The blizzard raged on and on outside the castle, which stood steadily on the top of a hill like a giant looking over the peacefully sleeping people. The candles flickered on and off as the freezing wind rushed at Technoblade, plunging his pink hair around. His numb fingers curled around the cup of hot chocolate, his blood-red gaze trailing over the hidden pathways of the Dream SMP, of all the citizens cozy in their houses.

Dream silently stepped next to him, his hand intertwined with George's. The young blonde-haired warrior looked at Technoblade worryingly, then turned his emerald eyes to George.

'Anxious much, Dream?' Techno was the one who broke the awkward silence.

'N-No...'

'Oh, buddy, I know far too well you're lying.' The pink-haired warrior replied. 'Dream, there's nothing-'

'I'm sorry if my colour-blindness is bothering you, but what is that flickering light? Is it a-?'

Techno jumped, nearly knocking his cup over. Dream rushed in and grabbed a hunter's bow, closed an eye, and aimed. The arrow blazed through the blizzard, heading straight for the cloaked intruder. Even though he was on top of one of the highest towers in the castle, he could hear the sudden yelp of shock and astonishment.

'Who was that?' Techno asked grimly. 'What were they doing?'

'Suspicious.' George commented. 'Nice shot, Dream. Killed it.'

'We might need to go examine that area tomorrow if there are even any traces left to examine.'

'We need to sleep, if we don't want to look like grumpy kindergarteners tomorrow.' Techno said. 'I'm not gonna stay up studying like you, nerds.'

Dream hurried to the door of Techno's bedroom; George close behind him. Techno climbed onto his bed as soon as the couple left, picking up his violin, and he began to play a song. It was glorious like the dawn rising over a victory, a legendary victory that the warriors would never forget, a victory that would go down in history and never fade away with time. The melody was quick and heroic, like how a protagonist's sword plunged into the enemy, ending the war once and for all.

Dawn crept through the mist, slithering through the curtains to give Techno's face a warm, golden glow. He narrowed his eyebrows in annoyance, before rolling to the other side, turning his back to the sunlight. It danced to the other side, even brighter this time, determined to wake him up.

Techno growled, throwing the blanket off of him. He got up drowsily, but the memories of last night flooded his mind and his tiredness evaporated in a second. The lamp! The intruder! He grabbed his cloak and put on his boots before sliding down the stairs and running out into the snow as if he had never run before.

The lamp lay there, covered in snowflakes. The fire inside it had died out, leaving a black stain in the snow. Technoblade picked the lamp up and started examining it with eyes full of suspicion. In a matter of seconds, he found the symbol: a clown carrying a scythe and a parrot with unusual human-like eyes. The LifeSteal SMP! The intruder was from the LifeSteal SMP! He carefully brushed off all the snow and tucked the lamp close to him. However, he didn't notice a bright cyan feather with pearly-white tips.

'Dream!' Techno yelled, knocking on Dream's bedroom door. 'Dream, open up!'

Silence.

'Dream!' He growled.

Silence again.

'Dream, get up! George is here!' Technoblade hissed furiously.

'Wha-What?' A sleepy moan greeted him. 'G-George?'

'Open up!' He banged on the door.

Dream's hair was all fluffed up and messy – the blonde-haired warrior looked as if his hair had been ruffled so much that it would never return to its former glory.

'W-Where's George?'

'No George for you, but there is something I found on the lamp.' Techno said calmly.

'What do you mean by "no George"? Where is he?'

'Chillax, dude. He's not here but he's not leaving you.' Techno replied innocently, not having a single ounce of guilt for tricking Dream. 'Last night, Dream. That intruder you shot last night. Remember them?'

'Y-Yeah...' Dream couldn't stop a yawn.

'Dream, either you focus, or I'm gonna have your head hung at the front of the castle.'

'Y-You wouldn't, Techno. You're bluffing.'

'Believe me, I would do it anytime, anywhere.' Techno threatened. 'Now, let's get straight to the point. It's simple. The lamp has the symbol of the LifeSteal SMP. That means the intruder is from the LifeSteal SMP.'

At the mention of the LifeSteal SMP, Dream's eyes shot wide open, those emerald-green gazes flaming with rage.

'Oh my god, those bastards!' He yowled furiously. 'They dare-!'

'Exactly, see, finally you-!' Techno's words were cut off by Dream's furious voice.

'Technoblade, we're going to the LifeSteal SMP.'

'Wha-?! Don't be-!' Techno responded in shock.

'Reckless? Irresponsible? I don't care! Technoblade, I repeat, either you go with me, or I'm going alone. I'm leaving in 10 minutes, it's on you if you want to tag along or not.'

