I also found a map on the reddits of the Dream SMP so now I can be more accurate in my descriptions! Enjoy :D

Also, I have now long forgotten most segments I've written in the previous chapters and I'm bad at keeping notes so if you see a small plot mistake, just consider it canon to the storyline and we'll all be happy :)

*

The spawn area of the Dream SMP was not what the two were expecting. Deserted, old grass growing and the smell of old, burnt pine hit their noses. It was a small part of a spruce forest, singled out by high cobblestone walls, a simple box made of cobble and gravel, far off from what most servers went through to make spawn presentable. Little care had been shown to this one, that much they could tell, which was a surprise seeing as the lobby of a server was the first impression a visitor would get of it.

Then again, Dream SMP rarely had visitors.

Regardless, False and Wels couldn't help but wrinkle their noses and scrunch their eyebrows at the poor sight. If that was how spawn was left, they could only imagine what the rest of the server looked like. Would the great L'Manburg, the nation that had fallen and risen more times than it should've, look like that? Poor boxes of cobble and stone, andesite and mud instead of normal, liveable houses? What conditions did Tommy -that boy that was so closed-off and suspicious of them but hid a wonderful and helpful young man deep inside- live in before he fell through to their side? He hadn't mentioned much but one could tell just by looking at his rugged clothes he arrived in.

(Stress had told them that his condition was awful. Cut up clothes, matted hair, dark circles under his eyes- poor kid. He had looked so skittish back then that you would mistake him for a wild animal caught in the corner. Compared to now, False could say that she wouldn't have recognized the Tommy of the past).

False shook her head. It wasn't her place to judge the decor. With how much had gone on on the server, she should've been surprised that someone bothered with protecting the entrance to it. They weren't there as visitors anyway, they were looking for people. People who they had never met before, who had grown up accustomed to violence and war with an admin who spurred them on, who cheered for wrong, damaging decisions. It was going to be a lot tougher to see eye to eye on certain things, that much the both of them knew but they had to count on their relationship with Tommy rather than ideals.

If they cared enough for Tommy, they would care enough to hear them out. They were his family and closest friends, they had to care! And that was where their hopes lied: on a relationship they had only subconsciously known existed until a few hours ago when Tommy spilled the beans about his broken up family. He didn't go into a lot of detail regarding his brother, Wilbur if False recalled correctly, but for him to turn into an ever-living ghost... well, they could only imagine what had taken place. One would think that a child would be asking and shouting for their family after something as scary as a rift happened to it. Then again, Tommy had been through plenty already.

Well, it was not their place to pry nor ask questions, as it had been for so long.

"We should get going", False said to Wels, who nodded his head affirmitively.

The gifts they carried with them were now evened out between them rather than hauled by Wels alone. The knight could only lift such a heavy load for so long before admiting to needing help. So now False had the shawl and a few diamond and gold blocks in her sack, whilst Wels had the rest in his alongside the letters. 

"Which direction do we go towards?", Wels asked, adjusting the straps of his iron armor. His armor, despite being of lower value (compared to diamond and netherite, at least), was light enough to allow him easier and faster movement and it would be highly beneficial if they happened to grab the attention of a certain someone...

"Is there even a way out?"

After looking at the walls thoroughly, they spotted a crack wide enough to let a person through. A crack that was manmade but made to look like it had happened naturally. Being experienced builders, they caught that detail easily and that led to the conclusion that... it wasn't just a box that they had been standing in. Rather, it was a prison. Sure, it was a poorly made box and digging under the stone -if there wasn't stone under the surface- would take some time but they could escape. However, it would take enough time until... until someone else came to greet them.

It was a thought that tied a knot in False's throat. Being an ex-warrior, she knew to differentiate between good and bad intentions but this one? She honestly didn't know what to think of it. Was it built out of caution? The lack of exits would appear to entertain the thought.

Still, it didn't quite fit the vibe the place was providing.

"Let's go that way, I think I see smoke in the distance", False followed Wels' finger over the tops of the spruce trees, where the man was pointing at small smidges of smoke. A town or a settlement. There weren't many collumns of black smoke climbing to the aether, just a few painted here and there, so whatever it was, it was bound to have people living in it.

