Techno knocked on Tommy's bedroom door early that morning. He's been busy trying to clean up Phil's mess and calming down the kingdom before even more lives were threatened or lost, so he hasn't been paying much attention to his younger brother, and he felt bad about it.

"Hey, Toms," he said as he opened Tommy's door, "I know I've been busy lately, but I was thinkin' that we could..." he paused when he saw that Tommy's bed was empty. It looked like it hasn't been touched in days. "...Toms?"

Right at that moment, a maid walked past. He gently grabbed her shoulder, grabbing her attention. "Have you seen my brother or his friends lately?"

She shook her head. "I-I'm afraid not, Your Highness. Last I saw them was when His Majesty made his announcement."

Techno sighed. "What about Wilbur? Have you seen him?"

She shook her head again. "Not for a long while, no."

He sighed. "Well, thanks anyway."

She nodded as she turned to leave, but before she did she stopped for a moment as if she remembered something. She turned back to the prince. "Actually, I've noticed that some of their clothes have been missing lately. I thought they were in the laundry, but I haven't seen them in a long while. I don't know if that helps any, but that's all I know."

Techno nodded with a shy smile. "That's honestly more than I had before, so thank you."

She nodded with a smile as she walked away.

~<•>~

Puffy was patrolling the streets when Techno ran up to her, looking frantic. "Have you or Schlatt seen Wilbur lately?" He asked.

Puffy shook her head. "No, no I haven't. And Schlatt hasn't said anything—"

Right about that moment, Schlatt ran up to them, just about as panicked as Techno. "I have no idea where Wilbur is." He said. "He hasn't sent me a letter or told me anything in advance or anything! This isn't like him!"

"Well, shit," Techno said, exasperated. "Both Wilbur and the teens are gone!?"

"What!?" Schlatt and Puffy exclaimed in unison.

Techno nodded. "Yeah, I can't find the kids anywhere and none of the guards or maids have either."

"A-actually..." a quiet voice mumbled, "I saw them about a week ago..."

The three turned towards the voice and saw a girl that looked to be a bit older than the boys they were looking for. She had blonde hair that ended in bubblegum pink and was wearing a simple beige dress with a dark brown corset on top.

"...I'm sorry?" Puffy said.

The girl cleared her throat, making herself look taller and a bit more confident, regardless if it was true or not. "Um, a week ago, I saw the princes and their friends ride their horses out of the city. It was the dead of night, so I doubt anybody else saw them. I don't know where they were going, I just know that they left. I assumed that the younger boys would be back by morning, which is why I didn't say anything, my apologies."

Techno nodded. "Thank you, erm..."

"Niki."

Techno smiled politely. "Thank you, Niki."

The girl nodded as she walked off.

Puffy looked at the prince. "Any idea where they might've run off to?"

Techno hummed. "Knowing my brothers, probably Rivendell."

Schlatt gaped at him. "Rivendell!? But that's so far away—"

Techno crossed his arms. "Well, do you have any other ideas?" At Schlatt's silence, he snickered. "Thought so."

"So, who's going to retrieve our idiotic brothers?" Puffy asked.

Techno sighed. "If I leave, then the kingdom will go into chaos."

Puffy nodded. "Same here. I've barely been able to keep the peace in the palace, let alone the town."

Techno nodded. "And I would suggest Schlatt, but quite frankly, I don't trust him enough to not get himself or the boys killed. No offense."

Schlatt rolled his eyes. "None taken. I guess."

"So, they're fucked?" Puffy asked.

Schlatt shrugged. "I don't know. The kids are strong, I trust them."

"If you say so..." Techno said, unconvinced.