Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

 He opens his eyes to the void. A cold, empty space reflecting nothing but darkness. He can't sit up, he doesn't even know if he's laying down. He doesn't know if he's actually there right now. Everything feels numb, as if he's just consciousness, with no physical body. Unable to look around, unable to call out. Who he'd call out to, he doesn't know. Anyone would be fine, really.

 Actually, what's bad about his situation? Sure, he's completely alone, with not a sign of life in sight, but that's just a glorified example of his every day life. It's not as if the tired beings he calls people down in the slums are actually living. Not a thought is behind the eyes he makes contact with every day. He wonders if he looks the same.

 So yes, maybe he shouldn't take his situation for granted. It's a blessing, if anything. Not feeling the phantom pain of crushed bones and a weight covering him, making him smaller than he's supposed to be. It's a blessing not to feel tired, or hungry, or as if he's drowning just because he can't see the sky.

 It's a blessing until he feels hands that aren't there on him, hears noises and sirens that he can't see surrounding him, overwhelmingly loud. It's a blessing until people are yelling, and his wrist is too warm with contact, and when he feels his body being shook harshly in a feeble attempt to keep him awake. Everything is too much. Too loud, too warm, too cold, too painful, he wants it to stop. He wants to go home. He wants to go to his familiar, faded green couch that's so worn down he sinks into it's cushions like clouds. He wants to go sit in his familiar, small kitchen that only has two, mismatched chairs sitting across from each other, a plastic table the only thing separating him. He wants to go back to his small apartment, with no internet, and little service, where the only working device is the dingy house phone that rests on the wall beside the door. He wants to go home. He wants to go home. He wants out from whoever's arms are holding him, out from under whatever is making his legs feel as if they're but only rocks that kids walk on just to hear the crunch. He. Wants. Out.

 Tommy wakes with a silent in take of air, grasping his sheets in a weak grip. The air in his room is stale as he wakes from the nightmare, the temperature an awkward lukewarm, and not helping the sweat that rolls down his shivering form. Sighing, he sits up, flicking on the lamp on his nightstand and filling the room with an artificial light that gives him a headache. He can see the beginning of morning peaking through his blinds, and purses his lips. He swallows with an empty mouth, getting up for the day.

 Peaking at the clock that rests above his kitchen sink as he reaches for the bananas on top of the fridge, he sees that it's about six in the morning, a time where, if he were to go out, he wouldn't be judged for being up too much. He remembers noting yesterday that he had something to do... he just can't remember what. Looking around the kitchen, he sees if he needs any groceries. Seeing that he has enough food to last him another week or so, he deems that it wasn't groceries. It's then that he looks down at his hoodie, which is a pale orange, with sleeves that pass his hands. The cloth has a few stains here and there, and while he doesn't mind going out with stained clothes, this is enough for it to be embarrassing. Laundry it is, then.

 Huffing, he chews on his fruit as he picks whatever clothes he finds up, dropping them in a basket before taking off the hoodie he's wearing, adding it to the basket. The T-shirt he wears under isn't as dirty, only having a few crinkles and tears here and there. So, to cover them up, he decides to just throw on a a gray-brown jacket, with what was probably meant to be fluff lining the inside. Slipping his battered sneakers on, he steps into the hallway of his apartment building, basket sat on his hip so he can lock his door.

 The building doesn't have a washer and dryer in it, the owners either not having the money, or not caring enough to add one. Either way, Tommy usually goes to the laundromat a few streets down instead. He thinks the owner thinks they're friends due to how long he's been going there, and how often the guy tries to make small talk with Tommy while the boy sits on a bench, waiting for his laundry to finish. Don't get him wrong, the dude's nice, Tommy just doesn't really care about how his dog is doing.

 Shivering a little, Tommy nods a thanks to the lady who holds the laundromat door open for him as he meanders through the building. The temperature outside has been unpredictable lately, seeing as it's on the brink of autumn. Especially for the blonde, seeing as he can't check the forecast due to his lack of devices of money for one. Sitting on a bench as his clothes begin to wash, he doesn't even blink when someone sits next to him. "Hi, Tommy." Bad grins, not even facing the boy. Said teen hums, leaning his arms on his knees. "Bad."

 The man begins his usual bout of small talk, even handing Tommy a warm croissant. Okay. Tommy never said he hated the guy, let him reiterate that. The two talk for a bit, Tommy having to get up to move his laundry to the dryer whilst Bad has to occasionally go and help someone out, be it a customer or an employee. It's right when Tommy stands up to retrieve his now dry clothes something happens.

 "-but thank you for the croissant." Tommy says with a tired nod, Bad grinning in response, opening his mouth to say something before Tommy is suddenly pulled to someone's chest, a cold, hard object resting against his neck. "I'm going to need everyone to sit down on the ground, or else this kid is dyin'." A bored voice drawls, and Tommy freezes. He recognizes that voice, having been taunted with it back when he was still a hero.

 The Blood God.

 "There is someone in this building that we want to step up, so for the sake of this teenager, please quietly come forward when we call your name." A lighter voice calls as people scramble to sit down on the sticky floor, Bad dropping to his knees in an instant for the boy's sake. That voice belongs to Soot. Something must've happened to either Soot himself or one of their associates for the Blood God to be out here, the man never really intervening with his family's antics unless one of them is harmed.

 It's silent for a moment as the two holding Tommy hostage scan the room. There aren't many people in the building; Bad, about two of his employees, and three other patrons excluding Tommy, one of them being a little girl with her mother, and the other being an elderly man. The boy swallows against the blade to his neck, stance as stiff as a rock. He knows he's going to have to rest his leg soon, his knee still not used to supporting metal. His other leg is still sore as well, the numb pain of it being used is slowly gaining on Tommy.

 He really hopes this wraps up soon, he doesn't really want to be immobile in the middle of a laundromat.

 "Quackity?" Soot calls, and Tommy can tell from the tone the man uses that whoever Quackity is is definitely in for it. From the corner of his eye, he sees one of the employees stiffen, but doesn't step up. Alright, so that's either Quackity, who values his life more than a teenager missing a leg, or they know Quackity and doesn't want to out their friend. When no one moves, the Blood God sighs, positioning his foot over Tommy's. Specifically Tommy's prosthetic. "Sorry kid." He mumbles, before stomping on the fake appendage. Tommy winces reflexively, but doesn't feel any pain other than a tingle from the sudden movement. When the man's foot meets metal instead of a foot, he lifts his foot and looks down, blinking at the... very cheap looking prosthetic foot. "Oh... Uh... Wow."

 Tommy huffs, also looking down at the foot. Like hell he's gonna be able to walk home on that and carry a basket full of laundry. Soot steps closer, looking at what his friend is looking at. "Oh. Holy shit- Dude, you just ruined this kids prosthetic-" The brunette points out, laughter in his words. Tommy sees Bad looking at him with a pained face, and Tommy just sighs. "This might as well fuckin happen-" He mumbles to himself, making the villain... vigilante... guy behind him laugh as well. The laughter stops when cop sirens are heard, and the hold on Tommy tightens. "Alright, not sure who called the feds, but we're off. Quackity, we know you're in here, and you should know that you aren't safe for long." Soot calls, and Tommy feels himself being dragged to a bench, before he's sat down. Looking up, he sees Soot rummage through his pocket, before what looks like a hundred or so dollars is handed to him. "Sorry about your foot, mate." The man whispers, before he and his associate are off.

 Outside of the window, Tommy can see the police and some heroes make chase for the villains as people inside of the laundromat begin to relax. The blonde runs a hand down his face as Bad sits next to him, a sad smile on his face. "Do you need a ride home?" The man asks quietly, and Tommy sighs. He doesn't want to say yes, but it's also not very likely that he'd have a safe trip back to his apartment. So he nods, glaring at the floor as Bad hums. "I know who Quackity is, but he wasn't here. He's one of my employees, and took off today because of sickness." The man explains, taking Tommy's basket of clothes and holding out an arm for the boy, who takes it gratefully. "That'll be great for the police." He huffs, standing shakily.

 The employee who Tommy noted earlier steps closer to them, clearing his throat. "Uhm- Bad?" The man in question looks over with a hum. "Uh... I think I know why Quackity is in trouble."

_-_-_-_

 As Tommy sits on his couch, prosthetic on the dingy little coffee table held up by a sponge on one leg in front of him, he thinks back on this morning. Apparently Quackity has been selling both hard drugs and information to heroes and villains alike. That's not really Tommy's problem though, seeing as he isn't a hero anymore.

 His problem is the fact that his leg is fucking ruined and the hundred dollars that Soot handed him isn't going to do much when Tommy can't go to the repair shop to get it fixed. Well. He could, but crutches are a fucking pain to use in public. People either never make way for him, act like he's a three year old with a boo-boo, or is an absolute asshole and kicks his crutches out from under him. Humans are dickheads, and Tommy would like to not be associated with them.

 Also, it is very likely that he'd get mugged or some shit due to the blatant weakness, so he'd rather not go out there.

 He guesses he'll just have to wait until he absolutely has to leave the apartment. God, why didn't he just go get groceries?

 A knock on... his window, interrupts his thoughts. Sighing, very deeply, and very loudly, to the point that the window-visitor can definitely hear it, Tommy turns and looks to see none other than Soot himself perched on his window. Lovely!

 Grabbing his crutches and standing up, Tommy limps his way over to the window, opening it with a scowl. "This better be worth my time or so help me I will shove you out of this God damn window." He hisses, not caring that he's spitting malice at one of the top villains. Said villain blinks, before grinning. "You can't do that, you'd kill me!" He jokes, though Tommy is very obviously unenthused "All the more reason." He grumbles, leaning to the side so the man can get inside. He's not quite sure why he just let Soot, a very dangerous man, into his home. Maybe it's for closure. "I like you, you're funny!" The man grins, closing the window while the other hand rests on his hip. Tommy hums, using his crutches to bring him back to his couch.

 A weight rests on the other side of the, admittedly small, couch. The man beside him mumbles about how it's a nice couch, to which Tommy doesn't respond, opting instead to glare at the broken leg in front of him. Soot looks at it too, hissing a little when he sees the damage of it. "Sheesh. I didn't think it was that bad." He whispers, and Tommy huffs. "It wasn't at first. I just had to walk up four flights of stairs while holding a basket full of laundry with it. Fell a couple of times. Y'know." He spits, well aware of how annoyed he sounds. Soot hums, nodding with an awkward air to him. "Yeah... uh... sorry." Tommy grunts.

 It's silent for a tick before Soot speaks again. "But! I came here because me and my brother felt really bad about your foot, even if he doesn't seem like it, so I wanted to offer something," The man starts, turning his body so he's facing Tommy and sitting crisscross on the couch. "If you let us pretend to hold you hostage against the heroes, we'll fix your leg right up. Actually." He peaks over at the shoddily made prosthetic with a sheepish grin. "We'll just make you a new one."

 Tommy blinks at the man. It's a tempting offer, and since they're faking a hostage situation he wouldn't be, like, tortured or anything. He doesn't think he'd be tortured either way; he's been told that Soot and his associates don't harm kids. Well. Not that. Not that Tommy is a kid. Fuckin... whatever. "Yeah, sure. What would you even trade me for?" He shrugs. Sure, he was a hero at one point, but there isn't really too much harm in the stunt. And hey, it's literally him just chilling at some dude's base while his leg gets fixed. Everything works out on his end.

 "Way to objectify yourself, kid." Soot jokes, rolling his eyes with a snort at the raised eyebrow he gets for it. "But I dunno, maybe like... Fifty grand? We could split the money." The man says, nudging the boy with his elbow. "You're already fixing my leg for free, why would I also get fifteen thousand out of this?" Tommy asks with a whack to the offending elbow. Soot leans back, rolling his eyes. "Well, we'd only be fixing your leg because we're the ones who broke it! That's already an exchange within itself. The hostage situation is an entirely different thing."

 Tommy squints, scrutinizing the man before him. He doesn't... think there could be any catches with the exchange, and the man did seem genuinely sorry for his partner's- brother's, harm. And even if there was a catch... what does Tommy have to lose? "You have yourself a deal, Soot." He says, outstretching his hand. "Please," The man grins, taking the hand. "Call me Wilbur."

Chapter Text

 Obviously, Tommy couldn't have been 'kidnapped' right then and there. No one would notice the boy was gone until either Bad noticed his absence, or someone comes up to get his rent only to see his apartment covered in a layer of dust with a broken leg sat on the table. Mechanical, obviously. It'd be pretty concerning if there'd been a real leg on his table.

 Point being, Soot and his friends, accomplices, whatever, had to make a scene, put themselves in a tight situation, and then nab Tommy. Which means he'd have to be there. Meaning he'd have to use his crutches in public. Siiigggghhhh.

 It's the morning after their agreement that Soot- fuck- Wilbur sends Tommy their plans, the two having exchanged phone numbers beforehand. Tommy isn't sure why Wilbur trusts Tommy so much, especially with his fucking number, but hey, Tommy isn't a hero anymore. It's not his job to report the man and his family. He'd only really do that to the Las Nevadas crew. Fuckers costed him a leg, trauma, and his job, even if it wasn't directly. Assholes.

 Huffing, he rolls over groggily in his bed. He'd been awake for a while now, but hadn't found the energy to get up. Either way, duty calls. 'Duty' being 'I gotta get kidnapped roflmao ex-dee ex-dee ex-dee hashtag omg I'm so quirky'. Snorting at his own thoughts, he picks up his phone, rubbing the crust of sleep out of his eyes with his other hand. Wincing at the bright artificial light, he clicks on the message, putting in his password.

Woolbur:  Hey

You: what

Woolbur:  Plans :D

Woolbur sent a document

 Tommy reads over the plans he's been sent, annoyed that the man didn't just send it to him normally but understanding as to why; they probably can't talk too in depth about evil villain shit when the government is most likely watching through their phones. Now that he thinks about it though... he's never really heard of a solved case that had to do with government information. Maybe that was just a rumor. Or maybe the government is like that one Marvel character that was in Ultimate Alliance. That game was the shit, he wants to play it again later. If he gets his hand on a console. As well as the game itself. Maybe a TV... What was that character's name again? The Viewer...? No, no it was the Watcher. Bigheaded bitch, sees all yet can't interfere. Pretty shit job he did at that last part, aye?

 A ping form his phone brings him back to the screen, and he has to tap on it so his phone doesn't turn off. He wishes he could afford some meds, fuck.

Woolbur:  You got all that?

