Chapter Text
Quackity winced as he stood from his chair, grabbing onto the cane that rested against the end table. His legs were still wobbly even a month after XD’s attack. Losing his wings had forced him to relearn how to walk. But he was alive and able to move, and for that he was grateful.
It was more than could be said for Sam and Antfrost, both still resigned to bedrest after the Goddess of Death helped Dream get their souls back. The admin had been serious about no more death, working to undo much of the damage XD had wrought on the server, which happened to include the limited lives system.
According to Karl, XD wasn’t a god but a parasite. A being that pretended to have divine powers in order to connect with young and inexperienced admins for their power. And Dream had fallen for the trap hook, line, and sinker. Cycle after cycle had purged the memory of their connection from Dream, allowing XD to control the server unhindered.
It angered Quackity that XD had used the players for his own purposes. To gain power through death and chaos over and over, resetting the server anytime he felt like he’d lost control. Destroying Dream’s mental state till he was a paranoid mess desperate for control over his own life.
It upset Quackity even more when he remembered that he’d tried to take that from Dream too.
He shook his head as he stepped out the main door. Karl was setting the cart up for them to travel to town. They were celebrating XD’s defeat and the reopening of the community garden.
“Are we all set?” Quackity called.
Karl nodded, smiling. “Yep, just loaded the last pack. You need help into the cart?”
Quackity glanced from the height of the cart to his injured legs. He nodded sheepishly.
“Yeah, actually. If you don’t mind.”
Karl’s smile softened as he reached out a hand to assist Quackity with getting into the cart bench. The former time traveler hopped up beside him and took the reins.
“Shall we?”
Quackity smiled back.
“We shall.”
—
The Goddess of Death and Philza had both been assisting Dream in the ways of being a godless admin. He had felt so lost after XD’s defeat, but was forever grateful for the guidance he received. It helped that Phil was a decent teacher and his wife was even better.
“I checked up on your patients today,” Kristin said as they walked the garden grounds to oversee the last few items. “They’re doing very well. I suspect they’ll wake up in the next week or so. I take it Bad and Skeppy will be looking after Antfrost. What are your plans for Awesamdude?”
Dream paused from where he’d finished growing a new pumpkin plant.
“I’m not certain yet. If we throw him in prison, we’d have to throw… I don’t know, half the server in as well including Quackity and Techno. And… I think I’m done with prisons for a while.”
Kristin smiled softly. “That sounds like a smart plan. If you need any assistance with coming up with a solution, don’t be afraid to ask for advice. I’m sure there are those who would be okay with helping you.”
“Only thanks to Tommy and Punz, really,” Dream chuckled, brushing an ear over his shoulder. His nose wrinkled at the smell of carrots and potatoes growing nearby. “Maybe we add more wheat. And you said you have some other foods for us to try?”
The two continued their walk, finishing their plans for expanding the garden with foods from other servers. A step towards collaboration, and maybe a chance for server members to connect with their true past lives. Before XD had brought them all under his hands.
A chirp behind them caused them to turn and see Tommy and Technoblade standing in the path. Dream smiled and ran towards them both. It was only thanks to Techno that the three didn’t fall over.
“Big D!”
“How you doin’, nerd?”
Dream laughed. “It’s good to see you guys. How are the others doing?”
Tommy winced. “Putting out fires. Sapnap is still off sulking though he mentioned he wants to come around to talk at some point. Bad and Skeppy are helping Eret handle most of it, and Foolish is off rebuilding the last few structures. That’s at least helping a little. And Tubbo and Fundy don’t want your head on a pike anymore, so there’s that, too.”
Dream just managed to hold back a shudder. He would have to thank whoever had gotten through to Tubbo on his behalf. That kid terrified him on a good day.
“Yeah, yeah, that’s good,” he replied.
Techno slapped on the shoulder. “Eh, enough depressing talk. Chat wants the real answers, Dream. You back to being homeless now?”
Oh, leave it to Techno to ask something as stupid as that.
“No, I am not homeless. Tommy and Quackity haven’t kicked me out yet,” Dream sighed. He eyed Tommy warily. “Though I’m sure you guys could use some space.”
Tommy scoffed before throwing an arm around the admin.
“Nah, you’re stuck with us now, bitch. It’s my turn to annoy the hell out of you two self-depressed fuckers into taking care of yourselves. And now I have Karl on my side, so you definitely can’t neglect yourselves.”
Dream smiled. “Thanks, Toms. Glad to know you care.”
“Biggest man’s responsibility is to care about the puniest people on the server. That’s just my role in life,” Tommy replied, throwing his hands behind his head with a smug look on his face.
