Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Purpled and Dream have a deal.

Rule One: you don’t talk about the deal. You don’t tell anyone else about the deal. The only one you talk about the deal with is Dream.

Rule Two: you don’t break the terms of the deal. No finding loopholes, no looking for a sneaky way to stretch the clauses-- you follow the terms to the best of your ability.

Rule Three: No making deals with other members of the server; no forging true alliances; no signing anything. Purpled’s loyalty was to be with Dream and Dream alone, even if he had to pretend otherwise.

Rule Four: Dream controls exactly what the deal calls for at any moment, without question. He can change what he wants Purpled to do at any time. It’s not Purpled’s job to know why Dream does what he does, it’s his job to do what he asks. That’s it.

If you follow those rules, you’re set. If not…

Consequences can happen. Purpled has learned the hard way that he doesn’t like those consequences.

Dream, however…

Purpled shoved the last of his things into his inventory and the small pack on his back and sprinted away from his secret base. Well, he guessed it wasn’t so secret now; not that the Eggpire had somehow discovered it. It was a shame, too; it had taken forever to move all of his stuff out and underground.

The feeling of his feet pounding against the ground was jarring but familiar. He hadn’t run quite like this since he left the Bedwars arenas. The only sound was of his harsh breathing and the dull drumbeat of his feet striking the dirt. He had outrun the sound of his pursuer’s shouts but he wasn’t cocky enough to slow down yet. He tore through the trees and undergrowth, greenery tearing at his clothes and half-tripping on upturned roots, until he was certain he was alone. Only then he slowed to a walk, glancing around himself carefully. His hands ghosted along the hilt at his belt. He had never really adjusted to axe combat. Swords had always felt more familiar in his hand.

He had known for a couple weeks now that there was something wrong with the Badlands. He had heard that Skeppy had been— well— possessed and had turned red, of all things, and that BadBoyHalo had started acting strangely as well. But he hadn’t known it was this bad.

He hadn’t known until BadBoyHalo had visited him earlier that day. Purpled glanced over his shoulder, compulsively checking his surroundings to make sure he was alone.

BadBoyHalo had come in the company of Antfrost and Punz, of all people, asking him to detain or kill Captain Puffy earlier that day. There were many bad signs surrounding their arrival; only one of which being that they had somehow figured out where Purpled’s secret base was and decided to meet him there. It wasn’t necessarily the fact that they were asking him to kill someone that bothered him. He was a mercenary. A lot of the time, that was expected to be his job. However, he had never known BadBoyHalo to be that kind of man.

Beyond that, the three of them were acting strange. Their clothes were washed of color and their eyes were so red they looked like they were glowing. Their eyes were vacant and their expressions cold and harsh. They clearly weren’t themselves. And at the end of their request, they had said they wanted to bring Purpled to their “friend”. Purpled thought it was more than likely that was the Egg that was causing them to act strangely and he wanted nothing to do with that. He wanted to stay as far away from conflict as possible, and even farther away from whatever fucked-up mind control scenario was happening there. He couldn’t afford to make a bad choice.

Bad and his friends knew where Purpled’s secret base was at, so he had to leave. He packed up the essentials and left as soon as possible. He never had a problem with packing light.

He chewed at the inside of his cheek, ducking under a low-hanging branch. There was another thing they had said that bothered him. Bad, Ant and Punz had told him that Ponk had joined their side as well— that his eyes were as red as theirs. Ponk was possibly his only true ally on the SMP, but he didn’t want to risk it if that were true.

He half-walked, half-jogged his way along the server, passing populated areas as he went. Nowhere seemed quite right. He didn’t want to live in the Badlands for sure, but no place else seemed like a viable option either. He ran through his options in his mind as he went.

He couldn’t just go out in the wilderness and be somewhere completely deserted, because he still needed to meet with Dream sometimes. Snowchester, that Tubbo was currently building? No, he hadn’t talked to Tubbo since the first L’Manberg war, and he was pretty sure that he was too distrustful to let Purpled in now. He was pretty sure Quackity, George, Karl, and those people they were close to had created a couple different new settlements, but he didn’t know any of them well enough to ask, let alone live there. And L’Manberg? Well. Though he wanted to be close enough to occupied land, that was a little too central and he would be much too easily found. Plus, there was quite a bit of baggage there he would prefer to just steer completely around if he was honest. L’Manberg couldn’t really be called much of a settlement, anymore-- only a couple weeks ago Dream and Technoblade had blown up the plot of land for the final time in what he had heard Dream call “Doomsday”. There had been a huge battle that Purpled had stayed far away from. After that, it seemed like pretty much everyone had left the surrounding areas of land. It was deserted as he walked.

