Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Tommy wouldn't say he's a bad person.

Sure he's done some morally questionable things…like what he’s about to do right now but it's a necessary evil,rent wasn’t gonna pay for itself and with his power he could…provide a little more money if he looked hard enough.

Fighting rings are illegal,usually these are shut down rather quickly by the hero association,but if you knew where to look like he does you'd be able to find them without much trouble,just look for a shady building with a guard and...there it was.

As he walked through the street he saw it,a simple run down building with a strong looking guard with golden skin and eyes that looked like gems,the guard wore a black face mask,a sleeveless dark blue shirt with a small poker chip with a smiley face pinned on it.

if he tried to sneak in there is no chance he can beat this guy in a fight if anything went wrong,he's huge,plus he's never been one to be quiet so sneaking through isnt a good idea,lucky for him he has his power at his side.

so he decided to walk over to an adjacent alley and use his power there.

He gazed into the future of the entrance,his eyes began glowing slightly and he saw a woman with red glasses come up to the guard.

"Today's lucky number is 16,"the woman would say casually.

The guard wouldn't respond, instead stepping to the side to let her through.

so that's the password then,he put on a red facemask and sunglasses before walking over to the guard.

Once he reached the entrance the man stared at him expectantly.

"Today's lucky number is 16," he said as he adjusted his glasses,the guard didn't reply,instead he stepped to the side to grant him access.

"uh thanks,"he mumbled as he entered the building,the interior was simple, only having one staircase to the left.he could barely hear the sound of music coming from below them,he approached the long stairs and started going down them ,he kept going down until reaching the end of the stairs,leading to a single door that he went through after seeing.

As he opened the door and went through it he felt immediate whiplash,there was a strong smell of alcohol and loud music was blasting through some speakers,he closed the door behind him and started to look around.

It was a large room,there was a large fighting ring in the center that was surrounded by stands for the spectators,to the very left of the room there was a bar that sold different drinks and snacks and at the very back there was a booth that he assumed was for betting,and overlooking it all was a balcony,a flight of stairs leading to it,in the balcony there were 6 chairs only two being occupied.

one was occupied by a man in a beanie with a scar going down his left eye wearing a white button up shirt with gold suspenders,the other by a man with brown hair a green suit and glasses,both were wearing the same pin of a poker chip with a smiley face the guard from outside had.

The man in a green suit got up from his chair and went down the flight of stairs microphone in hand as he entered the ring

"Everyone! everyone! Our next match up is starting real soon so this is your last chance to make a wager!and grab a drink while you're at it!"the man said,speaking into a microphone

"This fight will be one for the books! Fan favorite,Rosestorm and member of the vigilante team,the dream team,Dionysus will be going head to head!"Several voices from the crowd could be heard cheering and gasping at the matchup.

"Again! Last call for bets on Rosestorm against Dionysus!"the man said one last time before beginning  to walk away,returning to the balcony.

Several people got up from their seats and walked to what he assumed was the betting booth,Tommy followed them to get in the line,while he waited in line he took the chance to gaze into the future and see the winner.

He gazed into the future to see who would win,his head began ringing slightly and his eyes glowed brighter,but he saw what he needed,a woman with roses weaved in her hair holding a flail standing above a man in a blue trench coat wearing goggles.

As the people made their bets and the line shrank until it was his turn,he walked in front of who was operating it,a teen with a purple hoodie and purple eyes,wearing the same pin he’d seen twice before.

"Hello, I'd like to bet on Rosestorm,"he said as he pulled a 100 dollar bill and slid it along the booth.

"Huh,"the teen said while grabbing the bill"not many bets on Rose today,kinda weird to be honest,"the teen stored the bill in a small safe"what name do i write you down as?" the teen asked as he clicked his pen.

"Tommy."

"Alright then,good luck I guess."

"thanks"he began walking away,not like he needed it.

he walked to one of the stands and took a seat waiting for the match to start,as he waited he saw as the man with the blue trench coat entered,donning clout goggles black trousers with,a belt outfitted with several knives,that was dionysus ,some minutes later the woman with roses in her hair appeared,wearing a red jacket,black shirt,black cargo pants and a red domino mask with black accents,Rosestorm.

As the time for the match grew closer he saw the teen with the purple hoodie place a out of order sign on the betting booth,and a man with orange hair and fox ears wearing a black coat with orange accents leave the bar,both walked up to the balcony and took a seat next to the two people already sat,the man with the green suit got up and tapped the microphone before speaking.

"Everyone please take a seat,bets and the bar have been temporarily closed as the match is about to start!"

"You all know him,the great illusionist,fighting crime whenever he can even if he has to dodge a few cops every once in a while,everyone, can I please get a round of applause for,DIONYSUS!"the crowd cheered as the ring was surrounded in purple fog,the whole room darkening and two spotlights set to one side of the ring,the crowd watched with bated breath as the purple fog converged on the light,a bright light coming from it and suddenly dionysus appeared where the fog was,the crowd cheered with excitement.

"Well,good day everybody!" shouted Dionysus with a cocky grin,the crowd cheered once again.

"IF you come here often then surely you'll know the name Rosestorm,this mercenary hasn't lost a single match here yet and I doubt she plans to start soon!,so,can we all give a loud welcome to ROSESTORM!"the man shouted from above,microphone in hand as the crowd cheered,once again the room darkened,the two spotlights converging the opposite side of Dionysus,when suddenly a flurry of rose petals flew to the Spotlight,Rosestorm standing where the petals once were.

Rosestorm did not address the crowd,instead throwing a few roses to the crowd,the people in the stands clambering to get one.

"now then everyone,you know the rules,no lethal shots and no leaving the ring,whoever knocks the other out or makes the other tap out wins."

Dionysus and Rosestorm nodded.

"Now then,READY?"the man shouted at the microphone,the crowd shouted excitedly while the two fighters drew their weapons.

"FIGHT!"

once the man finished talking Dionysus immediately ran forward with a knife in his hand,Rosestorm parried his swipes with her flail,sending loud clanging noises around the arena,after exchanging a few blows Dionysus jumped back throwing five knives Rosestorms way,she parried three of them but the other two grazed her,after this DIonysus filled the ring with purple fog,running forward towards Rosestorm,Rosestorm opting to roll out of the way instead of engaging,however,Dionysus expecting this threw a knife Rosestorms way,impaling her arm.immediately after sending dozens of clones her way to confuse her.

At that point most spectators had assumed the match was over Dionysus holding the clear advantage,it seemed like he was about to win,however,he knew better.

his powers never failed him,he trusted it.

Several clones ran towards Rosestorm,she steadied herself using her power to turn into a flurry of rose petals to part the fog,once the fog was gone she bolted towards every clone as a flurry of rose petals,one by one. disintegrating them until she reached the real Dionysus,once she hit him he became rose petals as well,purple petals joining red,she flew as high as she could and once she reached a high enough altitude she stopped using her power,Dionysus and Rosestorm were high above the ring and before Dionysus could react she raised her flail and brought it down on his stomach,sending him falling towards the floor,a loud thud being heard across the room,as she fell she used her power to land gracefully,standing above Dionysus.

