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Tommy shivered as the cold, winter winds bit into his exposed skin. There was a light drizzle of snow drifting down from the sky, frosting his hair. If he stayed out for a bit longer, his hair would be white and not its usual blonde. He really wasn’t dressed for the cold, but they did banish him knowing that. Anger flashed within the boy, once loyal to a fault, now angry with the hate that evolved from betrayal.
He didn’t know if it was normal to laugh at the situation, instead of cry or mope. He wanted to laugh bitterly at his fate, Techno called it, didn’t he? With the tale of Theseus? He should’ve trusted him, he was stupid. How long had he known the people in L’Manberg, and how long had he frickin grew up with Techno, his older brother?
His own best friend betrayed him. Or did L’Manberg turn their back on him at once? Did they really think they’re better off without him? He was one of the people who built the fucking place.
“Let’s blow it to smithereens!”
Tommy was considering it. It’ll be a challenge to hook up TNT, given the place is quite literally just craters at this point. But almost everything was made out of wood and cobble, cobble would be easy enough to get rid of without the wood, which was highly vulnerable to high temperatures and dry weather quickening the spread of fire. Flint and steel should handle the high temperature, and the coming Winter would handle the dry weather.
Huh, it runs in the Family, doesn’t it? Our destructive tendencies.
It does, really. Wilbur went insane and blew up L’Manberg, Techno had always been for destruction. All that remained was Tommy and Phil by then, and now Tommy felt like he was on his way down the irreversible path of chaos, with nobody to pull him back. Phil’s the only sane one left, huh?
Can he rely on Techno for help? They now have similar goals, how many times did government fuck him over already? The moment he and Wilbur formed L’Manberg is the moment his life started rolling downhill, Tommy had to admit that. There were little ups, but the downs far outweighed them. Tommy refused to go to Techno, for one, his pride wouldn’t let him, and second, he’ll prove to the others just how dirty he could play on his own. He’ll prove to the others just how much of a monster he could be.
He had managed to take an Ender Chest with him, and he looked at the contents inside. A load of junk. And huh, Disc 13. He remembered, he stumbled on it while grinding for the big November 16th battle, in a Mob Spawner somewhere. What a funny joke, the only disc he had left isn’t even a music disc. Kind of like how the only parts that he really cared about left did not resemble the loud, patriotic Vice President of L’Manberg.
Back to square One with a bit of help from what he had stuffed in his Ender Chest earlier. Tommy sighed, but a smirk was slowly forming at his lips. Wilbur had the right idea, and now he’s going to take it one step further. Emotion unseen on the boy before now flashed across his eyes as it seemed to shatter along with the remnants of his love for his country.
---
Tommy had settled in Pogtopia. It was unkempt, nobody went there anymore. It was just a reminder of the fallen Rebel Leader and how far he had fallen, both literally and figuratively. Tommy knew Fundy at the very least hated it here, all it did was remind him of his deceased Father whose relationship was destroyed. Tommy found the place soothing, twirling the sword of diamond in his hand, humming what he later realized was the anthem of L’Manberg.
Although he hated to admit it, he can’t take the entirety of L’Manberg himself, definitely not if Dream decided to pull some weird shit and side with them. That was a job for Technoblade, who he refused to go to, at least as of then. Tommy thought of what he could do, before realizing the two things he’d need. He had absolutely no regard for his own health, not anymore. That means he could go breaking as many rules as he wanted, right?
He remembered flying and learning to use the Elytra with Phil. He could land an air strike, plus the only other person on the server who could fly was realistically Phil. And…… Didn’t he and Tubbo played with hack clients before all this?
(WOAH QUICK CRASH COURSE ON HACKED CLIENTS)
(Basically grants magic-like powers. Depends on the client you used. They come in the form of enchanted books, but you’d know it’s a Hacked Client the moment you open them based on the power it emits and the fact that the standard galactic text on them are much more filled than your regular enchanted book. They can be detected with some gadgets, however, as some servers banned them. DreamSMP is too small to bother with hacked clients. Also their covers sometimes look different than your regular enchanted book. If you’re using a Hacked Client your name in chat appears glitched.)
