Work Text:
"You're not gonna give him the disc, are you?", Tommy yells as he stares at his best friend. Tubbo just sighs frustratedly and throws his arms up, snapping at Tommy.
"You- You've literally proven time and time again that you can't be trusted!"
"What? No, I ha- no. Don't give him the disc, 'cause as soon as we- as soon as we take him down, we- we'll be fine. We'll be back." He smiles at his best friend with eyes full of hope, waiting for his reply. But instead of the reassuring tone he'd expected, he was met with a cold dismissive one.
"I don't think that's an option anymore."
Tommy sees Techno shift behind him and lets out a puff of air he didn't know he'd been holding in. He takes a step back and feels his big brother place a hand on his shoulder, immediately making him feel more grounded. He sighs and looks at Dream with hunched shoulders. He nods curtly and turns back to Tubbo.
"Give him the disc." The people surrounding them breaks out in chaos, confused exclamations ringing through the air. Technos tightens his grip on Tommy's shoulder and leans in to whisper to him.
"Are you sure about this, Tommy?" He turns back to his brother and smiles slightly.
"Trust me."
His brother huffs and grins, ruffling his hair. "I do, Toms."
Tommy beams and turns to Tubbo, his expression turning serious once more. "Do it. Just do it. I don't care anymore. The discs don't mean anything to me."
Tubbo blinks at him, but nods quickly after and hands Dream the disc, their audience just watching on in silent shock. Dream puts the disc in his pocket with a satisfied hum and turns back to Tommy and Techno. "So, Tommy, if the discs don't mean anything to you, what does?"
Tommy blinks and thinks for a second. "Well, I don't know. L'Manburg surely doesn't. Not anymore. I gave everything up for this nation and it's gotten me nowhere. It got Wilbur nowhere. L'Manburg is a nation that is just simply doomed. It has always been. It just..."
Tommy huffs a laugh. "It was never meant to be. An unfinished symphony. Forever unfinished."
Techno grins beside him and Dream slowly starts to smirk. "Is that so? Well, then why don't we just... blow it all up?"
The citizens of L'Manburg start protesting loudly. Techno laughs. "Hell yeah, I'm in!"
The two turn to Tommy, who is staring at the ground, pondering. Tubbo steps closer to him, making the younger's head snap up.
"Tommy, you're not actually considering that, are you?" Tommy just shrugs and Tubbo gapes. "Tommy, snap out of it. This is L'Manburg. Our home! Your home!"
Tommy scoffs at that. "Oh, now it's my home, huh?"
He turns to Dream and Techno and nods. "I'm in."
Dream grins and rubs his hands. "Great, Techno, got any withers?"
Tommy smirks and Techno shouts excitedly. "Oh, Dream. I like where this is going. You know me so well."
Dream laughs and turns to Tubbo. "You have 21 hours to prepare."
Quackity steps in and frowns. "Prepare for what? What are you saying?"
Tommy chuckles. "Doomsday, Big Q."
As their audience corrupts into chaos, Techno nudges Tommy with a proud smile and pulls out an ender pearl, his younger brother copying his actions. They quickly throw them and disappear. They go home.
Their journey home is quiet. The two brothers just enjoy each other's company, taking everything that just happened in. When they reach Techno's cottage, Phil is waiting for them with Ghostbur next to him. No, wait. Not Ghostbur. Wilbur.
Tommy blinks in confusion at the sight before him. There, standing in front of him is his older brother, alive and well. Wilbur is just smiling slightly, rubbing his neck.
Techno snaps out of the shock first and hugged the younger twin quickly, telling him he missed and loved him. Tommy blinks again at the display of affection in front of him. Phil nudges him and he snaps out of it.
Techno lets Wilbur go and the younger twin is immediately thrown to the ground by a smaller figure slamming into him. He grunts as he hits the ground but quickly hugs his younger brother back, laughing slightly.
Tommy looks up at his big brother and beams at him. "I missed you, dickhead."