"Okay! Okay! you win,"Dionysus said while raising his hands in surrender.

"Well it seems we have OUR WINNER!" the man in a green suit at the balcony shouted,the crowd going wild as Rosestorm took a bow in the center of the stage.

While Tommy wasn't really a fan of these fighting rings apart from the money,he has to admit that was a good fight,he saw as the teen with the purple hoodie threw a potion at Rosestorm giving it to Dionysus while she helped him drink it everyone at the balcony started going down, reopening both booths.

Tommy walked towards the betting booth seeing the familiar teen,being first in line he went to talk to him.

"Name?"the teen asked as he grabbed a clipboard.

"Tommy."

The teen looked at the clipboard "Damn,Lucky win man,pretty much everyone was rooting for Dionysus"the teen handed him five 100 dollar bills.

"thanks,"he said as he began walking away.

Usually he’d stay around for at least three matches or so,as people usually got suspicious of some sort of foul play if he stuck around on a winning streak for longer,but with the payday of this one the headache from overusing his power wasn’t worth it,so he went to exit the building wanting to go home.

he stepped outside of the building fresh air immediately hitting him in the face,he walked past the guard of the building and started making his way back home,whenever he goes to a fighting ring it's always a gamble how far it will be from his apartment,luckily,this one is only about 30 minutes away,though he can probably get back in 20 if he takes a few shortcuts.

Taking a few shortcuts was a mistake.

In his defence how was he supposed to know his power was going to act up 5 minutes in,i mean who the fuck expects a building to collapse on you while walking through the street,thankfully his power saved his ass by showing him a vision of him crushed in rubble,wich was a dick move but really got the point across,he made sure to run in the opposite direction to avoid being crushed,he chalked it up to shitty architecture,strangely however some guy was standing infront of the rubble.

who the fuck?

As if that wasn't confusing enough the guy jerked their head in his direction looking at him through their sunglasses,and bolted their way to him,he swears it looked like they were being led to him almost,in a blink of an eye they were in front of him.

"Jesus fuck asshole!,personal space!"he shouted as he pushed them away "ever heard of it?" he asked sarcastically.

The person did not respond,they only stared at him.

"Oi bitch!"he shouted"the fucks your deal?"

Now Tubbo always says he has zero self preservation instincts,which he would call bullshit on,he has his power which has to count for something in his opinion,but here he has to agree with him as he realizes who he's been shouting at.

Getting a closer look at him he sees the dark sunglasses,the crown,purple cape,the white dress shirt,black cargo pants and platform boots,this isn't some random asshole he's been shouting at,no,that's a supervillain.

The Medium.

Guess it wasn't shitty architecture.

As he realizes this he takes a step back as the medium takes another step towards him.

"Why are they so interested in you?"the Medium asked as they took their glasses off,revealing glowing white eyes.

"W-what?"he asked,looking for some sort of escape route.

"What's so special about you?"the Medium asked as they began to circle around him.

"What isn't?,amirite!"That clearly wasn't the answer they were looking for,as they drew their spear to point it at his neck.

"How about you try again?"

Now Tommy wouldn't say he's completely informed in the whole heroes and villains shit but,he knew enough about Medium to know that the ‘they’ that were interested in him were probably those creepy ass ghosts that follow him or however the hell they're power works,and the only thing he had that could interest them was…

Oh.

The only thing they would be interested in from him is his power.

And there is no way he ever lets someone get their hands on it again.

There has to be a way out of this,and he will find it.

He gazed into the future,he saw what would happen if he tried to fight them ,it ended with his throat sliced,less than a minute after that,a hero arrives,and begins fighting Medium.

He just has to stall for a minute or so,simple enough.

"you'll have to be a bit more specific than that,"he blurted out,doing his best to remain calm.

"Well then,you know of my power,yes?"the Medium asked,tilting their head to the side.

"uhhh,no," This is perfect! this self obsessed bitch is probably going to go on about their shitty power,this shits a walk in the par-

"I hear the dead,and they're saying that there's something interesting about you,any ideas of what that might be?"

Well shit,now he has to think.

"uhhh well,like,uhhh,"he said, scrambling for a response,"you got any examples?"he asked.

The Medium stood there for a few seconds before answering,"How about any hybrid traits? or your power."

"hybrid traits right, i got nothing there,and the whole power,well my powers boring ya know real shit stu-"

"what is it then?"

"uh what's what?"he asked, trying to feign confusion.

"your power,obviously."

"my power right i uhh," fuck fuck fuck, "i can read emotions!"he shouted,clearly panicked.

"Really?"the Medium asked,disbelief clear in their voice.

"Ahhh yup,that's me! number one empath here at your service!"he said pointing finger guns at Medium. 

Wait,why the fuck did he do finger guns.

"Really,then,what am I feeling right now?"the Medium asked,unamused.

"uh right,you're uh feeling a lot of feelings i can feel it,let me uh,let me grab them"he declared looking at Medium.

"Grab them?"the Medium asked.

"uh yup just gotta,ya know."

"I really don't,"the Medium barked,glaring at him.

Ah fuck,he’s always been shit at reading people,thats Tubbos thing,but he has to try.

he hummed for about five seconds before speaking,"you’re happy!"

"Am i now?"the Medium asked,anger clear in their voice.

"...yup!"he said hesitantly.

"alright i'm done with th-"

"MEDIUM!"

from the other side of the street,a voice shouted,it was distorted from a voice changer. The person wore a yellow winter coat,a pair of snow goggles,shoes that looked like ice skates without the skate bit and a large piece of cloth covering from his neck up to his face.

It was the hero Frostbite.

Before the Medium could properly react a barrage of ice was thrown at them,they quickly dodged out of the way.

Using this window Frostbite pushed himself with a block of ice towards the Medium,they pulled out a baton and readied to hit them,but before he could,a wave of souls stopped him,pushing him back.

Now,Tommy knew when to get the hell out of dodge,sprinting past the two that were fighting,trying to get home before more bullshit happened.

Thankfully,he managed to get back to his apartment without any interruption this time,taking off his mask and glasses before entering the building and going up the stairs until he reached the 6th floor,going to his door only to find Tubbo in a green shirt and khakis,holding a large black duffle bag,in the process of opening it.

"Tubbo?"he asked,surprised to see him entering the apartment so late.

"Ah T-tommy,what are you doing here?"Tubbo asked with a panicked smile as he clutched the duffel bag tightly.

"I live here?"he asked, confused at the reaction.

"Well just surprised you're out late is all,let's just go inside"Tubbo began opening the door.

That was weird…but Tubbo dosent have to tell him everything he does,Tommy doesn't tell anyone about his little betting escapades after all.

The door opened and Tubbo stepped inside,he followed behind him.

