This is the first time he has encountered DreamXD.

... Its an experience.

He manages to get out a bristly "Why?" before hurtling into another timeline.

“Because I thought it’d be fun!”

And DreamXD disappears. 

And Jingyan is in… L’Manberg. The crater’s more flooded than Jingyan remembers, and there are more lanterns, but it’s definitely L’Manberg. 

Probably the first thing to do is see if Tubbo is in the city, and introduce himself. Tubbo might not be in charge in this timeline, but he's probably still going to be useful to talk to.

... And seeing as he is new here:

<bleedfierceforever> My name is Jingyan, if you're being informal.

<bleedfierceforever> And if you want to kill the new person, I'm in L'Manberg

<Tubbo_> o/

<Ph1LzA> hey m8

<JackManifoldTV> i’ll give you some food if you promise not to kill me as soon as you get geared up

bleedfierceforever was shot by ItsFundy using [bow]

(He respawns at the world spawn. It looks about how he remembers it, which is to say that it is a mess.)

... That was fairly inevitable.

The offer from JackManifoldTV is tempting (he has no reason right now to kill him?) he does not want to make a promise he cannot keep (he... Has no clue who he is, and whether he is trustworthy, or whether he will keep having no reason to kill him.)

<bleedfierceforever> Tubbo, where are you?

<bleedfierceforever> I'd like to talk to you

<Tubbo_> l’manburg

<Tubbo_> u?

<bleedfierceforever> Give me a minute, I'll meet you there

And he heads back to L'Manberg

Tubbo’s around! (So are Ranboo and Fundy; it doesn’t look like anyone else is.)

He’s wearing his suit. 

'Wearing the suit' doesn't give much information about when this is. (The floodedness of the crater gives more concerning information about when this is.)

"This may be complicated to explain," he says to Tubbo. No reason to draw this out. "DreamXD sent me here from another timeline. For 'fun.'"

“…

…What. I—

Okay.”

"...it is kind of strange talking to you when I know you and your don't know me from a bar of soap."

“I can imagine.”

"If there's some information I can give as proof, I am willing. Though most events I know of were influenced by my being there, so I don't know if you have exiled Tommy--"

“That’s proof. You can stop.

Tommy’s dead. He, uh, died in exile.”

It’s a cowardly way of saying it. But Tubbo’s a coward. 

"Ah."

"He didn't--" No, stop, that's not going to be helpful. "--We made the same decision."

“Mm.

If you haven’t tried to execute Technoblade yet, don’t, it’s not really worth it.”

"We were mostly planning to leave him alone, but noted."

“That’s probably for the best.”

"...I'm not sure how long I'm going to be here, but if there's anything you need help with, let me know."

“Thank you. I, I think we’re fine right now, but I appreciate the offer.”

<DreamXD> you’re stuck here!

<DreamXD> unless you find an interdimensional bar door

<DreamXD> which you might

<DreamXD> I think you’ll like Yvette

<DreamXD> she’s fun!

<JackManifoldTV> what

<Ranboo> gotta agree with jack on this one

“…Prime that’s terrifying. Sometimes I forget there’s, like, a god here.”

"--I managed to more or less avoid him up until now. But apparently I'm 'fun.' So."

"...Just have to hope that being fun is a good thing."

"That would be good for my life expectancy."

“I wish you and your life expectancy the very best of luck.”

"Thank you. --Do you mind if I stay in L'Manberg. That's where I lived last time."

“You can stay. Phil’s house is empty if you want it.”

"--Did something happen to him?"

“Nah. Unless you count moving out. It was ‘cause of the whole thing with executing Techno, we put him under house arrest, but he ended up escaping. So. Not exactly a place he wants to come back to.”

"--Right." That sounds like something Philza would do. ... He should probably be more upset about it than he is, but, well, he isn't. "Is Ghostbur okay?"

“Yeah. I think he lives with Philza now? But he gave me blue just yesterday. Why, anything I should be looking out for?”

That's... Concerning.

"He went missing in my timeline. We knew he wasn't dead --or not more dead-- but it was worrying."

“—Well. As of yesterday he seemed fine, not missing.”

"That's good to hear."

Jingyan nearly explains why he isn't likely to go missing now, because the thing he did before going missing is not a thing he is going to be doing now, but thinks better of it.

“…I’ll keep an eye on him.”

"I don't know exactly why he disappeared, so-- that's a good idea."

“Is there anything else like that I should be, y’know, watching for, trying to prevent?”

"I don't think we are as far along as you, unfortunately." On account of Tommy still being alive.

“Damn. Can’t use you to predict the future, then. Any other differences, do you think?”

... There is no good way to say this. "Our exile, ah, ended differently."

“…Well, that’s. Good for you, I guess.”

"I'm. Sorry that it didn't end that way for you."

“It’s been—about a week, I think. Since I—found Logstedshire. I don’t know if he—before—uh, yeah.”

He swallows. "I'm still sorry."

“Hey, it’s, it’s not all bad. We’re having a festival in about a week, week and a half? You’re invited. I mean, everyone’s invited, but still. Ranboo’s helping with decorations.”

"I'd be happy to help with the preparations for that, if that's possible."

“Sure. I mean, I don’t see why not. The more hands the better, right?”

"I can not say I know exactly what I'm doing, but I can be an extra pair of hands."

"That's the spirit! You'll fit right in."

He doesn't say: I did last time, apparently.

"Thank you."

“Yeah, of course.” Fundy waves at Tubbo. “I’m gonna check what Fundy wants now if that’s alright?”

