(TATB) Ch 36: News Spreads, Blessings Of The Return!

(Sydney)

I was hunched over the plans again, sitting cross-legged on a rolled-out tarp inside the tent, the blueprints fluttering slightly every time someone walked past the flap. We needed more housing, more storage, hell—even a proper road system. The place was coming together, yeah, but it still felt more like a pile of potential than an actual town.

And it wasn't helping that Skylar kept showing up every single day asking the same damn question:

"Any word from Victor?"

No. There wasn't. Still.

It broke my focus every time. Not that I could blame her, really. Victor had been gone for almost a week, and even I was starting to worry. Not that I'd admit it out loud or anything. But yeah, I'd been staring at the same corner of this blueprint for like fifteen minutes now and I hadn't drawn a single line.

I glanced across the tent where my dad—bent over the same plans—scratched the side of his beard with a frown. He looked calm, but I could tell he was just as anxious as I was. He'd been quiet lately. Focused. And when Dad gets too focused, that's when you know something's eating at him.

That's when Meara pushed open the tent flap with a bright grin like she'd just won the lottery.

"They're back!" she beamed. "Victor and the others just got back—and they brought a whole group with them!"

I think my brain took about two seconds to register what she said. Then?

I was gone.

I bolted out the tent, nearly knocking over a chair on the way, and heard my dad call after me, but he was already following behind.

Outside, the sun nearly blinded me, but the buzz in the air was unmistakable—voices, shuffling feet, the kind of excited chaos you only get when something big happens. A crowd was forming near the center of the worksite, people pressing in, whispering, asking questions.

I shoved my way through—muttering "sorry, excuse me, coming through"—until I hit the front.

And there they were.

Victor. Smug smirk and everything.

Vu, beat up but standing, hand on his side like something still hurt.

Nemu looking serious as ever.

Sawyer hanging in the back with that wide-eyed "how-the-hell-did-we-survive" expression.

And then... a new guy. Dude had a pink mohawk. That's all I had to go off. Just... pink. Mohawk. And this really intense squint, like he was judging the dirt beneath his shoes.

I didn't even stop to think—I ran straight at Victor and leapt into his arms.

"Victor!"

"Whoa, easy buddy, easy!" he laughed, catching me with one arm and tousling my hair with the other.

"You took forever!" I grinned, practically squeezing the air out of him. "What happened? Where were you?"

He shrugged like he just got back from the grocery store and forgot the milk.

"Got a little lost on the way," he said with a lopsided grin. "But hey, made a few new friends."

He turned slightly and gestured toward the crowd of Lillis that were slowly making their way into the open space, most of them looking nervous, a few hopeful, all of them weary.

"Let me introduce you to Vu's colony."

I looked at them—really looked—and something in my chest tightened a bit.

We weren't just building a town anymore.

We were building a home.

***

(Skylar)

Ugh... finally.

I pushed the door open with the dramatic flair of someone returning from the battlefield—and by battlefield, I mean high school. My backpack hit the floor with a satisfying thud, and I collapsed onto the couch like a Victorian woman who'd just been told her corset was optional.

Being a straight-A student sounded great on paper, but in practice? It was exhausting. Between essays, lab reports, group projects where I did all the work, and those godawful standardized tests that made me question the very fabric of my soul—I was spent.

This was supposed to be the best part of my day. Coming home, kicking off my shoes, and spending time with my tiny little town and the Lillis who lived in it. The people who literally called my room their home. I loved them. I really did.

Or at least... I used to love this part.

Now it just came with a side of stomach-wrenching worry.

Three days. Three whole days.

Victor, Vu, Nemu, Sawyer—they were still out there. Somewhere. In a world made for people like me, not them. And it was all my fault. I let them go. I said it was okay. I gave Victor that stupid nod, that go get 'em, tiger look like we weren't literally talking about hiking into a world where even a puddle could be a death trap for someone like him.

Sydney kept saying it wasn't my fault. That it was Victor's decision. That they could handle themselves.

But I didn't lose one. I lost four. Four little lives. My friends. Out there. Right now. Who knew what could've happened?

I sat up, groaning, and scrubbed my hands down my face. No more spiraling. Not today. Victor was out there, but Victor was smart. Resourceful. Probably annoyingly confident, even when things were on fire. And Sydney was rarely wrong. He said they'd be back. I just had to believe him.

I took a deep breath, stood up, and made my way to the kitchen. Time to be useful.

The fridge opened with a click, and I grabbed a container of chopped fruit, a few scraps of cheese (Lilli-sized, of course), and some of the tiny veggies I'd prepped a couple days ago. I added in a small tray of spare metal bits—paperclips, some loose screws, tiny gear pieces—and a scoop of the soil I'd picked up from the hobby shop. It still smelled faintly of moss and miracle-gro.

Sydney said they were getting close to self-sufficiency. That soon they wouldn't need me hauling food and parts every day. Honestly? That kind of bummed me out. I liked helping. I liked being needed. Even if it was just carrying dollhouse-size supplies and not accidentally stepping on someone.

I walked into my room, carrying everything in a small tray like a waitress at a fairy tale café. My bed was neatly made (miracle), and sitting across from it, nestled against the windowsill, was the town. Or what used to be a bunch of tiny shacks and platforms. Now? Now it was really starting to look like something.

With slow, careful steps, I crossed the room, eyes locked on the little hill where the city sat. I bent down, inch by inch, trying not to shake the ground too much. From this distance I could finally start to make out the finer details—little scaffolding, a few rooftops, smoke coming from what might've been a forge. Sydney had really outdone himself.

I smiled, gently setting the tray on the designated "drop zone," a small platform they'd rigged with pulleys.

"Sydney?" I called softly, still crouching. "I brought some surprises for you!"

I waited a second, careful not to be too loud, letting my breath slow so I didn't accidentally cause a tiny windstorm.

Then I heard him. His voice came from somewhere in the city, faint but very much there.

"Skylar!"

My smile widened as I leaned a little closer. "Yeah? What's up? You sound excited."

From the city below, his voice came back—breathless, totally jazzed.

"Victor and the rest are back!"

I blinked.

"...Wait what."