Chapter Text
Wilbur stared down at his maps and his plans. Next to it all is a letter addressed to him from Clay.
Wilbur be careful. Technoblade is back, and I’ve heard rumors that he pretends to be someone he isn’t in order to get close and strike at the heart of the thing. Trust Carefully. He also has people helping him. He will use them to get close to the people he needs to. He is smarter than people give him credit for and more vicious than even his legends can describe.
Ranboo also has been known to act innocent to get where he needs to in order to strike. The queen is starting to get anxious. If she does not retrieve him soon I'm afraid she may come out hunting for him. If you find him return him to d’neer immediately. If she finds out you have been holding him without contacting her she will show no mercy when she arrives.
And Wilbur, I know not having your memories has always caused you some level of stress but know that your past is crucial to protecting L’Manburg. It will allow you to know who to trust and who to distrust. And keep this letter, this information, close to your chest. Some of your allies are not who they say they are. I don’t know who the traitor is yet, but when they hear this letter they will try and silence you. They will strike and you will not have time to prepare.
Be careful,
Clay
Wilbur grits his teeth. He needed to ask Dad to give his memories back. He needs to know whatever it is that he has forgotten. He looks at the map and D’neer. If the Endermen strike, L’manburg will not stand a chance. They are centuries strong and equipped with the magic given directly by the god of space. Ruimete is one of the oldest gods from what he gathered, right next to Chrono, and as such their magic is considered some of the hardest but also the most powerful. An entire nation with such magic will destroy L’Manburg.
He breathes out as he organizes the papers he has gathered and written. He hears footsteps and looks up to the door to see Technoblade. He follows the man’s gaze to Clay's letter and Wilbur folds it and tucks it away. Not trying to hide it, after all, it has already been seen.
“Who’s it from?” Techno asks as he walks further into the room looking at the table and the maps on the wall.
That was not the question he was expecting, “a friend.” He says.
“Alright.” and just like that techno drops the matter entirely. Techno scans the room before standing in a corner.
“Do you plan on taking a seat?”
“Do you have enough chairs?”
Wilbur looks and they don’t, actually, have enough chairs.
“I guess not.”
“Then I’m fine standing here.”
“Any reason why?”
“I like being able to see the entirety of the room. And I personally don’t like sitting.”
“Uh, how do you mean?” because that is a weird thing to say.
“Most chairs are designed for human anatomy.”
And that is when Wilbur is just so flabbergasted by this simple thing that all he can say is, “Fair enough.” Tommy comes in next with Niki and Eret. Who all seem to look to technoblade. This is the first time he has been in this room. The meeting he had had with Technoblade to meet everyone had been sort of on the spot since everyone had been there and then, well, then they had moved on. It was odd having Techno in this room when he was still an unknown factor in their plans. This was a safe place and Techno wasn’t aiding it so it felt off.
“Technoblade you’re early,” Tommy says walking up to techno like they were old friends.
“Good impressions and all that.” techno shrugs.
Niki snorts and Eret smiles as he asks, “I mean can you really say you’ve had a good first impression?”
“I never said first.”
Niki chuckles, “You’re really that bad at first impression that you have to make it up later.”
Technoblade smiles, “I mean my reputation precedes me, my first impression is very rarely in my favor.”
Eret lets out a low laugh, “I guess so.”
Karl walks in at that time. Eret and Niki take their seats as they talk conspiratorially with each other. Tommy chats with Technoblade about misdirection.
Karl takes a seat next to a seat that last time had been filled by his son. It had been the only time his son had attended a meeting and it was in part because fundy had been a huge part in the technoblade and phil search. Now Phil would most likely fill his spot. He hoped fundy didn’t get up to any trouble today.
Phil walks in next. And after a stiff movement from techno just nodded. Techno looks at Phil and nods back and Wilbur feels lacking. They always seemed to know what the other was thinking, and saying. Quackity walks in with an exhausted-looking Tubbo. And now with everyone here, “Tommy would you close the door.”
Tommy closes the door and sits down. Wilbur looks around the table and takes note of everyone and how they seem to be doing. “Let’s get started then.”
Wilbur looks at Tubbo, “Tubbo are you feeling up for this?”
“Yeah. I can- I’m good.”
“Alright then let’s start there.” everyone leans forward ready for the meeting. “Tubbo is set to be coronated tomorrow. Which means everyone here needs to be there and on alert. Make sure this goes smoothly.”
