#lwat

A yellow feather fluttering into his field of vision followed by the sound of flapping wings made the red eyed hybrid look up to see an incoming parrot holding a rolled up letter tied to its leg.

“Well, speak of the devil or whatever,” Techno said in his usual monotone drawl as the parrot landed on his shoulder.

It held its leg out and he took the offered scroll before reaching into his inventory to grab some seeds to feed it. Then once it was happily munching away he unrolled the letter, wondering which server it could be from. Probably some new upstart one inhabited by a bunch of idiots with conflicting opinions who don’t realize they can just go separate directions and end it. That was usually how it went. People were all the same. They find out their opinions don’t match up, they bicker over it, they fight, someone invariably gets killed, they wage war, and then rinse and repeat. 

But as he read the letter he realized it wasn’t from just anybody. It was from Wilbur, Philza’s kid. Jeez, he hasn’t seen him in what feels like one hundred years. 

Huh, when was the last time he’d seen the bespectacled boy? He actually can’t recall. He thinks back, far back, scouring his memory for instances with Wilbur. He remembers his round glasses, his warm yellow sweater, and his love for anything music. Techno recalls how Wilbur had always detested battle, fighting, anything like that. Hell, he hadn’t even liked wearing armor, even when it was for his own good. Which Techno thought was both foolish and endearing. He himself was always suited to battle, falling into it like how a bird takes to the skies. But he’d always seen Wilbur as so far removed from being suitable for violence. 

All the younger man had ever said he wanted to do was sing, play music, and write. He truly had the heart of a poet, that was for sure. Getting him to learn some basic defense so he could travel to the nearby villages on his own without being a sitting duck had been similar to pulling teeth for Philza, his son always treating the lessons like a chore. But he and Phil had managed to teach him enough self defense so he could be safe out on his own, at least from the mobs. And once that was handled then Philza didn’t feel so worried leaving his boy home alone, meaning he and Techno could go traveling again.

And Wilbur hadn’t been bothered by this either, seeming to enjoy having some time to himself when his father and Techno were out. They always came home to Wilbur playing his guitar either outside in the yard, enjoying the sun, or inside by the fire to stay cozy. He’d been perfectly content. 

And then one day they came home and Wilbur hadn’t been alone like he’d always been before. He’d had some kid with him, a little boy who actually bore a strong resemblance to Philza, what with his blond hair and blue eyes. That had been more than a shock, he’ll admit. Walking in and seeing Wilbur with some random kid they’d never seen before, just sitting on the floor in front of the couch like it was no big deal.

Yeah, that had been Tommy, and according to Wilbur he’d found him eating out of the trash in the village so he’d brought him home. Of course. When Philza asked where Tommy’s parents were, the kid had wrinkled his nose and said they were probably at home. That had turned into them grilling the kid, trying to figure out where their house was so Wilbur could return him. 

But Tommy had kicked up a huge fuss, shouting about how he left on his own and he was never going back. From how he’d described it, his parents hadn’t been the best. Not even close actually, they’d sounded like shit to be honest. I mean if your toddler is willing to up and leave with zero intention of going back to you, like 100% willing to eat out of the trash instead of staying with you then yeah you’re probably a shit tier parent.

Wilbur had begged Philza to let Tommy stay with them. He had nowhere else to go and leaving him out on the street seemed messed up and he was so little, it’s not like he’d take up much space anyways. Yeah, Wilbur admitted the kid kinda ate a lot but no more than he guessed all kids ate… But they had a huge garden and some cows so it wasn’t a huge deal, right? 

Techno had been against it, they’d JUST started getting back to traveling again since Wilbur was old enough and capable enough to look after himself now. He’d argued that they didn’t need another little gremlin running around touching their stuff. He’d been eyeing the little blond boy as he stared openly at Techno’s own enchanted sword that was strapped to his belt. He’d tucked it into his inventory to keep it away from the kid and his no doubt grimy little fingers. 

But Philza had always been such a sap when it came to Wilbur and his ‘sad boy eyes’. So he’d ended up folding like a house of cards pretty quick, though he’d warned Wilbur that the kid, Tommy, was his responsibility. Philza wasn’t going to start looking after him when he’d not had any hand in taking him in. So Tommy’s well being was now solely in Wilbur’s hands. 

Phil had actually been really serious at that part, asking Wilbur if he knew what he was getting into? Because Phil knew how hard it was to care for a child, it was exhausting and sometimes thankless, and you can’t just stop whenever you want because someone defenseless now relies on you.

