Doubled Powers (Hermitcraft & Dream SMP Crossover AU)

17. Not Everyone Gets What They Want

A/N: a little pain here...

TW: blood and wounds, proceed with caution

Pain.

Pain was the only thing Phil felt. First, there was fire. Hundreds of hot needles poking his wings, over and over again. They didn't only poke his wings, they stabbed into them. Stabbed down to his bones and stayed there. They burned him, his feathers, everything.

Phil was dimly aware of two pairs of hands, slowly moving across his wings. They were warm, sparking the already-eager fuel buried in his flesh. Phil struggled as a fire started burning, washing across his wings. The buried hot needles heated, burned up until they were almost like liquid inside his body, melting into his bloodstream.

A hand clamped down on his wing, exactly where the burning needle was. Phil wanted to scream from the pain, the pressure, but his body wasn't his. It was the flame's.

The flaming needle was gone, along with the hand. Phil fell limp with relief as the pain diminished. He recognized that the hands were helping him, slowly taking each, flaming piece of metal from his wings.

Phil shifted as muffled voices reached his ears. "Phil, are you there?" He heard Wilbur's voice as the hands removed another piercing needle from his back. Phil wanted to nod, but he was so numb, so tired, that he couldn't manage it.

"Phil, if you can hear me, squeeze my hand." Another british voice instructed. It took Phil a second to recognize the voice as Mumbo. A hand grasped his lightly, and Phil squeezed it.

"You're awake!" Wilbur cried, and Phil squeezed out a small smile, wincing a second later as his wings shifted, bringing on a new burst of pain.

"Careful." Mumbo murmured. "We haven't removed all the firework sparks yet."

"Firework sparks?" Phil asked, barely squeezing out the words through his agony.

"You got hit with fireworks. The explosion buried sparks in your wings." Wilbur explained. "We're removing them."

"Ah." Phil mumbled. He understood what the flaming hot needles were now. They were burning, because they were the fireworks. He stayed still, cooperating with Wilbur and Mumbo as they finally took the final firework sparks out of his wings. Phil let out a soft sigh as the painful needles were gone.

But as the sharp pain faded, a new, dull pain came, and Phil was finally aware of the scratches on his wings. He knew, precisely, where they were from the throbbing of his wounds. Wilbur and Mumbo quickly bandaged it as securely as they could, stopping the blood flow.

"Can you sit up now?" Mumbo asked after Phil's wings were bandaged. Sit up?! Phil questioned with disbelief. His wings felt horrible, like shit. But he obeyed anyways, hissing in pain as his wings were irritated by the movement.

Phil sat up, careful as to not lean against the bed, because his wings already hurt, and more pressure wouldn't help. He rubbed his eyes, glancing at the pouring rain outside. He blinked at Mumbo and Wilbur, taking in their weary yet happy faces.

Wilbur placed a cup of something beside Phil's mouth. "Drink it." Wilbur ordered. "It's a potion of regeneration. It will heal you slowly."

Phil looked in the cup that Wilbur was holding. The liquid inside was a bright magenta, it's colors brightening and flickering once in a while. He took the cup in his own hands and drank in the potion. It was sweet, but slightly salty and it had a tangy aftertaste.

At first, nothing happened. But as time progressed, Phil felt better. His wings didn't throb as much, and he was less tired, his limbs less stressed. He sat up straighter as the potion allowed him to do so.

"Do you want a potion of healing too?" Mumbo asked, holding up a vial of red-magenta liquid, the color closer to red this time. "It will heal you faster."

"I'll take a little." Phil decided. He took the cup and drank a little of the red liquid. It tasted sweet.

Instantly, he felt better. His wings weren't healed yet, he could feel them straining, the wounds stretching, but they didn't hurt as much. As Phil glanced behind his shoulder, glancing at his wings, he saw that the bleeding had stopped to a bare minimum. "Can I stand up?" Phil asked, eager.

Mumbo looked worried, but Wilbur held out his hand. "You can try." Wilbur said.

Phil took Wilbur's hand and the latter pulled him up. Phil stumbled, but kept his balance as he landed on the floor. Wilbur helped him, supported the weak avian as he walked around, balancing precariously.

"Let's go downstairs." Philza said after a while.

"Are you sure?" Mumbo asked.

"Positive." Phil said. "The regen potion is working well."

So Wilbur and Mumbo helped Phil as he wobbled downstairs. Tommy and Tubbo turned as they saw him, and a wide grin lit Phil's face as his two children rushed towards him. "Glad you're fine, Dadza." Tubbo whispered.

"Knew you wouldn't die." Tommy laughed.

Grian came up too. "Let's eat, shall we?" He asked, and escorted his avian friend to the long table. Phil dug into the meal with glee, surrounded by his friends and family.

~~~

Dream buried his mask in his hands. Sapnap hovered awkwardly behind his friend. He knew that Dream regretted not continuing the fight. Well, regret wasn't quite the right word. Sapnap knew that Dream had wanted to win the first fight. He knew that Dream wouldn't have continued fighting to risk Bad's health, but he didn't like that he had lost. If he was honest, Sapnap was too. They had been defeated.

Sapnap shook that thought away. He wouldn't dwell on the past.

It seemed like Dream wouldn't either. The masked man stood up, shaking his hands as they fell to his side.

"Dream?" Sapnap asked.

"How's Bad?" Dream replied.

Sapnap frowned as his friend ignored his concerned question, but he answered anyway. "Recovering." Sapnap told him. "Scar and Bdubs are helping him."

Dream nodded. "Gather them, won't you?" He asked.

"Of course." Sapnap said.

Soon, the Eaglestars were all gathered around the long, modern looking-table. Bad was there, supported by Scar and Bdubs.

Sapnap watched as Dream stood up."We must not let this defeat unnerve us." He began. Bad blinked wearily up at the masked man. "Even though we have lost this first battle, it doesn't mean we have lost the war." Dream said. "We weren't prepared enough for this first battle, but we will do enough for the next. We will rise above our enemies, and take the trophy from them." Dream pounded the table. "We will win."

Sapnap glanced worriedly as his friend stalked away after dismissing the crowd. There was something on his mind, but Sapnap didn't know what. The questions keep piling up. Sapnap thought wryly as he sharpened his netherite sword on the whetstone. And it seems like I will never get the answers.

word count: 1111 (neat aye?)

A/N: is it monday already...?

when i see the word 'pain' the only thing i can think of is bread

cause pain is bread in french

*insert seagull screaming here*

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

my writing is backed up a little cause i've been working on another story which will probably not be published here, but don't worry, there will still be chapters coming, cause i have ✨backup chapters✨(future echo here, i'm only gonna keep this paragraph bc of the ✨, i find it too funny)

ok bye

'edited' on Jan 23rd 2022