“You want us there too, mate?” Phil asks, glancing at Techno before looking back to Wil.
“I think I need you there. But technoblade.” the man in question lifts his head, “you said you practiced glamours could you look less like the technoblade of legend.”
“I doubt you need to worry about that Wilbur.” eret says.
He looks back to techno, “They are right. I’ve done it enough that it is almost habit.”
“Fantastic. Quackity.”
“What is it, Wilbur?”
“Should Technoblade and Tubbo find it agreeable, I want Technoblade to train Tubbo in self-defense techniques. As king, Tubbo will only be under more threat. A day of training could be the difference between his life and his death.”
“I was actually hoping to teach him a thing or two,” Technoblade says before Quackity can get the chance and Wilbur can see the advisor bristling with hatred and anger. Techno reaches behind his back and pulls out a sheathed dagger. He holds it by the blade out to Tubbo who takes it and unsheathes it looking at the gleaming metal. “I would have gotten him a custom dagger but I figured we didn’t have the time for it to be made. So I settled for a blade that seemed to fit his grip. Had I run into you sooner you’d have had it before now.”
Tubbo gripped the handle as he spoke. “You bought this for me?” Tubbo asks, “How do you know it would work for me? And actually, why did you buy it?”
“I make sure my allies are equipped to deal with whatever threat we are dealing with.”
“Yeah, alright. Thanks Technoblade.”
Wilbur looks back to Quackity who looks one more interruption away from stabbing technoblade. Wilbur would be curious to hear what exactly has made Quackity hate Technoblade this much. “Quackity?”
“One day should be fine. If Schlatt did his fucking job I might have been able to spare him more time, as it is, things already have been pushed back too long.” Quackity tells him.
“I understand.”
“Technoblade. Would the day after his coronation work?”
“I have no plans.”
“Right.” Wilbur feels the weight of Clay’s letter in his breast pocket. “Niki, Eret, progress report.”
“Everything is on track, Wilbur,” Niki tells him.
“Not much has changed, walls are still being fortified, and the ravine is still being explored fully.” Eret offers.
“Alright, good.”
“From everything I've heard people took the warning to heart about the red vines and have been avoiding them. So there is no development on that issue.” Wilbur looks at everyone as they focus on him. He takes a deep breath, “War is on the horizon, danger has been found behind L’manburg’s walls. We need to prepare. “Niki, I’m going to have to ask you to step away from your bakery.”
“I already have.”
“Good.” he looks at everyone again. “And we need to train everyone for the worst. Techno and Phil I’ve heard and seen you training swordsmanship and magic respectively with us.”
“That’s right mate.”
“Can you do it for all of us? And by that I mean I want to set aside a scheduled time for all military personnel to train those two things. Your skill and understanding of the craft is unparalleled by anyone else here. You are the most suited to the task.”
Dad and Techno glance at each other share a few unspoken words and then look back at Wilbur. “We can do it but it won’t be as focused. I tend to like to focus on individuals playing to their strengths and doing large numbers of people detracts from that.”
Dad jumps in, “The same applies to magic. If you want us to help we can but it won’t be as effective as you are probably hoping.”
Wilbur doesn’t like it. They need the best but they don’t have the time. He looks at the people in the room. He looks at Dad and Techno, “I understand and could you spare more time to train those here? If we can have even a few people reach a higher standard that could make the difference.”
“I’m willing,” Dad answers immediately. “If I can help I will.”
Techno is slow to his response mulling it over before he finally says, “Wilbur I want to ask you a question. Have you ever been in a conflict?”
Wilbur feels his throat close up, “Never one of this scale.”
“Have you ever killed a man?”
“No.” And Wilbur stares at the people around him, most of them haven’t.
“Do you want a title of blood?”
“What?” the question catches him off guard. Techno seemed to be sizing him up preparing to turncoat.
“If I train you all to win this conflict. You won’t just have blood on your hands, they will be stained. I can do it, there isn’t a question of capability, but I will not be gentle in my training and I will not accept anything less than your best. If I train you all to be skilled fighters I am training you with the knowledge I have and my knowledge is merciless.” Technoblade’s eyes bore into him. “I will train you all but you need to know where we stand. You need to understand what you are willing to do, how far you are willing to go, and what you are willing to lose.” Technoblade’s gaze is hard and unwavering. His ruby gaze pins Wilbur to the spot to ponder what Technoblade has asked him. “I’m not asking for answers but know that whether you win or lose the battle you won’t be the same, and because of the simple fact that I helped you may forever be on the wrong side of history.”
