Archive of Our Own ^beta

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

As soon as Wilbur opened his eyes, he could tell it was going to be one of those days.

They had been getting more and more common.

He sighed as he buried his head into his pillow and pulled up the blankets around him. Maybe if he stayed here, everyone would just forget about him and he could fade away into the depths of his mind.

He felt himself drift again, and a while later he woke up with a strange feeling of... comfort? He lifted his head up to survey his room, but there was no one there. Just the same dull scenery that always existed. He let his head drop back to his pillow and continued to stare at the wall. He really didn't feel like doing anything else today.

Suddenly he felt a brief sense of urging, like something was willing him to get up and do something. He fought with the feeling for a bit, before sighing and laboriously pulling himself into a sitting position. He felt awful, he should just lay back down but... was he feeling a hint of pride now? Like something was proud of him for getting up. Was it him? Why would he be proud when he just wanted to stay in bed all day?

Too many questions and not enough mental energy.

Wilbur stood up and walked over to his closet, before deciding he was fine in his pajamas. He was out of bed, that was his accomplishment for the day. He walked over to the door of his room and paused, hand on the door handle. It was clearly late in the afternoon. His father and brother would probably be in the living room, and they would ask him how he was doing, and if he was okay, and why he's been holed up in his room so much, and if he was sure he's doing fine...

He was fine.

"No you aren't."

Wilbur's head whipped around, only to be met with the emptiness of his room. He had heard a voice... right? Maybe he really was going crazy. The world has no color and he's hearing voices. Clearly the picture perfect case of mental stability.

Wilbur turned back to the door and sighed, leaning his head against the wood. How long had he been like this for? A week? A month? More? Time blurred together for him, and he struggled to recall the last time he actually hung out with his friends. He always felt like he was too tired, or was being a burden to them. Eventually he declined so often that they just stopped asking, and that was that. Alone again.

But wasn't that just it? He was destined to end up alone. A burden and a bother to everyone. Doing nothing but wallowing in his mind in his room, too afraid of what others think of him to even think of having relationships with others.

Wilbur could feel himself spiraling as he dropped to his knees, sobs threatening to escape him as he fell deeper and deeper into his head.

"You're not a burden or a bother."

Wilbur's breath caught in his throat. That voice was so clear in his mind, but different from the other.

"I am..." he whispered, his voice still shaky.

Instantly, he felt an overwhelming sense of love and acceptance flow through every part of his body. Wilbur couldn't help but cry as he was hit with the feelings.

"You're not. We promise."

And for some reason, Wilbur was inclined to believe these three weird voices.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Wilbur paced back and forth around his room. He hadn't wanted to go out, but he didn't want to get back in bed either. And those voices were still bugging him. Was he really going crazy? He could have chalked it up to it being a hidden thoughts he pulled out of his head until he had felt those emotions. It was as if someone just willed their feelings to be felt by him. They just didn't feel like his emotions.

It was terrifying, but at the same time he missed the feeling already.

He took out his phone and stared at the contact that was mocking him on the screen. He had been debating whether to call her for almost an hour. If he was to talk to anyone about this it would be her, but...

He sighed, making his decision. He tapped the call icon and brought the phone up to his ear, silently hoping she wouldn't answer.

"Hello?" A bright, bubbly voice would fill his ear, and he couldn't help but give a small smile.

"Hi Niki." His voice was soft, small, he was unsure how to address the person he hadn't spoken to in months.

But to his surprise, none of that seemed to matter.

"Wil? Oh my god, is that actually you?"

"Yeah... It's me."

"It's been so long! How have you been?"

He caught himself right before saying his typical I've been good. He promised himself that if he told anyone it would be Niki. He could trust her.

"Um, not... not great actually. Do you have a bit to talk?"

"Of course Wil, what's up?" Niki replied, her bubbly voice dropping to a more soft and comforting tone.

"I just..." he hesitated, not sure whether or not to actually say anything.

"You've gotta tell someone man."

Wilbur gasped, and spun his head around, again finding nothing.

"Wil, are you okay?"

"Yes. I mean no! I don't... I don't know! I keep hearing these voices and I'm feeling feelings that I know aren't mine. I'm terrified, I'm depressed, I'm just a mess!" Wilbur choked out as he started to cry again, "I'm going crazy Niki..."

"Wil, hey. I'm going to come over, okay? We'll figure this out together, like old times. You're gonna be okay."

"Okay... thank you Niki."

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

A few minutes later, there was a gentle knock on his bedroom door, and Wilbur shuffled over and opened it.

There in the hallway stood Niki, her two-toned hair, brown with blonde bangs, falling to just below her shoulders. She was wearing an oversized dark gray hoodie, with a light gray zig-zag pattern around her chest, and sleeves that went over her hands. Black sweat pants, with black converse sneakers finished the look. In her arms were a variety of different things. Books, candles, and other things that Wilbur couldn't specifically discern. He recognized the ensemble as witch stuff however.

"I brought some things over, I hope you don't mind." She smiled, gesturing to her full arms with a nod of her head.

Wilbur chuckled, stepping aside to let her in before closing the door again. "Not at all, thanks for um... coming over. Sorry, I know it's been a while."

She gave him a soft smile, "Just because it's been a while doesn't mean that I don't care about you Wil, I just wanted to give you some space since it seemed like you needed it. I really hope I didn't make you feel like I didn't want to be around you."

Oh.

That was... really thoughtful actually. Wilbur had needed some space, he felt suffocated with his friend group, but after a while that feeling morphed into crushing loneliness, but he couldn't figure out how to just be himself again.

"See! I knew it!"

"There!" Wilbur exclaimed as he spun around to face the direction the voice came from, "That voice, did you hear it?"

Niki seemed caught off guard, and she shook her head, "No I didn't."

He... he really was crazy wasn't he?

"I'm going insane aren't I?" He groaned as he buried his head in his hands.

"Hey, not necessarily! It's possible that they only want to talk to you, or you have some special connection to them," Niki shrugged, setting some of her items on the bed as she started organizing them.

Wait... they? Them?

Wilbur gave her a confused look, "What... do you mean 'they'?"

"Well, you mentioned voices and feelings. It's possible you're dealing with ghosts," she replied with a perfectly serious look on her face.

Wilbur kept waiting for her to laugh. She didn't. "Wait, you're serious?"

Niki nodded. "Ghosts get bad reps from those weird TV shows, most of their information is inaccurate or played up for horror or comedy. I on the other hand, get my weird ghost stuff from my grandmother. Who... might also not be the best source. But hey! It's worth a shot!"

"I mean... sure why not," Wilbur shrugged, "I don't really have anything else to do.

They spent the next few minutes setting up Niki's things that she brought. She placed candles in a circle on the floor, leaving a wide enough center so that they could both sit in the middle. Wilbur couldn't help but feel like they were going to summon a demon or something.

Once she finished setting up the candles, she looked back up at Wilbur, "One more question, the feelings you said didn't feel like yours, were they positive or negative?"

Wilbur blinked back at her, "Uh, positive."

Niki seemed taken aback by this for a few seconds, "Oh... see when you mentioned being depressed, I thought it might have been the ghost's energy causing you to feel that way."

No, whatever it is has been helping me, he thought but didn't say anything.