He vaguely hears Techno snort and Phil laugh behind him, but all his focus is on Wilbur smiling down at him and ruffling his hair. "I missed you too, child."
The two hug each other once more and quickly stand up afterward. Phil speaks up and explains why Wilbur is alive again, saying how Ghostbur came to him and told him how he had a feeling that it was time for Alivebur to come back.
"I had to use one of your totems, Techno. Sorry." Techno waves him off and hugs his younger twin from the side, leading him inside the house. Phil looks after them and ruffles Tommy's hair before also going inside. Tommy pulls out his compass once he was alone and stares at it before making a decision. He quickly pokes his head into the house and lets his family know what he's doing before making his way over to the nether portal and throwing the compass into the lava with a tear rolling down his cheek.
When he gets home with hunched shoulders and tear-stained cheeks, Phil hurries to pull him into a hug. "It's okay, son. I've got you. I'm so proud of you.
Tommy pulls away from him and smiles sadly. "I'll go to bed now, then we can prepare tomorrow morning."
Phil nods curtly and ruffles his hair. Tommy grins. "I love you, dad."
Phil laughed. "I love you too, Toms. Go to bed now you little gremlin."
Tommy snickers and goes downstairs to collapse into his bed. He falls asleep quickly, dreaming of betrayal and hurt.
The next morning, the boy wakes up to the smell of mushroom stew and quickly gets out of bed. He climbs up the ladder and is greeted with the sight of his family already moving around the house, brewing potions, crafting gapples, and enchanting armor. He grins and grabs himself a bowl of the still warm mushroom stew, humming in content. 'This feels right. This feels like home.'
"Tommy?", Phil calls from the door and he grunts, still shoving the food down his throat. "Me and Techno are gonna go and gather some more resources. Wilbur will take care of the rest. Can you go and find some wolves and tame them? Like, a lot. They might be useful."
The boy nods and waves his dad and big brother goodbye. He doesn't see Wilbur anywhere and guesses the older boy is in the cave that Techno once showed him. Once he's done eating, he quickly grabs some bones and puts on his armor, and leaves the house.
'I finally feel safe again.'
Several hours later, the four of them are finished preparing and stand in front of the Nether portal leading to L'Manburg. Tommy feels his hands shaking as he grips the Axe of Peace, but one look back at his bickering family was enough to make him smile again. They were all he needed.
So, they go through and Tommy embraces the warmth of the Nether Realm. He looks around and grins, turning to Wilbur and elbowing him lightly. "Race you to the other side?"
He points to the path in front of him and Phil tuts. "Not on my watch, mate. I trust you and all that, but I really don't want to see either of you die in the lave right in front of my eyes."
Tommy pouts and scowls at the way Techno whacks him over the head with a grin.
"Alright fine.", he grumbles and Wilbur cackles.
When they make it to the other portal, they stop once again and Phil smiles softly. "Whatever happens in that hellhole of a nation, I love you guys and I am so proud of you. Keep that in mind."
Wilbur rolls his eyes playfully. "Yeah, whatever, Dadza. We love you too."
They all laugh and step through the portal, Techno placing a grounding hand on his youngest brother's shoulder once again.
Tommy snorts as he steps out of the portal. He can already see the change, a big obsidian-grid built over L'Manburg. Wilbur whistles and Phil laughs. "Where does Dream get all that obsidian from anyway?"
Techno huffs and takes the lead with a shrug of his shoulders. He splashes them all with an invisibility potion and they take off their armor, making their way to the grid. They tower up to it and spread themselves out on it. Techno and Phil notice Dream standing on another platform with TnT in his hand, making them wonder just how much he had brought of it. They all build the foundations for the withers, Tommy hesitating a bit.
Once they're done, the invisibility potion runs out and Wilbur sees Tubbo approaching the L'Mantree with all of the nation's citizens following him. They stop at the tree and Dream joins the other four on the grid. They curtly nod at each other in greeting before turning to their opponents.
