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The teen, barely 13, looked to his brother before him.
Said brother was currently standing beside him, one hand out in front of him while the other was pulled back, the string of the bow held tightly between his fingers, though the absence of an arrow was still there for training purposes.
He sighed, rolling his eyes as his brother told him to adjust his footing once again.
"George, I can hit the target perfectly fine, I don't think my footing isn't going to change that..." the brunette looked over at him, a breeze ruffling his ash blonde hair, tossing it into his amethyst eyes. His brother sighed, eyelids dropping and his heterochromic eyes became downturned.
"I know you can hit it perfectly fine, Purpled," The man spat, mahogany venom dripping from his tongue as he continued, "but, adjusting your footing can help you if you need to get the hell outta dodge quickly."
"I can teleport." The teen rebutted quietly, not really wanting to tick his elder brother off too much. One chocolate and one cerulean eye snapped up to meet his, storms of held-back anger swarming them. The icy young adult then sighed, shoulders drooping.
Phil had assigned George to teach each of the younger kids (with the help of Wilbur and Sam) how to shoot a bow properly. Now, Purpled had excelled in this, hitting the target's centers dead-on with ease, he rivaled even Wilbur's accuracy. So far, George had only been able to try and help him work on focusing more on everything around him, rather than just the target. Purpled usually nodded through most of it, not really being one to ask questions or argue, he wasn't very vocal to begin with. But for some reason he couldn't match the stance that George was trying to teach him, it made him feel off center and wobbly whereas the way he stood before was much more comfortable.
Purpled could tell that George was on the brink of yelling at him, his stubbornness stabbing him in the back, making a knot form in his throat. The brunette opened his mouth to probably yell at the newly-turned teen, but was quickly cut off by a good-hearted yell.
"Georgie!" Both turned to see a set of massive grey wings running towards them. Once the avian arrived he hunched down to look at his two brothers.
"How are my two little archers doing?" The curly-haired brunette asked, hickory eyes scanning his younger brothers.
"Well, Purpled is a great aim, but his footing is all wrong." George said, throwing a half-hearted motion to Purpled's feet. Said boy was currently feeling under pressure with the new set of eyes. He felt like he was being judged more greatly by the labeled 'Best Archer of the House.' He shifted uncomfortably and slipped a hand into the opposite arm sleeve, feeling the soft fabric of his hoodie to try and calm his nerves.
Why was he getting so nervous? They are his brothers for crying out loud!
"Sorry," he mumbled and George felt a pang of guilt and Wilbur's features softened. Blossoms sprouted around them.
"Don't worry about it kiddo, plus if your footing sucked that bad, your aim would be horrible. But you shoot like a champ, so we will let it slide." The eldest said, clapping a hand onto the young teen's back.
"Oh, and Mum is almost done making cookies, I came here to get you guys so you could get first dibs before the rest of the gremlins do." Wilbur stated, although whispering the last part as if one of said gremlins would attack him out of nowhere if they heard. George smiled and said a thanks and Purpled nodded, Mumza's cookies sounding wonderful right about now.
The three then started to make their way to the house, Purpled finally noticing the setting sun.
The sky seemed to travel from a canary, like the color of Quackity's wings when they fluttered in the morning sun, to a marigold color that reminded Purpled of the flowers that Tubbo and Lani would always pick, beheading them to weave them into specially-crafted flower crowns. Then the colors dipped into slightly pinker shades, strawberry pink blossoming amongst the splash of clouds that were illuminated. Corals and peaches turned to magenta and mulberry. Finally merging into a beautiful midnight navy darkness that already sported a few twinkling stars.
The thing that snapped Purpled back to the present was the small of smoke and a cry from one of his sisters. His minds instantly flickered to the cookies, but with a quick glance at the front door there was no sign of a fuss. Then he turned to the right.
His heart dropped down to his stomach and all of his muscles tensed.
Fire.
The barn was on fire.
There was a few more yells and cries for their father, but Purpled could only watch as smoke billowed into the air.
His world stopped, his heart felt like it was beating too fast but frozen in its place.
He couldn't breathe.
He was nowhere close to the fire, but he still couldn't breathe.
He felt the blood in his veins run cold and all he wanted to do was curl into a ball.
Why the hell was he so goddamn afraid of the fire?
Then it hit him like an arrow, piercing right through his head.
He was back at his house, before Phil had found them, before he had a good family, before everything.
Smoke billowed into the air but he was held tightly around the waist, he couldn't stop his mind from wandering to his parents as their house was engulfed in flames, the fields around them did nothing to stop the fire. They were running, fast. He was still young. He faintly heard Ponk's,(or was it Punz's?) voice scream,
"Get to the trees!"
That's when he saw them.
The eyes.
Then it went blank.
