Chapter Text
There was no way to tell what time it was. The only constant thing was the sliver of light that diluted the darkness that was within their prison. It was always there, only disappearing for a few moments as people walked outside the door. The rest of the people in the cages around him were quiet. Some mumbled to themselves or snored a bit loudly, but otherwise, it was quiet. Tommy always hated the quiet. It reminded him of the large stone halls that casted over his tiny form from the SBI’s cold castle. It had made him so aware of every sound, every step, every breeze. He had sometimes hummed in order to fill the overstimulating silence. Here, though, humming only made others angry or caused the guards to bang on the walls of their room. Tommy learned quickly to hush his humming. Instead, he tried to thumb out a song on false keys of a piano. The tapping annoyed others too. So, he moved to rocking. Though, his cage accidentally knocked against another causing that hybrid to knock against another and then another and so on. The guards had come in after that, ordering him to stop or else.
Tommy was sure he knew what that else stood for.
A part of him wanted to use his connection to the gods in his favor. He could order them to let him and his friends go or else he would summon the SBI to their doorsteps. He knew that many people feared gods, and the SBI were known to be the devils of the gods. They had nicknames other than just SBI, though no one seemed to know what SBI stood for anyways. However, Tommy knew that plan could backfire, and the guards could send him to actually attempt to summon the SBI. He knew if he did, the SBI would respond in a heartbeat. Well, one of Tommy’s heartbeats. Gods don’t have hearts. Tommy marked that down as a plan B in the case that they got caught while trying to escape from the auction. Though, would they actually believe him?
Tommy didn’t want to test it. He just needed to find Tubbo and Ranboo then get the fuck away from this slaver’s camp. Preferably while setting it on fire. Sadly, he didn’t know if that side quest would be achievable. If he saw the chance, he'd take it, but he was prioritizing his friends over the rest of the auction. It was a necessary sacrifice that he was sure he’d pay for later.
The time passed by in what Tommy hoped was fast. Though, it was more than likely that it was inching on by at the speed of frogs. The only tell of time was whether or not the other guards spoke. He knew there were at least two, due to two different voices, but he wasn’t sure if there was another silent one. Anything was possible in this hell hole. The guards talked in an accent much like his own. Their conversations were the only reason he knew that it had passed lunch time.
He couldn’t help but think back to his mental conversation from earlier in the morning. Mentally, he was kicking himself for regressing back to the point of longing, but he also was trying to convince himself that it was because of the situation he was in. Tommy couldn’t help but to think that these thoughts had only been in the background, waiting to seize his mind when he was weakest. He knew he desired the god’s affection, but he didn’t want to understand.
Or maybe he did? He wanted to push the gods to the side because thinking of them was too much. Then, on the flip side, all he wanted more was to think of them as if the mere thought of them would bring him comfort. Comfort, like the one time he had lounged in the crook of Father’s elbow as the man translated some children’s story for him. Comfort, much like the evening he and Dubs had snuck to the gardens to snack on the blackberries and dance in the starlight. Comfort, like the morning he had played with his animals with the help of Dad.
He missed those times. He could still taste the sweet berries. They had always tasted better under the starlight. Something was just different when he listened to Father’s gravelly voice lull him into a restful slumber. It was a comfort he missed. He longed for it, but with his current friends, there was no way to achieve the comfort he wished for. But, returning to the gods would leave him vulnerable and susceptible to their schemes again. That is what Tommy needed to stay focused on.
Tommy didn’t notice the tears starting up again. He was quick to hide the weakness, shoving his face into his shirt, though, acting as if he was only resting his head on his knees. No one needed to know he was soft here. He wasn’t soft; he was strong. He had escaped Death himself. No one needed to know he was weak. No one here and not even his friends.
So, Tommy cleared his eyes and laid down on the cool metal of his cage. For now, he would gather his strength.
Tommy really didn’t expect to sleep as long as he had. This was probably the most amount of sleep he had gotten in the past week, if you count being knocked out and kidnapped. It wasn’t the best sleep, though. It was restless with nightmares around every corner. Luckily, nightmares were kept in the dreamscape. He liked waking with only fear and no memory of why he was scared. Or, well, so he thought.
