Chapter Text
Phil was fourteen when he met her.
He had been building the wall for a new thing Techno was starting. He had said something about a new country, which Phil honestly thought he was taking a bit too seriously.
But he also liked to build which was why he was stacking the black blocks for a nice sturdy wall.
“Hey!” He heard someone shout at him from down below and he peeked down. “You’re Philza, right?”
He squinted down at the girl who had yelled at him. She was looking up the wall, holding a floppy witch hat up with one hand. She seemed to be wearing a purple and black dress. She looked up and gave him an eager wave.
Phil blinked and suddenly she was gone.
“Have I got the wrong guy?”
He whipped his head around and there she was. Charms were hanging around her neck and her black hair flowed over her shoulders like water.
The most interesting thing about her was the glossy black wings on her back.
She noticed him staring at her wings and they fell flat.
“If you have a problem with them, then I should just go,”
“No!” Phil said and his wings flapped anxiously, “Sorry, it’s just I’ve never met another bird hybrid before,”
The girl looked at his wings and then she clapped her hands in excitement.
“Yes! I’ve never met another one before either!” She said and her wings popped up in excitement. “What kind? I’m a raven and witch hybrid!”
“I’m a crow hybrid!” Phil said and he showed off his wings to her. “I’ve never heard of a witch hybrid though?”
“Ah, that’s a long story,” the girl said with a chuckle. “Anyways, my name is Kristin! You’re Philza Minecraft right?”
“Yeah, that’s me!” Phil said. “But most people just call me Phil. Also, before you ask, my older brother is the Technoblade. Yes, I know where he is and no, he’s not going to kill you just for talking to him,”
Kristin looked at him for a moment and then erupted into a fit of giggles. “Man, you must hear that question a lot!”
“Gods, you have no idea!” Phil said. “I’m the one stuck being his bodyguard half the time!”
“Well, I think you make a decent bodyguard,” Kristin said as she looked him over. “You are a little bit less intimidating though,”
“There’s no one who’s more intimidating than Techno!” Phil said. “So, do you want to talk to him or not?”
“Well, I was actually hoping to talk to one of you about your whole country thing,” Kristin said and she leaned closer to him. She dropped her voice to a whisper. “I was wondering if I could maybe join,”
Phil looked around and they both put their heads together so that they could whisper.
Spies were a threat after all. That was what Techno said and he was always right about this sort of thing.
“Are you sure?” He whispered. “Techno says there might be a war if Dream doesn’t give in,”
Kristin hummed in thought and then she smiled at him. “I came here for adventure and I’m not letting this opportunity slip by. I’m in,”
Phil looked at her floppy witch hat and her shiny charms.
At first glance, he had to admit she didn’t seem that tough.
But her brown eyes held a spark of determination and Phil noticed the many potions on a belt around her waist. Extremely well made potions by the look of it.
“Alright Kristin, thank you so much for agreeing to help me build this wall!” He shouted and Kristin jumped at the yelling. “This is because you wanted payment and you are only helping me for payment!”
Kristin stared up at him, eyebrows knitted in confusion. Then, her eyes lit up and she shot to her feet.
“Yes, Phil, you are absolutely correct!” She said and gave him a very exaggerated handshake, almost pulling Phil to the ground with it. “This is only because you are paying me and absolutely not for any other reason! You are paying me with a stack of diamonds!”
Phil whipped his head to her with a glare but Kristin cheekily grinned at him.
They both looked around and Phil couldn’t see any spies.
Then, they looked at each other and erupted into giggles.
“Yeah, you’ll fit right in,” Phil said and handed a block to Kristin.
With that, the two started building the wall.
+
Kristin joined L’Manberg.
Phil had to practically beg Techno to let her in. Techno had said he had only known her for a week but Phil already trusted her that much.
It was a good thing Kristin was good with potions and enchantments because Techno had stopped being affected by Phil’s puppy dog eyes.
Techno recruited Ranboo and Niki into their ranks. Ranboo was awkward but had more common sense than most people Phil knew. Niki was sweet but she knew almost everything about everyone.
People liked to talk in her bakery and would forget she was always listening.
