When approaching the building they had spotted, they noticed that it wasn't a building at all. It was a wall, probably three or four blocks tall if they would measure it like that, mostly made out of cobblestone, small patches were filled up with other stone variations. The wall was encasing a island of sorts, as it was surrounded by a huge lake. There was a small pathway to what looked like an entrance, secured by fences, two gates and fully lit up by lanterns. There seems to be no other way in.

This place was on full lockdown.

"Wow..." "This is definitely a player base..." The two stared at the wall in front of them, watching as the crow perched itself on top of it and trilled. Blade took that as a signal to waddle onto the wooden path that led to the only entrance. Dream followed his pet, with George close behind him.

Once they made it across, they stood in front of an iron door. Hesitantly, the masked man raised his hand and knocked, the loud sound echoing over the lake. There was movement on the other side, the clear sound of boots on gravel and stone coming from the other side of the door.

Slowly, the door was opened and Dream was immediately met with the blade of a sword, the glittering blue surface indicating the material it was made out of. Nervous blue eyes peeked around the corner, almost hidden behind an iconic green striped hat.

"Um... Hi?" The sword lowered almost immediately when seeing the two people that stood in front of him, the door now opening to fully reveal Philza on the other side. As expected, he was forced to wear his usual skin outfit too, sporting the green and dark grey clothes his character wears as well as the well known hat. There was a red pendant sat on his neck, the same that the crow is wearing, just bigger. He also still wears the wristbands he seems to never take off, but that was about it. No large wings or long blonde hair, just the clothes.

"George? Dream?" The brunette grinned at the older and nodded. "We saw your crow and decided to follow it... hoping it would lead us to other players." The blonde nodded and stepped aside, motioning for the two to come inside. "It's getting dark, so I want to make sure everything is closed before the mobs come out."

They nodded and walked past him, watching as he immediately closed and locked the door with a bolt. These things exist here? "Sorry about the mess and all... I wasn't exactly expecting other people to show up."

The inside of Phil's little fortress was more spacious than they had thought. In one corner was a small farm, probably only 8 or 10 blocks in total, with what looked like wheat and potatoes. In the opposite corner was a small cabin made from oak wood. It wasn't anything special or fancy, just a simple house that would provide shelter during rain or storms. There was a second house of sorts, but this one had a flat roof and no windows. Through the open doors you could see chests stacked on top of each other. The last corner held a staircase that leads deep underground, probably to mine.

The whole place was lit up with lanterns and torches, the buildings connected through paths. There also was a ladder that would allow someone to climb on top of the wall if needed. The "mess" would probably mean the items scattered around near the storage, probably dropped in a hurry when hearing someone knock on his door. "You call this a mess? It's amazing!"

Phil scratched the back of his neck, smiling a bit. "It's nothing special, just a safe spot to hide in." "You kidding me? We slept in a cave surrounded by dirt! Meanwhile you have a house and farm!" "There was a village nearby and a ruined portal... they traded some food for the gold, but all the houses were full, so I couldn't stay there. Went back to my spawn and made this instead."

"Speaking of food... we're starving!" Dream sighed and crossed his arms, watching as George basically begged Phil for food. The older just laughed and motioned for both of them to follow him into the house. "Yeah I got some. I can make baked potatoes if you're patient enough."

You could practically see George starting to drool at the thought.

The small house only had a bed, some extra chests, crafting table and furnaces in it. There was a table with stairs used as a sort of bench in the corner and two flowerpots each placed in one window for decoration. It did look very fucking cozy.

"It's not really made for more than one person... but we should all be able to fit at the table. You two go sit down. You're probably tired as fuck if you've been walking all day." George flopped down on the bench immediately, giving a way to dramatic sigh. Dream sat down next to him, trying to squeeze into the corner enough so Phil will be able to sit down as well when he's done.

Phil grabbed some potatoes from a barrel over the furnaces and put them in, lighting the coal with a flint and steel. Dream was more interested in the diamond sword comfortably resting at Phil's hip where it was strapped to his belt. "You got diamonds?" The blonde hummed and went through his chests searching for god knows what. "Yeah... only a handful though. I'm too scared to go into the caves, so I just strip-mine for them." He grinned in victory when finally finding some wooden bowls, probably what he wants to use as plates.