Wilbur hadn’t been dissuaded though, and pulled the shorter boy close in a half hug, saying he’d be the best big brother ever! Nevermind the child had started gnawing on the arm Wilbur had around him.. Techno couldn’t help but roll his eyes back then and even now as he remembered that promise. But Wilbur seemed happy at least, and neither Phil nor Techno would have to take care of the kid so it hadn’t been so bad. And later when they were alone Phil shared that he was actually glad that Wilbur wouldn’t be alone at home anymore. He’d felt bad leaving his boy all alone, even though he could defend himself. 

Techno assured him that Wilbur was a big boy now, practically an adult himself. So he didn’t need Phil worrying about him so much. Phil had laughed and said that was true but he couldn’t stop worrying, it was a parent thing. You never truly stop worrying about your kid. Techno figured that made sense but still told Phil that that was one of the reasons why he wasn’t having kids, too much stress. Techno’s a busy guy, he can’t be losing sleep over some helpless nerds. That had gotten Phil to laugh, which had been Techno’s goal. So, goal accomplished. 

Things had been good after that. At least that’s how Techno remembered them to be. Him and Phil would travel and explore to their heart’s content, coming back to the house every now and again to take a break and check up on the brunet and blond. The kid grew like a weed, looking taller and taller with each visit. Him and Wilbur growing closer in height as well as their bond, soon acting like true brothers. 

Wilbur had been so happy, and Techno remembers the last time he’d seen him. Him and Phil returned home for another short time between tournaments. They’d walked up to the forest surrounded property they’d called home to see Wil lounging against the porch, guitar in hand with Tommy chasing around a bee, trying to catch it.

They looked so peaceful. And Techno thought that’d never change.

..But reading his letter now made Techno’s stomach sink a bit. 

Wilbur was asking for his help. His professional help.. Looks like he’d joined a server not too long ago and started his own nation; L’manberg. Technoblade couldn’t help but close his eyes in annoyance while pinching the bridge of his nose at hearing that. Nothing good ever came from governments, if he’d said that once he’s said it a million times. To the point where if he were a cartoon character from the 80’s then it’d be his damn catchphrase. But people just keep making and joining governments, even Wilbur it seemed.. 

And from the tone of the letter it looked like Wilbur was in big trouble. 

Techno scrubbed his hand down his face, his snout scrunching as he turned the letter over in his mind a few times before sighing and taking out his ender chest. With some mild annoyance he decided to help Wilbur out with his war. Better than sitting around being bored out of his mind at any rate. So he composed a letter back to the brunet, letting him know his services wouldn’t be cheap just because they knew each other, but he’d gladly help him turn the tides. Once that letter was done he handed it over to the parrot, watching it fly off back to Wilbur.

Then on a whim he decided to compose another letter, this time to Phil, letting him know what his son was up to. But knowing the winged man, he’d probably just find the whole thing amusing. 

“Well.. I better get packed while I wait for Wilbur’s reply,” Techno said before heading back to his house.

-0-

You carried Azo in your arms as the four of you walked back to L’manburg from the nether portal. Internally you were still seething at Wilbur, you knew what he’d done, to a child of all people. You knew Wilbur, deeper and more intimately than he would ever be comfortable with. But you’d held out hope he’d never sink so low as to harm a child.. You’d really clung to the sliver of hope, despite everything you’d seen him do in the lore streams..

But now you knew with a sad certainty how low he was willing to go for what he wanted. And you wanted nothing more than to sink your teeth into his throat and rend his esophagus from its place in his neck before crushing his skull between your palms. Your jaws ached with the fervent desire to cause the vile bastard as much pain physically as he’d caused you and your children mentally and emotionally. 

Though instead of succumbing to those feral desires you instead took a long measured breath in through your nose before letting it out through your mouth, just trying to calm your white hot rage since you needed to focus on the three kids you had with you and not the dead man walking over in fuckin Pogtopia~

You all got to your house and you mentally focused on how too small it was for your family now. Tommy and Tubbo already had their own rooms at your place despite each having their own homes elsewhere. You noticed they usually stayed here at night to sleep, which you were fine with. You preferred it actually, knowing they were safe in bed at night under your roof. But with Azo staying here full time you’d need to make her her own bedroom. 

Planning that out calmed your rage thankfully. Turned the magma level heat into a soft manageable simmer. Looking down at the little piglin in your arms made you feel so much better. Things weren’t perfect, no, but you’re just so glad she’s okay. You almost lost her and the thought makes your heart feel like it was being tugged out of your chest. But she’s okay. Things are okay. 

You remind yourself of this as you carry your baby through the threshold of your, and now her, home. You breathe and stop at the kitchen, telling the three it’s around lunch time and you’d make them some food. Both boys cheered and sat at the table, while you sat Azo on your hip with one arm while using the other to grab some stuff out of the ice box you kept around to hold food for the two teens. 

