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“No! That’s my family! Please, Dream, I won’t talk back anymore!” Tommy cried, reaching with one dirty hand towards the other boy. “I promise!”
Dream looked up harshly, and Tommy could only imagine the scowl residing behind his mask. “You promised not to hide things from me, Tommy.” His voice was cold, and dripped with disappointment. “It’s too late for promises.”
He flicked the lighter, and the photograph started to burn.
“NO!” Tommy screamed, raising his hands to cover his eyes, too afraid to try and get the photo back.
Dream grumbled under his breath before walking closer. He grabbed Tommy’s hair and wrenched his head back. “Watch it burn, Tommy.”
The fire licked slowly at the shiny paper, engulfing each person one by one.
Phil was the first to go. Then Techno, followed by Tommy, and finally Wilbur. When the photograph was reduced to nothing but ash, Dream finally released Tommy, before grinding his heel into the ashes.
“That’s what happens when you lie, Tommy. You know better now, don’t you?”
“Yes, Dream,” Tommy replied robotically, frantically trying to memorize the photo. He continued to stare at the ashes for hours, long after Dream had left, and the sun had set.
Mobs seemed to avoid him, recognizing his all encompassing grief and resonating with it. Skeleton’s shot at him once or twice, but they missed every time, and never tried twice. Zombies turned around as soon as they caught sight of the eye bags and dirty, greasy hair. Spiders climbed over him a few times, as if to offer their apologies, but never stopped to attack.
When the sun started to rise, Tommy had made his decision.
He would start hiding things from Dream in order to escape. It was risky, and stupid. But it was his only chance.
He was on his own.
+ + +
“Tommy?” Dream called out, his tone sickeningly sweet. “What happened to your party? Where is everyone?”
“They didn’t come,” Tommy replied monotonously as he stared down at the cake. He started to feel that familiar feeling, as if he was watching himself from a television screen.
“Why not?”
“I don’t know.”
Dream clicked his tongue a few times before rounding the table to rest a hand on Tommy’s shoulder. “You know why, Tommy. Why didn’t they come?”
“They don’t care about me,” Tommy muttered, the phrase having been tossed around his mind for the past few months. It was a favorite of Dream’s, along with “I care about you”.
“That’s right. They don’t care about you, otherwise they would have come.” Dream shook his head sadly, reaching out to grab a cherry off the cake. He popped it into his mouth, before sighing. “It’s such a shame. This was a great idea… Your cake is going to go to waste, too.”
“You can have it,” Tommy said. He wondered if he could die from heartbreak.
“Thank you, Tommy! You’re so… sweet,” Dream smiled, knowing Tommy would usually appreciate the pun.
He didn’t.
“It’s about time for me to leave,” Dream remarked, grabbing the plate of cake. “I think I’ll go early today. I’ll see you tomorrow, Tommy.”
He ruffled the boy’s hair before he left, leaving Tommy feeling even more dirty than he already was.
+ + +
“At what point do you start to listen, Tommy?” Dream hissed, staring at the chests surrounding him. “When will you get it through your thick skull that this is for the best? This is to help you, Tommy. How do you not understand that?”
“I’m sorry, Dream! I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorr-”
“Stop.”
Tommy froze, watching with horrified eyes as Dream pulled out TNT and a lighter. “Dream-”
“Shut up, Tommy!” Dream yelled, losing his composure quickly. “Would you shut the fuck up for once in your life? Maybe that’s why nobody fucking loves you!”
Tommy’s breath hitched as the TNT was placed, and he felt sobs erupt from him as it exploded, knocking him to the ground.
All his hard work was for nothing. The lying, the hiding, the scavenging, was for nothing.
Dream stood amongst the rubble, his armor protecting him against the blast. He stared down at his feet, before his head snapped to Tommy. His mask was cracked.
“You never learn,” Dream hissed as he strided towards Tommy, who started to crawl away as well as he could. “Do I have to teach you another lesson?”
“No-” Tommy gasped, his mouth being covered as Dream grabbed his shirt and lifted him up.
“Shut up, Tommy. I don’t want to hear you make a sound,” Dream said, bringing his knee up into Tommy’s stomach.
+ + +
When Tommy woke, he almost wished he hadn’t.