"Well I'm going to go take a shower you do whatever i guess,"Tubbo said as he began walking to the bathroom,bringing the duffel bag with him.

while tubbo walked away he took his jacket off throwing it towards their couch,and put a more comfortable hoodie he had left there on instead,he walked to the kitchen and poured himself a glass of water downing it all before heading to their small closet,looking around before finding a small metal box,opening it and putting the five bills he had won,after that he headed to their shared bedroom,he quietly opened the door seeing Ranboo asleep on the left side of the large bed,the beds blanket covering him,as quietly as he could.

He kicked his sneakers off and got on the bed going down below the covers before lying down in the middle,he laid there for a bit and sighed.

Tonight was pretty fucked,hopefully he never had to deal with that bullshit again.

he’s…had his fill on bastards going after his power,all he could do was hope nothing like that would happen again.

Tommy was used to waking up in different ways,with a simple yawn,in a cold sweat,being shoved out the bloody bed,or in this case by being smacked across the face,as he got up he could see the culprit,Tubbo somehow starfishing and hitting him straight in the face.

 oh fucking great.

Tubbo kept snoring as if nothing had happened,he noticed Ranboo was gone,he had the morning shift so he's either getting ready or already gone,he stretched for a moment letting out a yawn before getting out of bed,he exited their bedroom to find the kitchen empty,two plates of eggs laid in the counter.

Alright breakfast is sorted, he went back to their bedroom to get Tubbo,Ranboo was the only person in the house that could cook and end up with something that tasted good,working at a cafe probably helped him,plus he got some free pastries every once in a while.

He reached the bedroom to find Tubbo sound asleep.

"Payback bitch!"he shouted,before shoving Tubbo off the bed,falling with a squawk.

"what the fuck!you asshole,"croaked Tubbo as he got up from the floor.

"That's payback for fucking punching me,Ranboo went to work already so we should be up anyways,"he chided while heading off to the kitchen.

"Yeah yeah I'm coming,"Tubbo said,following him into the kitchen.

After they both reached the counter they grabbed a fork and knife each and went to their couch,he picked up the tv remote and turned on the tv landing on a sports channel.

"put something else,"Tubbo said  while taking a bite of his egg.

"fuckin give me a minute man,"he started changing the channel on the tv before eventually landing on a news channel and putting the remote back on the table.

"-dium was responsible for the collapse,it is unclear what Medium's motivations for the attack were,an investigation is already underway by the hero association,more information will be disclosed as soon as possible."

"did they blow up a fucking building!?"shouted Tubbo in surprise.

"Apparently,"he choked out,looking away.

"Wait, why are you scared?That building was probably pretty far from here if we didn't know about it,plus it was definitely abandoned or some shit if they could rig explosives"said Tubbo looking worriedly at him.

"i,well-"Tubbo was great but he hated his power sometimes,being able to know what people are feeling,sometimes even feeling them himself was annoying,someone ate the last cookie?you bet your ass Tubbo was going to sniff the guilt out,fucking asshole.

"in other news,"the tv began making noise again as the news reporter went onto the next subject."a new vigilante has been spotted  in the southern areas of the outer districts,not much is know except that they apparently go by the name the iron bee,they were seen wear-"before she could keep going Tubbo quickly grabbed the remote from the table,placing his plate of eggs on the table and changed to a random channel,a documentary on bats popping up.

"aww i wanted to know what the bitch looked like,"he whined taking another bite of his eggs/

"well too much fucking super bitch stuff ya know,"Tubbo sputtered as he grabbed his plate again and taking another bite of the eggs.

"yeah sure whatever,"he muttered with eggs still in his mouth.

"fuckin chew jesus,"Tubbo complained with a disgusted look.

"I am chewing though!"he retorted,while eating more eggs.

"Whatever I guess,"Tubbo rolled his eyes and took another bite of his eggs.

The two sat in silence after that,both eating from their eggs,not paying attention to the documentary.

"Well," Tubbo got up from the couch, "i'm gonna go finish up a job i have,i might head over to your store,cash in on that friends and family discount you know," as he finished talking he started going back to their bedroom.

"i dont have a friends and family discount you just fucking shoplift!"he shouted at him.

"same thing!"Tubbo shouted back.

"Whatever, go back to hacking bitch!"he shouted as he picked up both plates and placed them at the sink.

"It's not hacking!"Tubbo shouted back,sounding annoyed.

"It's weird colorful numbers in a black background so it's hacking!"he shouted back while heading back to the couch,he had around two hours to burn before he had to get going to his shift,changing the channel to a game show,an hour later of watching random shit on the tv he shut it off,going to the bathroom to brush his teeth,after that he went to the bedroom,finding Tubbo typing away at his laptop.

"Alright bitch"he proclaimed while grabbing his sneakers from the floor, "I'm leaving,"he sat on the bed and started putting his sneakers on.

"Alright,don't die!"sang tubbo, not taking his eyes off the screen.

"oh fuck man,im gonna outlive you out of spite and im gonna be alive and well hugging Ranboo as he cries at your funeral!"

"Can you two send my body to space when I die?" asked Tubbo looking up from the screen.

"what the fuck?"he said snapping his head towards Tubbo,his eyes blown wide.

"It would be pretty cool,"Tubbo mumbled before looking back at the screen.

"Alright sure man, I'm going to head out now for real,"he said as he walked out the bedroom heading for the front door before exiting his apartment.

Wilbur was not having a good day.

He was on patrol yesterday,being one of the heroes that was assigned to the outer districts he was usually in charge of stopping some muggings,stopping drug deals,busting a fighting ring or stopping robberies,it was rare that something big happened like a fucking building blowing up,but thats what was happening,after seeing the explosion he immediatly rushed over to it as fast as he could,he didnt know how a fucking building got blown up but he was going to find out what or who was responsible goddammit,he made several slopes and ramps of ice,using the ice to slide to the area as fast as possible,eventually he reached the remains of the building and found the culprit.

"MEDIUM!" he shouted,he’d recognize that spear anywhere,and if that wasn't enough no one wore a fucking crown and cape around.

well…except Ares technically,But that's besides the point,because they are pointing their spear at some random guy,seeing this he sends a volley of ice at Medium,they manage to dodge in time but he quickly pushes himself with some ice,unsheathing his baton going in for a hit,but,Medium seeing this,sent a wave of souls towards him,pushing him back.

"Fight me yourself coward,"he said as he pushed himself forward again.

"Tch"a legion of souls appeared behind the Medium,"no thanks,"the Medium said,as several of the souls went forward.

He was blown back again as the souls struck him.

"Oh so that's how we're playing,alright then,"as he shouted at the Medium,the street they were standing on was frozen over,as he did this he jumped forward,clicking a button on his left wrist,the bottom of his shoes extended from the bottom becoming ice skates.

As he landed he began skating forwards towards the Medium while they were disoriented by the new terrain,while skating forward he used his power to extend his baton,becoming a bat,he reached the Medium and struck them with his bat,sending them flying backwards through the ground.

As they were sent backwards,the Medium's souls stopped them from sliding too far,bringing them to a halt,once this happened the Medium stood up,using their spear to steady themselves.