There was a pulse in his chest as his eyes opened. Everything felt different. But he was still alive, his brothers were staring down at him, eyes glossy and face dirty. (He chose to ignore the dried blood on his and their shirts.)
Then he was picked up again, curled into Punz's side.
His mind froze.
Hungry.
Cold.
Hopeless.
George looked back at Purpled. George's stomach flipped inside his skin.
Purpled looked mortified.
George wanted to call for help, but Will was already trying to help their dad with the barn and everybody else was stuck watching.
George had seen the look on his face on others before, but never on the blonde's. Ever. It rattled George to the bone as Purpled looked into the fire.
What happened to him and the twins again?
George couldn't remember, but instead he tried to snap the boy out of it.
"Hey, hey... you're okay, it's alright, everything is going to be okay." George said, quickly lifting Purpled off the ground after he hadn't said anything, no flinching, no reaction whatsoever. Shoot.
The brunette started to quickly run for the house, but carrying a 100 lb teenager and running did not fit well in the same category for him.
"Punz?"
"Punz you okay there?"
"Punz!"
The platinum blonde didn't respond, only staring at the burning barn, back turned to the blaze. They had been working on replacing a part of the fence that the horses had rammed into, seemingly for fun, ending up breaking multiple beams and leaving a large gap that they could easily walk in and out of. But then the North side of the barn decided to catch fire for the second time in it's history. The ravenette huffed, stomping up to the human and placing a hand on his rigid shoulder, walking beside him.
"What the hell is your prob--" The blaze immediately stopped.
Punz look absolutely terrified.
His eyes were filled to the brim with unshed tears.
Sapnap quietly cursed to himself before trying to snap the older teen out of it, but nothing he seemed to say worked, the boy's icy gaze stuck on the burning barn.
"Dream! Techno! Somebody!" Sapnap yelled while trying to snap Punz out of his horrifying daze.
He is really out of it, what the hell happened to him?
Fortunately for the blaze Dream and Techno heard his call, appearing out of nowhere to come to his and Punz's aid.
With Techno's help they ran Punz to the house, the boy was like a dead body in Techno's arms despite the slight trembling from him. He didn't even seem to be breathing.
Punz was never scared of anything, he never stopped moving unless he was asleep, and here he is, as frozen as a statue. Something really bad must have come up for him to be acting like this, but the question was, what? Techno cursed to himself for not remembering what had happened to Punz and his brothers as the piglin slammed open the door, startling Mom and his siblings that were inside, those being Charlie, Hannah, Foolish, Lani, Tubbo, Tommy, Minx, Bad, Eret, Fundy, Karl, Michael, Conner, and Alyssa. He instantly ran to Kristen, a stock-still Punz in his arms. Then the front door bust open, George cradling a mortified Purpled in his arms, the bio-brothers looked to be in the same position.
"Oh no-" Kristen just barely got out before Drista screamed for her from upstairs, voice sounding panicked and on the verge of tears.
"Mom! Something's wrong with Ponk!" Kristen then looked to George and Techno before she let out a few colorful curses and motioned for them to follow her as she ran upstairs, telling Minx to get the cookies out of the oven before they burned.
They found themselves in the three's shared bedroom (along with Schlatt and Eret.)
Ponk's chocolate eyes were glued to the window as tears flooded down his face.
"Oh, boys..." Kristen said, taking Purpled and Punz from George and Techno and setting them onto the bed. Purpled seemed to notice Punz next to him and cling to him like a lifeline while Ponk grabbed Purpled's hoodie, knuckles turning white with how hard he was gripping him. Kristen seemed to be in a panic, she wanted nothing more than to scoop up her three boys and hold them close, but she didn't want to make the matters worse.
"Shut the curtains." Techno immediately complied, George standing there awkwardly, Drista peeked her head around the corner, not sure what to make of the situation.
With the curtain closed, Ponk turned around, gripping both of his brothers and resting his head on Punz's shoulder.
"Okay, boys, you're going to be okay... You have each other, you are safe, the fire's gone..." Kristen whispered smoothly to the three, but they showed no signs of hearing her.
The night dragged on, Techno leaving, followed closely by George, Drista had long since left, the cookies catching her attention along with the added worry of bothering her mother and brothers.
Kristen stayed by the boys' side until Phil came in to check on them an hour and a half later, he had to put the fire out and make sure the rest of the kids got to bed safely. (Schlatt ended up bunking with Minx while Eret was dragged into Tubbo, Tommy, Jacks, and Ranboo's puppy pile.) Dream, Wilbur, Sapnap, and Techno had come in multiple times to check in on their brother's conditions, and to make sure Kristen herself was okay. She brushed them off, telling them to go to bed in a good nature after giving them each kisses on the forehead.
When Phil stepped into the room he could feel the tension and worry in the air, it was practically dripping from Kristen's form.