Wilbur gazes back into those eyes. “I understand Technoblade.”
“Alright.” He says leaning back and Wilbur feels like he can breathe easier. He needs to know how to kill Technoblade should things go wrong. He needs to know the man’s weaknesses if he wants to have any hope of winning.
“Is there anything else Wilbur?” Quackity asks.
“Technoblade, Phil can you train us after this meeting?”
They look at each other again. Dad looks back, “Yeah mate, I can do that.”
“Great, in which case I think that was everything I needed to touch on. Meeting concludes.” People stand up and push their chairs in and walk out talking and asking questions of Dad, going to the courtyard where they will train magic that Wilbur doesn’t have access to anymore. Quackity guides Tubbo back to his office to fill out and sign more paperwork. Technoblade is still there standing waiting.
Technoblade pauses at the door and looks back at Wilbur, his eyes soften, he blinks and when he opens them again they are half-lidded in something akin to sorrow. “One last thing Wilbur, you need to decide right now who you trust. Me, or whoever wrote you that letter. Because you can’t trust us both.”
Panic rushes through Wilbur. Techno knew, Technoblade knew. He was going to attack Wilbur he was going to turn on him, kill him like Clay said. He should lie to Technoblade and say he trusts him. But Wilbur felt disgusted with the very notion of such a slimy action. So he stares Technoblade down as he says with the strength he hasn’t earned, “I trust my ally, I trust the man who has helped me reach this point, who has guided me through dangerous times and given me warnings enough to prepare. That person isn’t you.”
Technoblade’s eyes harden. And for a moment Wilbur believes that this is where he will die. “Alright, I’ll remember that. But Wilbur, question your faith sometimes, wonder why you believe in someone every now and then.” Technoblade says as he makes to leave,
“Do you question your belief in Phil like that?” Wilbur says anger rising in his voice for, for, well he wasn’t sure if it was for his father or himself and Clay.
Technoblade turns to look at him his eyes hard and uncaring, “Constantly, and every time I ask myself why, I remind myself. I remind myself why I believe in him, I remind myself constantly of the reasons why I came to believe in Phil.” Technoblade walks up to Wilbur and Wilbur is reminded of a similar situation a few days ago, “I have to be careful what I trust in Wilbur. I have been taught that trust is dangerous. I was willing to trust you, Wilbur. I was going to. You are incredibly gifted, with opportunity at your fingertips. I wanted to help you but if you think I am to be distrusted, if you think, Clay or whoever your informant is, is right. About me. Then I will return that distrust. I will wait for you to turn on me. I’ll watch my back, I’ll question your motives.” Technoblade steps away. Back towards the door, “I would simply leave, walk away from L’manburg rather than wait for such a betrayal. But the threat you face is real and there are people here who deserve protection.”
Wil doesn’t have the words and when he finds them Techno is gone. Left alone with his thoughts. He pulls out his letter from Clay. Maybe Techno was right, but maybe Clay was.
Perhaps the safest thing to do is distrust everyone.
---
Tommy is pulled away by Phil as everyone heads to the courtyard to practice magic. He figured this would be a good chance for him to practice as well even if it was different than anyone else. Seemed Phil thought the same. “Tommy, I want you to focus less on disciplines today. Today I want you to focus on magical centers. I want you to try and find exactly where their magic originates. They all have found theirs and told me about it so it’ll be a test of whether or not they are right and also a test of your abilities and precision.”
“How will identifying the center help?”
“You can learn a lot about a person by their magical center. But that is a lesson for when we have more time.” Phil says as he picks up the pace and continues walking. “Right now people are waiting for us.”
“Alright Phil,” Tommy says racing after Phil. And Tommy thinks about what Technoblade asked, how much was he willing to risk? He doesn’t think it’s much. Tommy has never had much in his life and a lot of what he had, had been taken from him already. The things he had left were precious to him. But the things he had left were people. So while he may not be willing to risk them, he was willing to go as far as it took for them. If that meant sitting still feeling his energy bounce around inside of him so be it. If it meant getting bruised and thrown around, so be it. He was not going to lose anyone else.
They walk over to the circle of people. Fundy has rejoined them. Techno comes up behind them. And after that, Phil clears his throat. Niki’s eyes flutter open and Eret turns his head as fundy and Karl quiet. “Are we ready?” a chorus of confirmation fills the air.
