The beginning of eternity

The end of time and space

The beginning of every end,

And the end of every place.

~

The sun crawled up the sky, slowly but surely, a ball of fire in the vast blue.

Below, wind swept through the grass with an odd feeling of urgency, flowers waving in the breeze, slender stalks bending.

A sprig of trillium, sporting a single white flower, beams to the sun. It bows under each gust, two petals missing. The third, final petal pauses for a moment, all alone, then falls limp and allows itself to be carried away, into the air.

The bulbous center is bare, tiny grains of pollen like leaves in the wind, drifting off into oblivion.

The calm before the storm.

Phil took a deep breath.

One final time.

He's in the air, wings beating smoothly and he closes his eyes for a heartbeat. Whatever happened, this would likely be his last time flying.

And then sounds of excitement reached his ears and he snapped his eyes open. Concentrate, Phil. You have a future to save.

This time though, he had a different plan.

He glanced downward, making out the distant shapes of those he knew. They were celebrating, Tubbo standing a little off to the side by himself, one hand shading his eyes as he stared up.

Phil gave a faint smile at seeing Tommy, still alive, waving from below.

And then his gaze flicked sideways, and he saw Techno's head jerk towards Tubbo, fingers closing slowly around the handle of his rocket launcher which was strapped to his side.

No.

No wonder Tommy was so mad at him last time. He killed Tubbo first.

Phil snapped his wings closed, pulling into a steep dive, the wind whistling past him. The ground rushed up to meet him and he pulled out of it at the last moment, barreling straight into Techno, knocking the rocket launcher out of his hand.

Tubbo jumped, startled, letting out a yelp of alarm. Tommy shrieked.

They tumbled to the ground together, Phil wincing as he tucked into a roll, the cobblestone paved ground hard and unforgiving.

Techno gave a grunt of surprise, and Phil was pleasantly surprised that he wasn't instantly attacked. It seemed Techno was still partial to those he loved once.

"What reaction speed is that, Phil?"

Phil flared his wings. I've lived through this far too many times, I knew what was coming. "I had a good vantage point in the air."

"Techno was the traitor," Tommy gasped, stumbling back. "Techno betrayed us!"

Dream laughed, startling everyone around him. "It wasn't Techno, no."

"But he-"

"You see," Dream gave a deadly smile, cutting Tommy's protest off. "Techno never claimed to be on your side in the first place."

Tommy fell silent.

Techno sighed. "Well, wonderful. Now if you'd please step aside, I have some business to attend to." He took a step towards his rocket launcher, and Phil slipped in front of him.

"No."

Techno's eyes narrowed. "They used me, Phil. They set up a coup, and used me for their own gain."

Phil took a deep breath. "Do care about them, Techno?"

"What kind of quest-"

"Just answer it." The rest of the crowd was deadly silent as they watched the exchange.

Techno sighed.

"... Yes. I do care about them," he scowled. "But they have to be taught a lesson."

"A lesson can wait," Phil interjected, relieved. He folded his wings, letting the tension from the last few minutes flow out of them. "We need to stop Wil first."

Dream tensed, and Phil pretended not to notice.

Tommy blinked, stepping forward. "Where even is Wilbur?"

"The traitor," Dream interjected smoothly, evidently preferring to spill his own secrets than let others do it for him. "Wilbur was the traitor."

Tommy gaped at him. "No, it can't be... Wilbur would never betray his own nation-"

"Except he has," Phil interrupted, painfully aware of how they were running out of time. "We have to stop him."

Tommy stared at him in shock, and Phil explained all, heart twisting at the look of horror on the young boy's face.

Techno didn't seem surprised, but sheathed his blade. "Let's go, then. Every moment here is a moment wasted."

"Afraid I can't let you do that," a voice came, and Phil turned, not at all surprised, to face Dream.

Dream smiled, hefting his axe, and Phil barely registered what was happening before Techno tackled him, sending both of them tumbling to the ground again.

Dream's weapon passed over their heads, where they had been standing just a moment before.

"DREAM!" Tommy screamed, eyes blazing. "Leave Phil alone!"

The masked man simply shrugged. "Can't do that, he's messing with my plans."

Techno was up in a moment, unsheathing his sword and meeting Dream's strike. "Go stop Wilbur, I'll hold him off!"

Dream made a sound between a shout and a snarl, lunging towards Phil, but Techno pressed him back again, his blade a blur of death.

Phil grabbed Tommy's wrist, pulling him back, then turned towards the entrance to the tunnels. They ducked into the entrance side by side, and Tommy flinched as he heard the sound of blades clashing behind them.