He nods. "I'll leave you to it."

...he's going to have to introduce himself to everybody again. At least avoiding Philza will be easier.

“Bye!” Tubbo waves and heads over to Fundy. 

... There are a lot of sensible, practical things he could do. He could get geared up. He could re-introduce himself to people.

Going through the Nether to Logstedshire is neither sensible nor practical. But-- he needs to see. To check. He's not going to get anything else done until he does that.

The first thing Jingyan notices is that the portal to Logstedshire comes out a bit farther than he remembers; he has to walk a bit to get to it. Not very far, though.

When Jingyan first saw Logstedshire, there was a tent, a nether portal, and an open-roofed area.

The main portal's been broken. Where the tent and the open-roofed area used to be, there are two craters.

And there's a one-block tower, stretching up and up and up into the sky, with no way down.

Jingyan can... Make some guesses about what the craters mean. And what that tower is for.

And then he sees Tommy, walking towards Logstedshire.

As soon as Tommy sees Jingyan he jumps back and pulls out an enchanted netherite sword; he's shaking badly. "Stay-- stay back!"

Jingyan is trying very hard not to react. To not let the grief rapidly transmuting into hope show on his face. To not shout "Don't do that," or "Don't you know everyone thinks you are dead? That Tubbo thinks you're dead?"

Because this Tommy does not know him from a bar of soap.

Because the craters and the giant tower to nowhere are telling.

"Are you a ghost?" Because that very much will change how he interacts with him.

"I'm not a fuckin' ghost, I'm, I'm flesh and bones, I, who fucking are you--" His knuckles are turning white from gripping his sword; his breathing comes fast and shallow.

Okay, he is going to be the calm one here. Because he is almost certainly going to be better at it that Tommy right now. "I'm Jingyan. I'm-- new here."

"Why are you here, I'm--I'm not a fucking ghost--" Tommy's plan to Conquer His Fears: maaaaybe not going so hot right now. In his defense, he was not prepared for a random stranger calling him a ghost, because until today he had a 100% success rate of Not That, because that is a fucking weird way to greet a stranger!

"I'd heard you were dead, so I wasn't-- sure."

And now he is going to have to work out a brief and sane sounding explanation of why he is here.

It would be so much easier if sending a whisper of 'Tubbo, help,' would actually help, except instead there would be two to three panicking people instead.

"I was sent here by DreamXD from... a different version of this server. I knew the you there, and when I heard-- I had to see for myself." 

"Well, I'm not--I'm not fucking dead, okay, I'm fine, and I don't fucking know you."

"I'm-- glad you're not dead. --I honestly did not expect to find you here." On account of the whole 'being told he had killed himself' thing.

“I didn’t expect to find you here!” (He gets a little less shaky at “glad you’re not dead”. Just a little.)

"Your reason for not expecting me here makes more sense."

“Yeah! Fuuuuuuuck, man. I fucking, I always make sense. I should— I shouldn’t be here— d’you know Dream? I, I think he’s looking for me.”

"I don't know this particular world's Dream, but I have no reason to like him, especially if he is looking for you."

“He, he thinks I should’ve stayed here, y’know. He makes my brain go all cobwebby. Here, too.” He gestures at a poster stuck to a dirt wall; it’s a meme, a picture of Tubbo with the caption “DREAM. DREAM PLEASE ESCORT TOMMY OUTSIDE OF L’MANBURG”. “It’s all, fuckin’, confusing, innit.”

...He is unqualified to reconcile Tommy and Tubbo, but he would really, really like to.

"It sounds like it would be. Is there anything I could do to help?"

“I dunno, I— I don’t fucking know you. Leave please.”

"I understand." He turns towards the portal. "...do you mind if I tell Tubbo?"

“I— I dunno, sometimes I think Tubbo’s my friend but sometimes I think Dream’s my friend and they both, they both want me here, don’t they? I don’t, I don’t want to be here again, I don’t—I told you to fuckin’ leave, mate.”

That's technically not a 'no.'

"I'll leave you to it." He heads through the portal.

“That’s enough drama for today, I think,” Tommy pronounces to the air, and starts walking in a random direction. Not back to Techno’s, not back to L’Manberg, just… Away.

When he gets tired of walking, he opens his to-do list and fills it out. 

Tommy's Fun Christmas Day List:

1. Conquer my fears and visit Old Home (logstedshire) (very fucking scary)

DONE: YES!!!!

1. N
2. N
3. N
4. N

2. Re-build & revive my old home in the Dream SMP. Not to live in, just as a personal wish. I miss home.

DONE: no

3. Speak to Tubbo. It doesn't matter if we get along or not (hopefully we do!). I just miss him

DONE: no

4. Work out what I think about Dream.

Work out what I want.

DONE: no

Tubbo’s back in L’Manberg. He’s working with Ranboo on a domed building Jingyan doesn’t recognize.

Now to explain what happened without sounding like he is hallucinating.

He goes up to Tubbo. "Would now be a good time to talk? If not, I can help with this."

“Now’s fine.”

There is no way to say this delicately. "I found Tommy in Logstedshire."

"...What?"

(Ranboo has gained a sudden and intense interest in the ground.)

Very sensible decision there, Ranboo.

"He told me to leave, for understandable reasons. But he's willing for you to know he is around."

Tubbo opens and closes his mouth a few times, as if he's struggling to operate it. "How?"

"I honestly do not know."

“I mean, that’s not really—he’s good at MLGs, he could do it, that part’s less—just—I thought he was dead.” Tubbo gives a small laugh. Everything feels impossibly distant.