The hot-headed warrior slammed the door shut. At that moment, a bright cyan feather fell down from Techno's cloak. His eyes widened in shock. How could the trespasser be this careless? He didn't know who this feather belonged to, but he guessed that it must belong to the parrot on the LifeSteal SMP symbol.

'Techno! You coming or not?!'

He sighed, rushed down the stairs and managed to snatch his sword and a leather bag before nearly slipping face-first into the snow. He hopped on his trusty, beloved horse Carl. Dream was already waiting, fire blazing in his eyes.

'Dream, you ready?'

'To beat the living crap out of them? I was born ready.'

Dream's horse started to gallop; Techno close behind. They rode down the Prime Path which was bathed in the comfort of the sun. Techno's eyes narrowed out of sheer concern at Dream's hasty decision. The two rode past Kinoko District, looking at all the exotic structures and mesmerizing architecture. Dream made sure to wave to his best-friend Sapnap, who had just woken up and was visiting the Marble Fountain. Karl Jacobs was peacefully picking mushrooms in the garden and mouthed "Hi" to Techno and Dream as they passed by.

The two then headed straight for the Great Spruce Forest, still following the ancient path overgrown by moss. Soon, the shade of the forest made the path barely visible. Techno ducked under a branch swaying extraordinarily low. Something caught his eye. More feathers and a blood-soaked piece of cloth! He stopped, leapt down from his horse and picked both of those things up and put them in his leather bag as well. They continued in awkward silence, the only thing filling the atmosphere were the birds chirping quietly up in the layers and layers of leaves.

A snowy white flower fell on his shoulder, twirling and swirling like an expert ballerina. Dream didn't notice anything and kept riding, but Techno struggled to put that special gift of nature into his bag. He smiled gently, quietly thanking the forest for the generosity. They progressed through the forest, fearless of the unwelcoming darkness and heading straight for the dim light ahead – the LifeSteal SMP.

'Dream, have you ever wondered what it's like to be alone?' Techno asked softly.

'What?' His companion asked in confusion.

'Are your ears not working today or is your head in the clouds?' Techno hissed. 'Have you ever wondered what it's like to be alone, by yourself?'

'It's certainly nice. Y'know, the peace and tranquility. I love it.'

'But have you ever experienced it at all?'

'No.'

'Me too.' Techno sighed. 'I have never had a single moment of calmness in my life, ever before.'

'Wha-What do you mean? Your life has always been a storm?'

'A raging hurricane, for that matter, Dream.' The legendary warrior replied.

The sun reappeared above them, casting its blinding light upon them as if hurrying them to the LifeSteal SMP. They knew that they were close to their destination. A few more steps, a few more, a few more, and...

There it was. The old path disappeared, replaced by the new path filled with pebbles. Flowers bloomed on the sides, and the two visitors met the first human since they left – a young girl, her hair tied in a neat ponytail.

'Ay! Young one!' Techno waved. 'Is this the way to the LifeSteal SMP?'

'Why do you ask?' She enquired, her eyes narrowing with hostility.

'It's...complicated. We're from the Dream SMP and we would like to meet your leaders.'

'You want to meet ClownPierce and Parrot?' She replied.

'Yes, exactly, your leaders.' Dream nodded before Techno could utter anything.

'Then you're on the right track.' She left, and the two rode on in the blazing sun. Soon enough, as the girl promised, they reached the town center. It was bustling with life, merchants everywhere and the people were busy arguing and debating over prices that no one noticed the two visitors.

'H-Hey!' Dream yelled hesitantly to a young man with light brown hair. 'Can you tell me the way to the castle?'

'Firstly, my name is Vortex, not hey. Secondly, why?'

'We're from the Dream SMP and we need to meet your leaders.' Dream explained.

'I don't think they're in the mood. Parrot came back last night with a nasty wound on his wings.'

'Wings?!'

'Yes, wings. He has wings. The bright cyan wings with pearly white tips. Haven't you heard of them?'

'Uh...OK, never mind. Can you show us the way to the castle, please?'

'Follow the pebbled path. You should reach the castle very quickly.'

'Thank you so much. I'm Dream, by the way. And this is Technoblade.'

'Yeah, yeah, whatever, who asked anyway?' He muttered before dashing off back to the market. Dream and Techno did as Vortex instructed, and the castle came into view before long.