"Looks to be close", whether it was a sole campfire or a few chimneys didn't matter.

It was better than nothing, whatever that place would turn out to be in the end. Anything to get away from spawn before what the foreboding feeling and the goosebumps on her spine were warning her about would happen. She threw the cobblestone box one last glance before turning back to Wels, scratching at the wooden scabbard on her waist and running her fingers through the small engravings.

So, they walked. The path wasn't a paved one, rather a trail of broken grass blades and trampled plants, a small sapling trying to grow in the middle of it every now and again. It was a rough road through the woods but thankfully, it was still daytime, and by the looks of things, that would be the case for a few more hours.

Φ

It didn't take long for them to reach manmade buildings, surprisingly enough. Cutting through the forest and gaining a few scratches from berry bushes, the two finally found a path outlined by trimmed shrubbery and glowstone lights. It was rather nice, definetely an upgrade from what spawn looked like. According to what Iskall had told them, that path would take them to the main portal on a hill so they followed it towards what they could make out to be rainbow colored beacon beams in the distance.

The smoke, they found, was coming from a house that was on the path. A small cottage that had mushrooms and moss growing on the painted wall, black mold spreading from the grass of the quaint front yard. The dark hairs of mold made a pattern on the wall and a few white shrooms had started peeking from it but they moved on before they could look closer. They had promised Tommy to be quick -no dilly-dallying would be approved of- and talking to a complete stranger sounded like a bad idea.

It might've had been False's mind playing tricks on her but the tile rooftop looked a tiny bit scorched as well.

They continued down the path, ignoring how there were eyes watching them from the small, tinted window of the cottage. Indeed, they were led to the main portal on a flat hill. The area was empty, alive only because of the Nether portal's constanct magical hum.

"Why is there no one around?", no people, no animals, nothing. They weren't in New L'Manburg's territory, where there was plenty of activity but still. There was not a single soul and that unnerved them.

"Well", Wels started, "The less people the better I'd say"

Through the Community Hub they went, marveling at the small piece of adequate architecture in the server in which they hadn't seen anything very impressive yet. The only turn they took on the main road was the last one. Past the junction named 'The Hall of Fame', past the house surrounded by patterned blackstone walls and a huge shop made of smooth stone and concrete down to the very last junction. They were walking on the Prime Path before they knew it, the wood under their feet chittering and creaking of old age, ought to be replaced soon.

That was it. A moment before the moment of truth.

The sun was setting as they turned South, ignoring the simplistic, modern villa of quartz just down the road and the fast food restaurant hidden behind a few oaks. Dread was finally settling on their shoulders, making False swallow and lick her lips in anxious anticipation. She did not know what to expect but they hadn't bumped into Dream yet and that was awfully unnerving in and of itself. Wels coughed into his elbow, iron armor clanking as he went forth which made the experience all the more scarier. He adjusted his grip on the sack on his back and threw a look over his shoulder.

A bush rustled intensely at the side of the path but so did the short oaks that surrounded them as the wind picked up. The air carried a certain saltiness to it as they neared a steep and tall hill and that told them that they were close to the sea.

Nothing could have had prepared them for what they witnessed. The famous crater of Manburg that was just short of being as scary and fear inducing as a world eater machine. False gasped whilst Wels sucked in a breath. Despite Iskall telling them that the sight was bad, he didn't tell them how bad it had been up close and personal.

"Holy...", False sighed, eyes wide as they gazed at the damage. Explosives and by the looks of the wilting plant life, whole Withers were unleashed there.

Tommy truly was a strong boy for his age. Both mentally and physically, going through such a war and surviving a storm of Withers and TNT without a physical scar to show for it; he was perhaps the strongest of them all. At least his mind was healing far away from the place. False mentally noted to hug the blond when they'd get back and she had no doubt that Wels felt the same way. The man looked a bit more shook than her, though.