Tommy dug around in the deepest depths of his Ender Chest, pushing past the junk and the discs and the tools, until he brushed fingers with a leather cover. Tommy knew he hit what he wanted, as the smile on his face grew wider. A Hacked Client, he whistled at the old book in respect. Tubbo shouldn’t have forgotten it, and Dream should’ve scanned for Hacked Clients before he entered the server.
He flipped open the book, scanning its contents with his limited Standard Galactic reading ability. Wither? Oh yeah, they had fun playing around with it, withering everything they touched. A shame it didn’t work on Netherite, but oh well, the sets of Netherite Techno had set out in the DreamSMP economy were mostly lost or reclaimed by Techno again.
He remembered how to apply the Hacked Client on himself. He laid it on the ground, muttered a small verse under his breath, as non-existant wind began to flip through the Hacked Client. He could feel the same wind push him closer to the Client. It’s normal, but he was still slightly unsettled with the feeling of wind in a ravine under the earth. The moment his skin collided with the now flipping like a whirlwind Hacked Client, Tommy felt something surge up his arm. The fingers on his right hand blackened, the blackness stretching up his forearm. His left looked normal enough, although Tommy knew he could channel the Hacked Client’s magic through it if he wanted to. A single long, grey glove sat where the book once was. It’s Wither-proof and would serve as a great cover to hide his withered hand, which would wither anything he touched with it.
Oh yes, he could make do with this.
---
<T̷̮̹̕͘o̵̹͋̐̋m̴̯̳̲͂m̵̺̞̈́̕ỵ̴͔͇͎̝͙͒͒̊̈́̆I̴̝̊͜ṇ̵̛͖̿́̅̾̈́͘n̶̩̰̟̆͆̈́̚i̶̟̖͑t̴̡̟̟͙̘͕͗͜ had made the achievement [Eye Spy] >
That message in chat had confused most everyone on the SMP. Dream had made it very clear for them not to head to the End, didn’t he? Something about rivalry over the Egg. Those who were on SMPEarth could see where he was coming from. None of them had a good feeling about this.
That was also coupled with the fact that Tommy’s name was glitched. A dead giveaway that he’s using a Hacked Client.
Everything he was doing was going against the Server Rules.
<T̷̮̹̕͘o̵̹͋̐̋m̴̯̳̲͂m̵̺̞̈́̕ỵ̴͔͇͎̝͙͒͒̊̈́̆I̴̝̊͜ṇ̵̛͖̿́̅̾̈́͘n̶̩̰̟̆͆̈́̚i̶̟̖͑t̴̡̟̟͙̘͕͗͜ had made the achievement [Free the End] >
“That quick?! I mean he’s using hacks, so it makes sense,” Fundy attempted to joke, “Is he flyhacking?”
“Tommy didn’t seem like the type to flyhack,” Niki added quietly. Tubbo knew where Tommy got the Clients from. The two were screwing with Clients on Hypixel, Tubbo wanted to slap himself. He had left Tommy with one of them, and he had forgotten.
“Wither,” Tubbo responded, “That was so stupid! We screwed around with Hacked Clients before DreamSMP that one time! I forgot I left him with the Wither client! ”
“You and Tommy did what ?” Phil made a face, “Why was I not told of this?” Oh yeah, they weren’t supposed to tell Phil because what they were doing was completely against the rules and they nearly got caught several times. It was fun, but it was in the past.
<T̷̮̹̕͘o̵̹͋̐̋m̴̯̳̲͂m̵̺̞̈́̕ỵ̴͔͇͎̝͙͒͒̊̈́̆I̴̝̊͜ṇ̵̛͖̿́̅̾̈́͘n̶̩̰̟̆͆̈́̚i̶̟̖͑t̴̡̟̟͙̘͕͗͜ had made the achievement [Remote Getaway] >
<T̷̮̹̕͘o̵̹͋̐̋m̴̯̳̲͂m̵̺̞̈́̕ỵ̴͔͇͎̝͙͒͒̊̈́̆I̴̝̊͜ṇ̵̛͖̿́̅̾̈́͘n̶̩̰̟̆͆̈́̚i̶̟̖͑t̴̡̟̟͙̘͕͗͜ had made the achievement [The City at the End of the Game] >
<T̷̮̹̕͘o̵̹͋̐̋m̴̯̳̲͂m̵̺̞̈́̕ỵ̴͔͇͎̝͙͒͒̊̈́̆I̴̝̊͜ṇ̵̛͖̿́̅̾̈́͘n̶̩̰̟̆͆̈́̚i̶̟̖͑t̴̡̟̟͙̘͕͗͜ had made the achievement [Sky’s the Limit] >
---
“Wilbur, are you proud? I’m doing exactly what you wanted to do, just on a larger scale,” Tommy said this to himself as he sat on the ledge of his base. There was another hole, it seemed someone blew it up again. His skin was pale, his blonde hair had lost its saturation. It seemed much more pale, like his skin, although still distinctly yellow. His eyes weren’t blue, they were grey. The blackness that was once limited to his right forearm now crept up along his shoulder, slowly moving to the left side of his body (Some bits of it reached the lower part of his neck and was slowly moving up too). Prolonged use of a Hacked Client could cause certain effects on people, some less desirable than others. It was a common ailment among Anarchy Servers.
