Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was mid-day.

The sun was at its peak but barely provided any warmth as it shined over the arctic plains. Just over a hill side and at the edge of a forest, there was a decently sized two part cabin with smaller cabins dug out into the hill. Normally this cabin site would be bustling with activities and life. Unfortunately though, everything was quiet and still. Not even the chimney was exhaling smoke from the rooftops. It was downright unsettling and no one would realize it. No one except a particular blonde demon as he sat on the cabin stairs with his spiderling in his arms. He had been staying in this place ever since the large prison break and his life being threatened by the escaped prisoner. It was the only place he felt safe.

But… 

Everytime he returned to the cabin, it was just like Tommy was unwanted and constantly being pushed away. The people who lived in this cabin are who he considered his family or at least what he wanted to consider. They had many conflicts in the past that broke them up and they were trying to make amends, but the blonde didn’t feel like he was a part of the equation and being pushed farther and farther away. The only people he thought of as family now were his two best friends and his arachnid son.

To his dismay, one of those best friends lost their last life during the prison outbreak to a man who he once thought of as a father figure. Now they were a ghost and husk of their former self, just spouting pessimistic things about himself or his situation. Though they said these things, the blonde knew being dead was awful and Ranboo’s spirit was probably in a lot of pain. 

Not only was his ghost friend suffering but also his living best friend. Tubbo had been married to Ranboo and they had adopted a son together. Things had been great for them up, sure they argued a lot but it was all in decent fun. Which is why it must have been really hard for the goat boy to find out about Ranboo’s death. There had been a situation where he had to rescue his son but when he arrived at the cabin, he met the ghost of his late husband. They barely interacted at first, refusing to stay around one another, but now the ghost wouldn’t leave his friend’s side since their son was always with him. Every time Tommy saw the two of them together, Tubbo always had a distant and spaced out look in his eyes. Their interactions no longer bounced off each other and only became one sided. 

Those one sided interactions had ended up transferring over to Tommy when he spoke to his best friend. He tried his best to brighten Tubbo’s day with crazy rambling, goofy voices, and wild actions. Sadly, all he got in response was dismissive and annoyed glare that was starting to kinda hurt. Not only was he getting it from his best friend, but everyone in the cabin. He hated seeing them mop around or throw themselves into work and he wanted to make them smile or laugh like he used to be able to do.

But everytime he tried, he was rejected, insulted, and shooed away. 

After a certain point, he stopped trying. He was useless and slowly becoming unwanted by his “family”. 

Philza & Technoblade worked on revival spells or negotiation so they could get Ranboo back. Niki scolded Tommy for joking around after someone important to everyone died. 

Wilbur and Tubbo wanted nothing to do with Tommy, all they wanted was Ranboo back. 

Ranboo this and Ranboo that! He knows everyone misses Ranboo, he missed the dumbass too and he was willing to do anything to get him back. He’d trade his own life for his if he meant the people he once cared about would be happy. He had everything yet nothing to sacrifice.

No one needs Tommy Innit.

No one wants Tommy Innit.

No one cares about Tommy Innit.

Dream could come and stab him right now and no one would carry. Hell, very few people actually showed excitement when he was revived for the first time. Some even wished he stayed dead, and sometimes he wished it on himself. But now that someone who people actually loved and cared about is gone, the world is just a dark place without them. What’s the point of living if you can’t be the light in someone’s life? 

Give someone else who had a bright light a chance you shouldn’t have.

The blonde sighed as he rested his face into Shroud’s hair. Tommy was tired, but not to where he was sleepy. He was emotionally exhausted and wanted to find some peace. Being dead hadn’t given him that since he was in the dark as convoluted voices rang in his ears but he didn’t feel so alone as he did when he was alive. Maybe being dead was probably the best choice at this point since no one really wanted him around. He did have Shroud with him and dearly loved the arachnid boy, but Tommy no longer felt suited to take care and protect him. 

Tommy exhaled softly as he lifted his head and hugged Shroud close to him. The spiderling hissed softly and returned the hug weakly, due to being half awake. As he focused on things around, Tommy heard the fence opening and a loud echoey voice traveling across the yard. Looking around, he spotted Tubbo and Ghostboo coming in from wherever they went. The goat boy had his piglin son cradled into his arm while the ender ghost was rambling on about nonsensical. Though, he only seemed to stop when he spotted Tommy. He gave a wide grin and waved towards him.

“Hi Tommy” exclaimed Ghostboo.

Tommy waved at him in return, kinda hoping Tubbo would also wave with Ghostboo. Instead though, he got the slight nod of acknowledgement from his best friend before he continued walking away. Tommy’s expression faltered but it somewhat perked back up when Ghostboo floated over to him and Shroud.

“Hello Boo, how was your morning?” asked Tommy, leaning against the stairs  

“Eh, pretty decent. Tubbo & I went fishing with Michael and caught some cod fish. It was pretty quiet so I started talking about going swimming since water can’t hurt me anymore since I’m dead” smiled Ghostboo.

“Right, that’s true” muttered Tommy, with a concerned look.

“Hey Boo” called Tommy, looking into the translucent eyes of his ghost friend.

“Yeah Tommy” replied Ghostboo, tilting his head.

“You’ve spoken with him, Ranboo’s other half, right?” questioned Tommy.

There was a short pause from Ghostboo before he started speaking.

“Yeah, sometimes. He feels a lot of things that translate over which is kinda annoying since it speeds things up” he shrugged.

“Speeds what up?” asked Tommy, sitting up attentively.

“The fading process, we’ve talked about this before with Philza & Technoblade” stated Ghostboo, blankly.

“Righ, right. I guess I'm the one with memory issues now” remarked Tommy, with a shaky voice.

“You’ll be fine, man. It’s never gonna be as bad as his” joked Ghostboo, flicking the blonde’s forehead.

“Eh, I guess” muttered Tommy, as he rubbed his head.

“Anyways, I have something to start working on so I better go” he coughed, as he stood to his feet.

“Alright, have fun then!!” chirped Ghostboo, as he floated a bit back.

Tommy nodded as he brushed his leg off. He watched the ender ghost float off towards the small house where Tubbo had disappeared to. If this “fading” process that Ghostboo speaks off is complete, there is no chance of being able to bring Ranboo back. Everything would get worse and Tommy didn’t want that. The blonde demon fixed his hold on the spider child in his arms before walking up the stairs and into the cabin. 

Chapter Text

It was twilight 

The constant silence of the arctic cabin had little change to it as the days spiraled on. Everything and everyone had tucked themselves away to their homes during the night and were expected to arise in just a few hours.

Almost everyone.  

Inside one of the cabins that belonged to the great Technoblade, there was a spare room where Tommy resided. Currently, he was getting ready for the day but not in his normal fashion. He didn’t have his blue sweater on but a coat he found that he once wore during Pogtopia. It had a similar design to Wilbur's infamous trench coat but it was much shorter and red. It was heavier and thicker than Tommy’s normal sweater but he had his reasons for choosing this one

After that, he fastened the buckles on his boots and slipped a backpack onto his shoulders. The blonde wandered over to the bed where Shroud sat. The arachnid child leaned against the bedpost, asleep with Tommy’s blue sweater over his shoulder. He scooped his son into his arms and rested Shroud’s head on his shoulder. With everything gathered together, Tommy exited the room and headed towards the stairwell. He slowly pushed the door open peer into the hallway and glanced over to another  bedroom door. He wasn’t completely sure if the piglin brute had returned from his research session with Philza but he didn’t want to risk it. 

Tommy tiptoed past Technoblade’s door and down the stairs to the main level. As he reached the floor, there was a vague scent of vanilla amidst. It was strange at first until the blonde spotted the source. It was coming from a completely melted candle left on the kitchen table, where a large lump was slumped over it. He immediately recognized it as Techno who probably had fallen asleep while doing work. It wasn’t uncommon for this to happen but it was becoming too frequent in present days. 

Tommy sighed softly before looking around. He grabbed a blanket off the couch before making his way to the kitchen. He tossed it over the shoulders of the brute, making sure to not wake him. Once he did that, the blonde continued on his way, pushing the front door slightly open and slipping out. He jogged down the stairs and off towards the nether portal. As he marched across the plains, he began looking on to the scenery around him. The snow had purplish hue to it due to the night sky being morning, the wind was the lightest of a breeze you could get from this climate, and the bright sun slowly climbing into the sky as the greet the world. It gave off the smallest of warmth to Tommy’s face, filling him with the slightest of energy to push on with his plans. 