Fighting in the Hypixel Arena and competing with other oponents in a ring of bloodshed and wounds had its perks it seemed. Such as any fear of blood and gore being completely wiped from her system and gruesome sights such as the one stretched out before them had less of an effect on her. But Wels? The knight had only competed in jousting events, only ever picking up a button-end stick to throw his opponent off their horse's back. Other than some wounds, scrapes and a rare brocken bone, the man had not met much... of that.

Of fear and destruction and death, of a world so warped that shedding a bit of blood was nothing compared to the ongoing fight for survival itself where human life had lost its meaning. In a world which everyone was chasing after materials and ideals to the point where the people involved didn't matter anymore.

She gently put a hand on his shoulder and shook him out of it. It would do them no good if they sat there until the land magically stitched itself back together- not that it would if they turned away. Perhaps they could help if there was a salvaging effort but that was a thought and an offer for later. Much later when the letters would be delivered and court would be dealt with.

"There's a guy over there", Wels pointed out with a finger, trying to hide his nerves in an uneven tone of voice. False followed his direction and indeed, in the far distance she saw a person clad in a black suit with a dark beanie on his head. If she squinted her eyes, she could just make out a pair of wings peeking over the man's back in the falling sun.

"I think that's the avian Tommy talked about. Quackity, wasn't it?", she asked, though the question was mostly rhetorical.

"Appears so. Let's go talk to him"

They descended to the level of the crater, staying a good distance away from the edge of the big drop. Neither of them had any trust in gravity to not pull them in if they hovered along a ledge, especially with the lack of elytra on their backs. One mistep and they might have had been met with broken bones or a sharp stalagmite rising from the ground. Their goal wasn't to die so they walked carefully.

False noticed the man look at them, eyes narrowed in suspicion and arms crossed over his chest. The first hurdle would appear to be him then. That was better than meeting Dream first,  at least.

"Hello!", False greeted as she took up a faster pace, Wels following a second later. It took a moment to receive a reply.

"Hi", the avian said, regarding them with utmost mistrust, "Who are you?"

Φ

"Tubbo, hey!", a voice shouted, muffled, accompanied by a strong knock on his office door. Tubbo, quickly signing another paper and writing down some words, lifted his head tiredly. The voice sounded a lot like Quackity's and it was probably him but with how bad his head was aching, he could've had been wrong.

He was super stressed lately. With Dream prowling along the border of New L'Manburg, simply waiting for any sign of them crossing the line and the strain his mental health had taken while being president of a struggling nation, it was no wonder that he looked like a wreck. That and the fact that his friend was missing from the server -Ghostbur had let it slip that Tommy was no longer on the Dream SMP, which in hindsight explained the server admin's recent behavior- off to Prime knows where and if he's alive still.

"Who is it?", he asked, the volume of his own shout not helping his pounding head at all. His voice sounded hoarse so he had a sip of water from his half-empty glass.

"It's Quackity! We have some guests!"

"Come in!"

While a visit was unexpected at this hour of the day, Tubbo could use a distraction from all the paperwork on his desk. Maybe it was Niki with a delivery of sweets or Jack with one of his rants. Honestly, any form of entertainment would've been appreciated.

The door opened ajar and Quackity stepped in, holding it open for whom Tubbo assumed were the guests. The visitors were a blond woman with blue eyes, a sword strapped to her hip and a leather backpack on her back. She looked like any other normal person outside of border which made him think that she's new around here. As for the second and last visitor, it was a man dressed in iron armor and a knight's helmet, carrying a matching backpack. Tubbo's eye brow quirked at that; he'd never seen a real-life knight.

"These two claim to have Tommy", Quackity says with a huge smile on his face. Tubbo's own tired expression took a shift towards surprise and hope, the latter of which had been sniffed out as of late. "And they are offering to help us with Dream in exchange for-"

"We're taking him to court soon", the woman interrupted. The avian seemed slightly displeased but Tubbo appreciated her cutting to the chase. She and her partner seemed to be in a hurry. "We're just here to collect witnesses and to deliver some letters Tommy wrote for his friends and family. I'm False by the way"

Tubbo stood from his seat. He looked at Quackity, who nodded with a reemerging grin, and then back at the two strangers. He took both of the visitors' hands in firm handshakes.