Azo watched you pull things out with curiosity, not sure what any of them were. Which sent a pang of sadness through you because you know you’ve let her try most of these before but she clearly didn’t remember it. Though you cheered yourself up with the knowledge that she could just try them all over again, rediscover her favorites and least favorites. You still remember the way her little snout had wrinkled up in distaste when she’d first tried a slice of lemon. That had been hilarious and you’d wished you had some way to record it to keep the memory forever, but oh well. 

“Mum, can you make us some of that fruit flower tea?” Tubbo asked from his spot at the table.

You smiled and said sure, and reached into the cabinet for the jar of tea you’d made for them not too long ago. You figured a warm meal and warm tea would be better for Azo right now since introducing her to cold stuff in the Overworld, which was already colder than the Nether, would be too much too soon. You noticed with a frown that she already seemed to be chilly. So while the tea was steeping you went over to the couch and grabbed the wool throw off the back and wrapped it snugly around her shoulders. She snorted happily at the sudden barrier from the chill this new world seemed to have.

“We’re gonna have to get you some new clothes, kiddo. Some that keep you warmer than your current ones do,” You said as you went to put some meat skewers onto the smoker and some potatoes in the furnace to bake.

You hummed and swayed your hips back and forth slowly as you watched the food cook. Then the tea was ready and you took Azo to the table and pulled a couple books from your inventory before sitting them on the chair, then you set her on top of them so she could reach the tabletop. She snuggled into the blanket around her while you went to fix the tea.

After giving each kid a cup you finished up the food and sat with them so they could eat. You idly listened as Tubbo and Tommy both talked to Azo, telling her all about L’manberg and their friends, and how they were going to show her around soon maybe.

You just let yourself zone out, taking comfort in your kids all being safe in one place right now.

-0-

Quackity had thought over what he and Reader had discussed the day they started rebuilding the White House. She said he had to make a decision since Schlatt had basically bailed on L’manberg. And she’d also said he’d deserved better than how Schlatt treated him. He’d honestly not wanted to think about that. Because thinking about her words made him throw his entire relationship into question. Did he deserve better than Schlatt? He wasn’t sure how to answer that. If he did then why did he deserve better? 

He didn’t want to start dumping on Schlatt, because they’d honestly had so many good times together. Great ones. They’d vibed so well while dating, Quackity can’t count how many times the ram had made him laugh his ass off. Just them two hanging out, sharing some drinks, spending nights out on the town in other SMPs, it was some of the best times of Quackity’s life. Even now, thinking about those times brought a smile (and soft flush) to the duck hybrids face. I mean Schlatt was charismatic, funny, and knew how to make his knees feel like jelly. Plus he had a few other good qualities he didn’t want to focus on too much in public..

But his smile faded away as those sweet memories made way for the not so sweet ones. Things had been great, yeah, but only when Schlatt wasn’t in a bad mood. Now that Quackity actually thinks about it there was always the worry of Schlatt’s good mood evaporating looming over their relationship. If he wasn’t happy then his bad mood sucked the good atmosphere right out of the room. It could be suffocating. The first few times it happened he’d try to give the ram hybrid some space, figuring he’d get over it. But that usually led to arguments, Schlatt asking if Quackity planned to leave any time things weren’t going perfect. That’d made him feel like shit, so he’d started doing all he could to keep the good vibes going.

Quackity isn’t sure when he’d gotten used to it but soon things fell into a rhythm of things being super great and awesome followed by something pissing on Schlatt’s good mood, then him being an asshole, Quackity doing everything he could think of to cheer him up, and then everything repeating in that cycle. It could feel exhausting at times but he just supposed that was just how relationships were supposed to be. But after what Reader said.. he was starting to question if that was right or not. He’d been so conflicted that he’d broken down and asked Karl for advice for a ‘friend of his’ who was having relationship issues.

He’d lied and said it was for a girl he was friends with on another server who was having issues with her girlfriend. Karl had listened to his edited version of events and told Quackity his friend was in a not very good relationship and she should break up with her girlfriend before things got even worse. That had just made his stomach sink further but he played it cool and thanked Karl for hearing him out, and he’d talk to his friend later and tell her what he thought she should do. Karl gave him a sweet smile and wrapped his arm around the dark haired male in a side hug before replying,

“Don’t worry, man. That’s what friends are for. Tell your friend if she needs any help leaving then she can come to us, we’ll help her out of there no problem.”

Quackity couldn’t help the smile hearing this gave him and said he’d let her know.

That’d been hours before and he knew he needed to message Reader and tell her where he stood. It wasn’t good to leave things ambiguous with her, not regarding his allegiance to L’manberg.. She’d messaged him earlier that morning, asking if he was doing alright. He hadn’t replied, wanting to talk to someone else about what he was thinking first. But he knew he couldn’t leave her on read for much longer. 

But just as he was getting ready to open his communicator.. it chimed.

