Normally, Phil wouldn't be too worried about Ranboo and Technoblade not returning from a trip.

The last time those two ventured out together, a short outing to a nearby Woodland mansion had been sidetracked into an hourlong journey in search of spawners. Neither of them was very good at staying focussed, and Phil was certain they'd return whenever they felt like it.

But then he got the notification. Technoblade sending his coordinates, not in a private message but publicly so that anybody this part of the continent with a communicator connected to the network could see. It didn't make sense for him to do that – not unless there was a very troubling reason for it.

Phil had tracked down the location in the message easily, but there wasn't anything there that shed any light on the matter. He got in touch with Technoblade, no response. Ranboo next. Silence.

Neither of them came home that night.

Three days later he contacted Niki. It took another week for them to find out exactly where Techno and Ranboo had been taken and at that point Phil was ready to combust, to fly in guns blazing (proverbially, though the reality might not have been too far off), only for them to slam into a wall of red tape the likes of which Phil hadn't heard of in ages. Getting his own hardcore server up and running hadn't taken as much work as it would take to get into this one, protected and shielded by a thousand tiny administration loopholes.

"Is that even allowed?" Niki had asked Phil upon finding out, hair pulled back and hands fiddling mindlessly with the hilt of her sword. She shared Phil's eagerness of getting to their friends as quickly as humanly possible.

"Not at all," Phil said, "but here we are."

And when they got the message back that even a higher-tier admin couldn't let them in unless they could prove that something illegal was going on, Phil had been inches removed from going on a murderous rampage.

The only thing that held him back was Niki's assurance that it would only slow them down even more, that their energy was better spent on the quickest way to get inside. Phil was grateful for her. Grateful for the reminders to eat and drink and sleep in-between their work, her tireless smile and constant unwavering belief in everything turning out alright.

"They can take care of themselves," she had said more than once over the weeks that followed. "And I'm sure they can take care of each other too."

She was also the one to inform Tubbo of the situation when he started coming by the commune. The first few times he didn't stop except to knock on Ranboo's door, shuffle his feet in the snow and press his gloved hands to the window to peer inside. Phil knew that sooner or later Tubbo's worry would outweigh his desire to avoid their houses, and thus Niki caught Tubbo before he could leave.

She told him the truth and he thanked her and then started contacting them through messages a lot to keep up on where they were in the process, if there was any news. Phil figured he'd told Tommy too because his communicator wouldn't stop vibrating between Niki's clipped, several paragraphs-long texts, Tubbo's one-word inquires, and then the all-cap abominations nobody but Tommy would dare put out into the world.

But in the end, it was still just the two of them that went to the other server.

They were about two-thirds of the way through getting in legally when Techno's second message reached them. Phil didn't waste any time using it as leverage, as proof. Local admins still tried to back peddle and claim it wasn't enough, but Phil was running out of patience. He didn't care how much money was in play, how many high-rollers were sponsoring to keep this illegal fighting ring hidden. Recognizing his own insistence just didn't bear the weight he hoped it would, more calls were made and at long last he could reach out for a favor. Simon was glad to help once he found out two of his former Hypixel regulars were at risk.

In their hurry, neither Phil nor Niki thought of giving Tubbo and Tommy a heads-up. Concern had the ability to blot out reason sometimes. Phil could tell when he laid eyes on Ranboo, the ground covered in red, the shapes of several more people laying unmoving on the ground. If there had even been a smidge of calm logic in him left at that point, he surely wouldn't have listened to it.

He checked on Ranboo first because the kid was trembling so much Phil thought it a miracle he was still able to hold the knife clutched in two hands. Most of the blood wasn't his though – most of the blood was from those that were dead, torn, decimated. Phil had hardly looked at them and could barely phantom how Ranboo would have been able to do that damage by himself. It seemed more like a pack of animals had been let loose on them. Not that he cared too much at the moment, because Ranboo was shaking and heaving but he was alive and not in immediate danger. As soon as Phil confirmed that, he went to check on Technoblade.

More blood, and in contrast to Ranboo a vast majority did seem to be coming from Techno himself. Prepared for this possibility, Phil opened his bag and started with first aid. He cut out everything else – Ranboo and Niki talking, a hand on his shoulder and one of them leaning by his side to help. All of it faded away into background noise, his focus settled solely on his hands, saving his friend's life.

Then they were moving, getting up. Niki was supporting Phil so he could stand easier. Before he could properly come back to himself they were already home, the cold hitting him in the face and slipping inside his coat, creeping down his back. They went to Techno's cabin – for some reason it felt like the right thing to do.