It was glorious, and marvelous, glimmering under the brilliant sunlight. It had roofs that seemed to be made of gold, castle walls made from the steadiest bricks and stones, and humongous trees that were as old as time itself. The two were astounded. They stood, frozen at the glamorous scene, before hesitantly stepping forward as if they feared to disturb the peace and calm.

The guards led them up the stairs, to the main throne room.

'Who dares to trespass without my permission?' A cold, menacing voice echoed from behind the closed doors.

'Sir, they claimed they're from the Dream SMP. They want to talk about some...matters.' A guard replied.

'Let them in.' The voice said grimly.

The doors open. Greeting them was a gorgeous, magnificent throne room. The two guests walked down the red carpet leading to the golden throne themselves. 

'My greatest greetings...'

'The name's ClownPierce.' The leader replied coldly. 'And welcome to the LifeSteal SMP, you two. I believe you come with acceptable reasons?'

'We do, indeed, ClownPierce.' Dream replied. 'I'm Dream and this is Technoblade.'

'Greatest warrior of all time, I heard. You two are quite the duo.' ClownPierce commented. 'What's your reason?'

'We found this on our territory, along with a bright cyan feather and a piece of blood-soaked cloth.' Technoblade presented the things in front of Clown, whose eyes widened with shock for a split second before those bead-black eyes narrowed.

'A lamp? What can a lamp possibly prove?' Clown tilted his head.

'The symbol, ClownPierce.' Techno pointed. 'Isn't that your nation's symbol?'

'I-' Clown's words were cut off abruptly.

'What seems to be the problem here?' A teenager barged through the side doors. He had dark hair and... wings! An enormous pair of wings dragged behind him. Dream noticed that the tip of the wings looked like they had been ruffled and chewed. The right wing was carefully bandaged, a stain of blood soaked through the bandage itself.

'What is this?' Techno questioned furiously.

'It's not what, it's a who. I'm Parrot, and I'm not in the mood to deal with some random visitors who dare to disturb my rest.' Parrot hissed.

'You have wings?!' Techno exclaimed.

'Yes, is that your problem, sir?' He asked dreamily.

'N-No. But why do you have a bandage?' Techno pressed gently.

'I repeat, is that your problem?'

'Why do you have a bandage, Parrot? Right in the middle of your right wing?'

'I said, it's none of your business!' Parrot hissed. 

'A stupid imbecile "accidentally" shot him a few days ago in the middle of the archery session. Is that enough to answer your burning questions, Technoblade?' ClownPierce snapped angrily.

'Who would shoot their leader?' Techno continued, hiding a bright cyan feather.

'Technoblade, I demand you to leave.' ClownPierce ordered. 'You're making Parrot uncomfortable.'

'Is that my problem? No. And to add more proof, ClownPierce, I picked this up along the way. What do you have to say about that?' He threw about a dozen feathers in Clown's face. Parrot's eyes leaped from anger to panic, as he tried to move his wings from sight. 'Oh, and also this piece of cloth? Dare to explain it?'

The two LifeSteal leaders kept silent. Parrot had a sudden interest in his boots, and Clown twirled his sword expertly on his hand as if the visitors weren't there at all.

'Care to explain this, Parrot?' Dream asked softly, but his voice was challenging.

'I...um...That is not-'

'You deny the obvious, Parrot. Why were you trespassing? You know that's forbidden!' Dream hissed, unable to contain his anger.

'It's none of your-'

'It is my business because it is my nation!' Dream retorted furiously.

'You can't accuse me because of a feather!' Parrot exclaimed.

'Yes, I can, and I will. What bird has this bright cyan feather, its tip - a pearly white, and not to mention, why is there a blood-soaked piece of cloth? It's yours, I'm guessing.'

'N-No! It's from a...um...injured explorer!'

'How do you guarantee that? Are you the injured one?'

'The blood is dry! It's from a long time ago!' Parrot started to panic for real.

'No, it's not. It's wet as hell. As I said, stop denying the obvious, Parrot. That won't lead you out of the rabbit hole, but only plunge you in deeper.' Techno warned.

'Please, Techno, leave.' ClownPierce, seeing that his friend was losing, jumped in. 'I don't welcome your presence in our castle.'

'Clown, stay out of this, homie. Trust me, it's for your best.' Techno hissed, before turning back to Parrot. 'You, the most intelligent and sensible young man I've ever met, decided to trespass into enemies' territory?! What are you, a clueless idiot? Have you turned into Dream and decided to follow every hasty decision your guts make?'

'Hey! That's-!' Dream protested furiously.

'Oh, shut up, Dream.' Techno snapped. 'ClownPierce, just for the sake of my nation, I'm leaving. This has not ended, mark my words.'