"I mean I dunno, you're the ghost expert here," Wilbur shrugged, a small chuckle escaping his lips.

"Alright, come here and sit with me. Cross your legs, and just relax. Let your mind relax as I light the candles." Niki instructed, and Wilbur obeyed. The actions seemed silly at first, but he had seen his mother do similar rituals when he was younger.

"Okay, now focus on your breathing, let your mind be open to any form of contact."

Wilbur sat in silence for a few minutes, trying to empty his mind. Nothing special seemed to happen, he was just sitting on the floor with his eyes closed. He huffed as he tried to keep his mind focused on 'communing with the spirits'. Honestly, this seemed like a bunch of made up shit to him.

"Hey! I'm not 'made up shit' thank you very much!"

Wilbur startled slightly, "...what are you then?" he asked out loud, and Niki gasped slightly, but tried to remain quiet.

The voice was quiet for a few seconds before it returned.

"I dunno man, your personal hype squad I guess. You're a pretty depressing dude."

"Hey! I am not depressing!" Wilbur retorted, hurt in his voice.

He couldn't see the ghost, but he just had a feeling that he was being stared at with the really? expression.

"Okay, well maybe I'm sort of depressing. But that doesn't explain who you are or why you're here."

Silence.

Wilbur was about to sigh and get up, when he felt the faintest touch on his shoulder, and instantly felt the flood of love again.

Oh.

Tears welled up in his eyes, and he started crying as he opened his eyes, allowing them to focus back in on his room.

Niki looked at him with a worried expression, "Wil, are you okay? What did they say?"

Love. Acceptance.

Wilbur looked up at Niki, as a tear fell down his cheek, "I think they want me to feel better."

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

The days continued to pass by. He still had his bad days, but they were now offset by the love that the ghost gave to him. It was really weird, knowing that someone cared for him, even when he couldn't see them. He supposed it was like his mother in a sense, but this was different.

Still, something stumped him. He had heard a total of three voices on that first day. One of them, the one he had talked to with Niki, was the most vocal and Wilbur assumed he was the one that kept sending feelings to him.

The other two were enigmas. Wilbur couldn't figure out how to contact them. If Wilbur asked the ghost about his friends, he would respond with the fact that they weren't very social.

Ghosts were weird.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

About two weeks after Niki's visit, Wilbur was in the kitchen trying to split a new cookie recipe in half. Normally he could do the calculations in his head no problem, but the recipe was written using American measurements, and he was struggling.

Okay, so split 1 and 1/2 in half, that gives you 1/2 and 1/4 which is 3/4. Okay so now...

"180mL"

Wilbur looked up from the recipe. That was a different voice than he was used to. "What?"

"I just did the conversion for you because you were being slow. Here, you know what, I'll be nice. Scoot the recipe over to your right and I'll give you the measurements. You just focus on making something edible."

Wilbur scoffed "I can do it. It's just math!" but he pushed the recipe over to his right anyways. The ghost giggled as Wilbur turned back to the bowl and he started adding the measured ingredients as the ghost read them off. It went much faster then if he had tried to do both, and he was honestly appreciative of the ghost's help.

"Thank you. I... probably couldn't have done that by myself," Wilbur laughed, and then instantly froze as his eyes locked on Phil who had just walked into the room.

Phil seemed to look around the room before giving Wilbur a confused stare, "Hey Wil. Are you okay?"

"Uh...Yep! Never better. Just making a small batch of this new cookie recipe I found online." Wilbur chirped back, anxiety clawing at him.

Shit, his father had probably heard him talking to the ghost. The ghost was there for Wilbur, but to everyone else it just seemed like he was talking to himself.

To his relief, his father just smiled, even though he still had the concern in his eyes, "I'm excited to try them mate, you haven't baked in quite a while."

He hasn't, has he? This was nice.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Alright, he had a ghost that was quite honestly, super clingy, a ghost that seemed to be really good at maths, and... a third ghost.

Wilbur had yet to have a conversation with the third ghost. The other two had come and gone several times throughout the last month, but the third ghost hadn't spoken since that very first day.

Sometimes he wondered if maybe they were really shy and anxious like him.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Wilbur had another really bad day.

He could feel the same dullness that normally accompanied a bad day, but this time he couldn't shake the never-ending buzz of anxiety that crawled under his skin. He felt like he was drowning as he started spiraling again.

A burden.

Worthless.

Hopeless.

Alone.

"Wil?"

"Hey, it's okay, just take a deep breath in," Wilbur could hear the third ghost take an exaggerated deep breath, and he tried to mimic it.

"Good, now let it out," Wilbur let out a shaky breath.

"Good now, in again."

You're not hopeless.

"Out"

You are enough.

"In"

You're not a burden to us.

"Out"

We love you.

Wilbur could feel himself slowly ease out of the panic attack with the love and the support of the three ghosts that he could feel around him.

"Are you feeling a bit better?" the third ghost asked softly, and Wilbur nodded.

"We were really worried about you. That was the worst panic attack you've had since we've been here," the first ghost whispered, and Wilbur felt like he was going to cry again.

"Who... who are you?" Wilbur choked out, his voice still raspy from crying.

The three ghosts paused for a few seconds, before they spoke.

"My name's Tommy," the first ghost started,

"I'm Tubbo," the second continued,

"and I'm Ranboo," the third finished.

"Are you actually...?"

"Dead? Yep, it's pretty unfortunate. Though that was a long time ago," Tommy replied with a tone that sounded almost nonchalant, but Wilbur could feel the hidden wound he was trying to hide. Wilbur felt his heart shatter. They sounded so young.

"Why... why are you even here? Shouldn't you be in the afterlife?"

"We... could be, but... um..." Tommy hesitated like he was thinking of something to say, "I like to help people. It's what I liked doing when I was alive, showing people love and making them feel cared for," Tommy finished softly, almost as if he wasn't sure of himself.

"And the two of us wanted to stay with Tommy, so we ended up being a trio of ghosts," Tubbo added on quickly.

Wilbur could sense that they might not be being entirely truthful, but didn't push any farther.

"Will... do you think I'll ever be able to see you? Right now you're just voices in my head," Wilbur chuckled lightly at the thought.

The room was silent for a few beats and then Tommy sighed, "I don't know. I hope so. Maybe someday."

Someday.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

The days slowly started getting easier for Wilbur, but even with the ghosts helping him, he still found it almost impossible to get out of bed some days. On other days it was a little easier, and he was able to feel like a normal person again. Wilbur cherished those days.

Today was luckily one of those days. He walked down the stairs, dressed and ready for breakfast for the first time in quite a while. As he entered the kitchen, conversation stopped as his father and brother turned to look at him, equal expressions of shock on their faces. They clearly weren't expecting him to come down today.

Wilbur felt himself tense slightly, and he gently bit his bottom lip, waiting for a reaction.

"Well, it looks like sleeping beauty finally woke up," Techno mumbled and Phil shot him a glare, "Techno! Be nice, now is really not the time for that."

At the same time, Wilbur felt a surge of anger, resentment, frustration. A feeling of wanting to protect coming from Tommy. He winced as feelings were unintentionally pushed onto him. He felt like Tommy's emotions were going to be too much, that he was going to drown in them, and then all of a sudden he felt a different rush and...

