We've got a bit of a problem on our hands," Techno stated, crossing his arms. The five of them were sitting at a round table eating dinner—biscuits and dried meat. Tommy wasn't fond of the food, but it was better than some things he had eaten before. The past few days had been peaceful as they settled in on their ship, and the two boys had never been so happy to be sailing on the seas.

Tubbo was quieter than usual, but not as silent as when they first boarded the ship. He spent much of his time up in the crow's nest. It was his favorite place for a multitude of reasons, some of which he wasn't quite sure of himself. It felt calming to stand with his eyes closed and the wind blowing on his face, letting the thoughts in his head drift in and out of him with the breeze.

"What?" Fundy asked curiously.

Techno fidgeted for a moment, almost seeming to second-guess whether he should tell the others. After an awkward moment of silence, he released his breath and crossed his arms. "The Night's Mare is nearby."

The room dropped dead silent, with the only sound being Tommy's glass cup falling from his hands and onto the table, spilling water across the rough wood. Tubbo had a look of shock and fear in his round, brown eyes. Phil's expression didn't change—in fact, upon closer inspection, Tommy found Phil to be completely unsurprised by the development.

Fundy's hand met the table with a sharp thump, causing the dishes and glasses to shake. "And you choose to just tell us so calmly?" Fundy shouted, "What the fuck, Techno! How can you be so calm about this?"

"Woah, woah—come on, now. Calm down," Techno said, raising his hands, "We're going to be fine. Who says we can't take them?"

"Five on seven?" Phil questioned, a dubious expression on his face.

"We won't be able to beat them!" Tommy cut in, "Can't we just make the ship go faster? Which direction is it coming from? How do you know it's there? How come we haven't seen it?"

Techno's red eyes shifted over to Phil. Tommy, Tubbo, and Fundy looked over, too, as a wave of realization passed over them.

"I take short flights in the near vicinity," the winged man shrugged, "Spotted them just over the horizon. They don't seem to know we're here, but its only a matter of time."

"I don't want to fight Dream again," Tubbo complained, "I just want to find this treasure and live happily ever after. How much is that to ask for?" The brunet's voice cracked as he spoke—the pain visible in his words and wide eyes. Like a piece of glass under pressure, Tubbo was close to his shattering point.

Tommy leaned towards his friend and wrapped an arm around him. "It'll be okay, Tubs," the blonde assured him calmly, "they only have two more people than us, and I bet Techno can take three of them at once!"

"Hey! Don't get too overconfident in me," Techno laughed.

"How long do we have until they're close enough to attack us?" Fundy asked flatly. The foxman seemed to have resigned himself to the fact that a battle between the two crews of pirates was imminent.

The side of Techno's mouth curved up into a sly smile. "That's where you got it wrong. The Night's Mare isn't going to get close enough to attack us. Because, instead, we're going to take the offensive and attack them first."

"What?" Tommy said in surprise.

"Attack them?" Tubbo repeated nervously.

"Are we even capable of that?" Fundy asked.

"Most definitely," Phil replied with a nod. He pushed out his chair and stood up, walking around the table to a large wooden board that was leaned against the ship wall. He pulled a dagger from within his green overcoat and unsheathed it with a metallic shing, holding the point up to the wooden board.

To everyone's surprise, including Techno, the winged man began to use the dagger to draw a map into the wood. He first outlined the shape of their own ship on the left side of the board, and then drew a second, larger ship on the right side.

"I've already thought of a decent plan, but feel free to tell me if anything looks wrong. Especially you three." Phil's gaze fell onto the two boys and Fundy, who stared back at him in confusion. "You know quite well what the Night's Mare looks like both inside and out."

A shiver ran down Tommy's spine at his words. But he nodded, determined to do his part in order for this plan to succeed. Glancing over, he saw that Tubbo's jaw was clenched, but he also looked determined to help out. If Phil believed in them, then they would do their best.

"So, continuing on, let's start with part one: infiltration," Phil began to explain, "The time of the attack depends on two factors. The first is that it must be nighttime and as dark as possible. The second is that no one on the Night's Mare can be awake. So, I will fly over to their ship and check to make sure that there's nobody on deck. Then, we can bring our ship closer to theirs and cross over. The element of surprise must be on our side."

"The second part is the attack itself," Phil continued, "Now, this is where I need your help. Where do the pirates sleep on the ship? Where is the captain's quarters?" Tommy closed his eyes to think about the questions, trying to think back to the layout of the ship. However, Tubbo answered before the blonde could.

"The sleeping quarters are in the back area of the ship. You go down the trapdoor to the first level below deck and head towards the stern. There is a storage room to the right of the hallway, and directly across from it are the sleeping quarters." Tubbo's voice was firm but quiet.