(It’s making more and more sense in his head. He’s got the how. The next question he wants to ask is why, but that’s got an easy answer; Tommy wanted out, was desperate enough to either plan a fake suicide or—

Whether it was fake or real doesn’t matter. Tommy wanted out. The third question is why did he not tell me, why did he not come home. Another easy answer. Because he thought you would give him back.

The worst part is, he probably would, if Tommy were here and Dream pushed the issue again. He’s not in a better strategic position. He’s made enemies of Technoblade and Phil. Fundy and Niki are distant. Quackity’s down a life.

It doesn’t matter. Tommy’s not here, so Dream can’t ask for him. Tommy’s alive. That’s what matters. That’s all that matters.)

“…Thank you, Jingyan. I, uh, I appreciate knowing.”

"I'm sorry I can't give more information."

“Not really your fault, is it?”

"No, but I still wish I could tell you more?"

“Sure. I just—“ Small laugh. “You know, it didn’t even work. Dream didn’t believe him. He came asking about Tommy, said he had run away from exile. I had to tell him that I reckoned he, well—y’know—

Guess Dream was right.”

"--If Dream suspects, that's highly concerning."

“You’re a good man, Jingyan. But there’s not much we can do about it, is there? Pray, I guess, if you go in for that.”

"I'd want to keep Tommy safe," he says, very aware that it is not in his power to do so.

“Do you by any chance have a plan for how to do that?”

"We managed something close enough in the world I was in, but the circumstances were different. ...also it involved Dream killing me."

“…Right. Do we even know where he is.”

"He visits Logstedshire."

“Of course he does.”

“Was— was, uh, was anyone… else… with him…?”

"He didn't expect to find anyone there, but he was worried about Dream finding him."

“So he wasn’t with— okay. That’s— fine. That’s probably fine.”

“…I guess that’s— better than some of the alternatives. I mean. If he’s worried about Dream finding him, that means Dream hasn’t found him.”

"...but if he is looking for him..."

"...................is this maybe a bad time for me to say that I maybe kind of sort of know where Tommy's staying, orrrr---"

"--Kind of, yeah, I would say so! I would've liked to have known that, oh, I don't know, a week ago!"

"That is. Incredibly fair." Ranboo is going to look at the floor and also punch the floor. This is the worst conversation of his life. He is going to die of it.

He is going to deal with this Ranboo's incredible decision making later. "Where is he."

"Technoblade's. He's--he's safe there, Technoblade's protecting him, I think. And we just--y'know--tried to kill Technoblade. So I guess I thought... I don't know."

"And you aren't worried that Technoblade might harm him?"

"...Do you have a better place for him to be, because the way I see it, Technoblade is the only person on this server who won't give in to Dream. And Phil trusts Techno, and Tommy trusts Techno, and they're-- my friends, too. I trust them." Wow that was incredibly brave to say. Ranboo is very glad he's not human because if he was he would be blushing incredibly hard. As it is, he picks up the grass block he has successfully punched out of the floor and places it slightly to the right. Being in a one-block hole is convenient because it makes it easier for him to scrunch up as though he is not the tallest person there. "--Tubbo, you know Techno, don't you? Or--you did, at least?"

"Yeah. I--give me a second to think here. You're kind of dropping a lot on us, I'm gonna be honest.

I don't think he'd hurt Tommy for no reason. Maybe if he got, y'know, pressured into it, but I reckon we're not much better on that front."

Jingyan trusts Philza about as far as he can throw him, and he doesn't know where he is. He has no reason to trust Techno with anyone from L'Manberg, considering Tubbo decided to attack him.

"And so you just. Let people think he was dead."

“…….ye….s…….?” The ground is so incredibly interesting. “It’s— I mean, it’s a secret? Or, like, it’s supposed to be, I think?”

"--Is there any particular reason Tommy would be keeping his life secret from L'Manberg?"

“I’m really sorry. Um. I mean. He. I’m, I’m, I’m not sure? And I thought… I don’t know.”

"So you just assumed it would be better if we all just thought he was dead."

“Jingyan, that’s enough. I, I understand that you know us, but we just met you today. Ranboo, you are dismissed. I’ll talk to you later, privately.”

Oh thank prime. Ranboo does not quite run away but he definitely is going to be Leaving Now.

"I'm not saying we should go find Tommy, but we should seriously consider it."

“I— I understand the impulse to look for Tommy.

Dream still thinks we’re allies. If Tommy’s with us…”

"Has Dream's alliance been worth it?"

“…He hasn’t killed any of us.” Except Tommy, except not Tommy, apparently. “And it’s—if we can get him to take off his armor, ever, that’d be—that’d be huge.”

"He's not an idiot. Is he ever, actually, going to do that?"

“He might. If we demand some sort of show that he respect our laws. Probably not right now, since it’s right after the whole thing with Technoblade, but in a week or two maybe.” (Tubbo and Ranboo aren’t wearing armor.)

... "--you think he might do something that risky a week after you tried to kill someone else?"

“No, it’s already been a week or two, I think he might do something that risky, like, three or four weeks after we’ve tried to kill someone else. Maybe we can propose it if we get a good streak going on the Days Since Last War Crime sign.”

... "You're the expert here."

Shrug. “We can wait longer but it didn’t seem like you wanted to wait. We don’t exactly have a ton of good options here, if Technoblade goes after us in retaliation we’ll need Dream as an ally. 

Look, Jingyan. You said you made the same decision, about whether to exile Tommy, right? We’re in about the same position now as we were then. We have better gear, but we’re down our best two fighters. And Dream is, is actively looking for Tommy. I’m—I’m not happy about it either, but.”

