around it and yanked it out of Spore’s grip. He then immediately dropped it, jerking back in surprise. TNT froze in place for a second, shocked. Spore took advantage of his surprise, jumping forward and slamming the weapon into TNT’s side.
Eret’s fists clenched, his lips curving into a snarl. He watched TNT’s blood gather into a ball at the end of the weapon, and then trail down the weapon to be absorbed into the ticking clock. Eret couldn’t see it clearly from his position, but he could practically hear the thing speed up.
The fighters went back to ducking and weaving around each other, now with TNT favoring one side and one hand. He’d drawn one of his knives to make up for it and was using it at full effectiveness. Eret watched carefully, his eyes tracking every movement.
Finally Dream and Spore got tired of it. Dream shoved TNT back with a wall of air, and then reached an arm out towards Spore. Spore barely hesitated before swinging out at his teammate, drawing blood. “Mosaic, when I yell now I need you to put an illusion of both Fire-Fist and Warp to look like they’re in exactly where they should be. Warp I need you to teleport and get the fake body and switch that with the real Fire-Fist at the same time.”
He barely had time to get the order out before the world began to shift. “HUNTRESS, GAMBLER NOISE!” Spore sped up past human comprehension. Except for Eret. You see, when XD had taken Eret’s ability to control his powers as a penance, he had also instilled the tiniest sliver of his power. It was the way he kept things fair he got to steal from Eret’s abilities along with enslaving Karl. This meant, that while Spore was still impossibly fast, Eret was able to just barely react.
He reached a hand out, pulling on the metal scattered around the area. A barrier was formed just in time to stop the glaive in its tracks. Eret lowered his outstretched hand, letting it fall to his side. He looked down at Spore, disdain burning through his chest. The two locked eyes despite the top of the hero’s face being covered. His lips mouthed the words ‘Quick Silver’. Eret only allowed himself that one moment. A moment to be a villain. To be everything he’d left behind. His face wasn’t covered, nor did it need to be. Spore already knew his face, even if Dream didn’t. Tears pricked at Eret’s eyes, angry and bitter even as his face remained impassive.
He turned, going far enough into the building to be hidden from sight. It was rapidly crumbling around him, and he didn’t have much time before he needed to make his escape. “Mosaic, Warp, now.” He didn’t see any change, but that was a good thing. He could sense the metal of the fake body in the place where Fire-Fist had been.
Warp only then teleported to Fire-Fist, at least that’s what it looked like. But Eret knew better. Mosaic must’ve figured out what he was trying to do. The illusion fell away, and Eret took control of the fake body, there was enough metal for him to control.
Warp sunk a dagger into the thing’s throat. Eret could see fake blood pool at it’s lips and he let it collapse before he took control of it again, making it move like a human despite being nothing more than a puppet. The real Fire-Fist had already been extracted by Warp. Eret raised a hand to his earpiece. “What does he want his last words to be?” he asked, his voice cold.
“He says to tell them he’s sorry.” Came TNT’s response.
Eret left afterwards, not interested in watching the fallout. The cries of the two heroes bouncing through his head over and over even after he could no longer hear them.
Notes:
Sorry this chapter took so long everyone! I've just not had the writing energy the past couple of weeks and I still don't, but I'm pushing through to post today.
I was going to try and do a mass update of all my fics in celebration of today being the two year anniversary of me first posting on ao3, but that didn't happen unfortunately.Hope you all enjoyed this chapter and I will see you again soon!
Links that may be of interest:
My tumblr, incase you want it. I post an OPF meme when I make them, though I haven't done that in a while.
Playlist I made for this fic! As well as a spotify version
The discord server for all of my fics :D though this one is usually the main focus tbh xD
As well as a (not so) new Instagram account I forgot existed! I just posted a couple of my random doodles, but don't expect much because I'm more of a writer than an artist xD
Chapter 85: Hiatus announcement
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Hello everyone! If you've read the chapter title or come from discord, you know what's going on. As of right now, I am putting OPF on hiatus. This includes the main fic and all the extras.
The reason for this is simple: OPF takes all my attention. I love the story so much it hurts, which is why it takes all of my attention. I love my other fics and I'd like to give them a chance to flourish without the stress of a mix of OPF being favorite child, and the urge to work on OPF since the most people are waiting on it. I will probably still be working on it occasionally (because I literally cannot convince myself to ignore this fic; I have tried) but will not be posting for it for a bit.
I can't say how long it will be on hiatus, but it (hopefully) shouldn't be too long. Trust me, this won't be one of the fics that goes on hiatus to seemingly never return, these guys have me in a vice grip and are quite reluctant to let me go xD. Those of you that have seen me put this fic on hiatus before know that it's never long. This time will be longer, simply for the fact I'm going to be actively avoiding posting it instead of going on hiatus for some other reason, but still.
I thank all of you for your support through this fic. Every comment, every kudos, every hit, fuels me and this story.
On that note, some better news!
I hit a couple milestones recently and meant to make a thank you announcement but never got around to it!
We have hit 30,000 hits (almost 31,000 as of right now), and 1,000 kudos! You guys are awesome and I never expected any of my work to reach so far. I appreciate every single one of you!
Back on topic, this is Oppositional Forces's hiatus announcement. Bit of a shit thank you for the milestones, so I'm sorry about that, but it was now or I'd forget this was needed for more months.
I hope to see you all again soon!
Notes:
As always, you can join the discord server . It's for all my fics, but most came from this one and are more than willing to chat about it. We're always glad to have new people. Plus, the theorizers like finding out things that they're not supposed to (basically they get things right and it scars me /lh /j)
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Hello_goodbye123433 on Chapter 4 Fri 06 Sep 2024 09:48PM UTC
Last Edited Fri 06 Sep 2024 09:48PM UTC
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