Soon, the blonde spotted the dark purple stone of the portal just over the hill. Tommy quickened his pace and took no time to jump through it. He was then greeted by the blazing heat and danger out of the nether. This portal was somewhat isolated from the main area but it would take him too long to get to the main room. He weaved and climbed his way up the makeshift road to the direct path. From there, it was a straight shot main nether portal back to the overworld. He sprinted past the piglins and skeletons to avoid getting attacked. Once the larger portal came into view, Tommy slowed just a bit, so he didn’t scare anyone if they ended up coming through. With that, he stepped through it and found himself at the center of the Greater Smp. The sky was a mix of orange and blue hues as the sun continued to climb, meaning it was a good time for Tommy to get to work on his plans. Using his free hand, he pulled a notepad that had a list of tasks to do. The first one started at his shack, the beginning of his everything. The blonde exhaled heavily before walking down the stone stairs and onto the prime path.

~~~

“It’s all gone now” sighed Tommy, as he leaned against the wall of the community house. 

Shroud hissed in agreeance while handing the blonde his water canteen. 

“Thanks big man” nodded Tommy, as he drank from it.

Tommy finished the first thing on his list, which was to clean out his shack. He emptied his chest of items, moving tools, food, and other miscellaneous items to the community house. He had no use for them since he wasn’t actively living in his shack anymore. The only things left inside now was a bunch of empty chest and his ender chest. He wasn’t planning to do much with it, besides bury it somewhere, so he’ll leave that last on his list. 

The blonde closed up his canteen and returned it to his backpack. He closed it up and placed it on his back. He stood to his feet before scooping Shroud into his arms. The arachnid child hissed excitedly as he rubbed his face against the demon boy, which Tommy returned in equal affection. The two exited the hub, giving a small farewell to it before continuing on their way. Tommy started scanning over his list as he walked up the path, scribbling the one he finished away. His next destination was to head to the Holy Land. There was something he had placed there during his free time, which was a garden. He had worked on it with Hannah since Rose Residence was destroyed and she needed a place to safely grow flowers. It was the only thing he could offer her. The reason for this visit was to collect specific flowers. It was one of his ways of giving gifts to people, something he had picked up from Ranboo. Hopefully he had enough pots to place them in to keep them alive for a while.     

~~

Tommy slowly walked through the streets of Las Nevadas. Everything seemed quite lively compared to the Greater Smp. People walking about, performers did tricks in the streets, and merchants yelling sales prices in the markets. It was all very attractive but they weren’t why he was coming to the romantic nation. He was looking for a friend who was at the top of it all. He had requested their presents because he had something for them. The blonde demon made his way towards the Needle, cradling a flower pot in one hand and Shroud in the other. He passed the guests who were chattering about at the restaurant tables before heading towards the elevator. He entered into it and placed Shroud on the ground, so he could press the buttons. A small bell rang and the doors closed. Tommy held his breath and closed his eyes as the small boxed in space began to move. He was never a big fan of elevators since it made him feel trapped due to their small size. He felt his arachnid son slip their hand into his, which provided him with some comfort. The distressing moment was quickly over once the bell rang again and the doors opened. Tommy peeled his eyes open as he stepped out of the elevator. As he scanned around the empty open space, at one of the window tables sat a dark haired man with golden wings reading a newspaper. This man took notice of the blonde standing there and perked up.  

“Tomas” he exclaimed,as he folded the paper up.

“Hi Big Q.” waved Tommy, nervously.

“How have you been doing?” asked Quackity, sitting up in his chair.

“Okayish, just hanging around Techno’s place with Philza and Wilbur” shrugged Tommy.

“I see. Well don’t just stand there, come sit down” ushered Quackity, gesturing to the chair in front of him.

Tommy nodded as he walked over the table. He pulled an extra one out for Shroud to sit next to him in. 

“So what brings you to Las Nevadas? Has something happened?” asked Quackity, resting his head on his hands.

“Alot of has happened but nothing that you don’t know. I just wanted to stop by and see you since I’ve been cooping myself up for a few days'' remarked Tommy.

“Awe, well that’s nice of you. You have a new look, haven't seen that jacket in a long time” exclaimed Quackity, lifting a brow.

“This? Oh yeah, I dug it up while cleaning around my things. It’s thicker than my normal sweater so it helps when you are constantly staying in the arctic” chuckled Tommy, tugging at the sleeves.

There was a pause between the two before Quackity started speaking again. 

“Tommy, You know you don’t have to stay with them. I have plenty of room here in Las Nevadas for you if you and Shroud need somewhere safe to stay” offered Quackity, with a concerned tone.

“It’s fine, man. Don’t wanna burden you with my things. I also gotta support Tubbo, who’s going through a rough time since Ranboo’s passing” claimed Tommy, waving his hands defensively.

“Are you sure? He can also stay if he’d like” questioned Quackity, furrowing his brows.

“He seems to be comfortable where he is but I’ll ask him if I see him” assured Tommy, nodding his head. 

He then turned around and pulled a pot out of his bag that he brought with him, placed it on the table and pushed it towards the duck man.

“I actually brought something for you, as a little gift for my visit” he stated.

“A flower?” remarked Quackity, as spun the pot around to look at the plant.       

“It’s a peony, actually. They represent honor, wealth, & happiness. Giving one as a gift to someone expresses that you wish the best for them and they have goodwill” explained Tommy, as he handed Quackity a small slip of paper.

“I don’t think I ever knew that. Thank you very much, Tommy” smiled Quackity, as he looked down at the paper.

“No problem, Big Q.” nodded Tommy, as he looked down at his hands.

“But that’s all I came to do. I was just coming to see how you were doing since no one has heard from you in a while” he uttered, tapping his hands.

“Oh, well I have been doing some behind the scenes things here in Las Nevadas and keeping to myself since a few incidents have happened here” sighed the dark haired man, as he ran a hand through his hair.

“Well I don’t want to distract you from doing your big man work, so I’ll be heading off” stated Tommy, as he started to stand up.

“Leaving so soon?” inquired Quackity, sitting up straight.

“Yeah, I need to go do some other things” replied Tommy, as he scooped Shroud into his arms.

“Oh, well okay then. Be safe” acclaimed Quackity, waving towards the young blonde.

Tommy returned the wave as the elevator doors closed behind him. He exhaled shakily as he looked down at Shroud in his arms. The arachnid child hissed and rested their head on Tommy’s shoulder. The blonde squeezed them tightly and rested his head atop of theirs. 

~~

Tommy coughed aggressively as a large cart drove past him, a cloud of spores coming off of it. Now Tommy remembers why he doesn’t visit Kinoko Kingdom a lot. Not because of the people but because of the mushrooms. Most of them were massive and aesthetically pleasing but weren’t really a breath of fresh air. The toxins and spores really bothered him sometimes but also lowkey stressed him out since mushrooms were a decomposer and he was technically an undead person. Either way though, he had a reason and purpose for being in the fungi nation. 

Tommy was pulling along a small red wagon that had three potted plants in it while he carried Shroud in his arms. The streets of the kingdom weren’t as busy as Las Nevadas but he hadn’t been to the kingdom enough to be comfortable with his kid walking the streets. Though the place he was heading to was hopefully the most decent place to keep his son in. After a bit of walking, the two approached a decently sized mushroom shaped building that came with a hanging sign that said “Library” above the double door entrance. Sitting on the steps to this building was a dark brunet demon man in a white cloak and a lighter brunet man in a very colorful jacket. The demon man spotted the blonde and stood to his feet as he waved at him.

“TOMMY!!” he called, as he jogged over to him.

Sapnap!!” exclaimed Tommy, slowly speeding up his pace.

The dark brunet threw his arms around the blonde, headbutting their horns together as a friendly gesture. 

“It’s good to see, ya. How have things been staying with Philza?” smiled Sapnap, stepping back a bit.

“As best as it can get, to be honest” shrugged Tommy.

“Good enough I guess, so what brings you to Kinoko?” asked Sapnap, resting his hands on his hip.

“Um, I just wanted to drop something off. I was working things around the Holy Lands and thought of bringing you and boys some things” stated Tommy, as he pulled the small wagon around.

“Flowers? Aww thanks man” cooed Sapnap, leaning down to look into the wagon. 

“I brought each pot for you, Karl, George. You guys can choose which to take since they probably don’t wish to see me” remarked Tommy, rubbing the back of his neck.

“I don’t think they would mind, right Karl?” assured Sapnap, looking over at the lighter brunet.

“Hm? What’s up?” asked Karl, looking up from his notebook.

“Tommy brought us and George some flowers,” informed Sapnap, as Karl walked over to them.

“Really? What do they mean?” questioned Karl, leaning down to look into the wagon.

“Well, I brought some blue hyacinths since they represent sincerity and commitment. Also brought a bunch of forget-me-nots because they represent respect and a promise of remembrance. Finally, some periwinkles for faith and trust” explained Tommy, as gestured to each pot.

“That’s pretty cool!! Thanks Tommy” smiled Sapnap, as he ruffled the blonde’s hair.

“No problem. You guys can just take the wagon since I don’t need” nodded Tommy, as he handed the handle to Sapnap.

“You are just being so generous today, aren’t you?” remarked Sapnap, somewhat proudly.

“I guess I am, just being a big man” shrugged Tommy, as he fixed his hold on Shroud.

“Welp, it was good to see you two but I gotta run” he breathed, as he turned to walk away.

“Ah okay then, have a good day!!” nodded Sapnap, waving as the blonde walked off.