You:  ye

You: gonna cause quite the fuckin scneen

Woolbur:  'Scneen' lmao

Woolbur: Tis the point tho

Woolbur: Cya then :D

You:  fuck you

 And with that he shuts off the device, dropping his head back onto his pillow and just staring at his ceiling for a minute. He wouldn't say he's necessarily excited about the stunt. There will be explosions, which means there will be debris. Debris that could potentially pin someone down. Maybe that person would be registered immobile once they're pinned down. Maybe their other leg would get absolutely wrecked. Maybe he'd have to go through another amputation.

 He can already feel his breath quickening, so he shakes that train of thought off track. Wilbur wouldn't let that happen to him, and he's not being targeted now. Well. Technically he is, but not in a bad way? Wait, no, kidnapping is definitely bad. But like... it's a planned kidnapping that he agreed to.

 Whatever. Whatever! He doesn't care! He's going to get up, get dressed, eat fucking something, grab his crutches, and limp all the way to the grocery store. Is there going to be some trial and error? Of course. Is he probably going to think it's all not worth it halfway there but continue on because he's already walked so many acres? Definitely. Is this plan going to work? Probably not. But hey, heroes would probably think 'Oh, this kid was a hostage. Let's give him free money so he doesn't complain about how heroes almost let him get taken away'. And no, he's not bluffing, he's seen heroes do that.

 Opening his door, he looks at the stairway with distain. This is going to take a bit.

 Luckily, he started early.

_-_-_-_

 He walks into the grocery store with a relieved sigh, sitting on a nearby bench. After taking a minute to breathe, he pulls out his phone and opens his messages.

You:  im here

Woolbur:  We know

You:  thats not fucking creepy at all

 He doesn't get a response to that, but he knows that it's been read thanks to the little checkmark under his message. Rolling his eyes, he pockets the device and stands up. Just in time for heroes to burst through the door... what? Nothing's even happened yet; why are they here? "We've got an anonymous message saying that villains will be attacking this area soon. We would like everyone to please gather around at the front of the store!" A man that Tommy recognizes as Dream calls out, and he pales. What? Who... Oh, you government fucks-

Woolbur: Don't worry, this was planned

 That anti-government fuck.

 Putting his phone in his hoodie pocket once again, he grabs onto his crutches, standing. His leg and arms are still incredibly sore from the walk here, but it seems he'll just have to deal with it. Or not, he thinks, as he looks up to see the flame hero, Sapnap, come over to help him. The Dream Team are a pretty new group of heroes; Sapnap having been a replacement hero for Tommy when he had to leave and dragging his friends into it. Good, that means they won't recognize his eyes.

 None of the people at the Hero Corps new his name, face, or age; only his eyes. Said eyes were a startling bright blue when in use of his powers, and they'd shine with false tears. His power is honestly just downright embarrassing, but it did wonders in hostage situations and bargaining. How ironic.

 "Here, let me help you." Sapnap suggests quietly, guiding Tommy to where the rest of the group is. The crowd of customers is fairly large, probably twenty people at max. Good thing he was able to sit on the outer side of the crowd, he doesn't think he can deal with the middle. Nodding his thanks to the hero, he sits down, setting his crutches on the ground beside him. Sapnap, to Tommy's surprise, crouches down next to him, and the blonde notices the the other two heroes of the Dream Team are also crouched around the crowd, trying to blend in. He thinks that's easiest for NotFound, due to his illusion power. The man can't cover more than himself though.

 The building rumbles, and Tommy flinches, along with other people, some even talking or humming in their surprise. He feels the beginnings of the explosion before he sees it, so he covers his head reflexively as the back of the building is destroyed by the bombs. He can hear people screaming, and while the heroes try to contain the crowd, more explosions ring out. The teenager absolutely doesn't let out a sound a fear, caught up in his memories before a warm hand rests on his shoulder. "It's going to be okay, kid. The heroes are here." But will they help? Tommy used to be a hero, and he was damn good at his job, but most other heroes think that the fact that they were there solves anything.

 Wait. Wait, no, they're not supposed to be helpful right now; this was all planned. Tommy's going to be held hostage by Wilbur, get his leg fixed, and get some fat fucking cash while he's at it. He's not in any danger, Wilbur wouldn't do that to him.

 Would he though? Tommy's only known Wilbur for barely a day; how is he so sure that Wilbur is trust worthy? Ugh, he doesn't have time for second thoughts. Removing his hands from his head, he looks up to see absolute chaos. The Blood God is fighting Dream, and the two seem evenly matched, scarily enough. Tommy sees another boy, maybe around his age, grinning madly as he explodes everything he touches, laughing his ass off when NotFound falls into a small crater he made. Through the chaos, Tommy sees Wilbur grinning at him in his costume, and Tommy scowls back. He wants to get this over with, Soot. Stop being dramatic.

 Sapnap stands, positioning himself in front of the boy and snarling at Soot. "What do you want with the kid? Can't you see you've caused enough trouble-" Whatever else Sapnap says goes unheard by Tommy as a sudden nausea hits him, and his vision clears from a flash of purple to see that he's right next to Wilbur now, elevated into someone's arms. "Gosh, you're light." A voice from above him says, and he looks up to see the face of Enderwalk, a well known vigilante. The other had saved Tommy once or twice, always walking him home afterwards. He's a nice guy, but he's also unfairly tall.

 "LET HIM GO-" The hero roars, licks of flame igniting from his hair and hands. His eyes seem to glow in a bright shade of yellow, and Tommy swallows. Sapnap's voice drew the attention of the others, explosion boy and The Blood- Techno, forfeiting their battles to stand next to Wilbur and Enderwalk. Dream's mask looks at his direction, but with how far up it's tilted, Tommy can assume he's looking at the man holding him. "Enderwalk, I thought you didn't associate with villains." Dream says, eerily calm. Enderwalk sighs, nodding. "Usually. I didn't have much of a choice here though. Just know that this is a one time thing, though I don't expect forgiveness." He rumbles, his voice laced with an accent Tommy couldn't hope to recognize. It garbles his words to the point that Tommy has to strain to understand his words, let alone try to memorize his voice. Probably a voice changer then.

 Dream sighs, his head shifting down to look at Tommy instead. Tommy schools his face to look terrified, remembering that, to the heroes, Tommy wasn't allied with these people. To the boy's surprise, Dream lifts his hand to his mask and takes it off, looking at Tommy with a calm smile, with warm emerald eyes. "Everything is going to be okay. You're going to make it out alright, and you'll be able to go back home to your family safely. I promise." The effect would've been more calming if he actually had a family, but it's nice that the man tried.

 "What do you want with the child?" NotFound asks, stepping closer to the group, but not too close. Wilbur looks over at him with a grin, as if contemplating. "Hmm.." He puts a hand under his chin. Please, for the love of God, quit the theatrics and get us out of here, Tommy thinks. "How about 50k? Sounds reasonable enough for... most of a child." Tommy scowls at the man, kicking him with his leg, to which he receives a few panicked looks from the heroes and a smug grin from Wilbur himself. "Brat. Anyways, how about it, boys?" He continues, giving the trio in front of him an expectant look.

 Sapnap's flames go out as he holds up his hands, his face filled with rage, panic, and concern. Tommy thinks these three are the good kind of heroes. "We'll get you that money, but could you please put him down first." He asks gently, and the crowd behind him, now considerably calmer than before, all look on at the situation with varying degrees of fear. Whether it's for themselves or Tommy, the blonde doesn't know. He doesn't really care, either.

 Techno clicks his tongue, annoyed. "I think you guys are better off giving the money up beforehand. More at risk if you don't." It's either the man is a very good actor, or Tommy should actually be concerned for his onw health. He can only hope it's the former. The heroes' panic increases at that, NotFound gesturing wildly as he speaks. "We- we can't get it to you right now! We'd have to head back to headquarters to get that much, and the kid-" "Well I guess we'll be going then." Wilbur interrupts, tilting his head in false pity. "We'll contact you about meeting up with us to cough up the money. Enderwalk, if you would." He feels the man holding him nod, before purple beings to cloud his vision once more. The last thing he hears from the grocery store is the flame hero's yelling before that unfamiliar nausea that comes with teleportation overtakes him.

 Man, he's going to need new crutches...

Chapter Text

 When Tommy wakes up, his own dull blue eyes meet startling deep azure as a man with shoulder length blonde hair and inky black wings looms over him. "My, Wil wasn't joking when he said you were tiny." The man mumbles, his awed face forming a warm grin. Tommy stills at that voice, face hardening and mind clear of the fog that comes with waking up as he stares at the familiar wings of the man.

 Tommy has never seen the Angel in real life; the man having retired from his life of villainy decades ago, but Tommy would've expected the few, blurry photos he got to see of the man to be outdated with age. No, instead, this man looks barely a day over thirty.

 Those pictures are over fifty years old.

 So, in a moment of sheer panic, he scowls at the man and hisses out; "I am not tiny, you fucking cock." Why the fuck did he say that.

 The Angel seems to share his surprise, blinking idly for a moment before stepping back, finally getting out of the boy's face. "Quite the attitude for someone as young as you. I know most teenagers have a cursing problem, but calling the Angel of Death a cock directly after waking up from a coma was a little out of my imagination." The man laughs, though it's not cruel or unkind like Tommy expected. Instead, the man just sounds like an amused father, laughing at one of his children's antics. The fact that Tommy just called himself the number one villain's son sends him reeling for a second, as the man sits down in a chair next to the bed Tommy lies on.

 "You alright there mate? I know teleporting for the first time can be a bit of an... experience, so to speak." He chuckles to himself. Tommy just stares at him, before surveying the room. Instead of the blinding white of a hospital room, the walls are a light brown, with the furniture matching each other and paintings or ancient photos lining the walls here or there. It looks... old, so to speak. As is everything in the room is antique. When he looks down at the blanket, which absolutely swallows him whole what the hell, he notices that it fits the rooms atmosphere quite nicely. The covers, sheets, and pillows of the bed are all a rich, golden hue. Not a blinding gold, but a warm one, as if it's the bed of a King. The blanket has a royal looking pattern on it to boot; with forest greens, blood reds, and dark browns making up the intricate patterns on it.

 While the old theme would probably creep him out in any other situation, the colors instead make Tommy feel comfortable. As if the light browns and dark hues are the gentle flames of a fireplace; not too warm, but still cozy.

 Oddly enough, he doesn't want to leave this room.

 He looks back at the Angel though, who's looking at him with slight concern in his brow, and Tommy does something truly embarrassing.

 He uses his powers on the man.

 While Tommy can't see his own eyes, he knows that their dull blue slowly lighten into the colors of sparkling diamonds, the sparkles and lights made up of false tears dampening his eyes. He furrows his brow in a way that makes it seem like he's about to cry, and asks one thing of the man; "Could you bring Wilbur to me, please?"

 Tommy knows his powers have done their work as the man's eyes take on Tommy's original color of a dull grayish-blue, and the man nods with a warm smile, standing up and walking through the mahogany door to leave the room, and fulfill the task asked of him. Sure, the Angel may have been the strongest, most powerful villain to have ever lived, but Tommy's powers cannot be blocked. No eye cover, contacts, ear plugs, blindness, nothing can stop Tommy from using his powers;

 Puppy Eyes.

 He fucking hates the fact that it's called that but there really isn't another name for it other than 'charm'. He'd rather sound like a pussy than a fucking tory.

 Soon enough, the brunette himself stumbles into the room with a look of concern, and he shuts the door quietly before turning to the bedridden boy, a look of confusion replacing the previous look. "Do you know what Phil's eye color is?" He asks, and Tommy raises a brow in false innocence. "You... You mean the Angel?" He asks, as if surprised that the man just revealed his father, the number one villain's, name. He's not though; Wilbur is actually pretty shit at keeping secrets.

 He winces at that, but nods his head anyways. Tommy squints, tilting his head. "They were... a light blue, right? I was focusing more on the fact that the Angel of fucking Death was all up in my business when I woke up. Called him a cock, it was cool." He shrugs, and forces a smile down when he hears Wilbur snort. Endearment is a weakness and he has none of those. Story of Achilles his ass, Tommy is superior like that.

 "Well, no, they're actually a really deep blue. Like, ocean shit, y'know?" Wilbur says, sitting on the edge of the bed and foregoing the medieval looking chair that Phil was at in earlier. "We stan Billie Eillish." Tommy whispers, nodding sagely. Wilbur just stares at him for a minute before shaking his head a bit. Tommy's starting to think Wilbur's a bit of a schizophrenic, but there's nothing wrong with that. Schizophrenics can be cool too.

 "Aside from that entire conversation, we're working on your leg. Tubbo, the kid with the terrorism addiction, is an incredibly engineer; you're leg should be done in a few hours with how much work he's putting into it. It's kind of concerning, but last time I tried to stop him he bit my arm." Wilbur sighs, shifting the sleeve of his sweater to show a scar in the shape of teeth. Tommy hisses, looking at the scar with a bit of sympathy. Wilbur nods, rolling the sleeve back down before looking out the window. There are two windows in the room, one on the left wall and one on the wall behind him, directly behind the bed. They're both covered in velvet red silk, and Tommy's seriously curious about the sense of décor going on here.

 He and Wilbur chat for a bit longer, before a frantic knock at the door cuts their conversation off. Before Wilbur can even get up to respond, the door opens to reveal a grinning teenager, his hair covering his eyes and a burn scar covering half of his body. He holds measuring tape menacingly, while Enderwalk stands behind him, fiddling with his claws. The blonde would find the height difference funny if he wasn't so terrified of the face that, who he assumes is, Tubbo is making at him.

 "Hello, Tommy! I am Lock N' Load, or Tubbo, and you are now at my service for the time being." He says with a toothy grin, walking next to the bed and somehow looming over the now sat up blonde even though he is far shorter. "Don't... Don't you mean you're at my service?" He swallows, but the grin aimed at him, even more terrifying than before, speaks more words than even Tommy can think of.

 If he thought sharp tooth grins were scary, then the blunt tooth grin of a goat hybrid missing one of his canines from whatever caused his scarring and having a bit of his gum showing from the shreds of the right side of his mouth is absolutely horrifying.

_-_-_-_

 Techno sips his coffee, looking at Phil with a raised brow. His friend raises one back, obviously asking him what the problem is. "Wil said you were acting funny when you left Tommy. Somethin' happen?" He asks, straight to the point as always. Phil looks genuinely confused, which confuses Techno, because if anyone knows Phil more than Techno himself it's Wilbur; he would know if Phil was acting funny.