"And the captain's quarters are on the same level, but towards the bow of the ship," Tommy added, "Just walk in the opposite direction."

"Okay. Got it. Now let's see..." Phil tapped the point of the dagger against the wood, and Tommy could tell that he was deep in thought.

"I think it would be best if Phil and Tommy go to fight Dream while the rest of us take on the crew," Techno suggested. Phil turned and raised an eyebrow towards the male. The other three looked equally surprised.

"Techno, wouldn't it make more sense to have you fight Dream?" Tubbo piped in, "You have the best chance of beating him." The blonde looked slightly hurt but rolled his eyes.

"Listen—the Night's Mare has a crew of six plus Dream, the captain. Sapnap, Sam, and Punz put together are just as bad as fighting Dream—if not worse. If Tubbo, Fundy, and I can take them out as quickly as we can, then we can put more stress onto Dream. Besides, I feel like I would have more use fighting multiple people rather than just the Green Bandit himself."

There was a sly grin on the pink-haired male's face as he watched the others' expressions. He knew that his plan was a good one and he was quite proud of it. He also knew that Tommy was itching to swing a sword at the masked pirate. It was a win for everyone.

"I think that's a good plan," Fundy said, "Although it is true that Techno would probably be able to beat Dream, it would be useless if the rest of us died to the deckhands. Tommy and Phil would be able to hold off the Green Bandit long enough even if they can't win in a fight."

The winged man crossed his arms. "I think you all are doubting my abilities, here."

"Oh, come on, Phil. Just teasing," Techno laughed. He stood up and patted his old friend on the back. Phil offered the knife to him, which the pigman accepted. Then, he turned back towards the others.

"Okay, so this is what we're going to do."

It was both a cloudy night and a new moon, so not a single star or source of light was visible in the pitch-black sky. It was as if a curtain of darkness had descended onto the world the moment the golden sun dipped below the pink horizon.

Tubbo could barely see his hand in front of his face. He was standing on the deck and leaning against one of the cannons, which were primed for battle. The brunet had a pit of fear swirling within the depths of his stomach, and each breath he inhaled contained the salty tang of seawater, yet seemed to be mixed with a heavy-weighted feeling of worry.

There were waves rocking onto the sides of their vessel, and the sounds of the ocean were like screaming sirens in the boy's ears. Tubbo realized that he was more afraid now than he had ever been before—even more than when he and Tommy were held captive.

Yet, among those feelings, a bright beacon of light seemed to be shining from within his heart. The white light was pulsating through his veins and being carried to his brain, where it shifted into thoughts that fed into his mind. It felt like shivers crossing his body as a sense of excitement and adrenaline rushed through him.

Tubbo walked away from the edge of the ship, squinting in the darkness, and came to a stop next to the mast. He heard the sound of somebody moving beside him, and he could barely make out Tommy's figure in the darkness.

"I can feel it," Tubbo said, "this is the one."

Tommy nodded in understanding. For the past two nights, it had been just dark enough to launch an attack, but Phil had seen one or two pirates on the deck. This night was darker than any the boys had ever experienced, and Tommy, too, could sense the intense crackle of electricity in the air. The world had slowed to a stop and was waiting for them to make their move.

They heard the sounds of wings flapping. Tubbo looked up to see the shadow of Phil approach their ship and dive to a landing beside the steering wheel. Tommy and Tubbo waited in silence, since that was where Techno was standing and the two of them were surely speaking.

Then, as if this were a fever dream, two figures emerged from the darkness and materialized in the two boys' view. Techno and Phil. There were stern expressions on their faces, and Tommy knew at once that this was the night. He could feel the goosebumps run down his arms and legs as the words left Techno's mouth.

"This is it."

Tubbo felt a flash of emotion pass through him and he took a deep, shuddering breath. "Phil, you're certain there was nobody?"

"Absolutely," the winged man nodded, "I flew over three times—each one closer than the last—and I didn't see a soul. Then, for good measure, I landed on the ship and stood there for a few minutes."

"Don't worry, we're in the clear," Techno assured them, "It's never been a better time to set this plan in motion, and it's not going to get any better than this. Tubbo, do you mind fetching Fundy?"

"Not at all," the brunet nodded, "He's below deck, yeah? I'll be right back." He reached down for the trapdoor and pulled it open before slipping inside. The other three watched the boy disappear before speaking again.

"Are we confident in this?" Tommy asked.

"No. Of course not," Techno huffed, "there's no such thing as being confident in a plan. You only know if it will work after you've done it."