Things seemed to be going well and even Techno had been more peaceful, claiming to have retired.
In hindsight, Phil was surprised he didn’t see it coming.
Techno was going to meet Dream in the middle of the night. Meetings that went on longer and longer and he always came back with a sore throat and running his hands through his hair.
Sapnap and Dream started patrolling just outside their walls and sometimes Phil would come home and find things missing from his house. The crows were nervous and they all stuck close to him.
It was really obvious when Kristin’s potion shop got burned down.
She said she always wanted to try because she loved to make potions. It had been made of wood and decorated with purple flowers and vines from the swamp.
Kristin hadn’t even gotten to name it before it got burned down.
A couple of days after that, Techno declared independence from the SMP
A couple of hours after that, Dream declared war.
+
Things seemed to be going well or at least as well was a war could go.
It helped that they had Techno on their side as their leader. Phil had almost forgotten about his reputation until he saw Techno with his axe, slashing at Dream with the force of gods.
And Ranboo sure seemed sure of it now.
“Are you two ok?” Niki said to the two teenagers. They were going through a long, narrow hall. A secret place that Ranboo had been working on.
Ranboo said he had something big here, some kind of secret weapon. Techno seemed to trust him so Phil figured he would too.
“Don’t worry! We’re doing fine!” Kristin said as she carefully balanced on Phil, making sure to keep her twisted ankle off the ground.
“Phil, you alright?”
“Well, I am being used as a living crutch,” Phil said.
“I told you I could walk by myself!”
“You need to worry about not letting the injury swell up!”
Techno turned around and glared at them, causing both of them to go quiet.
“Are you really ok down here?” Phil whispered to Kristin. “I just want to spread my wings a little,”
Kristin leaned into his side a little more and she gave him a quick hug. “Don’t worry! I think the war will be over after this and then we can just hang out again, you know like we used to,”
“You gonna try the potion shop again?”
“Yeah and you can be my first customer,”
“Only if I get a discount,”
Kristin giggled at that which made Phil giggle too.
He couldn’t help it, her laugh was infectious to him.
“Whelp, here it is!” Ranboo said and he waved them through. “Welcome to the final control room!”
“Heh!” Techno said as they all looked around in awe. “Ranboo, when did you build this?”
“It’s not that big of a deal,” Ranboo said with a shrug. “I've just been building it on and off,”
They all went over to the chest with their names on them. Kristin and Phil’s chests were next to each other and Kristin held his arm for balance.
Phil popped open his chest and stared inside.
Huh, that was weird.
“Heh?” He heard Techno mutter and Kristin shoved her hand inside her chest.
“Ranboo, is there supposed to be something in here?” Niki said.
Then, Phil noticed that Ranboo wasn’t at his chest. He was standing where they had come in, at the exit.
He was blocking the only exit.
“I’m sorry guys but this for the best,” Ranboo said and he pushed a button he was holding in his hands. “It was never meant to be,”
Phil heard doors activating and potion bottles being smashed on the ground.
Then he saw that the potions were being thrown by the infamous Dream Team.
“Phil!” He heard Techno yell and he was scooped up by Techno.
Techno blocked an axe strike from Dream as Phil desperately tried to scramble out of his grasp.
“Kristin!” He yelled, looking around through the haze of potions until he finally saw her.
She was on the ground, trying to crawl away from Sapnap.
He desperately tried to reach his hand out because he was right there. Just a little further and he could reach her.
She was blocking Sapnap’s sword with her shield but he was hitting it over and over again. Phil pounded on Techno’s back as he heard a scream of terror from Niki and a yell of rage from Techno.
Then, Kristin’s shield fell and Phil could only watch as Sapnap stabbed her in the chest.
She looked right at him and Phil knew he would never get her face out of his nightmares.
Bright brown eyes getting drained of life.
“YOU BASTARD!” He screamed and then he was yanked away from Techno.
“Dream, let him go!” Techno said as Phil tried to think of anything he could do but the smell was distracting him.
The smell of blood, it was overwhelming. At least the screaming had stopped.
He could see Niki on the ground to his side, blood staining her hair and coat.
He let out a choked sob and he went limp in Dream’s arms.
