Work Text:
Fuck.
Goddamnit.
After spending such a long time trying to get into the Dream SMP, hijacking various hub portals, making his own hacked portal, spending hours upon hours with Bitzel and Luke in a call without a minute of sleep! They have the audacity to just... invite him in?
Well, he will accept the offer, but god will he be upset for a while. He gave Luke and Bitzel a quick heads up. He's going to find out what happened to their sunshine.
Clutching his expensive Midas' sword in hand, he steps through the ominous, highly secured portal. A dizzy feeling settles in his body as he is thrown into a whole different place in the universe.
[TimeDeo joined the game.]
First thing Deo noticed and took note of was a forest. Spruce trees, and a lot of cobblestone and oak planks.
"What a nice spawn area." He murmured to himself. By that he meant; the place was in utter ruins. Half cut down trees towering over him, wooden planks and cobblestone placed around to serve as a wall. The wood, he guessed, was quite old and spoiled. The place smelled filthy.
At this point, Deo took note of the massive vibrations in his pocket. A brand new communicator exclusive for the Dream SMP. Other members were probably going crazy, he was an unexpected guest after all.
The blade the brunette wielded went through no changes when he was teleported.. That was weird by itself. Usually, the Midas' sword shifted into an overpowered netherite or diamond sword.
Odd.
Thinking of the mighty blade, Deo recalled a memory.
"I'll MLG with your billion coin Midas!"
"Tommy, oh my god, do not-"
...
"I got it! I've actually caught it, Deo!"
Deo chuckled at the replay of said memory in his mind. His sunshine really knew how to play with his nerves.
Speaking of...
The brunette snapped from his little trance, remembering his one mission he had to complete here.
Tommy, after SMP Earth faced its bittersweet end, left for the greater Dream SMP. It was hard to leave, of course. Leaving his boys, his family behind.
They kept in contact though. The blonde would send all of the business boys letters, explaining all the things he was up to. It started with a strange attachments to music discs. Now Deo was in no position to judge. He knew Tommy clung to items a lot. Hence being a lone faction member for such a long time before Wisp joined him.
It followed up with a war for those discs, which he came out victorious in. The younger really made double sure the letter clearly stated: I AM THE VICTORIOUS BIG MAN.
Then it suddenly folowed up with a country called L'Manberg. A revolution. Tommy stopped being consistent with his letter sending. His handwriting, which had always been neat and gentle turned rough, and rushed. The papers were torn, even burnt in some places. Wars occured according to him. Deo was introduced to the weird canon life system shortly after, with Tommy stating he had lost two of his three lives in the revolution, along with his beloved discs.
The brunette was already worried before, but reading that sparked the first need to break into the smp. To keep close, protect his sun. But Deo knew better. Tommy was strong. Really strong.
Few months after the revolution, there was an apparent election. Tommy was very excited about that, he kept going on about it, how they'll dominate their rivals.
They didn't get a lot of letters after that.. maybe Tommy was too busy with managing the country with Tubbo. Yes, Tubbo. Tommy made it clear that Wilbur handed off the presidency to the small brunette, because he wanted to move in with their father?
It was definitely a little odd that Wilbur would just leave Tommy like this. Then, there were apparently more shenanigans with Dream, possibly just little friendly fights, Deo assumed.
Then, the letters stopped.
None of the business boys were getting letters, not even Deo, who always got a few extra more. Nothing. All of their communication with Tommy was cut short with the loss of the letter sending. Now, the three would send their own letters, but still, they never got a response.
It's been many months since then. And Deo was finally in. The autumn sky was going to find his sun, even if it'll be the last thing he'll ever do.
By this point, the brunette was already out of the spawn area with the help of some specifically placed wooden planks, and a little bit of jumping. Who even made such an evil spawn? Sheesh.
Deo saw faint lights through the spruce trees. They were prominent too, he joined at nighttime. There were no mobs around, sadly, he couldn't test out his sword, but at least he could follow the lights easily.
