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Chapter 16: Anchor

It had been raining all morning.

Tubbo had just finished border control with Eret, walking around the black walls that they had built around their land. They were both soaking wet, their uniforms cold and sticky all the way down to their underclothes. Tubbo normally had a good time; Eret was good company. But enough was enough, he was freezing and shaking. Hopefully they could find Tommy to take over for a little bit. He did not want to catch a cold, and Eret agreed. 

Walking down from the tower, laughing at a joke that Eret had made, Tubbo noticed something wrong. Across the river, by the Camar van, Wilbur sat on the front steps head in hands. 

Something was wrong.

 Water ran through his wet hair, dripping in front of his face. He could be sitting inside, yet he sat out on the van step.

Something was really wrong.

Eret noticed it too. He had picked up his pace, making Tubbo jog to keep up with his long legs.

Where was Tommy, thought Tubbo. If anything happened to-

They crossed the river, getting close enough for Wilbur to notice. He raised his head slowly, his face red and tears in his eyes.

He had been crying.

No. Not Tommy-

Standing up, Wilbur looked away from them, making sure they couldn't see his face.

"Wilbur!" Eret's strong and steady voice was a comfort to Tubbo's racing heart. "What is it?"

Wilbur couldn't look at him. His shoulders slumped, and he leaned against the van, putting his head in his hands.

Tubbo didn't hesitate. He just went up and hugged him, both of them soaking wet. He felt Wilbur deflate in his arms, despite Tubbo being so much smaller than him. It scared Tubbo. He needed to know.

"Tommy?" His voice cracked.

Wilbur hugged Tubbo back. "No-" He choked, "No- Tommy's good. Tommy's good. It's me."

Eret placed his hand on Wilbur's shoulder as Tubbo pulled away.

Tubbo felt guilty for feeling so happy. Wilbur was in pain, but he couldn't help the joy of Tommy being safe.

The three of them stood inside the border's walls, shaking in the cold. The grey sky threatened to darken, thunder rolling in the distance.

"Hey man, it's okay." Eret looked down at him just a tad. "You can tell us what it is."

"I-" Wilbur started, before biting his lip. "I need to take a walk." Wilbur stood up straight and pushed through Eret, pausing for a second to clasp his hand. Tubbo was so confused about what was going on. 

He was so scared.

They watched Wilbur walk away.

Tubbo couldn't move.

What was going on.

"What is this?" Eret softly spoke behind him.

Tubbo looked at him, realizing that Wilbur had put something in Eret's hand when he had walked away. Curious, he tried to see what he was holding.

It looked... it looked official.

"What does it say?" Tubbo asked, leaning on his arm.

"Here, I'll read it to you." Eret lowered his voice. "Let's just go inside the van."