Two months and the soap asmr addiction is going strong. This has greatly affected the fic and it shows too much but it's funny hahaihaihsnkfdjsofjdoscThere is a Vault Hunters reference too for the fans ;))) you don't need to have watched VH, don't worry! Everything is explained well! also everything is time-themed because XD likes messing with time and I liked that casserole animatic too much

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What he saw outside the cracked window of the Dream Team Headquarters will perhaps forever haunt Techno's mind. Not the letters of a foreign language falling from the overcast sky, not the gears that dug themselves out of the earth and elevated themselves as high as the conference room. No, that all was mild to the giant; no, the titan that his eyes met when he looked towards the stadium.

Tall, foreboding, a blank, white mask with only a permanent, wide smile cut out of the surface to reveal nothing but black void beneath and two halos of light circling it like the rings of Saturn. The head of it was shaded by a hood coloured in pine green that traveled down to a cloak with golden accents. The giant also had wings, feathered ones that are void black but some sparkling purple spots were easy to spot against the abyss and the shadows cast from above.

They're eerily similar to The Watcher's and that solidifies all that Dream said about XD wanting to get in contact with the villain. Is this a family drama? Techno inwardly groans at the idea but he is also irritated and angry that someone else's drama has involved his own family into it! Now, he is more worried than ever about their safety; Phil and Wilbur are a trouble magnet on their own but with added help?

Techno doesn't want to imagine how much trouble the two have found themselves in with added help. Especially not when there is a huge guy just standing there who has obviously caused all of this discord in the area.

"The GOAT is on the way", Goatfather says when every horrified and awe-struck face turns away from the window. "It will transport us to the stadium and it can do some good damage"

"What about the World Eater?", Sam questions with urgency in his voice. The villain shrugs his shoulders, lips tugging in an uncaring manner.

"Your people dismantled it and took the parts about two years ago, so–"

With a sigh, Sam relents to what Techno can only think to be what Goatfather wants to hear. "Fine, what about the World Eater 2.0?" –yup, that's what's happening because the villain smirks.

"Wasn't that one also dismantled?", Pearlescent asks from her perch on the table edge. Dream shakes his head.

"It was stolen from the crime scene before the city engineers could get their hands on it but we bribed the press to stay quiet about it to not cause more panic", he sighs, "We thought we'd be able to catch him before he could–"

"Yada, yada, useless information!", Pearlescent waves him off with a sort of authority that is perhaps too audacious for her position. Thankfully, everyone in this room has a few brain cells left to not pick a fight with her because of mouthiness–

"You realize that we could throw you into a holding cell right now, right?"

Turns out that Sapnap does not have the number of brain cells that are required to not pick a fight. Then again, Sapnap is too prone to starting fights so it's probably that and not his brain malfunctioning. The last thing they need, though, is for the truce to break and have a massive fall out when their shared target is literally right there!

"Your powers are useless on their own, you realize that, right?"

The villain in question is less childish about this, only replying with a clear threat that is directed at Sapnap but also at BBH. "You realize that you're part demon, right?"

That appears to settle the matter with Sapnap only bristling before catching Punz's disapproving look and plopping back down in his seat. To their credit, neither Xornoth or Bad break eye contact, though Techno would bet that they are keenly aware of what is happening around them.

Is this a dominance thing? If it is, then by appearance alone, Techno thinks Xornoth is of a higher rank than Bad, though he has never seen Bad in his actual demon form. Xornoth has big, wavy horns as it is but does horn height affect the hierarchy system? He'll have to ask at some point because supernatural phenomena are far more interesting than normal life.

Speaking of supernatural things, they also have that titan in the city who is no doubt XD in his actual form and not a blob like Dream described him as not a minute ago. They should really focus on that right now, huh?

"Alright, back on subject, people", he gathers their attention, "Goatfather, how many of your machines can you spare?"

The crazy scientist hums to himself with a contemplative pout.

"I have already called in my new GOAT Mech, the engines of the World Eater 2.0 are starting right now, I can have some robots come in to take care of all those cogs and... maybe the Mantis"

Right. The Mantis. The machine he used to break out of Pandora, that's a fun, ironic idea! However, beggars can't be choosers; they need all the man and horse power they can get at the moment, as eye-turning as it may be.

Right on cue, the giant, mechanical head of a goat appears through the windows. Through because it rams its head in and the heroes and villains are lucky enough to have been far away from it because glass shards are sent flying.