Karl also waved but his attention was more focused on the flower wagon. Tommy returned the wave before jogging back up the path. He weaved his way around the pulling carts and people in the streets. Looking down at his notepad he had in hand, he only had two places left to visit before doing the other parts of his plan. 

~~

Tommy hummed softly as he sits on the stairs of the museum, watching as Shroud played with his mooshroom plush while also writing in his book. The two of them had come to the museum because they were meeting up with someone instead of Tommy having to go find them. They weren’t someone to stay in one place for too long so the blonde had to call them directly to meet up with him. Plus they had something he requested for them to make for him.

After a few more minutes of waiting, the sound of armored footsteps came clinking down the path which caught the demon boy and arachnid child’s attention. A tall creeper man in golden amour was jogging down the prime path towards them. He was very much in a rush but slowed down at the sight of the two in front of the museum. 

“Tommy!! I’m here!!” he exclaimed, as he slowed to a stop at the bottom of the stairs.

“Sam! Hey” greeted Tommy, standing to greet the creeper man.

“Are you alright? Were you in danger? Are you hurt?” questioned Sam, slightly panicked.

“No Sam, Im fine” assured Tommy, waving his hands in defense.

“Are you sure?” asked Sam, furrowing his brows in distress.

“Yes, jeez man. What has got you in knots?” remarked Tommy, crossing his arms.

“I-, nothing. I was just worried something had happened to you” sighed Sam, his shoulders slouching.

“Not yet, I assure you” uttered Tommy, as he gently bumped the creeper man. 

“Well then, what did you need?” inquired Sam resting his arms to the side.             

“Um, well” muttered the blonde, looking onto the stairs.

“I have something for you” he informed, as he picked up the flower pot behind him.

“A daffodil?” said Sam, curiously.

“Um yeah. In normal circumstances, they would mean rebirth and new beginnings but that’s not why I’m giving it to you” nodded Tommy, as he handed the pot to Sam.

“I'm giving it to you in forgiveness and honesty. We both have made mistakes in the past that heavily affected each other. Though I was very upset about your lies and what you did to Ranboo, I am willing to forgive since we have done alot for each other” he explained, crossing his arms.

There was a moment of silence between the two, as Sam looked between the daffodil in his hands and Tommy. Suddenly, the creeper man’s eyes started to grow shiny as tears started forming. 

“Tommy” cooed Sam, as smoke started to slowly escape through his mask.

“Eh? Are you okay?” exclaimed Tommy, very worried.

“Y-yeah, I just got really emotional for your words” stuttered Sam, as he started to whip away the tears.

“Oh, okay then” exhaled Tommy, clutching his chest  

“Thank you, Tommy. I really appreciate it and I will try to make it up to you someone how” said Sam, taking a breath.

“You don’t have to, big man. Though I do have a question” assured Tommy. 

“Yes?” replied Sam, looking up attentively.

“Did you make the thing I asked for? For Shroud?” questioned the blonde, gesturing to his son.

“I do! Let me get out” nodded Sam, as he pulled his bag off his back.

Tommy nodded and moved to pick up his things from the stairs. He placed his book back into his bag and pocketed his notepad. As he picked up his bag, Sam turned back to him with a medium sized box in his hands. Tommy closed up his bag and threw it onto his back before taking the box from the creeper hybrid. 

“Thanks Sam” smiled Tommy, nodding his head towards him .

“You are welcome but also thank you. I’m really trying to fix my mistakes and help people I have wronged” replied Sam, leaning down to bump heads with the young blonde.

“I know but you gotta do a lot better” reported Tommy, fixing his hold on the box.

‘I’ll try” breathed Sam.

“Well, I gotta get going. Bye, Sam” remarked Tommy, as he ushered Shroud with his tail.

“Bye Tommy” waved Sam, as he watched the demon boy walk off down the path.

As Tommy walked, he pulled his notepad out of his pocket and looked over it. He had gotten most of the things he wanted to do today, so he decided to wait for tomorrow to do everything else on it. He was really tired after all the working, walking, and social interaction he has been doing.

Chapter Text

It was late afternoon.

The orange hue of the sun danced across the snow plains as Tommy and Shroud returned to the cabins. Everything seems pretty quiet, besides the hound army rolling around in the snow and playing with each other. Some of them greeted him as he walked up to the house. He ruffled some of their heads before entering into the Techno’s cabin. He peeked inside, hoping for some sign of life or response as he came in but there was nothing. He even looked to where Techno was this morning but he was gone and the kitchen table was clean. Tommy sighed disappointedly but continued his way through the house. He headed up the stairs into the room he was staying in. He placed the box he was carrying and his backpack beside the desk before walking back to flop onto his bed. 

Tommy hadn’t realized how exhausted he was until now. He had gotten little sleep during the night, which is why he woke up so early, but the sandman was starting to catch up with him. Though he couldn’t allow himself to fall asleep just yet. He groaned before pushing himself onto his elbows. He spotted Shroud struggling to climb onto the bed, which was pretty ironic since he was a spider. Tommy smiled softly before lifting his son up with his tail and hanging him in the air. The arachnid child giggled excitedly, with hisses mixed in. The blonde laughed at the goofiness of his son. 

His pride and joy, the little light he had in his life. To him, Shroud was his candle in the dark. He followed Tommy around and helped him with the simple tasks, kept the both of them entertained by just being himself, and wasn’t corrupted or harmed by the unforgiving world or people around them. Primes, he loved his son and his son loved him. Feeling as the only person who loved him at the moment.

Quackity, Sam, and Sapnap showed signs of caring for him and wanting to help him but he just felt like a burden compared to all the great things they are trying to complete in their lives. He was always a burden to someone, maybe even everyone. It wasn’t even his choice to stay in Techno’s house. Phil’s house already had two occupied bedrooms and the bird man said that the piglin brute had a spare room from when Tommy had hid out there during his exile days. The brute immediately showed signs of distaste for the blonde returning to stay with him.

 Tommy hadn’t said anything at the time since it didn’t bother him but thinking back on it, it very much hurt now. So he tried to keep out of Techno’s way whenever they ended up crossing paths in the house. He even stopped coming to breakfast just to avoid having a rough encounter with him, at least when breakfast was made.

After a bit of resting on the bed, Tommy finally pushed himself off the bed and stretched his limbs. No reason to mop like the others, he had to get food for himself & Shroud since he was starving. He rested the spiderling on the bed as he started walking away. 

“I’ll be right back, big man, I’m going down stairs to grab some food” informed Tommy, as he pulled open the door.

Shroud nodded and gave a thumbs up before going to grab one of his toys. The blonde nodded in return and closed the door. He headed back down the stairs and walked into the kitchen. Hopefully he was able to find or make food that didn’t have potatoes in it. As he rummaged through the cabinets & barrels, he was able to gather some carrots, beets,&  chicken. It wasn’t much but it seemed to be enough to make some stew. He pulled a pot out of the cabinet and poured water into it before placing it on the stove top. As it started heating up, Tommy went to work on slicing up the food he found on a cutting board. Once he finished cutting, he dropped everything into the pot and started stirring it together. While he stood there and stirred, he started to hum a song to himself as he took in his surroundings. Steam floated off the boiling pot in front him which was a contrast from the when the blonde exhaled warm air against the freezing temperatures outside the home. He could see the hound army romping around, along with snow foxes playful nipping at the polar bears. He wondered if Techno has fed his animals today since they seem to be more active compared to recent days. Hopefully so since they were the brute’s pride and joy besides his prized stallion. He hadn’t seen Carl when he came walking in so Techno must have left to go mansion raiding for totems. Besides the animals, the blonde took notice of the forest near the cabin. It wasn’t there when Tommy had been hiding in Techno’s home and only seemed to pop up when Philza moved out here. When asked about it, the bird man just said it was “her” doing. Tommy knew about “her” but he didn’t expect “her” to spring an entire grove of pine trees in the middle of a freezing wasteland. It mostly seemed like a place where the crows and ravens could nest without taking up space in the cabins. They were a chaotic and unruly bundle of animals but they were very appreciative to have around. When he was younger, Tommy remembers just sitting and listening to Phil’s crows ramble about nonsense or “her” ravens telling him amazing stories from the past. He missed “her” sometimes and wished to see her again. 

Hopefully soon.

The sound of footsteps stomping caught the blonde’s attention and grounding him to the present. He whipped his head around to see a large pig man walk past the kitchen. 

“Hey Techno” greeted Tommy, giving a small wave.

The brute gave the slightest glance towards him and huffed heavily in acknowledgement but continued on his way. He seemed to be heading to the basement to place some things into his storage chest. Tommy sadly sighed before turning his attention back to the pot. It seemed everything was done so he turned the stove top to a low heat and went to grab bowls. He grabbed three bowls and placed them next to each other before starting to scoop the stew into them. After that, he placed a lid on the pot and picked up two of the bowls. The third was meant for Techno if he wished to have some. Tommy headed upstairs and back to his room. He pushed the door open with his hip and re-entered in. Shroud was still sitting on the bed but he had a small bundle of toys in front of him.

“I’m back, Shroud” stated Tommy, as he moved towards the desk.

