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It was cold in Las Nevadas, which surprisingly wasn't unusual. Despite the fact it's in a desert, if the sun wasn't beaming, it was freezing. And today was one of those days; cold and a bit miserable.
Quackity wasn't even in the skyscraper like usual. He had too many bad memories there. No, now he sat beside the wedding chapel he built in hopes he'd use it someday. Of course, anyone was free to use it, but… well, it was built for a reason.
The sky was navy blue, nearly grey, and the clouds left a part for the moon to shine on him. It was quiet in a way he never quite liked.
Of course, though, it wouldn't stay like that for long.
Something started blaring in the distance. A siren, maybe?
A siren. Oh shit.
He stood up quickly and looked around, finding the general direction of the prison. It was getting louder, and he could see flashes in the distance. TNT, probably. Had Dream escaped? No, there's no way, right?
Well, you can never be too sure.
Once he found his feet, he ran off to where he kept his gear, a small room under the skyscraper. He heaved out his netherite armor that still managed to be a size too big, and slotted himself into it. He gripped the axe, blood dried in it, and steeled himself for what would lay outside these enforced walls.
If Quackity even caught a glimpse of Dream, the green bastard was dead where he stood.
The door creaked as it was pushed open and he stormed outside, axe in hand. He ran to the edge of Las Nevadas' borders, overseeing the forest outside, the truck below, the top of the mushrooms in the distant, empty kingdom. He couldn't see anything specific yet. Nothing that could warrant any weapons further than an axe.
He must have had help, right? There's no way Dream broke out on his own. Who was it? Maybe Techno. This time he'd really have to put a pickaxe through his teeth. Maybe some tusks too. Make him bleed. Nothing compared to how much he'll fuck up Dream, though.
Something catches his eye. There's something coming up the hill. His eye is on it instantly, axe ready and waiting to taste blood.
The figure is getting closer. Quackity readies himself, suddenly regretting the lack of a shield, but something in him twigs the difference in stature. Dream usually stands tall. This person was hunched over as they ran, nearly on all fours as they scrambled up the hill towards his city.
He was only holding a trident by the looks of it, its faint glow illuminating the boy.
No prison overalls, no armor. Just a tattered blue cardigan and blonde hair.
Tommy.
The last time he'd seen him was the Linda negotiation, but he wasn't mad about that. Right now, all he saw was a scared kid barreling towards him, most likely because his abuser just broke out of fucking prison.
Tommy was in danger.
"QUACKITY!"
His scream ripped through the sound of the siren, and Quackity was pulled away from his thoughts and into action. He swore to himself and ran forward to meet Tommy.
"Tommy! Holy shit man, are you okay?!"
He reached forward, but Tommy stopped and held his hands up, shaking and panting. Nearly crying. Quackity was confused, for the briefest of moments, before quickly remembering that he was holding a very powerful axe. He put it away and shook his head.
"No no no, you're okay! You're okay Tommy, I wasn't- that axe isn't for you. You're okay," he assured Tommy. Tommy dropped his hands and ran forward again, behind Quackity. Quackity turned to him, but Tommy just stared past him, out to the forest.
"Tommy, talk to me man! What's happening?!" Quackity had a feeling it was obvious, but he needed to hear it from Tommy. The kid finally let out a sob, shrinking on himself.
"Dream, he's- he's after escaping, he's been chasing me! Quackity, he said he's gonna fucking kill me again-"
"Take a breath, you're safe here-"
"-And again, and again, and again and again and again! He'll never stop! I can't go back there man, I can't!" Tommy's words were fast and messy, some syllables getting mixed around, but Quackity was in no place to judge him for something as small as that in a crisis as big as this.
"No, he- he won't, we won't let him. Here, come in, follow me. Dream's not gonna find you here," he assured him. He beckoned Tommy to follow him to the weapons room, which he did instantly. Quackity looked up at him, because even if he was a kid he was still tall enough, and he could see the cuts and bruises already spawning on his skin. They were fresh and bloody. Possibly infected. They'd have to handle that once Tommy had recovered from his shock.