"Well this has been lovely,but i really should get going"once the Medium finished speaking,souls crowded behind them,imitating a throne,they walked towards it and sat on it,after doing so,the throne began levitating,beginning to take them away.

"No you dont fucker,"he muttered under his breath as he skated to follow them.

"You should really give up,Frosty,"the Medium sang,while several souls converged on their hand,forming some sort of sphere.

"Kind of my job not to."

"Well,be my guest I suppose,"as the Medium finished speaking,they lobbed the sphere towards Frostbite,exploding in a flurry of souls on impact.

"Fucker!"he shouted as he lost his balance,falling to the floor.

"Byeee!The Medium sang as they kept floating away before they disappeared from view as they took a turn.

"Son of a bitch!"he shouted,as he clicked the button on his wrist,pulling the skates back to his shoes. As he tried to stand up,he slipped on the floor,falling again.

He melted the ice,evaporating it,before standing up again.

He'd go after Medium usually,but the whole blown up building thing is more concerning to him,he ran back to where the building had blown up,all that stood there was a pile of rubble.

There probably wasn't anyone inside if they could blow it up in the first place,thank god.

As he looked around he remembered the guy Medium was pointing their spear at.

It seems like whoever they were got out once he arrived,he's glad they didn't get hurt at least,he stood in front of the rubble for a minute thinking of what to do, choosing to turn on the communicator in his ear.

"i don't really know what the fu-"

"Ello,"he said to the air.

"Will,mate,where are you?"Phil asked quickly.

"dealing with a building,it's a pile of rubble,Medium was the culprit and the culprit escaped,"he said,tiredly.

"the one that got blown up in the outer districts?"

"Yeah,that one,"he clarified .

"Well that's unfortunate,"a new voice said from the comm.

"Oh niki!"

"Hey Will,you need help with anything?I could be there in a few minutes,"niki said,concern lacing her voice.

"Nah,no one to fight and no one to save,unless you want to write my report?"

"Oh bug off Will,"niki said,both amused and annoyed.

"Well I'll write it myself then,I'll finish off patrol now,goodbye you two."

"bye Will."

"bye mate."

as both voices were heard from the comm he turned it off,heading off to keep patrolling the area.

Nothing interesting happened after that,just the usual,but the person Medium threatened stayed on his mind,he wondered why Medium threatened them.

Oh well,I can't do anything about it now.

After he finished patrol he went back home,he lived in a nice apartment provided by the hero association,it wasnt huge or lavish,but for one person and for free it was a damn steal.

He went to shower after arriving,being a hero worked up a sweat after all.After that,he changed into more comfortable clothes before going to bed. It was late but he always patrolled at night so he was used to it,he always went to bed as soon as possible on Tuesday,Wednesday and Thursday.

He had a part time job,but he treated it more as a hobby honestly.

All his friends called him insane that he'd work retail for fun,he enjoyed the simplicity of it and a petty part of him enjoyed annoying particularly rude customers.

So he went to bed,he slept and woke up in the morning as always,he checked the time and.

11:00am.

"Shit"he said,looking at the clock.

He quickly jumped out of bed and ran to get ready,he went to the kitchen and looked through the fridge and he saw a hot pocket.

That will have to do.

He put the hot pocket in the microwave before going back to his room to look for clothes to get into,finding some jeans and a light blue button up,he quickly began putting on the clothes,he put on the shirt before the jeans,as he put on the jeans a beeping sound came from the kitchen.

The food,his brain supplied.

He immediately went to get the hot pocket,and tripped on himself,the jeans not fully on.

"Oh fuck off,"he breathed exasperatedly while standing up,he put on the khakis right this time before going to the kitchen,grabbing the hot pocket and immediately taking a bite out of it

Shit thats hot.

He went to the trash can and spat it in,creating an ice cube to cool his mouth.Well,at least this day can't get any worse.

Wilbur's day got worse.

As he went to work,he managed to trip not once,not twice,but four fucking times.he saw a big ass rat scurrying along and for a moment he thought Phill might have a message for him.

That was of course until the rat threw up on the floor,staring at Wilbur in the eyes.

Wilbur,being normal,unlike Phill,ran away from the freaky rat,as he ran,he tripped again because of fucking course he did,he dosent know what god he pissed off but they can go fuck off as far as hes concerned.

After what wilbur dubbed as ‘the rat incident’ he managed to get to work relatively unscathed,except tripping again because of fucking course he did.

He made it to the convenience store,it being already open,he pulled out his phone and stared at the time.

12:17.

Shit.

Tommys going to be so mad.

Eret was having a wonderful day.

They blew up a building last night,finding what they thought was an important lead,causing a general ruckus,making a fool of an arrogant man.It was very fun and productive, honestly,they even got to fight Frostbite for a bit before fleeing.

But if one thing never left their mind it was that boy.

They remember how the souls were speaking to them,speaking of a witness,how a boy was watching them,a boy they once knew.

The souls described him as someone with great power,they said he had blue eyes that were covered by his glasses,they said he's been betting.

They say he's familiar.

So Eret of course went up to him,now,they will admit they probably looked rather threatening,but they are a villain,they are threatening.

The souls were usually never so interested in someone,so to say they were intrigued was a understatement

The boy was clearly panicked once he realized who he was antagonizing,they'll be the first to admit that he was annoying,treating them like a joke.

Was pulling their spear on him a bit harsh?

Maybe,but they didn't care,the souls kept talking about him as if he was important.

They needed to know why.

So they talked to him,tried to get some answers,they tried to give him time they really did!,they could tell he was panicking once they asked what was special about them,they took their glasses off to try and get him to calm down but the whole glowing eyes thing might have had the opposite effect.

Oh well.

The boy,actually a teen once they got a better look at him tried to lie his way out of their questions.

Reading emotions wasn't a bad lie,if you knew how to read people even a bit you could get away with it.

"You’re happy!"

he clearly wasn't though.

They were going to be more direct,well,that was until-

"MEDIUM!"

The cavalry arrived.

After that they were too focused on the hero to care about some teen the souls were interested in,the fight was going well in their opinion,Frostbite was always annoying to fight but they could have managed.

In the end it didn't matter,they came here to blow up a building and loot it, not beat up some hero.

So they left,went back home,turned their power off once they arrived,took a nice bath,put on some comfortable pink pajamas and went to bed.

Once they woke up they went to their kitchen.Eret lived under a warehouse in the lower districts,they had to admit it sounded bad on paper.

But robbing banks played quite well,even if he didnt rob them often.

They could honestly afford anything they wanted,they could move somewhere far away,and live at the height of luxury for the rest of their life.

But that's not what they want .

They want revenge.

When they were young,barely thirteen,they were taken,those people wanted their power,they wanted to speak to the dead,with Eret around,death wasnt the end,they could send people on suicide missions and have them report back while dead,they could have souls as their little spies,reporting on anything they saw,gathering information,wether it be hero patrol routes or where something was in a room or even new potential captures with interesting powers.