He sighed, thinking it was Reader. But when he checked it his throat closed up.

‘Schlatt whispers to you: can we talk?’

Quackity gulped, trying to dislodge the lump in his throat as he read and reread the message at least 7 times. Curses ran through his head as he sat up on his couch, still staring down at the device on his wrist. He tore his eyes away, harshly scrubbing his hand down his face, just trying to calm his racing heart as he tried to focus on one thought at a time. Okay, okay, okay- he needed to relax, just- He jumped when his communicator chimed again. And when he looked back down at it anxiously he paused..

‘Schlatt whispers to you: please babe, come on

‘Schlatt whispers to you: i miss you

The duck hybrid stared down at the screen hard, biting his lip enough to draw a drop of blood as he did. Then with shaky hands he started forming a reply…

—————

IN THE OVERWORLD!

Where she absolutely positively was NOT supposed to be!

So yeah, the horned player was panicking. And Azo was shaking a little already, not a good sign! 

“What do I do? What the fuck do I do??? Uh, okay we gotta get back to the Nether!” 

He scooped the teary eyed Azo up and rushed with her towards the portal, but came to a sudden halt when her shaking intensified. It was too late. It didn’t matter if he got her back now, the zombification process was already starting!

His breathing hitched in panic, he sat her back down on the grass, not really sure what to do now.

The young hybrid furiously looked around them, making sure there were no mobs that would attack, seeing some pigs a bit away from them, and a skeleton about 30 blocks away though it didn’t seem to care about either of them at the moment. But Tubbo discarded that thought as soon as he had it, still freaking out about Azo. Without even bothering to keep the messages private he pulled up his communicator and sent out the panicked texts.

Tubbo: MUM COM ETO THE PORTAL THAT LEADS TO AZO’S HOUSE

Tubbo: HURRY! SOMETHING HAPPENED AND I DON’T KNOWWHAT TO DO

Everyone on the server saw them, including Reader, who was rightfully panicked after reading them. She up and abandoned the meeting she was in and sprinted out of the White House towards the portal leading to her smallest two children. She was going so fast a few people swore it looked like her feet weren’t even touching the ground. She forwent the wood path, dashing between buildings, through yards, and even over obstacles to get to the portal faster. 

Tubbo was on the verge of crying along with Azo, but he just held her close and shushed her and told her that Mum would make everything better and it would all be okay. Azo sniffled but nodded as best she could with how badly her body was shaking. She didn’t feel good, she felt bad, like the time she ate some of that gross meat she found in a chest but so much worse. And why did her hands and feet sting? Like she’d been touching those “cold” drinks her mom makes for them. Only this cold is scary..

-0-

Wilbur was running, the minute he saw Tubbo he froze like some pathetic rabbit caught in the gaze of a fox even though the younger of the two of them hadn’t even seen him. He couldn’t move, both because he was actually shocked it had been the younger ram hybrid but also because he knew moving at all would alert Tubbo to him being there. The juvenile hybrid had damn good hearing and Wilbur knew that. So he just painfully stood there, barely breathing as he watched Tubbo try calming the baby piglin down before just picking her up and running through the portal with her.

But the second they disappeared into the purple swirling haze Wilbur was off like a shot, bolting through trees and heading to the ravine he’d left Schlatt at. He heard his communicator chime, signaling a message in the public chat but he ignored it to avoid a creeper. And by the time he’d made it all the way to the ravine he was beyond winded and trying to eat some bread to get his hunger back up. Along the way he got another couple pings on his communicator but ignored them too. And when he entered the ravine Schlatt seemed to be waiting for him, looking tense and before Wilbur could speak the ram was blurting out,

“What the fuck did you do?”

That caught Wilbur by surprise, and he asked what Schlatt meant. The brunet wondered how Schlatt knew something had happened. Well him sprinting back to the ravine probably gave a hint but the mustached ram sounded so sure Wilbur had fucked up. And when Schlatt just raised an eyebrow and gestured to his own communicator Wilbur remembered he’d heard some incoming messages, but he’d been so focused on running he’d ignored them. So now when he looked he bit the inside of his cheek anxiously. 

Reader knew.

Oh shit she definitely knew about what happened to the piglin kid. Wilbur didn’t like how his skin prickled in nerves, like he was scared. He had no reason to be! She’d never know it was him that caused this, even unintentionally! So he can just calm down, breathe and scrap the plan he had to use Azo as leverage and just think of something else. No problem. 

“Dude.. I don’t know what you did, but whatever it is.. I got a feeling it’s gonna bite us right on the ass..” Schlatt said in a surly tone.