Bruises littered his body, and he could tell from a simple shift that there was something wrong with his left ankle. Small cuts, and what looked to be claw marks lined his arms, almost as if a wild animal had tried to attack him. Though that was unlikely. When he tried to breathe, he felt as if his lungs were rattling in his chest, and there was something in his throat.
I have to get up, he thought to himself, coughing roughly.
The moon shined brighter than it had in the past few months, lighting his path.
Tommy slowly pushed himself up onto his hand and knees, pausing to cough again. He felt something come up his throat, and swallowed it down, the taste of metal lingering on his tongue.
Tears pricked at his eyes as he pushed himself up, taking his time to stand. If he put too much weight on his left ankle, he nearly collapsed from the pain, so he took to limping lightly, and searched for a stick to use as a makeshift cane.
A spider looked too long at him, and Tommy thought he was a goner for a second, before the spider picked up a branch with its creepy pinchers, and carried it over to the blonde.
“Thank you,” Tommy muttered hoarsely, coughing once more as he grabbed the stick. He leaned his weight on it, watching the spider slowly start creeping away.
Tommy sighed to himself, before starting to follow the spider.
+ + +
The spider had long since abandoned Tommy, who continued limping in the same direction. He was too slow, and the spider had things to do, a life to live, and probably a family to get home to.
Tommy had no one. No one cared about him.
He started to shake as the wind bit into his skin. He should have grabbed a coat, or a blanket, just something to keep him warm while the weather grew cold.
He couldn’t have been walking that long, so it must have been a new biome, rather than a new season.
He trudged on, his stick being the only thing supporting him most of the way.
Eventually, small snowflakes started falling. Tommy’s shakes were much more frequent now, with him barely being able to feel his hands. On the bright side, his ankle was too numb to feel most times.
A house loomed in the distance, and while Tommy knew that whoever lived there didn’t want him, he felt an all encompassing sense of relief at the thought of warmth and food.
The door was far heavier than it should have been, but Tommy blamed that on his weakened state.
Several guard dogs growled at him, but made no move to attack. It was as if they knew he meant no harm.
Chests lined the wall to his left, and he immediately began digging through them. After his scavenge, he came up with a stack of golden apples, a cloak, a couple bottles of water, and his most important find, an old and worn cane, carved delicately.
“Jackpot!” Tommy whispered to himself, grinning wildly as he leaned his weight on the new cane, before coughing roughly. “Now I look cool!”
A bump outside forced Tommy to freeze in terror, his head whipping to the door.
When nothing came, he started towards a trapdoor, hoping he could dig himself a little home while he hid and gained strength.
+ + +
“What the fuck,” Technoblade uttered, his voice flat as he stared at Tommy, who stood entirely still with a half-eaten gapple in his hand. “What are you- Why are you here, Theseus?”
“Techno!” Tommy tried to play it off, grinning while sweating bullets. “It’s been so long! What brings you here?”
“This is my house.”
“Ah, really?” Tommy pulled at his collar, holding back a cough. “I thought it was abandoned…”
“Why aren’t you in exile? With Dream?” Techno asked, stepping forward menacingly.
Tommy flinched. “Ah, you see… I left! Just left. Dream’s kind of boring, and I figured you’d love to see your favorite brother!”
“Okay, so where is Wilbur?”
“Ouch. Dick.”
Techno took another step forward, and another, until he was crowding Tommy. “Are you wearin’ my cloak? And eatin’ my gapples? Is that my cane?!”
“No,” Tommy quickly hid the cane behind his back, stumbling slightly at the imbalance, and nearly falling.
Techno caught him immediately, and then proceeded to scoop him up and carry Tommy upstairs.
“Hey, hey, hey, pig! What are you doing?!” Tommy screeched, his hand stretching for the cane he had dropped.
“Calm down, kid,” Techno huffed. “I’m just tryin’ to help you. Your ankle’s obviously busted.”
“My ankle is just fine, Blade! Put me down!” Tommy pouted, seeming far younger than he was.
“No,” Techno replied simply, before gently setting the boy down on the edge of his bathtub. “Stay.”
“I’m not a fucking dog!” Tommy protested, but stayed all the same.
Techno squatted down and pulled up Tommy’s leg, studying his ankle for a moment. “Tell me what hurts.”