And Eret obliged,how could they not after all,they were weak,defenseless,and nobody was coming to save them.

People don't know much about their power.

They assume they can just boss these souls around and they'll do their bidding,that these souls are everywhere,as if the souls that help them were just at the wrong place at the wrong time.

That could not be further from the truth.

They call these souls from beyond,they do not loiter,they ask these souls questions,and should they wish to they will answer.

That's what they thought their power was when they were a prisoner,but once they turned seventeen,they learned so much more.

Of course during their imprisonment they learned a lot, they learned how to pull more and more souls at once,they learned how to allow them to stay for long periods,they learned how to seek a specific soul out.

But the most important thing they learned,at age seventeen,was how to lend them strength.

Eret does not puppeteer an array of souls,they command them,like a general would,the souls trust them fully,and they trust them in return.

people think they move them,make them dance against their will,but they only guide them,should a soul wish to leave they easily could.

Once they learned how to lend them strength they practiced in secret,during their imprisonment the souls were their only company,the same few always staying with them,they were victims like them,only unlucky enough to be experimented on or killed for not being good enough.

They planned with these souls,they summoned several others from beyond that could help them,tacticians,warriors,spies,they needed all the help they could.

It's a good thing it was all available.

They sent the souls on reconnaissance missions,they got the layout of the building until finally,3 years later,they were strong enough.

They sent a soul,and they opened their door,another two brought them a pistol and a few knives,another went around,freeing every prisoner they could,,another shut off the building's power,another brought them night vision goggles,another two went around,stalling every guard they could.

At that point,their victory was guaranteed.

That day,Eret was freed.

That day the Medium was born.

And they were out for blood.

They went around,slaughtering as many guards,scientists or workers that were in the building being careful to avoid the prisoners.

All the prisoners fled that day.

So did many workers.

Oh well.

they'll get them eventually.

After escaping,they waited for the souls to make sure that no prisoners were still in the building,and once they had the confirmation,well.

the souls managed to get them things from far places and without being spotted.

matches and gasoline,were a cake walk for them.

they swore they would make them all pay,they would have their crusade against those that wronged them.

And many souls wanted to come along for the ride.

Well, who were they to complain about?

What's a show without an audience,after all.

They sat in front of the burning building,several souls watching along,all reveling in the destruction.

That was a good day.

but they had more pressing concerns,as much as they'd like to reminisce.

Looking back at their interaction with the teen,they saw themselves in him a bit.

He was scared because of his power,so was Eret while they were captured.

They were beginning to pick up the pieces.

They needed more though.

They reactivated their power,calling forth their usual crowd of souls,as they did so immediately they all crowded around them.

"Hello everyone"they spoke to the souls,greetings werent neccesary with their ussual possy,but it's rude not to greet guests.

"As you may remember,many of you were quite interested in that teen from yesterday,would you mind telling me why?"they asked,raising an eyebrow.

"The seer."

"Prophet."

"He sees."

"Child."

"Free."

"prisoner."

"Tick,tick."

"He can turn the page."

"He can hold the pen,should he grab it!"

The souls screamed over each other,trying to be heard.

Now the souls Eret summoned were no fools,quite the opposite,however,one of the drawbacks of their power was that most souls were not the best at explaining themselves,opting for words or sentences that sound like gibberish to them,but what the souls are saying right now was probably the best they would be getting.

They'd get better answers from the source though.

They sighed before speaking"alright,that's enough,i don't fully understand what you‘re saying, but,you‘re all rather interested in him yeah?"They asked, knowing the answer,"so,how about we go find him some other day and ask him some questions,"they asked,a small smile forming on their lips.

"The boy."

"Find the prophet."

"The boy."

"Child."

"Find him."

"Alright,i'll add that to the list i suppose," they said,rolling their eyes going to the pantry and pulling out some bread,putting it on a toaster,while the toast was cooking they went to grab a few eggs,cracking them on a bowl,a few souls  brought cooking supplies,whether it be useful like a whisk,or,from the less culinary adept,a blender.

"ah thanks you guys,"they said while grabbing the whisk and blender,setting the blender aside.

As they began preparing the scrambled eggs,they thought they might as well make use of the blender,leaving the bowl of eggs for a minute.they went to the fridge,grabbing a few fruits to make a drink.

They threw a assortment of fruit on the blender before turning it on,the eggs were good in their opinion so they poured them on the pan,ready to finish it,as they did so,the toast popped out of the microwave,a soul retrieving them while another pulled out a plate,after a moment,the eggs were done,a soul brought the plate the toast were placed on and Eret placed the eggs in it,they went to the blender and grabbed it,going to grab a glass and pouring themselves a smoothie,they grabbed the plate from the soul and placed it on their counter,a soul had set a matt and cutlery on it already,they sat down and ate their breakfast.

They didn't know what they'd do today.

Maybe they could hang out with Foolish or Puffy.

Or they could be productive and find someone who can fix the hard drive they got from the building.

Or they could find the teen.

Eh screw it,they did enough yesterday,they're going to have some non crime related fun.

Philza wasn't having an eventful day yet.

Yesterday he was at the hero headquarters working on an investigation when Niki sent him a message.

Corrosion:Phil.

Corrosion:Phil.

Corrosion:turn your communicator on.

Phil,seeing this, did as he’s told,grabbing the communicator he left on his desk,putting it on his ear and turning it on.

"Hey Niki,what's the matter?"he asked,not taking his eyes off his papers.

"Phil,there's been an explosion in the south,"Niki informed,in a serious tone of voice.

After hearing this Phill got up from his desk,going over to the bathroom his office had to pull out his hero costume,"Shit,how can I help?"

"The building was uninhabited,it was an old warehouse,it used to store products for a soap company,I'm heading there already anyways."

He stopped in his tracks as he heard this.”Then,why'd you ask me to turn on my communicator?''he asked,confusion lacing his tone.

"The company's name sounded familiar,it could be a gut feeling but I needed to be sure,"Niki answered apologetically.

Phill sighed once he heard this."alright what's the company's name,i'll check it out.”

"Thanks Phill,it used to be called Aether paradise."

"Alright"he went to sit at his desk again"i'll see if i find anything,"he went to look through past reports first,searching Aether paradise he found nothing,he tried searching paradise after that,but the results didn't have anything to do with the soap company,looking up aether only however,he found something that interested him.

A large building in the lower districts had burned down 7 years ago,the investigation was dubbed the ‘outer district experimentation case’ even though they never found anything else,most people kept their eye on it,all because of one piece of paper that survived the fire.

                                   Ye-rl-  Repor-

• —  ——.  20–

Th-s y-ar importan- devel-pments have be-n made.

Cont--nment plant Beta h-s b--- de-med acc-pt-ble for containment of h-gh v---e su-j--ts.

