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As Wilbur crashed to the ground floor, he was faintly aware of the screaming and yelling around him.
All he had known was he was with Philza, making new plans for their soon-to-be new living room, when a seizing pain shot throughout his body, leaving him there alone, unable to get up.
He gasped painfully, trying to inhale as his mind was screaming at the sounds of his dad’s frantic voice filling the open grounds.
“Wilbur? Mate? What happened- Wilbur? Oh my God-!”
Wilburs eyes clenched tight as his father was now in front of him, frantically searching for any sign of a pulse.
He could see his Twin in the distance, frozen on the spot as Phil yelled something out to him.
So this was what a heart attack felt like…
“Mate, Wilbur. Don’t you dare fucking die on me. Not again.”
As Philza held Wilburs body in his arms, he could only be reminded of the cruel familiarity.
Once Wilbur awoke, his smell was flooded with fumes, His site was no better as he saw the illuminated signs above him.
Here again.
He stepped onto the first train he saw.
It was different this time.
It wasn’t dark, it wasn’t bright. Just a calming mix of in-between.
He could hear the sound of birds tweeting amongst each other in the distance, this place smelled a lot nicer. Unlike the station, he was at moments ago.
The train was gone now, there was no exit behind him.
He groaned slightly as he put a hand to his chest, so the pain from whatever had happened wasn’t completely gone then. Well… That was nice to know.
He looked down.
“ Ah. ”
He sighed tiredly, apparently wherever he was… Wasn’t a fan of whatever he was wearing, his new clothes being something familiar. Something he tried to place a finger on.
Lmanburg.
He hoped this wouldn’t be some… Scrooge lesson or something. He wasn’t in the mood to see his justified mistakes.
As he walked around this open land, he noticed it to be a field. Full of hills and flowers.
It was nice, it felt peaceful.
More peaceful than he’d felt in years where he had been trapped.
Was this his limbo? It certainly wasn’t his style but… It could do.
He seemed to be the only one here.
There was nothing but him.
Until he saw it.
The figure of someone far, far in the distance, standing facing away from him. The ground beneath them was muddy, by the lake that they stood in front of.
They were far, they were wearing something familiar, something Wilbur couldn’t place his finger on. Their hair was solid white.
They seemed to be happy. And undisturbed with what they were doing.
Wilbur didn’t mind disturbing them, yelling out.
“ Hey, you!”
The person stood still, reacting to the yells. Only bending down to poke a snapped twig, deep into the sticky mud.
“ Hello? Can you hear me?”
They could.
The person standing and turning slowly. Their eyes locked onto Wilbur’s own.
They dropped the stick as their moth stayed agape.
Wilbur knew those eyes anywhere. That shirt, that face… He knew that person. His brother.
And suddenly, the clouds in the sunny room had turned darker. Thundering, the flowers swaying around them.
“... Tommy?”
Wilbur could only stare in disbelief. He couldn’t force himself to say it any louder than a whisper.
Tommy could.
“ Wilbur?!”
And the young boy was sprinting, faster than Wilbur had ever seen him run when he was alive.
He could feel his own breath hitching as he stared around the instability of the space. The dirt below him turning to mud.
This was Tommy’s space alright.
“TOMMY?!” He screamed.
Wilbur had to yell to be louder than the thundering, the bolts so close to them. He felt the electricity course around them.
Wilbur was just beginning to notice that it was raining everywhere apart from where he was standing.
Tommy yelled as he ran, trying not to slip on the forming puddles in the dirt. “ Wilbur! What- Why are you here?!” He was smiling.
He was grinning as he ran.
Wilbur had no idea. He couldn’t answer the question, why was he here?
But… Tommy was there. So that gave him answer enough.
He was dead. Dying, maybe something in between.
As Wilbur pondered the question, Tommy had caught up. Standing a few feet in front of him.
Tommy didn’t seem to be able to avoid the rain as Wilbur could, the boy's white curls flattening with each raindrop.
“Tommy!”
Wilbur was the one sprinting now, his chest ached in sorrow as he embraced his brother, lifting him up like he had longed to do so since their parting.
The rain was showering them both now. Wilbur didn’t care.