His Elytra rested from his back, well enchanted. He had found a Wither-proof enchantment in some remote Nether Fortress, which helped. He didn’t want to accidentally get rid of his method of flight. He had stocked up on fireworks, withering creepers still ended up with gunpowder, it seems.
He looked like a real monster then, sitting and gazing at the nation he aimed to destroy. He looked sickly and radiated a sense of power that came with being under the effects of a Hacked Client so long. Hacked Clients are addictive, driving a person to use it more and more and distance themselves, alienating them from their peers and rendering them hated and alone.
Tommy chuckled, he knew the side-effects with being under a Hacked Client for too long. Rendering him alone. He absently noted how similar he was to Schlatt. Falling under the addiction to something doomed to end him, especially since he’s using a Wither Client, while pushing away all the support he might’ve gotten.
He really had Fallen, huh? Taking after both Wilbur and Schlatt. He wondered when it would be that he starts taking after Techno, with his anarchy beliefs and alienation from the rest of the others. Maybe he already did, if Tommy’s being honest, he wasn’t sure anymore.
If anyone was still awake at that point, they would’ve heard the haunted, hollow singing of the L’Manberg anthem drifting from the ledge near the bench, from a boy who seemed more dead than alive. From a boy who felt more dead than alive.
---
He waited. Okay, most everyone is gathered in L’Manberg for whatever they had planned. Tommy could care less, he just knew that they were there, and that meant maximum damage could be dealt. His skin barely held any color, and was just a pale shade of grey at this point. His hair was a yellow that was drained of most of its saturation. His eyes are a hollow, dead grey. The blackness from the Wither Client now stretched up to his chin and just reached a bit below his elbow.
“What? You’re not going to invite your old friend?” Tommy’s voice could be heard as all heads snapped towards him sitting on the ledge of a nearby roof. He could see the reactions from how far he had gone, he could see the reactions of the people present noting his dead, grey eyes, his pale skin causing him to resemble a ghost, the blackness stretching up his chin and down his arm, and the blonde hair that had lost its glow. He wasn’t wearing armor, he could see why Wilbur didn’t like them, but he was twirling around an enchanted Netherite sword on his finger like it was a toy. Most present wasn’t wearing armor too, to be fair.
“To be completely honest, I was just hanging around and flying stealthily with the Elytra,” Tommy continued, then shot a wave towards Dream, “How’d you like that announcement in chat that I completely disregarded your ground rules, hm?” He was acting so out of character, or was it his new character now?
“I’ve taken tips from my predecessors,” Tommy added in his speech, “Wilbur had the right idea, blowing his place up with TNT. That’s a bit hard for me to do now, isn’t it? L’Manberg is just a bunch of shacks on a crater.
“Schlatt screwed up the country from the inside. Not that I could do much about it anyway, given I’m exiled. However, addiction is a pleasant way to deal with things. Except it’s not alcohol for me, it’s to this Hacked Client.
“Techno used Withers! That’s genius! Unfortunately, with this many people, Withers are pretty damn useless. He had the right idea, if only he had more. Or if some of them are sentient.” Tommy stopped fiddling with his sword and instead set down an Ender Chest. He pulled out a Wither skull inside of it, smiling. He looked a lot like insane Wilbur Soot with a dash of ailing health on the side.
“How long do you want me to give you to run?” Tommy started laughing, he couldn’t stop, “10 seconds? 30? A minute? I think I’ll settle with 10 seconds, in honor of ten paces fire, our bow duel. That one’s for you, Dream!” His voice was sickly sing-song sweet.
