#heliotropedalien

The immortal shrugs a little. “There have been a few. The multiverse is a vast and inexplicable place; there have been weirder things out there. It’s just that they’re usually well adjusted enough that they don’t need to come back here.”

Dream makes a face at Day’s answer. “I’m aware you’re being an asshole.” “Oh, good, I was worried that it wasn’t clear enough. I can never be sure how much you catch on to,” Day replies. He gets a glare from his sort of more or less younger self. “You know damn well I’m not an idiot–” “I mean,” Day interrupts, sucking air in through his teeth, “you kind of are, though. That’s been proven a few times over, so…”

“To answer the question,” Dream says, arms folding over his chest, “I’ve met the occasional one that comes here, but I’ve known about them from the first one they ran into. I get shown the weird worlds for the express purpose of the T3 finding my horror at the number of worlds where it’s just–nonsense! Fucking nonsense, what even were some of those?!”

Day looks smug at the frustration. “If we have to suffer, you do too. Fem Dreams aren’t necessarily weird, by the way–it’s just that there tend to be other things that go along with that. Like the one where she spoke only in rhymes, or the one where everyone had counters above their heads. The things being counted were seemingly random. I hated that one.”

“Day says that because his counter was for times he was an asshole. Theo realized it first and proceeded to almost pass out laughing because of it, from what I hear,” Dream says, more than a little smug. Day glares at him. “The counter was for times people were scared of me, actually.” “Scared of you because you were an asshole, yeah.”

“I swear to fucking Prime–” Dream continues, undeterred by the hissed words, “Vio’s was the number of times he considered the merits of just killing everyone instead of figuring out what the fuck they were meant to do. I’ve been told it got distressingly close to triple digits. Theo was how many times he tried to find the local Purpled, also a very high number.”

A red-orange cat winds himself around Day’s ankles, meowing loudly. He immediately bends down to scratch at the cat’s ears, smiling a little. “Yeah, yeah, the cats are pretty cute. Shame about their owner. Thanks.” He gets loud purring in response and a long-suffering sigh from Dream.

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

Much like Day and Dream Prime had been, Vio and Purpled Prime are in the same location.

It’s an office of some sort, and a fairly nice one at that. It seems like it’s Purpled’s, given the presence of various trinkets, a dog bed, and DogChamp. That’s clearly not Hero on the bed, because the dog gives no indication he heard anything–nor is he being unnerving in some way.

Purpled, much like Tommy, appears older and has a slightly different wardrobe. His hoodie is still the same bright purple, but the make is different than it was when he was younger and features a large UFO embroidered on the back.

They glance at each other, Purpled raising his eyebrows a bit. Vio sighs softly and answers first. “Not unless you count other versions of us. Or…the people I knew on my home planet. I didn’t exactly come here the usual way–no ship for me. Not all aliens, nor even all Purpleds, can be vaguely eldritch.”

“And thank fuck for that,” Purpled says, a little amused. “I met a lot of aliens. I was a mercenary even before I crashed here in the UFO. Pissed that baseline involves it getting blown up, but hey–the Quackity from here regretted his attempt. Amazing that he got exactly what he wanted–a legacy. Monkey’s paw here just made that legacy that Quackity’s very painful death is why everything became better. The power of spite, and especially Vio’s spite, isn’t to be underestimated.”

Vio scoffs softly. “You say that as if you weren’t right there, making him suffer and weren’t right there with the Bench Trio for the original Reformation Team.” “Never said I wasn’t. Yours is just impressive, when it gets activated. Makes sense why Tommy sees you as a dad,” the more humanoid of the two aliens retorts. Vio rolls his eyes at it. “You know damn well the joke is that I’m his not-dad and why I don’t just admit he and the other two are basically just my sons at this point.”

“Right,” Purpled says, grinning, “it’s out of spite.” The glare that gets would make most pause, but Purpled only grins more at it. He continues, “Spite and a frankly baffling hero complex that you’ve managed to develop. It was very funny to see everyone who was used to the old you get used to this you. Pretty sure Quizzy stopped breathing at one point.”

The answer to that is just shy of deadpan. “He did, yes. It took Atlas insisting that I was fine and not about to commit a murder for him to start breathing again. Caul kept asking when I went and developed a conscience–they still do, actually. Then Jacobs…” the name is said with a curious amount of disdain, but just gets a sigh from his alternate self.