Niki got Techno settled on the couch while Phil and Ranboo collected every pillow, blanket, and other soft items they could find in the house to pile them on the floor next to it. Steve wasted no time in claiming his own spot, with his head, neck, and front paws on top of Techno's legs while the rest of his body stayed down to avoid crushing him. After Ranboo got comfortable in a position that would allow him to rest without straining any of his injuries, Phil and Niki joined them and before long all four of them were asleep.

Technoblade kept the limp for three more weeks.

Granted, for the first of these weeks, he didn't go much further than from his house to Phil's house to Ranboo's shack and back.

It didn't hurt too much, but there was a darn splint on his thigh that came low enough to cover the knee and he couldn't exactly bend his leg with that thing attached. More than once he considered ripping it off but the consequences would be dire. And he didn't mean the possibility of it costing him his life - though that would be a big downside as well.

Phil had always been a terrible nurse, his bedside manner sucked and his intimidating old man routine never worked on Technoblade. Niki on the other hand. One stern glare from her could have Techno scurrying back to the couch in a heartbeat. He couldn't imagine what she would do if he removed the splint.

(Except break both his legs to physically stop him from ignoring her demand to take things easy. Technoblade wouldn't put it past her).

Limiting himself to moving around the commune was the much safer option. Wake up, go outside to tend to Carl and the hounds, then back inside to catch his breath. Go to Phil to bother him or give his unwelcome opinions on the latest building project, back home to catch his breath. Over to Ranboo's to see if his villagers had anything interesting to offer, back home to catch his breath. Starvation had really done a number on his stamina.

And whenever he was in his cabin he was rarely alone these days. Niki spent more time on his couch than she did in her own home, Phil had permanently commandeered Techno's crafting bench to work from there instead and even Ranboo was pretty much evenly dividing his time between there and Snowchester.

Technoblade didn't know what exactly had happened. He didn't remember anything beyond falling on the ground, seeing Ranboo with the knife at his eye socket, and then passing out. All he knew was that for a while since they came back Ranboo stuck around a lot more, a lot closer. He always was double-checking on Techno – even more so than Niki somehow – and asking him if the leg bothered him. He brought Techno food from his farms and wood from the forest and even gold and other ores from the mine a couple of times.

Techno was flattered really, even if he didn't have a clue why he would need any of those things. It wasn't like his own stockpiles were running low.

But he could tell how Ranboo relaxed when he took the gifts, how his shoulders unwound and his hands stopped clenching at nothing and it wasn't the biggest sacrifice in the world to take the kindness for once. If he was feeling self-conscious about it, Techno could always think of a way to re-gift him all the supplies later.

"This is the last pumpkin pie I'm making in a while," Niki warned when she set the steaming tin on the table. She had used Techno's kitchen to make it, the entire cabin smelled distinctly like spices and the kindling fire in his oven. "I can't stand seeing another pumpkin for a year."

"But we had to do without your baking for almost a month," Ranboo said seriously. "You can't blame us for missing it."

"That's what you said about the previous four pies." Niki tried hitting him with the spatula she was using to serve the pie with, but Ranboo dodged beneath it. Maybe the arena had taught him a thing or two after all. "Don't think the sad act will keep working on me."

"I think it will actually," Techno said – only because the sad act had worked great so far. They had convinced Niki to make them five pies, a tray of cinnamon rolls, and a gingerbread house in the time since returning. All they had to do was mention the bland, terrible food the arena served and how much they hated it before she'd offer to make them something of their choice instead.

Niki pouted at them, though the effect was entirely lost when there was flour staining her face and she was wearing a bright pink apron. "You're both terrible, horrible, no good and I don't even know why I'm here."

"It's because you love us," Ranboo said instantly, making Phil almost choke in his tea because he was laughing so hard.

"I'm this far removed from shoving this pie down your throat," Niki answered.

But when the sun had set and the fire was nothing more than glowing embers, it was Ranboo who stuck behind. Phil had gone to his own cabin hours before and even Niki had left for a change, saying she really wanted to sleep in her own bed tonight. Techno agreed with the sentiment, if there was one thing he didn't miss it was the arena's sleeping arrangements.

Ranboo stayed. When Techno threw him a look, asking him without words why, the explanation he got was one he'd never seen coming.

"I mean, It just feels kinda... weird? Wrong weird, to be alone in the house at night. Sleep by myself. I don't- I guess I'm not used to it anymore?"