 "...No? He just woke up, we talked a bit, I called him tiny and he called me a cock, and then he asked me to get Wilbur for him. I don't see anything weird about that myself." Phil says with a shrug, wings shifting outwards the tiniest bit and then inwards, showing Techno that while Phil knows he sounds suspicious he is telling the truth. A couple hundred years with the man had allowed Techno to learn his tells.

 The Blood God sighs, leaning back in his chair. "If you're sure. I still want you to check up with Niki and and Fundy, just in case." He lightly demands, and he sees the man smile before sighing playfully. "Okay, fine, dearest." "Shut the fuck up."

_-_-_-_

 "RISE, MY BEAUTIFUL CREATION!" Tubbo yells, his voice echoing at the slightest in the lab as Tommy stands, wobbling a little. "You made my leg, not me entire body, dickhead." Tommy growls, but retains his balance once again and steps forward on the new leg, blinking when he doesn't feel even the slightest amount of pain in his stub. "Well, you're just a homosexual." Tubbo huffs, crossing his arms as Ranboo and Wilbur step back into the room; Ranboo having needed to take some medicine for the migraine that comes with rapid teleportation and Wilbur just wanting a drink. "Hey, asshole, what if I was a homosexual? Hm? What about that, huh?" Tommy asks, standing straight and glaring over at Tubbo.

 The boy splutters, losing his manic façade as he waves his hands around. "Wh- Well- No, I don't have anything against them- I just-" "Yeah? Yeah? Well, I take being called a homosexual as a compliment. Prick. Dickhead." "That is not what I meant- I just-" "IGNORING THE PRYVIOUS CONVERSATION- Tommy, how does the leg feel?" Wilbur interrupts, loudly.

 Tommy squints at the man. "Did you just say pryvious- Fuckin- Whatever, yeah, it feels great. Way better than my old one at least; that one hurt my stub whenever I walked." He says, sitting down to examine the new prosthetic. Tubbo nods, sitting next to him and wiping his oil stained hands onto his apron. "Yeah, I took a look at that old one, and it was pretty shit. We couldn't find the sleeve for it, but I'm sure that sucked as well."

 Ignoring the fact that what the boy just said implicates they went rummaging through his apartment, Tommy turns to squint at the boy. "...Sleeve?" He asks, and all three of the others in the room meet his blank stare with their own, before Tubbo frowns. Tommy's never seen anyone frown with their teeth, but it's fucking terrifying. "You... you haven't had a sleeve for your stub this entire time? Your stub has just been rubbing against raw metal? This whole damn time?" Tubbo asks, and the way his voice has gone hollow strikes fear into everyone in the damn room.

 Tubbo is the living representation of hell on Earth, and no one can convince Tommy otherwise.

 "...Yes?" Tommy answers, hesitantly. Tubbo looks at him for a moment, and while Tommy can't see the boy's eyes he knows they're making eye contact, before the goat hybrid stands up, and walks out of the lab.

 Stunned, he looks over to the other two, who are staring at the door the boy had exited from. "Uhm... I think the new museum on the other side of the city is gonna needs some repairs soon." Ranboo mumbles, and Wilbur just sighs, rubbing his face with his hands. It is then that Tommy decided that he will not be the one to get on Tubbo's bad side any time soon.

_-_-_-_

 "Soot hasn't contacted us yet, Dad, and I'm freaking the FUCK out-" Sapnap growls, and he feels hardened, diamond hands drag his own hands away from his hair, which is now sending smoke into the air like hellfire. Skeppy sighs. "Don't let your father hear that." He jokes, but frowns when Sapnap doesn't react. "Listen, the kid will be okay. We both know that, out of every circumstance we heroes have ever witnessed, none of the Syndicate has ever harmed a child. Not Soot, not the Angel, not the Blood God, not Enderwalk, no one. They just want the money, and remember when I told you that I used to know a member of the Syndicate? Fundy?" Sapnap nods. "He was just a kid when he was taken in by them, and the last time we talked he looked better then ever. I think if anything they're spoiling the kid right now, so don't worry about it." Skeppy soothes, rubbing his kid's back as he lets the man breathe.

 Sapnap sniffs, the small flames in his hair dwindling out until only the orange glow of burning embers remain in the ebony black strands. "Yeah- yeah you're probably right. And, and I can't just sit here and freak out over the kid, I need to find a way to help him." He mumbles, and his dad smiles, patting his shoulder. "That's the spirit. Now go grab one of Bad's muffins before he force feeds you one." Sapnap laughs at the man's words, nodding as he gets up and leaves the room with a final wave to the shorter.

 Skeppy smiles, watching the retreating back of his son without a single speck of worry in his eyes. He knows Phil will take care of the kid Sapnap's talking about, especially if Wilbur and Techno are interested in him.

Chapter Text

 Sapnap walks into the Captain's office with an expectant look on his face, but any and all cheer he had dies down when she just gives him a sad smile. "We still don't know where they are, and Soot has not called us yet." A dejected look spreads across the flame hero's face as he sits in the chair adjacent to his boss's. "But," She continues, gaining his attention. "We did figure out who he was based on the description you gave us. Or, well, Sam did." She chuckles at the excitement on the man's face, and turns her monitor to where they can both see it.

 "Thomas Innit; seventeen years old, born on the ninth of April, 6'1, blonde, light blue eyes." Puffy reads out, before clicking on a different tab, showing a picture of Insider; the manipulation hero. "While we didn't connect the dots until we found his profile, Thomas was actually a hero here at the Corps. He'd retired a bit before I had come into management due to severe injury on the field, or his leg." She taps his medical records, and Sapnap hums.

 Looking back up at his boss, the man frowns. "That's... kind of ass. I wasn't here for it, but Sam told me that this place sucked before you got here. When does it say he started?" Puffy has a thoughtful look on her face for a second, before clicking can be heard throughout the room as she searches through the boy's hero records. She hisses when she finds the answer. "He joined the Corps when he was fourteen, instantly doing field work only three months after being hired." She reads, frowning with the other man's scowl.

 "Apparently he started doing work so fast because he didn't have the money for proper teaching, but the old captain, Schlatt, knew that he had a very useful power. So he just threw him out there in hopes the kid was smart." The sheep woman huffs, before gaining a look that tells Sapnap she has an idea that's going to be real fucking wild.

 "Sapnap," She starts, turning her monitor back around before leaning her arms on the desk, grinning at her son's friend.

 "Ask Dream how he feels about a little brother."

_-_-_-_

 "Phil pleaaasseee-" Tubbo pleads, his hands intertwined as he looks up at the winged man, who just wants to eat his fucking bagel in peace. "He's younger than both Ranboo and I, and you know how much I want a little brotheerrrr~." He drawls, making the man drag a hand down his face. "Tubbo, you literally made a PowerPoint two weeks ago about why being the little brother is the superior move and why you'd kill anyone who'd take your place as 'The Grand Scheme of Things', whatever the hell that entails."

 The brunette groans, flopping down on the couch while he does so. Phil rolls his eyes, but the duo both pause when Tommy and Wilbur walk into the room. "Hey guys. We're heading to some place in the north district to eat; apparently Tommy has never had macaroni and I am desperate to change this." The man explains, swirling his keys on his finger.

 "Why in the north district? That place is poor as hell; I doubt you're gonna find any good food there." Tubbo asks, only to receive an elbow to the side by Phil. "What the fuck man??" Phil sighs shaking his head. "You can't just say that about a struggling district, mate. Though I am curious as well." He says, looking up at the two once again.

 Tommy snorts at the other's suffering, responding to the middle finger sent his way with his own. "Cus it's less likely that there will be heroes there. I'm gonna be going in my costume, Tommy's gonna buy some macaroni and shit, and we're both just gonna chill on a rooftop and eat. I'm going in my costume because I don't want a hero to be there, recognize Tommy as Soot's hostage, see me, and figure out my identity." Wilbur explains before Tubbo can ask. Why is Tubbo being bullied so much today? What did he do to deserve this?

 "Alright. Be safe you two, call if you need anything." Phil says, and he smiles back at the excited, childish grin Tommy gives him on the way out. That's something everyone in the building has noticed; the kid has started acting more like his age ever since he came here. Before, he'd just been some gray-eyed kid who spaced out a lot, talked quietly, and was delayed with his snappish retorts. Now his anger seems less genuine, and he seems more playful. Phil's happy for him.

 Or, well, he was until Tubbo grinned at him from the corner of his eye. "You so wanna adopt him-" "Shut the hell your mouth." "What?"

_-_-_-_

 Tommy heaves himself up onto the roof, paper bag in his mouth and feeling awful against his teeth. Tommy is really picky about what textures he likes, and paper is not fucking one of them. Either way, it smells nice and has the promise of food in it, so he sucks it up as he finally settles onto the rooftop, sitting the paper bag down in front of Wilbur.

 The man grins, sifting through the bag and setting a small, black plastic bowl with a clear lid in front of Tommy, a white plastic fork as well. Wilbur also gets his own bowl out, and sits the two, small containers of fries between each of them respectively. "Chow down, bruv." "Never speak to me again."

 While Tommy acts like he didn't really care about the food, he knows Wilbur didn't believe him with how fast he ate it, seeing as the man just smiled and slid his own bowl over to him. When Tommy raised an eye brow at him, the man just shrugged. "First some first serve." He smiles, and Tommy squints. "That's one hundred percent not how that phrase is supposed to be used but thank you." The man nods, ignoring the call out.

 The eat in a comfortable silence for a moment before Wilbur stands up, taking the now trash filled paper bag and leaning over the roof, dropping the bag into the dumpster below. "That must've scared the shit out of the homeless guy I saw down there." Tommy snorts, and Wilbur raises a brow. "I didn't see anyone." He says, and Tommy, confused, also leans over to see that there is in fact nobody there.

 "What the fuck-" "I see you're manipulative as always, Soot." A familiar voice calls out, and Wilbur curses as he shoves his mask down, having had it up to eat, and turns to see none other than Dream himself. "Manipulative? How am I being manipulative? I just gave the boy some food!" Wilb- Soot calls, gesturing to Tommy, who's just been squinting at the masked hero.

 Dream looks over at the blonde, but pauses at the face he's receiving. "Dream... I didn't know you were homeless." Tommy says quietly, pitying, even.

 A beat of silence passes over the roof before Soot lets out a giggle, placing a hand over his mouth. "Holy- holy shit, okay, wow-" Wilbur just can't contain his laughter, and Tommy sees two confused heads poke up onto the roof as well. Ah, so all three of the heroes are here. Fun. "W- Soot." Tommy calls, making the brunette glance over at him. Tommy gestures to the other two heroes, who are now standing next to their colleague. "Oh. Shit." "Yep." "Can you...?" "Yeah." Tommy sighs, pulling out the phone he was gifted last night and messaging Phil, Techno, and, as an after thought, Ranboo and Tubbo.

 "Wh- Kid, why are you just helping this guy? He kidnapped you!" Sapnap calls, looking vaguely concerned. Tommy looks up at him, frowning. "I mean, hey, at least my situation isn't as bad as homeless guy over here-" "I'M NOT HOMELESS???" Dream cries, before a caw interrupts the weirdly casual conversation. Well. It's not casual. More so contained chaotic.

 All hell breaks loose when Techno jumps from seemingly nowhere, sword in hand as he runs at Dream. Distantly, Tommy hears an explosion, some shouts, and see the hulking mass of Phil's wings as he swoops down as well before a vaguely familiar dizziness overtakes him, and suddenly he's in a cramped, metal dumpster that smells like absolute shit, Ranboo curled up in there with him.

 "Hey, sorry." Ranboo says with a sheepish grin. "I would've just teleported you home, but it's only been a day since my last big jump and I would've passed out, which isn't fun. So uh... we're stuck here until they say we're safe." Ranboo explains, but his words go in one ear and out the other as Tommy takes in the familiarity of the situation.

 He can vaguely hear the sounds of the fight going on above them; explosions, yelling, metal meeting metal along with the ringing of PTSD is all he can hear, save for the muffled muttering of Ranboo. The taller is beginning to sound worried, but Tommy can't help but notice how cramped it is in the dumpster, the space shared with a literal eight feet tall teenager. It reminds the younger teen of when he was being crushed under a building, his head only not being crushed as he had the luck of having a small dome made of debris hovering over most of his body, being held up by uprooted pipes and more debris. His leg hadn't shared the same fate as the rest of him though, and was crushed under cement and glass.

 The pain was excruciating, and he can vaguely feel the tendrils of his body being held down crawling up the absent space of his leg, using the replacement prosthetic as it's grip. Suddenly he can't breathe, as if he's inhaling all of the dust and sand like he was that fateful day, and he hears even more muttering, but everything is loud and echoing and ringing and it won't stop-

 And then he can breathe again. Instead of the dark green of the inside of the dumpster, and instead of the smell of garbage and rat manure, Tommy sees the rich brown walls of where he had been staying for the last day, and he can smell the remnants of vanilla scented candles that the other's had probably put out when they had come to their aid. He feels hands on his cheeks, gentle, caring hands that wipe of the tears he was unaware he was producing off of his face. The hands are shaky, as if they can barely hold themselves up, and then reality comes flooding back to Tommy.

 Those are his friend's hands, those are Ranboo's hands, and Tommy is safe, and Ranboo is about to pass out.

 Now, Tommy used to be a hero, he knows how to put other's lives and safety before his own, so he brushes aside the fact that he just had a panic attack and gently grabs Ranboo's arms, standing both of them up and laying the taller down on the couch. "Tommy-" The boy rasps, but Tommy just shakes his head. "Th- thank you for uh.. for, for getting me outta there big man. I'm gonna- gonna tell the other's we're here before taking a show- shower." He explains, out of breath as he pat's the near unconscious boy's head before grabbing his phone.

You:  were back at the bade

You: base

Oldza:  What??

Oldza:  I thought ranboo couldn't teleport that far yet

You:  he force dhimsel too fr reasons i dont feel like explaining

You:  im tsaking a shower, ge thome safe

Oldza:  Okay mate. We're talking about this though

 Tommy makes the executive decision to leave Phil on read, sighing as he steals some of Wilbur's clothes. Surely the man won't mind missing a hoodie and some joggers- oh and also those wooly socks; they look too soft to pass down.

 ...That macaroni really was fucking amazing though.

Chapter Text

 "The angel of FUCKING- DEATH" Sapnap growls, slamming his head onto the dining table and making the silverware and plates clatter. Dream and George share the sentiment, bot understandably frustrated as the sit in their respective seats at the table in their apartment. The Angel of Death is quite literally the most powerful villain on the planet, and has been for a very, very long time. Usually, when he's involved in whatever case a hero it working on, the Corps shuts down the case immediately and lets the man be.