"Oh, mates..." Phil said, shutting the door softly behind himself, wings folded at his back, though they twitched with unsolved anxiety that leaked from his frame.
Soft cocoa eyes stared helplessly at the three boys on the bed. Tears slipped down her face, though she made no move to wipe them.
"They haven't moved since I laid them down and closed the curtains..." Kristen whispered. Phil felt his heart shatter at her broken tone.
"Honey..." he said, moving to engulf his wife in a hug, wings unfolding and wrapping them both in a mighty cocoon of safety. She broke down into Phil's shirt, it smelled of smoke and the boy's rustic shampoo from hugging them all good night.
Phil slowly lowered his left wing, leaving enough room to see his boys on the bed. The sight broke his heart even more.
The three boys laid on the bed. Purpled was on top of Punz, clinging to him with an almighty grasp that seemed to be the only thing keeping him alive, that if he let go the word would come crashing down right before their eyes. Ponk had a hand gripping Purpled's hoodie, not with as much strength as the Ender, but with enough strength to keep his hand in place. The boy with light coffee colored skin had his head laid down on Punz's shoulder, his shoulder pressed into the mattress, legs tucked into his chest. Punz laid on his back, faced towards the ceiling, his legs hung off the bed while his right arm was draped over Purpled's back.
But the thing that made absolute hell raise in his bones, was the absolutely, infinitely, blank and hopeless looks one all three of their faces.
Their shared mischievous glints were gone, disintegrated and replaced with a wall of muteness, stone, obsidian. A look that could only truly show they lost all hope, in what? Something not even The Angel of Death could name.
There was truly nothing behind their looks of fatigue and utter loss. He felt a tear drip down his cheek.
"They look..."
"Gone... They look gone Phil... and I don't know where they went...!" Kristen cried, "They didn't even look at me... I wasn't even there to them..." Phil felt his knees want to give way. He wanted to punch, no, kill anything and anything that was currently taking his boys away from him and Kristen.
His wife still sobbed into his shirt, loudly.
Then his mind buzzed to life. He stared into Punz's seemingly lifeless eyes and his mind snapped.
They had the same look when Phil had found them.
They were just three boys walking along a dirt path in the forest, blood covering their shirts, one arm in a shitty splint, feet barely moving, but still walking nonetheless, then there were the broken hazy blue eyes that seemed to peer right through him, like he wasn't even there...
These poor boys had some of the biggest PTSD cases Phil has ever seen.
"The fire brought them back to when their home burned down." Kristen's head looked up, watery hickory eyes looked to his, for answers.
"They look the same as when I found them. They had been walking for 3 days... Punz told me he thought they were going to die, that they-" His breath caught in his throat.
"That they had lost all hope." Kristen pulled back, Phil's arms falling to his sides before he stepped towards the boys again, draping himself across the three. There was no move to push him off, not a flinch, nothing. No reaction at all.
"I'm so sorry boys... I'm so sorry I couldn't have found you sooner... I'm sorry you are reliving that... I'm sorry I couldn't protect you..." The last part came as a hushed whisper.
The house fell into an eerie silence.
Almost every single Minecraft kid was stood outside of the room in which the three boys shared. Some of them had tears, others were stoic, others were passed out or steadily on their way there.
But there was one thing one everyone's mind.
What is happening to the Three P's?
...
The next day everybody awoke quietly, a lot more quiet than usual. The house lacked it's usual noise of laughing children, pranks, Manhunts, and the beloved crying.
This morning there was almost none of it. It threw everyone in the household into a dormant state, bodies moving around aimlessly with chores that needed to be done. Almost no words were exchanged with one another. Even the rambunctious T-Squared didn't speak too much, only tapping in a light comment here or there.
Phil felt like he was losing his mind. It was way to quiet. Maybe the worry that consumed the house, painting it a deep, slate blue, was pushing his limits.
He just wanted his boys back.
He wanted his family back.
He wanted it to be normal again.
Breakfast went by quickly, everyone eating... silently. Not a word nor whisper shared across the table. Phil couldn't bring himself to blame them... He was lost in his own mind.
"Kids."
All eyes turned to the head of the table, the air around them got impossibly thicker, suffocating.
"I know you all are worried about your three brothers. Believe me, me and Mum are worried sick, but... We need you guys to be there for them. For when they wake up that this house is cheerful and welcoming as it was before." Phil said, swallowing down tears that threatened to make-way.
"I know it may be hard-"
"Got it Dadza." Tommy said, loud and clear, looking around. The rest of the kids slowly began nodding, the slate blue slowly slipping to a sky blue, painting smiles and laughter onto the house again.
He felt a huge weight lift off of his shoulders as a piece of pancake was slung across the table, another yelling out in protest, earning a few more laughs to be shared into the open air that felt amazingly less constricting.
