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War, death, and destruction are things that have always plagued these lands. Over the course of his time spent here Tommy had see so much bloodshed. He had experienced so much pain. And it all became so normal for him. He never once questioned why they were forced to fight in countless battles. He never once thought that it was weird that people always sought out to destroy the things you hold dear to your heart. Any outsider would see that this world was broken, far too gone for it to be fixed. But for the child, he expected this to happen. It was the only option he was brought up with.
Something he had never expected though was a red egg that held sentient powers that allowed it to communicate with everyone.
Whether he thought that that was possible or not didn’t matter now though, as that was the situation he was stuck in. Towering above him stood the egg, its vines stretching far and wide across the land. The blonde had only set out to investigate what was happening but that soon took a quick turn.
Sobbing loudly to his right, was Tubbo. His best friend had already touched the egg. He cried out, exclaiming that the egg had said so many mean things. Bad and Ant seemed content with this reaction. Tommy was not.
If this bastard creature was going to make the shorter boy cry, then Tommy was going to have problems. He never actually planned on having contact with the egg but once again Tommy was spurred on by his own emotions. Anger coursed through his veins as his hand reached out. As his palm brushed the uncomfortably warm surface, he tried to reel it back. Wait. This was a bad idea. No, no, no, no, no. Tommy didn’t like this anymore, he cursed himself for allowing his anger to take control of him. Sam had warned him to be careful. Tubbo was obviously upset by the egg. So why did he think it was a good idea to touch it-
Then, in the blink of an eye, there was just red.
And only red.
The egg was now camouflaged but Tommy still knew it was there as his hand was still glued to the coarse structure. Struggling, he tried to break free. Maybe this was a nightmare, maybe he would wake up. He prayed that he would wake up. But he never did. Instead, voices swirled around him. Unfamiliar tones mixed together with voices he had heard before to create a whirlpool of noise. Faint whispers, pained cries, and deafening screams. All of them hit his ears, turning his brain to mush. A familiar phrase was spoken to him. He flinched.
“Are we the bad guys Tommy?”
No. No. He refused to listen. Painful memories flooded his senses. Memories of a time he wished he buried along with his delusional leaders corpse. Everything hurt. His bones ached. It was too hot; it was too cold. Tommy didn’t want to listen anymore. He wanted to go back to Sam, continue his project. Alas, Tommy knew too well that this world would never give him what he wanted.
“You’re scared Tommyinnit.”
“You wanna be a hero Tommy? Then die like one!"
Stop. Stop. Stop it. Stop it. Stop it. Stop. He had given up on trying to understand the situation. He had given up on the hopes that he would be able to escape. Instead, he was forced to listen to sharp words that echoed in his mind, never allowing him to leave the past behind.
“I wanna see white flags!”
“Is to revoke! The citizen ship of Wilbur Soot and Tommyinnit!”
“My unfinished symphony, forever unfinished!”
He was reminded of the times where he lost everything. Defeat had become something so common to the boy.
“I care about your disks. I care more about your disks than you do! That's the only thing I care about on the server, actually!”
“Dream, please detain and escort Tommy out of my country.”
"You're like a little annoying bug in my room, and it's- You piss me off!”
“Don't do that. Y'know, I exiled you for a reason. And... Tubbo exiled you for a reason.”
He was reminded of the times where he was completely alone, left to rot by himself, his only fiend was a psychopath wearing a mask. Loneliness was something Tommy he wishes he wasn’t so familiar with.
“Well, it's not like they want you anyway, Tommy.”
“Tommy, no-one showed up to your party, and everyone was invited.”
Shutting his eyes tight he forced out a scream. He tried to make a noise that would drown out the persistent voices.
“It was never mean to be.”
Then it went silent. The phrase was like lemon juice that was being poured into all he open wounds. It stung, everything stung. It really was never meant to be. Tommy had been abandoned and betrayed and left and broken and beaten and defeated and he was sick of it all. He was so sick of it-
“It's not your time to die yet, Tommy.”
It never was his time to die. No matter how much he had begged and prayed and hoped that the next day would be his last, the end never came. Trapped inside a cycle of genocide and fighting. Stuck in a pool of blood, the thick liquid drenching his clothes, making it impossible to swim to the surface.
Engulfed in a sea of crimson he struggled to breathe. It seeped into his bones. It covered him. It suffocated him. Around him the past, the present and the future morphed together, creating one big cacophony of noise. Everything was too loud, nothing made sense.