“Alright. Let’s pick up where we left off with healing since that is a useful skill for any magic user to have.” Phil breathes and he has the eyes of everyone except Tommy. Instead, he looks around. Technoblade’s center was the easiest to find. It rested in the middle of his chest. It was incredibly powerful and spread out from his center like vines of pure energy. Phil’s center rested lower. It was smaller and tamer and just sort of faded out towards the edges. But Tommy watches as it stretches slightly becoming more oblong rather than circular.
Tommy couldn’t tell you why but he knows whatever Phil is doing is special. Not necessarily unique to him, but Tommy knows that this stems from his understanding of magic.
“Healing is energy at its purest. Which I already explained to most of you. And what I mean by that is that it uses the energy the body naturally has, focuses it, and amplifies it with magic. Most healing is proportional to the amount of magical energy you have. There are of course ways to work around this, ways to use less energy to receive the same results but it’s far more complicated than I have time to explain right now.”
“So the higher your magical potential the more difficult wounds you can heal?” Niki asks and her magical center is similar to Techno’s in that it rests in her chest but more over her heart and creeps into her forearm. It’s less powerful than Techno’s and less controlled than Phil’s but still nothing to scoff at considering he has seen plenty of people with less magic in them than Niki.
“Yes and no. Your magical potential is how much magical energy your body can maintain. You can have more or less energy than your potential depending on the situation you find yourself in. Think of potential like a glass vase and energy is water filling it. You can be overflowing with energy or you can be near empty. It is important to note for healing however that you can direct the flow of your energy to focus on one spot or on exactly what you want to do.”
“So like if there are multiple injuries you can focus on healing one really well rather than heal all of them a little bit?” Eret asks. His center was the center of his head and it flowed into his eyes since that is where he channeled his magic to. It was bright but not incredibly powerful which was a strange combination. His magical center was by far the most confusing and Tommy wished he understood it better.
“Exactly,” Phil says pointing. “Most magic doesn't actually need physical motion to accompany it. But for most people, it is second nature to do so and it is because people subconsciously direct the flow of their magic.”
Fundy looks at his hands and Tommy stares confused as Fundy appears to be nothing but a magical center. He would have to ask Phil about that one. And beside him, Karl’s center rested in his head as well but flowed into his pendent in a whirlpool-like motion as if the pendent was sucking in Karl's magical energy.
“Techno, mind giving them an example?”
“I could but it would be a glamour since I don’t feel confident in anything else.”
“That’s fine mate,” Phil says and Techno closes his eyes and they watch as a flower floats in front of them. “See you don’t need to move at all but we simply find it easier to direct energy when we do.”
“So should we not move our hands as we use magic?”
“It doesn’t matter, it’s just something useful to know and it’s a skill to have,” Phil says. And Tommy notes that information because that is important to know when identifying magic.
He almost always looked for physical signs before he looked at magical signs.
He takes a breath. Yeah, he felt less useless, he felt like maybe this stupid gift he had been cursed with could be made his. This was his fucking power and he was going to be damned if he let it control him rather than the other way around.
---
Sapnap looked around him. He was on a mountain, hot water pooling down cliff ledges forming a vast network of hot springs. He looks up at the heat waves distorting the sky. This was a volcano. He looked around again and was at a loss for what to do. He didn’t know how he got here. He had gotten hurt and he had tried running away but he collapsed. He remembers someone trying to help him. He grips at his shoulder and finds no pain.
He looks up, the sky is a pale yellow. Is this the void? He wasn’t one to think about death, he didn’t ponder about the void, but even so, he expected more. He hears laughing and he whips his head to the spring. He sees the dream team laughing as they sit in one of the springs. Dre, because this is Dre, is joking with bad. He looks up at Sapnap a smile on his face. No mask in sight.
“Hey Sap, what are you doing, come over here and relax.” Sapnap takes one step before he stops.
“What is this place?” Sapnap asks.
Dre smiles again as Bad speaks up, “Uh a hot spring? Muffinhead.” Bad says with a smile.
“I mean you brought us here wouldn’t you know?” Antfrost says.
He brought them here? But wait no, something was wrong. He looks at the scene before him as his friends wait for him expectantly. He looks around again at the volcano and the landscape. He had always wanted to find a place like this. A place where he could feel the heat of the sun and feel the warmth of fire at his back. A place that held as much life as it did potential destruction.