 He was supposed to be in retirement though; having been around for years. A collective sigh of relief went throughout the entire planet when that news was heard, people assuming that he was finally nearing the end of his life due to old age. The man had been around for over over sixty years, with his ancestors passing down the title of Death's Angel since long before even the Renaissance. But no, just today, Sapnap saw the Angel standing right in front of him, giant wings and all, and not looking a day over thirty.

 As much as the trio wanted to save the kid, they both didn't know his location anymore, and would definitely be fired if they attempted to fight the Angel. Especially if the Blood God was there.

 The Blood God is... a tricky person, so to speak. He isn't exactly a villain, but he's certainly not a hero or vigilante. This is due to the fact that he only ever shows up in a fight when Soot or the Angel are in a particularly sticky situation. It doesn't help that the man might as well be as old as the Angel; his family line intertwining with the other's for just as long. This means that he's wise, strong, experienced.

 And, least of all, the Blood God is fucking terrifying.

 Society is usually intimidated when a citizen has just a regular blood manipulation power, but the Blood God's is something special. While the hero's don't know too much about the man's power, they've logged every single tid-bit of information they got on it, desperate to try and find a way to defeat the man. Basically, his power works by blood consumption, and is called 'Blood Hound'. If he makes a blood pact with someone, he will instantly know where they are and how injured they are the moment their blood meets the air. The Blood God also uses his own blood as fuel, due to blood giving him a rush of energy, strength, and pain tolerance. People wouldn't be surprised if he was already quite immune to pain though.

 Due to his power needing his own blood, the man just... doesn't wear a shirt. It's pretty awkward for a lot of heroes, but the at least he wears a fur lined cloak over his torso so he's not entirely half naked, pretentious as it is. He doesn't wear a shirt so he can easily slice his abdomen, and he wears a cloak instead of a jacket for the same reason with his arms. He doesn't wear a mask, same with the Angel. They both know that heroes won't fuck with them if seen in the public, and most civilians only ever catch a glimpse of what the Angel looks like.

 All and all, Sapnap thinks the family is full of pretentious assholes that like flaunting their power too much. Don't even get him started on Soot. Rat bastard.

 He feels so bad for that kid; he's probably so desperate to go home...

_-_-_-_

 Tommy sighs as he curls against the arm of the couch, book in hand. While his phone is a wonderful device that he will never be more grateful for having; he doesn't want to turn into one of those people that spend more time on their phone than they do literally anything else. So instead, wrapped up in a cozy blanket with Wilbur's stolen clothes on, he sits on the too-comfy couch and reads until the others get back.

 Ranboo's still conked out, but Tommy made sure to put a pillow under his head and a blanket over him, because Ranboo did just get him out of an enclosed space, which he has a phobia of, and Tommy isn't a complete asshole.

 The door opening interrupts him, and he looks up to see the other four entering the room, all looking like they'd just walked out of a flaming building. He waves, snickering at the slightest when Tubbo just glowers at him and sits on the recliner, sighing deeply. The boy is outlined with some type of faint glow, which leads Tommy to believe that he played hide and seek with Not Found.

 Not Found's power is slightly confusing to Tommy. The man can create illusions, but is also able to outline someone, taking Tubbo for example, and is able to see that outline through walls. The blonde isn't sure if those are two powers or the same one and it frustrates him.

 At the moment though, he's focused less on the quiet frustration and instead the look on Wilbur's face, who's staring at him with an intensity that would scare most people. "Hey Wil. You had too many clothes, so I decided to take some off your hands like the kind person I am. You're welcome." He flips him off, just in case.

 Wilbur places a hand over his mouth, looking like he's about to cry, before taking a deep breath and humming. "Yeah, yeah, thanks Tommy." The man says, ruffling the blonde's hair as he passes and heads to his room to change out of his costume. Tommy raises a brow at the behavior, looking over at Tubbo, who's grinning like a maniac. "Am I missing something?" He asks, to which the goat hybrid giggles into his hand. "He's just embarrassed, don't worry." Techno mumbles, sitting on the same couch as Ranboo and putting the boy's feet on his lap so he has room to sit. Honestly, it's enraging how tall that guy is.

 Tommy huffs, rolling his eyes as he goes back to the book. He doesn't know what it's about, really. He just flipped to some random page and started reading. What he's getting so far is that some dude went to go fight some monster guy, but on his way back home he didn't make the sail to his ship the right color? So his dad was like "what the fuck dude" and kicked him out or some shit.

 Summery Tommy, master of Summaries.

 A weight settles onto the cushion next to him, and suddenly he's being hugged by none other than Wilbur the Soot man himself. "Uhm?" The blonde asks, looking up at the man. "No. No, shut up. Hug time." Tommy definitely has some choice words to that, but the look he gets from the other encourages him to keep his mouth shut. So it's quite in the living room for a bit, as Tubbo goes to change as well, before Phil is back, and sits on the recliner the brunette was on previously.

 "Soooo why did Ranboo teleport you guys back? He knows his limits; and we had a plan so he wouldn't have to push them." Phil asks, Tubbo coming back and sitting on the arm of the recliner. Tommy hums, fiddling with a loose thread on the hoodie he's wearing. "Well, he teleported us into a dumpster to hide, as you can smell." He glances at the still sleeping Ranboo, who hasn't been able to shower yet. Everyone nods solemnly. "And while the dumpster was already pretty fucking small, having an eight foot tall dude in there with you makes it even smaller. And uh... I'm kind of claustrophobic and stuff." He shrugs, trying to play it casual.

 Wilbur hisses, tightening the hug he's encased the younger in. Holding someone probably isn't the best response to hearing they're claustrophobic, but Tommy doesn't mind; his phobia is more circumstantial than anything. "Oh. Shit, sorry mate." Phil says, awkwardly rubbing the back of his head. Tommy just shrugs again. "It's fine; you guys didn't know. And hey, now you know not to throw me into dumpsters with too-tall teenagers." He jokes, but it's only Tubbo who snorts.

 He fears for an awkward silence before he yawns, and Wilbur, the God send, takes that for a conversational topic. "How about you go to bed, huh? I'm assuming you're pretty tired after that, and I'd definitely be tired if I was that cozied up." He pokes Tommy's arm, and the boy hums, standing up. "Sounds good. I'll be taking a fat nap if any of you need me." Tommy waves, yawning once again as he shuffles back to his temporary room, blanket still wrapped around him.

 It takes a lot to ignore the fact that that's what it is; temporary, but it's okay, because it's still happening. Tommy's a live in the moment type of guy; not worrying about the future and instead worrying about the present.

 And right now, he's more concerned about the fucking polar bear on the bed than the future.

 Taking a second to process the scene, he just sighs. He's too tired to deal with this, so he just climbs onto the bed, and let's the polar bear snuggle up to him. Stroking the bear's fur, Tommy smiles as the bear nudges his face with it's nose. "I do not care if you already have a name; you are now Baba." He exclaims, and the bear huffs before resting it's head on his.

 He fall asleep with the bear, and decides that he will not question an obvious blessing.

_-_-_-_

 Techno opens the door to the guest room Tommy is staying in, intending on waking him up so the boy could eat dinner, but freezes in place at the sight he sees.

 There, laying in bed with the boy they're housing, is a fucking polar bear. A full grown polar bear, all the way out in the city, days away from the arctic.

 "What the fuck." He whispers, and the bear's ear flicks, but it doesn't move from its, admittedly comfortable looking, position with the boy. Techno slowly walks backwards out of the room, shutting the door as quietly as possible, before continuing to just stand there. He... He doesn't know what to do in this situation? There's just a whole ass motherfucking bear in the house, and somehow no one noticed it??????

 A hand rests on his shoulder, and he turns to see Phil giving him a concerned look. Bringing a finger to his lips, Techno slowly opens the door again, allowing the man to see the bear resting with Tommy. Phil blinks, squinting. What.

 They turn to see Tubbo and Wilbur also behind them, looking at the bear with similar looks of confusion, concern, and overall fear. The bear huffs, making everyone flinch as it rises it's head and looks at them. Making a fuckin... bear noise, the animal nudges Tommy's head, who slowly wakes up with a confused look. Looking up at the bear, Tommy hums. "So... I wasn't having a fever dream. There's an actual bear cuddling me right now." He mumbles, eyes wide. The blonde looks over at the other's, lips pursed. "Well... Meet Baba I guess." He pats the bear's back, and it hums at them.

 Ranboo, having just walked down the hall way, takes a single look at the situation before sighing, walking back to the living room with a shake of his head.

 Huh.

Chapter Text

 Tommy wakes up to a beam of sunlight running it's gentle hand across his face, white fur peaking into his vision as he cuddles with the polar bear that had made itself home in the house. He yawns, rolling over to stretch only for Baba to sling a paw over his chest, keeping him locked in the bear's grip. "Baba." The blonde groans, though the bear just huffs. "Baba." Another huff, and Tommy just huffs back, plopping his head back down on one of the pillows.

 The door to his- the room he's overtaken creaks open, and he blinks an eye back open to see Ranboo peaking in with a smile. "Hi Tommy. Wilbur wanted to discuss something with you, if that's alright?" The teen says, quietly. Tommy squints at him and his stupid generosity and caring atmosphere. What a stupid boy. Dummy. Stupid little man. "Tommy?" Ah, he's forgotten to reply to the question.

 "Yeah sure whatever; 's long as you can free me from Baba's clutches." He grumbles, glaring over at the unresponsive polar bear. Ranboo opens his mouth to say something, but a feminine shriek interrupts him. Baba's head shoots up, and using the distraction, Tommy rips from the bear's grasp. "Thank fuck." He mumbles, passing Ranboo to go and see what caused such a girly noise.

 The boys walk into the living room only to see the four other house members curled up on the couch, staring wide-eyed at the fucking tarantula on the table. Wilbur's head snaps up, his eyes widening. "TOMMY- PLEASE STAY OVER THERE-" The man cries. Tommy blinks, glancing over to see Ranboo literally clinging to the chandelier above him as not to be near the spider. He sighs, calmly walking over to the coffee table and holding his hands out in a bowl formation. "TOMMY WHAT THE FUCK- TOMMY- TOMMY NO-" Both Tubbo and Wilbur shriek, watching in horror as the spider crawls into Tommy's awaiting hands.

 Everyone falls deathly silent as Tommy stares at the spider, though only confusion arises as the boy smiles softly. "Why hello there! You came right to me, didn't you?" He asks in a giddy voice. The tarantula rubs one of it's legs across the boy's hand a little, and he coos at the action. "I'm gonna name you Shroud!" He grins, only for Techno to cry out in that pussy language of his. Honestly, to think Tommy was ever scared of the guy. Puss-no-blade. All puss no blade.

 "I'm sorry, Tommy, but we are not keeping a tarantula in this god damn house." The pinkette growls, though his gaze is focused on the spider rather than the blonde, who just squints. "It's not poisonous! He's a special little guy!! Aren't you, shroud?" The spider just crawls up Tommy's arm and onto his head as a response. "I think I'm gonna throw up-" Tubbo mumbles, running into the kitchen. He would've ran to the bathroom, but Tommy is blocking the hallway, and also has a fucking tarantula on his head.

 Technoblade sighs, standing up as well. "I don't care if it's poisonous or not, Tommy. It's... freaky." Tommy gasps at the man's words, holding his arms up to cover Shroud's 'ears'. "How dare you. How. DARE. You." He hisses, though Techno just rolls his eyes and crosses his arms. "Tommy. No. No, and that's final."

 The two hold eye contact for an uncomfortable amount of time, before Tommy sighs internally. Alright, guess some 'negotiation' is in order. He interlocks his fingers, taking a deep breath and looking the man in the eyes, his eyes shining with tears that are just for show. "Pleaassee Technoblade! I'll take care of him responsibly!" He pleads, creasing his brows. The other three in the room blink, ignoring the retching coming from the kitchen.

 No longer than a second later, Technoblade sighs, shrugging. "Fine. Just don't let it touch me." He relents, his eyes shining a way brighter red than they usually are. Tommy grins, and the man's eyes dim back to their original color as the blonde swoops the spider off of his head, nudging it with his nose. "Yay! New friend!!" He cheers, jogging back to his room to show Baba their new companion.

 Ranboo gently brings himself down from the chandelier, looking just as confused as Phil and Wilbur as they all turn to stare at the Blood God. "Uh... Mate?" Phil asks, and Techno just hums. "Why did you let him keep that thing?" Wilbur finishes, far less gentle than his father. Techno opens his mouth to respond, but it just clicks back shut as he squints at nothing. "I... i don't know." He mumbles into his hand, contemplating.

 They all wince as they hear Tubbo cough painfully from the kitchen. Right, they should probably help with that.

_-_-_-_

 Tommy stands with his hands in the air as the man in front of him holds a gun to his head. He, Tubbo, and Ranboo were just trying to get some snacks for a movie night when suddenly this guy comes in the store and decides to rob them. The nerve of some people, honestly. "Hand over your wallet or I will shoot." The guy croaks, in an obvious yet poor attempt to be menacing.

 The blonde just blinks. "Oh yeah? Yeah? Do it. Shoot me. Ch. Cheat on ya wife!" He calls, and Tubbo woops from behind him. "YEAH! YEAH CHEAT ON YA WIFE!" The boy calls, pumping a fist in the air. The thief steps back, wide-eyed. "Huh? Wh-" "Oofing in prison..." Ranboo nods sagely, a forlorn look on his face. "Please- please stop-" The man begs, but Tommy just shakes his head, grabbing the man's shoulders. "AYE AYE WHAT'CHA GONNA DO? HUH? HM? WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU GOING TO DO? HM? HM? WHAT?" "PLEASE-"

 "What in the fresh fuck happened to you guys?" Wilbur asks as the trio walk through the front door, all three of them covered in ash and what looks like blood stains. It's not theirs, and for some reason that strikes fear into the brunette. "I don't wanna talk about it." Tommy mumbles, the other two muttering their agreements as they all walk down to Tubbo's lab, blatantly ignoring Wilbur's horrified face.

 Phil walks in, sipping a cup of coffee as he stares at the expression his son is wearing. "Are ya winnin' son?" He asks, grinning when Wilbur just stares at him.