“Oh.. My God ” Wilbur hissed, pulling his little brother up into his arms tighter. “Oh, God… Tommy.”
Tommy sniffed as he embraced the hug, burying his head deep into Wilburs aching chest. “W’lb’r..” He laughed, he was longing for this too it seemed.
As Wilbur ran his hands through Tommy’s curls for what felt like the first time in years , his tone managed to go even softer. “ Tom’s… I-”
Tommy paused, knowing what his brother would say.
“I’m so sorry.”
Tommy slipped out of his brother's embrace, looking up to him like a puzzled child.
“What are you sorry for, Wilbur?”
He continued to run his hand through Tommy’s hair as he spoke sympathetically. He could feel his eyes watering.
“You’re… Not meant to be here.”
“Neither should you.”
“So… Am I dead?”
“How would I know?”
Wilbur furrowed his brows as he turned towards the voice. “What do you mean you don’t know?”
“I’m not the Angel of Death . I’m just… Someone who died.” He paused. “I don’t think you’re dead yet. Dying, maybe?”
Wilbur hummed as he looked around. The thundering had since started to calm, and once again the sun had shined.
“Is this… Real?”
“Eh…?”
“‘Eh?’ What does, ‘Eh’ mean?”
“You’ve… Been here yourself. You already know this isn’t real. We’re here… But It’s Limbo. A void.”
Tommy paused. “This place is nice though… Even if it’s not real, this is… My place where I’m meant to stay.”
He continued. “I wouldn’t wanna leave.”
“But you will leave.” Wilbur prodded.
…
“Tommy, you will leave. Right?”
“Wilbur, you have a life again. You have a family you care about.”
“You’re family too, you know that. You know I’m your brother-”
“Yeah, I know.” The kid shrugged, looking away, “You’re all together, I’m happy. You’re… You’re happy.”
“I am happy. But I’d be happier with you .”
“Me too.”
Wilbur was dreading what he felt coming. “So come.”
“How?” Tommy’s eyes watered. “Wilbur, this is where I stay now. You’ve got a house with Techno and Philza, you’re a family again.”
“You never saw the house.”
Tommy shrugged, walking away. “I check in sometimes.”
Wilbur followed. His broken heart filled with dread. Tommy visits them.
It was comforting but so painful. So many times his little brother could’ve seen him. Been there with him, and Wilbur hadn’t said a thing.
He didn’t know Tommy was there. He didn’t think Tommy could be there.
“Tommy, I’m so-”
“Just, don’t apologize.” Tommy cut in, tilting his head with a slight laugh. “There wasn’t anything you could’ve done.”
“I could’ve tried harder. I could’ve checked up on you more- I could’ve listened.”
“I got sick. You can’t tell me that was your fault.”
“ Dream killed you.”
“The sickness killed me, Wilbur.”
Wilbur clenched his eyes closed, pursing his lips as he shook his head refusing.
“Tommy, no. Dream still killed you, it doesn’t matter if you were sick or not. It was him who killed you.”
“I got sick, it made me weaker. Dream was only a small part of that. I still would’ve died either way. Even if none of this had happened, I’d still be dead, Wilbur.”
Before Wilbur could speak, Tommy cut him off once again. “Listen, Wil. If anything I’ve learned here, It’s to stop trying to change what happened. It’s done, I can’t change that I died.” He checked to see if his brother was following.
“And even if you replay the situation… A hundred times, I still would’ve died. It already happened Wilbur, I’m gone. ”
Wilbur swallowed painfully, not hiding the tears that fell.
“You haven’t aged at all.”
You, on the other hand, look like a fossil.” Tommy laughed.
“ Excuse me, Tom’s I didn’t age at all.” Wilbur chuckled in mock-offense.
“You’re ancient now!”
Wilbur laughed, for the first time in months , as he began to look around the infinite space.
A thought, came to his mind.
“Do I get to choose?” Wilbur spoke. “Do I choose if I stay or go back?”
“I don’t know, I didn’t get to.”
Wilbur nodded. He knew the answer himself when he’d died. He felt as if he had a choice. To hold onto the brink of life, yet he refused.
He wished Tommy had been given that choice.
They had moved to the lake, a fishing dock. There were no fishing rods around or fish. No life apart from their own, if they could even call themselves alive.