"You actually went mining? Deep enough for diamonds?" "Yeah... after the initial shock of 'holy shit this is real I am going to die' was over, I just did what I would usually do when I start a hardcore world. Minus jumping into the ocean or roaming the desert looking for chests to loot in all the structures.

"Mining is so fucking hard though! I was already sweating after mining cobble for two furnaces!" Phil took the potatoes out of the oven and put them into the three bowls, a piece of bread soon joining each plate. "Oh I know how hard it is. I'm not a very fit person, but my survival kinda depends on doing these things. Spent an entire day underground, mining as many blocks as my arms could take before taking a break. It already took half a day for me to get down to diamond level in the first place."

The blonde walked over to the table and placed the bowls on the wooden surface. "What happened to your shoulder?" George looked at the bandages, obviously still feeling a decent amount of pain from the wound, even if it was now starting to heal. "I looked at an Enderman on accident." "Oh... those fucks are terrifying. Tall as fuck too... taller than I imagined them to be." "Yeah, no kidding..."

As soon as he could, George practically devoured the food in front of him. Dream shifts a bit when Phil sat down next to him, all three huddled together on the small bench. "George you're gonna choke..." "Let him eat. God knows what kind of effects starving has here, especially when he's hurt already."

They ate in silence after that, not really knowing what to talk about. That's, until Phil spoke again. "You didn't see anyone else?" His voice was quiet this time, almost worried even. "No... you're the first." He hummed and bites into his half eaten potato. "I'm sure that if there are other people around, they are alright. I think we would get some sort of message if someone dies." "We don't know how this world works... yes it's Minecraft, in a way, but that's about all we know." Something dark flickered in his eyes.

"Not everyone gets over the first shock as fast as we did, I'd imagine. They could not find a shelter for the night... or fall down a sudden cliff or just stare off into space not noticing things around them..." His hand was shaking now, dropping the potato back into the bowl. "Imagine the fear with our younger friends... imagine Tommy... or Tubbo... Ranboo... Fucking hell even I'm terrified as shit about what's out there..."

Dream didn't know what to do. Just telling him 'everything will be okay' felt like a lie. They have no idea what's out there or for how long they will be trapped in here. But just sitting here and letting the older male panic felt wrong.

"They're smart kids. Even if scared, I'm sure they managed to find a hiding spot. Everyone did... if there even are others. You shouldn't think about scenarios like that... it only makes you panic more." 

Phil nodded, but the dark look in his eyes didn't leave, even after the shaking had stopped. "I'm just worried..." "And that's normal. I was worried too, both for myself and others. They'll be alright. We can look for them in the surrounding areas... and at some point we will probably run into them." "Not if they settled down somewhere like he did." Dream kicked George under the table, who yelped and glared at him. "Not helping."

"Brian has been on the lookout for other people this whole time. You're the first he found." "Brian?" A soft caw from the window was the answer, the crow from before sitting in the open window. "That's his name. It's what I call my tts on twitch. We always joked about how it's a crow giving me messages." "Ah."

The black bird fluttered over to Phil and settled on his shoulder, cooing as he nudged him against the cheek. The blonde smiled and leaned into the touch. "He's... also been my only companion until you came here. But it looks like you have one too." Dream looked down, seeing Blade sit by his feet with big eyes. He laughed and gave the rest of his potato to the pig. "Yeah. He's been by my side since the start, immediately followed me around like a dog. His name is Blade."

Phil snorted at that, handing his last piece to the pig too. "Oh I'm sure Techno would be honored." "Of course. He got a cute little pig named after him." Brian trilled at the pig, who snorted back. "Awww they're friends!" "Oh who could have thought? A crow and a pig would become friends?" This time Phil was the one who kicked George. "Fuck off mate."

They laughed and spent the rest of the evening chatting about whatever came to their minds, mostly just making fun of each other. When they were too tired to continue, Phil managed to get enough wool together to make two more beds. They had to be placed in the middle of the room, but that didn't matter much.

What mattered was that all three could have a bed and can get much needed rest.

/// Dadza has arrived :D