Chapter Text
Tommy crouched on top of an empty building, watching Tubbo deliver his speech to the crowd of Manburg and DreamSMP citizens that had been invited to Schlatt’s festival. The whole thing was a bunch of bullshit, it was just to raise the approval ratings for Schlatt when Tubbo had done most of the work.
Next to Tommy was Wilbur, who was down on one knee as he watched the crowd. Probably looking for their enemies and gaining a headcount on how many people they would have to face. Technoblade and Pogtopia spies were hidden in the crowd but they didn’t know how many of them were actually on their side. And while there was no sign of Dream and his team, who knows when he could appear.
Tommy could barely make out Eret, Dream’s puppet king, in the crowd, standing near Niki, Bad, and Skeppy. He bet Ant, Punz, Ponk, Sam, and Fundy were nearby as well. They were horribly outnumbered, but that wasn’t was scared Tommy.
What scared him was the button hidden in Manburg that hundreds of TNT hooked up to it. A button that only Wilbur knew where it was. And Tommy was questioning Wilbur’s sanity. Technoblade was not a good influence on him and since the fall of L’Manburg, the man had been falling apart.
Tubbo was the only one he could trust. But seeing him up there, on that podium, delivering a speech Schlatt ordered him to speak at an event he organized made Tommy nervous. It made him wonder what side he was really on.
His, or theirs?
Nervously, he placed a hand on the hilt of his sword that hung by his side. His move didn’t go unnoticed by Wilbur, who eyed him suspiciously. He was so jittery and skittish these days. Like he expected a betrayal from the one person who had stuck by his side from day on.
Turning his attention back to Tubbo he watched him finish his speech. The code words hidden in the speech were never spoken and Tommy breathed a sigh. He watched Tubbo, who out of the corner of his eyes was looking up at him. He smiled. There would be no fighting, no bombs, no chaos tonight.
But boy was he wrong.
Just mere minutes later and one ender pearl jump, Tommy was cradling the body of a broken and burned boy in his arms. Technoblade stood behind him, laughing as he turned back to the crowd, shooting off more fireworks. Wilbur was gone, gone to look for the button he had so carefully hidden away. Schlatt was fleeing the scene, Quackity on his heels.
But in his mind it was only Tubbo.
“To-Tommy,” Tubbo sobbed. “It hu-hurts.”
Tommy held him closer to his chest.
“I know I know,” he said, tears flowing down his cheeks. “It’ll be okay, we’ll fix you up.”
Tubbo just continued to sob as he did his best to cling to his best friend.
“Please Toms,” he croaked. “I don’t want to be here anymore.”
“I know,” Tommy said, bringing the boy into his lap. “We’re bringing you to Pogtopia.”
Tubbo shook his head. “No, I don’t want to be in the DreamSMP anymore,” he said. “Or Manburg. Or Pogtopia. I want to leave it all behind.”
“Tubbo,” Tommy said, looking down into the eyes of his best friend. He was met with the expression of pure terror, horror, and pain. He couldn’t say no to him.
If Tommy was being honest he didn’t want to be here anymore. He couldn’t take Wilbur’s insanity. He couldn’t deal with Techno’s thirst for blood. The feeling of eyes on him at all times was too strong and his anxiety was skyrocketing. He couldn’t sleep anymore. He couldn’t remember the last time he slept, let alone slept without nightmares.
“I’ll get you out of here Tubs,” Tommy whispered, holding the boy close to him as he pulled out an ender pearl. “I promise.”
˙.・↞ ✴ ↠・.˙
A week later Tommy and Tubbo sat together in the Pogtopia ravine, hiding from Wilbur, Techno, and Niki who had followed them back to Pogtopia after the festival. Other members of Pogtopia mingled about, talking about supplies they needed for the next attack. The plan to blow up Pogtopia on the day of the festival failed, but it was just saved away from another day. Tommy hoped him and Tubbo weren’t around to see it.
“Remember our plan?” Tommy asked as he eyed the boy.
Tubbo nodded his head. It broke Tommy’s heart just looking at him. Tubbo’s arm was in a cast and sling. His entire chest was covered with bandages that were working to heal his burn wounds. A bandage was still wrapped around his head from where he had fallen back and broke his head open. Then spare bandages covered up the other cuts and scrapes that were littered around his body. Tommy may have had a scar on his shoulder from where Dream had shot him with an arrow in their duel, along with other tiny scars from other battles, but nothing on the scale that Tubbo now had.
“Come on then,” Tommy said, grabbing Tubbo’s hand and pulling him up on his feet. “Let’s get out of here.”