A lot of curse words, a lot of thunder and a lot of bleating later, everyone has piled onto the mech goat's back. There are a couple seats on the large metal plate that covers the mechanisms in the gigantic robot, in which each person sits and buckles their seatbelts. Only two are left standing, that being Xornoth and BBH, whom –because of demon powers– gravity and physics can't fathom to control.

The Goatfather mentions at some point that the goat is going at least sixty kilometers an hour. How the two of them aren't even leaning back due to physical force is beyond Techno.

A gear breaks out of the ground in front of their transport and the mech hops onto a nearby building to avoid it, further showing off Goatfather's skill in controlling redstone-powered machinery. The goat continues its course through the rooftops and from this high up, Techno sees other robots coming to their aid.

The main type of robot that comes in a dozen around the city is a giant, four-legged spider thing. It's mostly black, save for the few joint braces that are painted a vibrant cyan and pop out like a sore thumb. One of the robots catches onto a gear with two legs, using the other two to brace itself against the ground to drag the piece back down to earth. Whatever heavenly forces are lifting the gear into the atmosphere let go after a bit of a struggle and the copper and the acid liquid falls at the machine's feet.

"Those things are powerful!", Sam exclaims, also watching the machines crawl on four legs and take down as many gears as they can reach. One of them crawls up the side of a building, successfully jump-scaring half of the goat-crew. Goatfather doesn't reply, clearly too focused on keeping all of his creations running at the same time.

His powers are very amazing. Techno will never admit that out loud but he is incredibly interested in his opponents' powers. Goatfather's are something else entirely since his ability focuses a lot on mental power. Science has yet to have a good understanding on redstone manipulation but it has been debated that it is similar to mind reading but instead of a mind reader practicing on another human, they practice on a robot or something along those lines. The consequences of this would possibly be mental strain and difficulty in thinking and if the HQ's gambles are correct, then it also has insomnia as a side effect.

He can already see how much pressure the Goatfather is putting himself through; he was already woozy back at the conference room, having needed Gemini to support him to get on their high-tech ride.

Being a machine fan, Sam is all over the creepy-crawlies and the mech they are on at the moment. Techno doesn't like how the hero has let down his guard around the Goatfather. He hopes he has misread things and that the closeness between them is just a creeper-hybrid thing. Out of the corner of his eyes, he catches Eret throwing glances at the two as well.

Great, he isn't the only one with suspicions.

"Hey, uh, BBH, do you have any idea about what's happening here?", Foolish, dear Sharktooth, timidly asks. The demon in question doesn't blink as he turns his head to look the hero in the eye and then at the world around them.

Huh. So he isn't aware of what has been happening around them for the past five minutes. That's not very great. Being up to par (and surpassing) with the anime equivalent of demon characters, he catches on pretty quickly. At the same time, Xornoth huffs, a ball of smoke leaving his mouth in an exhale as he, too, takes in their surroundings.

"This looks like a god's work", yeah, no shit Sherlock, that is a very vital piece of information that no one knew up until you said it– "Looks like the End's void"

Well. That one can be excused. BBH nods his head and it appears like the two of them have settled on a truce of their own because neither tries to hold another staring contest.

"Yeah, that liquid on the cogs is called void liquid", he explains after another roar of thunder. The rain has surprisingly lessened but the electrons are having none of this shit, apparently. "It makes the objects regress to their primal stage overtime"

Ah, so that carbon black liquid could put the youth wrinkle correction creams to shame, got it. Though... it does act incredibly quick, which is worrying. When Techno looked down a bit ago, he saw the asphalt disappear within the blink of an eye.

Before, he thought it was some sort of acid but now that Bad has supplied him with the correct knowledge, he knows that the asphalt was turned into tini-tiny particles. That means that a human could disappear off the face of the earth in mere seconds. It's a good thing that the Goatfather's spider army is keeping most of the void liquid holes at bay–

"The End is being brought in from Tartarus", Xornoth nonchalantly says, like this is a normal school field trip! Not to mention that little comment. Tartarus? The place of suffering and torment? Oh, wait, that must be a fancier word for 'Hell'.

"No one uses 'Tartarus' anymore, silly!", Bad scolds in his casual, paternal manner.

"Some still do", the other shrugs and yeah, this is much more comfortable for everyone; the not-staring-each-other-in-the-eyes thing. Punz adjusts his sitting position to better look at the demon duo at the back.

"Hey, can you focus on that guy–", he juts a full arm and a finger towards the towering god who is slowly coming more and more into view the closer the goat gets, "–for a second?"

Techno's eyes focus on the hero's unusual, alien necklace. He has seen it plenty of times; it is so peculiar that he's even memorized its shape and colours. He doesn't remember ever seeing it float before, however. Nor can he recall a time when it was glowing like it is right now.