The guards had already started getting hybrid’s out of their cages as he came to. There was shouting and the light was way too bright for his enlarged pupils. He was groggy and not really following what was happening. There was so much movement–and coupled with the shouting and bright lights–it was causing Tommy to develop a headache. It wasn’t long before his cage was opened and he was dropped onto the floor like a bag of rice. His stomach grumbled at the thought of food, even if it was rice.
Tommy didn’t have long before his hands were grabbed and his chains were attached to the line of others. When planning last night, he hadn’t even thought of the idea of chains, nor the idea that he would be chained to others. The thought shook the last bits of sleep from his mind as he started to enact his plan. But, his plan was already falling apart.
He hadn’t expected to be chained to others, nor did he expect there to be so many guards! Apparently that one hybrid had been right. There was practically a guard for every person standing in the line. Even if he was able to break his chains from the front, he would have to get through a literal wall of bodies. Then there was the additional problem that his chains also connected to the person behind him. Perhaps he had underestimated the guards of this place.
Would he even be able to get out of this place? If he prayed, would Dream cast pity down on him and give him the sliver of luck he needed? No, Dream would alert Fat–when had he started thinking of Technoblade as his father again?! Tommy shook his head, lifting his hands to rub his eyes again. No. He still had a chance. He didn’t need gods anyways. He could do this alone. All he had to do was find Tubbo and Ranboo, inform them of the plan, then figure out a way out of their chains, and break for it. Yeah. A fool proof plan that had no room for error.
As if.
Tommy kept his eyes forward, staring along the line of shorter hybrids. He truly was the only human there and definitely the tallest too. He could see over the few hybrids in front of him, watching as they kept their eyes down and backs hunched. Tommy was stubborn though. Father, no Technoblade, had taught him to stand tall in the face of danger–though that danger was mainly Technoblade himself.
He wasn’t just showing a front either. His eyes scanned over the long line of hybrids in front of him. He needed to see if he could find his shorter friend. He would have noticed Ranboo immediately, however, there was no sign of either hybrid. There wasn’t a familiar ram anywhere to be found. No sharp horns ready for headbutting or the tallest of the trio. Tommy turned around to look behind him, but he still couldn’t see the faces of his friends. He didn’t know if they had already been taken or sold, or if they were so far behind him he couldn’t make out their faces. So, he just turned his head back so he was facing the front of the line. Better to keep himself standing tall and strong.
Tommy kept his eyes forward, locking eyes with a guard at the front. The man was a hybrid, though Tommy couldn’t tell what type other than the man had large fluffy ears that were reminiscent of a type of goat, or maybe a cow? Tommy only smirked, moving to open his mouth before a hand whapped him on the back of his head, then returning only a moment later to force his head down like the others. Tommy grit his teeth, waiting for the guard to remove his hand before Tommy lifted his head again. This time, he kept the smile off of his face, but he didn’t dare submit to their attempts.
The guards didn’t like that. The line stopped as the guard at the front walked to the back. Tommy only kept his head up and eyes zeroed in on the others. He had to have been the head guard. The man’s breath smelled like fish as he leaned down almost nose to nose with Tommy, “We have some very important guests tonight. You either lower your head, or we will drag you in unconscious.”
Tommy huffed in his face, “Surprisingly, I am not a piece of cattle for you to sell. I suggest you keep to yourself before I become a problem. Well, you’ll be in deep shit if the SBI were to hear of this.”
The man’s eyes seemed to gleem as if he just caught a child in a lie, “Oh? You have some favors with the gods?”
Tommy guessed he was rolling with plan B now. He grinned, “I know it’s not known, but the SBI would be mad if their bonded was being sold like livestock? Honestly,” he really needed to play this up, and he didn’t want to use their names. Names have power, “I don’t think Father would like to see his shoat dressed in chains and bruised?”
The guard’s grin didn’t drop like Tommy had originally thought. The man only gripped Tommy’s face, “And who is your Father, little human?”
Tommy really didn’t want to repeat the name, because names had power, but he sucked in his resolve, “Technoblade. Ya know, the God of War, Blood, and all things nasty. Though, he’s also the God of Languages. He could translate in his head a book and read it to me in common without hesitation.”
The hybrid gripped his jaw just a bit tighter before whispering words that struck fear into Tommy’s heart. It meant one thing, “We’ll have to see about that.”