What ensued next was Techno pressing gently on Tommy’s ankle in various places, and a slew of cuss words coming from Tommy.
“I believe you’ve twisted your ankle,” Techno mumbled. “How’d you do that?”
“Uh,” Tommy glanced around the room. “Stepped in a hole,” he blatantly lied.
Techno let it go. “Okay. I’m goin’ to wrap your ankle, and then go and get your cane. Do not stand on it for any reason.”
“Okay,” Tommy grumbled.
“What did I just say, Theseus?” Techno grabbed the bandages from his medicine cabinet, and started wrapping Tommy’s ankle gently.
“Don’t stand on your bad ankle,” Tommy badly imitated Techno’s speech.
“Good job,” Techno praised, before wrapping up, and putting the bandages away. He left to get the cane, unaware of the effect of the words.
I did something good, Tommy thought to himself. Does this mean I’m useful? Will he let me stay?
When Techno returned, it was with Tommy’s (Techno’s) cane and a small bag of ice. “You need to rest your ankle and ice it. I will give you the cane for now, but you have to promise to use it as little as possible.”
“Okay, I promise.”
”It’s too late for promises!”
“Can I pick you up to move you?” Techno asked, though it was obvious he was going to do it anyway.
“Yeah,” Tommy mumbled, not protesting as he was moved to another room and set on a large bed.
Techno went to the closet and pulled out a couple extra pillows, before setting them on the bed and moving Tommy’s ankle to rest on top. “You need to keep your ankle elevated.”
He left to grab the ice, which had been left in the bathroom with the cane, and decided to grab both. When he returned, he lay the cane against his nightstand, and gently set the ice on Tommy’s ankle.
“Rest up, Theseus. We can work on cleanin’ you up tomorrow,” Techno uttered, leaving without waiting for a response.
“Okay, Blade,” Tommy mumbled to the empty room, letting his eyelids finally fall shut.
+ + +
Tommy woke up to screaming, and his sheets soaked.
Who was screaming?
As his eyes focused, he saw that a single lamp was lighting the room softly, illuminating his brother. Techno looked concerned and conflicted, as he leaned closer to Tommy. He reached a hand out, and gently rested it on his brother’s cheek.
“Hey, Tommy? Can you hear me?”
Tommy tried to breathe, but realized that his mouth was open.
Oh. He was screaming.
He squeezed his eyes shut, gasping for air as he curled in on himself, his arms wrapping around his legs.
“It was just a dream, kiddo. It wasn’t real.”
“It was real,” Tommy gasped, flinching as he let the words go.
Dream wouldn’t like him talking about it.
Shut up, Tommy.
“No, it was just a dream. No matter how real it seemed, it wasn’t. I promise,” Techno sat down on the bed, pulling Tommy in for a one-armed hug, as his other hand was still trapped on Tommy’s cheek.
“It was real- It was real and it hurt and it happened and it was real! Techno, it was real!” Tommy sobbed, burying his face in his own knees.
“What are you talkin’ about?”
Tommy let the tears run hot down his face. He hadn’t cried in a long time. “It was real but I dreamed about it but it was real!”
“Okay, Tommy. It was real. Can you tell me about it?” Techno shifted closer, letting the teen lean on his larger form.
“He’ll kill me,” Tommy whispered, his voice hoarse. “Oh, God- He’s going to kill me!”
“Who? Who is going to kill you, Tommy?” Techno rushed, confusion boiling in his veins. “I won’t let them.”
“Dream,” Tommy gasped, cutting himself off with a few coughs. “He’s going to kill me if I tell you anything.”
Techno stared down at the golden hair covering Tommy’s face, surprise evident in his features. Last he knew, Dream and Tommy had a small rivalry going on, but Dream was meant to be taking care of Tommy in exile.
“You’re alright now, Theseus. You’re safe here,” Techno promised, pulling his shaking little brother closer. He vowed right then that he was going to do everything he could to protect Tommy, and that he would never let Dream take him away. He also vowed that he was going to figure out exactly what Dream had been doing to his brother when he was meant to be protecting him.
+ + +
“Hey, Techno?” Tommy mumbled, leaning on his cane heavily.
“What are you doing out of bed, Theseus? I told you that you aren’t supposed to be on your ankle,” Techno scolded, pulling his glasses off to look at his brother, who stood in the doorway of his office.