The swapped world’s version of Karl is just as caustic and snarky as Vio, which meant they got along like a house on fire. They had somehow become friends long before Vio ended up in what eventually became Sanctuary, just…antagonistic ones. They had a long-standing habit of sending each other coffee strong enough that nobody else could stomach it and assorted junk of usefulness that depended entirely on how much they had pissed each other off recently.

Most people stopped betting on what the contents of the gift baskets were after it had been proven that Vio not only knew, he started rigging the bets so either nobody won or one of his not-sons won.

The other person in the room finally looks up from whatever he was working on. Helio leans back in his chair to consider the question.

"Vio never really leaves the server in that way, anyway. He doesn't like the crowds." "Outsiders are nosy! They ask too many questions about what I am, and then get pissy if I ask equally insulting ones right back!"

Helio points out, "You deliberately provoke them." "And they deserve it!" "I didn't say that they don't."

With a slight shrug, Helio continues, "So he's not a great resource on what the general public sentiment is. Honestly, nobody really…knows what's happened here. We prefer it that way. Sanctuary is a weird place with deeply traumatized residents. Even those who were here natively don't have many ties to outsiders. Pretty much all of us were invited explicitly because we didn't have much else."

As he speaks, Helio taps something out on his keyboard. A small holographic display opens up over his desk.

"Occasionally we get people nosing around, because names like Dream and Techno will probably always carry some weight. The fact that Dream basically became a recluse was weird even when I first joined the server. It's only gotten weirder that nobody has seen him since. This," he says, with a gesture towards the display, "is a list of fan sites, news outlets, and similar places who have dug into things too far."

It’s a long list, even just what’s on the screen. It seems to go well beyond that.

"Anyone who shows too much or the wrong kind of interest in a resident, the server, and methods to illegally enter a server are monitored. If anyone is caught sending or selling information about Sanctuary to outsiders, that'd be one of the few ways to get sent to one of our partner worlds. Too many people prying into our business risks the safety and sanity of everyone here. Other admins might take an interest in us. We don't know what that might mean, but probably nothing good," Vio adds.

Despite his grumbling, he seems genuinely uneasy at the thought of too much attention from borderline demigods. Sanctuary is pretty much a golden goose; everything from tech to mobs to blocks are brought back from other realities. Exploiting that fact would be very profitable.

It's why they would rather be safe than sorry about any potential threats. Someone might have benign intentions, but seeing the reality of what the Dream SMP has become could easily change that.

Any refugee or current resident is free to choose among several dozen other realities to live in, if they decide Sanctuary doesn't meet their needs. There are plenty where people can simply fuck off and never be seen again.

Thus far, they haven't had anyone they needed to force out. Those that leave do so willingly, and on at least somewhat decent terms.

It's part of the duties of the Welcome Wagon to prepare those people for the world they'll be living in. Supplies, learning basics of that world, and in some cases a cover identity are given.

They might have felt that entering Sanctuary was their only choice, but Sanctuary itself is only one of the many places that they might decide to live in. Hell– some former refugees end up helping acclimate others to their new world down the line.

Helio adds, "Sanctuary houses our people, and their safety is our top priority. Not just physically, but emotionally and mentally as well. Too many of us have lost too much." "I'm pretty sure Day would go on the warpath. Theo and probably quite a few others would join him. I've spent way too many hours in therapy recounting Doomsday to be interested in seeing them fully snap. I've spent too many hours seeing them fight to want to risk them going for blood," Vio agrees.

A long shudder visibly goes down both of their spines. Helio might have seen far less of what the Was-Taken family is capable of, but he knows enough.

Vio was, in no small part, inspired by fear to remain in what went on to become Sanctuary. Sure, Darkza wasn't great…but Day and Theo? Their presence was more than Vio wanted to deal with.

Hell, he refused to get close to saying negative things about Theo.

…And then Day and Theo showed up anyway. Helio still very vividly remembers how the purple tint to Vio's skin had gone sickly grey when he saw Day in the Dream SMP.

By now, Helio has seen and heard enough to believe that that had been a fully justified reaction. Day, for all that he is openly a doting father to six sons, is also terrifying.