"Valorant, why is that glowin'?", he asks and points out in the same sentence.

Punz looks down and nearly falls out of his seat when the Eye of Ender almost hits him in the nose. It doesn't break the chain that it is attached to; it just floats and bobs like a balloon filled with helium. The man wraps a careful hand around it and brings it down to its original place but he doesn't let go afterwards.

"Is that an Eye of Ender?", Gemini says, marvelling at the weird phenomenon, as is everyone else now that Techno pays attention to the intrigued faces. The hero nods at her question but doesn't elaborate further.

Xornoth looks at Bad for a tick and then the latter shrugs his shoulders.

"There is no End portal that I know of here", he begins, y'know, casually because things such as portals are things that one casually talks about!

"It's been created beneath the surface"

"XD couldn't do that before!", Dream shouts from the very front of the car– ahem, goat mech.

"Apparently, he can now"

If Techno's suspicions are correct, then what they feared has happened. For a moment, Xornoth looks off the edge of the goat and he makes a noncommittal sound.

"Your kids are following", he says with boredom. Your kids? Whose kids? Techno looks where the demon looked and sure enough, he finds three kids. Three very familiar kids that have climbed onto a spider robot and are somehow controlling it. How?

"What are those idiots doing on that thing...", Techno mutters to himself, watching and not quite believing his eyes. He knew that Grian's not-kids have lost a great amount of marbles but for them to have lost so many that they are willingly running towards imminent danger and death. Thankfully, Ranboo isn't with them; that kid is too innocent to be around that much chaos.

Pearlescent glues herself to his side, also watching with an uneasy set of her shoulders, the fox mask doing its job as a face and expression-concealment. The fact that she cares enough about three random kids to be uneasy is unsettling. Xornoth definitely doesn't know that those kids lived at their house for a day and by no means would that label them as the SBI's.

It was one day for goodness' sake (a very miserable and emotionally exhausting day at that).

So, if the demon isn't referring to him, then there is only one person he could be referring to. This is incredibly worrying but it has to be looked into later. Much, much later, preferably, so that Techno can have the emotional battery to unwrap that package.

Gemini isn't that far behind, though she only comes over to tug Pearlescent away from the edge and back to her seat. Right on cue, the goat stutters in its hopping to readjust its balance. Techno doesn't miss how Sam quickly catches the Goatfather's hand in his.

Please don't tell me that's a love affair. That would be bad for Sam and Ponk's relationship, honestly. Sam is a very solemn man, though, other than those few times that he brought a baby goat into work–

Oh shit. Ooookay, this is officially too much information and too many dots connected in one morning. Then again, is it still morning? The sky is dark but at the same time, the light level is enough for a human to see plenty of detail.

"Goatfather, could you turn that robot back, please?", Jumbo asks politely, having to raise his voice to be heard over the lightning.

After a few seconds, it is Warden who replies for the villain, playing the role of messenger for the man who is much too vulnerable at the moment.

"They've overridden its code, he can't take back control at the moment!"

"And we're on course to the stadium now, we can't stop to do anything about them", Gemini says with defeat. Pearlescent stills in her seat. Uh oh.

"Xornoth", the demon in question, immediately turns his head to the woman and by the look of absolute horror on his face, he has realized what is going to be asked of him. Techno can sympathize... he'd pat the guy's back if he could reach that high. "Go with them and let nothing happen to them, are we clear?"

Xornoth doesn't even bother to reply, grumbling something (most likely curses) in a foreign language before jumping off the mech and onto the nearest rooftop. He disappears within seconds and that's the end of that.

"Guys, look!", Dream and Sapnap both yell and that snaps them all out of their heads.

The stadium has come into full view now and it is only a few more hops away. XD is closer than ever, rising higher than the apartment buildings and he remains a mass of void and destruction under flowing green and golden garments. However, his arms have also come into view.

Held lower than the god's shoulders, trapped in what appear to be clawed hands, are the Listener and the Watcher. The lack of Phil and Wilbur in the scene is enough to send both hope and devastation through Techno's head, along with a thousand questions. Are they alright? Have they been harmed? Are they even alive? He doesn't care much about George, the guy is already being worried over by Dream and Sapnap, who have gone stock still with their own shock at the front.

The booming of thunder stops when the goat passes the parking lot's barricade and the sudden loss of sound is enough to give everyone whiplash. There is no sound other than the heavenly drone coming from the twisting halos far, far above all of them.