A sigh slipped from his lips, sitting back into his chair.
Hopefully the three boys would snap out of it soon. Phil doesn't know what he would do if they didn't. He couldn't like with a piece of his puzzle missing. It'd drive him mad.
Two days later and there was no sign of the Three P's. The house had descended into silence once again.
Techno had been eaves dropping when he heard that the teens had refused to eat, the hybrid immediately bursting through the door in a fury.
"What?!" Phil and Kristen look at him with scared looks before Kristen had begun to bawl again for the fourth time. Phil had tried to calmly explain that the boys simply didn't move (besides Purpled's grip loosening and falling off of Punz, but his eyes were still open and empty, only slow blinks keeping them hydrated.)
Techno let out a huff, listing off different ways that may work, all to which Phil shook his head on, they had tried everything but feeding them through a tube. And that is something none of them could stomach. After that Techno made a noise of annoyance and shut the door swiftly, Phil could hear his heavy footsteps go down the stairs, around the couch, out the front door and into the yard.
Phil sighed after that, taking a bottle of water and making Punz drink for the third time that day.
Ponk and Punz took water down easily, but Purpled was in a position that they couldn't quite get the bottle to his lips, so they resorted to moving the boy's head up manually and getting him to drink that way. His head was like dead weight anyway.
Kristen was also starting to get worried about their bathroom usage. To put it simply, they didn't. There was no leaks or anything, maybe from the lack of food, but they instantly would have thought that the water would at least make them have to go. But no.
They were like corpses.
They were dead to the world.
Later that day at around noon, Purpled's eyes closed, Kristen nearly having a heart attack, but finding the pulse in his veins still steady (albeit a lot slower than before.)
Another hour later and Ponk's eyes shut as well.
But Punz's never closed.
Phil's heart never sunk so low at that.
He was so strong.
He kept walking.
He had hope. Even if it was just the smallest sliver, it was there.
He should never have had to tug on that sliver, use it, or even find it.
He was a kid.
Why did kids have to hurt?
Why...?
...
When the third day rolled around, everyone had felt like they slipped out of reality.
Kristen and Phil became desperate, allowing each of the kids in whenever they asked to give it their best shot at waking the kids, their brothers, up (that didn't include jumping on them or hurting them.)
Then...
Finally a breath of relief came in a cry of joy from Kristen and Bad as Purpled had taken a bite out of the pumpkin muffin that Bad held to his nose.
"PHIL! OH HONEY COME HERE!" Kristen yelled into the house. Phil had all but sprinted up the stairs (if multiple joints popped loudly as he scrambled up the stairs... no they didn't.)
As soon as Phil made it into the room he was tackled in a hug by his wife, causing him to stumble back a bit.
"Purpled's eating! He's eating my muffin that I baked!" Bad shouted, sounding a bit childish in all his 15 year old glory. Bad was the next one tackled into a hug by his two parents.
One by one all the Minecraft kids piled into the boy's room, standing a bit taller as a weight lifted off their shoulders.
And slowly but surly the three boys came to be. Back to the land of the living.
Purpled awoke with a few rapid blinks, lifting his head and looking around, way more than twenty pairs of eyes met his own and he would've jumped if he wasn't so exhausted. he let out a yawn before rolling off of Punz, being instantly scooped up by his crying mother.
"Mom?" he croaked out. His ribs being squeezed tighter and he let out a squeak. Usually he would teleport out if someone hugged him too hard, but he was so exhausted from being in... from being absent in his own body (?) he just lazily wrapped his arms around his Mom's shoulders and slipped into slumber, soft snores jumping from his throat.
Everyone in the room let out a sigh of some sort as Purpled fell back asleep.
One down, two to go.
The twins both awoke a few hours later, startling as Ranboo climbed onto them, omitting soft Enderian purrs and chirps and and kneaded his paws on Ponk's thighs then Punz's bicep.
The fog and haze faded from their vision as they sat up slowly in unison, Ranboo let out a surprised warble and almost fell off the bed, then yelled for Kristen and Phil (the boy had snuck in after Phil had left to go to the bathroom and Kristen was watching over Purpled.) The twins were then swallowed in a world of black feathers and soft whispers.
After a few days the house had gone back to normal, yelling, fighting, crying, Manhunts, food fights, pranks... all the little things that Phil was so glad was back.
He (and everyone else) wished for the house to never fall that silent again.
Ever.
It would drive him mad.
But for now he was beyond relieved that his boys were back.
His puzzle piece was found and snapped back into place, he thanked whatever Ancient that wasn't a pain in his rump and kissed his boys on the forehead gingerly and held them close.
He whispered apologies and promised them extra brownies.
(I n reality they would get way more than extra from their siblings, because they held so much love and care for each other, even if it came in the form of chocolate brownies, and they all would always be there for each other.
No matter what.)