Tubbo speaks up loudly, "You may think you're prepared, but we're here to win and fight for this nation. We will not stop until all of you are dead."
The people behind him cheer for their president, excluding Niki, Ranboo, and Eret. They just shift uncomfortably, clearly not happy with this situation. Tommy however frowns at Tubbo's words. That wasn't his best friend.
Techno cackles madly and Tommy scoffs internally at how quickly he switched from the caring big brother to the mad crazy anarchist. "Well someone's got a big ego."
Quackity growls lowly and moves to insult him, but Dream stops him by shooting an arrow near his feet. "Enough talking. I want to see this place blow up."
Wilbur winces lightly and Tommy offers him a reassuring smile before running to the wither-foundations. He quickly places all the heads and ducks behind an obsidian pillar as they come to life and attack the very living thing near them. He peeks around the pillar and sees Wilbur, Techno, and Phil hiding behind a pillar together, seemingly looking for him. He waves at them with a comforting grin and the family separates, running into battle.
Tommy doesn't really register anything, he just moves on instinct. He slashes at people and avoids their attacks. Just as he had knocked out someone, a hand grabbed him and pulled him into the caravan behind him. He turns around to see Eret and Ranboo and tilts his head.
"What do you want?"
He ignores the loud war cries and explosions outside and just focuses on the people in front of him. "We want to fight on your side."
Tommy's eyes widen at Eret's exclamation and he furrows his brows. "Why didn't you contact me earlier then? Why should I trust you?"
Ranboo snorts and the two turn to him. "I literally write all my memories into a book so I don't forget them. Do you really think I even could betray you?"
Tommy chuckles. "Fair enough. Eret?"
Eret looks at their feet. "Tubbo took my communicator. He said he didn't want me to turn my back on this nation. Not again. But here I am."
Tommy sees red. Communicators mean a lot. They're important. Incredibly so. Everyone has a right to have one. Tubbo taking that away from someone out of fear and distrust makes him want to scream with rage. But instead, he hugs Eret and smiles at them once he pulls away. "Once the battle is over, we're taking it back from him, don't worry. I'm happy to have you on our side. Now go and fight for our freedom! The government can't drag us down!"
They laugh and nod at each other before running outside and fighting once again. Tommy sees Dream, Phil, and Techno on the grid and grins. He grabs Eret, who was previously fighting near him and sprints away from the battlefield, dragging Ranboo along on the way.
The three come to a stop next to the L'Mantree, only to see it burning down. Tommy just watches it with a cold expression.
"It was never meant to be.", they hear from behind them and see Niki standing tall on the wooden stair behind them, saluting with her head held high. Tommy grins and cheers, running up to her and hugging her fiercely.
"Big Woman Niki! You never cease to scare me, woman." He laughs as they break apart and Niki grins before playfully glaring at him.
"Call me woman one more time and you'll end up like the tree." The four laugh and turn to watch L'Manburg fall before their eyes. Then, the TnT starts falling. And it is beautiful.
Tommy remembers every single time he had walked into L'Manburg, every happy memory, and grins.
"My great unfinished symphony, forever unfinished.", Wilbur says, making them all turn towards him. Niki gasps and hugs him fiercely.
"You're alive!"
Wilbur grins and holds her tight. "Phil brought me back to life. Ghost me figured it was time for me to come back."
Tommy watches them with a soft smile. He'd missed this. He's broken out of his thoughts when an arrow misses him by a few inches, making him grab his shield in surprise. He looks towards the source of the arrow and sees Tubbo with Quackity and Fundy behind him. He sees Wilbur shift in surprise at seeing his son and puts a grounding hand on his arm.
"Come to play?", Eret taunts with a grin and Tommy watches Tubbo scowl.
"Just as I expected. Once a traitor, always a traitor."
Tommy snorts, making Tubbos head snap towards him. "No, Tubbo. They just always knew that this nation was doomed. It was bound to fall. You can't save it now. Just look at it, Tubbs."