The goat stutters again, staggering to remain upright. Techno has already unbuckled his seatbelt, ready to rush to the scientist and help if the man is having issues but his help isn't needed. He doesn't know if this machine is strong enough for what they're heading for but Goatfather knows its capabilities more than Techno could ever hope to fathom.

This is it, then. The final stand between man and god because a guy took in a wet cat and it ended up being the God of Chaos. This is going to be a fun story to tell the trainees.

*

Stealing one of Doc's machines was incredibly easy. For Tubbo, that is, because Tommy has no idea how this thing is even standing on four legs, let alone be able to take down those heavy gears from the air! Tubbo has done it with his incredible understanding of redstone and general enthusiasm about machinery. He swears he's heard half of the unintelligible jumbo from Mumbo already.

Back when life was normal (however long that was), Mumbo tinkered on the kitchen counter with the little projects that he kept on the high shelves. Tommy usually overheard him muttering to himself about pistons and where the dust should go and while he enjoyed the mustached man's company a lot, he couldn't understand most of the words in his vocabulary.

Now, Tommy isn't an expert on the subject but he is certain that there is a language barrier he has to overcome to understand the way of the redstone.

Tubbo is sitting beside him, all too happy to have a control panel in his hands. That's what he calls it, even though it isn't a panel but rather a bunch of redstone cords and different wiring. How jump-starting a robot can lead to having so much control over its movement, Tommy will never know. He isn't sure if he wants to know with Tubbo grinning like a maniac.

Meanwhile, Tommy is hanging onto the one handle the machine body has on it, holding onto it for dear life. The spider-like robots looked big when they appeared –right after that goat jumped over them– but to be on them is a whole other experience. Not to mention the way they move! It's like riding a horse but the wobbling motion is ten times more intense and the nausea is hitting him in the gut.

Tubbo's stomach is just built different. He doesn't look even a tiny bit affected by it and he's sitting up straight! Tommy wishes Ranboo were here. If he were, then he'd have a buddy holding on with him on the floor.

The good thing is that the weird rain has somewhat stopped and so they can see better.

The bad thing is that Tubbo has decided that vertical is the new normal; the trend of the century! How the fuck is he still sitting crosslegged on there! Tommy is burdened with hanging sideways because of the robot crawling on the facades of the street's buildings and the bastard is as nonchalant as ever, playing with his little wires and shit! How dare he go psycho-mode when Tommy is having the worst time of his life?!

And then something lands hard in front of him, almost stomping on his hands.

"Ah shit!", having been spooked by that turn of events and Tubbo screeching at the top of his lungs as gravity remembers that he also exists and should also be effected, Tommy stupidly lets go of the handle.

This is it. He is going to die to fucking fall damage, that's great. Amazing even! He doesn't really get to finish that train of thought and when a chilly hand grabs his wrist, he thinks his last thoughts should be way darker and sadder than that; it must be a side-effect of the Watcher rescuing him from that near fall. Eh, he'll work on it at some point.

The robot rights itself on the roof of a building, making breathing easier but also his brain to spin six times around itself before settling in place again. The thing continues to move wildly as Tubbo tries to once again tame it.

"What are you doing, children?", ah, dear Xornoth. He looks completely unconcerned with how the machine is moving under his feet. Tommy gives him an unimpressed look when the demon lifts him up by the arm, holding him at eye-level. It hurts, sure but Tommy could never say no to theatrics.

"What are you doing here?!", Tommy demands, all teeth. If Xornoth is here then Pearl must be somewhere nearby. A quick survey of the area reveals nothing other than the big goat hopping off towards the stadium.

Xornoth answers all the questions they have. Tommy is blown away by the fact that the villains agreed to team up with the heroes and vice versa. Apparently, having hostages of both sides can make said sides fight the common enemy. Stupid Dream Team... involving Grian and Jimmy in all this shit. As many crimes as they have committed, they don't deserve whatever is going on at the city stadium!

Sure, Watcher has caused a ton of shit but Grian has been doing anything but that! The same goes for Jimmy and Tommy is certain that all the guy has ever done as Bat has been 'just existing' and nothing else. At the factory incident, he didn't even touch any of the heroes! Now Martyn has also been involved in this shitty story and god– no, no, bad word... and Prime knows what's going to happen!

Honestly, this is a little confusing; the people-blaming thing –what is just and what isn't. Grian is innocent but the Watcher isn't and at the end of the day they're the same person but it's just so unfair, y'know?