He skirted along the edge of L’Manberg until he came along a house he didn’t recognize. A collection of houses, actually, all seeming to fall under the same general theme; located below the main land of L’Manberg was a collection of sturdy houses made of oak, dark oak and stone bricks. Curiously, he could see that smoke was drifting out of the chimney. So not deserted, then. He curled his hoodie a little closer to himself; while he was in a typically moderate biome, the server was just coming out of its winter months and it was still chillier than usual outside.

The houses themselves were built in a pleasant style, with accents of fence, frosty white tinted glass, and trapdoor flower boxes below the upper windows. There were neatly trimmed hedges ringing the buildings as well, and oak fence seemed to circle most of the property, focused around one slightly larger house in particular. There were farms for pumpkins and potatoes and other buildings semi-randomly assorted around what looked to be the main area of the property. In contrast to the friendly and put-together style of the houses, the ground of the land was pockmarked with huge explosion holes and other damage, as well as what looked like a giant upright— uhh— (Purpled snorted; was that a dick?) made out of white wool blocks left near the front of the main house. Purpled raised an eyebrow at the weird statue but decided not to question it.

He paused in his walking to lean against the fence, considering. Who did he know who would live here? He wasn’t sure, but his pack was starting to feel heavy on his back and he realized he hadn’t had the chance to stop and eat anything yet today. He glanced up at the sky and noted the sun had sunk noticeably in the horizon. Dark was only a few hours away. He glanced back at the house.

He was still wracking his brain when a figure marched out of the front door, slamming the it open. They didn’t notice him at first, and he realized it was Jack Manifold when he heard an exclamation of “Son of a bitch-!” as Manifold marched over to the wool monstrosity and started to break it down. Purpled silently watched as he took the whole thing apart before finally noticing the person standing at the edge of his fence. He swiveled his head around like a hunting dog catching a scent to look at Purpled straight on, squinting at the distance.

Jack Manifold looked at him in an expression halfway confused and wholly suspicious, one eyebrow almost comically raised. Purpled raised one hand in an awkward wave and immediately regretted it. Manifold strode over.

Purpled assessed his appearance. Manifold had changed from the usual striped shirt and cargo pants he had seen him wear in the past; now, the other teenager wore a sharp black suit over a crisp white button-up shirt, along with a black and blue tie and a small blue and red pink on his chest. He kept his old headset, though, as well as his rectangular red and blue glasses. His hair, which he used to keep semi-loose and grown out to curl around his ears, was now shaved in a severe buzzcut.

The man looked like he was trying to be all clean lines and intimidation, but Purpled could see where his suit wasn’t quite tailored to fit and one of his suit jacket buttons was undone. It made it hard to take him as seriously. That, along with the fact that he was at least 4 inches shorter than Purpled was. Jack Manifold glowered up at him from behind the fence.

“Purpled,” he growled.

“Jack Manifold,” Purpled said mildly, still a little surprised by his appearance. “It’s a pleasure to see you.”

Manifold scowled. “I can’t say the same. What are you doing here?”

Purpled leaned a little more heavily against the fence. The grass felt soft through the soles of his shoes and he felt a bit of his tension start to ease out of him slowly. Something about interacting with Jack Manifold was always vaguely funny to him; he supposed it was how serious the other teenager always tried to be. He hid his amusement, though, he doubted it would go over well. Instead he flicked his eyes back around to the environment around him. This area looked like it had been here for a while, but he had never seen it before.

“Where is ‘here’, exactly? Is this part of L’Manberg, or-?”

“No, this is not part of L’Manberg!” Jack replied heatedly. “This is Manifold Land! My land! It's its own nation! So: why are you here?”

“I need somewhere to stay for a bit. My old base isn’t an option for a bit, so I was just wandering around and checking out my options.”