"You can't fucking talk to him like that!"

Everything in the room screeched to a halt, with the two people at the table just giving Wilbur looks of alarm and confusion. Wilbur froze for a moment as he recognized the tone and feelings as Tommy, but...

The words had come out of his mouth.

Tommy immediately recoiled, repelling himself from Wilbur, "Fuck, shit I didn't... I've never been able to do that before."

Wilbur quickly turned and ran before anyone else could say anything, back up the stairs, back up to the safety of his room. He slammed the door and ran back to his bed, throwing the blankets over him as he curled up in a ball.

"You... what did you do? Why?" He whispered, and for a time there wasn't any response.

"I'm... I don't know. I'm so sorry Wil! I promise I didn't mean to just take over like that. I would never want to hurt you," Tommy whispered back, and Wilbur just shuddered.

Wilbur curled up in his bed crying, and the ghosts watched over him.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

"Wilbur, we need to talk."

The four dreaded words. We need to talk.

Wilbur scowled as he caught his dad's eyes as he came back down the stairs later that day. He gave a dramatic sigh as he followed Phil into the living room where Techno was sitting, and plopped himself down on the couch without a word.

He shifted his gaze back and forth between Techno and Phil, clearly not wanting to be there.

He saw Phil shoot Techno a look, and Techno sighed. "First off, I want to apologize. I was trying to make a joke but my tone of voice didn't portray it well and it wasn't even a good joke in the first place. I'm sorry," Techno apologized, his voice not wavering at all from it's normal, almost monotone sound.

"You're fucking right it wasn't a good joke," Tommy huffed with a roll of his eyes.

"I forgive you," Wilbur said softly, and Techno seemed to untense a bit, giving Wilbur a soft smile.

"Wil," Phil started, and Wilbur braced himself for the million dollar question, "why did you respond the way you did? Is there... something you're dealing with that you want to talk about?"

"You won't believe me," Wilbur tried, but Phil just shook his head slightly, "Just try, please? I promise I'll try to be understanding."

"Okay well, I have three ghosts that have been following me around. One of them got pissed off at Techno's statement at breakfast, and he accidentally possessed me."

Blank stares. Predictable.

"Ghosts?" Techno raised his eyebrow and Wilbur sighed.

"YEAH! GHOSTS LIKE ME DICKHEAD!" Tommy screamed in Techno's ear, but he didn't even flinch.

Tubbo let out a loud breath, trying to keep his composure, "You know the only person that's been able to hear us is Wilbur."

"I know but I can still be pissed at him."

"I know it sounds stupid but it's true. I promise." Wilbur whispered, and feelings of anxiety started clawing their way into his heart again.

Phil seemed to pause for a few seconds, "It's not that I don't believe you, but mate, if you're having a hard time, you know you can just tell us," Phil reached over to put his hand on Wilbur's leg. The three ghosts collectively groaned.

"Here we go, the 'we think you're crazy while trying to pretend we care' crap!" Ranboo hissed, and Wilbur could feel Tommy move closer to him.

Wilbur could feel Tommy's emotions start to bleed into his again. He wondered if the connection was stronger when they were feeling similarly.

"I'm not making it up! There really are three ghosts. They're literally in the room with us right now!" Wilbur protested, but the facial expressions of his family told him it was a losing battle. "You know what? Never mind. You've never believed me when I've brought up this stuff before, why would you start now? At least mom always did," Wilbur huffed as he stood up from the couch and stormed back up to his room.

He sprawled out on the bed dramatically for a few seconds before he rolled over and grabbed his phone off the nightstand, typing in a number and hitting the call button.

"Hey Niki, what are you up to tonight?"

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Going to a party was usually not Wilbur's idea of a good night, at least not recently. But, it was out of the house and maybe he could relax a little.

He was more surprised with the fact that he could still feel the presence of Tommy, Tubbo and Ranboo, even though they had left the house.

They really were haunting him.

Wilbur didn't know whether to find that sweet or terrifying.

It didn't take long for him to walk the few blocks to Niki's house. He walked up to her front door, hands in his pockets and hesitated a moment before he knocked. A shorter young man with a blue beanie and black hair opened the door, a look of complete bewilderment on his face.

"Wilbur?"

"Quackity?"

The two stared at each other for a few seconds before Niki ran over to the door smiling, "Wil, you made it! Come in, come in!"

She gently pushed Quackity to the side and grabbed Wilbur's wrist, pulling him into the house.

Niki turned back to him as they walked, "There's drinks in the kitchen if you want them, otherwise we're playing games in the living room and listening to music."

Wilbur sighed, contemplating. He really shouldn't, especially with everything he's been going through. But it was everything that he had been going through that eventually led him over into the kitchen.

The burn of the alcohol made him wince slightly at first, but it was a grounding sort of pain. He carried his drink into the living room and sat down next to Niki.

The night was mostly spent playing board games and 'ruining' friendships on Mario Party. Wilbur started to loosen up after his first drink, and after a few more he found himself having more fun then he had had in quite a while. It was nice to just live in the moment for a change. To not have to worry about everything else around him.

Of course, all good things must come to an end, and that's exactly what happened when Wilbur ran into Quackity again.

Wilbur had finished his drink and was going into the kitchen for one more when Quackity's sharp voice interrupted him, "So you're really just going to up and disappear for three months and then come back and pretend like it never happened? Some friend you are."

Wilbur blinked for a few seconds, caught off guard by Quackity's outburst. He sighed as he leaned back against the counter, "Q come on, I've been dealing with some shit lately. I'm sorry I haven't been hanging out, but I promise it's not anything to do with you guys."

"Bullshit!" Quackity yelled back, "We would invite you out, weeks, even months before you completely cut contact with all of us and you were either 'too busy' or 'weren't feeling it' or 'didn't want to'," He repeated the phrases mocking Wilbur's voice, "Like, be real. You just didn't want to hang out with us anymore. Mr. 'I'm too good for everyone else here,'" Quackity snarled and Wilbur was caught off guard.

Is this how he made them feel?

"Look, I seriously have been going through some shit mentally, and whether you want to believe it or not is not my problem. But, I didn't mean to make you feel like I abandoned you," Wilbur responded softly, feeling a panic attack starting.

"We didn't even go ice skating all together last Christmas! We've done that for years Wilbur!" Quackity threw his hands up, "Literal years and you just threw that away like it was nothing! Not even a text or anything! Just radio silence from mister depresso expresso over here who does nothing but wallow if someone says anything that barely hurts his feelings."

Wilbur felt his skin prickle, and he could tell Tommy was ready to explode. Looking for a way out, he whispered three words.

"Get me out."

"Are you sure?" Ranboo asked in a concerned voice, and Wilbur took a deep breath.

"Please."

It was the last thing Wilbur remembered before he blacked out.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Tubbo and Ranboo just glanced at each other with worried expressions, but Tommy growled, "He's mine, let me deal with him."

The two watched with wide eyes as he disappeared.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Tommy was pissed. Not only had this Quackity guy just started going off on Wilbur, but he kept jabbing at Wilbur's sore spots to get a reaction out of him. Well fine. He could do that. It wasn't too hard to possess Wilbur since he had asked him to.