Tommy is more angry because their lives have been turned over their heads with no warning and now they have to get their own guardians out of that ordeal. Not to mention the void liquid, which–

"If it touches you, you'll turn into a toddler or worse", yeah, that. The unnerving thing is that Xornoth isn't talking to them as brashly as he had before. Maybe the situation is affecting him more than the demon is letting on –not that he has ever let on his emotions.

It might be the fact that Pearl sent him for the sole purpose of babysitting them, which is rude, by the way. Tommy and Tubbo are perfectly fine and well, they're big men, they can fight against that overgrown blob!

The only one they should be worrying about is Ranboo, who ran back to get Stress out of the house and hasn't shown any signs of being alive yet. Hopefully, he hasn't been turned into a baby.

"Where is the tall one?"

"He went back for Stress", and with that, Xornoth lets him down. Seeing his surprising balance, Tommy decides to get back at the guy by clinging to his legs. Yes, that is totally a revenge plan and not Tommy being nauseous. He will totally not vomit on here, yup!

The stadium comes into view soon enough. By the time they arrive, there is already a decently sized lack of stadium wall, the goat mech having crashed right through. Y'know. Like a goat mech does.

Tubbo doesn't choose the easy route, sadly. He has to add spice to his life by making Tommy's difficult and so, the spider begins its ascend up the fucking wall! It's a hard climb and when they make it, it doesn't feel right to be standing on horizontal ground. Or wall. Or bleachers.

From here, they can see everything going on in the cog-filled and full-of-void-holes arena. They spot the goat and the bunch of heroes and villains easily enough and they see the hostages too, even though they aren't as distinguishable as the giant robot. There are a good few dozens of men in black suits, most of which have fallen to the ground and the rest are hauling Crowfather and Ghostbur towards the far exit. Blackjack is barking orders and beside him stands Scar with weird crystal things extending from the ripped back of his coat and isn't that a surprise?

They didn't know that Scar had his own powers!

Anyway, they also spot Grian and Jimmy in the hands of the god. Looking back at the way they came, the dust of the buildings crumbling has swallowed the streets like thick fog. There is no way Ranboo would be able to navigate through that to get to the stadium and the intervals between teleporting would hinder him greatly if he tried to join the fight.

It's just the two of them now. The two of them and a handful of other people.

The handful of other people in question are clambering off of the mech, which has turned around. Is the Goatfather leaving? That's why he brought in that new creation of his? To play taxi?

Apparently, Doc isn't leaving. No, no, that would be ridiculous! Though it would be less ridiculous than the dynamite cannon that pops out of the goat's butt. Just. Why? How practical is that–

Boom. A block of lit dynamite blasts off towards the god and it tangles in the garments before exploding into puffs of smoke and gunpowder. There is nothing but void when the smoke dissipates and the only damage that it's done is the singed edges of the new hole in the god's robes. The god doesn't look happy at all. Who would be if you blew a hole in their clothes? Honestly, fair.

The whirring drone becomes louder as the god looks down, the halos circling faster in ire. The wings on the back of the god flare wide open, the air whooshing with the movement and then someone is shouting "DUCK!".

For a split second, Tommy thinks that a duck mech has joined the battle and then he remembers that there are more meanings of 'duck' and that it isn't just the quacking animal. He remembers it a minute too late, just as the wings are clapping, sending a tsunami of sheer force the goat's way.

The goat doesn't move, obviously too heavy for that attack. The people, however, do. Tommy is thrown off the side of the spider and he barely catches onto whatever it is he's caught himself on, soon to be joined by Tubbo, whom he catches with his unoccupied hand. The strain on his shoulders, biceps and wrists is nothing compared to the pain they'll both experience if they fall off.

Sure, Tubbo could fly off but with the airwhip they just experienced? Yeah, Tommy wouldn't dare fly if he had wings of his own!

With all that in mind, he tries to pull himself and Tubs back on the back of the spider but looking up, he finds that what he caught himself on is Xornoth's clawed hand. Oh, great. Fucking demon with gravity-denying abilities is still here. Not that Tommy is really complaining!

They're promptly pulled up and Tubbo wastes no time in digging his hands into the guts of the robot, plugging wires in and out and doing all sorts of nonsense that Tommy doesn't pay much attention to.

"What are you doing, Tubbo?", he asks with urgency, quieter than before, thanks to the lack of interfering noise.

"I'm looking for a canon function!", the bee responds with an amount of excitement that is a little questionable on a battlefield. "If that goat has one, then this guy could also– AH HA!"

With that exclamation, Tubbo pulls on a wire. Why does pulling a random wire result in a hatch opening up and a giant blast cannon to pop out? The questions of the universe, forever left unanswered.