The dark haired kid looked up and his red eyes lit up. He began hiss excitedly as moved to slide off the bed. Tommy placed the bowls on the desk as Shroud walked over to him, clinging on to his leg. He lifted the arachnid boy into his arms and rested him on the desk as he sat down at the desk. He handed one of the bowls to him, along with a spoon, and let the kid dig in. While Shroud sat and ate, Tommy placed his bowl to the side so he could get to finishing writing into his notebook. He only had a few things to finish on his list that he’ll do tomorrow, though he might do one of the important tasks tonight while everyone is asleep, including Shroud. He didn’t want to risk something happening to him while he was out. It would just be him and the materials he needed to do the task. Once he finished writing, he pulled the bowl back towards him and started indulging himself. He was gonna need all the energy he can get for tonight.

~~

Tommy slowly placed the blanket atop of the small arachnid boy before pressing kiss atop of his head. A light hiss rumbled in their throat as they clinged on to their knitted plush and snuggled into the pillow. A light smile curled on to the blonde’s face before he sighed. He fixed his hold on his backpack and lifted his hood onto his head. He headed out the bedroom door and tiptoed to and down the stairs. The house was completely silent and dark, but Tommy had to make sure he wasn't spotted. Techno had left to go over to Phil’s side of the cabins and he had a sneaking suspicion the two were still awake, even though the sun was completely gone. Which is why the blonde chose to take the basement’s backdoor out instead of the front door. There was a small echo as he descended down the stone stairs. Once he reached the bottom, he fumbled around on the wall before finding the door handle. He turned the handle and slowly pushed the door open. He was greeted by an aggressive gust of cold air from the freezing temperatures. 

“Fucking primes” muttered Tommy, shivering as he stepped out into snow. 

He closed the door behind and continued on his journey, clingy to the crimson tinted coat around his shoulders. He looked over his shoulder as he noticed movement from the corner of his eyes. Carl seemed to be sticking his head out from his stall while looking at the blonde. Tommy lifted a brow but gave the dark brunet horse a pet on the nose. Carl whinned softly, blowing warm air into the blonde’s face.       

“Prick” remarked Tommy, returning a blow to the stallion. 

Carl huffed in response and just watched as Tommy continued walking past the stables to the fence around the cabins. Pressing his boot into the side of the wooden barrier, the blonde boosted himself over it, nearly losing his balance halfway through but landed decently. He sighed heavily as he looked behind him. The tall pines of a strange forest were just a few feet away from. All he had to do was take the first step. He took a quick look towards the cabin and took a shake breath before treading off into the woods. The first few moments inside weren't too bad, as Tommy could see the cabin from where he stood, but soon it was no longer in render distance and the trees all started to look the same. The stress was starting to get to him but he couldn’t let it slow him down. He had a deep feeling that he knew where he was going, like familiarity to an unknown place. As the night stretched on, the young blonde came to a small clearing in the middle of the forest. It was strange, considering the snow here was much more shallow compared to the thicker snow from before. Tommy could now see the moon in all its glowing glory, no longer being hidden away by the pins of the pines. 

He found the place.

His destination.

“Her” place.

Walking towards a nearby rock, Tommy placed his bag on it and started going through it for the materials he needed. He pulled out a large dark decorated book, a bundle of candles, a totem, a line of gold, and a pure white rose in a pot. He carried the items just a bit away from the rock and started kicking away some of the shallow snow to clear a place to set his materials down. Once finished doing that, the blonde crouched down to the ground and started setting everything up. He dug small holes into the ground as he shoved each candle into them and lit them up as he went along.Then he scooped the rose from the pot and placed it into the ground, in the middle of the circle of candles. Which was then followed up by the boy wrapping the golden string around his palms and the totem. Finally, he picked up the book and placed it in front of him. He opened up to a page that he saved with a tab and scanned over it. Giving one final look at the moon, Tommy took a breath to calm his nerves and recite the words on the page; 

“life without death, is as day without night”

“Without the moon from the night, tides shall not rise and balance will be faint” 

“Life needs death as death needs life, a dance of eternity”

“Though you dance endlessly, I wish to for your audience tremendously” 

“A moment in your presences, my excellency”

“...”

There was a moment of silence. No whispering wind or distant sounds of wildlife. 

Just silence, like a pause in time.

Suddenly, Tommy felt the string around his hands starting to warm up and the totem starting to tremble in his hands. He felt his anxiety peek but he had to stay calm. He watched as the once white rose slowly shifted into the darkest shade of purple while the candles rapidly melted into the ground. The blonde squeezed his eyes shut as the warmth from the string turned into a raging heat like he was touching a blazing furnace. His body felt like it was on fire, he could no longer feel the freezing ground under him. 

And just as the burning feeling seemed to reach its height, it was blown away by the gentlest of breeze they seemed to cool Tommy off almost immediately. He sat still for a moment before slowly opening his eyes. His surroundings were completely different from the cold pine forest before. It seemed he was sitting in some kind of dark void, as twinkles of distant lights danced around him. He felt like was floating under water but was breathing normally. As he took in his surroundings, a gust of area brought his attention to something near him. There sitting right in front of him was a woman, a very large woman. She had a large brim hat with a veil covering her face. She also wore a flowing black and purple gown that was decorated with golden lining on the edge of them. Behind her were two large golden wings that seemed to slouched under cloak with skull clasp around her beck. 

Overall, this woman was astonishing and intimidating. Yet Tommy had little reason to fear her. As they two loomed in the void in silence, the blonde was the first to speak.

“Your Excellency?” stated Tommy, lifting a curious brow.

The woman slowly lifted her head to look down at the young boy, revealing a narrowed glare from her purple eyes as she looked down at him. She then widened in what looked like surprise as she noticed him completely. 

“Tommy?” she exclaimed, her voice filled the space around them.

“Hi” waved Tommy, nervously.

“Oh my child, I did not expect you to be the one summoning me” she remarked, as pushed her veil back some.       

“Yeah, it’s been awhile” nodded Tommy, tugging on his sleeve.

The woman smiled affectionately and slowly reached towards him to bring him closer to her. As the blonde was brought forward, she slowly began to shrink from her large size to be just a foot or two taller than him. The domain around them seemed to shift as solid ground formed under them as they finally reached face to face. The void was now the sky of a lavender plains that seemed to go on forever. Everything was a quick change in surroundings but it didn’t take long to get used to. Tommy then felt himself arms pull him into a hug by the woman, as she squeezed him tightly but gently. It was a warm and filled with love that the blonde felt he was lacking in recent days.

“Oh my dove, I have missed you dearly” she cooed, gently running her hands through his head.

“I-I missed you too, mum” muttered Tommy, as he pressed his face into her arms.

He could feel tears filling his eyes and wasn’t afraid of letting them roll down his face. 

Atleast not in front of her because he knew she wouldn’t judge him for it.

Unfortunately, he hadn’t come for a reunion. Not yet at least.

“I never hadn’t expected to see you, so soon too” breathed the woman, as she pulled back from the hug to place her hands on the young boy’s face.

“I know and I really wished it could last longer” remarked Tommy, as he pressed his face into her hands.

“But I wanted to ask you something” he informed, deciding there was no reason to hide his intentions.

“What is it, my little dove?” she hummed, tilting her head to the side.

“Have you ever traded mortal lives?” Tommy asked, rubbing the back of his hands.

“Traded mortal lives?” she parroted, lifting a brow.

“Like, a mortal dies but another mortal takes their place in passing and gives the dead one a chance at life again, to keep the balance of the world” explained Tommy, looking down at his hands.

“I mean, It’s a rare transaction and very unlikely but not impossible. Why do you ask, my dove?” she replied.

“I-, I want to make a trade with someone. A close friend of mine who’s life was wrongfully taken away in an incident” blurted Tommy, with a shaky breath.

Silence. The void plains were filled with the quiet winds as the grass blades brushed against one another.  

“Why?” she inquired, her eyes filled with sadness.

“Ranboo wasn’t supposed to die, he shouldn’t have. He had a lot going for him. He had a wonderful family, loyal friends, and a future himself that was supposed to be bright” stated Tommy, urgently. 

“That’s not what I meant, my dear. Why, you? You also have those things but you are choosing to leave it behind” she exclaimed, shaking her head.

“I’ve lived my life. I have lived through so many things. I have seen so much for my age and I should have been dead so long ago. Wars of L’manburg, the days of exile, the final moments in the vault, and the hours spent in prison. I had so many chances because I thought I had something to live for or stay for but there seems to be nothing left for me to latch on to. I can no longer find a will to keep going if everything and everyone has moved on while I’m stuck in the past” rambled Tommy, as the tears began to pour down his face.

“Plus, I’m not even wanted by a lot of people, including the people I once considered close to me. I can’t give them much but I can give them this, a chance to be with someone else who deserved a chance at life. A chance that I was unrightfully given so many times” he mumbled, as gripped the sleeves of his jacket. 

