Techno jerked up into a sitting position, eyes wide in terror. But the second he had moved, had dared to change his position, the silhouette disappeared, the flashing lights stopped, the humming in his ears faded. All that it left behind was deafening silence and the lasting imprint of two glowing spots in his vision. And the echo of a voice sounding so human, yet so foreign. What the fuck was that... What the fuck was that.

His heart was racing, threatening to tear out of his chest.

"Techno? You okay?" His head snapped to the side hard enough he felt it crack a little, spotting Tubbo. The teen was barely awake, rubbing at his eyes as he yawned, none the wiser about what had just occurred. The others were still sleeping, although Fit did start to stir, mumbling something under his breath. Techno did not want to deal with explaining what just happened, especially not if he doesn't understand it himself. "I'm fine. Go back to sleep." That didn't seem to satisfy the teen though. He frowned and pushed himself up, staring at his friend in the weak light. "You look scared."

The older didn't look at his friend after that, instead staring out the window closest to their makeshift bed. The ocean was as dark as ever during nighttime, barely any of the bioluminescent plants visible from this angle. He knew if he walked up to the window, he could see how bright the reef looks at night. And somewhere out there were Foolish and Roier, huddled together for the night, keeping them safe. "Techno?" Something warm brushed against his side, before Tubbo settled beside him, shoulders pressed together. "Just... a nightmare. I'll be fine in a minute."

The teen hummed, looking out the window as well. "Do you want to talk about it?" He shook his head, the black spots in his vision still visible. He'd rather not explain, Tubbo will think he is going crazy. Besides, it was gone now... maybe he was just hallucinating. Or getting sick... this is an alien ecosystem. "Okay... you don't have to talk if you don't want to." It was odd, hearing those words spoken back to him. Words he had so often offered Tubbo when he was having a bad day on the ship.

Neither know for how long they sat there, side by side. Despite obviously being tired, Tubbo did not lay back down, not until he was sure that Techno was feeling better. Every now and again he would start small conversations, rants about old projects he had wanted to finish, how Pac's prosthetic leg was coming along, how he loved the idea of Techno making a new garden for himself with all these water plants. The constant chatter was nice, distracting him from his own thoughts.

Eventually he does tire himself out and starts to doze off. Techno carefully moved him to lay down, laying down himself too to assure Tubbo he will try and sleep now as well. And while the younger did fall asleep, Techno did not. He continued to stare at the ceiling, now left without any distractions again, until the sun started to rise, and their little base started to fill with more light.

Cellbit was the first to wake up, yawning and stretching as he sat up, hair wild from sleep. "Morning..." Techno waved from his new spot by the window, quietly chewing his breakfast. After another yawn and long stretch, Cellbit got up and grabbed some breakfast himself, joining the other by the window. "You look tired." Will everyone comment on that now? This is going to be a long day if that's the case. "Bad night. I've survived with less sleep."

The other just nodded, watching as Foolish started his morning round while Roier lazily stretched on the sandy floor, blinking at the bright sunlight. Now that his father was back in good health, his nervous pacing had stopped and made him return to his usual self. Which included late mornings.

"Tubbo told me Pac's leg is coming along well?" "Yes, it's looking decent for only using scraps. We thought we could use wiring and make it move like Fit's arm, but we got a bit worried and decided against it. None of us are medical professionals, so we don't know if we can attach everything properly without hurting Pac. The wiring is there in case we do find a surviving doctor or expert for prosthetics, but for now we won't attach it. The leg can still move and bends using gravity, but that's about it."

Said man stirred in his sleep, groaning and turning on his side, away from light pouring in through the windows. Techno snorted at the way Pac instantly sought out comfort from Fit, cuddling closer to him with a content sigh. Cellbit seemed just as amused, shaking his head in disbelief. "They are both so dense..." "You tell me. I've known Fit for a while and have never seen him act this way with any past crushes." "The fact that neither of them has made a move yet..."

Techno just shrugged, shoving the rest of his breakfast into his mouth. There was plenty to do, resources to collect, survivors to look for. He'll probably set out with Foolish once he's back from his territory patrol or whatever he does when he swims off somewhere. "I think we should head south today. We haven't gotten far in that direction. With any luck we might find some lifepods there. We launched so many, there is no way our three pods are the only ones around here." Cellbit stayed quiet, keeping the more... depressing thoughts to himself. "It's worth a try I guess."

"Can you two talk any louder?" They turned to see Tubbo, sleepily glaring at them. Fit was also yawning, but didn't make any motion to get up or even move, content with letting Pac sleep a little longer. "Sorry, we tried to stay quiet." Tubbo just grumbled, combing his hand through his hair. "But hey, since you are awake, you can join me and Foolish in exploring the reef more. Take a break from the prosthetic, I'm sure Pac won't mind." The teens eyes lit up at the suggestion and he quickly climbed out of the bed to grab himself some breakfast. It has been a few days since he actively left the base.

Eventually Pac and Fit got up as well, ignoring the teasing comments from Tubbo or the knowing looks both from Techno and Cellbit. Well, they tried to at least, there was still an obvious increase in colour on their cheeks. "So the plan for today is exploring?" Techno nodded, already busy checking his equipment for the trip. "You don't have to come along if you don't want to, Pac is making good progress with the exercise you two have been doing." Fit hummed, looking back to where Cellbit and Tubbo were showing Pac the almost finished prosthetic. Tubbo already wore all his gear and is ready to join Techno in exploring the area, but was helping Cellbit work a little more until they left. "Maybe I could-"

A beeping noise from the radio made them all stop whatever they were doing, staring at the innocent grey box with wide eyes. This was the first time it has made noise since receiving Cellbit's broadcast and they had continuously sent out their own broadcast to see if anyone would answer. It was honestly embarrassing how long it took them to react to the signal. But when they did, Tubbo was first to reach the radio, pressing the button below the blinking lamp.

