Chapter Text
Tubbo woke up to the noises of war. Hurriedly throwing on his uniform and some shoes, he runs down the stairs out to the fight. A sword on his back, a knife on his hip, and a bow in his hand, the young boy ran, possibly to his final hour.
Looking around, he made sure that there were no enemies camping his room. Once he deemed the area clear, he ran towards the sounds, placing a hand on the wall closest to them to steady themself when an explosion rocked the work in progress castle.
Running around, dodging arrows and swords that have been swung towards him, he looked for a familiar face in the crowd. They prayed to whatever deity out there that none of his friends, his family, were any of the bodies he was tripping over. Slipping in blood and wet, dewy grass, he ran for Tommy after he finally saw him.
Tommy, shield on his left arm and sword in his right hand, was fighting with someone that had backed him against a tree. Tubbo came flying, hooves first, knocking the enemy down and planting his feet on their chest. The enemy cut at them but barely grazed their leg. Giving them no reaction besides a small crinkle of their nose, he aimed his bow to their head and fired.
"Brutal much?" Tommy said behind the deer hybrid. Spinning around, a bright smile on their face,they gave a small giggle.
"We can't really be merciful in this situation." They shrugged as they spoke and watched as Tommy rubbed his hand on the part of his shirt that was not covered with his armor.
"I could've taken them."
"You were backed against the tree. And, from what I saw, they were about to take off your head big man." Tommy sighed and pushed past his friend.
"Doesn't matter, could've taken 'em." Tubbo groaned.
"We're really about to do this? There are literally people dying around us and you want to argue about if you could've taken that guy? Which, by the way, you couldn't have!" When Tommy didn't reply, just walked forward into battle, Tubbo followed.
Usually, their hooves gave them an advantage but with so many bodies and blood covering the ground he was slipping around. Tommy, on the other hand, was doing fine. He had taken off his shoes and was simply running around barefoot for optimal performance.
The two didn't get far before they were swarmed. Enemies on almost every side of the two, who were now back to back.
The sight, to anyone outside of the war, might've been a sad one. Two kids, simply fighting to live, swarmed by adults who see only black and white; friend and foe. In war, there is no child and adult, only winning and losing. You fight to win, even if it means that a few kids get hurt.
"Left!"
"Right!"
"Raise your shield, arrow rain!"
Commands were being shouted out back and forth between the kids, almost aimlessly. They were working though; slowly the crowd around them started to thin. Because of this, they could see it was because the army was retreating. They had almost won this battle, but not yet. Not when they still were surrounded by a dozen or so enemy soldiers.
"There's still so many of them, boss man! What do you reckon we do?" Tubbo called over his shoulder as he cut another down, arrow supply long gone by now.
"Fight until one side drops!" Was the response as Tommy pounced on his main opponent that had hit the sword from his hand. Ripping into the man with the hidden knife he unveiled, he looked for where his sword had gone. The search didn't last long. He ripped the knife out and put it back into the sheath and made a run for his sword.
Stopping abruptly, sword pointed under his chin, Tommy swallowed thickly. Slowly, he looked up to the black haired man that stood above him. A cruel grin on his face as he savored the fear that quickly shone in the eyes as blue as a clear sky.
"Well, hello there but it seems you've got my fucking sword you prick. Would you mind handing it back?" His blue eyes narrowed to an intense glare as the man above him chuckled, shaking his head.
"My my, didn't anyone ever teach you how to use manners?" The blond simply rolled his eyes.
"Not really, and I don't think you deserve to see me using my manners you fucker! You took my sword, a young boy's sword! And now you've got it pointed to my throat? That isn't good manners, now is it?" Tommy's voice was heavy with sarcasm and mockery as he spoke, a playful smirk accompanying.
A cough was heard from behind the black haired man, causing both men to look behind him.
Tubbo, stood on a rock with a bloodied and stolen axe in his hand, scowling at the two. The deer hybrid was terrifying; antlers broken from fighting, blood splattered on his hands and clothes, and an anger in their eyes that shone so bright, even the sun would look away.
"I implore you to step away right now Sapnap, this axe is rather heavy and it would take a lot to get it out one handed." Sapnap scoffed, now having turned his back to the seemingly harmless boy.
"And what makes you think I would ever be scared of you Tubbo? Look at you!" A wave of his empty hand towards the child he spoke about proving his point. "Barely 15, only a few years younger than me! We used to be friends Tubbo! Remember the hunting trips, the times you stayed over with Dream and I? I helped you not only build but rebuild your first house!"
Tubbo seemed to falter at Sapnap's words, their body relaxing. They seemed to soften, ready to put down the axe and call a truce. Tommy picked up on his behavior as well as Sapnap's knowing, prideful smirk. Taking his chance, Tommy sprung into action.
Jumping to the balls of his feet, he jumped at the opponent's hand that held his sword, grabbing his wrist and twisting. A strangled yelp of surprise sounded and everyone was back on their feet, ready for action.
Tubbo yelled as he jumped down, axe raised above his head. Sapnap, caught off guard by the ambush, didn't react quick enough. Arm raised with the purpose of shielding himself, only to be too late, causing Tubbo to land his mark. The axe settled nicely into Sapnap's shoulder as a painful scream was ripped out of his throat.
Tommy quickly grabbed his sword and Tubbo's now free hands and ran. Tommy didn't look over his shoulder, keeping his ears down to his head as he ran away quickly, but Tubbo did. Sapnap was right; they were friends before.