Tommy could feel his body trembling as he let the emotions he kept bottled up spill out of his mouth, as if he was lifting a weight off his chest. As he stood there, he was again pulled into a tight hug by the woman. He gripped onto her and cried into her arms, as she coddled and comforted him. She seemed to be whispering words to him but he couldn’t understand them through his hysteria. He doesn’t know how long he had cried since time couldn’t be told in the void but it felt like a long time. Still clinging to the woman, he slowly lifted himself away as he tried to his face. She was the first to get it and wiped it with her large sleeves as she looked at him affectionately.

“Oh my dove,” she muttered, as she held the boy’s face gently. 

“The world has not treated you kindly” she said, rubbing her thumb across the blonde’s cheek.

“Want to come home, to you” murmured Tommy, as he tried to catch his breath.

The woman gave a sorrowful look before sighing.

“Three days, you can come home in three days ” she nodded.

“Okay” breathed Tommy, shakily. 

The woman gave a soft smile as she pressed her forehead against his. Tommy closed his eyes as clingy to the comforting warmth from the woman. Soon, the warmth faded and a cold air blew through his hair. A warm breath blew into his face as he slowly reopened his eyes. He was staring up into the night sky as the moon seemed to be slow passing over the dark pine forest. He shadowed to be standing over him just looking at him. He squinted his eyes before realizing what it was. 

It was a deer.

It seemed to be standing over him just sniffing him. The blonde groaned slightly, as his body felt heavy and weak as he was splayed out on the ground. He slowly pushed himself up with his elbows, the deer taking a few steps back though not running away. As Tommy tried to push himself up with his hands, he yelped from a sting sensation he felt on his hands. He looked down at them to see red burns around his palms from where the golden string was. 

“Fuck” huffed Tommy, wincing as he flexed his hands.

The deer tilted its head to the side as it watched the blonde demon struggle to get to his feet with his injured hands. He grabbed the book he brought and headed towards the rock where his bag was. He placed it into and pulled out his communicator. Now messages but the time seemed strange. Though it felt much longer, it only seemed like Tommy was gone for an hour and a half. Time must have been weird in the void he was in but he wasn’t going to question it. All he wanted to do was go back to cabins and get some sleep in for the night. He slipped his bag onto his back and looked around him. The deer from early on was still around and stood really close to him. The blonde looked the animal up and down before reaching out to pet it. It rubbed its snout against his hands, seeming to enjoy the gesture. Tommy shrugged and gave it a few more pets before moving towards the trees and out of the clearing. The deer seemed to quietly follow beside him, just to keep him company. It was really weird but he didn’t mind the companionship in this dark hour in the forest. 

Chapter Text

It was morning.

Tommy didn't know how early in the morning it was but he didn’t really care at the moment. His body was still recovering from the night before and he just wanted to spend the morning in bed. Unfortunately, things weren’t going to go that way since his door began rattling as someone banged on it. He flinched but didn’t move or make an attempt to get out of bed. The knock came again along with a muffled voice. It was loud but quiet at the same time since he couldn’t understand what was being said. He groaned as he turned to stare up at the ceiling. Eventually they could leave but that was the least likely at the moment. Finally, he slowly sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed. He made his way over to the door and opened. He was greeted by a pink haired woman in a dark cloak over a white button up top.

“Morning Tommy” she greeted, with dull chirpiness in her voice.

“Mornin’ Niki” yawned Tommy, as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

“What are you doing here?” he asked, squinting at her.

“Phil wants everyone to get together to have breakfast outside. He has an announcement to make but he hasn’t said anything to anyone about it except Techno” she remarked, crossing her arms.

“Sounds like him” huffed Tommy, as he stretched his limbs.           

“Everyone is already over there with the exception of you, so Phil sent me over” sighed Niki, rolling her eyes.

“I see. Well give me a moment to get myself and Shroud ready” stated Tommy, as he began to turn away.

The pink haired woman nodded and walked off to the stairs. Tommy watched her until she was completely out of sight before closing the door. He sighed heavily as he leaned against the door. Philza had an announcement? Probably having to do with Ranboo or the revival process in general. It was most likely that since it was very important for them to get the enderman hybrid back from the dead.

 Very important.      

The blonde glanced over to the shallow closet in the corner before walking over to it. He might as well have attended this breakfast since it was going to be the first time everyone had to interact together in a while. He slipped on his long sleeved red and white shirt with khaki pants. He fastened the buckles on his boots and tied his bandana around his neck. Once doing that, he grabbed a smaller set of clothes and rested them on the side of the bed. Moving up to the pillow of bed, he ran his hand through his son’s hair to gently wake him up.

“Shroud. Come on, mate, you gotta wake up” whispered Tommy, leaning down beside the bed.

A quiet hiss escaped the arachnid boy’s mouth, giving a sign that he was somewhat waking up. 

“Come big man, we are going to go have breakfast with everyone. I think Michael will be there with Tubbo” urged Tommy, as he moved his hand under the boy’s head.

Shroud hummed softly as he squeezed his plush toy tightly while Tommy lifted him to a sitting position. He was very much still asleep but was making noises as if he was slowly waking up. The blonde smiled affectionately at him before moving to grab the folded clothes near him. He gently shifted the arachnid child around to slip the attire on him, even fixing the folds of his sleeves and the slouch of his boots. Finally, Tommy grabbed his blue sweater from the end of the bed and rested on Shroud’s shoulders. 

“There ya go, big man. You are ready for the day” smiled Tommy, as he ruffled his boy’s hair.

He hissed in response as he leaned forward onto Tommy’s chest. He chuckled a little before picking up his son into his arms, Shroud rested his head on the blonde’s shoulder as he squeezed to fiddle with his plush. Tommy pressed a kiss atop of the arachnid boy’s head before heading towards the door. He pushed it open with his free hand and kicked it shut once in the hall. The two of them headed towards stairs and descended down, where they found Niki looming by the front door. She nodded to the blonde before opening the door behind her. Tommy followed after her, closing the door behind him when he passed it. He hopped down the stairs and spotted a familiar gathering around the decently large table in the snow. The blonde winged man and piglin brute sat at the head of table conversing while lower down was a brunet winged man picking at the food in front of him as he faced a young goat boy who was tending to a piglin child right next to him. It seemed pretty awkward overall which made Tommy want to be there less. Niki moved to the side of the table that Tubbo was sitting on while Tommy took the side Wilbur was on. The brunet gave him a side glance before handing him a plate of what the smell of cooked beef and potatoes. He internal gagged but accepted the plate as he started picking at it as well. He sat Shroud up in the chair beside him and started feeding the potatoes to him. While he did this, Phil clapped his hands together to get everyone’s attention.

“ Morning, everyone. It’s good to see you all were able to make it to breakfast” he exclaimed, with a smile.      

“Only because we were told that you had something important to say” muttered Tubbo, rolling his eyes.  

“I do but I wanted to give everyone a chance to enjoy a little of normalcy before I tell everyone” nodded Phil, with a slight furrow in his brow.

“What is considered ‘normal’ here, anyways?” questioned Tommy, quirking up his brow.

“Well, We talk to each other about our day or yesterday’s activities while eating and just enjoying each other's company” stated Phil, as he took a seat at the table.

“Would anyone like to start?” he asked, looking around the table. 

Silence amongst them, only awkward glances and stares were shared or no eye contact was made at all. The bird man sighed to himself, taking a bite from his plate before speaking again.

“I’ll start I guess! Wilbur & I went to steal a body from the graveyard yesterday” proclaimed Phil, seemingly proud.

“What?!” shouted everyone, in sync.

“That was the worst conversation starter you could have ever picked, Phil,” said Wilbur, horrified.

“Maybe, but it did get a reaction from everyone” shrugged Phil, picking food from his plate.

“Me and Will went out yesterday morning to retrieve Ranboo's body so we could have it close by when we were finally ready to revive him” he continued.

“Isn’t that considered grave robbing?” exclaimed Niki, with a concerned look.

“It’s actually more body snatching than grave robbing” corrected Techno, with a full mouth of food.

“I don't think either of them are good” declared Tubbo, his voice cracking in shock.

“Anywho, we brought his body back and it’s on ice until we can prepare him for revival” stated Phil, waving his fork around.

“So you just have his body stored away in a shitty box until otherwise?” inquired Tommy, furrowing his brows.

“He is in a proper coffin but yes, we did place it in storage” hummed Phil.

Blonde demon just stared in disbelief. 

“Besides that, how was everyone else’s day yesterday?” asked Phil, with a smile.

Just as before, the table was silent but for a different reason. Fortunately, Niki was the one to somewhat pick the conversation back up.

“Uh, Me & Tubbo went over to Snowchester to visit Puffy so that Michael & Michelle could have a playdate” she spoke, as she shared a nervous glance with the goat boy. 

“How was that?” questioned Phil, tilting his head to the side.

“It was pretty chill. They played into snow for a few hours, went inside for a break, then went back outside” hummed Tubbo, as he started to wipe food of Micheal’s face.

“Nothing too eventful, though it was my first time back to Snowchester in a while” he added, his eyes falling to the ground.

“How was it being back there?” asked Techno, lifting a brow.

“Nothing special, to be honest. It’s just another cold biome but with much more activity and life then here” shrugged Tubbo.

“Was Boo with you? We haven’t seen him in awhile” questioned Wilbur.