"I understand, our situation is far from ideal. --I did get a little bit killed the last time I faced Dream. Who have we lost?"

“Tommy and Phil. —I recognize that Tommy is a bit my fault but I also don’t think we can plan for him wanting to fight on our side.”

Of course Philza was one their best fighters. "I wouldn't want to try and convince him, no."

“And Big Q’s down a life from the stunt with Technoblade. Not exactly the most encouraging way it could go. I mean, I’m not giving up, just…”

"We will find a way to regroup."

“…Yeah. I, I like your optimism, Jingyan.”

Is it optimism, or is it sheer bloody-mindedness? "Would you say our weaknesses are mostly in equipment, or in skill, compared to Dream?"

“Skill. Quackity had fully maxed out netherite and Techno killed him with iron armor and a pickaxe. Dream’s… I mean, he lost the duel against Technoblade, but it was close.”

Jingyan has spent just long enough in a world similar to this to have an idea of the scale of that. "--We may be able to get a terrain advantage."

“Oh?”

... He had not been given a chance to think this one through. "It might be easier to lure him somewhere than try and get him to remove his armour. Though I don't know quite enough about--here, to know a good way to create a situation where we can hit him but he can't hit us."

“I’m pretty decent at traps, yeah. Runs the risk of him turning it back on us if he realizes what we’re doing, but it’s a damn good idea.”

"Could we design it so it can't do that?"

“…Probably? Depends on what specifically he does, to be totally honest. I can probably make it so that I can disable it remotely, I reckon that would help. I wonder if Sam would help, he’s good at this stuff and he helped with the guardian farm but he’s also working on the prison for Dream. Maybe if we tell him it’s for a prank.”

More people he hasn't met yet; very convenient. "How reliable is Sam."

"He helped a lot with the guardian farm."

They are so short of allies right now that it's worth a shot. "It sounds like we may need to talk to him."

"Sure, yeah, I can make that happen." Pause for Tubbo to type out a message to Sam. "He's kinda busy with the prison but I bet we can get him interested in this."

"Do you have any ideas?" It would be good for all of them to be on the same page.

"Piston trap disguised as a game, maybe? Or make a game that'll kill you a bunch, and do a bed trap for when he respawns?"

"Does this Sam like... games?"

“Nah, he just likes, you know, technical stuff. The games are to convince Dream to do it. He likes competitions.”

That sounds exactly like Dream. "I think it would definitely be worth getting Sam's help with this."

“Cool, ‘cause I already asked. He’ll be over as soon as he’s done with the redstone he’s working on for the prison. —Well, he said it’s for his secret project, but his secret project is the prison.”

"...so we should potentially be careful with what plans we reveal to him, seeing how good he is at keeping secrets."

“I mean, yeah. I can call Fundy instead if you want.”

"If we're going with the story of it being a game, and that's what we tell Sam, he wouldn't need to know anything sensitive."

“—I mean, if he’s going to be making a trap, he’s gonna find out he’s making a trap, it’s not exactly rocket science. The plan is to say the trap is for a prank rather than an execution.”

"You would be the expert here-- but that does sound like a sound plan." The likelihood of  Dream working out the prank is planned to be more deadly than death usually is higher than he would like.

But they are desperately short of man power, and an imperfect ally might be worth the risk. 

“Cool cool cool.”

And eventually Sam—a man who is a creeper the same way Technoblade is a pig—shows up. He and Tubbo talk excitedly (and mostly incomprehensibly, to both Jingyan and me, Tubbo’s author) about trap ideas. Their first attempt is a big wiggly pit hidden under sand that uses what they call piston feed tapes, but it ends up being easy to escape by just placing down blocks, so they iterate— can they add a wiggly ceiling in time while keeping the trap hidden beforehand? Can they do a smaller version and just count on being able to lure the person into the exact right spot? Can you glitch out with enderpearls or other things that Dream’s likely to have? Many questions. Many tests. Very exciting. Tubbo stays up significantly later than usual working on it. 

He has been here long enough to find the concept of a creeper who is both sentient* and friendly** startling, but seeing as Sam has not exploded and Tubbo appears to trust him not to explode, Jingyan will join him in extending that trust.

He keeps an eye on what they are doing, in the hopes of learning more about what they are doing... but the art of pistons and redstone is still a mystery too him. He volunteers to be a test dummy for some of the experiments where leaving Tubbo and Sam both free is useful. (He dies a lot. Somehow, murder has become mundane.)

*Hopefully they are not all sentient?

**He is more confident that this unusual.

Redstone is fun, at least, and Sam’s fun. Normally they’d be killing Ranboo rather than a stranger, but Tubbo’s decided not to have feelings about that, just like he’s not having feelings about Tommy being alive. Later, maybe, when he can get high about it, but right now he has a country to run. 

He does have to sleep eventually. 

They've made progress, at least. The... wiggly pit... can at least kill someone. The question remains whether it can kill Dream.

Not sleeping won't answer that question, though.

The next day, Tubbo calls Ranboo to talk to him privately, before calling Sam or Jingyan.  

It’s— very polite. Ranboo is fucking terrified of him, but Tubbo knows exactly why he didn’t say anything, and he's not interested in making Ranboo spell it out. Plus, Ranboo’s memory is full of holes at the best of times— he has to check his memory book during the meeting, and Tubbo has his doubts Ranboo remembered either Tommy’s supposed death or Tommy’s actual location half the time. 