Phil laughed at the blonde's terrified expression and wrapped a wing around him. "Oh, Tommy, don't get worked up over it. Techno's just being ever the pessimist."

"Hmph." Techno crossed his arms. "Realist would be more accurate."

"Come on, mate," Phil sighed, "We spent a whole long while figuring out the details. The plan may not work perfectly, but at least we can take out a couple of the crew members. If things go south, send up a firework and escape back to our ship."

"Where are we getting fireworks from?" Tommy looked confused.

"I made some," Fundy chirped. His head was sticking out of the trapdoor, so he pulled himself the rest of the way through and Tubbo followed shortly behind. The five of them were now standing in a cluster beside the mast.

"How did you manage to do that?" Tubbo asked dumbfounded.

Fundy held out four cylinder-shaped items in his hands, motioning for each of the others to take one. "Don't worry about it," Fundy chuckled, "It was hard as fuck, but I managed. Just pull on the string at the bottom and make sure that the top is facing the sky. Easy as pie."

Tommy nodded and placed the firework inside his backpack. Each of them would carry a bag, and inside would contain some basic medical supplies and food. There was also a dagger in case they lost their swords. Overall, the group was fairly well prepared and Tommy was anxiously eager to see the masked pirate again face-to-face.

Techno could see the spark in Tommy's blue eyes. He smiled softly and placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, causing him to jolt in surprise and return to reality. "Hey," Techno told him, "Don't think about him too much, and don't try too hard when you're fighting him. He's going to try to get in your head—just make sure to keep yourself unharmed and stall for time."

Tommy blinked in surprise. The pink-haired male had basically read his mind.

"Okay?" Techno asked.

"Okay," Tommy replied with a nod.

"Techno, steer us towards them," Phil stated. The pigman offered a smile to the blonde-haired boy before disappearing back into the darkness. After a moment, Tommy heard the creak of the ship moving. The breeze now blew against the side of his face rather than the front as they changed directions to approach the Night's Mare.

"Be careful, Tommy," Tubbo whispered to his friend, "Don't let Dream hurt you."

Tommy plastered on his overconfident self and flashed a grin. "That b/tch can't touch me," he declared proudly, "I'm too fast. Phil and I will obliterate him."

A laugh erupted from the winged man. "Tommy!"

"If you say so," Tubbo conceded. He still was nervous, but he let a weak smile play on his lips.

"Look!" Fundy whisper-shouted. Tubbo followed the shadow of the foxman's pointing arm to the left side of the ship, which had been brightened by the dim, yellow-orange light of lanterns on the Night's Mare. The deck of the larger vessel was desolate, littered with crates and barrels and occasional posts with flickering lanterns dangling from the tops. The brunet could spot the anchor chain hanging over the side of the ship, signaling that the Night's Mare was anchored down for the night.

"Tommy, grab the gangplank, will you?" Phil said hurriedly, "And, Fundy, go find some rope. Decently long. We need to tie our ship to theirs so that it doesn't drift away."

"Why not just anchor?" Tommy asked.

Phil gave the boy a side eye. "What if we need to escape, hm? By the time we lift the anchor again, you'll have an enemy pirate holding a dagger to your throat. Plus, we're trying to be as quiet as possible right now."

"I suppose," the blonde muttered. Without another word, he ran to the other end of the deck to grab the plank of wood laying on the floor. Fundy walked off as well.

"How are you holding up, Tubbo?" The pigman asked, reappearing from the upper deck. His leather bag was snug over both shoulders and he held his sword in one hand, unsheathed and ready to go. The brunet could almost see the thirst for bloodshed within the pigman's red eyes, which gleaned eerily in the lantern light.

"I'm ready," Tubbo stated firmly.

"Good answer," Phil mused, "Now, come on."

The three of them walked towards the side of the boat, where Tommy was carefully setting the gangplank between the two ships. He was lowering it ever so carefully in his best attempt to stay quiet. Techno found it amusing, honestly, as he had never seen the boy so focused. Fundy returned with a length of rope and handed it to Phil.

"Go tie this on their ship," Phil told the pigman. Techno nodded and crossed the gangplank with one end of the rope in hand. He quickly tied a sturdy knot and pulled on it to check that it was secure. Phil did the same on their own ship.

"Okay. In the case that we have to abandon the fight and escape, the last person should cut this rope with their sword," Techno instructed them in a loud whisper, "Let's go."

He waved for them to cross onto the Night's Mare. First was Phil, then Tommy ran across, and Fundy followed close afterwards. Tubbo stared at the plank for a moment before pushing his fear into the depths of his mind and crossing over as well.