Tommy stumbled back, eyes going wide. He knocked into the hybrid behind him, making them hiss out a few curses. Quickly, he schooled his expression. The head guard only laughed, seemingly won. Tommy hadn’t been lying, though. Technoblade would murder if there were bruises that he hadn’t inflicted on Tommy’s skin. It was known that Technoblade was the only one allowed to give physical punishment to Tommy, not that it stopped Wilbur from doing so at times.
But, that wasn’t the focus here. Currently, Tommy needed to escape. Not only had he spoken Technoblade’s name, they were just beyond the curtain. Being in such close proximity, Tommy knew that Technoblade knew that Tommy was here. It left him sweaty. All plans were thrown out the window as Tommy struggled to look at the locks around his hands. He could dislocate his thumbs and pull his hands out, but would he even have time for that? The line had already started walking again.
The guard beside Tommy pushed him forward with the but of his sword. If he even had the chance to pull his hands through the cuffs, he wouldn't be able to fight with two broken hands, nor be able to run. He has escaped from Philza, yes, but if Technoblade truly was there, there was no way Tommy was escaping. No, Technoblade would have his scent, even if it was an old trail. The man was born to hunt and kill, and Tommy’s blood was the sweetest.
He couldn’t escape Technoblade. Not here and not without supplies. He would need a creek. He’d need to back track to the ocean. But, he had promised Sally that he would not enter her water’s again, and he wasn’t exactly sure where those borders were. Nor did he have a boat or did he think he could steal another boat. Tommy swallowed thickly.
The curtains were getting closer. The head guard was already through with the first few hybrids. Tommy sucked in a breath. There was no escaping this time was there? There was no way he could run. Henry hadn’t even warned him of the danger this time. Was he really thinking of his stupid butterflies at this time? The butterflies barely visited anymore. Besides, if Henry hadn’t warned him, then did this mean that perhaps what was happening was going to be okay?
The anxiety in his chest barely moved. He swallowed again, squeezing his eyes shut as he stepped through the curtains and onto the stage. Once he reopened his eyes, he was quickly slotted beside the others and turned and faced towards the crowd. Guards were quick to release them from each other only to attach them to the floor. However, during this time, Tommy locked onto two people in the back of the room.
Even with glamour, Tommy could see who exactly he was looking at. There was no mistaking the blonde and pinkette sitting beside each other. Their eyes locked onto his just as he locked onto theirs. It froze him in his place, too scared to move an inch. He halted the line, just staring at the two in the back even though he was obviously keeping up the procession. The guards looked a bit pissed, shoving him forward, but the head guard came to whisper in his ear, “You see them, don’t you? I’m sure they will pay a pretty penny for you and your friend if you really are who you say you are.”
Tommy glanced over at the hybrid, again, schooling himself into an expression of indifference. But, he was still terrified, “They’re going to burn this place to the ground.”
The head guard only chuckled, “Right.”
Tommy’s eyes clicked back to the two gods. They hadn’t moved, even as Tommy walked across the stage. Their eyes, as human as they looked, stared deep into his soul and never left him. Tommy couldn’t help but keep his eyes locked onto the gods. The fight that had once been in him was gone. He was stuck, feet glued to the boards of the stage.
Had he even stood a chance in escaping? Probably not. They were doomed the moment a crow turned up at the festival. Tommy swallowed, tearing his eyes from the two gods to look for Tubbo. There were several hybrids around them, but he couldn’t see Tubbo. No sign of the bushy brown haired goat. Has he already been sold? Tommy turned back with his eyes facing the crowd. There were so many people.
It disgusted him. So many people were there to watch and buy people. A part of him hopes that Technoblade will slaughter everyone in the tent. But, Tommy also knew that Technoblade would also murder all of the poor hybrids who were stuck in the life of captivity. Maybe death was a more fitting freedom.
Death wasn’t just freedom. It was also another cage. Tommy hummed, pulling his chained hands closer to himself to hold himself in a hug. He didn’t see the way Technoblade murmured to Philza or the way the two gods locked onto the shackles holding him. They never had liked the idea of anyone else holding power over him. Even sometimes, they fought amongst themselves too.