“A slight reminder here!” Tommy’s voice rang out again, “The worst monsters are often created by you yourself! I gave so damn much for L’Manberg, and this is how I end up? Quite like Theseus, except I won’t go down quietly! ”
Three withers were swiftly built and released. Tommy pulled off the glove on his right hand, letting a Wither bomb of his own loose. His main goal today wasn’t to kill, he was here to ruin this nation once again. Closing his eyes with a grin playing on his lips, he let his addiction’s power fully course into the boy, the Hacked Client fueling his strength running on overdrive. The roof he was sitting on crumbled into fine, black ash, but with a quick firework play he set off again. His laugh sounded far too much like Dream’s psychotic manhunt one as he surveyed his creations’ havoc.
He merely ran his fingers along the walls, fiddling with whatever source of flames he could set upon them. The buildings fell as their support beams were turned into ash. Tommy easily turned everything else into ash as he climbed out of the wreckage. He personally tore down the bridges, the houses, the crane, and even several of those lanterns.
He could spot terrified faces, terrified of the monster they created, terrified of the husk of a boy taken over by power destined to doom him. Everywhere his hands touched, buildings fell. Tubbo had told the others that the Withering doesn’t work on Netherite beforehand, so the others had grinded for sets, or at least pieces of armor by them. Bummer.
His streak was stopped by someone launching themselves at him? Tommy wasn’t sure of what he was seeing. Due to his overuse of the Wither Client, he wasn’t physically very strong or endurable. He was just strong in terms of magic gifted by his Client, his actual body was frail and weak. A quick and well placed hit at the head was enough to knock the boy out.
---
Techno stared at the unconscious body of his little brother, his eyes flashed with a sudden fury. Tommy had felt so weak, so frail. He had ruined himself even more so than Schlatt, in terms of physical health. He had grabbed the glove Tommy dropped earlier and forced it up the boy’s Withered right hand again. It was like watching Wilbur lose himself, except this time it was to a boy far FAR younger than the age he should be snapping. He swung his trident over his shoulder, kneeling beside the boy. He caused so much more destruction than he or Wilbur did. He turned on Dream, who was approaching. His fury was detectable by all even under that mask.
“What did you do?!” Techno seethed, “I left to recuperate my resources for several months, it hasn’t even been a year. What the fuck did you do?!” Techno doesn’t normally swear, but when he does, it means that he’s pissed. And reasonably so, too. Techno didn’t need, nor want, to see another person close to him be destroyed by a Hacked Client. He grew up in an Anarchy Server, those things were everywhere.
“What did you do to push him to use a Hacked Client?! I did not need to see another person destroy their life with a Hacked Client!” His voice cracked and his throat closed up. It had been so long before Phil picked him up from that Anarchy server and taught him how to get attached again. That was the moment he learned Hacked Clients are widely unallowed among other servers, and even though some people used it for perks in minigames to cheat, they often immediately took it off before it could do any lasting damage.
Hacked Clients could be forcibly removed, but the effect it would have to a regular person is bad enough, and to an addict…… Techno really wanted to strangle Dream. He would’ve actually done that, if Phil didn’t pull him back and gently brushed his wing against him in a comforting way.
“Techno,” Phil’s voice was gentle, and Techno realized he was shaking, “Tommy will live. We can help him, yeah? This isn’t an Anarchy server where everything is shit.” Techno nodded numbly, rage still directed at the masked man standing in front of him.
“Phil, can you brief me on what happened?” Techno asked. Phil nodded, “Later. You weren’t paying attention to chat, were you?”
“Nope,” Techno sighed, “I would’ve caught the fact that he’s hacking sooner, wouldn’t I?” Silence. He shot a glare at the crowd, half of them paying attention to the wanted criminal trespassing, the other surveying the destruction caused by the one who once was the most loyal to this piece of land. Techno suspected Tommy also hasn’t been eating well along with the Wither Client always always making its users’ health worsen on its own. He was far far too light to be healthy.