"Playing pre-recorded distress call...

This is Captain Underscore in Lifepod 19-

He knew this voice...

-The pod has sustained heavy damage but remains functional for the time being. Scanners have identified dry land near my pod, one and a half kilometers south-west of the crash site-

How was he here? He was so far away from the pods...

-If all goes well, the coordinates are attached. I will make my way there and scout it out, see if I find a safe place for a camp. We will regroup there and wait for the rescue team to come pick us up-

Why was this happening?

-Stay together, and good luck. This message will now repeat.

This... This couldn't be real.

Rendezvous coordinates corrupted. Transmission origin coordinates downloaded."

Tubbo was shaking, stepping back from the radio. That was his father... alive. He's alive and found dry land... and a rescue crew is coming? Is that a fact or just hope? Had he received their broadcast or was it just his own finally reaching them? Did he know Tubbo was alive? Does he care if his son is still alive or not? Does Tubbo care?

Did he suddenly matter? Or was it just another mission? Just some more work to do? That voice... He hadn't heard it in such a long while, even before the crash. His days were spent around Techno and occasionally Cellbit, the only times he saw his dad was in passing or heard his voice over the speakers. Maybe Tubbo did care, and far too much. He could feel his fingertips burning where he pressed the button.

There were warm arms around him. Something solid covering his face. Why did everything suddenly sound so muted? "Tubbo? Can you hear me?" He blinked, only now realizing how his eyes were burning with tears, throat aching from silent sobs. He tried responding, but it was almost like drowning. His lungs felt too heavy to scream, too full to speak.

All those long nights of waiting for his father to come eat dinner with him. All those projects ignored. Why was he here? He had just accepted he was gone...

"Please, talk to me," the person holding him said. Tubbo shut his eyes, the lights in the corners of his eyes overwhelming his brain. There was some talking behind him too, but he couldn't make out words. Just this racing feeling in his head that wasn't going away. Even with his eyes closed it felt like everything was spinning.

He heard footsteps, he could not tell if they were coming closer or if they were going further away. The others were moving around their base, but he couldn't see or guess what they were doing. "Tubbo?" they asked again, patting his back. He tried focusing on it, the steady pat, pat, pat on his back. This had to have been Techno. It's always Techno. "Breathe with me."

The solid- Techno's chest- moved up and down with more force. Tubbo tried to breathe with him, pressing closer to try and drown out all other overwhelming senses right now. He could feel his heartbeat, hear it thumb in a steady, calm rhythm. "That's it... you're doing great. Just keep breathing, I got you." He whimpered, so quiet and weak... weak, that's what you are, you have a lot more left to learn if you want to take over later. There was a hand in his hair, trying to untangle the mess it had become. He leaned up into it like a sunflower towards the sun.

Techno wasn't sure what to do. He has seen the teen upset before, especially when it comes to his father. But this is the first time he has witnessed a breakdown like this before... at least from an outside perspective. For now, he kept trying to make Tubbo's breathing even out, assure him he's there and won't let anything happen to him.

While he did that, the others had watched helplessly for a little while. They don't want to overwhelm him with too many touches and voices, plus their relationship with Tubbo wasn't as close as Techno's. Even if Pac really was the only one who hasn't had any contact with the teen before the crash.

The confusion and helplessness filled the base to a painfully obvious level. They should be happy that there are more survivors, especially the captain. And they have a meetup point with other survivors with possible rescue coming. These are great news. Amazing news! But Tubbo didn't seem to happy. What was happening wasn't happiness and excitement of his father being alive. This was something else. The way he pressed close to Techno, hiding away in his arms... it almost looks like fear.

Fit eventually made his way over to the pair, offering Techno's old jacket to him for their young friend. He took it and wrapped it around Tubbo's shoulders, hopefully as an extra layer of comfort. The movement did make him finally lift his face from Techno's chest, showing the silent tear tracks and red eyes he had been hiding. Fit felt his heart ache at the sight. "We got you Tubbo... we care." The teen gave him a small smile in return.

"So... are we going there?" The question came from Cellbit, who looked very uneasy at changing the topic like that. But they had just received coordinates for a possible rescue and escape from this planet. Tubbo took a deep, shaky breath and pulled himself from the hug. "We have to. All survivors are going there... I do feel bad for Foolish and Roier... we just became friends."

Right, that was a thing. How would they even communicate something like that to the two creatures? They were so protective over them. What would they think if they saw them enter the ship and just... lift off? Leave and never come back? Fuck, now he did kind of feel bad. But what other option did they have? Staying here is out of the question. They don't belong here, they don't fit on a water planet, no matter how hard they try. "They lived just fine before us, and they'll be fine after we leave. We will miss each other, but you know we can't stay here forever."

Tubbo's shoulders sagged as he looked at the floor, pulling the jacket more around himself. "I know... I'll miss them." Techno wrapped an arm around his shoulder, at least trying to comfort him a little. "I'm sorry Tubbo."

"It'll just be worse because they have to bring us there! They have to watch us leave!"

"I know."

"They won't understand we won't come back!"

"Tubbo..."

"It's just... unfair! They love us! They accepted us into their family! Doing this to them is cruel!"

"Do we have a choice?"

Tubbo clicked his jaw shut, not saying any more. No, they don't have a choice. And it fucking hurts. He has to leave his friends behind and live with his dad again. Everyone can understand how upset that makes him. Techno felt so bad for pushing him to keep going anyways. "Let's just get this over with. Stalling will make it worse." "Yeah I know..."

Andso, with a lot of glancing at the window and a surprisingly heavy heart, theygot ready to leave.