Manifold fell silent for a second. He looked like he was trying to find something to be mad about in that statement and failing. “What about other people? Do you even have any friends?” he said, accusatory.

“I have some friends,” Purpled said lamely. “I talk to Ponk sometimes. You know. We started a real estate business together—”

“I remember,” Manifold muttered.

“So yeah, we talk,” Purpled finished.

Manifold had a pensive look on his face. “Do you?”

“Yeah. Sometimes.” Purpled didn’t mention that Ponk was most likely now possessed by the egg as well. Not something he wanted to think about. “I can’t stay with him though. For reasons. You know how it is.”

Manifold took a step back from his fence, his explosive anger from earlier mostly gone. He still didn’t look exactly welcoming, however. The look on his face was contemplative in a manner unfamiliar to Purpled. He folded his hands together in front of him in a gesture most likely meant to seem professional.

“Friendships changing. I get that. Well, I can’t just let you stay here for free,” he said slowly. “You’re a real estate man. You know that yourself. What do you have to offer me?”

Purpled checked his inventory, then his pockets. The total sum of both was his tools, 16 cobble blocks, 3 cooked pork chops, a crafting table, 2 sticks and a piece of lint. Not exactly high value. He wasn’t willing to give away the only tools he had but he didn’t really have any other options.

“I could help you work on something?” he suggested.

“What do you even do? Aren't you a mercenary?”

He shrugged. “I mean, usually. But I can do whatever.”

That, more than anything, seemed to interest him. Manifold leaned forward. “Oh? Do you take hits on people?”

“I’m open to that, yes.”

“Anyone?”

If Manifold said Captain Puffy, he was going to scream, he thought wryly to himself.

“Within reason.”

Manifold’s eyes gleamed. “How about Tommyinnit?”

Purpled blinked in surprise, the only way he allowed himself to demonstrate his shock. He wasn’t sure if Dream would be happy about him agreeing to that, but he could check in with him later if this deal went through.

Hadn’t Tommy and Manifold been friends last time he checked? He thought back on it now and the last time he remembered them interacting was during the start of L’Manberg. He was sure there was some history he had missed, but enough to hire a hitman on Tommy? That was a bit drastic to say the least. Not to mention killing Tommyinnit himself would be sure to cause a whole host of issues on the server. Trouble wasn’t something they needed more of.

He didn’t have to kill Tommy, though, he thought to himself. He just needed a temporary place to stay. Once he found somewhere else, he could just leave and say the contract was broken. There wasn’t much Manifold could do to him after that. He didn’t seem to have many allies, and he was a lot weaker combat-wise than he was.

“Sure, I can do that,” Purpled said simply. “That would be more, though.”

“Can you be… pertinent?” Manifold said, seeming to come around to the idea.

“I can keep a secret,” Purpled responded. “Comes with the job. If you don’t want anyone to know, they won’t know.”

“Hmm. Good, then.” Jack looked at him for a long moment with narrowed eyes. Rather than being intimidating, he gave the impression that he was squinting hard at the sun. He turned on his heel suddenly, becoming Purpled to follow him. “Yeah, sure. Why not. You can come in. Maybe we can write a contract in here.”

Purpled followed him.

A contract? That might be a problem. Dream… Dream didn’t want him to sign any contracts. That was against the rules. He had come close to it before, but he hadn’t actually signed anything since coming on the server. He wasn’t really supposed to commit to entanglements. Dream might be angry about that, he thought, and felt a chill go down the back of his arms.

I mean, he reasoned to himself internally. This is necessary to avoid all the issues with the Egg, so I’m sure I can explain it to him. It’ll be fine. I can back out if I need to.

Jack opened the fence gate and led him into his home.

Purpled’s first thought upon entering was that the good taste in aesthetics only partially carried into the interior of the buildings. Jack Manifold’s house had a spacious front room with a checkerboard floor made of different stripped logs, but it was mostly bare other than the essentials. Off to the left side was a room stacked full of chests and furnaces lined against the wall. To the right was a staircase and a small door with a sign above it that read “Harry Potter Room”.