They all look at the big crater with TnT still falling from the grid. Tommy squints his eyes to see Techno and Phil watching them all closely.
"Why, Tommy? Why?!", Tubbo asks desperately and Tommy growls.
"You have the nerve to ask me why? Why I wanted this shithole of a nation to blow up? Just look at what it's done to you, Toby! Look at what it did to us! We used to be like brothers! You were family to me! I just wanted us to live in peace and have a normal childhood, but it came to this. When you became president, you completely changed! For the worse! And you don't even realize the person you've become!"
Tubbo closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. Tommy takes the moment of silence to look at Fundy, who is staring at his father with pain in his eyes. Tommy frowns and Fundy looks at him with so much regret in his eyes that he wants to vomit. He nudges his head to behind him and smiles comfortingly. Fundy's eyes widen. He's asking him to join them!
The fox hybrid takes a deep breath and slowly walks towards Tommy, who holds his arms out invitingly. Fundy picks up the pace and crashes into his uncle, who grunts at the force but still tightens his arms around his nephew. He pulls back and smiles reassuringly. He watches as Fundy practically jumps into Wilburs arms and cries, his father also close to tears.
Tommy turns back to a still silent Tubbo and sees Quackity place a hand on the boy's shoulder as if to say sorry. Then he walks over to stand next to Eret, who claps him on the back with a bright smile.
"So you all leave me.", Tubbo says in a broken voice and Tommy wants to hold him in his arms.
"It doesn't have to be this way. You don't have to be alone. We can find new happiness, away from the crater that once was L'Manburg.", Tommy whispers sadly and Ranboo places a hand on his arm.
Tubbo shakes his head and suddenly sprints towards the crater, Tommy following with a small gasp. The older boy stops at the edge and looks down and suddenly Tommy sees himself. He sees himself looking down into the inviting lava, longing for a hug, longing for his best friend. Tommy feels a tear roll down his cheek and grabs one of Tubbo's hands, making the older boy look up into his eyes.
"Don't leave me alone. Please. I need you, Toby."
And that's the final straw. They both break down and fall into each other's arms, sobbing loudly. Two teenagers, forced to fight in a war, forced to sacrifice everything for a nation. Hoping to find a new home with it. Until it all fell apart.
The battlefield is silent except for their sobs and the sound of explosions. Tubbo sniffs and pulls away. "Shall we end this?"
Tommy grins and laughs. "Heck yeah!"
The two stand up and tower up to stand on a single pillar still standing in the crater, the former citizens and non-citizens crowding around them. They look at each other and Tubbo nudges Tommy forward. The boy rolls his eyes and clears his throat. "Well, I don't think there's anything left to say, except... this, whatever fucked up shit it was, is over. We're now free to live in peace with no sides. L'Manburg never really was home. Well, for a short amount of time it sure felt like it was, but... home isn't a place. It's the people. It's family. So, instead of fighting over our differences, let's celebrate them."
They all cheer until they hear another explosion and Tommy flinches. "Could we kill the withers first though?"
The people agreed and laughed. Dream stepped forward and nodded at Tommy with a smile, making the boy realize he had taken off his mask. He sees it shattered on the floor beneath Dream's feet and grins widely. "I've got it, don't worry."
As the others walk away from the crater, Tommy watches as Dream, Sapnap, and George hug in the distance and smiles softly. He jumps up to run after his friends and gets hugged by Phil. Techno just ruffles his hair with a soft huff and Wilbur, Niki and Fundy pull him into another hug. The next day, the people of the SMP build a bridge over the L'Manburg crater, build the ruins of the community house into a big, welcoming hall and take down the prison.
That night, they all gather in the Community Hall and feast. They toast to family, friends, and peace. They sing, dance, and joke around like there's no tomorrow. But there is. And the next day would be just as filled with happiness and laughter as the day before. And it would go on.
This was what the Dream SMP was meant to be.