"Get in it!", Tubbo then shouts.

"Huh?"

"Get in it!"

"That makes total sense, Tubbo, I'll totally do that! What if I lose my fucking arse, dick'ead?!"

"I'll make you a new arse, now get in the cannon!"

While the heroes are trying to simultaneously evacuate the injured and form a plan, the two of them are talking about getting Tommy into the cannon. This is so surreal, it's incredible! It's also such a big ass joke... What will they even succeed if Tommy is blasted to fucking space? Or worse, if this cannon is actually a blast cannon with a laser beam or something.

"You are both so childish", even Xornoth has given up trying to comprehend the situation!

"Shut up!" –but at least both Tommy and Tubbo share a brain cell. This must be a good sign.

And then they hear something from high up. It draws everyone's attention, even the evacuation efforts stop. The sound happens again and with all eyes glued on it, it's clear what it is: a scream.

The god is hurting them. The god is hurting their fucking family. Tommy can see the connection between the three; Grian, Jimmy and the unnamed (to them) god are connected by a thick, deep purple ray of wavering light. That was never around either villain, so it must be what's going wrong here.

"Fuckin'– Get me in there!", Tommy yells with no further hesitation, prompting Tubbo out of his stupor. Shifting to raccoon size, Tubbo shapes him into a ball before shoving him down the tube.

He puts his little paws over his ears because that's what the smart people in the pirate movies and shows do when they're launched. Before he can mentally prepare and berate himself about his own stupidity, he's already flying through the sky! His ears ring and he sees a lot of surprised and awe-filled faces as he tumbles in the air like a volleyball but that's all brushed aside when he catches glimpses of the god getting closer and closer–

Until he smacks right into one of his arms.

The first thing Tommy notices –after briefly staggering and considering the pros and cons of the present– is that the material beneath him is cold; dead cold, smooth and stiff like metal. The second thing he notices is that this fucker has ver long arms; it's like a runway but for raccoons!

"Oh, what is this?", the distorted voice comes from above him. He chances a glance only to be met with the god's wide smile and presumably, his invisible eyes too. Tommy doesn't know if he should be afraid or not but he sure is disturbed. "I've seen your kind. What is a trash panda doing here? Are you a friend of theirs?"

Deciding that ignoring is better than acknowledging, Tommy runs down the runway towards Grian. On his left, he sees Jimmy looking around, alert but blind, only being able to go off of the god's words to know what is going on. Grian has the luck of being able to see him approach and tackle his face in a fluffy, furry hug.

"Tommy?", Grian whispers, almost completely silent. "What are you– you shouldn't– ugh– be here..."

Tommy pats the man's clothed cheek. He pats down the scarf, intent on getting it off the villain's nose. He chitters in response; in reassurance; in self-talking –he doesn't know. Neither does he know how to get him and Jimmy out of the god's hands.

Biting is the first thing that comes to mind, so he puts that idea to practice. Nothing. All he got out of biting down on the steel flesh is a toothache, wasted time and a mirthful tease from the god.

"Aw, you're cute. Maybe I'll keep you as my pet; Sapnap likes pandas"

Well, I guess you learn something new everyday; even in the middle of a battlefield! Who knew that half-demon, feisty Sapnap would like pandas?

Anyway, that plan didn't work. Thing is that he's run out of plans! He looks at Grian for guidance and then judges the distance between the god's arms. He can't possibly make the jump to get to Jimmy, the gap is too big for his little arms and legs.

"...Ranboo?"

He stares for a second. Then, he shifts back, thinking little of the consequences.

"Ranboo is with Stress, bigman, don't worry", he says, making sure that his lips are within Grian's view. Grabbing at the Watcher's shoulder, he pulls with a little hope. The grip around the man doesn't budge. He looks around the sky for help. Where the fuck is Martyn?

An explosion sounds below. It does little damage yet again. Dream tries to talk the god out of it; it doesn't work and ontop of that, he is also patronized by the higher being. Ouch. In the distance, Tommy can make out the familiar, serpentine shape of the World Eater 2.0 against the clouds. A singular News helicopter is hovering nearby, keeping its distance, the reporter almost hanging out of it in their desperation to report everything. Warden and Sharktooth throw their lightning channeling tridents and electricity zaps the god, only for said god to only giggle. Apparently, lightning tickles.

Is this how hopeless it all is? The Crowfather is flying nearby but his murder of crows can't even approach– nevermind approach, they aren't even withing the dome! Ghostbur is helping with the evacuation with little success; the stadium has fallen to ruin and the survivors have to climb over the bleachers and descend the stairs from there. The Blade has joined the other two with his own trident.