The head guard spoke into a mic, hushing the quiet speaking across the room, “Good evening, ladies, gentlemen, and nonbinary folk. We would like to welcome you to the auction house. If you haven’t already, please register for a number before we begin so that you may be able to participate in this auction tonight. We still have ten number cards left. Before we begin, we will repeat that all purchases are final and the payment must be paid in full by the end of the night. As customary in all dark business, we will be dealing in primes. Now! Let the auction begin!”
Tommy was very well known in the world of dark business, as he had also dabbled in it himself. They had left quite a lot of primes back in their wagon that they needed to trade in for gold at their nearest prime dealer. They had never made it, though. The normal conversion rate for primes was around 100 gold per one prime. They were hand stamped silver coins with purple ink. A beautiful coin, but many were stained copper.
Tommy didn’t like the idea that he was now being sold for the same thing he used to deal in. It made him honestly repulsed. But, he didn’t have a choice. His fate had been sealed and even going so far to travel across a sea didn’t mean he would outrun fate. A part of him reveled in the idea he would get to go home, back to warm blankets and a doting family. He had missed the gods, even as much as he hated to admit it. He missed the days he would wake up with chocolate chip pancakes and adventures.
He hoped that there would be less severe punishments for him running. Maybe they would be so happy that he was back that they would forget about punishments all together. He wanted nothing more than to have his loving side of his family rather than the obsessive and, well frankly, darker side of them. And, if Henry had not come to warn him, then it must have been fine, right? Tommy could only bite his lip and hope.
The auctioneer's voice was loud and brash, barely muttering the syllables in the words he was speaking before he was moving onto the next word. Though, soon it was much like static to Tommy’s ears. They were going down the line, reading out the information before starting the bidding. His feet ached from where he stood for what felt like eternity under the sweltering stage lights. It left him only to his thoughts. Tommy started to wonder, how much would he cost?
His eyes had drifted from the gods to the floor, but as soon as he realized that, he forced his eyes to jump back up to the gods. It was obvious they were here for him, their own eyes never straying from him, or that’s what it felt like. Of course, he was the main prize for the gods, their bonded, their sounder. He was what the SBI desired most. Why wouldn’t they? His life force was linked to theirs, and in turn, theirs were linked to his.
Soon enough the boy was next, “Here we have a human, aged around 17 years. It’s loud, brash, and defiant, but who doesn’t love a spitfire? It talks a big game, saying that it knows the Blood God and others of the SBI pantheon. I recommend purchasing a muzzle along with him. Let’s start the bidding at 2,200 primes!”
Tommy’s eyes flicked over to Philza and Technoblade, watching as Philza raises the number each time whereas Technoblade is continuing to whisper to Philza. Tommy only stares as his price continues to rise. 2,500, 3,000, 3,200, to, finally, 3,500 primes. As the bidding continued, Tommy continued to think. He wouldn’t go back, not without fighting. He needed a plan.
They had unchained them from the other hybrids in order to chain them to the hooks on the floor. He hadn’t been able to escape originally because they had unclipped him from the others one at a time, chaining one side again before unclipping him from the other side. However, he could still escape. They would have to unclip him fully in order to move him down the stage stairs. Tommy grinned, though it was small and he tried to keep it hidden. He’ll just kick whoever comes to unchain him and once they’ve unchained him and he’s taken them down, he will find Tubbo and Ranboo. Solid plan!
Tommy kept his grin to himself even as the auctioneer shouted out what should have felt like his damning moment, “Sold to 1624 for 3,500 primes!”
Instead, adrenalin filled his bones. He just needed to keep still long enough until they unclipped him from the floor. Then, he will attack. The head guard as well as two other lackeys came over, unshackling him from the ground. But, right as they did, Tommy’s eyes darted over to the line of hybrids filing in behind the first line. And just as the horns disappeared, Tommy saw Tubbo. Well, horns would be the wrong thing to say considering one horn was broken down the stump.
Though, before he could wrench his hands from the grips of the guards, the head guard gripped his chin, “I guess you were right, huh? I wonder why you would ever have a reason to run.”
The man held a sinister grin, but Tommy didn’t fall for the act. He mustered up as much spit as possible, waiting till he heard the clips being undone, before he let one of the most massive globs of spit fly at the head guard. Then, as the man stood still in shock, Tommy knocked his head against the guard’s, ignoring the way his head ached from the action, and pulled himself back.