"Shut the fuck up, Quackity!" Tommy as Wilbur barked back, and the young man stopped talking almost immediately, clearly not expecting that reaction.

"First of all, how dare you come out and accuse me of just leaving you guys behind, when you know absolutely nothing about what's been going on!" Tommy didn't know the whole story, but he quickly dug through Wilbur's memories and managed to get a pretty brief overview of the situation. "I didn't want to burden you guys with my problems! But it's not like you would understand that, considering you're an absolute dick with no empathy at all towards others!"

Tommy shoved past Quackity and headed for the front door. He was done. They were going home.

The entire party had pretty much stopped to look at them, and Tommy couldn't help but revel a little in the attention. He hadn't been seen in so long. Well, he wasn't being seen, but his actions certainly were.

He got to the door, opening it and giving one last look to Quackity, who looked like he just got bit, but like he was confused at the same time. Tommy scoffed, turning on his heel, and slammed the door behind him.

With the help of Tubbo, Tommy managed to navigate down the streets back to Wilbur's house, and he made sure to make a show of opening the front door and then slamming it closed to show he was pissed off. It seemed to work because although the soft talking in the living room stopped, no one called out or came to check on him.

Tommy walked Wilbur up into his room and took off his shoes and coat, deciding to just leave Wilbur in what he was currently wearing. He walked over and climbed into bed, and then released his link to Wilbur's body, floating up to join Tubbo and Ranboo again.

"He's going to regret letting you take over," Tubbo sighed, and Tommy just scoffed, "Hey, if they mess with Wilbur, I'm going to go feral. Just be glad I didn't start a fight."

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Wilbur woke up in his bed the next morning with no idea of how he got home. All he knew was everything was slightly too bright and too loud and he groaned as he threw the blankets up over his head, willing himself to go back to sleep.

When that didn't work, he sighed in exasperation, reaching over to pull some pain killers out of his nightstand. He downed a few, and then he closed his eyes and laid back into his bed.

"Sorry about last night. We did get you home though," Tommy spoke up from beside him on the bed and Wilbur almost jumped out of his skin.

Right, the ghosts.

"S'fine, my fault."

"I wish I could give you a hug or something, but I can only send you feelings and I think that could be a bit overwhelming right now."

Wilbur gave a weak smile, turning his head towards the voice. He paused and did a double take as... there was someone there.

Sitting up on the bed next to him was a faint image of a teenager. He had curly blonde hair, and a red and white shirt with blue jeans. He was staring at Wilbur with both a look of concern, and of fondness in his blue eyes.

Wilbur blinked once, then twice, but the boy was still there. "Tommy?"

The boy tilted his head, a look of confusion on his face, "Yeah? What's wrong, you look like you've seen a... oh my god you can see me."

The boy floated up off of the bed and spun around so he was hovering over the bed, sitting criss-crossed facing Wilbur, "You can actually see me, can't you!" he looked and sounded thrilled.

"Wait, can you see me too?"

"Or me?"

Wilbur could tell that Tubbo and Ranboo's voices were coming from next to Tommy, but he could only see the one figure.

He shook his head sadly, "No I can't, only Tommy."

"Ugh lameee, why do you get to be the one that he can see?" Tubbo groaned and Wilbur watched as Tommy stuck his tongue out and flipped off the space next to him, and the three boys started laughing.

It was so surreal being able to see Tommy. He seemed so full of life despite being... well, a ghost. Wilbur wondered what the other two looked like.

"Why do you think I can see you now? What changed?" Wilbur asked, and Tommy looked confused, "I'm honestly not sure, I've never been able to tether to anything before. I've never been able to fully possess anyone either but I think the combination of our emotions made it easier."

Oh fuck, the party.

Wilbur winced, "You uh... didn't do anything bad did you?

Tommy scoffed, rolling his eyes and putting his hand to his heart in mock hurt. Tubbo giggled and then Ranboo replied, "He just yelled at that Quackity guy and stormed off, and then we brought you home."

Wilbur laughed, "Honestly that's probably what I would have done too, so no hard feelings there."

Tommy floated a bit closer and Wilbur froze as Tommy reached his hand out towards his hair. He watched as Tommy tried to gently run his fingers through his hair. He could barely feel it at all, and Wilbur doubted that he would even notice if he wasn't currently watching Tommy do it.

Tommy pulled his hand away and frowned, "I wish I could actually move your hair. It's one thing to pretend like I'm doing it, but it's another thing to actually do it."

Wilbur could feel his eyes get heavier, and he snuggled back into his bed. Tommy smiled, a look of fondness plastered on his face, "You get some more sleep Wil, you deserve it."

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

The next time Wilbur woke up, it was to incessant knocking on his door.

"Wilbur, it's me, can I come in?" Niki's voice called from the other side of the door, and Wilbur groaned, rubbing his eyes before sleepily calling back, "Yeah."

Niki opened the door and a concerned smile appeared on her face, "Hangover?"

Wilbur hummed, "Better now, but yeah."

Niki walked over and sat on the edge of the bed, and Wilbur watched as Tommy gave her a dirty look as he was forced to move his legs.

Wilbur tried hard to suppress his laughter.

"So, I came here because found more information on your little ghost situation. At least I think I might have." She pulled a small picture out of her pocket and handed it to Wilbur, "I was digging through the library records of teenagers that were from L'manburg that have uh... you know.," She pulled at her hoodie and sighed, sadness bleeding into her features, "These three went missing about twenty-five years ago, and the authorities never found them. You mentioned a trio, and they were what I found."

Wilbur's breath hitched as he looked down at the photo. Two taller boys were ruffling the hair of a shorter one, and all three of them had the brightest smiles on their faces. The boy on the left he immediately recognized as the boy sitting next to him, Tommy.

"Oh... That's an old photo from when we first moved to L'manburg," Tommy whispered as his ghostly fingers traced over the photo. His finger stopped on the shorter, brown haired boy, "That's Tubbo, and that one is Ranboo," he pointed to the taller brown haired boy with the face mask.

A tear fell down Wilbur's cheek and he looked up at Niki, "What... what happened?"

She shook her head, "No one knows. They went missing and were declared dead a few years later. They're your ghosts then?"

Wilbur nodded and Niki reached out and grabbed his hand, "I'm sorry, even though you've only known them as ghosts, this is probably still hard for you."

"I just wish I could see them. Well, all of them," Wilbur whispered, and Niki's eyes widened in surprise, "You can see one?"

Wilbur nodded, "Tommy's sitting right next to you," he pointed a bit further up on the bed from where she was sitting and she nodded, gesturing to the picture, "Which one is he?"

Wilbur pointed to Tommy, and she gave a sad smile, "It's nice to meet you Tommy, I'm not sure if you can hear me, but I'm sorry about what happened to you."

"Tell her I can, and that I don't need her fucking pity!" Tommy snapped and Wilbur startled slightly, "Are you okay?"

Tommy just pulled his knees up to his chest in response and Wilbur sighed.

"He says he can hear you, but that he doesn't need your pity," Wilbur repeated and Niki giggled, "Quite a feisty one. Alright, no more pity from me. Promise."

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

The next few days were spent with Wilbur constantly startling as he turned around and saw Tommy standing or floating there. It was weird, but he was grateful to finally have some sort of form to the voice that had been helping him for so long.