Subjects to consider relocali-ation

Subj-ct [REDACTED] has been cleared for reloc---on in a months t-me,if project [REDACTED] is a pos-ibility then securing s-bject [REDACTED] is cru-ial,even if the project is impossible,subject [REDACTED] h-s pr---- ti-- and time aga-- it- us-,since it is y-ung,sti-- n-t re-----g age 10,it- reloca---- sh---- be eas-

More experimentation r-quired to confi--possibility of project [REDACTED]

——ect  ——— has been deemed not important enough to warrant relocation.

------- w--v- while highly important,it is too large of a threat to b- reloc---- to such a ---- ---- fa------,it is b--- c-n-----ed to con----ct a l-- t--- c------ to a--om----- su----- w----,how---- t-- 's---- on subj--- w----‘s pow-r in a s---la--- e-------- has b--- conduc--- by do-tor [REDACTED] there are no p---- to ch---- su----- ------ location or enviromen-

Subject chann-l is the m--- u----- sub----,behind [REDACTED] of course,relo------ subje-- c------l has b--- consi-----,but it is n-- b--- en---- o- a threat to warra-- its reloca----,h------ w-th s---ect c------l bei-- the olde-- s----ct,be---- 17,it- reloc----- sho--- be ke-t i- mind if i- be----- rebellious

———- ——— terminated

Of course the main concern behind pro---- [REDACTED] is project r-d pa-----e,obtain--- fun-- is the m-st impo-ta-t con--rn,several establi--me--- have been ma-- to ----- funds to re- p--a-----,the mo-t succes---- being cl--- bo-----,t-- rest have not bee- notewo----,aether p------e being the l---- succ--------,its term------- is b---- co--------.

aether..

Several of the words are indecipherable,a few even being redacted,but some things could be understood clearly.

They're experimenting on people.

They were experimenting on children.

They looked around the building in search of more information,they found nothing but dead bodies,blood,and cells.

Phill’s always kept the case in the back of his mind,the paper,as charred as it was could be deciphered to an extent,the beginning mentioned a containment plant,they’ve never found anything that could fit that.

These people are still out there.

but the word aether is there,and if he fills in the blanks a little then…

He began writing down the last paragraph of the documents,filling the blanks with possible words they've tried before but they've never been sure of the context to make a definitive guess,if the paragraph has aether paradise in it,then surely it has to do with money.

Of course the main concern behind pro ject [REDACTED] is project r e d pa- a--- e,obtain ing fu nds is the m o st impo r ta n t con ce rn,several establi sh me nts have been ma de to ----- funds to re d p a- a---- e ,the mo s t succes sful being cl--- bo------,t he rest have not bee n notewo rthy ,aether para dis e being the l east   succ essful ,its term ination is b eing co nsidered .

"holy shit,"he breathed out with a gasp,dropping the pen he was writing with.

"What Phil did you find something?"Niki asked quickly.

"I- Niki, do you know about the fire seven years ago?"

"I joined the heroes four years ago, Phil,and there's a lot of fires,be more specific."

"There was a large building that burned down seven years ago,the people inside were slaughtered by something that wasn't the fire,and all that was found was this paper,most people call it the outer district experimentation case."

"Wait,"she mused,"holy shit,the one that people still try to piece together sometimes,the one with the subjects and projects?"

"Yes,that one exactly,the bottom paragraph had the word aether in it. I wrote it down and tried correcting things and I'm pretty confident it has to do with getting money for some projects,it said aether paradise was the least successful."

"what the fuck,how the hell..i,what,we need to investigate the building as soon as possible."

"I agree,what's the earliest you and Jack can go?”

"I could call him,I'm sure we could go tomorrow though.”

"thanks niki,i don't really know what the fu-"

"Ello," Wilbur said through the communicator.

"Will,mate,where are you?"he asked quickly.

"dealing with a building,it's a pile of rubble,Medium was the culprit and the culprit escaped."Wilbur said tiredly.

"the one that got blown up in the outer districts?"

"Yeah,that one," Wilbur clarified.

"Well that's unfortunate,"Niki said .

"Oh niki!"

"Hey Will,do you need help with anything? I could be there in a few minutes."

"Nah,no one to fight and no one to save,unless you want to write my report?"

"Oh bug off Will,"Niki said,both amused and annoyed.

"Well I'll write it myself then,i’ll finish off patrol now,goodbye you two."

"bye Will."

"bye mate."

After that,Wilbur left the channel.

"Well,once you’re there with Jack, tell me if you find something,I'm going to try and piece the document together as best I can,"he said,tiredly.

"Alright then,I'll head out,I'll make sure to shoot Jack a message,signing off now"as she finished talking Niki logged off her comm,Phill following suit,trying to make sense of that dreaded document.

he couldn't make any definitive guesses.

The day after,he went to work like any other day.

Philza wasn't having an eventful day yet.

but he knew it would be.

All he had to do was wait.

Tommy arrived at work,a dreamers paradise,a little convenience store lit up by a neon blue sign.

he took over the shift and manned the register,he was still missing Wilbur though.

Wilbur was a prick,a prick he would call a friend but a prick still,but he was still on time,so all he had to do was wait for a few minutes.

yup,a few minutes.

A few minutes later,Tommy decided he was going to kill that bitch.

The latest wilbur has been in what is almost a year now,was 7 minutes,and it was raining that day so he got a pass,right now,not a fucking drop of rain and hes sixteen fucking minutes late.

No,he wasn't worried,if anyone said so he'd kill them after he got to wilbur,he was almost considering using his power when suddenly the prick decided to show up.

"Wilbur,"he said as he glared at him,"you're late."

Wilbur sighed before speaking,"I know,I know sorry,the world decided it was against me today."

"shut the fuck up,go man the other register before more customers come in."

"Aye aye cap'n,"he chanted as he went to the register next to his.

"Worlds against you today?"he asked with a small smile.

"Big fucking rat,"Wilbur said,as if that explained everything.

"Wonderfully put, big man,"he rolled his eyes,their ‘conversation’ was interrupted as a customer got to the register with a few items,they both began working,errant conversation being shared between them whenever customers weren't at the register. This kept going until 2 hours later.

"God,Tommy, we need to restock the shelves."

"We?,last i checked you were late today so go stock shelf boy."

"Fuck off,"Wilbur flipped him off while going to the back for things to stock the shelves with.

as if he was watching,Tubbo came inside right at that moment.

"Gonna buy some shit bossman,I'll be quick,"Tubbo shouted as he ran through the aisles.

Godfucking dammit,he shook his head,Tubbo was going to get him fired one day.

True to his word,he could see tubbo less than a minute later come out with several drinks and bags of snacks.

"Bye!"Tubbo sang as he bolted through the door.

"One of these days youre gonna get me fucking fired,"he mumbled as he watched Wilbur come out from the back,with a box full of drinks.

"Stocking!"Wilbur called out as he went to stock the drinks.

Well,at least there haven't been any annoying customers yet.

Niki was,to say the least,nervous.

She had no idea what to expect while she was approaching the remains of the building in El rapids.She was wearing her hero costume,a black gas mask outfitted with a voice changer and a black leather jacket over a green shirt,once she got close enough she could see no one was there,just the pile of rubble.