Why bother to fight when he was already dead?
“Ranboo, why?” He said and Ranboo looked away from his gaze.
“You’re just a kid, Phil,” he said. “You wouldn’t understand,”
“Now do you see what happens when you defy me!” Dream said with a laugh. “Face it, you’ve lost!”
The others laughed at that. Techno growled but he kept his axe down.
“Techno, what do I do?” Phil said and Techno gave him a shaky smile.
“Dream, just kill me and leave him alone. He’s not even eighteen yet and you’ve already killed one child today,”
Phil didn’t dare look to the other side where Kristin was. Where they had been talking about potions shops and peace just a few minutes prior.
He hoped he could at least get her hat back.
“You’ll have to tell me what respawing is like,”
Then, Phil felt a painful stab go through his chest and it was burning.
He let out a scream of pain and he heard Techno roar as he leaped towards Dream.
He fell to the ground and it smelled of iron.
Then he felt the weight leave his chest and the pain was so bad.
It was so bad for just a moment on the ground.
Then, everything went black.
+
Techno had tried to insist they hadn’t lost.
Even if all their stuff was gone, they hadn’t lost.
Even if they had all died and gone through the torture of respawning, they hadn’t lost.
Even if their country got blown up, they hadn’t lost.
Even if they had no shelter and little food, they hadn’t lost.
Techno probably would have kept going if Phil hadn’t been stupid and gotten himself sick.
He didn’t remember much about that, just that he had started coughing more and more after a rainstorm.
He remembered training with Niki and then things were hazy, like a fog had covered his memories.
He remembered vomiting into a bucket over and over again while his hair was held back.
He remembered hearing Niki and Kristin fight outside with Niki saying that she was far too young to see this. Kristin said she was also too young to be in a war and look how that turned out.
He remembered Techno hugging him and Niki brushing his hair back and Kristin gently pouring water into his mouth.
He remembered shivering but still having sweat run down his forehead. He remembered a blanket being taken off of him and put back on over and over again.
There was one thing he remembered clearly.
He had come up from the sea of unconsciousness, even if he was still too tired to open his eyes. He could feel a warm hand squeezing his, like the person was scared to let go.
He could also hear yelling.
“How selfish are you?”
“Niki, if we surrender now it’ll be for nothing!”
“If we don’t surrender, then how much more death will we have to endure! You promised it would be over by now!”
“Niki, I’ve been through wars before and trust me, we’re lucky,”
“Techno, you may be used to war but we’re not!”
“You all knew what you were signing up for. I’m already planning a counter attack. We just need to have a solid plan,”
“Techno, enough already!” He heard a soft gasp beside him and the thump of someone being shoved to the ground. “Your little brother is dying! Your war is fucking killing him!”
A moment of tense silence and all Phil could feel a wetness dripping onto his hands.
Someone was crying, he just wasn’t sure who.
“Niki, I think we should discuss this somewhere else,”
“Kristin, please I’m sorry I just-” he heard a sigh from Niki. “Yes, I feel we should discuss this in private,”
Then he heard footsteps leave and all he could hear was a quiet sniffling beside him.
He wished he could wake up and hug her.
“You know, you never told me what you were going to do after all this is over,” She said to him as she gently rubbed her thumb on his hand. “Then again, you’ve never been one to plan stuff like that,”
“Phil, please don’t die,” she said, her voice dripping with desperation. “You have to wake up!”
Phil wanted to. Gods, did he want to but it felt like his eyelids were being held down with tape.
He didn’t want Kristin to cry and he didn’t want Niki and Techno to fight anymore.
The last thing he remembered was getting tired again.
+
When Phil woke up, Techno told him they were going to surrender.
“We’ve already gotten lucky enough with you not dying,” he said as he had straightened Phil’s hat. “Even I can tell when I’m pushing my luck,”
“You don’t have to give up just because I got a little sick,” Phil said. “I would’ve been fine!”
Techno rolled his eyes at that.
“Bruh, I would’ve!”
“Don’t use bruh like that,” Techno said. “You need to drag out the h a bit more,”
“Besides, think of it more as a tactical retreat,”
“Can I still come with you to negotiations?” Phil said, putting on his best puppy dog eyes, “Please Techie, I haven’t been anywhere in ages!”