One of the quieter rules of Sanctuary is not to push the immortal man too far. Some people can get away with more than others– Aster, for instance, has a fair bit of leeway because of his closeness with Theo and Lee. Others, like Lucid, are already on his bad side.

Day has a hell of a lot of stress resting on his shoulders. He does not need anyone deciding it'd be funny to fuck with him.

There was once, and only once, that Helio got a glimpse of just how deep Day’s trauma ran.

It was years ago by now. They had still been working out snags in getting new residents set up. Orph had called out the previous two days, a fact which led to Helio going to consult with him in-person.

Summer Hills had been eerily quiet. The area usually had a fair bit of noise; people going to Atlas' store, TVs, music, one or more of the Was-Taken brothers screaming, the forge, redstone…but on that day, there was nothing.

Just the wind, some mobs, and the nether portal.

That silence, more than anything else, had been what spurred Helio to try to find someone. If there was something wrong, then he needed to try to help– or at the very least to sound the alarm.

Positioned at the top of the main residence in Summer Hills, itself on top of a hill, the lights being on in Day’s room meant it was easy to spot.

When he used his elytra to get close without alerting any potential threats, he was attacked the second he got near enough to see anything.

Dee and Orph had come out swinging– and with how little room was available to move in on the deck, Helio had been forced to retreat out onto the roof.

That had been how he got a split second glimpse of DayDream. His complexion was pale, eyes unfocused, wings limp.

But he was sitting up. He was watching Helio like he wasn't entirely present.

Like he was a distant spectator to a show halfway tuned out.

Orph had grabbed his shirt and said to leave. His eyes were wild enough that he reminded Helio of one of the last times he saw Arode before his much later revival. That had been all the reason Helio needed to disengage and flee.

Sometimes, that sight– of someone who brought down a god, someone without whom they would largely be dead, with all the liveliness of a doll– still haunts his nightmares.

He's seen plenty of fucked up things. But Day being so detached is…something in its own class.

Maybe it's because Helio is aware he played a hand, no matter how unknowing, in his mental health being that wrecked.

Even if he hadn’t known what Quackity was up to, he never bothered to see the lone prisoner of Pandora's Vault. It never even occurred to him to try.

Lucid was pretty fucked up when he got out– it took years before he was able to get anywhere close to his pre-Vault physical state.

Day, from tidbits he's said over the years, was in there long enough that his body would have never recovered.

"The Was-Taken family," he notes, "do not fuck around with threats to their loved ones. Sanctuary getting tangled up in a war because someone opened their mouths counts as a threat."

And that’s without considering the fact that, evidently, Lee could become an admin like Lucid.

If Lee can't leave, his family would defend him to the bitter end. It wouldn't matter what the cost to them was, because personal risk is secondary to their creed of family first.

And, you know, Helio has spent quite a few years in this server. He’s attached to it and its residents. He's not really interested in seeing how it would fare if Lee became an admin and lost members of his family.

Just the idea makes him feel a cold sweat break out on the back of his neck.

"I don't want to see how the Swords and Shields would react to a war. I don’t want to see how Aster would react to a war," Vio mutters. From the lashing of his tail, he's distressed by the thought.

Helio shudders in agreement. The group is far from small. In fact, they are arguably the largest group in Sanctuary.

It started small, and then Helio blinked and there were enough members to warrant Atlas making molds for the ear cuff components.

More join all the time. He can’t even argue it's presence is a bad thing; it serves at least a dozen purposes. Lee is really just a convenient banner to unite under. He gives the Swords and Shields a justifiable reason to learn to fight better, a group of peers, a hobby, a support group, and countless more little reasons.

Daz and Raine, the two who helm the Welcome Wagon, do a fair bit to encourage membership. Aster does as well, just…more subtly.

A lot of people see him as inspirational. He has clawed his way up to stand toe to toe with Theo through little more than spite and stubbornness.

If he can do that, a lot of people reason, surely they can get within spitting distance of them, too.

Helio…honestly, kind of doubts that. Aster is special in some way that he can’t really explain. Something about him makes him a kindred spirit of Theo’s. Theo was good enough to be a primary combatant in a fight with a fucking god.

It’s not like Helio is a slouch in a fight. He just knows the two of them are well beyond his skill level.