"Sightseer,I've arrived at the site,what's your status?"she asked at the comm.

"I'm almost there jus-oh! I see you,i'm waving at you,"Sightseer said,she looked around the area until she found Jack at a nearby roof,waving at her,he was wearing his hero costume,sporting red and blue glasses a bulky black face mask that served as a voice changer and a blue and black striped hoodie.

"Get down here then,"as she finished talking she turned off her comm,she could see jack getting down from the building and begin walking to her.

"So,what's the plan,corrosion?"Jack asked.

"We need to find something here,we don't know what to expect,I was thinking you could use your power and I could melt anything that's in the way of…whatever it is you find."

"Okay"Jack said while taking off his glasses,eyes glowing an unnatural red.

"Lets see,"Jack squinted his eyes while looking around the rubble"ah,found something,there's some sort of basement around the back of the rubble"Jack began walking forwards to what he found,she followed him.

They kept walking until Jack stopped on a certain spot"it's down here"Jack pointed at a spot right at his feet.

"Alright then,move,"she said, Jack nodded and moved away from the spot,after that she opened her palm and aimed it at the spot pointed at,she shot out a stream of green acid at it,melting the rubble from the spot.

As she melted more of the rubble she found a hatch,she tried opening it but it was stuck so she decided to melt it,it took longer to melt,but she got it done eventually.

"Done!"she shouted at Jack,motioning for him to get nearer.

"Well,what are we waiting for then?"Once he saw the entrance he jumped down it,landing a few feet below.

"Coming,"She shouted,before jumping down with jack.

The room below the warehouse's remains was small,it had a small table off to the side with a few clearly empty boxes thrown around,it was clear it was ransacked.

"What happened here,you told me it had to do with the experimentation case but you never told me why they were connected,"Jack asked as he looked at her.

"This warehouse used to store products for a company called aether paradise,Phil thinks it was some sort of way for whoever was responsible for that facility to launder money."

"Fuckin hell,and you said the Medium was involved somehow?"

"They were the ones who blew this up."

"Let's hope we get something good then,"Jack began looking around the room,until eventually locking on a corner in the room.

"There's something down there,"Jack said while pointing at the corner.

"Do I just melt the corner then?"she asked.

"I..yeah,lets try that,it's rather far so make a tunnel."

"Got it,step back,"she walked forwards and stood a few steps away from the corner,Jack walked to the opposite side of the room.

she pointed her palm at the corner and sent a stream of acid at it,she made the hole much bigger than before.

" Stop,you're getting close now,"Jack called out,she nodded before stepping into the makeshift tunnel,looking through it she could notice a small patch metal through all the concrete.she slid down the tunnel and began trying to melt it,it melted slowly unlike the rest of the rubble,but after a while she managed to make a hole large enough for her and Jack to step inside.

Once the hole was done,she stepped through,Jack following behind her.

The piece of metal she had melted was a wall,leading to a simple room,practically an oversized box,the only thing inside was a lighter on the floor,and a corkboard.

a corkboard, that was currently on fire.

"FUCK!" Jack shouted as he ran towards it,he tried to pull it off"its fucking stuck put the fire out!"he commanded as he took his hoodie off and started trying to stamp out the fire,she ran forward seeing this and took off her jacket to help Jack,they took a few seconds but they managed to put out the fire.

"Oh no,"she shuddered as she looked at the corkboard,several pieces were cut out of it and it was covered in ash from the fire.

"DAMMIT,"Jack shouted as he clenched his fists,he began pacing around the room,"god we were this close,this fucking close and it just fucking slipped through the cracks,"he ranted angrily.

She decided to try and dust away the ash,she didn't find anything for a while,until she hit a lump at the top right of the board.

oh?

"Sightseer,"she spoke,as she prodded around the spot.

"Did you find something?"Jack stopped his pacing and went to stand behind her.

"Hold on,"she shushed as she began pulling at the spot,until eventually she managed to pull out what the lump was,a small ash covered disc,she blew on top of it and dusted the remains of ash.

a poker chip with a smiley face stared back.

"Well,"she turned around to face Jack,"at least we’re not leaving empty handed."

It was 5:00 pm and Tommy's shift was over,he and Wilbur stepped outside as the next worker took over.

"Well,I'll be going,my roommate should be here to pick me up soon."

"Of course,same time tomorrow?"Wilbur asked with a smile. 

"I'm not looking to get fired, dumbass,"he retorted.

"just making sure."

He was about to fire back,but he was interrupted by his phone ringing,he grabbed it to check the contact and saw Ranboos name on the screen.

"shit,he's here,bye will!"he waved before walking away towards a nearby alley.

‘Bye!"Wilbur called out as he walked away.

Tommy kept walking,taking a few turns before ending at an alley,Ranboo standing at the end of it shrouded by darkness.

"hello ominous shadow!"he smiled as he approached him.

"I'm not ominous!"Ranboo protested.

"You look very ominous from the entrance, big man,"he responded as he stepped beside him.

Ranboo sighed before speaking,"whatever,lets just go,"he snapped his fingers and created a purple portal at the end of the alley,a low hum emitting from it. 

He stepped through the portal and found himself in their living room,Tubbo was on the couch watching some documentary,he turned around and waved at him when he saw him,he heard as the portal’s hum stopped and Ranboo began walking towards the kitchen.

"I'm gonna get started on dinner,"Ranboo said as he walked to the kitchen.

"Please don't make spaghetti,"Tubbo lamented.

"Hey the spaghettis good,I don't know why you hate it so much,"Ranboo retorted.

"We eat it every day!How are you not tired of it?"

"I think it's good,"he shrugged.

The two sat in silence after that,watching the documentary with the occasional sound from the kitchen in the background.

"Diners ready!"called Ranboo,going to the couch with a large pot filled with pasta.

"i'll get the fucking plates,"he said before standing up.

"I'll get forks!" Tubbo replied as he ran to the kitchen.

"bitch! hey!"he shouted as he ran after him.

The two raced to the kitchen and back,bringing the plates and cutlery and placing them on the table,the three ate mostly in silence apart from the documentary,ocasional joke or question breaking it,eventually,the three finished their food and Tubbo spoke up.

"You guys want to go do something?" 

"Like what?".

"I dunno,just walk around and find something to do."

"Just,find something to do?"Ranboo asked.

"Yeah,"Tubbo nodded.

"I'm down,"he shrugged.

Ranboo sighed,"fine,let's go"

The three of them stood up and began exiting their apartment.

It was still the evening,the sun hadn’t fully gone down,painting the sky orange.

"So what's the plan big man,"he asked Tubbo.

"I dunno,wanna walk towards the city center and see what we find?"Tubbo asked.

"Sounds good,Ranboo?"

""that's alright."

"Then let's get going,"the three of them began walking down the street side by side. It was peaceful,it stayed like that for several minutes,nothing quite catching their eye,that was until Tubbo stopped.

"Look,a flower shop,"Tubbo pointed at the store,a few flowers could be seen through the windows.