"Do you think he'll be able to hold Dream off?"

"I trust Techno," Phil responded simply. Tommy lowered his gaze.

Together, they hurried through the darkness, and Phil paused as he reached the door, then took a deep breath.

They would succeed this time. They had to succeed this time.

He opened the door.

"Wil."

Wilbur raised his head, gaping at him from his position by the wall. "Phil!" His eyes narrowed.

"And Tommy. I thought I told you not to follow me-"

"He didn't," Phil interjected gently. "I brought him."

"Then how did you know I was here?" Wilbur lowered his voice, evidently suspicious.

"I figured it out," Phil explained. "I brought him with me to stop you."

Tommy nodded. "Please, Wilbur. Don't do it."

Wilbur gave a twisted smile. "If you're here to stop me, you're wasting your breath. You don't know how many times I've been here, so close, so close, waiting to press this button."

"Don't press it," Phil coaxed, softening his voice. "I want to save this family. I intend to save this family. This world has torn us apart, but I believe we can fix it. I know we can fix it."

"I've made promises, Phil, and I intend to keep them." Wilbur glared at the shadows that stretched seamlessly from wall to wall. "I will end what I started."

Phil took a slow step forward. "Wil, please, listen to me-"

"No," Wilbur snapped, recoiling, hands clutching his head. "No, no, no, you don't understand, if I can't have this, no one can."

Too late Phil realized his hand was raised. "Wil-"

Tommy's eyes widened and he lunged forward in a desperate but futile attempt to stop him

Wilbur's fist smashed down onto the button, and Tommy crashed into him at the same time, sending them both tumbling to the ground in a tangle of limbs.

Click. It echoed in the gloom.

"WIL-" Phil shrieked, leaping forward, ready to shield them all with his wings. Tommy gave a faint whimper, real, stark, fear glittering in his eyes.

They were dead, he couldn't shield them both, he had failed, failed-

And then he realized it was silent.

Deadly silent, only the sound of their laboured breathing and his own rapidly beating heart in the darkness.

Silent, without the sizzling of TNT.

And then footsteps, and he whirled around to see Techno push open the door.

He nodded at them and held up a hand, a bundle of thin redstone wires clasped in his fist.

"Hope no one needed these. They were underground, leading to quite a large stash of explosives."

Phil laughed, sinking to his knees.

Tommy was crying, tears shimmering on his cheeks, but grinned at Techno, who hesitantly returned the smile.

"Took care of Dream?" He managed to gasp, half laughing, half crying.

Techno gave a low chuckle. "Wore him down a bit, then got the crowd on him and came after you two. They're doing a good job."

Phil gave a sigh of relief.

Wilbur put his head in his hands, a layer of clarity in his gaze. "I- I almost killed you, almost killed Tommy, I almost killed Tommy-"

Tommy put a hand on his shoulder. "This means you owe me one now." His voice was teasing, but had a serious underlying to it.

Wilbur lifted his head, eyes rimmed in red, tears shimmering in his gaze. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry. I'll do anything."

Tommy smirked. "Come with us. Come with Phil. Be part of our family."

Wilbur let his tears fall, and nodded.

Phil smiled.

I did it.

Yes, little raven, you did it.

He smiled.

~

"Don't you miss your wings?" Tommy inquired one night as they watched the stars. It was a different world, of course, one that he had spent many years in, alone.

It was much more beautiful with those he cared about with them though.

The answer lay on the tip of his tongue. No, I don't miss them.

He stopped and thought about it.

"I do," he said at last, feeling as if a weight had settled down on his chest, making it hard to breath.

"I miss them a lot. Sometimes I forget I lost them and almost jump out windows before I remember I can't fly anymore." He gave a bitter chuckle.

Tommy cast his gaze downwards. "I'm sorry."

Phil smiled. "It's alright." And he meant it.

"I miss them, but I would do it all again in a heartbeat if I had to."

The weight was lifted.

Tommy smiled.

~

Seasons from that day, after the sun had risen and fallen many times over, when the distant world called the Dream SMP was but a hazy memory, one family remained.

They had each other, and that was all they really ever needed.

You did well, fallen angel.

==============================

Again, the riddle in this chapter is not my own. 

And that's the end!

This was a gift of a happy ending, since y'all are prepared to suffer when reading my stories, I thought I'd give you a nice surprise.

Hope you enjoyed, and again, thank you. It's been a wild ride, and I'm looking forwards to what may come :D

Until next time,

~ BlueQuills