And the couch was just about the same size as their cots had been anyway. Perfectly fit for two people, if they curled up close and didn't mind sharing a blanket.

Which neither Techno nor Ranboo did, of course.

Ranboo didn't know if he should be disappointed that they did not, in the end, were able to burn that server to the ground. Explode it down to bedrock, tear apart its foundations and get some retribution-driven satisfaction out of it.

No, sometimes when things ended they did so quietly. Softly. With not a lot of vengeance to be found in the rubble.

An illegal server existed and then it didn't, the code repurposed and the land it occupied handed off to the responsible instances who would rebuild it into something worthwhile. And the men who tortured them, kept them enslaved, treated them worse than animals, were taken to be judged by a power less personal than what Ranboo would have wished upon them.

Maybe, it was better that way.

Maybe it meant he could leave it behind quicker. Sometimes he was scared, and often he wondered if that was how things were supposed to be. While imprisoned – or at least early on during their imprisonment – he thought he would wake up at home, the whole thing having been nothing but a nightmare. Now he feared the opposite. Now he feared that he would go to bed only to open his eyes in their cell, the three steps wide confinement of stone and the chest with forbidden items under his cot and the constant threat of another match looming over their heads.

Or worse, wake up in that endless dark where he couldn't move or breathe or think.

(Though when he slept on the couch, Techno's arm braced around his shoulder and face smooched into the pillow and tail tucked between his legs, that fear felt a lot less real.)

Phil was the one who kept updated on what was happening in the legal process, and he relayed any important information to Ranboo. Only the important information though, only what mattered. So he couldn't get caught up in it.

He got Ranboo in touch with Clarissa and Mel on his request. There was a lot of work in trying to restart your entire life from scratch. Ranboo didn't envy them.

But he met Mel on a crowded Saturday when Hypixel was overflowing with traffic and Mel's smile finally managed to reach his eyes, brighten sea-green until it almost sparkled with amusement.

Ranboo had cleaned the knife, had gotten all the blood off it before handing it back. It felt right, and it felt final.

"Thank you." Some things couldn't be put into words but he tried.

"I'm glad it helped," Mel answered as if he knew what Ranboo meant either way. As if they had already said enough.

They talked about other things for a bit, pretending that what had happened didn't really matter, or hadn't shaped them into what they were to each other. As Ranboo was about to leave, Mel stopped him.

"Almost forgot, I got you this back." In his hand dangled the golden locket.

"Oh wow... I kind of thought that'd be lost forever." Ranboo took it, opened it. Both pictures were still inside. As if it had never left. As if he had never left. His thumb stroked over the glossy image of Tubbo and Michael, Ranboo felt his heart swell. Tubbo and Tommy had been doing their best to distract him lately. They knew how important it was to Ranboo to keep his mind off things.

"I'm don't know what happened to your other items, sadly. But I hope it means something to at least get this back." Mel grinned.

"It means everything," Ranboo assured him.

All other things could be replaced. Even the memories, and the book that contained them. The locket itself and the pictures inside. Ranboo knew losing those could hurt, would hurt. But it was a loss he could fix.

(What had become so much more important to him was protecting what he wanted to protect.)

Techno's splint had come off and the limp was finally gone. Ranboo watched him scurry around his cabin, into the basement and out of it, up the ladder and back down. Blitz ran around and nipped at Techno's ankles, thinking it some sort of game. Techno was just doing his best not the step on the tiny arctic fox while he collected his gear.

"Dare I want to know what you're doing?" Ranboo asked him once Techno finally stopped moving long enough for Ranboo to catch his attention.

"Look at this," Techno said, throwing a piece of paper at him. Ranboo almost didn't catch it.

He unfurled the map, surprised. "A new one? I thought we'd exhausted them all."

"As did I but, you know, I kind of love being wrong today, Ranboo." Techno pulled on the straps of his boot, giving Blitz a stray pet before straightening. "So, are you coming with me or what?"

(And Ranboo knew what he wanted to protect.)

"Let me grab my gear then, don't want to be caught unprepared and get kidnapped again."

"Ugh, why did you have to mention that," Techno complained mildly. "Chat already thinks it was our fault. No, guys, I told you we didn't take an L it was-"

Ranboo laughed, but then went ahead towards his cabin to get his stuff since Techno wasn't talking to him anymore. He couldn't wait to see what kind of strange adventure awaited them this time.

And that's the end!

As always, thanks for reading, thanks for commenting! You can find me on tumblr under the same username