Purpled glanced out the window and noted again how isolated Jack’s land was. If this truly was a country of its own and not part of L’Manberg, that meant Jack has chosen voluntarily to live almost completely on his own. He wondered why. It was almost similar to Purpled himself, but even he had had friends, before.

Jack Manifold had been part of L’Manberg, back before all the wars. What had happened to all of those people he had been surrounded by? Whoever this boy standing in front of him was, he wasn’t the same boy who he’d met outside his UFO all those months ago. He’d changed drastically along the way, and Purpled wasn’t sure when.

“Why are you all the way out here?” Purpled asked aloud instead of articulating his thoughts.

Jack’s eyes narrowed. “Why are you?”

“Why do you want to know?”

“To be fair, you are currently standing inside my home.”

“I— I, yeah that’s fair,” Purpled let out a little laugh. “I, well. There were some people I lived by, but the Egg’s making them act all weird. I don’t want to put myself in a lose-lose situation. It’s better to just steer clear.”

“What do you mean?”

“With them lately it’s all ‘join the Egg or die’ and to be completely honest with you, I’m not really vibing with either of those options.” Purpled tried not to think of Punz’s eyes, formerly blue, but now a hollow and unnatural red.

Jack Manifold let out a startled laugh, seemingly despite himself, the hint of a smile flashing across his face before it returned to wariness.

“Yeah, me neither.”

They lapsed back into silence. Purple decided not to push his earlier question. Manifold didn’t really seem eager to talk about himself, which was fair he supposed. He wasn’t sure why he himself was feeling so talkative. Maybe everything with the egg was making him more contemplative. Or maybe he was just missing the people he had left behind.

Manifold veered off to the left side of the room, digging around through his chests until he pulled out a book and quill while Purpled lingered awkwardly in the entryway.

“Well don’t just stand there,” Manifold said, slamming the chest shut. “Let’s do this then.”

Purpled nodded. “So we’re actually doing the whole contract thing?” he asked. “Not just, like…?”

“Of course. I wouldn’t want you trying to scam me,” Jack furrowed his brows. “Again.”

“Not technically a scam if I already owned the land.” When Manifold gave him a dirty look he held his hands up in mock-surrender and said, “There was a sign!”

Manifold elected to ignore him, flipping open the book to a fresh page of paper.

“I’ll just write it aloud and tell me if you want to amend anything.” He put his quill to paper. “By signing this contract, I, Jack Manifold, give Purpled permission to reside on Manifold-owned land as long as he signs and follows the agreed upon work contract. This contract will persist until the agreed upon task is finished or Jack Manifold relieves him of his agreed upon task.” Manifold paused in his writing. “Doesn’t really seem smart to write down that I’m hiring you as a hitman, innit? I guess we should leave that bit out. I’ll make the phrase ‘verbally agreed upon task’.”

“Seems pretty logical to me.” Purpled didn’t really care about the particulars of the agreement. “Though, I would need additional payment after the hit is done. I don’t really think living on your property is worth a life. It can serve as a deposit for now, but afterwards I would need…” he thought for a second. “40 blocks of iron.”

“40? No way. 15 at most.”

“30.” Manifold glared.

“20.”

“25?”

“Whatever,” Manifold finally said moodily. “It’ll be worth it in the end. I’ll just write it.”

He watched as Manifold signed his name with a bit of a flourish and then handed the paper to him. Purpled scrawled his name at the bottom as well. Then he handed it back to him and Manifold put it away in his ender chest.

There was a beat of silence. Purpled realized suddenly that while he had just signed an agreement to live there, he had no clue how it was actually going to work.

“So where am I gonna sleep exactly?” Purpled asked.

Jack glanced around his house and then looked deeply irritated by the question. Purpled thought it was fair.

“I’ve got a few houses around here. Pick one, I don’t know,” he replied. “We can talk about how exactly we’re going to do this tomorrow.”

Purpled felt his stomach growl and was reminded that he still hadn’t had a proper meal. Hunger curled uncomfortably in his gut. Outside the tinted windows of Jack’s house, the sky was fading fast into night. He had a couple pork chops in his inventory, but…

“You got any extra food I can eat? Dinner?” Purpled asked hopefully.

“Just fuck off for now, man,” Manifold said tiredly. Purpled got the hint and slunk out the door.