Still, it leaves him in an awful mood. Fundy's not around, so he can't fuck around by stabbing him a bunch. Normally he'd stab Ranboo but that's out, too. 

He works on the wiggly pit in fits and starts; he keeps getting frustrated and bored with it.

Volunteering to be test dummy is maybe not the most useful thing, but it's something he can do.

(He couldn't help much if this was 'his' Tubbo, and-- he's a stranger he met yesterday this Tubbo. Attempting to help in a deeper way would not work.)

Sam's not around and Fundy's not around. They're both hanging out with George and Karl Jacobs. Under the circumstances, Tubbo gets a little more satisfaction from repeatedly killing Jingyan than he usually would.

He calls it a day early.

... he wonders what people will make of a chat filled with "bleedfierceforever was killed by Tubbo_" especially seeing how new he is. ... then again,  last time he was greeted with repeated murder.

Probably best to call it a day early.

Tubbo spends the night on the docks getting extremely high. The stress relievers help. Makes him feel slow and relaxed, like 80s game show music. Like maybe the week he thought he killed Tommy was just a bad dream, far away and fuzzy. Not to be confused with furry. That's a different thing.

He wants to call Ranboo, have someone to talk to. But Ranboo's probably still mad at him, or maybe he's mad at Ranboo--definitely last time they talked was awkward and the time before that was actively hostile--and Fundy's not around, and Niki's not around, and Phil's mad at him, and Tommy's mad at him, and Dream is going to be mad at him soon if he isn't already--kind of seems like he's the common denominator, here--the point is, he doesn't have anyone to call.

He thinks of Schlatt. He's been understanding him more and more. Here he is, president, getting high instead of going to meetings. Everyone turned against Schlatt, too, by the end.

He takes more stress relievers. His sleep is less like sleep and more like passing out, but that's alright. He prefers that anyway. No nightmares. He's a little less alright with the sun in his face when he wakes up with the next morning, but it's not too bad. Just a headache. Still.

Instead of going to the wiggly pit, he goes to work on the apiary. It's sort of similar, in that the floor wiggles, but it's also better, because instead of murder it's for bees.

Jingyan spends the night mining. L'Manberg could do with the materials, and hopefully the hordes of unread are distracted on the surface.

bleedfierceforever was blown up by a creeper

That afternoon, outside of L'Manberg are two people in enchanted netherite. Well, one person in full netherite and one with partial netherite. They are standing around a small hole in the ground.

The first one to see them is Ranboo.

"I think we may be spotted, Tommy."

"From where?"

From the hole: "HELP!"

"Uh-"

"YOU HEAR NOTHING! YOU HEAR NOTHING!"

By some miracle, they are not, in fact, audible in L'Manberg.

Ranboo can still very much see them, though.

Well, this is awkward.

He watches a bit longer. The person in partial netherite comes close enough that he can be seen more clearly, and it confirms Ranboo's guess: that's TommyInnit. He proceeds to prove this further by building a cobblestone wall between himself and L'Manberg.

A minute later, Technoblade comes around the wall.

Technoblade whispers to Ranboo: get in vc

Technoblade whispers to bleedfierceforever: get in vc

Jingyan was trying to stock up on food, and he could definitely see some of what was going on. (Though the cobblestone wall was a surprise.)

He has an iron sword, and leather shoes (thanks to the brave sacrifice of several cows.) He knows Technoblade by reputation.

He is very aware he is not prepared.

He gets in voice chat. "Hello?" He should be more polite, but he's not sure what's appropriate for Technoblade.

"Hello, Ranbo, hello, new guy. Couldn't help but notice you, uh, saw us over there."

"Mhm."

"There does seem to be a hole and a wall that wasn't there before." (And also a Tommy, but technically he was there before.)

"Well, I, I don't want to alarm you two, but we've taken Connor hostage."

"...I'm gonna be honest, that's pretty funny."

"It is pretty funny. But I'm going to be honest, I'm going to do terrible things to Connor--"

"That's also pretty funny."

It's hard to tell if Ranboo's deadpanning or if he's serious.

"--If you guys do not give me some of my weapons back in five minutes."

...of course.

That fits with everything he's heard about Technoblade. "What specifically do you want,  sir Blade?"

He is not making decisions for L'Manberg without permission. (And, selfishly, he wants Tubbo and Tommy to see each other.)

bleedfierceforever whispers to Tubbo_: You will want to be in vc

bleedfierceforever whispers to Tubbo_: And go to the extra cobble wall

"...Some of my weapons back. In five minutes. So go tell your leader--wherever he is--tell Tubbo I want my stuff back. Or Connor dies! Or Connor dies!"

Neither Ranboo nor Techno are holding weapons; Ranboo doesn't switch to hold any.

"I'm gonna be real, Connor isn't a part of L'Manberg, so like...? That's like kidnapping someone from a different country and then holding them hostage."

"Is he at least--okay, maybe not all of my weapons, but is he at least worth one or two of them."

"I dunno, man."

"Look. New guy. Bleedfierceforever--kind of a cringe name, but you do you, man. You're new here. Will you just, like, let Tubbo know that I'm here, I have Connor hostage, I know he's not a citizen but you know, he's a neighbor, he's an-- he's an ally!"

"I don't know if he's even an ally, to be--"

Techno puts his pickaxe away to shove Ranboo out of the way. "Just go talk to him, okay?"

In his defense, he didn't choose that name.

He is also, so confused. (It appears Sir Blade may be a mighty fighter, but... not so much with the politics.)

bleedfierceforever: Tubbo, you will want to come over here and into vc.

bleedfierceforever: Connor has been kidnapped and this is apparently a problem for us.