"Wanna head in?"Ranboo asked.

"Yeah, let's see what they're selling,"Tubbo said before he stepped through the door.

"Well,let's go,"he and Ranboo followed Tubbo inside.

As the three stepped inside the shop,they were instantly hit with the smell of flowers all around them,several flowers and plants of different colors and sizes all around.

"Woah,"Tubbo whispered as he looked around the shop. The marble floor had a blue pattern while the roof was made of concrete.

"Hello!"greeted a woman from what seemed to be the register,she wore a simple red blouse and a red flower crown,she seemed familiar in a way he couldn't quite place his finger on…"names Hannah,how can i help you today."

"Just looking around,"he replied.

"Alright,if you need any help just ask me,"she sat down on a chair and pulled out a notebook.

"Ohh,look at these,"Tubbo excitedly pointed at a pot of red flowers,looking at their tag they were asters.

"Well I found a cactus,"he  boasted as he showed off a cactus he had found.

nice.

"I think these are pretty,"Ranboo showed the other two a pot of purple alliums he had found.

"I wonder what these things mean in like,flower meanings or whatever,"inquired Ranboo,"maybe there's a book around here."

"Or you know,we can just look it up?"he drawled sarcastically.

"I don't care what the flowers mean,"he picked up the pot of asters"these will mean everything,they'll be all that's good in the world ,they will be beauty,only second to the stars in the sky,they will be the greatest,"ranted Tubbo.

"I'm naming my cactus clementine!"he beamed. 

"That's great Tommy,that's great,"congratulated Ranboo.

Tubbo sighed,"Well,why don't we go and buy our stuff,or we could keep looking around."

"I'm good,"replied Ranboo.

"Let's adopt plants then bitches!"he walked over to the register,cactus in hand.

"Hello,we'd like to buy these,"he said as he placed his cactus on the register,Tubbo and Ranboo following suit and putting down their plants.

The cashier looked up from her notebook"I'll sell them to you for ten,twelve if you want a box for them,"she said while opening the register.

Tommy pulled out his wallet and pulled out twelve dollars in total before handing them to her.

She grabbed them and put them in the register,after that she reached down and pulled out a small crate that could fit the three plants. She grabbed the pots and set them on the crate.

"Would that be everything?"she asked.

"Uh yeah,"Tommy answered as he picked up the crate.

"Alright,have a lovely day,"she said as she waved at them.

"You too,"Ranboo repplied before the three exited the shop.

"You guys wanna keep going?" Ranbo asked.

"I say we head back,leave the plants at least"he suggested. 

"Yeah,I'm fine with heading home now,"Tubbo nodded. 

"Let's get going then,the three began walking back to their apartment,nothing of importance happening on the way back.

Niki and Jack had arrived back at the hq at around 2pm,they immediately went to philzas office to share what they'd found.

As the elevator dinged and opened its doors,Jack and her stepped outside,she walked to Phils door and knocked on it.

"Come in,"could be faintly heard through the door,she pulled the handle and stepped in,Jack behind her.

"Ah,Niki,Jack,please,take a seat,"Phil pointed at two chairs in front of his desk.

"Of course,"she muttered as she sat down,Jack following suit.

"So,what did you find?"Phil asked nervously.

"Well,we found a basement below the building but it was ransacked,we double checked but we found nothing,however Jack saw that there was something even lower below ground,so I made us a tunnel to it and found some…room,"she paused before continuing.

"It was made of metal and had no entrance,more importantly was that there was a corkboard in the wall that was on fire,we put it out as quickly as we could but it was already on fire and,well,it was indecipherable,"she lamented.

"However,we did manage to get two things from the room,"Jack quickly added.

"Go on,"Phil encouraged .

"A lighter on the floor"as she said this jack pulled out a small plastic bag with the lighter inside.

"And,"she paused as she pulled another plastic bag with the poker chip inside.

"This," she handed the bag with the poker chip to Phil,he grabbed it and examined it.

"Is that everything then?"he asked.

"Yes,that's everything,"she replied.

"Well then,i’ll have to get these tested before doing anything,but thank you,it isn't much but it's more than we’ve had in years."

"Of course,"Jack said.

"Well then,you two are free to go."

The two of them stood up and walked out of the office.

Tommy Tubbo and Ranboo had arrived back at the apartment,Tommy set down the crate of flowers on the counter,planning on placing them around later.

"What time is it?"he asked.

"Its-"Tubbo pulled out his cellphone,"six thirty,huh,still a bit early yeah?"

"Yeah,I guess,"Ranboo said.

"So,uh,you guys wanna head out?"Tubbo asked before correcting,"not like far,just the roof I was thinking."

"Only if we climb!"he smirked. 

"Hell yeah!'' Cheered Tubbo.

Ranboo put his face in his hands and groaned as he cracked open the window.

"This is dumb i can just portal us up!"Ranboo complained.

"You‘ll tire yourself out if you use it too much,I can check the future and see if we‘ll be fine if you want,"he offered.

"I- wait how come you get to tire yourself out but i don't!"

he gazed into the future quickly and saw the three of them lying down on the roof.

"Cause you can't stop me bitch!"he flipped him off as he climbed through the window.

"Yeah!"Tubbo cheered as he followed him out.

Ranboo sighed again before climbing out of the window as well.

The climb to the roof was simple,there were some moments Ranboo might have claimed were ‘unsafe’ but they're still alive!,so jokes on him,with one last jump he made it to the roof,he saw Tubbo below him and helped him up,doing the same with Ranboo afterwards.

Tubbo,once standing on the roof, went around the middle of it  and sat down,Tommy and Ranboo sitting next to him.

The sun had fallen at that point,the night sky was dark and clear,nothing to be seen except the moon.

"I wish we could see the stars,"Tubbo lamented.

"hey we could go up here if a blackout happened or something,"Ranboo consoled.

"I'd rather just,get out of the city one day and just,"Tubbo lied down and raised his hand to the sky and closed it, "sit under the stars,"Tubbo was looking at the sky with wonder.

"You really like the stars huh." 

"i guess i do,"Tubbo shrugged,"i don't remember much from when i was little,but,i remember something my mum told me when my dad..died,"Tubbo paused before continuing,the three didn't talk much about their past,all they knew about each others pasts was that Tubbo was in the foster system,Ranboo was abandoned,and he…

Well he made sure to keep it as secret as he could,he didn't like talking about it.

"She told me that,he was up in space,that he'd joined the stars,i knew she was lying,i might have been little but with my power,"he trailed off, "i could feel the guilt that came from lying,but,what could she had done,i was barely five,we don't know what happens after death,how do you explain that to someone so young without lying,i don't know what made her choose that lie,but i kinda get it,it sounds nice,being surrounded by the stars,”Tubbo rambled.

“you know,we should go stargazing one of these days,it would be lovely” Tubbo suggested 

"Yeah,that'd be nice,"he smiled.

The three layed on the roof for some time after that,there were no stars in the sky to be seen,but they had each other.

And for them,that was enough.