"Wels. It's nice to meet you, Tubbo"

"Likewise but forget introductions. How is Tommy? Where is he?"

The knight, Wels, instead of answering directly, swang his backpack off his shoulders and digged through the front pocket. With the sound of a rustle, his hand reemerged with a neatly folded folder. It was a letter.

"Tommy wrote this to you. I think it'll answer all of your questions"

Tubbo almost ripped open the folder and took out the letter with a mania unlike any other. Finally, he had some sort of contact with one of his best friends and as he read the letter, he realized more and more that the author of it was Tommy. Sure, the swear words and slang terms were restricted and the whole thing was much more well-structured and written neatly, like he had some guidance but it was from Tommy.

He felt his eyes sting with an onslaught of salt.

"How long will you be staying for?", he heard Quackity ask quietly.

"The moment our backpacks will empty. Do you know where Philza and Technoblade are?"

There was silence but for all Tubbo knew, the adults had kept talking. He didn't care, rather, he continued to read. And he read. The bouquet of flowers left on his desk was the last he saw of the newcomers, too lost in old and new memories of a friend so close yet so out of reach.

The door shut slowly, quietly, and he could feel lingering gazes on him but he didn't pay attention. Voices formed words that fell on deaf ears until they faded behind the wood, becoming muffled and distant.

It was just Tubbo and his thoughts, the letter in his hands, the tears in his eyes and the smell of alliums and lilies. He wiped at his runny nose with his sleeve and tucked his knees to his chest uncaring if he dirtied the cashion with his shoes and he did something he hadn't done since the day of the exile. He smiled.

Φ

The next morning, False decided to seek out Tommy's family. Technoblade, the warrior and Philza, the fallen crow, two emperors of a frozen kingdom on a long-gone and dead server. Two wise and incredibly cunning individuals that had unleashed the behemoths of the void on blooming land to prove a point; a point of death. That was what Quackity told her as she left the room she and Wels had been given for the night. 

They'd spoken in a whisper over small bits of breakfast. It was something small that Stress had packed them for the road but even so, the avian's eyes grew wide as the taste of the treat overwhelmed his senses and any suspicions and mistrust he had left in his bones faded away in an instant.

It would be a lie if she said she wasn't hesitant, if she weren't afraid to approach the cabins of the northern path. Through the wide river and the barren land of snow and struggling flora, down an unmarked path with only the wind for company. Wels wanted to go with her but emotions of protection and caring were vanquished by logic. He had to stay behind, if only to buy her time if Dream showed up at the border. That and to see the rest of Tommy's friends, to enlist allies and witnesses on their slowly-growing list.

So she travelled the lonely path. She traversed the land of snow, passed a village silently, praying and hoping that no one saw her. The cabins did not come up for a long time but the plums of smoke in the sky made them easy to distinguish when they did.

False stood a couple of meters away, simply gathering the nerve to knock on a stranger's door. When she did, she didn't manage to get close enough to knock. A pack of wolves emerged from behind the first cabin, all growling and yowling but not approaching. They were guarding, protecting their owner, and False knew to not take a step closer nor make a sound. She retreated a step instead, slowly and carefully, one hand going to the handle of her sword.

The front door of the cabin flew open, up on the brick steps and out stepped a god; an old royal and blood-craving warrior, a Hypixel Champion. However, the sight that greeted her wasn't the expected one.

A man with long, pink, flowing hair, dressed in a white blouse and slightly loose pants. A blue coat hung from his shoulders, strands trapped under it but some flowed with the chilly breeze. He looked like a normal person. False felt goosebumps crawl up her arms and spine but she was unsure if it was from the cold or the presence of the man or the wolves that were still growling at her.

"What's this ruckus about?", the man shouted at the wolves, who only barked in return. False sucked in a breath when crimson eyes landed on her.

"Um, hello?", she chuckled awkwardly. "I come in peace, promise! Could you um, call your wolves away?"