There was still one loose end he needed to tie up though, and he wasn't looking forward to it.

He walked into the kitchen, photo in hand and marched right up to where his father was sitting at the table. He set the photo down gently on the table and pushed it over. "Here, these are the ghosts that I was talking about before. Niki found a picture of them from when they were alive."

Phil blinked at the picture, and then up at Wilbur, "You... oh Wil..." Phil sighed, a sad look appearing on his face, "Your mother was always better at the whole 'sprits' thing than I was... am. Uh, I think I still have some of your mother's old books that state how to free ghosts from our plane upstairs. Releasing spells I think they're called."

Wilbur could see Tommy tense up beside him, and then all he felt was crushing fear from all around him.

"No! No, I don't need to get rid of them, they're fine!" Wilbur exclaimed and he took a deep, stuttered breath as the fear subsided, "Did... did mom have any other books about ghosts?"

Phil nodded, a smile on his face, "Tons, she loved that kind of stuff. They're in a box upstairs in my office."

Without a second thought, Wilbur turned on his heel and ran to go up the stairs. He walked to his father's office and opened the door, eyes flitting around the room.

It was a pretty big office, with a large desk pushed into the far left corner, with papers strewn about wherever there wasn't computer equipment. On the right side of the room, there was a small fireplace surrounded by two chairs, with bookshelves on the walls on either side of the fireplace.

Wilbur's eyes quickly caught a box that had been tucked into a corner, and he carefully walked over and pulled it out. He took a deep breath to center himself, and then gently opened the flaps of the box. Inside were a few bound books on ghosts that had been very clearly read through several times. What really caught Wilbur's attention was a leather-bound journal with his mom's handwriting on it, A Guide to Living with Ghosts.

Wilbur picked up the journal and flipped through a few pages. Finding interesting information, he decided that he could come back for the other books if he needed to. He closed the box and pushed it back in the corner, taking the journal and walking back to his room.

Sitting on the floor, Wilbur set the journal in front of him. Tommy sat to his left, and he could only assume that Tubbo and Ranboo were in the other two spots.

Wilbur flipped open the journal and started reading. Most of it was knowledge that he already knew or had inferred from his interactions. Ghosts were able to share feelings, they'd often be heard as disembodied voices although most ghosts used tethers to make a visible form, and ghosts were able to possess people. Wilbur noted that the journal said that it took much more effort and energy to possess an unwilling person than a willing one.

Was he willing? He was at the party, that's for sure.

He skimmed through a few more pages, pausing at one that was titled Tethers.

Ghosts can tether to many things in the human realm, and depending on their feelings to their tether, they can even create a form that can be seen by humans. While most ghosts choose a physical object to tether too, I've read about some ghosts that are tethered to a person instead. However, if a soul is too fragmented, it is possible that the ghost may be unable to tether without a very strong personal connection to an object or person.

Wilbur looked up at Tommy, "You're tethered to me, right?"

He nodded, but fear quickly appeared on his face, "I... I can stop if you want me to, you're just the thing I have the greatest connection to."

"No! Uh, I mean, I don't really mind. It's not hurting me and it's nice to see you. Can Tubbo and Ranboo tether to me too?"

"While we do have a connection to you, it's not nearly as strong as Tommy's. We... it's um, hard for us to tether to things." Tubbo's voice responded softly and Wilbur frowned, "Can I get you something you can tether to?"

"Maybe, do you have anything you could wear with flowers or bees?"

"No, but I know someone who does. What about you Ranboo?"

"Um... I'm not really sure."

"That's okay, we'll figure something out."

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Wilbur called Niki again, and the next time she showed up, it was with her jewelry box.

"So, you're looking for something to wear?" Niki inquired as she opened the box, and Wilbur nodded, "Tubbo says that the best chance we have at them being able to tether to something is if I wear something that they have a personal connection to in some way. He suggested jewelry that they like."

She hummed as she dug through her box, looking for something specific, "You said he liked bees right? Let me see... Oh! Here it is! Try this one."

Niki pulled out a gold chain bracelet that had a few hanging charms on it. Four of them were different kinds of flowers, and the center charm was a small bee.

"Oh! Look at the bee!"

"Will this work Tubbo?"

"Let's see... can you put it on?"

Wilbur gently took the bracelet and placed it on his wrist, with Niki helping him attach it.

After a few seconds, Wilbur gasped as Tubbo's ghostly form appeared in front of him, he looked very similar to how he did in the picture.

"Did it... did it work?"

"I can see you!" Wilbur exclaimed, and Niki cheered.

"Ranboo's turn, Ranboo's turn!" Tubbo chanted as he reached out and wrapped his fingers around nothing. Wilbur couldn't see him, but he assumed Tubbo was grabbing Ranboo's wrist as he pulled him across the room to the box.

Ranboo spoke softly, "I... I still don't know what to pick..."

"Ranboo doesn't know what to pick Niki, can you show him a few and see if he latches on to any of them?" Wilbur asked and Niki nodded.

The next little while was spent going through Niki's jewelry box, with Ranboo being unable to decide what he wanted. Niki eventually pulled out a small black and white beaded bracelet, and Ranboo exclaimed, "That one! That's it!"

"That's the one he wants."

Wilbur smiled as Niki handed it to him, and Wilbur gently slipped it on next to the other one. Just like with Tubbo, Ranboo shimmered into existence a few seconds later.

"Can you see them all now?" Niki asked and Wilbur nodded, "They look just like that picture."

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Slowly, Wilbur started to be more social again. It was a little bit weird with the three ghosts that trailed along behind them, but if he asked them to give him privacy, they would leave him alone (well, Tommy was a bit more reluctant but he would oblige most of the time).

Most of his friends were extremely welcoming of his return to the group. Quackity was still a little sour, but eventually realized that Wilbur was putting in effort to come back.

Wilbur had mentioned his ghosts in passing, but everyone seemed to either brush him off or assume he was telling a joke. It didn't really bother Wilbur though, he knew they were real and so did Niki.

It was their game night tonight. His friend group had met up at Niki's house, and they were currently playing Uno (Wilbur's least favorite card game). Wilbur guessed that the boys must have liked Uno, because they were hovering with smiles on their faces as they intently watched Wilbur play. The only rules Wilbur had given them were that they couldn't tell Wilbur what cards the other people had, and they couldn't tell him what to play.

The game continued for a while, but soon Wilbur was left with one card. As Tommy floated around the circle, he couldn't keep a poker face and started smiling brighter.

Wilbur assumed that meant he was going to win.

Niki played her card, and Wilbur set his on top with a smirk. The rest of the circle groaned, but Wilbur felt this surge of excitement, and pride, and...

"Wilbur you did it! You won!"

The whole circle froze, including the two other ghosts, just like his family had done at breakfast. Wilbur was expecting to feel Tommy pull away like he did back then, but instead he just stayed, Wilbur could tell he was a little disoriented at what had just happened. It was weird, Wilbur suddenly felt like he was in the passenger seat of his own brain, but he could still see, hear, and feel everything that was going on.

"Hello! You're one of Wilbur's ghosts right?" Niki spoke up, her cheery bubbly voice relaxing Wilbur.