He is very tempted to whisper that 'Tommy is here', but--. that would not lead to Tubbo coming over here.

"Cool. Cool. Alright. And if you guys aren't here with some of my items in five minutes, I don't know what I'm gonna do. ...That's a lie, I know exactly what I'm gonna-- I know what I'm gonna do. Oh man. It's not gonna be good."

How are you even meant to respond to that? 'If you don't give into my demands, I'll torture a random unrelated person?'

"Okay."

"Alright, well, my timer goes off in five minutes and thirty-three seconds, so you get an extra thirty seconds. You get an extra thirty seconds." He starts backing up. "Alright." Wave. He turns around when he hits the water to swim away, taking the long way around so he doesn’t run into Tommy’s comedically small wall. 

Meanwhile, Tubbo: is staring at a piece of dirt. It is the same piece of dirt he's been staring at for the past half hour. Moving is just... hard, okay? It's hard.

To Ranboo: "Is there anything stopping us from rescuing Connor and hiding him?" Tommy doesn't count.

Ranboo is not aware that Jingyan is having crossed out thoughts about Tommy not counting. “…I mean.  Tommy’s right there.”

"Other than him? We should really talk to Tubbo."

He goes to find him.

Tubbo: still staring at dirt block.

"Tubbo."

Blink. Blink. Yeah, moving still isn't happening.

"...Jingyan."

"I'm not sure we need to do anything about ConnorEatsPants--" why are the names here like this "-- but we do need to something about Technoblade."

Sigh. Everything feels... heavy, and distant, and slow, like walking on honey blocks. He's not sure how long it takes him to form words; it could be anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes.

"What do you think we should do?"

"It would depend on whether we can afford to give his weapons back, and whether we can afford to give in to him."

"His weapons are mostly valuable as-- as leverage. Sentimental attachments. I think... we can make new weapons, he can too, even more than we can. Anything we really needed, we could just say I died and lost it, but us using his weapons would mostly just make us a target for him to kill us and take them back. So... probably, yeah. Ideally he gives us something for them, but I think it's... probably fine?"

As much as he doesn't want to encourage stunts like this, there isn't any reason to leave Connor out to dry. "Would you come with me to gift them to him?"

"...Can you tell him to come here instead, I'm busy." Small gesture at dirt block.

"... you want Technoblade to come here."

Smile. Smile is correct, right? Right.

"Yes, please."

... this is so ill-advised.

Not worth a fight though.

and it means Tubbo and Tommy are less likely to run into each other.

"I will go tell him that."

Back to where they ran into Technoblade.

Techno's not there. The cobblestone wall now has a one-wide cobblestone tower peeking out from behind it, though. It looks like there might be an anvil on top? It looks from the sides like there might be something else new there as well. Hard to say, given distance and obstacles.

(If Jingyan goes to check, Techno is behind the cobblestone wall. As are Tommy, Connor, and a glass tank of water.)

It makes sense to go check, especially seeing how everything has grown.

"Tubbo wishes to speak to you in L'Manberg."

Three things happen immediately upon his approach:

- Techno says "uh, Tommy, we have a visitor."

- Connor yells HELP!

- Tommy spins around and shoots Jingyan with an invisibility arrow, and then again to shoot Connor with one.

"...Tommy, stop shooting people with invis arrows. How is everyone going to know who he is."

"Sorry, sorry. Let's just wait 30 seconds."

"Let's just awkwardly wait 30 seconds before we talk-- actually, that's not a bad idea, we can have a redo of that entire interaction."

Ow. "Why would you want me invisible?" he asks Tommy. (This is up there in bizarre negotiations he's been involved in.)

"Reflex, innit."

... that's an answer.

To Techno: "What part of this negotiation do you want to redo while we can't all see each other?"

"Well, if everyone could speak in order instead of all at once, that'd be pretty pog. Connor, you can go first while we wait for Jingyan to be visible again."

"Thank you, that's considerate. HELP!"

... "I'd be happy to, but I think I am the only one here."

"Hey, man, at least you're fucking trying. These dicks--" He is interrupted by Tommy placing cobblestone over the hole he is in.

Mining it out is, unfortunately, going to look aggressive. "I'm assuming you'd want to take your hostage to Tubbo."

"Whoa whoa whoa, wait, Tubbo?"

"Who... else would have the weapons?"

"I mean--

It's just--

I haven't spoken to him for-- since-- since--"

"Okay, Tommy, I have an idea. You can stay here to make sure nothing funny happens--"

"No, no, I'll come."

Yes, the plan is working. "We'll be quite willing to give you the weapons."

"Oh, really? Pog. I mean, as long as this isn't some sort of trap."

(Connor has broken a block of cobblestone and is once more poking his head out of the hole.)

"Tommy, last chance, do you want to stay here and watch Connor or do you wanna come and face your new archnemesis?"

"It's fine. I've got my lead, I'll bring Connor." He holds up some rope tied to a stick. "Come on."

... this whole thing is ridiculous and he should not be going along with it, but if it leads to this Tubbo and Tommy reuniting, it's worth it.

He leads the way to the dirt block.

On the way to the dirt block they do an objectively ridiculous bit in which Tommy tries to get Connor to say "umba" a lot. Tommy also hits Connor with the netherite sword, and Techno has to throw a splash potion of healing onto him while saying "don't kill our leverage." It's a bit chaotic.

As soon as Tubbo's in view, Tommy (though not Technoblade or Connor) stops short to stare at him. Tubbo stops staring at the dirt block to stare back, lost for words.