At last, he arrived to a giant nether portal. And a little farther was a brick house. The community house, Deo remembered from Tommy's letters. A building free for everyone to use, the center of the smp.
The house was quite nice from the inside, although the crafting table floor bothered Deo quite a bit. There was also a bed, and a lot of chests.
"Might use some food.." He muttered, stomach grumbling slightly. He snatched a few baked potatoes from one of the chests, taking a mental note to give it all back later.
It was surprisingly quiet and empty. Deo hasn't seen a single member yet. Well, it was nighttime, maybe they were all asleep.
Deo didn't mind it though, he really liked the quiet.
I live to the west of the community house. I wanted to write left, but Tubbo fucking said it doesn't really help. What the hell, man? I'm the human gps!
Deo giggled a little to himself, his sun was really silly, it was adorable. He couldn't wait to see Tommy again. He hoped he was alright. Deo turned to the left side, and there, indeed, was a mark that said "W".
The smp looked fairly pretty. No griefed builds, no danger.. it looked pretty great.
Deo walked by a huge black wall, Punz's house, and a few more cute little builds, until he reached a hill.
My house, Deo, it's on this huge hill! It SCREAMS big man, even the house that I built! The coolest dirt shack you'll ever see, better than your little skyblock island. I had a small fight for the land though, but I won in the end!
Deo walked the huge set of oak stairs, excitement and small fear flowing through him. Was Tommy okay? Would he barge into the teen's house with a bear hug that both of them definitely needed?
Once he was up, Deo noticed a few things. A tower, a bench under a tree with a jukebox next to it, statues of Tommy on the dirt shack? (The shack totally screamed Tommy) And flowers..
A lot of them, actually. Deo hummed, Tommy liked flowers, right? It wouldn't be a big deal if the teen had some of those around the house. Business Bay was littered with flowers after all.
He walked over to the small dirt shack, noticing a sign above the door that said; "Tommyinnit's big man home."
The place was eerily quiet. Deo had a very bad feeling that grew bigger with each second. Clutching the oak door handle, Deo held his breath,
And opened it.
The door creaked loudly than an everyday used door would. Once he stepped inside, despite wearing a sweater with an undershirt, the brunette shivered. Next thing he did, was scrunch up his nose, and cover it with his hand with a groan. The inside smelled horrible. The atmosphere felt hot, and wet, there was dust everywhere, and cobwebs covered the corners of the dirt walls. it felt..
Dead.
Deo continued a little further inside, there were a couple of double chests along the walls, mostly filled with junk, or plain out empty.
Out of nowhere, he heard a quiet shuffle. Deo turned around quickly, sword already in hand and ready to fight whoever disrupted the quiet.
It was only the wind.
A faint breeze blowing inside through the open door. With a hum, the brunette hid his sword into his sheath, letting his hand rest along his body. The air in the shack had gotten better.
Another shuffle got Deo's attention. He turned to the right, catching the sight of a simple red bed. Upon it rested the source of the shuffles; a paper, and above it laid a single red carnation. Another shiver rang through Deo's body as he approached the bed. Reaching for the paper with a trembling hand, his breath feels heavy. Eyes focusing through the lenses of his sunglasses, Deo reads;
"Lost at the hands of his enemy.
His beloved discs, hidden in his enderchest.
He can finally rest easy.
He left us too soon, our boy.
Forever loved, and never forgotten."
There were some signatures at the bottom of the paper. Some people, Deo remembered from Tommy's letters, although the majority of names was completely new to him.
All colour seemed to have left his face.
His breath was shaky. He couldn't- Tommy couldn't be-
Letting go of the paper, Deo stumbled backwards, his legs felt weak as he dragged himself across the muddy flooring.
"Tommy?" He called as he stumbled outside, head snapping from side to side in an attempt to find him- his sunshine, the boy who made everything worth it.