“I had a question.”
Techno made a gesture as if to say “go on, then”.
“Can you dye my hair?”
For a moment, Techno could see himself asking the same thing to his father.
“What color?”
Tommy seemed to shy away at this, his hesitation apparent. “Pink,” he mumbled. “Is that okay? I want to match you, and I was gonna do it without asking but I don’t know how…”
Techno shook his head as if to clear his thoughts, before he set his glasses on the desk and rose, towering over the smaller boy. “Nah, it’s fine. You go sit on the bathtub again, and stop walkin’ on your ankle.”
Tommy did as told, while Techno rummaged through chests for his old hair dye ingredients. When he had found them, and the bowl with a brush, he quickly made his way to the bathroom, finding Tommy exactly as he hoped.
He started mixing together his dye with conditioner, noticing how Tommy watched closely the entire time.
“So,” Techno attempted to conversate as he parted Tommy’s hair. “Wanna tell me about Dream?”
“What ‘bout him?” Tommy asked, his tone playful, but his body tense.
Techno twisted and clipped the boy’s bangs out of the way before replying. “Well, you’re obviously hidin’ somethin’ about him. I’m not gonna make you tell me, but it would be nice.”
Tommy kept his lips clamped shut, shivering as the cold dye touched his scalp.
“Okayyy…” Techno drawled. “How about I ask questions, and you nod or shake your head? Would that be easier?”
Tommy nodded slightly.
Techno hummed as he lathered more dye onto Tommy’s hair. “Let’s start with… Was Dream nice to you?”
Tommy immediately nodded, before shaking his head, and nodding once more. He looked frustrated with himself, before shaking his head again.
“So, sometimes?”
Tommy nodded.
“Okay. That’s a start. Good job, Tommy,” Techno praised. He moved the sections around for a moment, before starting in on another layer. “Did he hurt you physically?”
A short nod.
“How?”
Tommy turned to look at Techno, a grin starting to form.
“Okay, yeah, I messed up. Do you wanna stick to yes or no questions?”
“I can answer out loud,” Tommy muttered. “He hit me a lot.”
Techno’s hands froze for a moment, before he continued to lather the dye. “Is that why you’re so bruised?”
Tommy nodded, and Techno felt the voices roar.
KILL DREAM! Little brother is hurt! THESEUS!
“Okay,” Techno finally uttered. “Did he hurt you mentally?”
“What does that mean?”
Techno pulled more hair out of the clips, painting more dye on the free hairs. “Like… Did he call you names? Or tell you that people don’t like you?”
Tommy seemed to hesitate on this one. “He would tell me that he was the only one that cared about me. And that nobody loved me except him because nobody showed up to my birthday party. And he used to tell me to shut up because I was too annoying. But it’s okay because he was right…”
Techno felt his vision black out for a second, and tried to focus on something else so that he didn’t lose himself to the voices. “Birthday party?”
“Yeah, I had a birthday party. I sent invitations out to everyone, but nobody came. You got an invite, and you didn’t come.” Tommy stared down at his feet.
“I never got an invite,” Techno protested.
“Yes, you did. I sent them with Dream, and he said he delivered them.”
“Theseus,” Techno started, pausing to get his words together. “If Dream did such bad things to you, why do you think he would give people invites to your birthday party?”
“He was my friend,” Tommy mumbled, sounding confused. “Or… I thought he was…”
Techno finished the last clump of hair, before starting to rub the last of the dye in. “I don’t think he was, Theseus.”
+ + +
“Techno, you were our friend,” Tommy pleaded, the Axe of Peace resting heavily in his hand.
“You never thought of me as a friend, Tommy,” Techno growled. The voices started a chorus of “stop, back away” when Tommy flinched.
“For once in your life would you listen to me-”
“I listened to you for weeks! What did you do? You went back to Tubbo- the president, the guy that exiled you,” Techno took a step forward, becoming increasingly aware of his sword, the Orphan Obliterator, in his hand.
“People are above the government-” Tommy tried to argue, leaning away from the pig hybrid.
“I’M A PERSON!” Techno yelled, tears stinging his eyes.
“Yes, and so are we! The discs-”
“DISCS AREN’T PEOPLE!” Techno’s grip tightened on his sword, taking another step forward.