He could feel Tommy tense up, panic radiating as the boy seemed to realize what he had done, and Wilbur gently nudged him in his brain. It's okay. I know you didn't mean to. You can talk to her.

Tommy relaxed slightly, before speaking with Wilbur's voice, "Um... yeah. Hi." Wilbur watched as his body awkwardly waved, and he internally cringed, "I uh, accidentally do this sometimes when I get too mad or excited."

"That's okay, does Wil know?"

His head nodded, "He's still here, we're uh, kinda both here right now... somehow."

"So wait, Wil really does have ghosts following him around?" Quackity piped up and Wilbur had to seriously fight for control with Tommy to not scowl at him.

Scoffing at losing the battle, Tommy instead hissed out, "Actually Big Q, I'm the one that cussed you out at the party," and Wilbur internally sighed in defeat.

Quackity's face lit up in recognition, "So that's why you suddenly started acting different!"

"Which one are you?" Niki asked curiously, and Tommy hesitated. Wilbur gently nudged him again, and Tommy relented, "I'm Tommy."

"It's very nice to meet you Tommy!" Niki smiled, and gestured to the cards, "Would you like to play? If it's okay with Wilbur that is."

Wilbur could feel Tommy practically buzzing with excitement, and he internally chuckled. Go for it, you deserve to enjoy yourself too.

"He said yes!" Tommy chirped with Wilbur's voice, and Niki dealt him a fresh hand of cards.

Tommy loved Uno. Wilbur could really tell now.

He just sat back with the other two ghosts and watched him play. Was this what it was like being a ghost?

"Uno!" Someone called out a few turns later, but Tommy was quick to hit them with a plus four. The game went back and forth, it was anyone's game. Eventually, Niki played a red card, and Tommy laid down his last card. "Yay! I won!"

The circle groaned in defeat again.

"Aww! You're really good at Uno Tommy! Did you like playing it when you were alive?" Niki asked curiously, and Wilbur instantly felt Tommy's panic return. Wilbur tried to reach out, but he felt Tommy leave. It disoriented him, and as he blinked back to reality, he watched the ghost untether himself and disappear.

Wilbur shook his head a few times to ground himself back in reality and then looked over at Niki.

"Tommy?" she asked and he shook his head, "Wilbur."

Niki's face was plastered with worry, "Did I say something wrong?"

"I'm not sure, I don't think he likes thinking or talking about his life," Wilbur mused, before he looked at the surprised faces of the people around him.

Oh, yeah that had really just happened.

Wilbur started to panic a little, and he quickly stuttered, "Uh, I'm... r-really sorry about that. Um... I should probably get going now."

Wilbur stood up and stretched, before grabbing his bag and heading towards the front door.

"Hey Wil?"

Wilbur turned around to face Quackity, and the black haired boy sighed, "I'm really sorry for everything. Could you tell Tommy I'm sorry too?"

Wilbur smiled, an actual genuine smile, and nodded. He waved to his friends and they waved back with smiles on their faces as he turned to leave.

Maybe he wasn't so alone after all.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Tommy hadn't come back.

Wilbur had never had Tommy disappear for multiple days before, and he was starting to get worried. Tubbo and Ranboo had untethered to go look for him, so Wilbur was completely alone for the first time in quite a while.

It was quiet. It made him anxious.

He grabbed his mother's journal off of his nightstand and opened it to the page he had marked. He continued to flip through it, pausing every once in a while to fully read a page that seemed interesting to him. He turned a page, and a piece of folded paper fluttered out and landed on the bed next to him.

Wilbur reached over and gently unfolded the page. Unlike the rest of the notes that were very neatly written, this page seemed to be a quick scratch page of different ideas and theories.

Wilbur froze as his eyes skimmed over the title written on top of the page. Ghosts and Tangibility

Ghosts are normally incorporeal, but under specific conditions, can have limited tangibility. Many books mention it being possible, but none explain exactly how to do it. Maybe some sort of ritual?

Wilbur set the page aside for now, and turned back to the journal. He flipped the page and was met with Permanent Tethering.

An ancient forbidden practice. Skilled magic users can permanently tether a spirit to our plane, preventing them from passing on freely. It used to be used back in the day by witches to torture souls long after their bodies had died, often leading to souls being completely shattered and lost to time.

It is very rare, and almost completely unheard of for a ghost to not want to pass onto the afterlife. However, for ghosts that have been permanently bound to our plane, the act of a releasing ritual will bring them only immense pain, as their souls are forced to stay here despite the spell trying to let them move on. The only way their souls can be freed is if the initial tether is found and destroyed.

It couldn't be. There was no way.

Niki had said the boys had been dead for around twenty-five years, and Tommy said the reason they stuck around was because they wanted to help people. But... that day when Phil had brought up the releasing rituals, Tommy had been so scared.

Was this why?

And the tethering, it almost seemed like they were too weak at first to tether to anything.

What had these boys been through?

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Five days without Tommy, but at least they knew where he was now.

Tubbo and Ranboo had found him out on the cliffs that overlooked the sea. While they didn't give any more details than that, they assured Wilbur that Tommy would be fine. They would stay with him for a few more days until he settled down and sorted through his thoughts.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Wilbur walked through the neighborhood alone, the click-clacking of his shoes on the pavement only distracting him slightly from the excitement that was buzzing in his veins. His mother's journal had given him an idea, but he wanted to make sure he could follow through with it before he told the boys.

Wilbur walked up to Niki's door and knocked. After a few seconds she opened the door, and invited Wilbur inside.

"So what is this big idea that you have?" Niki asked, as they walked into her room.

Her room was not too large, but not small either. All sorts of books and trinkets lined the many shelves and bookshelves that were in her room. A computer setup was tucked in the corner.

Wilbur's eyes traced up and down the shelves as he stood in front of a bookshelf, "You have lots witch books and books on ghosts right? Do you have anything about ghosts and tangibility?"

"What do you mean?" Niki asked, and Wilbur handed her the paper that had been tucked in the journal.

Her brows furrowed as she paced back and forth, pulling a few books and flipping through them before putting them back.

"I wonder... stay here I'll be right back." Niki walked out of her room, and Wilbur was left to browse around.

After a few minutes, Niki walked back with a larger tome, and set it gently on her bed, beckoning Wilbur over.

"I haven't found a good place to put this yet, but I think this might have what you're looking for. Ummm!" she would flip through a few pages before pointing at one, "Here it is, look. It's worn, and some of the page is ripped, but it is here."

Tangibility of Ghosts

While ghosts are normally incorporeal, there exists magic that allows ghosts to regain some tangibility to the real world. It's nowhere near being completely corporeal, but witches have documented ghosts that have been subjected to the magic being able to not only be seen by others, but being able to pick up and move small objects, as well as touch and shove people.

Wilbur turned the page, and found that the other side was blank. There was nothing that showed how to do the spell, which he guessed was on the ripped portion of the page.

"You're trying to help them," Niki mused as she traced her fingers along the edges of the book.

"I think they've been through much more than we originally thought," Wilbur hissed and Niki gave him a concerned look, "What do you mean?"

He pulled out the journal and turned to the page about permanent tethering, and handed it to Niki. Her eyes traced down the page and she gasped, "You don't think?"

"And the fact that they were never found? There's no way we're going to find the tethers. So I'm trying to give them the next best thing. A family that will love and care for them."

