Chapter Text
Tommy pulled his jacket closer to his chest as he made his way down the street, the rain soaking his clothes. Water dripped from his hair, chills seeping into his bones. If he didn’t find it soon, he would be sick, and he was not dealing with sniffles. Or Ranboo’s attempt at a chicken soup.
Not again. Never, Never again.
Moron. Tommy thinks, How stupid could he have been? A phone isn’t easy to replace. Especially not now. Now, he just had to go to the city to try and get one for a fair price.
He was just thankful for the way the district was dead this early in the morning. The sun hadn’t even peeked over the top of the tall buildings that lined the street. He hadn't even mentioned he was leaving to his roommates so that’ll be a fun conversation when he gets back. Especially with Tubbo, who insists on group breakfast, the amount of times the blonde had woken up with the loud and sharp banging of a wooden spoon on a pan is astronomical. Those are the days Tommy is grateful for the overpriced coffee shop on the corner of their block.
The skies were only just brightening up to blue and indicated he should speed up. Just up ahead he saw it, the bright broken red neon light, the Ducky Diner. He watched at the D in Ducky flickered violently and without warning. And then it flickered again. And again.
Tommy took a deep breath as he reached for the door.
The door screamed as Tommy pushed the old wood open. He was almost certain it would fall right off its hinges. The diner was empty except for the person cleaning up the tables. She turned her attention to Tommy her light brown, almost blonde, hair was tied into a ponytail. He watched as their head tilted, before cautiously informing him. “Sir, we’re not open yet.” Her voice was sweet, almost like honey if it were audio, and almost forest green eyes.
“Apologies, but… I'm here t-” Tommy gets cut off by a knife flying past his face with a soft woosh, luckily an easy side step got him out of the way. The brunette cleaning the table gaped at the person who threw the knife, disbelief in her eyes. Tommy caught the nametag attached to her apron and it read Taylor. “Purpled! You can’t just throw knives at people.”
Tommy is quick to respond, turning his head to look at him. “Your aim still sucks.”
“Maybe I was aiming for your eye.” Purpled sneered leaning over the counter. His deep blue eyes, that boarded violet lit up with amusement, and shaggy dirty blonde hair peeking out from the hood, Tommy’s almost certain he’s never seen him without. And he’s seen Purpled, quite a lot.
“I’m already missing one asshole.” Tommy made a frantic hand motion towards the bandage that covered the right half of his face. “Do you want to make me double-blind?”
“Do you mean fully blind?”
“Shut up.” Tommy watched as Purpled used his hands to propel himself over the counter, casually making his way over. He waved his co-worker towards the back of the room, (Tommy could’ve sworn he’d seen her before.) as he goes over to Tommy, sticking his hands into the pocket of the violet hoodie. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen you.”
“You don’t make it easy to track your sorry ass down.” Tommy grumbles, and Purple just rolled his eyes, before saying, “That’s the point.”
“So, you can’t just complain about not seeing me.”
“I was complaining I didn't get to go longer without seeing you.” Purpled shrugged, “So, why did you come to my loveliest of workplaces.” Sarcasm oozed from his tone. The diner was run down, and out of the corner of his eye, he was certain he saw a rat. Gross. But he’s not surprised.
But, other than the rat, it was just another Diner in the Western District. Walls with wallpaper that peeled at each corner, holding on for dear life. The lights inside matched the outside and flickered unpredictably. The boards of the floor squeaked with every step while the tables and chairs did not match. There was even a large bookcase on the far wall that held trinkets of all varieties. It was as if they grabbed whatever they could while putting this place together. Tommy’s personal favorite was a bright orange table with varying-sized blue chairs.
Which was accurate. Tommy couldn’t even remember the last time he saw something in the West match properly. Not even the buildings match in height, width, or color. It was more lively than the East, to Tommy.
Purpled looked at Tommy who just sighed in defeat, before turning his attention back to the man in purple. “I need your help.”
Purpled nodded, before turning on his heels. Tommy watched as Purpled double-checked the sign on the door that read closed. Tommy knows what he’s doing, it doesn’t make it any less intimidating. A screech rang out through the cafe as Purpled pushed the bookshelf, the items on it rattling gently as it moves. Revealing a small entrance, the walls of it were stone. “Okay.”
Purpled turns, waving his hand for Tommy to follow him as he makes his way down the entrance. You would think knowing where it goes, Tommy wouldn’t get butterflies in his core. But the way his stomach churned the moment he entered the hall. Pipes lined the walls, chills ran down Tommy’s spine, a combination of being soaked from the rain and the freezing tunnel. It was silent, except for the occasional drip of water, that falls from the pipes. As they go farther into the tunnels, Tommy can start to hear laughter and the loud chattering of complete strangers, even music became more apparent. Tommy took a deep breath as Purpled pulled back a curtain, people bustling around left and right, and small stands lined the walls of the massive room. Each time Tommy comes down here he notices something else, pipes line the ceiling, and some even peel off of the walls.
“If there’s not a phone here, then I’ll have to come up with something.” Purpled turned his head to look back at Tommy. Tommy watched as he veered off left vanishing in a crowd of people. Leaving Tommy alone. Lights flickered across the makeshift roads, this was the 5th district, known as Las Nevadas or the underground. One not many people knew about. Tommy was lucky he even knew of it. The blonde takes a step forward letting his thoughts drift as he looks around, even being here was against the law. Luckily, the underground had managed to keep hidden from even the Reapers.
Out of the corner of his eye Tommy caught a familiar brown ponytail of Purpled’s co-worker, she was in a dark outfit, and out of the apron. That's why Tommy recognized her. The diner must be closed if both the attendants are at their actual job. Tommy caught Purpled bounding over, muttering to himself. “Some fucking bastard got into my fucking stuff.”
“So, no phone?” Tommy sighed, before Purpled nodded, “Yup, which means I’ll have to get one which means..”
“Fuck, what do you need.”
“I've heard rumors, of a creature not too far from here.”
“You need me to kill a monster.”
Purpled looked as if he was about to say something before sighing, “Yes, I need you to kill a monster, but I need something from it, to make sure it doesn’t hurt anyone else.”
Tommy nods, he knows how deadly an unkempt monster can be, especially when the reapers rarely show up. By the way, Purpled’s talking the creature has already taken a life, and that was more than enough to get Tommy on board. “I’ll need a map, since…”
“No GPS?” Purpled snickered, “But, you get me proof it’s dead, I’ll get you a phone. Deal?”
Tommy looked at him, he knew it was a risk, but what fun is playing by the rules, especially when you’ve broken so many.
“Deal. Give me a few days.”