Then one singular voice spoke out to him. It carried a persuasive tone. It felt warm. It felt welcoming.
Escape was no longer an option now, instead his body melted away, leaving him with only his thoughts and weakened mind.
The egg spoke out to him and this time he listened.
Fear that had once occupied his whole being had slowly been moulded in frustration. If he wanted this all to end, why didn’t he just do it himself? Sick and tired of the way the world has treated him, this time he opened up to the voices. And the voices noticed this vulnerability. They exploded. The requests, the commands, everything they said reached out and grasped every inch of his body.
Tommy welcomed it.
Then the world around him seemed to come back. The red subsiding, revealing the egg once again. He slowly removed his hand; how long had he been just stood like that? Tommy found he didn’t care for an answer.
“So, what did it say?”
Bad’s voice was what pulled Tommy out of his trance. Turning to him, he grinned. Implacable feelings of pain and betrayal had rooted itself deep inside Tommy’s heart. No longer was he stuck in a state of trepidation, instead he craved revenge for all the indignant actions that had happened to him. Resentment for the world filled his soul.
“I’m going to join the egg.”
-----
Sam had let out a gasp. This wasn’t meant to happen; he was meant to protect the kids. He didn’t even believe the egg had the abilities that Bad claimed it had. But then he had definitely heard what Tommy had just stated even if he didn’t want to believe it was true.
“Tommy, wait no-” He called out but then stopped once the blonde turned around to face him.
Eyes that once sparkled like sapphires were now a murky shade of purple. Slowly they were changing, morphing from the hopeful ocean eyes he had once know, into malicious scarlet eyes that were only full of vicious intent.
Sam didn’t even try and listen to what the boy wanted to say to him, instead, rushing forward and grabbing onto his sleeve. His other hand reached out for Tubbo as he fought against Tommy, who was now obviously thrashing around in order to get free. He ordered Tubbo to throw an ender pearl towards the exit. Sighing in relief when the brunette followed his orders, showing he wasn’t too far gone just yet, they flew across the room.
Everything around him was a blur as he rushed up the stairs, dragging the two children along with him. Angered shouts from Bad became distant. Sam was lucky enough to have basic fighting and defence skills, as he was sure anyone who wasn’t experienced wouldn’t have been able to contain the flailing boy. Tommy screamed and he yelled, and he kicked, and he hissed. Sam just kept his eyes set on the white building that was now coming into view.
He pleaded that he wasn’t too late.
Reaching the entrance, he wasted no time, shoving both boys into the gentle flow of water in the middle of the church. They tumbled down and became silent. Sam wasn’t sure if this was a good sign or not.
Tubbo was the first to stand back up, his broken sobs no longer escaping his lips. Tired eyes looked up at Sam, and he was glad that his pupils didn’t have an overpowering red hue to them. Smiling softly, he held out a hand, which the boy took graciously. “W- what happened?” He quietly asked.
Sam opened his mouth to answer but was interrupted by the sound of splashing. Glancing over to Tommy he felt his heart stop.
Tommy glared at him, his pupils still a deadly shade of cerise.
“Tommy-” He started.
“No Sam,” the blonde spat out, each word laced with resentment, “I’m going back.”
A faint whisper of confusion left Tubbo’s mouth. Sam didn’t blame him; he was obviously unsure about what was happening. Sam knew what had happened though. And he cursed himself for not being able to bring protection to the one person who needed it the most. Attempting to somehow reverse the effects, he offered a hand to Tommy. Violently, the boy slapped it away, turning back towards the entrance.
Sam didn’t even try to follow him. He even gently grabbed onto Tubbo when the boy attempted to run after his friend. Silently watching the figure disappear in the distance he felt his heart smash into several, delicate fragments. This egg was something no one could understand, it was on a completely different level. People got lured in by it until they were caged in with no escape. This had happened to an already broken child. A child who was so sick and tired of the pain and loss he had experience, he decided to just give in.
When Dream had been locked up it was the sign that a new era was going to start. Sam was hopeful, certain that Tommy was finally going to receive the peace he deserved. But the mannerisms the boy had just shown, the eyes the boy used to stare him down, they weren’t peaceful at all. So, Sam stood still, the only thing that lingered was the foul taste of despair. Today the egg had captured another victim.
The egg had claimed victory. Sam had been served defeat. Tubbo had managed to escape. Tommy had not been so lucky. And around them, the world seemed to shatter.