Techno looked at him for a moment and then he let out
a long sigh.
“Fine,” Techno said and Phil was about to celebrate when Techno put both hands on his shoulders and got on one knee. “But I don’t want you trying to make any deals. I don’t want you to try and get out of this. I don’t want you to defend our honor or anything. You are there to watch and keep your mouth shut, got it?”
Phil did a zipping motion across his lips with a grin. Techno patted him on the back and straightened his blue coat.
He walked out and Phil followed after him.
Of course, Phil hadn’t told Techno that he had his finger crossed but he did plan to keep his mouth shut.
Well, maybe he would.
+
“You just want to avoid him, don’t you?” Kristin said from her spot on their bench. She gently flipped through the pages of the scrapbook.
“In my defense, I didn’t think he’d get that mad,” Phil said as he drew back the bow. He squinted at the tree in front of him and took a deep breath.
He counted down from three and let go.
“Bullseye!” He said with a fist pump as the arrow flew right in the center. Kristin looked at the tree and rolled her eyes at him. “Don’t say you’re mad at me too!”
“I’m not mad. I’m just ready for all this to be over!” Kristin said with a groan as she leaned back against the bench. “It’s been a year!” Did you know I spent my birthday getting a sword swung at me?”
“Shit, I forgot my birthday too!” Phil said. “I guess we’re both fifteen now, yeah?”
“Guess so,”
Phil looked around. The sun was already starting to set and the grass was softly blowing in the wind. He could hear the ravens and crows softly cawing to each other in the tree above them. Kristin kept on staring at the pictures in his scrapbook. One of two scrapbooks with the only pictures he had of the place he had spent five years in.
He also saw some flowers blowing in the breeze.
Aha, that would work!
He quickly reached down and picked a couple of lilacs, the light purple ones seeming to look the best.
He looked over at Kristin, her black hair blowing in the breeze.
Why did he just want to look at her?
He shook himself a little and he could feel his cheeks burning a little.
He held the flowers behind his back and tapped her shoulder.
“I know it’s not much but here,” he said and he held the flowers out towards her. “Happy birthday,”
She took the flowers and looked down at them, a soft smile spreading across her face.
“Did you just pick those a couple minutes ago?”
“Maybe,” Phil said and he sat down beside her on the bench. “But I think they suit you. You know, they’ve got a witchy vibe to them,”
Kristin chuckled at that and held out a flower to Phil. “Well let’s see. Think you can put this in my hair?”
Phil took it and leaned towards her, carefully putting her hair behind one ear. Then, he placed the flower behind it.
He found himself not wanting to pull away though. He adjusted a lock of her hair. He’d never really noticed how soft it was before or how it looked as black as the night sky.
They both leaned a little closer to each other. Phil could see her eyes up close now, even though she had dark circles under them Phil still thought they were the prettiest eyes he had ever seen.
They just sat in a peaceful silence, Phil gently stroking her hair.
“Phil! Kristin! Techno said you guys need to come back before it gets dark!”
Suddenly, the moment was over. Phil quickly took his hand back and Kristin drew back, both their faces a bright red.
“Thank you for the flowers!” Kristin quickly said as she stood up.
“Yeah yeah no-no problem,” Phil stuttered and he heard caws of laughter from the trees.
“Was I interrupting something?” Niki said.
“No!” They both said and Niki looked at the flower behind Kristin’s ear.
“Do you two know flower meanings?”
They both shook their heads and Niki simply smiled at that.
“You know, we should really get going,” Phil said. “Got a big day tomorrow!”
Fortunately, his face felt less hot.
“I’ll race you back!” Kristin said and with that she shot off the ground and started flying back to L’Manberg.
“Kristin! That’s not fair!” Phil said. He flew off after her.
He supposed that after tomorrow, things would go back to how they used to be. No wars, no fighting.
Just him and Kristin getting to fly without fear again.
+
Phil may have lost the duel.
But he won the war.
All it took was one less life and two scrapbooks.
+
Phil was sixteen when his older brother died.