“I watched, you guys never had a funeral for me.”
Wilbur swore he felt his heart stop once again as his brother spoke. All of the wind and dark clouds that were littering the sky before had frozen. As if someone stopped time.
He turned towards his brother, who was dangling his feet over the dock, the soles of his shoes lightly kicking the water, not deep enough to soak them.
“Of course, we didn’t…”
“Why not?”
Wilbur sighed painfully, looking away as he glanced up at the fake sun. “Because… Death isn’t permanent, Tom’s.”
“Permanent or not… I still ended up here.”
Wilbur frowned. “How long do you think you’ve been dead for?”
“... Do you not remember?”
“I want to see how time works here.” The answer satisfied Tommy as he pondered.
“I was never really good with keeping track, but it's been a few years, right?”
“It’s… , you’ve only been dead a year. It was a year ago today.”
“Oh, Time doesn’t move as quickly as I thought it does, I guess.” The kid grimaced.
“You can say that again.” Wilburs eyes trailed back to his brother. “Every day feels so long without you.”
At Tommy's silence, he continued. “I’m sorry we didn’t have a funeral. Even with our rivalry, you deserved a place to rest.”
“I’m resting.”
“If Schlatt got a funeral, you should have gotten one too.”
…
“You know I tried to haunt you?”
“ What.”
“Well- Not haunt - But I did do some stuff.”
Wilbur couldn’t help but let a chuckle sneak past his lips, “What did you do?”
Tommy laughed back at him as he tried to explain. “It wasn’t anything too bad-” The kid tried to explain as he composed himself “Putting some dirt in your chests, leaving random doors open- Putting potatoes in your room-”
“Holy shit-! ” Wilbur cackled, cutting him off. “That was you?! I thought Techno was gonna kill me! You absolute gremlin!”
As Wilbur chuckled, he pondered, realizing something. “How come I couldn’t do that?”
He really seemed to be picking bad questions today, but maybe they both sensed that this would be the last time to ask them.
“Well- Maybe you were just… Destined to come back?”
Wilbur didn’t like the implications.
“What are you saying?”
“Wilbur, big man. I have to say something, and I know you really won’t like it.”
Wilbur could already feel the guilt forming around him. He pushed through, for Tommy. “Yeah, Tom’s?”
“I need you to forget me. Like… Let go. You need to move on Wilbur.”
“... Hell no, I’m sorry- I love you, Tom’s. I’m not going to just… Forget you.”
“I’m still me…”
“You’re dead , Tommy.”
“Don’t you think I know that Wilbur? Why do you think I can do things that you couldn’t. I’m gone. I know I’m gone.”
“I’m not letting go, Tommy. I don’t think I ever could.”
“You’re not letting go forever, just… Until we meet again.”
Wilbur paused. “I’m already here, Tommy. I’m in the afterlife with you. We’re not meeting again.”
Tommy cracked out a laugh as he stared at his brother.
“I’ll see you at home.”
The boy smiled.
“Because we know you can bring me back.”
“I was so mad at you, Tommy.”
The kid turned to him from where he was knelt down. He was picking flowers, golden ones. Gathering them all into his hands.
“For what? Dying…?”
“For… Leaving me.”
Tommy snorted at that, “I didn’t know I was gonna die.”
He decided to reword. “Alright, I did know I was going to die. I just… Didn’t plan on it being so soon.”
Wilbur frowned, leaning forward as he helped his little brother pick the flowers. He spoke, unthinking. “Do you really want to come back…?”
Tommy could only stare, looking off into the endless field of flowers. Wilbur followed his gaze towards the kids face. He could feel the faint smile he was familiar with forming.
“Does that really matter, Wil?”
Once again, the man's focus was back on the flowers. “I would’ve wanted to go back.”
Tommy’s smile had slipped slightly, not noticeable to anyone but Wilbur. The man continued.
“You changed my life, Tommy. You changed my life for the better.”
The words had made his brother's eyes water as he spoke the truth. Tommy was hugging him, Wilbur returned it tightly.
“I never got to say it when you were alive.” He sniffed. “And I hate myself every day for it, but It’s true.”