Hand in hand (which Tubbo teased him about and Tommy just scowled at) the two walked up to Wilbur and Technoblade. The two were probably plotting something and Tommy could practically feel Niki’s worried eyes watching him and Tubbo as they approached.
“Hey Wilbur,” Tommy said, interrupting Wilbur mid-sentence. The older man turned slowly and stared at the two boys. Tubbo shifted on his feet, his hand squeezed Tommy’s. Tommy squeezed back. Both of the boys were trying to stop themselves from shaking and looking suspicious.
“Me and Tubbo are going out resource gathering for a day or two,” he said.
“Where?” Wilbur asked. He crossed his arms and Tommy was practically sweating.
“Probably Tubbo’s hidden jungle base,” he said. “Since only a few civilians know where it is and it’s basically abandoned now.”
Wilbur nodded and allowed the boys to go. It wasn't the first resource mission the two had been on. Sure, it was the first time Tubbo had been out, but he argued that he needed Tubbo to show him the way. So the two grabbed a couple of backpacks and ran out of Pogtopia for the last time.
Tommy helped Tubbo get onto one of Technoblade’s horses. He felt bad for stealing it but it wasn’t Carl, he was pretty sure that one was his favorite. He passed Tubbo their bags, which contained food and some spare clothes and tools, along with a tent and blankets. To Wilbur it looked like the normal backpacks they would bring for going out for a few days.
Hoisting himself up next to Tubbo on the horse Tommy grabbed his compass and gave it to Tubbo, who was sitting in front of him.
“Where are we going?” Tubbo asked.
“As far away as possible,” Tommy said. “We’re leaving it all behind Tubbo.”
Tubbo nodded and pointed the compass towards the north.
“North leads to Manburg and the DreamSMP,” he said. “Further, towards the northeast is Hypixel and northwest is Mineplex. The abandoned lands of SMPEarth are towards the far east and SMPLive the far west.”
“Then we are going south,” Tommy said, turning the horse around. Tubbo nodded in agreement, looking at the compass in his hands.
“It’s somewhat comforting to know that if we just head north we’ll be back here,” Tubbo said. Tommy nodded as he flicked the horses' reins as they began tearing across the plains.
After a little while Tommy felt Tubbo relax into him, still holding the compass lightly in his hands.
“Thank you Tommy,” he said. He fiddled with the red bandana that was tied on the sling of his cast. The one that was usually wrapped around his left wrist. The one that used to serve as a tie when he had to wear a suit for Schlatt. The one that he had gotten by trading away his green one to Tommy so they could always have a memento from one another to hold close. “Thanks for running away. I know you were against it.”
Tommy bit the inside of his cheek. “I’m not so sure about that,” he said. “But seeing you on that podium, on death’s door, that was my breaking point.”
Tubbo turned his head around to look at his best friend. “Really?” Tommy nodded.
“Like I said, that day on the bench before the festival,” Tommy said, shaking his hair out of his face, “Wil’s gone insane. Techno’s thirsty for blood. I don’t think Dream is on anyone’s side but his own. You’re the only one I could trust.”
Tubbo smiled to himself and looked away.
“I get what you mean,” he said. “In Manburg, things were okay for the most part. The civilians ignored me. Quackity just followed Schlatt’s orders like a lost puppy. Fundy betrayed me and Niki would comfort me whenever Schlatt got drunk and I got in his way.”
Tommy tensed. “What do you mean by that?”
Tubbo shrugged. “It wasn’t bad. He’d just yell, and slap me sometimes. That was before I knew what he was like when he was drunk. I stayed away from him after that.”
Tommy paused for a moment before resting his chin on top of his friend’s head. Tubbo chuckled and it made him smile.
“I’m sorry you had to deal with all that.”
“And I’m sorry you had to deal with Pogtopia.”
The two boys lapsed into silence and continued on their journey. Back in the DreamSMP Tommy had left a note at his old base. It was at the bottom of a chest and would probably take a while for anyone to find, but it was a simple note saying that he and Tubbo left. Nothing about why, or where they were going, just that they were gone and weren’t coming back.
Tommy felt slightly guilty, sure. Him and Tubbo were traveling thousands of feet, miles, away from Manburg, as far as they could possibly get. So far that even Nether traveling would take forever. They would find a place to build a home. Where Tommy could grow a home and Tubbo could care for bees. Where war couldn’t find them and where they could live in peace.
Tommy closed his eyes and let out a sigh before opening them again. Him and Tubbo were together and were escaping the chaos. That’s all he needed right now.