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Tommy had been kidnapped.
Sweeping through the different hallways, Techno looked around. His eyes narrowed. In his left hand, he had a sword. In his right was his usual axe. Someone had taken his brother. And he was going to tear. Them. Apart.
Somewhere deeper in the hallways, there was a high-pitched and familiar scream. Tommy. He quickened his pace. Listened for a second. Then, he hurried on. His boots clicked against the tiles. Eventually, he came to the door. Not just a door. The door. Inside, there was another pained scream. Tommy, again.
Raising a leg, Techno effortlessly kicked the door in.
The door bashed against the wall. Inside, he saw his brother thrown across the floor. A man was standing over him, bathed in a dark blue hood that covered his face and a black plague doctor mask over his face. There were golden threadings and outlines to each piece of his outfit. “I suggest you step away now.” Techno ordered. Raising his head, the man looked to him. Taking a breath, Techno squared his shoulders. Added, dangerously, “ Now.”
The man in the mask scoffed lightly. A distorted, unfamiliar voice came from his throat when he spoke. The only other masked person Techno knew, his joking rival and sparring partner Dream, sounded completely different. There must have been some sort of thing in the mask. Something to distort this person’s voice. To keep them from being recognized.
At his feet, Tommy wheezed. His fingers were wrapped around his throat. Eyes blown wide, he looked over at Techno. There was blood smeared across his face. His whole expression was off. There were dark stains scattered across his shirt and trousers. So many different wounds cut across him. There were tears through his clothes. Every single time, they exposed some sort of cut or slash. Magic bruises and wounds patterned his skin, blues and greens in saturations that absolutely couldn’t be natural. They were painful just to look at.
“Why would I do that?” Nodding down at Tommy, the man said, “He’s so much fun to play with. I like hearing him scream.” Tommy shivered. Instantly, Techno narrowed his eyes. Tightened his grip on the weapons.
“I’m going to tear you apart.” Techno threatened sharply. Shifting, the man shrugged. Looked at him. Lifting up a boot, he placed it on Tommy’s shoulder. Then, he shoved him down onto his back. Then, the man shoved his foot into the small of Tommy’s back and forced down. Tommy’s face split with pain. Quickly, Techno glanced him over. From the looks of it, Tommy was alright. Mostly surface wounds.
“Nah. I don’t think you will.” Swallowing, Tommy curled his arms over his head. There was a kick to his side, with the pressure from his back only increasing. The person was literally standing on him. Holding his weapons tighter, Techno glanced down. Blue eyes met his.
“Tommy.” His brother sucked in a weak gasp. “Close your eyes and drop your head down into your arms. Everything is going to be okay.” Shakily, Tommy did as asked.
Techno lunged in and attacked. The masked man stepped back, arms raised. Now, some small part of Techno screamed angrily to make the man suffer. But Tommy was already on the ground. Already hurting and rasping. So he needed to do this quick.
The man was on the ground before Techno could even have counted to five.
Turning, he turned both of the weapons in his hands. They shifted from their normal sizes to their smaller, earring versions. Delicately, he wiped them on his trousers, then clipped him to his ear. “Tommy?” He crouched down and touched his arm. Tommy flinched at first. Swallowing, he moved his head to the side, looked back at him. “Hey, kid. Come on, let’s get you up.”
Sniffing, Tommy nodded. Techno wrapped his arms around Tommy’s shoulders. Slowly, he lifted him up. There was a harsh groan, and he closed his eyes. Techno looked over.
“Tommy?” He asked softly. There was a slow nod. “Hey, you need to lift your head.” Tommy groaned softly. Then, just barely, he managed to lift his head. “Yeah, yeah, that’s alright. Okay, let’s get you outside. I’ll check you over, okay?”
“Mhmm.” Tommy mumbled. Then, he tipped his head to the side slightly. Rested his head on Techno’s shoulder. Glancing around, Techno shifted. Moved one arm around Tommy’s shoulders. Then, dropping down, he scooped Tommy up completely. His brother sucked in a pained breath, head falling against his shoulder. Arms went to his stomach, and Techno glanced down. “I’m—okay.” He forced out, voice strained.
“We’re going to get you out. You’re going to be alright.” Techno promised. Finally, they managed to get out of that horrible labyrinth of hallways. Techno made his way over to the shade of the trees. Moonlight darted down around them. Gently, Techno laid him on the grass against one of the trees. Tommy’s hand found his, squeezed his fingers. “Where did he hurt you?”