Xornoth and BBH don't even try to interfere. Their demon intuition is telling them not to because Tommy knows for a fact that they're incredibly powerful. Either that or Pearl has issued an order.

All this manpower and nothing is being accomplished... Tommy tries to pull at the grip again, ignoring the sarcastic comments coming his way, only for it to be in vain. Grian leans his head against his forearm in sympathy... maybe resignation.

Another cannon blasts, followed by a 'weeeeee' noise. When Tommy looks towards the direction of it, he finds a buzzing (literally and metaphorically) Tubbo pulling himself up on the other arm with both hands and legs. He looks down at the spider, only to see Xornoth lazily leaning against the blast cannon.

"Oh, another one?", the god hums, whilst Tommy is busy rubbing at his eyes. No, he wasn't crying! That's crazy!

"Tubbo, what are you doing up he–"

Crack. Crack, crack, craaaack.

Oh. Everything goes still. The whirring sound comes to a halt, or the halos are circling so slowly that it isn't audible, and the heroes stopped their efforts after seeing bee-boy soaring through the air –mostly because Blade shouted at them to stop.

"What are you– oh", another crack. Chips of soap fall out of Tubbo's hands –how did he get that? He crunches a few more soap strips with his fingers. It is strangely calming but surely a god wouldn't be affected by the heavenly sound of soap ASMR–

The sudden downwards movement of the arm he's on reveals that a god can be affected by soap. It's not a big incline, just enough for the tilt to be felt and enough of a jolt to almost topple Tommy over. Is the god relaxing? Is this– this might be their chance!

Carefully, he shakes Grian out of his zoning out. How this guy can be this calm when his own life is on the line, Tommy doesn't know. Then again, he looks exhausted. Whatever is happening has –and still is– taken its toll on both him and Jimmy. Without further warning, Tommy pulls at the god's thumb, which goes slack almost immediately. The action is mimicked on the other side, the hand having gone slack.

Yes, Tubbo! That's it! A little more and the two will be free of their binds–

Tubbo pulls out a fully-chiseled soap bar and razor, going to the second level of ASMR. What's next? Is he going to pull out foam boxes? Soft clay balls? The criiiiiick of the tiny soap cubes being cut off brings him out of his thoughts.

The incline becomes steeper within a second and before they know it, the god's hands have gone slack and the villains are falling. Tubbo throws the left-over soap and a couple other bars that he had stored in his pockets at that disturbing smile. The god flinches back, sending both of them tumbling off the edges. Tommy is lucky enough to have been caught by Tubbo, who has miraculously tumbled into flight mode but the villains–

The Watcher is lucky, having been caught by the Crowfather and flown out of the stadium. The Listener is another case; Dream is caught midair before he can dive down with his golden Creation wings and held tightly in the god's hand, whilst Martyn has returned, carrying Stress in his arms.

Thank goodness she wasn't swallowed up in a cog-hole! Her being here must mean that Ranboo is nearby too, unless they split up... in which case– no, Ranboo can teleport, he couldn't have fallen into a hole on his own!

Right below them, however, is a massive pit of copper cogs and void liquid and Jimmy is heading right for it– until an unlikely savior comes into play.

The Blade runs at the very edge, throws his arm out and catches the guy's neck collar in his fist. The weight takes them both into the pit but Tommy can't see further as his view is obstructed by a random cogwheel that Tubbo almost flies into.

When they reach the ground in a rough landing, Tubbo rolling off to the side and Tommy shifting to avoid most of the damage, there is also a wild Ranboo teleporting into the stadium. Tommy chitters happily, Warden throws his trident at the hand that's caught Dream. Xornoth has come off his perch on the spider robot and is helping BBH and Sapnap drag Blade out of the pit.

With a bit of effort, Blade and Jimmy are hauled over the edge and thrown aside with little grace. The three boys gather around the villain, Ranboo being the first one to fall to his knees and shake the man violently by the shoulders before splitting his attention between him and the shaken hero. None of them are aware of the god stumbling, beginning to lose his power above them; it doesn't matter to them. What matters is that Jimmy is safe and so is Grian–

Where is Grian? Tommy looks around and sees the Crowfather kneeling away from the crowd, back turned towards them. There is another wing peeking from his side, which means that he's with The Watcher, so he is also alive and– are they hugging? Oh, that– can that be good? Maybe.

"Holy fuck, what happened to you?", Blackjack asks as he approaches the heroes and villains gathered around The Blade. Pearl shamelessly laughs when she looks at what the casino owner is looking at. When Tommy looks over, he can't quite believe his eyes.