He could feel nodding into his shoulder, the words were flowing freely now.
“After… I came back, I… I thought that you were never going to forgive me, that you’d never want to see me again… You had every right to leave forever, but you didn’t. Even though I was so… In the wrong, you still spoke to me.”
Tommy was sobbing. “You changed my life too, Wilbur. Even if I acted like a dick… I enjoyed every second I spent with you.”
Suddenly something had changed. Tommy broke from the hug, wiping his eyes. “You changed when I died.” They locked eyes painfully. “You can build now… Way better than before, when I watched you… Your fightings got so good, Wilbur. Even if you’re just training.”
Wilbur hummed. “It was you who made me change, Tommy.”
“My death changed you, big man. You weren’t the only one who changed. Even if they still kind of hate me, Techno and Philza changed for the better too. I’m just glad that… Even if I died, it brought you guys back together.”
Wilbur for the first time was unsure of how to respond to that. “When did you get so… Knowledgeable?”
The other deadpanned. “Wilbur, I’ve been here for years . I know time’s different here… But you think about things, a lot.”
Wilburs face fell. A thought came to him, something he’d just realized.
“Are you all alone here? In this… Place?”
“Yeah.”
“What about everyone else? Mumza? M.D? Jschlatt?”
“Then they’re somewhere else, definitely not here though.”
Tommy’s expression was pure sadness. “I just hope they’re not alone like me, just… Somewhere else. Together.”
Wilbur grasped Tommy’s hand with his own.
“Let me stay, Tommy.”
He laughed sadly, “Wilbur-”
“ Please , Tommy. I want to stay with you. Please, Please let me die.”
“It’s not your time to die yet, Wilbur.”
“Tommy- Please .” The grip grew tighter. “I don’t want to leave you again, I won’t”
“You’re not leaving me, Wilbur, We’ll see each other soon. For real , you can bring me back.”
“How ? ” Wilbur snapped, unmeaningly, “Tommy please tell me how. I can’t , I just can’t bring you back without you telling me . I need you, I need you to tell me what to do-”
Wilbur was crying again, tears falling freely down his face.
“I’ve tried everything , Tommy. I’ve spent the last year since you were taken from me trying to revive you, trying to bring you back. ”
The tears were getting the better of both of them. The same heartache from when his heart had first stopped.
“I can’t live without you, Tommy. Please , I just want my little brother back.”
Thunder crashed next to them, Wilbur looking around in horror as the plants in Tommy’s hands quickly began to wilt, dying before them.
Tommy’s expression broke, looking at Wilbur with the greatest sympathy he could manage.
“You’re waking up now, Wilbur.”
If Wilbur thought he was dying before, it was nothing compared to now as he stared at the brother he had longed to see again.
“No, No, No, No!”
Tommy started to walk away, The man scrambling to follow him. “ Wilbur…”
“No, No. Please, Tommy. It is my time. Please, It’s my time to die too- Please , I can’t leave you again.”
“Jschlatt.”
Wilbur faltered, staring at Tommy with pure desperation.
“ Jschlatt.” Tommy turned, facing his brother for what felt like the last time. “Who do you think gave Dream the revival book?”
The man gasped, staring at his little brother, their eyes stuck locked with each other.
“Alright, you’ve really gotta go now, Wilbur. The sooner you go talk to him, the sooner we’ll meet again. Somewhere nicer.”
Despite however much Wilbur longed to stay, he nodded.
And for the first time since he arrived here, he had an urge to leave. To go back home.
He could finally do it, he could bring his brother back.
Another strike of thunder crashed beside them, Wilbur's heart aching as he saw the way his brother hugged himself.
“ Tom’s…”
“Sorry, Wilbur… I’m a big man… It just- It’s so damn scary and-”
Wilbur ran forward and wrapped himself around the boy in front of him, pulling him up into his arms, tears of his own dripping steadily onto his brother's head.
“I promise you, I promise you, Tommy. I’m getting you out of here.”
Tommy nodded, sniffling into Wilbur’s chest as he embraced the hug wholeheartedly.
“I love you so damn much, Tommy.”
And by some cruel trick of the universe, Tommy disappeared before Wilbur ever got to hear his brother say that he loved him back.