This was his opportunity. Tubbo wasn’t chained to the floor yet and his chains to the other hybrids had to have been removed so that they could chain him to the hook. Tommy couldn’t miss this opportunity. His own hands had been unchained and he was free to kick the person closest to him where he knew it hurts. Tommy didn’t hesitate, pulling the chains that were still holding his wrists together over the head of the hybrid he just kicked in the crotch to pull him down and knee them in their chest. Tommy then unhooked his wrists from over their head, kicking them away, dodging the other guard just in time.
Tommy didn’t waste his time, running to Tubbo, jumping on the back of one of the guards trying to tie down Tubbo’s chains. Tubbo shouted, moving to headbutt another one of the guards, seemingly reading Tommy’s mind. Tommy wrapped his chains around the guard’s throat, pulling his wrists back and then clutching onto the chains to ensure he was not letting the guard get any oxygen. The guard stumbled around, knocking into other hybrids as they scrambled. However, other guards were rushing at them, the head guard attempting to calm the audience with humor. But, Tommy knew that was who he was going for next.
The guard he was riding fell to his knees, so Tommy pulled the chains off the man’s throat, turning around to fight the other guards headed towards them. But, just as he turned his body around to assess the situation, a guard’s fist collided with his cheek, knocking him back and flat on his ass. A shout from Tubbo made Tommy glance over to see Tubbo also knocked down, but he was facing the floor with a knee on his back. Tommy attempted to stand and rescue his friend, but the second he turned on his side, a fiery pain went up his spine as a steel-toed boot of one of the guards kicked him in his lower back.
Tommy gasped, the breath being knocked out of him as another kick was aimed into the middle of his back. He rolled over, trying to escape the boot, now laying on his stomach. He attempted to push himself back up onto his knees, but a hand found its way into his hair and a knee into his back. His face is then slammed into the boards of the stage. Not once, not twice, but three times. Splinters lodged themselves into his skin, his nose was definitely broken, and he was sure his tooth or a piece of wood cut his tongue. Blood pooled in his mouth, but he could also feel the warmth of the blood flowing from his nose as well. It was funny though because his brain wasn’t exactly registering the pain, only the odd warmth that came with blood. Well, it pulsed in pain, but he wasn’t focusing on that right now.
He was being moved, though his mind wasn’t catching up with everything yet. Tommy groaned, the knee being removed, but he was dragged by his hair to the stage stairs. Oh, now there was someone else. Pink, he could see, or maybe his eyes were failing. The guard was speaking to someone, but Tommy’s vision was swimming so much, he couldn’t see the person the guard was talking to. But, the voice was familiar. The gravelly voice was slotted alongside comfort in his confused state. His hair was released, but arms collected him quickly. There was blonde in his vision, but Tommy only closed his eyes and let out another groan.
A coo was heard above him, possibly from the blonde man, but Tommy couldn’t care less. He felt like shit and he didn’t know why. What happened again? Oh, there was the pain. His back throbbed as the man holding him walked towards…somewhere. But, Tommy wasn’t really focusing on that. He was struggling to keep himself lucid enough to understand.
The man was saying something, something Tommy couldn’t put his finger on. He was so confused, but he brushed it off, hand moving to grab the green robe the blonde was wearing. As he did so, the man cooed again, whispering to him promises Tommy wouldn’t remember.
“There you go, mate,” the man said, though it did register completely in his head. “No one will hurt you like that again. No one but us.”
The tents behind the four burned. Smoke made a signal for every traveler and creature for miles, but Phil enchanted the area so that the fire would not spread to the trees. He only kept his eyes on the treasure in his eyes. His bonded, his nestling. His and only his.
Technoblade carried the other one, a ram hybrid that they had only learned was a fond pet of Schlatt’s. A wonderful way to get another favor from the god. Technoblade didn’t mind as he knew that Wilbur and Schlatt were close enough that Technoblade would never need to trade a formal favor. But, Philza loved the art of politics and dancing around each other. Power was not only based on the areas they controlled, but also on the gods they controlled. Philza didn’t rival anyone for a reason. He was in everyone’s pockets, lapping up the favors like they were milk.
It was a game to those who could not die, and now Philza had something of value for Schlatt. It was exciting. He didn’t know the last time he had been this ecstatic about something.