Wilbur’s throat pinched as he swallowed and he told Schlatt he was just being paranoid, he hadn’t done anything crazy. There’d been a mishap thanks to some stupid ghast but that’s all it was; a mishap. Plus there was no way to tie it all back to him. No humans or hybrids had seen him so he was in the clear.

Though.. when he finally told Schlatt what happened, the look the ram hybrid gave him did the opposite of putting his mind at ease. Then he had the gall to let out a loud bark of laughter and say,

“Wilbur, buddy… you might have just fucked yourself here. Cuz last I checked, Reader actually gives a shit about the kids she keeps around. So.. she might hold a grudge when she finds out you more or less killed one of said kids..”

Wilbur didn’t look impressed with Schlatt’s statement, and the ram would even say the ex-president was totally bored with the conversation and didn’t really care… Or he would have if he hadn’t spotted the anxious drop of sweat beading on the brunet’s brow. Oh yeah, he was definitely internally freaking out. And Schlatt can’t really blame him. Pissing off hybrid parents was stupid, any hybrid will tell you that. The ex-president should know that, what with having a hybrid father and all. 

But Schlatt shrugged and said, “Well I guess so long as you’re sure nobody saw you there then you should be fine. Right?”

The glasses wearing player nodded, a breath of relief escaping him as he clung to that thought. Nobody had seen him but some piglins, a ghast, some blazes, and the kid herself. And he doesn’t think she’ll make it to rat him out so all’s well that ends well.

*beepbeep-beep*

-0-

Reader stepped through the portal closest to L’manberg and sped through the Nether, disregarding anything in her path, and eventually she got to the familiar area where she’d build Azo’s house. But there was no sign of Azo or Tubbo anywhere. She furiously looked around before holding up her communicator, getting ready to message Tubbo if she couldn’t find him on the other side of the portal. 

But when she stepped through the sight that greeted the white eyed being almost made her knees give out underneath her. 

Tubbo was holding Azo. Azo. Who was IN THE OVERWORLD!

No, no, nonononoNONONO! She should not be here!

“TUBBO! NO! What-wh- oh fuck. What is Azo doing out here??” Reader gasped.

The boy in question started babbling about how he didn’t know, he found her out here and she was already shaking badly by the time he had. 

Reader shakily stumbled forward before collapsing onto the ground in front of the pair so she could check over Azo, her hands trembling as they reached out for her littlest child, but… she was already too far gone. Her usual white eyes looked milky and showed a glossed over appearance to them, revealing her not really being focused in the present. And her skin had taken on a bluish tint, giving her usually rosy pink flesh a colder candy pink tone. And if that weren’t bad enough, it looks like part of her flesh is starting to shrivel and rot. The sight made her stomach feel as if it weighed 100 pounds before it sank into her shoes.

Azo looked up at her but there was nothing behind her eyes. A sudden thought burst into Reader’s head and all at once she was opening her inventory and desperately scrounging through it for two particular items. She flipped through categories before finding the one she wanted, then started scrolling around in a pell-mell fashion in search of one in particular. Once she found the first she snatched it before going in search of the second. Both gathered she pushed her inventory closed and quickly uncorked the potion bottle and gently but urgently grabbed Tubbo and pulled him away from the mindless ziglin child. 

Then without warning she doused her in the potion, that’s when Tubbo realized what Reader was doing. Tears welled in his eyes and he gently placed a hand on his mum’s back, softly saying that trying the potion of weakness and golden apple route wasn’t going to work. He heard that it only works on villagers. But Reader snapped back that they didn’t know that for sure! Tubbo watched sadly as she tried offering Azo the golden apple, but she didn’t show any interest in it. Reader got so desperate that she bit off a piece herself before gently forcing it into the girl’s mouth, sighing in relief when she automatically started chewing it.

Tubbo hated that he actually held his breath for a moment afterwards, that he’d hoped it would actually work. But nothing happened and Reader’s desperation grew and she muttered about maybe the golden apple just not being strong enough so she pulled out an enchanted one instead, doing the same move of biting a piece off and feeding it to Azo. The small hybrid behind her sighed softly, his ears lowering in grief. He patted her back and said it wasn’t working, but Reader cut him off in a wobbly voice,

“No! It has to work!” before her resolve hardened and she pulled Azo into a tight hug and continued, “It WILL work!”

She rubbed Azo’s back, whispering words of encouragement, telling her she could do it and to just let the apple take effect. The antlered woman clenched her eyes shut, clinging to her piglin baby and mentally begging anything and everything possible in the universe to make it work. It had to, she couldn’t lose Azo to zombification. It wasn’t fair to the child, she didn’t deserve this fate. So Reader wished with all of her being that it would work and everything would be okay.

“Mum… I don’t think it’s working..” Tubbo muttered forlornly. 