“What’s the holdup?” Dre asks as concern laces his brows. Sapnap turns to look at them again and it draws attention to something Sapnap hadn’t realized was missing.
“Where’s George?”
“He said he would be joining us later.”
And the warm steam seeps into Sapnap’s skin, allowing him to relax into the comfortable heat. He is about to join them, walk over and sink into the heated water. But something grabs his arm. He turns to see a deer skull and instantly he is alert again. He isn’t afraid he notes as this person he has never seen holds his arm. Except he has seen them; they were the one who helped Sapnap as he tried to get away. Get away from….
He turns to look at Ant again. Dre and Bad are still laughing but it’s silent as Ant stares into his soul, no smile, no warmth, just cold, calculating apathy. Ant had tried to kill him. Ant wanted him dead. Ant’s eyes shift from forest blue to a deep maroon as he finally smiles, but it’s sharp and predatory as he climbs out and places a hand on his shoulder. The claws dig into his clothes and then into his skin until he feels every nerve in his shoulder screaming. And Ant is pulling him toward the hot spring, although it looks less hot and more boiling. Trying to get him to join them. He looks back at the stranger with the deer mask who is still holding on to him. He looks back at the pool, Dre is wearing his mask again, a black-painted smile stares back at him. Bad’s features were sharper, they were the people who haunted his dreams. His shoulder was throbbing as the pain expanded to consume his chest.
He can feel himself getting dragged closer to the people he once called friends, but now simply called threats. He looks back over his shoulder hoping the stranger would help him and he sees George staring at the sight.
“George!” he screams across the open space and it’s so much louder than he had anticipated as the ground starts to shake and plumes of black smoke reach towards the sky. Tainting the sky an inky grey. George stares at the scene flabbergasted. Sapnap isn’t sure whether to scream for help or yell at him to run. But George decides for him as he screams. George charges towards them.
“Sapnap!” he screams as well. He grabs Sapnap, “Hold on.” and Sapnap clings to George with his good arm. And then the stranger lets go of him and Sapnap feels his feet slide beneath him as he loses ground to Ant’s endeavors.
The man with a deer skull though grabs Ant’s arm and Sapnap watches as Ant’s hand is pulled free of its grip. George pulls him further away and the man with a deer skull escorts him away from the people seeking to hurt him. Sapnap feels weak now that he isn’t in the midst of action. He stumbles feeling like his arm is heavy. George helps him sit down on the grey grass. The stranger puts a hand on his shoulder and guides him to sleep. A hand is placed on his shoulder and Sapnap feels a warmth emanate from the touch.
Sapnap feels tired so he lets himself slide into sleep. He trusts George to protect him.
When he wakes again he sees the familiar surroundings of his home. He hears George talking to no one. He looks around and sees a bag that doesn’t belong to either of them. He sits up and winces as his chest and shoulder ache. “George?” He calls out.
He hears a crash and sees George stumble into the room followed quickly by the stranger. He saw them as he lost consciousness and then in his dream just now. What he remembered and what he saw now didn’t quite line up but it was enough for him to know that they were the same person without a doubt. “Sapnap you’re awake.” George rushes over to him and looks him over, “How do you feel?”
“Like shit.” He says as he lays back down. He puts a hand on his injury to find that it was bandaged and so much less painful than it had been. “What happened after I got hit?”
The stranger walks up and hands him a piece of paper that he looks at. ‘I brought you back here and healed you. Can you tell me what exactly happened?’
Sapnap looks at the stranger, “And who the hell are you.”
“This is Callahan,” George tells him. “And before you ask he isn’t going to say anything. He’s mute.”
“Oh,” he looks around not quite sure what to make of this situation. Then he looks back at George, “We need to leave as soon as possible.”
“Yeah, what happened?” George asks as Callahan tilts his head inquisitively.
“Ant. He showed up and tried to kill me.” He pushes himself off the couch and While Callahan looks ready to guide him back to sit down, George wraps his arms around him to steady his unstable footing. “George I think this is it. I think this is where they make their move. I think this is it.”
George stops and looks at him. Sapnap returns the gaze. “Callahan?” Callahan rushes to their side. “Can we still…”
Callahan raises a bag and George grabs it before draping it across his shoulder. “What?”
George half smiles but shrinks in on himself a little as he says. “I figured it was something like that and asked Callahan if we could travel with him. He said yes and we prepared to leave the moment you woke up.”
Sapnap stared at them. “Then let’s go.”