(TECHNOBRO)
---
Withdrawal was never easy for any addict of any type, and it’s especially hard for Hack Addicts. The Hacked Client, if used for too long, it becomes a part of you, physically. Forcibly removing a Hacked Client is a painful process, if the patient was conscious. Luckily for Techno, he both had experience drawing out Clients and keeping people unconscious. Phil was also there for support, he knew there wasn’t much he could do. Techno was more experienced in this regard. You had to forcibly remove a Client sometimes to save your life if a Hacker rushes towards you, aiming to kill and loot your dead body.
It was scary, looking at how thin Tommy became. His skin regained a little color, and most of the blackness on his skin had retreated, leaving only his right forearm and hand still blackened, like it was when Tommy first used the Client. His hair is regaining its usual sheen of gold. He was still skinny and frail. It was a lot better than Techno had anticipated. He had seen people die the moment they withdrew.
Phil had briefed the events to Techno moments after they exited L’Manberg. If it weren’t for the situation, he would’ve laughed. He predicted it all with his Theseus speech, hadn’t he? No wonder he got that destructive over the country that threw away his trust, to the point of losing it and being so harsh on his own body. Governments were bad, he had been saying it from day one.
This SMP really fucked their family over, hasn’t it?
---
Tommy groaned as he forced his eyes open, at least the light was dim so they didn’t hurt too much. He tried to push himself up, absently noting the presence of the glove on his right hand. He failed. In fact, his body (more specifically, his legs) seemed to refuse to move, and for the first time in a very long while, he felt hungry. And thirsty, too, now that he focused a bit more on that.
“F-Fuck,” He winced as he accidentally pushed his hand too hard against the frame of what he was lying in. A bed? What- Didn’t he pass out in Manberg, on planks? Who knocked him out, or did he just randomly passed out? He wouldn’t be surprised if it’s the latter, if Tommy was being honest. He felt like shit, even shittier than the past months.
“Don’t move,” A voice demanded. It sounded deep? Huh, that’s weird. “What body part do you not feel at all?”
“My legs,” Tommy rasped, instinctively taking in comfort at the voice, even though his mind was still slow and couldn’t exactly register who it belonged to. He thought he heard a cuss from the voice, and another concerned one from a different one, much lighter. Pink hair came into view, coupled with a pink mask with tusks and red eyes gazing out of them.
“T-Techno?” Tommy coughed, “Where the fuck am I?” He tried harder to get out, but his legs were still unresponsive.
“You’re at my base- Calm down!” A steady hand reached out and grabbed the boy, “You’re not in L’Manberg! You’re in my base, far away from there! Nobody from L’Manberg or the Dream Team SMP kingdom is around.”
“Why do I feel so… shitty?” Tommy mumbled, feeling comfort with his older brother despite recent events.
“That would be withdrawal,” Techno stated dryly, “I forced the Client out of you while you’re knocked out.” Alarm shot through every single bit of Tommy’s responsive body, without the Client, he’s nothing. He’s weak, he’s selfish, he can’t do shit for his own country-
“Calm. Down,” Techno gripped Tommy’s shoulder, “I know what you’re telling yourself. That without that Client you’re dumb, you’re incapable of doing anything, and the Client’s the only reason for your success? That’s not you talking, that’s the Client. Don’t give me more bullshit, Tommy. I’ve been through the same thing, a lot younger too. I grew up in an Anarchy Server, remember?”
A young, eight year old sobbing as the winged man carried him away from the Nether that was his birth server. A young, eight year old screaming in pain as they tore a book with a golden cover, glowing in the dark. A young eight year old staring at the burns on the upper half of his face due to his Blaze Hacked Client. A young eight year old experiencing withdrawal pains at that tender age.
Tommy suddenly remembered that detail. He personally wasn’t there for the beginning of Techno’s stay at their little family, but he had seen some of the panic attacks he had when they were both a lot younger than they were now. Just teens and children.
“I-I’m sorry,” Tommy mumbled, “I’m sorry- I’m sorry.” He started crying. “I’m sorry…” A hand ruffled his hair, carrying a strength that Tommy needed and lacked.
“You’ll recover,” Techno said, “Most of you, at least. I’m not sure about the legs, I think you kept minor Withering Abilities in your right hand, it just does it slow. The black stuff is staying, and you might not be able to hit things as hard. That was stupid, you know?”
Tommy nodded numbly, a genuine smile forcing its way on his face. He didn’t need L’Manberg. It tore his family apart, but now they’re at least partly whole again. He’s learnt his lesson.