It's The Blade but... but as a toddler? WIth the cape and the now-oversized poet shirt and the mask that covers his head, it is difficult to say what age.

He laughs, Tubbo laughs but Ranboo scolds them. Stress is beside them all, then, brashly pushing the heroes aside to have a look at the situation herself.

"I'm a healer, let me through!", she demands with the authority of a pissed-off mother. She is met with no resistance after that statement.

The Watcher stands with the help of The Crowfather, leaning most of his weight on the hero, tugging his scarf up past his nose. Yep, that was totally a face reveal. Well, at least the two know each other outside of hero-villain shenanigans?

"Ranboo!", Crowfather shouts. The enderborn in question runs towards him, quickly helping take most of the load off of the man.

"How dare you...", the god seethes, the distortion in his voice so thick and loud that it is hard to make out any of his words. He is still staggering, however, wings flaring for a semblance of balance as the cogs start to fall back where they came from. Surprisingly, a TNT explosion from the goat mech is enough to send him a step back this time.

Doc howls with manic laughter, loud enough to be heard all around the stadium. Warden throws his trident again and the lightning that follows it pushes the god further back. Smoke bursts in plumes upon impact, big, dark, feathers spreading almost limply, green and golden robes tarnished with singed edges and holes and a bit of fire.

By the time the Watcher reaches their little huddle, he is obviously feeling much better. Stress, having taken notice of the Crowfather's mangled hand, approaches the hero to heal it. Now, Grian is the one supporting Ranboo, who looks significantly worse for wear than he did, like, six seconds ago. Do these guys just leech off each other for energy? Ranboo surely can't do it, so it's a Watcher, a Listener and now a god thing. Great?

Another blast from the goat and the god falls back against the bleachers. Were Grian and Jimmy seriously his only protection?

"Fool", Xornoth grins, joining Doc in his mania but in his own, unique way: fireballs; fuchsia, red and yellow fireballs. Honestly, why does this feel like a shock?

Ranboo unceremoniously falls on Tubbo, engulfing the bee in an awkward bear hug. Well, it would have been a bear hug if they didn't topple over. Tommy cackles at the sight. Jimmy has also come to slightly, now, with Watcher being so close.

"Tim", he begins, paying no attention to the drama happening around them. He reaches out with a hand, which Jimmy weakly meets with his own. The man is swiftly pulled up, taken into stronger arms. "Tim, we need to end this"

Tommy doesn't know what that means. The heroes have things handled now, they can leave! Jimmy nods his head regardless.

There is a sort of sadness when Watcher's shining, purple eyes fall on Tommy's. Tommy doesn't know why. He feels helpless all of a sudden but no one seems to be paying attention to him other than Royal, and they're just looking around for any leftover goons to take out of the fight.

Jimmy stands on his own two feet not a second later.

"Martyn will handle things", it is directed more towards the trio of children more than the heroes. Using Martyn's name is totally not going to bite them in the ass later!

The Watcher takes off first, the Listener second. The draft of wind they create is enough to knock Tubbo –who has just managed to sit up with the weight of Ranoo ontop of him– back down. Poor guy. Tommy couldn't be him.

Just like in the incident with Slimecicle, words are said and rhymed. Watchers watch, Listeners listen; it's familiar to some ears. There is a bright light, a ball of it that spreads so quickly, Tommy is certain he's gone blind! It all happens so fast; too fast, one could argue. It happens too fast for how long this fight has dragged out.

It ends how it started: with a snap of a finger. It's poetic, almost, that when the world returns, the sky is blue, smoke pluming and dust flowing and light shining down from the sun. They all look up as the air returns fresh with a breeze, taking the heat of the lightning and thunder with it.

The god is gone and the memory of him doesn't stick to the stadium. There are no scars left behind in the arena, all holes sealed, all portals to the End gone.

"It's over"

The celebration isn't much more than relieved sighs and people falling on their arses from strain and exhaustion. The villains remain silent, Martyn is gone, The Blade is still small.

Jimmy is gone. Grian is gone.

In their place, there are clouds, fluffy and white. There is the sky that is blue, the relief of a great battle and there are tears, silent but wrong.

=======
Techno likes Ranboo for some reason that he doesn't know and because of the age difference, he thinks about him in a more parental way without realizing so that's why he was like "those baffoons, what are they doing on that spider thing????"

Also, Techno turning into a toddler is a reference to that one time he said that he'd cannonically turn his character into a 3 year oldOne more chapter to go, are you excited for the ending???? :DDD