He stared at her for a moment before shrugging his shoulders. With a piercing whistle, the wolves yelped and barked, clearly unhappy with their owner's command but executing it anyway. They retreated behind the second cabin, chasing each other and rolling in the snow on the way.

False dared let out a sigh of relief. The sound of boots on brick brought her attention back to the other, though, and she approached when she saw that he had no visible weapons on him. Still, she was cautious, since the option of potions still existed.

"And uh, who are you?", he asked her. Awkwardly. She was not expecting such a great and famed warrior to be awkward. "Last time I checked, Dream was busy being a b-"

"Don't say it!"

"Heh?", False faltered only a bit at her own words and the man's reaction. That was something she used to tell Tommy when they'd spar.

For every nasty hit on the boy, the reward was a swear and a just as painful strike back. Neither held any bad feelings towards one another but in the heat of the moment, revenge would always be in order. Some of the curse words were a bit too explicit -otherwise, she didn't mind much- so she developed a sort of reflex to shout that response.

"Sorry", she rubbed the back of her neck. "Just a habit"

"Soooo... who are you again?", he asked, rightfully concerned, doing a vague motion with his hand. "Not to be rude or anythin' but you are a stranger on my property"

"Oh, right! I'm False, Tommy's fencing tutor", the man stared for a second. He blinked, frozen where he stood. "You must be Technoblade. I have to talk to you about some-"

The door of the second cabin burst wide open then, a crash and a few potions rolling down the front porch as an individual bounded out.

"Fundy!", she heard someone shout. The culprit mustn't have had been a bad person, because the warrior didn't move from his spot, only turning his head to look.

False looked as well. A man with ginger hair and pointy ears jumped over the railing of the bridge that connected the two cabins. He landed at the very edge of the pond underneath clumsily, a hand to his shoulder and a hiss under his tongue. She recognized him as Fundy if the detailed descriptions of Iskall's were trustworthy and they were.

A specter followed; ghost of a person who had once been. That must be Wilbur, or Ghostbur  as he went by. False had yet to understand the concept of limbo, seeing as that system was foreign foreign the hermits. Tommy didn't know how to describe it either, simply saying that the ghost his brother wasn't the same as the physical person. Bluish, transparent skin, a yellow sweater that needed a good wash and hands stained with blue ink.

"You!", Fundy shouted but he looked like he was about to fall over. False shot forward without further prompting, forgetting all about Technoblade watching from the stairs.

"Fundy!", shouted another voice, that one distinctly foreign but with a familiar accent. False didn't pay much attention to the new person, already busy with steadying the fox hybrid before her.

"Are you okay?", she asked, carefully swiping ginger bangs away from a particularly sweaty forehead. "Oh my, you should be in bed"

"You're False!", she was shocked for a second -all of them were- but she shook her head right after. There was only one logical explanation as to how Fundy knew her name and it was obvious to her. "Iskall told me about you!", False nodded her affirmation. The only response was a hollow wheeze as the man rubbed his injured shoulder.

"What happened to you, Fundy?", she asked, concerned and worried. Had things got out of hand on the server?

The sound of wings and feathers ruffling filled the silence that followed. A man -an Avian- with golden hair and blue eyes looked at them from atop the bridge -characteristics wise, he looked unnervingly similar to Grian but older and wiser. One crow wing was splayed wide, down feathers hovering in the air whilst the other stayed tucked against his back, thuogh False could still see some misplaced feathers on it. Green robes enveloped him, loose with long and wide sleeves, tied by gold ribbon at the waist. The wind threatened to steal his green and black bucket hat but surprisingly, it was stuck to the man's head. Philza. That's Phil.

"Do you know each other?", he asked with mild suspicion.

"Fundy just shouted about that Iskall guy", Tecnoblade supplied, still unmoved from his spot on the stairs. He could have passed for a statue had he remained silent. "And she said something about being Tommy's... tutor? I have many questions"

The other man hummed. False looked back and forth between the three men.

"Let's take Fundy inside first", Phil said before descending the stairs. He waved False along.