Reader let out a choked sob, she knew he was right. Nothing was happening. But she felt like if she gave up then she was letting Azo down even more. She’d failed to keep her safe in the Nether and look what happened to her! She was a fucking zombie! Reader was a failure of a mother! She couldn’t give up! So in a wild frenzy she practically yanked her inventory open, just looking for something, ANYTHING! Her weapons, her various gold trinkets, other random shit she tossed in there without a care. Nothing that would help- huh?

“The orange?” She said in a teary tone.

At this point she was beyond desperate to help her child so she took a crafting table out and figured that if she didn’t try every option then she didn’t really want Azo healed so she was trying EVERYTHING. In record time she’d surrounded the orange with gold ingots before hesitating, not sure if she should use ingots or gold blocks or neither at all. Worried now she started frantically peeling the orange until she was left with 8 individual orange segments. She would try each of them on Azo one at a time to ensure she doesn’t waste the one orange. So normal orange first. She slips one of the segments into the piglings mouth, smiling as she chews. 

“Wait, is that an orange?-” Tubbo started to ask.

But just as he said this Reader felt like someone stole the breath from her lungs, because Azo’s body started to convulse while she let out little soft snorts. Reader took in a stuttered breath while looking down at her smallest child. Azo looked up at her, face still blank but the shaking was a sign that it was working! She might not even need the rest of the orange! Reader could feel her heart beating so fast she’s shocked she didn’t feel ill from it. But then of course she was hardly giving it any mind, far too zeroed in on her child’s physical state to even think of her own.

All they could do was sit there in stunned silence as Azo quivered under their scrutiny, not that she was aware enough to be bothered by it.

*sssshhhwwhooosh* “HEY HEY! What the fuck is goin on?! Tubbo what was with that ominous as fuck message-.. oh shit..” It was Tommy. 

He’d just rushed through the Nether portal, looking mostly angry, but with that hint of worry, before catching sight of Tubbo and Reader and demanding to know what the hell was going on.. but then he saw Azo. In the Overworld. Yeah so it was clear what was wrong..

Tommy started panicking, seeing Azo shaking in the Overworld and fucking zombified. Tubbo grabbed his arm and shushed him, ignoring Tommy’s anger at being shushed when something like this was happening before he began to fill him in on what was going on while Reader gently ran her hand down the soft hair on Azo’s head, not knowing what else to do right now besides attempting to soothe the pigling. While her two other children talked in hushed whispers behind her she was mentally chanting ‘please’ over and over again, praying to the universe that this would work and Azo would go back to normal and make it through this.

Reader couldn’t even bear to open her eyes at first when Azo stopped shaking, too scared to look down and see her baby still rotting away slowly. But the surprised but happy gasps from the two boys behind her gave her enough hope to pull back enough to look down. And she felt tears well in her eyes at the sight of Azo all healed and no longer zombified. She went to pull her small child into another happier hug but stopped when Azo made a soft snort of worry. Reader paused and asked her if she was okay, mentally starting to panic, thinking she was about to re-zombify again. But Azo pushed herself away from Reader until the antlered woman let her go.

Azo timidly took a few steps away from the three, looking anxious… like she’d never met them before..

“Kiddo, what’s wrong? You still feel sick?” Tubbo asked with a tense frown. 

Azo didn’t answer him, just stared like she was too shy to reply. So Tommy chimed in and asked if she was alright, even calling her ‘Azzy’ like he did sometimes when he was feeling more brotherly than usual. This seemed to catch Azo’s attention but now she just looked confused. Reader felt a dark pit forming in her stomach and she kneeled down and spoke directly to Azo,

“Azogamay. Do you know who we are?”

This time Azo visibly perked up, her ears twitching at the sound of Reader saying her actual full name. The white eyed child glanced between the two boys and Reader before gingerly shaking her head ‘no’. Reader felt like she’d been kicked in the chest by a ravager. She wanted to cry, to scream, anything to help her not feel so hollow all of a sudden. She knew from her ‘past life’ knowledge that the only way to ‘reset’ a villager with a profession was to zombify them, heal them, and then give them a new profession. Dying, even briefly, made them forget what and who they knew.. But she stupidly hadn’t thought that would apply to Azo. But that was probably just her foolish hopes speaking.

Reader couldn’t help how she fell back onto her behind and just… started crying. Her baby had forgotten her. 

-0-

Tommy and Tubbo were at a loss. They’d never seen Reader cry, hell they’d never seen her this upset ever. But.. if Azo had really forgotten them then they knew Reader had a reason to cry. They didn’t want to admit it but they would probably cry if Reader suddenly forgot who they were and that she was their mum.. And when Tubbo looked at Azo he saw her looking at Reader sadly, apparently not liking how she was crying. That was a good sign at least. So Tubbo blinked back his own tears and pulled a gold ingot from his inventory and held it out to the small pigling. She blinked at him before quietly taking it from him. Then he gestured for Tommy to do the same, snapping the blond boy into action. Soon Azo had two ingots and looked a lot less tense.