"Technoblade-- I haven't seen him since-- Techno, this might be a bit of a moment for me."

"Alright, you have that."

There is a solid five seconds of complete silence.

"Hey, can you stop looking at him? HELP!"

"Yeah, this is kind of-- I feel unincluded in this moment."

"Well, that's because--"

Tubbo reaches out to squeeze Tommy's shoulder, as if to prove to himself that he's real. Tommy flinches beneath the touch, and Tubbo lets him go.

"Hello?"

"Well, well, well, look who it is."

"Hello, Tubbo."

"...Connor, stop inching over to the other side."

He's going to count reuniting Tommy and Tubbo here as a win.

And in service of not breaking that,  he moves to be in between Techno and Connor so Tubbo doesn't have to.

"Bro. I haven't gotten my weapons back yet."

"And you'll get them in good time, " he says, as he opens nearby chests and hopes they aren't on Tubbo's  person.

(They're not on Tubbo's person. They're also not in nearby chests. They're split between his enderchest, Fundy's enderchest, and a barrel hidden in the side of a hill.)

"We're not giving away our leverage until you give away yours." Sigh. He switches to be on the other side of Tommy, so he can be between Tommy and Jingyan. "C'mon, bleed, they were trying to have a moment."

Which he is trying to facilitate, and also escape this disaster of a negotiation. "You seemed to be in a hurry."

"Just tryin' to make sure Connor doesn't run off."

"... you're only holding him with fishing line."

"Fair enough, fair enough." He's still going to stay here, though.

"What's--what's going on here?"

"You've still got my discs."

"I've only got one."

Another stretch of silence.

"Anyway, if you two are done bonding, we've taken a hostage!"

Who isn't even from their nation. "What do you think he is worth, President?" They are a united front and they know what they are doing.

"We are going to kill him if you don't give me back at least some of my stuff. Look, I know he’s not a citizen so at-- honestly, I’d accept even just a trident and like a pickaxe at this point, honestly."

"I don't have it on me."

"Look, Tubbo, I'm a nice guy, I'll put down an enderchest for you."

Tubbo opens the enderchest.

Beat.

"....so what about the rocket launcher?"

"...The rocket launcher and the trident, you say? Oh, I'd accept--"

"No, just the rocket launcher, I just found out Fundy must have the trident."

"Bruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh. Okay, let's negotiate, can I get the rocket launcher and my pickaxe?"

".....Ranbo I am going to need you to go take a trip and go get that pickaxe."

"Okay."

...separating the weaponry was probably the most strategic decision, even if it is prolonging... this.

"So. Tubbo. You-- where have you been?"

"...Here?"

"Yeah, he-- he lives here, he's the president."

"You exiled me. Remember when you exiled me?"

"Yeah, remember when you exiled Tommy?"

"...Yeah."

"Under duress."

"What's duress mean."

"Pressure. Coercion. Threats."

"You left me. I haven’t seen you. You- you didn’t come visit me once, after I was exiled, you know that, so don’t try and guilt me."

"I did! And I thought you were dead!"

Tommy shoves him. "You didn't-- Dream told me you didn't-- Don't try and guilt me."

"Yeah, because Dream's trustworthy. I trust everything Dream says." The sarcasm is thick.

For the first time, he agrees with Technoblade. "That matches what I've seen."

"Thank you, bleedfierceforever. At least you understand. Also, do you have a less cringe nickname or something."

He didn't choose to be called this. "My name is Xiao Jingyan."

"Xiao Jingyan." (He's got the best pronunciation of it from anyone else in the server; he's still notably foreign and accented, but he's also notably actually attempting the tones.) "Thank you, thank you. Anyway. Back to why we should trust Dream?"

"Techno. Please."

"Whatever. Have your moment."

"I don't want to hear-- I don't want to hear any of this, alright! I don't want to hear shit! Don't try to speak to me about this! Stop lying, man! We're here to get Techno's pickaxe and then we're gonna get back the discs."

"I'm not lying! I did, once, and I was told to leave, in fact, many times!"

"You didn't visit me once. You didn't even come to my party, you didn't--"

"Because you didn't invite me!"

"Wow, even I came and visited you once."

"Stop it. I don't want to hear this shit. What are we doing here-- Where is Techno's stuff, do you have his stuff."

This is Very Familiar. (And he could help before, a little bit, bug he doesn't know this Tommy. There's nothing he can say.)

"Yes, he has my stuff, he tried to execute me, the execution stand is still there." Point. There is a cage and a stage and a weird contraption above the cage.

"WHAT THE FUCK! HOLY SHIT! I'VE NEVER SEEN THIS?????"

"How have you never--there was an anvil up there!!!"

"Really?!"

"Do you see the evils of government now, Tommy!"

"You monsters! What the hell is wrong with you!"

... That wasn't there in the L'Manberg he was in. 

"This is why I do what I do, Tommy! This is why we need our weapons back!"

Tommy's voice goes to a normal pitch and volume, which is itself abnormal for Tommy. "Wait, Techno, did they seriously try and execute you? You told me about it, but I never--"

"They dropped an anvil! I almost died! I only survived because I had a secret, I had a totem. It saved me."

"That's fucked up."

"Yeah, it really is."

Connor raises his hand. "So is anyone going to help me orrrrrrrrrr... Maybe call someone who can help me..."

He is going to ask multiple questions to Tubbo, once Technoblade is not there.

Could Ranboo please hurry up so things can be lower stakes.

"We'll deal with this shortly," he says to Connor and Techno.