_-_-_-_

 "Tubbo, please stop flirting with Ranboo; it is making me furiously uncomfortable." Tommy asks across the dinner table, holding his fork in an iron grip. Techno snorts, picking at his baked potato. "But I'm saying '/p' after I do it! I'm not actually flirting with him; who would!?" Tubbo earns himself a betrayed look from the other teen for that, and Phil just shakes his head. "It's so weird how you guys can say something like that and then just say it's platonic and all is well." He says, gaining a lot of strange looks, and a strange look at the strange looks from a confused Tommy.

 Techno sighs, leaning his head onto his hand. "Phil, you absolute hypocrite." The table bursts into laughter at those words, while Tommy continue to sit there, lost on whatever joke was just made. "What?" He whispers as everyone else calms down, and Techno looks at him with a snort. "Phil and I are platonically married for tax benefits. Also cus we got bored one day and thought 'hey a weddin' would be somethin' to do' so uh.. yeah." He says, sipping his drink awkwardly.

 Tommy though, Tommy has a mortified look. "Isn't he your dad?" He whispers, and Techno chokes on his coffee and Phil just laughs, shaking his head. "No, no. Me and Techno are very close friends; but he's not my son or anything like that." He explains, only for Tommy to glare at Wilbur. "You told me he was your brother???" He continues to whisper, and Wilbur huffs. "Yeah, well, he's not actually my brother. I just view him as one. Like... an uncle but brother? Y'know?" Tommy stares at him blankly. "Wilbur, I do not have an uncle or a brother. I do not know."

 Ranboo chokes, a giggling Tubbo having to smack his back in a half-assed attempt to keep him alive as Wilbur just takes a sheepish bite of his potato. Tommy, finished with his own food, sets the plate down so Baba can eat the left overs and ignores the look he gets from Phil for it.

 "So, Wilbah," Tommy starts, holding his hands together and setting the fist they make on the table. "You wanted to talk to me about somethin' earlier?" He continues, watching as Wilbur's face goes from confusion to realization. "Oh, right! I wanted to ask when you want me to make the price so you can go home. We can stay in contact of course; cough you could even move in once everything smoothes out cough." He explains, holding a hand to his mouth as if trying to muffle that last part.

 Tommy squints at him. "Did you just say cough out loud?" When all he receives is a stare, he just sighs. "But uh... tomorrow is fine I guess. Police stuff is gonna be a bitch though." He groans, leaning back into his chair and allowing Baba to rest their head in his lap. The others grumble, agreeing, before Tubbo pauses. "If... If you brought Shroud with you everywhere you went, they'd probably not want to be near you. So like. you could avoid stuff for as long as possible."

 Everyone looks at the brunette, before Tommy grins evilly. "Tubbo you genius."

_-_-_-_

"Guys, you will not believe who I saw getting mugged at a grocery store today." Sam says, bursting into the meeting room where the Dream Team and Puffy reside.

Chapter Text

 Everything is dark again. He doesn't know if he's missed in the week of rare, the week he hasn't visited it. He can't say he's exactly excited to be shrouded in pitch black again, but he's not particularly upset about it either. All he really feels at the moment is a sense of longing. Don't misread his wording; it is not a vague feeling. The sense hits him so hard that his chest feels like it's caving in on itself, in some morbid attempt to hug his own heart, which he realizes hasn't beat in a concerning amount of time.

 Has it ever beat in the darkness? Is this what death is? Every time he comes here, is it really a dream? Or is it him waking up in purgatory before going back to sleep to dream of how his life could've continued on. Well, if he's dead than that's pretty disappointing. Maybe that's not longing he's feeling right now; maybe it's just curling disappointment. They both feel the same when you don't know why you're feeling them, to be honest.

 The disappointment makes much more sense than longing, in hindsight. What is there to want at the moment? Life? Honestly, his dreams have him in a somewhat sticky situation, even if he did make up lovely people that he would go as far to call family. He doesn't really want to deal with that situation though, even if he can't see Wilbur's fond smile, or laugh with Tubbo at Ranboo's expense, or take a nap with Baba and Techno on the back porch, or harass Phil into making him food.

 He's always been selfish like that.

 In the short time he'd known- dreamed of the family, he'd thought he'd do anything for them. Die for them, fight for them, anything and everything. But now that he ahs no responsibility, no people to talk to, no schemes to play out... he feels like he wouldn't do that anymore if it means he'd get another day to sleep away.

 And isn't that horrible?

 Isn't it just downright awful that these incredible people, who've housed him, cared for him, fed him, are so easily cast aside by his lust for laziness? For simplicity? For his desperation to just sleep for eternity?

 It's shameful.

 He can't find it in him to care too much.

 But... that's not to say he doesn't care about them at all.

 He would definitely miss them. Oh, with all of his heart and soul he would miss them. Every day, he would think back at them and how they made him smile more than he had in his entire life time, and he would most likely ponder on if sleep is truly worth more than that happiness? Even if it means he'd have to talk when he doesn't want to, or go places when he doesn't want to get out of bed in the morning.

 And he would decide that yes. Yes, sleep is most definitely worth it. Because while they may not actually be there, dreaming about them still lets Tommy sees their kind eyes and caring smiles. That's just about all he wants.

_-_-_-_

 He's shaken awake with a gentle hand on his shoulder, the soft mutterings of his name imitating that of a bird's gentle call when the sun rises. He cracks open eyes locked shut by the sands of sleep to see Wilbur standing over him, an adoring smile on his face as he hums. "Good morning, Tommy. We've got a lot to do today." Oh, and isn't that a sentence Tommy dreads.

 Ignoring his thoughts, he nods with a raspy hum himself, sitting up and rubbing at his eyes with curled fists. He hears a breathy chuckle, and looks up at Wilbur with a raised eyebrow. "Nothing, nothing." The man says, waving his hand as he straightens up, hands on his hip. "We have until 3:47 AM until we need to do the meetup! So be prepared." Tommy squints, glancing over at the clock (which fits the medieval style of the room seeing as it's literally a golden hearth clock), which reads 10:30.

 "Why would you wake me up so early then? Wouldn't you want me to not be half asleep during a hostage situation that I'm going to be such a key fucking factor in?" The blonde grumbles, clearly upset at the loss of sleep. "Well, yeah, but we don't want them to know we've been taking care of you so well or else they'll know we'raaAAAAHHH-" The man cuts himself off as he jumps back from the bed, and Tommy looks down to see Shroud sitting on his lap. Huh, when did he get there?

 Nevertheless, the blonde coos, cupping his hands and letting the tarantula crawl into them, the sensation of his skittering legs tickling Tommy's palms. "Good morning, Shroud!" He chirps, grinning madly when the spider moves one of it's legs in a way that Tommy likes to imagine is a wave. Wilbur shakes his head, placing a hand over his chest in an effort to calm his rapid breaths. "Alright, well, tire yourself out, think of ways to make yourself look unhealthy but don't actually be unhealthy, whatever. Just, ugh, why did Techno let you keep that thing?" Wilbur sighs, dragging a hand over his face.

 Shaking his head, Tommy stands up to lift Shroud into the net he'd set up for him, which already has the beginnings of a web within it. "Don't dehumanize my boy, he's just living his life." He hears Wilbur's groan. He ignores Wilbur's groan.

 As Wilbur leaves the room, Tommy sits back on the bed that he still doesn't know the original owner to. He's sure the plan will go fine, but he can't help the little drip of anxiety that is sure to lead to a flood in his stomach. Wilbur would definitely call off the plan if Tommy showed even an ounce of discomfort like the mother hen he is, but Tommy is fine. He'll be fine.

_-_-_-_

 Nothing is fine. We're all gonna die. God isn't real.

 "Is claustrophobia triggered by not being able to see?" He hears Tubbo whisper to Techno, who's driving. Tommy can't see what the other does in response due to him being blindfolded, but he's sure Techno had just shrugged seeing as Tubbo sighs, and leans back in his spot beside Tommy. "I'm not having a panic attack, Tub- sigh- Lock N' Load." He deadpans, and while he would cross his arms, they are tied behind his back. "It sounds like you are though." Ranboo says from his other side, knocking a knuckle gently on his chest, which has been heaving up and down this entire time.

 Tommy scoffs. "I'm just a tad bit nervous, ya mother hen." He huffs, before cooing. "Besides, I can't have a panic attack right in front of my boy!" The car goes silent.

 "Tommy..... is-... is the spider in the car with us right now?" Tubbo asks, voice beginning to shake. Wilbur hums in a similar emotion from the passenger seat, and Tommy clicks his tongue. "Big T... I'm going to need you to not look on my head."

 By the scream the sounds through the car, he's assuming Tubbo decided to not follow Tommy's directions, as everyone should. It seems Tubbo is an outcast, then. A shame, really, he was a good one at the beginning there. "WHY THE ACTUAL FUCK WOULD YOU BRING A TARANTULA INTO A CAR WITH TWO ARACHNOPHOBES, TOMMY?!" "I DIDN'T KNOW SOMEONE ELSE HERE WAS ARACHNOPHOBIC?!" "BUT YOU KNEW THAT I WAS! AND LOOK AT WILBUR, HE'S SOBBING!" "I CAN'T FUCKING SEE, TUBBO-"

 Techno sighs from the front seat, but it goes unheard by the others in the car as he parks a few yards away from the docks. In the trees, he sees Phil perched and awaiting. Humming, he snaps his fingers twice, gaining everyone's attention. "Pull yourselves together; we have a hostage situation to do." Getting a few hums back, he slides out of the car and allows the others to do so as well, Tommy being passed to Wilbur's guiding hands.

 Once they're all stood on the dock, Techno looks around before nodding, shooting a flare gun up at the sky. Almost instantly the Dream Team are in front of them, with Sapnap in the front holding a duffle bag with what's most likely money. Techno hums, then looks at Wilbur, who nods.

 "Heroes! Lovely to see you lot again, really, it is. While this definitely won't be our last encounter, this is the end of this little game we've been playing with you. Congrats on making it to the end!" He says, and Tubbo claps, giggling. Fuck, Tommy had forgotten how scary the other was. "So! Here's your boy," Wilbur starts, untying the blindfold on the blonde and tossing it in the water behind him, ignoring Ranboo's mutter about pollution. "But! But, but but, we want to see the money first." He finishes, grinning.

 The heroes pause, Sapnap squinting as his hand tightens around the bag's strap. "How do we know you won't, like, take him and run when we give it to you? Or hurt him? Throw him into water while his hands are tied?" He growls, and wow, yeah, they really could do that. Tommy never really put much thought into just how much he trusts these people, whoa re known for their several acts of violent crime save for Ranboo. For some reason, he still can't bring himself to think they'd actually do that.

 Wilbur just raises a brow though, grabbing one of Tommy's shoulder and shaking it gently. "I want you to think about out track record with children and ask me that again." Right, yeah, that too.

 Sapnap hisses after a beat, beginning to step forward before a hand on his shoulder stops him. Dream tilts his head, raising a finger. "I have a question before we continue with this, if you don't mind." Seeing the questioning look from just about everyone, Dream puts his hand down, taking a step forward. "Do you have a reason for choosing Tommy specifically? Because we know of his... track record, I guess. He would indeed be of some significance to you if you knew about that." The hero explains, though he grows confused when he sees the hostage's eyes darken at his words.

 Before Soot can reply, it's actually Tommy who interrupts him, sending the people around him reeling at the sudden change of their very carefully crafted plan. "I know what you're talking about, and don't you dare associate me with you people." The blonde spits, his words holding such hatred that Sapnap has to take a step back. Enderwalk squints, concerned as he looks over at Tommy, who's seething.

 "By your reactions I can tell you don't know what we're talking about, so we'll drop the subject." 404 claims, much calmer than the others as he takes the bag from Sapnap and steps forward, placing it on the middle ground before walking back towards his team. Teleporting to the bag and back, Enderwalk sifts through the piles of green, humming with a nod to confirm that the desires amount is there.

 Humming back, the Blood God gently takes Tommy's wrists from Soot, making eye contact with the boy to show that they will be talking about this later on, before untying the ropes and placing his hand on the boy's back to give him a light nudge forward before his eyes widen, and he draws his hand back instantly. "FUCKING CHRIST TOMMY-" He shrieks, stepping back as the tarantula that they had all forgotten about crawls up onto the blonde's head from his shoulder blades.

 The other villains and vigilante scramble back as well, the heroes taking a second to process before reeling. "WHY DOES- WHO- WHERE THE HELL DID YOU GET A FUCKING TARANTULA FROM?!" Sapnap cries, jumping back and dragging his friends with him to get as far away from the critter as possible. Enderwalk shakes his head, muttering under his breath frantically as he grabs the other's into a group and teleports them back to the car, wanting to be as far away from the spider as possible.

 Tommy grins, matching the heroes steps by taking one forward. "He's my therapy spider, bitch. Now let's go, I wanna go home." And by that, he does not mean the silent apartment in the lower districts with a worn down couch and plastic kitchen table.

_-_-_-_

 "Okay, Tommy, please just cooperate with us. I do not want have to use force to find out what you know." HeroEye says in a deep, soothing voice. She'd introduced herself as Eret when he'd walked into the room in an obvious attempt to get Tommy to trust them to some degree. That plan had failed miserably though, as Tommy isn't saying jack shit. Said blonde groans, throwing his head back. Realistically, he knows Eret won't get anything out of it when Tommy had already used his own power on the other; it's just that the boy isn't too keen on seeing his own soul.

 The way HeroEye's power works is he basically reaches into one's mind by making eye contact with them. It can be mentally scarring for the victim when Eret uses her power, so to prevent that they send their mental state into their own soul, allowing that person to see what it looks like. While HeroEye would be in Tommy's mind, not finding what he wants due to the blonde's power, Tommy himself would be in his soul space, which would allow him to try and theorize what every vague aspect of the place means.

 Tommy isn't too big of a theorist is the thing, so all of the questions would just leave him frustrated. And hey, what if Tommy's just a generally shit person? His soul would probably be God awful to sit in for an unknown amount of time.

 "I don't know jack shiiitttt! I've told you this, what eighty times now?! Get off my tits, man!" He yells, though Eret just gives him a calm smile. "Four times, actually." They say, but before Tommy could retort, she'd already taken off her sunglasses and looked into the blonde's eyes. It's before he passes out that he notices just how uncannily similar their powers are.

_-_-_-_

 He wakes up and instantly places a hand over his eyes, trying to shield them from the blinding white, and the sudden vision of eyes staring down at him. Blinking for a moment, Tommy sits up, shivering once he notices the fact that he's absolutely drenched. Now that the eyes are gone, he focuses on his surroundings, which is almost all colored white save for the dark, ebony water he's sat in and the similar colored clouds above. The occasional crow flying overhead also contrasts with the stark white sky, and the off-white pillars rising from the ocean flooding his soul.