Tubbo sat next to Reader and rubbed her back while Tommy went and sat on her other side before gesturing for Azo to come sit in front of them. She did, gold clutched to her chest and not feeling scared anymore, now only feeling curious and sad for the tall lady in front of her that felt a bit familiar.

“Azo, this is your mum, and she’s ours too. You’re our sister!” Tommy explained with a grin that had the pigling’s head tilting in curiosity. 

The two explained everything to Azo while Reader softly cried herself out. The whole afternoon had been one emotional gut punch after another and she was feeling more than a little exhausted from it. But after she calmed down she did feel better, which was one good thing she supposed. But she felt a little bad for breaking down like that in front of her kids, she shouldn’t place the burden of consoling her onto their shoulders. So without thinking she untied her mask and took it off to wipe her face clean, missing how her sons’ eyebrows shot up seeing her do this. And when she opened her eyes they couldn’t hold back the flinch of surprise they gave to the glowing white orbs.

But Azo seemed to like them, they were the same color as hers! So she scooted closer and gave little snorts of happiness, which made Reader smile in return. But then she sighed and she told Azo that what her brothers said was true, she’d adopted all of them even if she couldn’t remember any of it. She told Azo all about the house she’d built for her in the Nether to keep her safe and how she came and visited her every day with Tommy and Tubbo, making them all food and playing with her when she wasn’t working. Azo didn’t seem distrustful anymore but Reader wasn’t sure she believed them, but then the antlered woman remembered something she had saved. With a gasp she pulled out her ender chest and happily told Azo she’d saved all the pretty pictures she’d drawn for Reader.

When she pulled out the stack of colorfully decorated paper Azo’s tail swished back and forth happily. So many were things from the Nether. Fire, netherrack, piglins, blazes, fungus, gold, and more. Then there were some things from the Overworld that the three had given to Azo; like potted flowers, amethyst gems, a jack o’ lantern, and other stuff. But Reader’s absolute favorites were the ones Azo drew of her, Reader, Tommy, and Tubbo all together. She showed these to Azo with tears in her eyes and a loving smile on her face, so motherly that Azo couldn’t help but feel loved. The little pigling might not really remember these three but they clearly remember and love her. Which was… odd, but also nice. She feels bad she can’t remember but she likes these Overworlders so she’d like to stick with them. So with a happy snort she stands up and takes Reader’s hand and says,

“Amamay!”

Reader wanted to cry all over again but held herself back and grasped Azo’s hand back gently and agreed with her, saying,

“Yeah sweetie, I’m your amamay! And these are your brothers, Tommy and Tubbo!”

Azo waved at the two, then said their names in Piglin speak, which was basically just Ubbotay and Ommytay, which sounded sorta cool but still goofy to them but they were just happy Azo was seemingly slowly starting to come around. It wasn’t back to how things were originally but.. it was better than her being a mindless zombie. So Reader rubbed her thumb over the back of Azo’s little hand and said with as much love as she could muster,

“Azogamay, I know you don’t remember us right now. But we promise to love you no matter what. If you someday get your memories back we’ll be so happy!”

Azo let Reader pull her into a hug as she continued speaking, 

“But even if you don’t… I’ll still be your amamay and they’ll still be your otherbrays. Maybe we can make lots of new memories together, as a family. How’s that sound?”

All Reader got in reply was a hug from the little pigling, and she supposed that was as good an answer as any. And with no hesitation the eldest of the four pulled the two boys into the hug with them, saying that no matter what now they were going to stick together since it seems that since being healed Azo had no problem in the overworld. The boys asked her if she wanted to come live with them, saying they could take her fishing, show her the markets, introduce her to Henry the cow, all their friends, and more! Azo seemed pretty excited so Reader stepped in and said if Azo wanted they could make her a room in her house, but only if she wanted of course. And in her excitement Azo agreed easily. Living in the Overworld sounded fun!

With that settled Reader sat Azo down on the ground between Tubbo and Tommy and with a much happier smile pulled some paper and crayons she made from her inventory and told the two boys to keep an eye on Azo while she went into the nether to grab Azo’s stuff from her house, then they could all go back to L’manberg together. They agreed and waved Reader off when she warned them to keep an eye out for mobs but then she put her mask back on, almost forgetting it, and hopped through the portal. Once through her smile fell and a scowl overtook her features as she looked around at the damage she’d missed before, the craters from what she was guessing were ghasts. But she wasn’t here for that, she was here for information.