“Mostly a bit of kicking. I got a massive hit to the chest.” Tommy said. Nodding, Techno carefully reached up and started unbuttoning his shirt. Pulled it away. There was blood and bruises smattered across his skin. Swallowing, Tommy looked down. Huffed out a laugh. “Oof. That’s not good. ‘s it bad I’m tired?” Techno looked at him sadly. “Hey. You should just send me to respawn. ‘L be alright.”
“You sure?” Techno asked, looking at him. Nodding, Tommy took a shaky breath. Techno set a hand on his shoulder, smiled at him. “Okay. I’ll see you at home.” Leaning in, he kissed Tommy’s forehead. Tommy’s arms wrapped around his neck. Techno returned it, held him close for a second.
His fingers of his free hand brushed the handle of his knife.
+++
By the time Techno got back to their home, Tommy still hadn’t respawned.
Jumping off of Carl’s back, he pulled the horse into the stables. His dad was waiting for him already. “He hasn’t respawned yet. Take care of Carl.” Phil said. Nodding, Techno fetched some of the brushes he would need. The next thirty minutes or so went through without thinking. Untangling Carl’s mane and tail. Brushing his flanks and getting the mud from his coat. Then, he bent down. Quickly picked out his hooves, checked for any loose nails on his shoes. From the look of it, the horse was fine.
Once Techno had put Carl back into his stall, fed him, and rubbed his muzzle, he turned back to his dad. “Alright. Let’s go.” Phil said. Nodding, Techno followed after Phil.
The house was oddly quiet. Obviously, that meant one thing. Wilbur was with Tommy, or at least with his bed, because they were going to have to wait for him to respawn. Not that Techno could blame him. If he could have gone over after he had gotten back and joined Wilbur, he absolutely would have. But taking care of Carl was important, too. No hooves, no horse. If they had to get away from anything, then they would need Carl and the other horses to get themselves out of there.
When they reached the stairs, Techno basically sprinted up them. He fell over, then just went on all fours and scrambled up the last couple of steps. Then, he slid down the hallway. Kicked his boots off as he stumbled into Tommy’s room. Wilbur raised his head from where he was curled up in Tommy’s blankets. His wings were partly extended. Nesting instinct, Techno realized. Phil appeared as Techno was pulling his jacket off and throwing them to the side.
He dropped down on the bed beside Wilbur. There was an indent in the bed where Tommy would already appear. He was going to be alright. He would have just dropped down into the blankets anyways. “You alright?” Techno asked, looking at Wilbur for a couple of moments. Nodding, Wilbur kept his mouth shut. Phil dropped down next to them, a wing folding over them both. There was space for Tommy to be there.
Techno closed his eyes, he knew the others were doing the same honestly.
Eventually, the bed sank down between him and Wilbur. Opening his eyes part of the way, Techno looked over to see Tommy was curled in between them. “Hey, Toms.” He whispered. Rolling to the side, he picked up one of the blankets off of the floor. Then, gently, he laid it over Tommy. “How do you feel?” Tommy made a soft noise. Apparently, it was enough for Phil to stir.
Looking up, Phil reached over and gently touched Tommy’s shoulder. “Hey, mate.” He whispered. Tommy blinked, looked back at him. “I’ll go get you food.” Then, carefully, he pulled himself from the bed. Moved to go downstairs.
Wilbur shifted at the loss of warmth. Then, his eyes opened a little bit. Immediately, he wrapped his arms around Tommy’s waist, pulled him close into a hug. Techno huffed lightly on the look at his little brother’s face. “You want me to kick him off, Toms?” Techno asked, pressing his head into the pillow. Tommy did the same, closed his eyes and shook his head. “Alright. You’re going to be alright. Dad’s getting you food.”
“I know.” Tommy rolled one of his shoulders, made a face. “Hate respawn.”
“That’s why I never die.” Tommy huffed in his sleep. Opened his mouth to retort. Before he could, though, Wilbur spoke up.
“Both of you shut up before I squish you both into the bed.” He growled. Opening his eyes, Tommy met Techno’s eyes. Both of them exchanged a smile.
Then, Tommy closed his eyes again, settled into the bed a little more. Techno did the same.
If anyone else hurt Tommy, they were going to have to deal with him—and he was going to make it hurt next time.