Dream poked him in the ribs, earning a yelp from the teen.
“Yeah, sure it is. Want to help Kristin and I finish the garden set up? We’re just about done.”
Tommy grinned and raced towards the goddess who had been watching from a distance. He tackled her into a hug, ignoring the chuckles behind him.
Dream allowed himself to relax as the four went around the garden, hanging up banners and lanterns for the evening’s festivities. It felt… nice to be included in this, to have friends around him again without fearing for who was truly on his side. He watched Techno and Tommy tease each other over decoration choices and smiled.
A cart pulled up as Karl and Quackity arrived with the last of the supplies. Dream approached, waving them down as the cart came to a halt at the garden gates.
“Dream! I got the materials you asked for. Not sure why you wanted all this cobblestone, but I won’t complain about a simple gathering task. Sure as fuck beats mining obsidian and blackstone,” Karl teased.
Dream let out a bark of laughter. “Yeah, I’m done with those for a while. Thanks for bringing the supplies. Tommy’s gonna be ecstatic, so we’ll have to reign in the pro-builder,” he winked.
“Oi, I heard that fuckface!” Tommy yelled from a few feet behind them, causing Dream to jump. “I’m perfectly capable of not going overboard, thank you very much.”
“Sure. Let’s go put that to the test then.” Karl grabbed the shulker of cobblestone and tossed it to the teen. “Go have fun, nerd.”
Tommy flipped the former time traveler off before dashing back into the garden to work on End knew what. Techno shook his head.
“So how long do we give him before we go check on him?”
Kristin laughed, ruffling the piglin’s head. “I’ll go take care of it. You boys make sure Dream takes a break for a bit.”
The admin in question pouted at the statement.
“I don’t need a break,” he grumbled.
Karl ruffled Dream’s curls in response. “Don’t worry, we’ll make sure he takes his bunny naps.”
Dream shot the man a glare, only for the time traveler to laugh in response.
“You are nowhere near intimidating enough for that anymore, dude. Too much practice with puppy eyes.”
Dream obliged the suggestion, throwing his most pitiful look Karl’s way. The man shook his head.
“And I’ve had too much practice with Sapnap and Quackity. But good effort,” he replied, ruffling the admin’s hair again.
Techno just shook his head in disappointment.
“Bruh, you used to be the terror of the server. How did you manage to sink this low? I gotta be honest, it’s ruining our rivalry here. I can’t fight a guy who looks like a kicked dog, Chat’ll think I’m a bastard,” he complained.
“You already are one,” Quackity mumbled.
“You know I can give you another scar to match the first,” Techno retorted.
Quackity paled and scooted further into the cart. “No—no, thanks. Sorry.”
“Techno, be nice. No threatening my roommates,” Dream chided before turning back to the wingless avian. “How are you feeling today? Karl said you were in more pain this morning.”
Quackity shrugged. “Eh, could be better, but, you know… could be worse. I’m alive and no one’s run me out of town yet.”
Dream chuckled. “If they start running people out based on their pasts, no one would be left. Do you want to take a walk around the garden before the crowd shows up? I, uh, don’t know if you still planned on staying.”
Quackity had been hiding away from the server, scared that someone would try and take revenge on him. His body at this point couldn’t handle anything close to what he used to do.
“I… I’d like to stay. I do miss the others. I just…. Are you sure they won’t be mad?” Quackity asked quietly, hunching in on himself as he stared at where his fists curled on his knees.
Dream reached up and placed a hand on Quackity’s.
“If they are, I’ll make sure you’re safe, cariño,” he said.
Quackity let out a shaky breath. He smiled back at Dream, nervous brown eyes meeting soft green ones.
“Thank you, conejito. I’ll stay.”
Behind them, Karl made a huff.
“Dreeeeaaam, that’s my job! I’m the fiance, not you!”
Dream stuck his tongue out at the offended man. “Took too long, bitch! Should’ve elbowed me out of the way!”
Techno snorted. “Aw, come on, Dream, he can’t go beating up handicapped people, that’s just plain mean. Think of the viewership drop.”
Dream sighed. “Oh, fuck off, Techno.”
Karl moved to help Quackity down from the cart, shaking his head. “What am I supposed to do with both of you?”
“You can love me!” Quackity beamed, grabbing his cane to steady himself on the dirt path.
Karl kissed his cheek. “Yes, yes, I can.”
Above the garden, a flock of doves settled on a nearby tree. Butterflies and bees roamed the plants, flitting from flower to flower. The sound of teasing and laughter filled the air even as day turned to night and the crowds around the garden grew for the festival.
The server was finally at peace.