She started questioning all the piglins in the surrounding area, asking them if they’d seen anything odd that day involving the pigling that’d gone through the portal. A couple of them weren’t sure but one did and called over two others from further away and the trio started filling Reader in on what they’d seen that day. About how a human had kidnapped one of their young and they’d all given chase but he’d been fast while only one of them had been wielding a crossbow. And when they finally caught up with him he’d run with her through the portal, and they shamefully admitted to losing sight of them after that since they couldn’t follow them through. They’d said a prayer for the child but chalked her up to being dead, which was a fair guess on their parts to be honest since she had ‘technically’ died.

But she needed more information. She asked them if they remembered what the human looked like. What color was his skin, his hair, clothes, anything to give her a hint on who he was. None of them got a good look at him from the front, since he was running away from them and all. But they did manage to notice a few distinguishing things about him…

Like his wavy dark hair.

His dark pants and long. Brown. Coat.

The hat he wore that was almost the same color as the netherrack around them.

And the funny little patch. On his shoulder. 

Reader felt her eyes narrow behind her mask and with a blank expression she pulled out some paper and drew a little L’manberg flag, internally seething when the Piglins all snorted in confirmation that, yes, that had been the patch on the man’s sleeve. Reader crushed the paper in her hands before tossing it into the nearby lava to burn away. The sound of her grinding her teeth together in silent rage made the piglins’ ears flatten in displeasure. But they said nothing, not wanting to aggravate an already furious looking ‘sow’. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that the child that had been taken was her’s. So it was best to just answer her questions and stay out of her way. So they just nodded when she gave them a tense but grateful smile and excused herself. She really did have to go get Azo’s things since the pigling was going to be living with her and the boys now.

But as she did she felt her rage festering inside her. That little bastard, it was his fault Azo had fucking died. She almost lost her child because of him, it was only by pure chance they’d managed to save her. Reader never wanted to hurt someone quite as badly as she wanted to hurt Wilbur at that exact moment. Just snap his little bastard neck and toss his worthless body into a lava pool, no fuss no muss. But… she couldn’t. She wasn’t some psycho killer who snaps the spine of anyone who wrongs her. ..Even if they deserve it. She needed to talk to Wilbur first, get his side of things. There’s a chance, small as it is, that the piglins saw someone else who looked like Wilbur. Sadly Wilbur wasn’t the only white boy with dark hair on this server, so she has a duty to do some kind of investigation. 

As she decided this she made her way back to the portal, Azo’s belongings tucked away in her inventory. She needed to remain calm, cool, and collected. She would peacefully message Wilbur saying she needed to have a meeting with him, question him on his whereabouts for the day, and if he was suspicious it would lead to an arrest for child endangerment and kidnapping. It would be handled professionally.

..Brown.

Over to the left, at the edge of the crater she’d passed on her way in was a splotch of brown amidst the sea of sangria colored soil around her. Her eyes narrowed and she paused before going to see what it was, the white hot anger she’d managed to cool earlier now beginning to heat up again. And when she got closer and reached down to pick up the offending material, which turned out to be a small strip of dirty brown leather. One she’d fucking know anywhere. It was a part of that god awful fucking coat of WIlbur’s. She’d bet anything on it. She clenched her teeth together, milling them together and wanting so badly to just tear them into something, just bite something so hard. She needed to talk to WIlbur. Now. So with an inhuman speed she opened her communicator and started typing…

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Back at the ravine the two defectors stared down at their respective communicators in silence, the air around them feeling almost stagnant from the tense feeling that was settling into both of their bones. Schlatt narrowed his eyes, his ears dipping down as anxiety buzzed around in his head, he needed a drink. While Wilbur felt his mouth suddenly increase its saliva, causing him to hurry and swallow before he stiffly cleared his throat and opened his mouth to say something to clear the air but… nothing came out. Schlatt ended up being the one to cut through the strained atmosphere,

“I’m gonna hazard a guess that… someone may have seen you after all..”

That was pretty fucking obvious by this point, at least if the string of messages from Reader were to be any indication..

Reader: Wilbur

Reader: wilbur I need to talk to you

Reader: now. message me right now.

Reader: where are you?

Reader: wilbur soot message me right fucking now.

Reader: wilbur I know what you did. I know you were here in the nether.

Reader: im going to come find you.

How they started normal, but slowly became more and more threatening sent chills along the ex-presidents spine. Despite being quite sure he could take the behemoth in a fight he still felt… anxious with how aggressive her messages had gotten. Wilbur swallowed again, not sure if he was trying to swallow the surplus of his saliva or his own mounting alarm. But either way he thinks they’re going to be needing backup asap. So he pulled out his crafting table and penned a quick but straightforward note before tucking it into an envelope and sealing it with twine. Schlatt watched over his shoulder as the brunet wrote the name of the future recipient across the back before sending it off,

‘Technoblade’

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