 It's quiet, cave for the soothing sound of the waves and the crow's casual caws. Looking around, he notices that the pillars have no type of pattern in their placement; none being lined up in any sense. That... makes sense, he supposes. It is his soul, and Lord knows he has no sense of organization what-so-ever. As he looks down at the water that laps gently at his calves, he notices that his reflection... isn't quite right.

 Tommy knows he looks much different than how he did before Wilbur and them; a lot more healthier with his cheeks filled in and his eye bags basically non-existent, along with his hair being a vibrant blonde rather than a pale yellow. But the reflection shows exactly what he isn't anymore. It shows a younger Tommy, with a freshly made stump and bandages all over. A younger Tommy with even grayer eyes and deeper eye bags. A younger Tommy that dreams of darkness and desperation every night.

 The ocean is as different to the sky as the soul is to the mind. His soul is pure, open, revealing, and caring. His mind is dark, hushed, desperate, and selfish.

 He's splitting himself apart from the inside from his wants and his morals, his experiences and his should-haves. It's killing him, and whether that's a metaphor or not is a question Tommy does not have the answer to.

 Knowing he's going to be here for a while, Tommy lays back down into the cool, obsidian licks and watches the birds pass above him.

_-_-_-_

 Eret draws back from the teenager's mind with a hand over his mouth, looking down at the passed out blonde in horror. "Did you find anything?" Puffy asks quietly from behind her, and they swallow with a bone dry mouth. "No... but..." They frown with so much sorrow that he feels as if his heart is going to rip itself apart, cupping the child's face. "He really, really needs some help."

 She's already thinking about becoming a parent.

Chapter Text

 "I miss Tommyyyyyy." Tubbo groans, flopping onto the couch over the arm, laying his head next to Phil's legs. "I know, Tubbo; We all do." The blonde sighs, flipping the page in his book to the next. Tubbo just groans again into the cushions. "And I'm pissed at the government." Wilbur adds, walking into the room and sitting on the recliner. Techno nods, not even paying attention to Wilbur's reasoning as he sips his coffee. "What did they do now, Will?" Phil asks, glancing up at him as he sets his book aside. Lord knows he's not going to be able to pay attention to whatever he's reading anymore.

 The brunette leans his cheek onto his hand, pouting. "What haven't they done, really?" He huffs, Techno humming a small 'vouch' from his seat at the kitchen table, though no one can hear it. Except the author. Hey guys.

 "But, I can't send Tommy his portion of the money we got because he's boing monitored; if I were to send it now they would probably piece together that he's working with us. I don't want him to get into anymore shit, he's been complaining enough." While that is a reason Wilbur doesn't want to put more on Tommy's plate, it's also because he's well aware of how stressed out the boy is with all of this. He doesn't say that though, obviously.

 Tubbo nods. "Yeah, whenever he calls us he has to speak in code so whoever's monitoring him doesn't catch him talking to us. It fucking sucks." The boy complains, rolling over so he's no longer speaking into the couch. He pauses for a moment, lips pursing. "I don't even know how they haven't gotten anything out of him yet; they made Hero's Eye look into him, apparently."

 Phil and Wilbur sit up at that, Techno also entering the living room so he can pay better attention to the conversation. "Tubbo. Tubbo say slash-jay right now." Techno says, ever the serious figure. Tubbo shakes his head. "Slash-surs, Techno. She didn't get anything out of him, again, but I really just... don't know how. He said he used his power, but he didn't elaborate at all." Wilbur gets a scrunched look at that, hand coming up to cup his chin in thought. "I was starting to think Tommy's power was like mine, with how easily he persuaded Techno to let him keep that... thing, as well as how off Phil acted when they first spoke. But now I'm having second thoughts."

 When Wilbur looks back over, he sees Tubbo staring at him with that horrid, toothy frown of his. Fucking goat hybrids- "You have... You have a power?" Tubbo asks, and now all heads turn to him. "Uhm... Yeah? I thought you knew this?" Wilbur stutters, brow raised. Tubbo shakes his head, bringing a hand to shield his eyes, as if the news gave him a migraine. "Two years. I've known you all for two years, and I was never aware of this." He deadpans, making everyone else wince. Except for Technoblade; he's cool like that.

 "Well.. In our defense, you never asked, mate." Phil chuckles, only gaining a withering glare from Tubbo. "Alright, but like, what is your power then? Since you've suddenly manifested one." Wilbur splutters, only for Techno raises his hand, shutting the brunette up. "Wilbur's always annoyingly vague whenever he explains anything, so I'll do the honors." He says, sitting on the couch after shoving Tubbo's legs aside.

 "So. Wilbur's power is called Ringmaster. Basically, whenever he's around a group of two or more trusted people, those people's powers are boosted due to his 'leadership'. He can only boost those powers, though, if he knows what their power does, and what it's called. So, let's say he's in a group with Tommy and I. He wouldn't be able to boost either of our powers because he only knows mine, which is one person. If he were in a group with Tommy, Phil, and me, on the other hand, he would be able to boost mine and Phil's power because that's two people. Tommy just wouldn't be affected by his power. Power boosters on him would just double our powers completely, so he usually wears them on outings with us." Techno explains, gesturing with his hands the whole time. "Wilbur probably thought Tommy had something similar in the leadership aspect. Maybe he has some sort of aura-based persuasion, like how Wilbur's powers are stronger or weaker based on his determination."

 Tubbo nods, taking all of this in with pursed lips. "So... basically Wilbur is the Lenny of the Wonder Pets." He summarizes, making the other's groan. "Tubbo, you know that Ming-Ming, Tuck, and Lenny all were chock-full of determination how dare you." Ranboo says, scaring the shit out of everyone as he appears from behind the couch. He didn't even teleport. He was just sitting there the whole time.

 Techno nods. "'Nothing says success like some celery.' -Sun Tzu; The Art of War."

 Phil might just go and commit minor terrorism.

_-_-_-_

 Tommy sighs, resting his head back down on the pillow that feels like an inflated garbage bag. He'd been put up for another scan to make sure he wasn't injured at all during his... 'excursion', Captain Puffy had called it. He has someone he hasn't met yet watching over him this time; someone named Rhinestone, though he'd told the blonde to just call him Skeppy.

 "So, kid. I've been told you've been taken in by Phil and crew." The man hums, casually leaning back in the shitty chair that came with the recovery room Tommy's been locked up into. Tommy's head snaps up, and he looks at Skeppy with wide-eyes. "How... What." Skeppy snorts at the reaction, raising his hands up in a placating manner. "Don't worry, Phil and I are on good times. You don't snitch and I won't either, m'kay?" He winks, and Tommy has to fight back a grin

 The two got to know each other for a bit longer, Skeppy recalling embarrassing stories of Phil (who had apparently been friends with him for several years now), Wilbur, and even Techno. "But that's enough me... and a lot of other people." Skeppy says, snickering to himself. "I actually wanted to let you in on something before I have to go." He says, making Tommy glance at the clock. Skeppy would have to leave in a few minutes, it would seem. Sadge.

 "I'm... not one hundred percent sure on what your power is, but can you use it to get out of this hell-hole?" The man had asked, tilting his head. Tommy tilts his own back, pondering. Maybe... yeah, yeah he could actually. He'd just not wanted to deal with anyone this whole time. But whatever, it eez what it eez. "Yeah, I can." Skeppy grins at the blonde's words, leaning closer. "How can I help?"

_-_-_-_

 Tommy flops down on his musty green couch, relishing in how it actually sinks down instead of feeling like a fucking gym mat. After taking a moment to relax, he pulls out his phone, clicking onto the Syndi-Wyndi group-chat.

You: i look pretty good for a dead btich

Tuberculosis: hes alive :0

Oldza: You got your phone back?

You: after some light persuasion i am back home and on my phone yes

Technobl: How.

You: read the fine fuckig print dicklips

You: light persuasion

Boolean: So youre free?

You: are you all blind? yes. yes im free

Woolbur: YES!!!

Woolbur:  When are you coming back :D?

You: maybe when you invite me, as i am not  ahardened crimanl like the rest of you

Tuberculosis: lmao

Tuberculosis: hard

 Tommy sighs, shutting off his phone. He's excited to get back, don't get him wrong. He's just... really tired.

 Before he can even think of going to sleep though, a knock rings through the apartment. Groaning, he rolls of the couch and hobbles over to the door. The doctors that tested on him had to take off his prosthetic and didn't fucking put it back on correctly so now he has to drag that leg so it doesn't burn his nerves or some shit. He doesn't know, he was never good at Math.

 Opening his door, his glower lightens slightly when he sees an out-of-breath Wilbur, who squints at his tired self with the fury of a 'roided up tiger. "I thought you said the were taking good care of you." Wilbur says, swooping the boy up as he closes the apartment door with his foot, taking Tommy's keys from the offered hand and locking it. "Those were not my words. I said that I was doing fine so I could get you off my tits." Tommy huffs, as Wilbur carries him down the stairs of his apartment building and into a very suspicious looking car, Techno nodding at him from the drivers seat and Tubbo waving frantically in the passenger's.

 "You could've told us if they were being shitty, Toms." Wilbur presses, and Tommy has to slap the man's hands away so he can buckle himself up. He's not a fucking toddler, holy shit. "They weren't being shitty morally. They just had to run a shit load of tests n' shit on me. Didn't even put my prosthetic on right." He grumbles, and Tubbo whips his head around, making everyone in the car jump. "Uh-uh. No. We're fixing that." Tubbo says, unbuckling his seat belt and crawling into the back seat, making Techno splutter as he tries to dodge a hoof while driving. Once Tommy's sat against Wilbur with his leg resting across the other seats, Tubbo crouches on the car floor, examining it.

 After a beat of silence, Tubbo turns towards the front again and opens the center-box-thingy, producing a tool-box out of it before turning back around. "It might be kind of janky since we're driving, but it'll do better than this mess." Tubbo groans, sticking a few screws in his mouth. For some reason, Tommy doesn't think the screws are necessary. His point is proven when the boy begins to chew on them.

 Once his leg is fixed, they've already made it back to the house. Wilbur continues to carry Tommy, even though the boy is perfectly capable of walking on his own now, and allows Techno to open the door, Tubbo still chewing on screws idly. "Thank fuck we're back." Tommy sighs, slouching on the couch next to Phil, with Ranboo leaning over the back of the couch once more, arms resting on the blonde's head. "You say 'we're' as if all four of you have been gone for a while." Ranboo teases, as the other three take their respective seats in the living room. It's sort of cramped, seeing as Baba has entered the room and clambered on the rest of the couch, begging for Tommy's attention.

 "No, I meant what I said." The blonde hums, and Wilbur dawns a face of horror as he draws his legs up onto the chair with him, looking at Tommy with wide-eyes. "Tommy... where is it?"

 The other's look at him weirdly, before the man continues. "Where's the spider?"

 Tommy grins, looking at the back of the very chair Wilbur sits on. "He's around." He's glad to be back.

Chapter Text

 He holds a knife in his trembling hands, pointing it up at the boy he once thought of as a friend from his place on the kitchen floor. "Tommy, listen," His friend's smooth voice starts, though he can't find any comfort in it. "Put the knife down, and we can pretend that nothing ever happened. You weren't supposed to see that, but you did. We can act like you didn't... erase it from your memory." The boy continues, slowly crouching down to the blonde's level.

 Tommy frantically shakes his head, gripping the knife harshly. "You- you killed Luke- I- you killed him!" His shaking voice cries, but it hardly sways the brunette. "He was going to call the orphanage; we can't have that. I don't want them taking you away from us like they took Wisp." The blood stained boy continues, and Tommy blanks. "I... wh-... you made me forget him." Tommy starts, lowering the knife a little in shock. The boy smiles, tilting his head as the realization courses through Tommy's veins. "You made me forget him. You made forget about Wisp." Tommy mumbles, dropping the knife as he begins to shake, somehow managing to sob harder than before.

 "I had to, Toms. You would've done something stupid to get him back; I don't want you getting hurt. I don't want you to end up like Wisp, or Bitzel." Tommy blinks, brow furrowing. "W... who?" He asks, and the boy shakes his head, reaching out for the blonde. "That's not the point, the point is that I can make you forget about this- I mean, would you really want to remember the death of your friend?" The brunette asks, his tone patronizing. Tommy shakes his head, scrambling back into the cabinets behind him. "No- no no no-" He panics, ripping a drawer out and throwing it at the other, silverware flying across the kitchen.

 The brunette yells, grabbing onto his stomach, where the heavy wood had hit. Tommy gulps, grabbing the closest thing and grabbing the other, aiming the fork over his chest. "Tommy- TOMMY STOP-" "I'M SORRY- I'M- I'M SO SORRY DEO-." The blonde sobs, drawing his arm back-

 He shoots up, breathing heavily. Something groans from beside him, and he realizes someone has their arm wrapped around him. Looking up, he sees Wilbur's bleary eyes looking at him, as the brunette yawns. "Tommy? 'r you okay?" The man asks in a tired drawl, and Tommy nods, heart beginning to calm. "Yeah- yeah, it was just a nightmare." He sighs, leaning his head on the older's chest. The man hums, running a hand through his hair. "M'kay. Tell me if somethin's wrong, 'kay?" Wilbur hums, and Tommy nods, allowing the other to drift back to sleep.

 The blonde grabs at his shirt, blinking as he recalls the dream. It felt so real, but he doesn't know anyone named Deo, or Luke, or any of the people mentioned in it. He also doubts he's ever killed anyone- as pompous as he may act, he really just does not have the strength to actively murder anyone. The door to Wilbur's room creaks open, cutting off Tommy's thoughts as Phil peaks in, smiling at the sight of the two of them. "Hey bud. Hope I didn't wake you." Tommy shakes his head, yawning. "You're fine." He mumbles, and the man's grin becomes impossibly soft. Sitting on the edge of the bed, the winged man hums. "Techno's making breakfast- Tubbo and Ranboo are out with a friend of theirs, so it's just us four today." Phil explains, and Tommy nods. "Cool." He grumbles, before rolling off of the bed, ignoring Phil's squawk and Wilbur's groan.