“No, I haven’t seen him either. Probably off doing ghost things or some shit” sighed Tubbo, with a low tone.

“Well, he’ll come back around eventually, mate,” assured Phil, with a soft voice. 

“Maybe” muttered Tubbo, resting his head on his hand.

Again, another silence fell over the table. Things seemed to be going downhill faster than expected, so the topic shifted.

“What about you, Tommy! Where did you and Shroud run off to yesterday?” exclaimed Phil, clasping his hands together.

“U-us? Oh, um, we went to go visit some friends and fucked around doing big man shit” stammered Tommy, a little taken a back of being thrown in.

“Who did you go see?” questioned Wilbur, lifting a brow.

“Oh you know, Sapnap and Karl. Came across Big Q. & chatted with him for a bit” muttered Tommy, as he spun his fork in the air.

“Quackity, huh?” uttered Techno, dryly.   

“Yeah, we hung out but not for too long. Then me & Shroud worked around the garden in the Holy Land and cleaned up Church Prime a bit” nodded Tommy, trying to get his part of the conversation out of the way.

“Why do you still visit it? It doesn’t seem to hold any significance anymore to anyone” asked Tubbo.

“I mean, it’s kind of important to some people but it also gives me something to do during the day” shrugged Tommy, awkwardly.      

“Plus, being exposed to the cold air all the time isn’t good for Shroud” he added, gently rubbing his son’s face with the sleeves of the sweater.  

“It’s fine, Tommy. Atleast we know where to find you if you go off on your own” assured Phil, with a closed eye smile.

He nodded silently as he focused on the son, who was trying to nip at his hand. The casual conversation seemed to be over once Techno spoke blandly of how he just went abandoned mansion raiding. Tommy seemed to have zoned out after that as he still was tired after yesterday. It was only when a certain word, or name, was spoken that snapped him to reality..

“We are going to have Dream come here so he can use to revival book on Ranboo” announced Phil. 

“What?!” uttered Tommy, louder than expected.

“Just give me a moment to explain” stated Phil, holding a hand up.

“Techno and I have been spending the past few weeks searching for alternative revival techniques or rituals, just like what we had tried to do with Wilbur when he wasn’t around” he started. 

“All methods we found or considered were taking too long and Boo seems to be fading faster every day. We didn’t have this issue with Ghostbur so we thought we had a lot more time to plan this.” he explained, tucking his hands into his sleeves. 

“And the fastest way any of us knows is through the revival book, which is in Dream’s custody. So we spoke with him and asked him to come to the cabin tonight so he can perform the revival” finished Phil.

There was a collective silence that ran across the table. Unlike before, there were mixed feelings instead of mutual ones. 

“I know it’ll feel like he’s intruding on the isolated life we have here but he won’t be staying for too long. He won't be arriving till midnight tonight” assured Techno.

“That’s what you are worried about?” retorted Tommy, his voice lined with hostility. 

“Is that not what you are worried about?” replied Techno, lifting a brow.

“Yes but it’s obviously more than that” huffed Tommy, his ears pinning downwards.

“You are inviting the enemy into your home, meaning he’ll be able to exploit our weaknesses. Even if he is just going to be here for a few hours” he explained.

“Then where else do you expect us to do this?” questioned Techno.

“I don’t know, just not here if you are going to bring Dream. I want Ranboo to come back as much as everyone else here does but you have to think of everyone else’s safety when it comes to this” expressed Tommy.

“There is nowhere else to do this since Techno & Dream are escapees and people are going to be looking for them” stated Phil, gesturing to the piglin hybrid.

“Ah yes, folks are actively searching for two of the strongest people around who not only escaped Pandora's vault but have been known to take down countries with a single thrust axe. I know it’s not too far-fetched but no one gives a shit that Techno is out of prison, they are only worried about Dream and keeping their ducks in a row” proclaimed Tommy, annoyed.

“Tommy, just calmed down. I doubt that he would try to do anything around since this technically Techno’s area” spoke Wilbur, as he placed a hand on the blonde’s shoulder.

“Well you shouldn’t! He’s a sly bastard who has done a lot of fucked up shit. He’ll think he’s buddy buddy with Techno and that he owes him a favor after reviving Ranboo. Is that not what the situation was after he helped him escape his execution?” hissed Tommy, narrowing his eyes at the brunette.     

“That was a different situation. They have changed as people along with the situation. You can’t pin every little thing on Dream, other people have to take responsibility for their wrong doings” argued Wilbur.

“I know people can change and better themselves but some leopards never change their spots. Dream hasn’t changed and never will”  challenged Tommy, crossing his arms.

“Right, Tubbo?” he called, hoping to get some support from his best friend.

The brunette goat boy glanced up at him silently. He sighed softly before speaking.

“I do agree with you on that, Tommy. Dream can’t be trusted since he always needs to have people at his side to get the upper hand on people” replied Tubbo, as he leaned against his chair.

“But, we are desperate since we are running out of time to bring Ranboo back. We have tried almost everything but it hasn’t been good enough and this is our last resort. I know you despise Dream with passion but you are going to have to set aside for the moment. Just this once” he added, his brows knitting together.

Tommy gave him a look of disbelief. Was he really just going round up the mass amount of issues that the masked fiend has caused to him and those around him as a simple expression of despisement? It was baffling and he wished to argue his case more. The only thing stopping him was the tired dull look in his best friend’s eyes and the somewhat disapproved stares coming from the other members at the table. Instead, the young blonde just shut himself up and turned his focus back on to his son. The conversation seemed to continue on without him. He didn’t really care though at the moment. Silently, he picked Shroud up and started heading back towards Techno’s cabin. There was a moment where he thought someone called his name but it was probably just wishful thinking. He headed up the stairs to his room. Once back in it, he placed Shroud on the bed before moving to the desk near the window. He began packing things into his bag for the day since he still had a small handful of errands to run for the day. He tucked the book from the night before into the bottom drawer and covered it up with some stray items he wasn’t going to bring with him. Clasping the buckles on the satchel, Tommy threw the bag onto his back. He also grabbed the box he had gotten from Sam and rested it on his hip before going to pick up Shroud. Finally, he was set for the day and ready to head out. Kicked the door open as he walked out and headed back down the stairs. Surprisingly, he saw Wilbur standing in the cabin. The brunette seemed to be focused on Techno's bookshelf in the living space. The others must have dismissed their morning meeting and dispersed for the day. The thought of making his own present known as he was about  to depart but it seemed like a waste. He just headed out the door without speaking to his brother.   

Chapter Text

It was mid-morning. 

Tommy cursed silently to himself as he whipped blood from fingertip once more. He wasn’t usually this clumsy when he would sew. Maybe it was because he had a rough start to the morning or the fact he hadn’t actually eaten breakfast today. Either way, he finally finished on a minor project to calm himself from his elevated emotions. He looked at where Shroud was playing. His arachnid son was scampering around the Cathedral with a mooshroom plush in his arms. Coming to Church Prime was the most safest and calming place he chose to spend the rest of his day. Especially after this morning discussion. Tommy wasn’t even sure if he wanted to go back to the cabin until after Ranboo was revived so he wouldn’t have to face the others. Yet he was going so that he could support his best friend and be reunited with both of closest friends one more time. Till then, he was going to spend his day with Shroud and doing his final errands. Puffy had given him a bunch of sewing materials for when he visited Snowchester with Ranboo a few months back that he rarely used until now. He only ever used them to fix up the loose threads in Shroud’s plushies and tailor clothes for his son. Now, he just finished sewing up a quilt that mimicked the pattern of the L'manburg flag. The leftover sewing material would be going in somewhere else. And somewhere else was sitting in a box right beside him. That task was going to take a bit more time so it was best he save some energy for it. For now he just listened to the mix of hissing and broken common as Shroud ran up to him. The spider child crawled under the quilt before popping his head out on the other side before speaking excitedly.

“Big soft” he exclaimed, his eyes lighting up.

“Yes, it's a very big and soft blanket” nodded Tommy, pulling his son towards him.

“Us?” asked Shroud, tugging on the quilt.

“Yes but it's mostly yours, big man” cooed Tommy, wrapping the edge over Shroud’s shoulder.

“Me” chirped Shroud, with a toothy smile.

“Yes sir, I made it just for you. So when you are older, you don’t have to worry about constantly layering wool blankets when it gets cold” remarked Tommy, gently squeezing the kid’s face.

Shroud let out a happy sound as he hugged the blonde. He smiled fondly at the child in his arms, leaning back to rest his back against the wooden podium behind him. He cradled Shroud in one arm while he used his opposite hand to pack up the sewing material he left out. While doing so, the sound of the cathedral’s front doors opening echoed through the empty church which caused the blonde to tense up. Tommy glanced over to where the sound was as the second pair of doors cracked open. Entering was a brunette figure. They wore a white tailored top that was being covered by a long red & gold coat and had dark leather pants with heeled boots. Their pupil-less eyes were covered with dark shades as they held a neutral expression on their face. In their hand was a simple picnic basket which seemed out of place in the hands of such a noble dressed figure. They stopped just a few feet away from Tommy before speaking up.

“Hello Tommy!” they greeted, with a friendly wave.

“Hi Eret” replied Tommy, relaxing his body. 