As if on cue: Ranboo! He tridents in to the conversation. 

“Ah, good, my trident!”

“Actually, um, that’s my trident, that was my trident—”

“Okay, whatever, just give me my stuff back and we’ll let Connor go, alright? Just give me back the crossbow and pickaxe at least, we’ve been here for like ten hours, just hand over the goods.” (They have not, in fact, even been there for an hour. It’s been around fifteen minutes.)

“Alright. We hand over the crossbow, and then you release Connor, and then you get your pick back.”

Crossbow slash rocket launcher: handed over. 

“Ah, my crossbow is back! Connor, you can go.”

The fishing line has at this point broken from Tommy fiddling with it. He nods magnanimously to Connor as though this were on purpose. “You’re off your lead now, for good.”

“Give me my pickaxe.” Tubbo hands it over. “The Technodrill is back! Alright, let me update my notebook. 40% complete. Alright, Tommy, we’re out of here!”

“Yeah, let’s go!”

He walks a few steps and turns back to look at Tubbo. Tubbo waves. Tommy waves back, a complicated expression on his face. And then he turns back to Techno and keeps walking. 

"That at least involved a minimum of bloodshed. Connor, do you require any more assistance."

"I'm fine. I'm just... going to go? I guess? I need a new house, I guess, Tommy evicted me."

To Tubbo: "Is there a reason he couldn't join L'Manberg."

“…No? I was under the impression he didn’t want to. He lived under the you-broke-up-with-little-penis sign for a while.”

One day he will get used to the Strings of Words you get here.

To Connor: "You could also build another house."

"Yeah, I mean, that was the plan. But if you're offering assistance I'll take... blocks..."

"Will you give me a better rating as president if I give you blocks."

"....Sure?"

"Yeah, okay." He consults some nearby chests and gives Connor a stack of dirt and less than a stack of some miscellaneous wood: planks, slabs, logs, etc.

That's probably a fair deal?

...would Connor also like a stack of cobble.

Connor would absolutely like a stack of cobble. He is going to build an ugly box with some chests. He runs out of materials before the roof is complete.

He's not going to die of exposure, at least.

...especially because of the fact you can't here.

He should really ask Tubbo about the execution platform. He goes to find Tubbo. "What did Sir Blade do?"

"He was a threat to L'manburg."

"Was he aggressive?" It would match what he heard.

"...Not really. Well, on November 16."

...

"So you went to war."

"...I'd say war is a little harsh of a term."

"How would you describe it?"

"A failed execution."

This isn't his Tubbo. Things happened differently here.

He shouldn't be as surprised as he is.

"And had he committed a crime?"

"...No. Spawning the withers on November 16, maybe? I'm gonna be honest, I'm not sure what the laws were, but that seems like the sort of thing that is probably some sort of crime. I mean-- Dream hasn't committed any crimes at all, not even that much of one."

"There's a difference between an execution and a war."

"That is correct."

"And I'm asking which you think you did. To be sure."

"An execution. But we failed, and he killed Quackity while escaping. I didn't realize this was new information to you."

"That did not happen with us." ... he can see how it could have. Quackity wanted to fight, and they chose to fight Dream, but they could have just as easily fought Technoblade. Because it would be 'easier.' "Thank you for your time."

"Thank you as well, Jingyan."

He goes down to mine, to clear his head. It's not like that,  but-- it's a similar shape. He holds no love or loyalty to Technoblade, but he can still be against him being executed because he's inconvenient.

...He is dangerous. It still doesn't change things that much.

(The tunnel has hit bedrock and is skimming along it, now.)

He needs to know what happened. He's heard from Tubbo. Technoblade would know. Quackity, too.

He climbs back to the surface. Trying to find Technoblade is maybe not the most wise move,  but-- he wants to know.

Technoblade: not hanging out in New L'manburg. (Not visibly, anyway.)

Is Ranboo around? He's a soft touch someone who would likely know where he is.

Ranboo's around! He's working on a festival game.

"Greetings. Do you know where Technoblade would be?"

“…Why do you want to know?”

"I want to talk to him.  Get his side of the story. "

Ranboo considers Jingyan’s armor. Yeah, he can’t take Technoblade in that. And it’s semi-public knowledge anyway; if he did want to hurt Technoblade, Tubbo and Quackity would be able to show him where he lives. 

“I’ll take you?”

"That is a very kind offer,  thank you."

Then he can be led through the nether! The first branch of the journey is the cobblestone-and-obsidian path to Logstedshire, but partway through it branches off onto a different cobblestone path, one that hadn’t been there in the nether Jingyan remembers, and they follow that. It comes out into a snowy tundra; Ranboo leads Jingyan to a cabin with a huge cobblestone tower in front of it. 

There's a bit of a... style difference, between the cabin and the tower.

"You don't have to stay, if you don't want to."

It’s true. The cabin is cute and the tower is phenomenally ugly. Ranboo opens a book from his inventory (the cover says DO NOT READ in big letters) and checks it. “I’m friends with Phil and Techno and Tommy, I can hang out here for a bit. I don’t have anything else to do except for babysitting Tubbo if he’s decided to get high again.”

"--Fair enough." If Ranboo wants to watch him, that's fine. It's not like he's going to do anything concerning.

He knocks on the door of the cabin.

(Ranboo’s not watching; he checks the inside of the cobblestone tower, and when Tommy isn’t there, he lets himself in to the basement.)

Technoblade answers the door. “Who is it— oh, Jingyan. Good to see you, come on in.” He throws Jingyan some steak. Hopefully this isn’t a trap.