 "Tom-" "Phil, that was the only way I could escape his grasp, do not judge me." Tommy explains, standing up and shuffling around the room, walking out the door and to the kitchen. Phil sighs, though it's paired with a smile as he turns to look at the brunette, who's looking up at him with squinted eyes. He snickers, running a hand through his son's hair. "Hey bud. 'S time to wake up." He says, and Wilbur just groans. Phil rolls his eyes, standing up. "Fine, miss out on Techno's blueberry pancakes. More for us." He says, walking out of the room as Wilbur scrambles up at the words. "I'm up- please leave some for me-" Phil just laughs, entering the living room to see Tommy hiding his face in his hands, whilst Techno drinks syrup out of the bottle.

 Phil stares, and Wilbur does too once he's in the room. Techno ignores them, sitting the now empty syrup bottle down and clasping his hands together on the table. "Breakfast." He says, gesturing at the syrup covered pancakes on four plates, two already in front of Techno and Tommy. Phil sighs, shaking his head and sitting in a chair, Wilbur following.

 "I had a really weird dream last night." Tommy starts, biting into his pancake, stars forming in his eyes as he looks down at the delicacy. "What was it about?" Techno asks, ignoring the pride he feels that Tommy likes his pancakes. "I fuckin... I think I murdered someone with a fork?" He says, chewing. "It was really emotional too- I was sobbing or something, and this guy had murdered someone and was trying to make me forget about it. He said something about an orphanage, too." Tommy explains, Wilbur furrowing his brow at the words. "That sounds pretty intense." He hums, and Tommy nods. "I don't know anyone named Deo though, so I think my record is clean. No murder for me; I'm too charming for that." He grins, making Phil snort. "Charming people have never committed a crime in their life." The man nods, making Tommy snap his fingers in the other's direction. "You get me!"

 Techno rolls his eyes, swallowing his bite of pancake. "Eat your breakfast, Tommy."

_-_-_-_

 "I have a... business partner, coming over." Wilbur says, sitting on the couch next to Tommy, who's scrolling on Instagram. Techno and Wilbur make fun of him for using Instagram instead of Twitter, but Tommy would rather not want to swan dive into a vat of highly toxic acid by clicking on the bird app. "Quackity again?" Techno groans, making Tommy pause. "Quackity as in... the one you were trying to find when you met me?" Wilbur sighs. "Yeah... yeah that Quackity." Wilbur groans, though Tommy can tell it's light-hearted due to the man's grin. "We have a bit of a prank war going on between his group and ours, so me doing that was just seeing who would betray him or not." The man says, shrugging.

 Tommy purses his lips, tilting his head with squinted eyes. "He... he runs a triple life? As a laundromat worker, an info dealer, and the head of a villain group?" The blonde, asks, the idea of such a thing making him feel tired just thinking about it. Wilbur snorts, nodding his head. "Anything for the money, was his words." The man hums, and Tommy can see Techno shaking his head from where it's buried in his book. "What's his group called?" Tommy asks, gaining more and more interested in this business partner of Wilbur's.

 "Las Nevadas. His villain name is Gambler." As soon as those words leave Wilbur's mouth, Tommy freezes. Las Nevadas. The same Las Nevadas that dropped a fucking building on him and costed him his leg. Tommy scowls, standing up. "Yeah, great, well I'll be in my room. Tell me when he leaves." He growls, trudging back to the comforting medieval room that he'd taken over in his time here, and back to the comfort of Baba and Shroud.

 Did you know that some spiders recycle their webs by eating them? I thought that was pretty cool :)

 Wilbur blinks, a small frown on his face as the blonde leaves the room, obviously upset about something. Techno is obviously thinking of the same thing, seeing as the two make eye-contact with similar expressions of concern on their faces. They can't ponder on it too much though, due to the ringing of the door bell signaling Quackity's arrival. "I'll go get that. Hey, why don't you go talk to Tommy while Quackity and I chat?" Wilbur suggests, waiting for Techno's nod before he goes and opens the door, meeting Quackity's scarred smile. "Spoot!" "Kackltee!" The two chirp to each other, as Wilbur lets the other in.

 Ignoring the two, Techno walks down the hallway, cracking open Tommy's door to see him cuddled up to Baba, Shroud on his chest. The blonde glances up at him, nodding his head in greeting before going back to stroking a finger over Shroud's... head? Sure, yeah. Techno nods back, shutting the door and sitting on the end of the bed, crossing his legs. "Hey kid. What's got you down?" Techno asks, and Tommy snorts. "You sound like a step dad trying his hardest." The younger huffs, though he only receives an unimpressed stare from the other. Tommy pops his lips leaning further into the polar bear behind him.

 "Did you know that, due to pollution,  the average size of polar bear penises has shrank?" Tommy states, staring at a tiny crack above the door, just below the ceiling. Techno makes a disgusted sound, shaking his head. "Stop trying to change the subject- why are you upset?" Techno says, trying his damn hardest to ignore the shit the blonde just spouted. Tommy groans, letting Shroud crawl onto the sleeping Baba's back before sitting up, scooching so that he's next to Techno. "If I tell you what's wrong you'll slaughter someone. Or multiple people." The boy deadpans, and Techno squints, a frown on his face. "I don't overreact that bad." He says, vaguely offended. Tommy glares at him. "Just a few days ago you almost blew up a McDonalds because they gave me the wrong order." The pink haired man shakes his head at that, placing a hand on the other's shoulder. "We specifically told them what you wanted, and they didn't give it to you. They deserved it." Tommy rolls his eyes, and that makes three times someone has rolled their eyes today. "They are also aren't paid enough to deal with your terrorist addiction." "Tell me what's wrong." Techno deadpans.

 Tommy groans, leaning onto the older's shoulder. "Fine. But you have to promise me not to deal any harm to anyone or their property." He says, sending a withering glare to the other, who nods with a somewhat disappointed sigh. "Good." Tommy nods. "So... Las Nevadas." He starts, getting an approving hum from Techno. "I'm. They're kind of the reason I'm short a limb." He says, unsure as to how he could put something like that gently. Techno stares at him, his blood red eyes swirling as his lips purse, looking awkward yet natural with his tusks poking out. "...How much is 'kinda'?" The man asks, slowly. "I mean. It. Wasn't on purpose?" He tries, only for Techno to growl, standing up and storming out of the room.

 The blonde is quick to follow, scrambling up with flailing limbs and incomprehensible spluttering as he grabs Techno's arm. His attempt to hold the man back is rendered useless as he's just dragged with him, socks kicking back and forth on the wooden floors. "Techno- Technoblade- you promised you wouldn't do anything!" The blonde whines. "I'm breaking the promise." The piglin growls, completely un-phased by the blonde's desperate attempts to stop him as he enters the living room. "Technoblade! Hey man, how's it-" Quackity's cheerful greeting is cut-off as he's slammed against a wall, hands frantically coming up to claw at the much larger one wrapped around his throat. "Techno?!" Wilbur asks, shooting up from his seat on the couch as he runs over to his...brother/uncle/step dad? Either way, Wilbur's confused as to why the man is strangling the duck hybrid.

 "You mother fucker-" The man growls, his grip tightening on the shorter's throat. Tommy jumps onto Techno's back, startling the man as the boy begins to strangle him. Effectively caught off guard, Techno is driven backwards from Quackity, who drops to the ground breathlessly. "Tommy-" "NO! You promised me that you weren't going to hurt him if I told you- this happened forever ago, Techno! I'm over it!" Tommy growls the lie as if it were true, yet Techno doesn't falter, the man trying his hardest to gently pry Tommy off of him. Quackity stares up at them with wide eyes. "What did I even do?!" He asks, genuinely confused.

 Techno snarls at him, wanting for all the world to just snap his neck. "You know what you did you dirty fucking-" "HE LITERALLY DOESN'T THOUGH, TECHNO!" Tommy yells, banging his fist on the top of Technoblade's head like a jack-hammer. "IT WASN'T- HIS- FAULT." The boy continues, getting lightheaded by all of the shaking. His heavy breathing, an obvious sign of how worn out he is due to this, makes Techno calm down. The man looks over his shoulder, wincing when he sees an exhausted looking Tommy. "No, but seriously, what did I do??" Quackity asks.

_-_-_-_

 After a lengthy explanation, desperate begging for forgiveness, and the fact that the biggest paper clip in the world is fifteen feet tall, Tommy's finally laid down on the couch with Wilbur and Techno, sighing in exasperation as the both of them glare at Quackity whilst he exits the building that has yet to be confirmed as either a house or an apartment. "Did you really have to ban him from being within a fifty-foot radius of me? He was actually pretty funny." Tommy groans, tilting his head back so he can look up at Techno upside-down from where his head rests on the man's shoulder. 

 Techno huffs, nodding. "Absolutely- I will never forgive him, and he and his crew are dead to me for the rest of eternity." The man states, though Wilbur just scoffs. "What he's trying to say is that this won't last forever; you and Quackity will get a proper introduction in- let's say- three months?" He looks at Techno, who shakes his head. "Five months." Wilbur settles. Tommy squints at the man, a scowl present on his face. "That is nothing like what Techno just said, but okay." Tommy sighs, leaning back onto said male as he begins to drift off, tired from todays excursions-

 Then the front door slams open.

 "WILBUR TOLD US EVERYTHING-" Tubbo yells, Ranboo and Phil trailing in after him as Tubbo all but leaps onto Tommy, ignoring the pained grunt the younger makes. "I'll nuke him- I'll nuke him and his fucking city of villains, I don't care how strong their guard is." The brunette growls, hugging Tommy so tight that he might pop. This continues for another hour, with the family of villains fussing over him and threatening the entirety of Arkansas (the fiddle is Arkansas' state instrument, by the way), Tommy finally calms them all down by annoying them with random, useless facts.

 "There's an estimated amount of at least three thousand castles in Scotland, bee-tee-dubs." Tommy continues. "And when bees sting, they release a banana smelling scent that calls other bees over to protect the hive." Phil sighs, running a hand through the younger's hair. "That's amazing, Toms. How about we watch a movie though? Calm everyone down." He suggests, making Tommy sit up. "Pitch Perfect. Pitch Perfect or I'm gonna riot." Ranboo tilts his head, frowning. "Why Pitch Perfect?" He asks, making Tommy shake his head in disappointment. What he's disappointed about, Ranboo isn't sure. "Number one, because it's an amazing movie, and number two, Fat Amy's actor, Rebel Wilson, played the nightguard in Night at the Museum 3, which we watched the other night. I love Rebel Wilson, she's so skrunkly  😊" He explains, ignoring the horrified faces the others make.

 Phil just nods, very slowly, trying not to cry. "Yeah, yeah bud. We'll... we'll watch Pitch Perfect." He says, reaching across the table to grab the remote. "FUCK YEAH!!! I'll go get popcorn!" Tommy smiles, heading to the kitchen. A silence follows his exit, before Wilbur looks down at his shaking hands. "How the fuck did he say that out loud?" He asks, fearfully. No one answers him, for no one can answer him.

Life is suffering and everyone else is suffering with it.

Chapter Text

 Tommy opens his eyes to Wilbur shaking him frantically, as if he's trying to shove the boy off of his bed. "Tommy! Tommy, wake up, it's Christmas!" The man says, excitement pouring out of his words. The blonde groans, turning over in his bed and burying his face in Baba's fur, completely ignoring the bear's Santa hat. "It's October third, Wilbur." He mumbles, already tired of this joke.

 "Nope! Nope, it's been around December this entire time. This entire fan fic. For the sake of convenience." Wilbur chirps, and Tommy raises his head up, furrowing his brow. "Huh?" Says Tommy, who looks over at the man once more. "And we'll be stuck in December through January until Tupple finds a reason for us to have a specific date :D" The man continues, grabbing the younger's hand and pulling him out of bed. Completely lost to anything the villain is saying, Tommy looks down at his pants, which are apparently Christmas themed. What- he went to bed in his favorite dark-purple sweatpants that he stole from Techno last week-? Ignoring his crisis, Wilbur drags Tommy out of his bedroom and down the hallway. "-We went present shopping last week, wrapped them last night even though we had to step out to wrap each others, and Techno made Christmas cookies! You've been so excited for Christmas all week, Toms!" The man says, the cheer in his voice incredibly off-putting compared to his usual softness.

 Tommy blinks, pursing his lips. "Uh-huh." Is all he says back, because really, what is he supposed to say to all of this?

 Once they make it into the living room, Tommy spots all of the housemates sat in various spots. Techno and Phil are sat sharing the recliner, Techno looking the softest Tommy had ever seen him, with Ranboo sat on the couch, Tubbo on the floor in front of him. Tommy sits next to Ranboo, hesitantly, completely ignoring how Wilbur flops down next to him with a lot more excitement. The boy leans over to Ranboo, knocking shoulders with the boy. "What the fuck is happening??" He asks, as the other four make light conversation, Tubbo obviously eager to open his presents that lay under the tree.

 Ranboo shrugs, a similarly uncomfortable look on his face. "I don't know? They keep saying it's Christmas and talking about all of the stuff we did but like- I could've sworn it was October." Tommy nods, before a loud clap cuts him off from responding. "Alright- gift time, you little shits." He says, standing up from his spot beside Techno and scooching boxes in front of their respective people. Wilbur and Tubbo cheer childishly, while Tommy's just in awe at just how many gifts each person is getting. Once everyone has at least ten boxes in front of them, Phil gives them the go-ahead to start opening. Tubbo tears into the largest box like a feral dog, bleating in delight when he sees a box with a claw machine on it- though it's obvious that the machine needs to be put together. Tubbo grins with all of his teeth, as per usual, saying thank you to whoever got it for him.

 Tommy and Ranboo glance at each other, before each reaching for the nearest box of the three piles resting on the table. Tommy grabs a decently sized one, though it's not the biggest, and it's pretty heavy too. He's not sure why the weight makes him more excited for this gift, but it does, so he opens it with excitement (though nowhere near as much as Tubbo), and he smiles when he sees that it's a terrarium for Shroud. He looks to Phil, who's the only one that would do anything involving the tarantula, and the man smiles back at him, mouthing a 'your welcome' before going back to his own gifts.

 Ranboo, on the other hand, grabbed a smaller box with some messy holes punched into it. He assumes this one is from Tubbo right off the back, seeing as the others would've been caring enough not to punch holes into his gift, before he hears shifting in the box. Eyes widening, he tears the paper off and opens the lid of the cardboard box, jaw dropping when he sees a pure black kitten inside. Making some sound in the back of his throat that sounds like a rat being stepped on, the boy gently cups his hand under the baby, holding- squints- her up to his chest and cradling her. "I thought you'd like a pet of your own seeing as you've been saving animals from capture and death for most of your vigilante career." Techno mumbles to the boy, not even looking up from the mug he'd been gifted by Wilbur, which reads 'I Like My Orphans Like I Like My Beer, I Don't'. Ranboo cries a little bit, whispering a thank you to the other, who nods.