"Oh Wil..."

"But this book is ripped, and now I'm at another dead end!" Wilbur sighed, taking out a pen and writing the contents of the page in the blank portion of the journal. It was still useful information.

"Have you looked through your mom's old stuff?"

Wilbur nodded, "That's where I found this journal."

"Did you find anything else? Your mom was really into all if this stuff. You know what they called her."

Lady Death

Wilbur sighed, "I'll go through her books next. You're right, if anyone's going to have anything about this it's her."

"I'll help you."

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Wilbur and Niki spent the next few hours going through the box of books that Phil had in his office. Books were skimmed through, and added to one stack if they didn't have anything they needed, and another if it had something. So far the nothing pile was winning, and the something pile was non-existent.

Wilbur pulled out another book, and as he opened it a newspaper clipping fluttered onto the floor. His eyes traced over the heading and his blood went cold. Niki immediately noticed his concern, "What is it Wil?"

He basically threw the clipping at her like it had burned him, and when she read it she gasped, putting her hand over her mouth.

Witch suspected in recent kidnapping case found dead in his home.

"What's the date on this?" She whispered, her eyes flitting around the clipping.

It was about 20 years ago.

"If it was a witch, that makes your theory about the permanent tethering almost guaranteed," Niki whispered and Wilbur hit the ground with his fist.

He really had not wanted to be right.

"What's in that book? The one this came out of?"

Wilbur flipped through it, skimming over titles and headings. Nothing in particular stood out to him, but he could tell that it had to have been his mother's documentation of her rituals. He reached the last page of the book and froze as an envelope revealed itself, tucked into the back of the book. He pulled it out and gasped slightly. It had his name on it in his mother's fancy cursive.

The book was quickly dropped in favor of opening the envelope, and Wilbur gently pulled out the folded piece of paper inside. He looked up at Niki who just nodded at him. It went unspoken that he didn't have to read it out loud if he didn't want to. Wilbur looked down at the letter as he carefully unfolded it. He decided to read it once over himself and then summarize it to Niki.

Wilbur,

If you're reading this, it probably means that I'm not around anymore, and you've found the ghosts I've been trying to help for years. I couldn't reach them, but maybe you can. You always were such a stubborn yet gentle soul. if they've regained their strength, this should help them regain their tangibility. You have all the magic you need inside of you, just reach out and trust in me and I'll always be there to help you.

Love, Mom

At the bottom of the letter was a drawing of a rune, and brief ritual instructions.

He looked up to Niki, tears in his eyes, "We can actually do this. We can help them."

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Wilbur woke up to a pair of crystal blue eyes staring at him, and he shot out of bed screaming.

Tubbo giggled, "See Toms, I told you he would freak out!"

Tommy just laughed, "Aw, Wil did you miss me?"

"Not when you do that, you little shit!" Wilbur hissed out.

"I think you did!" Ranboo grinned as he laughed.

Tommy was about to go in for another witty jab at Wilbur when his eyes landed on the books that were on Wilbur's nightstand, and his expression fell almost instantaneously, "Wil, why do you have witch stuff?"

The other two stopped their banter at this, and Tubbo looked like he was about to have a panic attack, while Ranboo just pulled him closer to his side.

Wilbur put his hands up trying to placate the ghosts, "Nothing bad I promise! My mom was a witch, and her books have a lot of information on ghosts and stuff. I've just been going through them to try to learn a bit more about you guys," he quickly explained, and the three seemed to loosen up a little.

Ranboo looked over to the books, his eyes still dark, "Did your mom know how to free souls that are stuck here no matter what they do?"

Wilbur stilled, "So you are permanently tethered..." he whispered as his heart sank. He sighed, "You have to destroy the original object that the ghost was tethered to in order to free them."

Ranboo made a face and Tubbo just whimpered, curling further into Ranboo. Tommy's face fell as he floated down to sit on the bed, "So it's hopeless. We really are stuck here forever. And it's all that stupid bastard's fault."

"Do you guys want to talk about it?"

Tommy's head shot up, "What?"

"Every time someone brings up your life, you three run away. I can tell that your death was... not pleasant, but what was the rest of your life like?" Wilbur moved to lie on the bed, and Tommy adjusted so it looked like they were cuddling, while Tubbo and Ranboo sat shoulder to shoulder at the foot of the bed.

They all stayed there in silence for a few moments, with the three ghosts seeming to have an internal struggle on whether they actually did want to talk. Wilbur froze as Tommy eventually was the one that started to speak.

"Well... I... I dunno, life wasn't really that great for me up until I met Tubbo and Ranboo when we were all thirteen," he paused, taking in a deep breath, "We managed to pull ourselves off the streets and into some sort of manageable living situation doing odd jobs for people around the city of Essempi." The other two nodded.

Tommy paused again and looked over at Tubbo who started talking, "We moved to L'manburg and bought our first flat at fifteen. We should have had to fudge some papers, but we were friends with the owner of the complex, and she let us stay as long as we paid our rent on time."

Ranboo chuckled, "It wasn't the biggest place, or the nicest, but it was a roof over our heads and it was home. We all loved playing board games and card games together."

Another pause, and Tommy spoke up again, "Niki asked me if I liked playing Uno, well, the answer was yes. That and Monopoly, but Tubbo usually won that."

"Hell yeah I did!" Tubbo cheered and the others laughed.

Tommy smiled, putting his arms behind his head, "Life really wasn't so bad for a few years, we took care of ourselves and started saving for when we could officially move into a nicer flat. Then..." Tommy's face fell, and he sat up, pulling his knees to his chest, and Wilbur could see the others' faces fall too.

"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, any of you," Wilbur offered, but Tubbo shook his head. "We need to."

He took another deep breath, "The building that we were living in burned down. We went from finally living, right back to living job to job on the streets. Then, we met..." his face winced, and he shook his head, seemingly unable to continue.

Ranboo picked up for him, "...him. Let's just not use names. He said he saw 'potential' in us and between our skills and his magic he would help us make our dreams into reality. And of course, with the promise of warm meals and a place to stay, we didn't even think twice."

Ranboo stopped, and Wilbur noticed he was shaking, tears running down his face. "We should have just said no."

Wilbur bolted upright, "He used you for what he wanted and then got rid of you," he spat, and they nodded. Tommy put his head on his knees, and Tubbo leaned further over onto Ranboo, still crying.

They stayed there in silence for a few minutes, with Wilbur trying his best to be comforting while they cried.

"O-our tethers." Tommy choked out, "They... they were keys, th-three of them on a keyring. En-enchanted with un... with unbreaking. He tossed them into... into the river. They're gone. They could be anywhere in the world now."

Wilbur felt his anger flare.

How fucking dare this man? This monster?

After a few seconds, Wilbur suddenly asked, "Do you like it here?"

Tommy's head shot up and he blinked at him in surprise, "What?"

"Do you three like it here? With me?"

Tubbo nodded quickly, "You may have your issues, but you're the kindest person I've ever met besides Toms and Boo," The others nodded their approval, and Tommy continued the thought, "I can tell that your friends and family really love you. Sometimes I wish..."

He paused for a moment, and then he closed his mouth and turned away, shaking his head, "No, never mind it's stupid."