Thank XD for Karl teaching him the basics of first aid years ago.
There wasn't really anywhere decent to sit in the weapons room, so Quackity guided him to a chest with some bulky items inside and let him sit. Collapse, more like. He fell back against the wall, then promptly pulled his knees to his chest and wheezed.
"Haaaaah- hah, hah… Quackity, man, I can't, I can't see him again- he knocked me out! He hit me and he knocked me out and he told me my life would be a living hell! He's gonna kill me again and again, and I'll never be free if he finds me! He can't find me, he can't-"
"Tommy, Tommy! Take a breath, you're safe. I promise, this is a safe place," Quackity assured him, taking him by the shoulders, then quickly regretting it as Tommy flinched. He pulled away.
"But- but when I go back out, he'll find me again! He could still be out there now, I can't get stuck there again! The last time he did that to me, it sent me on such a bad spiral, I nearly didn't come back, and now, now, now he's gonna do it again!"
All of his anxieties and fears were spilling out like blood on a tile floor, and Quackity knew he couldn't help at all. Well, not enough, overall. But he could feel how absolutely scared shitless Tommy was, and he couldn't live with Tommy's blood on his hands if he let him go back out there. He's already lost the two other people closest to him, he couldn't live with Tommy dying too. And honestly, Wilbur's van was hardly a safe space to hide if the green prick ever came back.
"No, no Tommy. I'm not gonna let him. I have an axe with his name on it if he ever steps an inch into Las Nevadas," Quackity said firmly. "And- if you're too scared to go back out, then stay here. Trust me, I have the room."
Tommy stared at Quackity in surprise, then shook his head.
"No, no, if I do, then- he'll find me, and he'll find you too and he'll do the same thing to you for helping me! He's a prick like that, he's a monster!"
"Hell no, he's fucking terrified of me. I… I had many, many serious talks to him in that prison. He'll never step to me if he knows what's good for him."
Tommy doesn't reply to that for a minute, staring at Quackity in a way that makes him worry that he's said something wrong. The offer to stay in Las Nevadas was half thought through, but Quackity figured he could do it. If nothing else, he could provide shelter for Tommy.
But then, Tommy asked quietly, "Are you sure? Like really, really sure?"
"Yeah. Yeah, you can stay here as long as you need. He won't be coming anywhere near you." Quackity agreed, this time reaching out his hand but not touching him yet. He hovered above Tommy's shoulder. He got a nod, so he grabbed Tommy's shoulder and patted it.
"Thanks, Big Q. Really." Tommy said eventually.
"Any time, Tommy. Any time."
Tommy slowly slid off the chest, and when he stood up, Quackity reached out his hand, and when Tommy took it, he shook his hand.
"Gentleman's agreement, just so you know I'm serious," Quackity murmured.
"Very, uh… businessman of you."
Quackity made himself smile at the joke. Was it a joke? Maybe not, but hey.
"Okay, let's go get you a room. Where have you been staying?"
"My house."
"The dirt one?"
"Yeah."
"Yeesh, alright. Not gonna be any dirt in this room, I'll tell you that."
There was a room underground near the skyscraper. That's where Quackity built most of the hidden rooms, mainly for ease of access when he was already in the skyscraper. But he'd be on high alert now. His armor would stay on, axe ready at a moment's notice, and he'd be watching from the skyscraper for any flashes of green.
He took his helmet and chestplate off and looked at them. He considered.
Sapnap wouldn't mind. It's going to someone that needs it more right now, anyway.
He passed the pieces over to Tommy. "Put these on, just in case."
Tommy nodded and took them, struggling for a second before finally fitting them on. Somehow they fit better on Tommy than they did on him.
"Great. Okay, let's go."
Quackity may have had a complicated relationship with Tommy, but he was still a kid, in almost all respects. He wouldn't let him go through that shit ever again.
Quackity wouldn't lose anyone else.