 Wilbur opens his first gift with a similar energy to Tubbo, tearing the neat wrapping of the box apart and already near tears when he sees the words on the box. Looking at the large box with a face of pure happiness, he sheds a tear. "It's beautiful..." He whispers, staring at the Kidz Bop Karaoke Machine. He knows only Tubbo or Techno could carry this thing, but looking at Techno's scorned face at the gift, he can tell it's Tubbo that got this for him. "THANK YOU TUBBOOO-" "YOU'RE WELCOME WILBUURRR-" The two yell at each other in high-pitched voices, being unnecessarily loud.

 Phil opens his first gift after everyone else, having wanted to see their reactions with a warm grin. His grin only widens when he opens the white box underneath the green wrapping paper to see an outfit much like his villain one, but instead it's purple, with black and gold accents. Getting the sentiment, Phil sniffles a little, nodding to Ranboo, as he'd recognize that stitching anywhere. The boy nods back, looking a little confused and a little awkward, but Phil doesn't think much about it as he swaps his original bucket hat with the newer one.

 With all of that out of the way, the day continues on with Christmas cheer, Christmas cookies, the making of gingerbread houses, and all of that other Christmas shit and stuff. As confused as Tommy and Ranboo are, it's safe to say that it was a great day, and an amazing holiday. If. If that makes any sense.

( Image cc: T- "Probably should take 'yer arm OUT of the veil to tip your hat." P- "PFT- Shush!")

Chapter Text

 Believe it or not, Tommy can tell when he's in the wrong. Behind all of his bravado and false narcissism, he knows when he's the idiot in the situation, even if he'll never admit it. Right now happens to be one of those moments, he thinks, as he stares Dream in the mask. Does it count as eye-contact when the eyes you're looking at are fake?

 Either way, Dream has spotted Tommy from across the street he seems to have been patrolling, and now Tommy has to act like he's a totally law-abiding citizen that is not in kahoots (hhehe like the game like uh yall ever played blooket that ones pretty fu) with the most dangerous villains in the city. 'Don't leave the apartment-house without us' Techno had said, 'Stay clear of heroes' Wilbur ordered. Now look where Tommy is, wishing he had listened to them! GOD, he hates men.

 "Tommy! It's good to see you doing well, how has everything been since... y'know." The hero gestures vaguely with a gloved hand. Who even wears white gloves any more, if anything it just makes him look even more like a skrunkly skrimblo ongledoople globbledeglee skringe skrongle anime girl with super powers she obtained by falling into a glowing river after following a black cat into the forest. He looks the masked hero up and down, nodding to himself. Yeah, that seems like a pretty fair description.

 The man tilts his head. "Tommy?" He asks. Oh yeah. Conversations. Right. "Oh- sorry, anime, y'know." Tommy snorts, jerking a thumb behind him to nothing. Dream just nods, hesitantly. "But yeah, I've been pretty good! Went to stay with some friends because of uhh- paranoia." He lies, whipping out his 'i'm a good person i swear' voice. The masked man hums, nodding. "That's good- I'm glad." The man says, and Tommy sees his shoulders slump a little, as if he were relieved about something. "Oh- I've been meaning to ask if you; what's your power? Eret could tell that you had one through his soul search, but he couldn't really find out what it was for some reason. Something about eyeballs- I stopped listening when she mentioned that." He chuckles.

 Tommy snorts, shrugging. "I don't have one, big man." He lies, a bead of sweat going down his forehead because yes this is fictional and yes sweat works like that. Dream hums, pondering the answer for a moment before he shakes his head, bringing his attention back to the boy. "Well, either way, I need to ask a favor of you, if you don't mind." Ruh roh.

_-_-_-_

 "So, you want me to get the Syndicate's trust in disguise so you can figure out what they did to make me lose my memory of my time there?" He reiterates, tilting his head. He'd honestly forgotten about that little white lie in the sea of others, but he needed some explanation as to why Eret couldn't find anything in him. Captain Puffy nods from her seat, Dream having lead Tommy back to the Tower so no one heard them. "Due to Technoblade's power, we can never pull it off ourselves.. He has some sort of way to know exactly who someone is, even when one of us disguised as a civilian." Sapnap sighs, slumping in his seat.

 Tommy thinks about the offer. The heroes made it clear that he doesn't have to do this, and he probably shouldn't seeing as the villains are his besties right now, but he has an idea. A really, really funny idea, that would truly embarrass his number one idol.

_-_-_-_

 "You want to what." Techno deadpans, staring at the boy across the table.

 "Dye my hair pink, Blade." Tommy says, smiling with so much unfiltered excitement is makes the piglin want to gag. "Now why would I do that?" He asks, ruby eyes squinting suspiciously at the boy wondering what he's getting up to this time. Tommy sighs, leaning back so far in his chair Techno's afraid he's going to fall. "Becaauuseee, Tech-no-blade, I ran into Dream today-" The blonde is interrupted by Techno standing up, hands instantly reaching for the boy's face and turning him this way and that.

 "Are you okay? Did he hurt you? I'll fucking kill him if he did anything I swear to Phil-" The man rants, and Tommy slaps his hands frantically, groaning. "Shut up! Shut! Up! He didn't do anything, Blade. Well, nothing bad, I assure you. Sit the fuck down." He huffs, ignoring how Techno forgoes his previous seat for the one next to him. The man looks at him expectantly, weirdly defined eyebrows raised in a questioning manner. Now, Tommy means this platonically of course because he's not absolutely putrid and disgusting, but the man has no right to look that pretty while sitting in a chair that's two times too small for him.

 The blonde snorts at his obvious premonition though, crossing his legs. "He and a few other heroes offered me a job to spy on you guys in disguise because they think you don't know my scent enough to sniff me out, pun intended. I took the job cus it'd be funny and also it would get them off our asses even more. Plus, free money." He shrugs, and Techno nods along with his reasoning. Money is great.

 "Cool, cool. What does dying your hair to look like mine have to do with this? Buy a wig or somethin'." He huffs, tilting his head with a vaguely amused smile. Something Tommy's noticed about his smile is that Techno's lips always get a little more wrinkly at the edges due to his tusks poking out. Don't tell anyone, but Tommy thinks the wrinkles make the smile all the more genuine. He likes hanging out with Techno because of that; how genuine his emotions are at the off-times he shows them.

 Ignoring his own thoughts though, Tommy rolls his eyes, leaning forward in his chair to emphasize himself. "See, I do have to be in disguise, yeah? So, why not disguise as a Technoblade fan? Also, I wanna match with you." The teenager says, well aware of how much that last part affected the older. Yeah, he's a little piece of shit, and he takes pride in that. Being called a piece of shit makes him feel bad, but a little piece of shit? Different story. Sorta like how you can sometimes smell cold or how some feelings feel like the smell of iron. Who the when?

 Techno takes a moment to compose himself, huffing a sigh out from his nose. "Alright, cool, so what's your plan after that?" He asks, to which Tommy responds to with a grin.

_-_-_-_

 "This is a terrible plan." Techno drawls, as he pick Tommy up. Tommy leans back and headbutts him in the chin, not saying anything about the remark otherwise as he opens his mouth. "OHMYGOSH IT'S T H E BLOOD GOD HOLY CRAP OH MY GOD OH MY GOD-" He squeals, grinning as hard as possible as Techno carries him away from his battle with Dream. If Techno hadn't already known about this plan, he would've been suspicious as to why Dream was holding back so much. At least the man doesn't want to hurt Tommy, which makes sense, seeing as he's a hero.

 The pinkette sighs, placing the boy down on some random rooftop. "Stay here." He orders, before jumping back down to fight with Dream once again, ignoring the boy's squeals about how The Blood God talked to him. After a few minutes of some more battle, added with Techno's taunts of how weak Dream is at the moment and some light teasing about his recently found homelessness (Well, less light-teasing and more laughing in his face and saying 'you're homeless'.), Techno retreats with a farewell, not commenting on how Dream doesn't make chase for once.

 He meets back up with Tommy on the rooftop, who starts jumping up and down and flapping his hands up and down. "Ohmigod- you're like, my favorite supervillain!" The fact that he said 'supervillain' instead of just 'villain' really helps his character, Techno thinks. The man glances at the strawberry clip in Tommy's hair (/ref), and focuses on the tiny red light in it. Unnoticeable to the human eye, but Techno isn't human so it's fine. Seriously, did the heroes really think he would fall for this?

 "Yeah, hi kid. What were you doin' in the middle of a giant battle between the number one hero and the number one villain? Sounds a little dangerous, if you ask me." He says, sarcasm filling his voice. The character Tommy is playing seems to be a tad bit dense though (or the boy is actually a little tone deaf, there's been a lot of instances where he needs clarification. Techno will ask later.), because he just grins with all of his teeth and says "I know I know I know- but you're- like- so cool, and I just had to get a picture." He says, his blinding grin never falling. Techno has to admit, it's kind of endearing- act or not.

 He sighs, shrugging. "Alright, alright- you can have a picture." He says, wincing a little at the squeal the boy makes as he bounds next to him, pulling out his phone. Techno does an awkward peace sign, with Tommy mirroring him as he snaps a picture or 300. "Thank you so much!" The boy says, and Techno nods, humming. "Sure. What's your name, kid?" Techno offers, taking a seat on the roof. Tommy plops down in front of him, his smile becoming mildly mischievous. "Jared."

 Techno's eyes widen a little bit, and he has to hold in a laugh. "Y- Jared? I used to know someone named Jared. Good guy." The man replies, trying with all he has to keep his voice from wobbling. Jared grows a little more excited over that, basically vibrating where he sits. "Really?! So you liked him? Tell me about him!" The boy asks, and it's the start of what Techno has to call a masterful plan.

_-_-_-_

 "How the fuck did that work." George deadpans, as he watches Tommy and The Blood God chat from the screen. Sapnap wheezes from behind him, banging his fist on his knee in an attempt to compose himself. "He's a fucking idiot!! He's so dumb!!!" The man cries, before he starts choking. Dream ignores them, staring at the screen with a mildly suspicious gaze. No way The Blood God just fell for that, right?

 "You can call me Technoblade, kid." The staticky voice from the screen says, before the man ruffles Tommy's hair, and jumps from the roof, disappearing when Tommy glances over the side of the building.

 Holy fucking shit it worked.

_-_-_-_

 "I still can't believe you said your name." Tommy cackles, leaning onto the elder's shoulder as they re-watch Troy for about the fifteenth time. "Eh, it's not like they'll get anything from it- there are no files of me in any way, and my civilian name is Derick." The man hums, crunching on some popcorn. It's not actual popcorn though- you know those black bags with the weird chalky texture- it's kind of like cheese dust covered pop corn.

 Tommy blinks, leaning his head backwards so he can look up at the other. "Derick?" He asks, and the man shrugs one shoulder, not wanting to hit the boy's head with his other one. "Do I not look like a Derick to you?" He asks, looking down at the boy. Tommy hums, staring at the older for a bit, before nodding. "Yeah, I can see it." He says, before they both go back to watching the movie in a peaceful silence, if you ignore the cries of Andromache as her husband's corpse gets dragged away.

 The peace is broken when the front door is busted open, a panicked looking Wilbur rushing in along with Ranboo and Tubbo. "TECHNO THE MEDIA KNOWS YOUR NAME WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO-" Wilbur cries, his hands pulling at his hairs as he paces, continuing to yell at Techno as the man sighs, pausing the movie. Ah, right, it would seem the two have completely forgotten to tell the others about their plan.

 "Oooh. Like your hair, Tommy!" Tubbo comments, sitting next to him and snatching some popcorn from his bowl. Tommy sighs, thumping his head onto the back of the couch as Techno tries to calm Wilbur down. Ranboo just shuffles back to his bedroom, waving hello and goodbye to Tommy as his kitten- Enderpearl- follows him at his heels.

 Peace is never an option in this household/apartment building.

Chapter Text

ayup

forgot to make an update here about it, but! the first chapter of the rewrite is OUT this is HAPPENING!!!

if you click on my page it should be the first fic that shows up :D

also, disclaimer, FUCK THE LORE OF THIS STORY IT'S GONE IT'S GONE FOREVER!!!! there is NO MORE!!!

if you guys wanna know what the lore was gonna be, ask and ill add just one more chapter to this here fic explaining it. otherwise, it's gone forever, crack and fluff is all i'll be paying attention to now.

i hope you guys enjoy the rewrite as much as you've enjoyed the original; there will be new content, less plotholes, and overall more haha funnies.

I LOVE YOU GUYS!!! I'M SO GRATEFUL FOR THE SUPPORT YOU GAVE ME BEFOREHAND, AND I HOPE I'M MEETING YALLS STANDARDS WITH THIS REWRITE!

<3333

Chapter Text

so,

basically, tommy, deo, and the rest of business bay were stinky orphan 14 y/os squatting in an empty apartment building. deo has a memory wiping power.

deo is protective of his friends, but one by one said friends consider calling the orphanage seeing as they've hit a rough patch on food, water, warmth, etc.

deos like hell nah!! and fucking murders them, BUT!!!! he knows the others will be like WHARTT THR FICK!'nnn
so he erases their memories of whoever he kills every time he kills one of them

eventually, tommys the only one left, and he ends up finding a bit of evidence that luke or someone else existed, and hes like DUDE!!!!!!😦😦😦

do deo tries to erase his memory again but Tommy STABS HIM with a FORK really HARD in the CHEST!!!!!!

like the title likw itdmlike tge title

skmething about deos power tho is tgat he has to be touchinf whoever hes trying to memory wipe h rg 2/JYMY CAT IS EATING MY PHOKNEE
anyways

so right before he dies he touches tommys chest and thinks "hey, forget about this whole event so you dont want to kill me please :D"
obviously that list bit didnt work but tommy DID forget everything
so later, when cops come due to people hearing the ruckus, take tommy in. tommy uses his power to make the cops think he just took out the head of an organization. hes then put into hero training, and he eventually gaslights himself into thinking "yes thats exactly what happened and i didnt just wake up standing over some dudes body with a bloody fork in hand"

so he COMPLETELY forgets he killed a guy and thinks he's just been jn hero training since he was super young

but now, since hes healing with sbi and friends, memories slowly come back to him and he eventually finds out what he did and has to heal from it. luckily, sbi are there ti help.

and shroud, cant forget shroud.
and baba.

THE END!!!!!