"T-Tommy!" He examined the area more, finding nothing more than just a carrot farm that looked like it hadn't been attended to in years.
"Sunshine- Come out, this isn't funny!" Deo yelled out into the dark night. He stayed silent afterwards, breath coming in quick.
All of a sudden, there was a snap of a twig.
Senses going alert, the brunette quickly turned around, now looking at the bench and the tree. Deo stepped closer, only hesitating a little bit when he saw a white mist of some sort shuffle behind the tree.
Now being extra careful, Deo approached whatever he just saw.
"Tommy?"
Another step, Deo reached for the trunk of the tree as he walked around it, and-
"No!"
Deo only yelped quietly in surprise, stepping back slightly at the echoey, high pitched voice that rang in his ears. He didn't keep his eyes off of what spooked him.
And now, TimeDeo himself could say that for once in his life, he was speechless.
In front of his stood a boy. A pale, skinny transparent boy. Hair dull light white with a tint of gold. A face light gray with faint blue bruises, which also appeared on his neck.
He wore a red, short sleeved sweater, a white long sleeved undershirt peeking from underneath. A green bandanna was tied around his right arm.
Around the teen's neck was a compass that appeared half broken. His eyes were wide in fear, tears prickling at the corners. The.. The ghost's pupils held a majestic blue colour, like the ocean itself. An ocean, above which a bay stood.
They looked dead, and dull.
Deo knew who he was looking at. He was shocked.
"Tommy..?" He only said with a quiet, gentle voice. The ghost only whimpered, hiding behind the tree trunk again.
"Danger.." He sung.
"I mean no harm. I promise."
A whine, followed by the boy hiding even further behind the tree.
Deo furrowed his eyebrows. He needed to get through to him. He had to.
An idea popped into his mind right away. Carefully, Deo crouched down slightly, reaching around the grass for a flower. His fingers finally grasped a stem. It was an allium.
Tommy liked alliums, he recalled. The teen would always put them in flower pots, have his own little garden, or give them to the other faction members as a reminder of being grateful that they're still with him. And despite the flower's unpleasant smell, they always appreciated it.
"Look, this is for you." The brunette looked as non-threatening as he possibly could as he held out the purple flower. The ghost looked like his mind froze for a second, before his hazy eyes fixated on the offering as he stepped out.
Their fingers touched ever so slightly as Tommy grasped the flower. Deo noted, he was cold, really cold. The ghost wasn't 100% transparent either. He felt the smallest friction between their fingers as they touched.
Deo let the other examine the present, eyes focusing and unfocusing before a gasp escaped him. Tommy looked up at the brunette with a child like wonder.
"Deo!" He smiled, holding the allium as he threw himself at the older, Deo barely managing to catch the ghostly teen.
To say the touch felt odd would be an understatement. It was straight up strange, and weird. It felt hot and cold at the same time as Deo held Tommy gently, the teen responding by nesting his head against his chest as he murmured one word;
"Safe."
Deo felt a rush of emotions rush through him in a giant wave, his legs buckled a little, the weightless ghost felt like he weighted tons. He kept standing though, only moving slightly towards the bench.
"Let's sit down, yeah?"
Only getting a content sigh in response, the brunette sat down with the ghost still clinging to him. With a quivering hand, he tried to run a hand through the pale hair, but his fingers only caught a few strands, the rest, he just phazed through.
"Tommy?"
"Phantommy."
"I- What?"
"I-I'm.. M-My name is Phantommy."
Deo only made a small "Oh." In response, leaning further against the bench to get more comfortable.
"T- Phantommy," Deo said, catching the ghost's attention, curious, dull eyes staring into his lenses. "do you remember me?"
The teen nodded enthusiastically, beaming up at the older.
"I-I do! Kind of.. I don't remember a lot. But I like you here."
"What do you mean; don't remember a lot?"
The ghost shivered.