“Sorry I'm extremely late, I was in a morning meeting that seemed to drag on longer than I wished” explained Eret, rubbing the back of their neck awkwardly.

“Nah it's fine man, I’m just glad you were able to make time in your schedule for this” assured Tommy, waving his hand nonchalantly.

“Oh I can spare any time of the day for a friend,” stated Eret, with a smile.

“I brought food with me since lunch hour is coming up soon” they added, gesturing to the basket in hand.

“Wait really? What time is it?” questioned Tommy, looking over at his communicator. 

“It's just past twelve and nearly one” replied Eret, moving to sit beside the blonde.

“Damn, I guess I lost track of time after me and Shroud arrived at Church Prime” breathed Tommy, as he furrowed his brows.

“You contacted me at six this morning, so I’m guessing you two have been here for five hours” proclaimed Eret.

“Fuck man, then I’m glad you brought food. I didn’t eat breakfast this morning since it was shitty” said Tommy.   

“Like, they made beef and potatoes for breakfast instead of like normal breakfast of pancakes or waffles” he stated, looking over at the brunette.

“But you hate eating beef,” claimed Eret, concernedly.  

“Exactly! They should know better than anyone that I despise eating beef. I gave Shroud the potatoes since I lost my appetite when I saw the beef on the plate” exclaimed Tommy, crossing his arms. 

“Well, I didn’t bring beef or any meat in fact. I did bring some fruit sandwiches and bowls of freshly washed blackberries” informed Eret, as they pulled a container out.

“Berries?” spoke Shroud, peeking from under the quilt.

“Yes, sweetheart, I brought berries,” smiled Eret, looking down at the arachnid child.

Shroud looked up at Tommy with a curious look. He nodded his head and extended a hand towards Eret. The brunette opened the container to reveal the food they brought and placed it in between them. The blonde reached in to grab a few of the blackberries. He pulled his hand back and showed them to his son. The spider child looked over at it before grabbing it out of his hand to bite into it. As Shroud just sat nibbling on it, Tommy and Eret continued their conversation.

“So how have you been doing, Tommy? Foolish said you had spoken with Quackity and Sam yesterday” inquired Eret, resting their hands in their lap. 

“Honestly, it's been a pretty rough few months. I ended up moving in with Phil and Techno after you-know-who escaped prison and Sam was demoted from being the warden.” sighed Tommy, reaching into the container for a sandwich.

“Is that not good though?” questioned Eret, tilting their head to the side.

“In the beginning, yes it was. But Ranboo’s passing has been taking a toll on everyone and the grieving seems to have lasted longer since Boo started hanging around. I can say it’s much different from when Ghostbur was since things are more at risk this time around” shrugged Tommy, as biting into the sandwich.

“Right, Aimsey did mention something about him fading away when I last spoke with them. It’s a sad event, might I say. I’m sorry” replied Eret, their brows wilting in dejection.

“It’s not your fault. Besides, Phil and Techno have plans they are going to try to put in action tonight so they can get him back before he does. Which was one of the reasons I wanted to meet with you” claimed Tommy.

“Oh? What do you need?” asked Eret. 

“I need a lot of things but I have four things to ask of you. I won’t tell you everything until tomorrow but I just need this one thing for me at the moment” said Tommy, with a slight shaky breath.

“I’m growing concerned now, are you alright?” questioned Eret, leaning forward a bit.

“I’m-” started Tommy, but cut himself off.

He didn’t want to dump too much on the only person who had a decent head on their shoulders and was willing to listen to what he has to say. He just has to take things at a time. He glanced down at Shroud, who had now taken the entire container of blackberries for himself. A soft smile curled on his face before a sigh escaped his lips. 

“I’m fine but it doesn’t matter right now. I just have a favor to ask of you today and a promise for you tomorrow” proclaimed Tommy, turning back to Eret.

There was a small moment of silence from the brunette but they nodded slightly, their focus completely on the young blonde.

“I want you to take care of Shroud for me tonight. I don’t know if I’m supposed to tell you this but Dream is coming over to the cabin tonight to revive Ranboo with the revive book. I don’t want to risk Shroud’s safety since he’s all I got right now. I’ll explain everything else I wanted to tell you tomorrow after everything is done tonight” explained Tommy.

“And Shroud has been by my side for the past two years or so & hasn’t really spent time away from me. So I commissioned Sam to make something Shroud for when I’m not around” he added, as he pulled the box over to him.

“You commissioned something to Sam?” inquired Eret, lifting a brow.

“I know we aren’t supposed to like him but he’s the only one I know who could fulfill this task. Especially since he is Sam Nook’s creator” remarked Tommy, as he started opening the box.

He reached into it and hauled the object. It was a robot, smaller and stubbier when compared to the infamous Sam Nook. It seemed to be based on a hedgehog but with quite a colorful palette. Its soft faux fur was bright orange while its clothes were comforting shades of blue. 

“I asked him to make a robot for Shroud that was kinda like Sam Nook” spoke Tommy, as he gestured to the stocky object.

“Oh, that’s not what I expected. It’s quite cute actually” uttered Eret, tilting their head to the side.

“Yup, it’s less intimidating in size but I think it shares similarities to the program of Nook. Especially since Sam is the one who made it” nodded the blonde, as he reached over for his sewing materials.

“But I had some extra requests to add in. Such as being able to repair clothes with given resources, singing songs, telling stories, being a good playmate, and just a bunch of things I feel like Shroud needed to be safe & comfortable” informed Tommy, as he dropped the items into the robot’s physical inventory.

“That sounds like a lot,” replied Eret, as they ran their fingers through the faux fur spikes.

“Anything for my big man” cheered Tommy, as he looked over to his son.

“Speaking of that, Shroud! Can you come here for a moment?” he called, getting the spiderling’s attention.

He looked from his place at the edge of the quilt before scrambling over towards them, with an empty container in hand and berry smears on his face. The blonde shook his head as he pulled out his handkerchief to clean his son’s face while he spoke to him.

“I have another gift for you, my little bug” cooed Tommy, as he gently squeezed Shroud’s face.

“Gift?” mimicked Shroud, titling his head to the side.

“Yes, a gift. You know the robot that Mr. Sam made that helps everyone with their building projects?” spoked Tommy.

“Nook!” chirped Shroud, excitedly.

“Yeah. Well, I asked Mr. Sam to make you a robot incase I’m not around to take care of you” explained Tommy, gesturing to the hedgehog robot.

The spider child looked over at it with curiosity, though a bit withdrawn. The blonde reached over to it and pressed a button that was tucked behind its ear. A whirring sound occurred as a small robot stood up straight on their own. It turned around quickly as it snapped its head in different directions, which did surprise them. It then spoke with a voice that was made of robotic squeaks and chirps.

“ [ Hello! I am Clara! ] ”

“ [ The compact companion for Tommy Innit & Shroud Innit! ] ”

“ [ Identify yourselves! ] ”  

“Woah” exclaimed Eret, taken aback. 

“Cool isn't it?” chuckled Tommy, before clearing his throat to get the robot’s attention.

“I am Tommy Innit and this is Shroud Innit” he declared, as he sat his son up in his lap.

“Hi” hummed Shroud, softly.

“ [ Hello Tommy Innit & Shroud Innit] ” greeted Clara, as she stuck her small paw out.

Shroud reached out to shake its hand, bit more open to the robot. 

“I know it’ll take some time to get used to it, so we’ll go out to the garden and you can play with her,” assured Tommy, as he rested his chin on Shroud’s head.

“Now?” asked Shroud.

“We can, unless you wanna stay inside for a while” shrugged Tommy.

“Outside, outside!!” cheered Shroud, as he hopped to his feet.

“Okay, we can go outside,” laughed Tommy.

The arachnid child hissed excitedly as they circled the duo on the stairs as the blonde & brunette gathered their items into their respective bags. Once finished, they made their way to the back exit of the cathedral. Tommy pushed the door open as pure sunlight showed directly on them. He had to squint to get used to it before continuing forward. He watched as his son skipped down the cobblestone path where the garden was while Clara followed after him. A smile curled on to his lips as he and Eret followed behind them. When they finally reached the garden, the two sat on a nearby bench. The bright faux fur of Clara brightly contrasted Shroud’s dark hair but seemingly matched the kid’s energy. From what he could see, the two had started a game of tag with Clara being it. It was nice to see the kid full of energy and bustling about compared to the dreary fatigueness they had been getting from the arctic. Overall, it was just nice to be in the sun without being disturbed by any hostile foes or unwelcoming stares. Just a nice sunny day being spent with an old friend and his son. A long sigh came from the blonde as he leaned against the bench.

“Tommy,” spoke Eret.

“Hm?” hummed Tommy.

“What do you plan to tell me?” they asked.

“I know you wish to tell me tomorrow but from how you are acting, I have a sneaking suspicion I know what’s going on. I just wish for you to explain yourself before you go any further with your plans” they claimed.

Tommy tensed up for a moment before sighing again, but more defeatedly than he wished. As much as he wanted to avoid talking about it, he had to tell someone sooner than later. He turned to face his royal friend, who had pushed their glasses to rest atop of their heads. An obvious sign in trust since it was rare for the herobrine hybrid to show their eyes completely. 

“I-” started Tommy, though he paused to try and compose himself.

“I made a deal. I made a deal with a goddess, the goddess of death. Our deal was that she would allow Ranboo to come back to life if I gave her something in return. So I’ve spent the past few days just preparing for when she does and just playing things so safe” he explained.

“Dream is supposed to use the revive book tonight but I have a feeling she’s going to have a hand in it this time. I don’t know what but my deal with her still stands” he added, as he turned his gaze away Eret.