Stop- No- Theseus-
“Nothing was taken from you, Techno! You’re selfish. You destroyed where people live for your own self-gain!” Tommy spat, taking a step backwards. He tensed slightly, before forcibly relaxing himself.
“You’ve used me from the start, Theseus. You betrayed me, like, twelve times! You’ve never thought of me as a friend. You’ve just used me from the start,” Techno let the tears roll down his cheeks for a moment before pulling his hog skull mask down over his face. “You just saw me as “The Blade”- that’s all I was to you; I was a weapon. I was willing to fight all of them for you, Tommy. I would have been there.”
“Tech, please,” Tommy pleaded. He tried to take another step back, but stumbled on his sore ankle and fell. The withers were still exploding everything around them, and he knew there was no running from this.
“Don’t call me that,” Technoblade hissed. “I’m not your brother anymore.”
Tommy thought he knew heartbreak. He had plenty in his lifetime, after all. From when he had been enlisted for war by his own father, to when his best friend had exiled him, to when nobody came to his birthday party.
This didn’t even compare to those.
This was a wave crashing over you, knocking you down and flooding your nose and lungs. This was a plane going up in flames midair, crashing in a forest. This was the moment after you got the call that they were gone. This was the worst feeling he had ever felt.
He had lost both his brothers.
Techno towered over Tommy, his skull masking the tears.
BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD! KILL HIM! HE DESERVES IT! KILL HIM! KILL HIM!
The pig hybrid raised the Orphan Obliterator high, the netherite glistening.
Tommy closed his eyes, resigned to what would happen.
“Techno.”
Philza rested his hand on Techno’s shoulder, recognizing the crazed look in his eyes. “I refuse to let you kill my son.”
“Phil! Thank god you’re-” Tommy started, trying to stand.
“Tommy,” Philza spat, causing the blonde to stop in his tracks. “I am beyond disappointed in you. I thought I taught you better than to betray your allies.”
As Philza took in Tommy’s image, he felt more and more concern growing over the anger. Tommy looked… awful. His clothes were torn and bloody. The Axe of Peace looked out of place beside his armor-less form. His pink har had faded almost completely, to the point that you wouldn’t notice it if you weren’t looking. And now, the picture of absolute heartbreak for the second time in five minutes painted his face.
Techno stared down at Tommy as he pulled himself together. His eyes slowly started to go back to normal, and his grip on his sword released, letting the Orphan Obliterator fall to the ground.
Tommy flinched as it hit the stones, the metal ringing in his ears.
Philza spread his wings as a wither got closer, and reached towards Techno, preparing to fly them away at a moment's notice.
“I would have taken on the world for you, Tommy,” Techno finally muttered between explosions. He slowly removed his skill mask, and stared down at it.
“You still can! We don’t have to be-”
“You never know when to shut up, do you?” Techno laughed, venom lacing his chuckles.
Shut up, Tommy.
Tommy flinched again, Dream’s voice reverberating around his brain.
Techno finally looked up at his younger brother. They stared at each other for a moment, before Techno grabbed his sword and strided to the boy.
Tommy tried to scoot farther away, but his ankle protested. Techno grabbed his shirt collar and hoisted him off the ground, looking Tommy dead in the eyes. “Don’t come to me for help ever again.”
Techno released him, with Tommy falling limply on the ground. Techno walked to Philza, who was waiting with an outstretched hand. Techno grabbed the hand, before looking back and uttering one final statement.
“Pink was never your color.”
The two flew off, leaving the shattered remains of a boy behind.
+ + +
Tommy mixed the dye together, just like how he had watched Techno so many days ago. He looked up in the mirror, noticing how long his hair had gotten, and the small braid hidden amongst the strands.
“To new beginnings,” Tommy muttered, grabbing a pair of scissors and hacking at his hair haphazardly. “I hope you’re doing alright, brother.”
When he was satisfied with the cut, he started lathering the dye on with his bare hands. A bright, neon yellow now resided on his head.
Slowly, Tommy reached up and rebraided the section from before, which he had left long on purpose. He threaded it through a green, a yellow, and a pink bead, before tying it off.
When he was finished, he looked himself in the eyes, and uttered a final statement.
“I’ll miss you.”