"It- W-Well.. Everyone I've met, I ran from. I remember bad things. There's no good.." Phantommy fell quiet for a moment, before smiling again. "But it's different with you!"
Deo hummed, eyes, now a little watery never leaving the ghost. "Different?" He asked.
"Yeah! It's like you never did anything bad to me.. you made alive Tommy feel safe and happy, and you never hurt him.
Alive Tommy
So his suspicious were correct.
Deo's friend. His best friend, his sunshine, dead. Gone, as if everyone forgot about him. As if everyone forgot that he was a just a kid.
"Who did this to you?" Deo asked, gripping the ghost as much as he could, still phasing through him most of the time.
Deo's emotions were getting overwhelming. "W-Who did-"
"Dr-Deam.." The teen visibly trembled in his arms as he said that godfrosaken name.
The cup was overfilled.
The brunette's shook with anger. Whoever the fuck did this to his sun was going to pay. He'll take all of Dream's lives, and hunt the ghost that remains. Deo will never let him rest easy. He-
"Deo!"
The mentioned noticed he lost himself in his thoughts. His chest was rising rapidly, mind longing for Tommy's killer's blood. But the gentle, shaky voice of his now dull sun in his strong arms brought him out of the killer mindset.
With a small, tired groan, he looked down.
"Yes, sunshine?"
The ghost only cuddled into Deo's chest even further, before rapidly sitting up, and fumbling around in his torn jeans' pockets. The older watched patiently. Phantommy held the childish silliness that Tommy always had. And now he's just..
"Found it! Here!" Phantommy beamed, pushing something soft, and mushy into Deo's open hands.
"Have some red, calm yourself!"
Deo looked at his hands; They were stained with red dye. A red cloth dripping with dye sat in his palms as he eyed the item in confusion. "Red? Sunshine, what is-"
The teen shushed him.
"You can hold the red, and it sucks all of your anger away! Then you can throw away the red along with your anger! I don't like it when people are angry, it's not good for anyone in the long run.." He sang enthusiastically to the older, voice echoing.
"Y-You looked- I just thought It'd help... and it did!"
"How-?"
"See?"
The brunette looked back down at his hands, somehow really feeling more relaxed than before. His shoulders weren't tense, and his breathing was calm. "Huh, this works." He murmured. Maybe he didn't fully believe in the red yet, but he played along as to not upset the poor ghost.
With a smile, he closed his hands, and stuffed the red cloth into his pocket.
"I'll keep that for later, it's got some room left for more."
That brought a big happy smile to Phantommy's gray, bruised face. With a giggle, he dove back into Deo's protective hold, the older doing his thing, and wrapping one arm around the teen's skinny frame, and sneaking one hand into his transparent hair. Phantommy gave a content sigh as he curled into the hold, body fully resting on the bench, and on Deo.
"Are you here to stay..?" He spoke quietly, voice painfully whiney. Something squeezed in Deo's chest. Guilt. Grief.
"Of course I am."
"W-Will you.. stay with me?"
A tear slipped out of the brunette's eye. The ghost's partial transparency preventing him from holding onto his sun even tighter.
"Forever."
---
"Timedeo..huh."
"Yes, that is correct."
"Alright, Im gonna have to ask you a quick few questions before we proceed into the prison. I want you to speak nothing but the truth.
"..."
"When was the last time you've visited the prison?"
"I have never visited before."
"Where is your place of residence currently located?"
"Big Innit hotel, owned by Tommyinnit. Though I plan to build my own house away from the SMP lands."
"Alright.. Do you believe the prisoner is deserving of being locked up?"
"... Not at all."
"Oh? And may I ask why do you think that?"
"He doesn't deserve to be locked up and live."
His hands clutched the Midas' sword, tears pricking at his eyes as red stained his jeans, but he didn't want to hold it just yet. Deo says;
"He deserves to fucking die, and never walk on these godforsaken lands ever again."