"What is it Toms? You don't have to be afraid of saying something stupid, I say stupid shit all the time," Wilbur smiled gently at the boy.

"I... sometimes I try to imagine what it would be like to be alive, and to be your little brother. For the four of us to have been adoptive siblings instead."

The other two ghosts' expressions melted and they scrambled over to Tommy, wrapping him up in a hug.

Oh...

That.

That broke Wilbur, and he also started crying.

Tommy's eyes widened in alarm, "Oh Wil! I'm sorry! See I told you it was stup-"

Wilbur cut him off, "It's not stupid, because I think about that too."

And now it was Tommy's turn to start crying again. The three pulled Wilbur into their hug, or at least tried to, the best they could.

Wilbur pulled back, his eyes gleaming with a newfound determination. "I know you three have a problem with magic because of what happened to you, and I want you to make sure that you discuss it thoroughly."

The three of them looked up, confusion on their faces, and Wilbur gently set the journal on the bed and opened it to a blank page where Wilbur had written down everything about the tangibility spell. The three looked at it with wide eyes.

"It won't be the same, but you could have a life here. And we can ask the internet to help you find your keys. The internet is full of sleuths that can track down the most random of items. If anyone is going to find them, it's probably Reddit," Wilbur explained, chattering a little quicker as he explained his plan, "Once we find them, you can continue to stay as long as you want, and then when you're ready we can release your spirits and let you pass on."

Tubbo's eyes widened, and his voice was small as he spoke, "You... you would really do that for us?" He looked up to Wilbur, who smiled.

"Of course, you three help me out all the time. That's what brothers do."

And Wilbur reached over to hug them again, and while the touch was only faint sensations, he could feel the emotions emanating off of the three of them.

Thank you, Thank you, we love you.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

It had taken some serious discussion, but the three of them had decided that they trusted Wilbur to not hurt them, and he was going to do everything in his power to keep that trust.

Niki helped him draw the rune on the floor of his bedroom, and light the candles and incense that his mother described in her instructions.

When they were done, he sat in the center of the rune, and gestured to the three ghosts.

The three ghosts walked over and intertwined hands with each other, and then Ranboo and Tommy held out their free hands to Wilbur.

Wilbur concentrated, taking their hands as best as he could, silently pleading for his mom to help him. Trusting what he had studied and in his mother, he focused on the magic that he could feel in the air, and the rune that was underneath him. He directed the flow of magic in the room into the rune, and the three ghosts gasped as it lit up, a bright pink flash illuminating the room.

When it subsided, Wilbur gasped for breath as he struggled to catch it. That had taken much more out of him than he expected. The rune on the ground faded, and at first nothing seemed different, until Niki spoke up.

"Hi boys, it's lovely to finally get to meet you in person," Niki whispered, her eyes soft and caring and Tubbo ran straight over to her, throwing his arms around her. To everyone's surprise, he actually collided with Niki, and she gave him a hug. He started sobbing into her shoulder, and she started rubbing circles into his back. She could tell he needed some attention after so long. "I can feel you, you're not as solid as a normal human, but I can feel your touch," she whispered, running her fingers through his hair.

"Wait, does that mean..." Tommy walked over to Wilbur and gently ran his fingers through his hair. The curls moved with his fingers, and Tommy looked like he was going to cry again, "I can touch you. I'm real again."

Tubbo ran back over to his friends, and the three of them hugged before pulling Wilbur down into a group hug.

Four friends. No, four brothers celebrated their accomplishment that night.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

"Hey dad, Techno, there's some people I'd like you to meet," Wilbur called as he walked into the kitchen.

Phil and Techno gave similar confused glances to Wilbur, but he just turned around with a smile, "You three can come in now."

Phil gasped as three teenagers walked into the kitchen, but they weren't entirely opaque. They still had a translucent, ghostly quality to them.

"This is Tommy, Tubbo, and Ranboo," Wilbur said, pointing to each one, "And they're the ghosts I've been talking about."

The three boys gingerly waved, and Phil just stared at them with an awed expression, "Your mom's spell that she was working on actually worked."

Wilbur nodded, and he gestured to Tommy to walk over to Phil.

Tommy shyly walked over, and Phil gently outstretched a hand. Tommy stared at it for a few seconds, and then put his hand gently on top of Phil's. Phil sucked in a breath as the two made contact, "You're..."

Tommy smirked, "Slightly tangible. You can thank Wilbur for that one."

Phil quickly looked over the three of them, his eyes shining, "I assume you'll be staying here? Would you like us to make a room up for you? We have one spare bedroom, it'll be a bit small but maybe one of you can set up a mattress in Wilbur's room."

"I can sleep in Wilbur's room," Tommy offered, turning to his two friends, "If that's okay with you two."

The two boys nodded, and Phil smiled.

"We'll get right to work on that. Welcome to the family boys."

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

A few weeks had passed.

Tommy and Tubbo were buzzing with excitement as they practically bounced down the sidewalk. Ranboo stayed back with Wilbur, a small smile in his eyes.

Wilbur had invited the three of them to go with him to game night, and Tommy and Tubbo were ecstatic.

Wilbur chuckled as Tommy and Tubbo bounced in place on Niki's porch, waiting for Wilbur to knock on the door. Ranboo just stared at the other two with a look of fondness.

Wilbur knocked on the door, and after a few seconds Niki opened it.

"Have you said anything?" Wilbur inquired and Niki shook her head smiling, "Nope! Stage is all yours."

Wilbur smiled, waving to the boys to follow behind him. As they reached the threshold between the entryway and the living room, Wilbur gestured for them to hang back, and the three nodded.

Wilbur walked into the lounge with Niki and was quickly met with warm welcomes from the rest of his friends.

"I have a surprise for you guys. There are three people who are really excited to meet you," He looked back to the entryway, "Come here guys."

The room fell silent as the three teenagers walked into the living room and sat next to Wilbur on the floor. Tommy waved to everyone, and Tubbo and Ranboo quickly followed. They introduced themselves and Quackity froze.

"You're... You're a fucking kid! How old are you like... fourteen?"

Tommy scowled, "Scuse you, I'm seventeen bitch! Old enough to cuss you out!" he retorted and a tension wrapped its way around the room.

Seventeen and a ghost.

Noticing the tension, Ranboo spoke up next, "I... know it's a weird thing to be sitting around with three teenage ghosts, but... if you treated us like normal people we would really appreciate it. We didn't get to have this in life, so let us at least enjoy it now. Please?"

The room remained in silence, but it was less suffocating now.

"Do you boys want to pick the game tonight?" Niki asked, and Tubbo was the first to scream out "Monopoly! PLEASE! I haven't played in so long!"

The next few hours were spent collecting properties and ruining friendships, but Wilbur noticed that the three ghosts had never looked so happy.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Wilbur smiled as he felt a familiar weight get into bed next to him. "Can't sleep again, sunshine?"

"Missed you," Tommy whined as he curled up under the covers and Wilbur chuckled, running his fingers through the blonde's ghostly hair.

"Well I'm here, so you can go to sleep now."

Tommy hummed as he leaned into the touch of Wilbur's hand in his hair and Wilbur smiled.

He wasn't alone after all. He had finally found his missing pieces.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-