Late nights, retelling stories only he knew to be true and laughing around a warm fire. Watching friends dance in joy while they played almost any instrument passed their way. Those were simpler times and truly peaceful times, times he wished the world would return to although he knew they could never go back.
"Tubbo! Don't get distracted and keep moving! We're almost out!" Tommy shouted, snapping his friend out of their memory-induced daze. Turning forward and nodding to himself, Tubbo ran. The young boys ran as far away from the screams, blood and the bodies as they could until eventually, the deer slipped.
Grunting, they sat on their knees trying to catch their breath. They didn't care about anything else other than getting to safety, so when Tommy drug them back to standing, they didn't mind the burn it caused in his shoulder.
Finally, the two spotted Wilbur, leaning on a random soldier as he limped to a medical tent. The boys shouted, catching the rebellion's leader's attention. A small smile could be seen spreading across his face and his tail twitched excitedly with the knowledge that they were safe, his boys were safe.
"Wilbur Wilbur! Tubbo lodged an axe in Sapnap's shoulder like a real badass!" Tommy spoke loudly and rapidly, adrenaline still coursing through his body. With this news, the General looked to the smallest, a proud and surprised look on his face.
"Did he now? Stuck it to 'em! That's my boy!" Wilbur's booming voice was oozing pride as he ruffled the young kid's hair, being mindful of the antlers. Tubbo beamed with pride; he had made Wilbur proud!
"Hey! I was cool too! Sapnap almost got Tubbster over here," A quick jab in their side, causing them to wince, to emphasize his point. "to put his weapon down! Talking about past friendships and shit. If it wasn't for me being smart and taking advantage of the situation to distract as well as get my sword back, we could've been dead!"
The three others listening to the young raccoon hybrid rapidly explain what had just happened, winced at the possibility of death.
"Aye Toms, mind not being so grim?" Wilbur pleaded, a strained smile on his pale lips. He was definitely not pleased and by Tommy's current expression, he wasn't either.
Tubbo snuck away as the two brothers began to fight. He gently hopped up the hill, looking over from whence they had come. The bodies laid there, no one bothered yet until the enemy was surely gone and collected their own dead. He grimaced at the scene.
While green and red are normally colors Tubbo liked together, both have to be on the more diluted side, the way the blood caused blades of grass to visibly stick together made his stomach churn. Blood ran thick and thin if mixed with enough of the morning dew that still clung to untouched patches.
The grove was beautiful, Tommy and him had sat just a bit further up the hill, watching the sun rise what felt like mere minutes ago. They had run, well Tubbo trotted, up the hill. Tubbo beat their companion easily, light laughter bubbling out from deep inside their chest as they fell to lay in the soft grass. Tommy had scowled so long down at them that they genuinely thought his face would look like that forever. They remember asking him to stop because if it did get stuck, they would have to end their friendship. He got punched but it was worth it.
Tubbo, present time Tubbo, laughed softly at the memory. The memory is too soft, almost domestic in nature, for the two children's current situation. Barely teenagers, already at war with past friends and family.
Sitting down, they sighed as more memories, older memories, flooded back to them. Some were ones they wished to forget while others just brought a pain to their heart. They only had fond memories of their now enemies making fighting against them harder than they liked.
Wilbur spoke about Dream, a man that if you had asked Tubbo half a year ago what role in their life he played, they would've said older brother, like he was crazy. The General spoke of manipulation and threats made towards him and towards old friends often and so genuinely, Tubbo believed him. They believed him when he said they had been a victim of Dreams manipulation, that Dream didn't actually care about them, they were just a number in his vacant eyes.
At first, the young hybrid refused to believe it, finding the claims wild and nothing more than rumors the boar picked up at the docks. As time went on, however, they began to hear more and more about Dream's manipulation. Slowly, he began to distance himself from Dream even though it pained him.
He remembers the day Dream had come up to ask him why he had stopped coming around. Tubbo had cringed away, not able to meet his old friend's eyes. The way he could hear the moment realization had set in had him freeze like a deer in the road.
"You don't believe those rumors do you? Tubbo tell me that you're still on my side." Dream's voice was hoarse and full of hopeful desperation. He clung to the young boy's shirt as if scared they would run off. They might've if they knew that they could. Dream would let them, already knowing that the small deer hybrid, dressed in an old shirt of his own, passed down as a gift, believed all the rumors.
Dream didn't blame them, even their best friend's brother was talking about them. He simply wished that he was capable of stopping the rumors from spreading, and disproving them as well would be nice. But he knew all hope was lost; there was talk of revolution. Dream was only the prince, put in charge of his kingdom due to his father's death and mother's absence.
The ram hybrid prince of Greater DSMP slowly released his grip on Tubbo's shirt. The next words he spoke twisted the knife in Tubbo's heart.
"I want you to never forget that no matter what Tubbo, we were friends, I didn't manipulate you into thinking that. I do care about you and if I ever hurt you, I truly will have lost it."
The makeshift villain left his young friend to stand there, heart aching and tears brimming in his eyes. Something like regret began to pool in their stomach, causing them to slowly walk back to the only comfort they had now.
Loud noises coming from the bottom of the hill broke the boy out of his memories. He saw Tommy running towards him with Jack Manifold, a mutual friend between them, close behind. The deer smiled softly, standing up to greet them.
He had a home now and for it he would fight, even if it claimed his last breath he would fight. He would fight for himself and for his friends, now family. They all depended on one another in these times and he'd be damned if he didn't give it his best.
With memories of past friendships pushed aside, Tubbo went to greet their friends, meeting them halfway down the hill. The three went back to camp together to prepare for the next fight, whenever it would be.