Φ

"How can we help?", Phil asked as he sat across from False at the kitchen table, a cup of warm tea in his hands. Technoblade was leaning against the counter, looking out of the small kitchen window but glancing at them from time to time.

False fiddled with the handle of her own cup, breathing in the hot steam that raised from the herbal mixture. Fundy had been taken to the bedroom and tucked under the covers to rest and in respect of that, they spoke in hushed voices. Apparently, Ghostbur had told them all about Iskall and his visits and Technoblade already knew a vague description of the hermit as well as the fact that Tommy was on Hermitcraft. It was a quite convenient situation to say the least because she didn't have to spend time on explaining everything from start to finish.

So she had started from the middle and slowly scaled her way to the current conversation.

"Every weapon we own is at your disposal", Phil said, only to be interrupted by a light huff.

"Not every weapon"

"Techno!", the warrior simply rolled his eyes and bumped his head against the wall. Sensing the slight tremor in the atmosphere reminded False of the gifts and letters in her sack.

"Actually, I have to give you the gifts Tommy made for you two, otherwise he might kill me", she laughed sheepishly, her words successfully grabbing the men's attention. After digging through her backpack for a minute (she had hung it on the back of the chair), the two little gifts came up to the surface.

The shawl was placed gingerly on the wooden table and was pushed towards Phil, who stared in awe of it. Technoblade approached hesitantly, almost as if he believed her more then when he saw the avian's gift.

"Stress, the woman who found him after the rift, helped him make the pattern but the rest is all him", she explained, like a proud mother to a just as proud father. "As for yours" -she jutted her chin to the pinkett- "He said that your hands get cold easily so he made you these"

The man's eyes widened for a fraction of a second when she handed him the smaller packet of the pink mittens. Both gifts, False was certain that Tommy had crafted with care, regardless of how dismissive he was of how hard he worked on them.

"There's also letters from him-"

"Letters?", Philza was the only one out of the two to speak but it was a quiet question so it may as well have had not been asked at all. Nevertheless, False heard it and she nodded with a small affirmative hum. Again, she dug through her backpack and fished out the two neatly folded letters. One wrote Phil's name on the back with big curly letters -a small intervention by Stress- and the other Technoblade's but in a messy font -an attempt by Tommy to match the woman's loopy handwriting.

"You said you're his tutor?", Technoblade asked as he examined the pink mittens on his hands, which fit his fingers perfectly.

"Well, I'm more of his swordplay partner", she corrected, "But I am older than him so tutor it is"

That earned a huff of laughter from the warrior. Philza was silent as he read his respective letter and Technoblade followed his example when he opened up his.

"Wait, he says he's having flying lessons here", the avian said with something hopeful in his voice. "Did he grow wings?"

Oh. False did not want turn down the look the man was giving her but there was no way she was going to lie to an ally. Begrudgingly, she shook her head.

"We gave him an elytra", the man's eyes fell with a small smile on his features. "I wish you could've seen him on his first lesson, he slammed right into a tree!", False laughed in an attempt to lift the other's mood.

She somewhat succeeded but the laugh that she received sounded forced. Philza reached at his face and wiped at his eyes, a sob horribly disguised as a hiccup. Technoblade nudged his shoulder with his hip, the man waving him off at first before he showed him a particular line on the letter that made them both give a hearty laugh.

False smiled. Not only had she secured witnesses on their side but she had also brought consolation to a broken family and she could imagine that Wels felt the same way while he helped Tubbo in New L'Manburg.

She heard a sniff from the couch and afraid that Fundy was having a nightmare or that he had started crying as well, she turned to look. The ginger was half-awake, sniffing the air and something in False's gut twisted. Something was awfully wrong. The fox muttered something brisk under his breath but over the whispers beside her, she didn't quite catch his words.

"Could you repeat that, Fundy?", the man's head lolled to the side at the sound of her voice and he repeated loud enough that the others stopped speaking.

"Dream is here"

==========

I have a fluff chapter coming up after this. You'll like it. It's like an interlude from the lore except there will be angst afterwards- oop, did I spoil too much?