“So because of your deal, you are leaving Shroud in care of a robot?” questioned Eret, with furrowed brows. 

“Not necessarily. I wanted Clara made so that Shroud would be taken care of when I’m not around, yes, but a robot can’t completely replace human connection. Which is why I wanted you here” breathed Tommy.

“As long as I’ve known you, from before & after L’manburg to now, you have grown as a person and seemed to have a better understanding of emotions and experiences. I feel as if I can trust you with this responsibility.” he proclaimed, looking over to where he could see the black hair peeking out from the flower bed.

The duo sat in silence after that statement, allowing the blonde’s words to settle in mind. The small breeze was starting to blow past as the small windchimes echoed had filled the stillness. The swaying of the flowers and laughter of a child is what kept the mood up, along with a small tune playing from the friendly robot. The joy should have felt infection yet it was being mixed with melancholy sensation from the two friends sitting on the bench. A hand was felt on Tommy’s shoulder as he turned back to the brunette. 

“I will do my absolute best for him” assured Eret, softly.

“I know” nodded Tommy.

Chapter Text

It was late evening. 

Tommy had the spent the rest of his day with Shroud & Eret as they got the arachnid child settled into being with the brunette. The monarch had cleared out a room for Shroud to stay in. Some of Tommy's possessions had been placed in it so Shroud would be surrounded with some form of familiarity. As the dark haired child settled into the large space, Tommy gave his son and friend a short farewell for the evening with the promise to return the next evening. As he headed down the path from the castle, he leaned his head back to look up at the sky. The sun was slowly descending as blue colors faded into a bright orange. Lingering rays of sunlight warmed his face as he stood there in its embrace. It was quite relieving and what felt like the final moment before everything would go back to normal. At least if you can see him being constantly anxious and paranoid “normal”. He continued his path forward until he reached the nether portal. He entered into it as he untied his jacket from around his waist. It was too hot right now but as soon as he stepped into the arctic, he would freeze his ass off. He still wondered how the others were able to cope with such conditions constantly. Though he felt he couldn’t say much since there was a time where he couldn’t consider the conditions he had lived the best, such as Pogtopia or Exile. They had their moments but it was still sucky, so the arctic was probably the best out of all of them. 

As he rounded the corner on the path and the next obsidian portal came into view, the blonde slipped the red jacket over his shoulders. He fixed around himself as he stepped through it. As he expected, a sharp gust of cold air blew into his face. He shivered violently in response as he shoved his hands deep into his pockets. He quickened his pass as he began moving across the frozen terrain. It seemed a fresh layer of snow had settled on the ground as his worn boots crunched with each step. He assumed a light shower had blow through in his absence. As his eyes looked down at the ground, an urge grew over him as he reached down to get a handful of it. He knew he would regret it later since he didn’t have gloves on but a childish feeling was brewing as he held the cold ball in his hands. He tossed it up into the air to keep himself entertained. He noticed movement out of the corner of his eyes. It was a snow rabbit chewing on a bush at the edge of the forest. Though he was tempted to chuck the snow ball, he chose to spare the fragile creature. He continued onward as he could hear the howling of the dogs in the distance. Along with the familiar sight of the wooden fence. The blonde stepped on the edge of it as he launched himself over it. Much easier than dealing with the gate. Once he was over, the howling turned to excited bark as he felt something tug on his sleeve. The snowball slipped from his palm as one of the dogs jumped up at him. Tommy struggled to steady himself with the large canine weighing him down. He leaned against the fence as he began to scratch behind the dog’s ear. It panted happily as it dropped back down on all fours as it was shown affection. A smile curled on his face as he crouched down to pat and fluff the dog’s neck fur. As he did so, he noticed another sense of movement from the corner of his eyes. He looked from the white furred animal in front of him to what was behind it. He froze for a moment as he made eye contact with figures. At least that's what he assumed it was for one of them. Standing just a few feet away were two people, one in a bright red cloak with white fur around the neck and the other wore a dark green cloak while a cracked mask sat on their face. 

A sickly familiar white mask.

“Tommy” uttered the red cloaked figure, with a confused tone.

“Hey Techno” waved Tommy, as he slowly stood to his feet. 

“I thought you weren’t coming back?” questioned Techno.

“I never said that. I just said I didn’t agree with your plan and left. I was always gonna come back since I gotta support Tubbo & Michael” claimed Tommy, as he tugged on sleeve.

“I see,” muttered the piglin brute.

Tommy nodded silently as his gaze shifted to the hound sitting in front of him. It looked attentive between the blonde and pinkette. He cleared his throat as he patted the dog’s head to somewhat start more conversation.

“So where are the others?” asked Tommy.   

“There is over at Ranboo’s house on the base. Wilbur and Phil were getting everything set up while I came out here to greet Dream'' informed Techno, as he gestured to the masked man.

“And I guess you too,” he added, a bit quieter.

“Gotcha” replied Tommy, awkwardly tapping his fingers together. 

Techno nodded and started walking away from the conversation, with Dream in tow. Tommy exhaled shakily as he followed behind them. He followed behind at a distance so he wasn’t too close to the masked man. Though he hadn’t said a word to him or him saying anything to him, a strange ball of pain began to grow into his chest. 

Fear?

Anxiety?

Dread?

He couldn’t tell which one it was or maybe it was all three. His hands found their way to his arms as he tried to silently comfort himself, as he usually would do. Something bumped his leg, causing him to look down. The hound was still at his side. It looked up at him with what looked like concern in its dark eyes. He let one of his hands find its way to the hound’s head, allowing it to rub into it. It was surprisingly nice to him. Even though the moment only lasted for a short time. Techno’s pace slowed down as they reached the door to Ranboo’s house. All the lights seemed to be on yet it was deafeningly quiet. He turned the knob to the door and entered inside. Him and Dream disappeared inside, leaving the door open for the blonde to follow. He looked down at the dog beside him. He held up a hand in a silent command. The large canine sat down in a straight posture. He gave the dog a final head pat before heading inside. The temperature around him shifted as he entered the building. The cold air was chased away by the heat as he closed the door. He rubbed his hands together to warm them up as he moved to where the kitchen area was since he could hear low voices coming that direction. He headed down the small hall and round the corner as he stood in the doorway. Techno & Dream stood at the opposite end of the table, seeing that was where Philza was sitting. At the rest of the table was Niki and Wilbur speaking to each other while Tubbo was slouched against the table as he listened to them. It seemed no one took notice of him, which he kind of expected. What he didn’t expect was something slamming into the back of his leg and nearly toppling him over.

“Uncle ‘ommy!!” exclaimed a high pitched voice, happily.

He looked behind him to see a small zombie piglin clinging to the back of his leg with an excited look on his face. Though a bit shocked at first, Tommy’s face softens at the presence of the child.

“Michael! Hey big man, how are you doing?” greeted Tommy, as he wrapped his tail around the boy to lift him up. 

“Good” replied Michael,as he reached out his arms for the blonde.

“That’s good, have you been busy today with Bo?” asked Tommy, as he held the piglin boy properly in his arms.

“Yup! ‘ech and Za brough Boo home! He sleepin’ , so sshh” hushed Michael, pointing to the stairway.

“Oh okay, I’ll be quiet” nodded Tommy, as he lowered his tone to a whisper.

“Me and Bo leave ‘o see Foosh” stated Michael, placing his hands above his head to mimic a shark fin.

“Foolish! Did you get to see Jr. and Finley?” remarked Tommy, wandering away from the kitchen doorway to the main room. 

The young piglin nodded and began to speak on & on about the day he had, even though a bit of his speech was broken. Though it was nice to see Michael getting better at speaking as time went on. The first time Tommy had met the kid was when he only spoke one or two word sentences, similar to how Shroud speaks currently. Michael has grown from there and was learning more now that he was living on Techno’s base with Tubbo. The blonde knows how much the older piglin would read endlessly to him when he was younger and he was doing the same with Michael, which he’d imagine was quite appreciated by Tubbo. Though speaking of his brunette friend, the sound of footsteps seemed to interrupt the small ramble that he was listening to. Tommy looked up to see Tubbo walking into the main room and taking a seat beside him. Yet he didn’t say anything when he did. The two kind of just sat in silence for a moment. Michael was going on small tangents but had moved to climb into Tubbo’s lap. The two of them just listened to the kid speak with soft encouragement when he got stuck on words. As they did, Tommy felt a weight rest on his arm. It was Tubbo resting his head on the blonde’s shoulder. It was an odd move but had a familiar one. Hesitantly, Tommy rests head atop of friend’s to return the affection. It seemed neither of them really had anything to say but just enjoyed each other’s company. Something they hadn’t done much of in a long while. The duo just listened to the small piglin ramble on.

It felt like a good twenty or so minutes had passed before a figure appeared in the doorway. It was Philza, with a soft yet stern look on his face. The three on the couch perked up as awaiting the winged man’s words. 

“It’s time” he proclaimed, softly. 

Tubbo nodded his head with a sigh before standing to his feet. He passed Michael over Tommy as he did so before moving towards the older blonde. Tommy also stood to his feet to follow after him. It was only when Philza extended one of his wings that stopped him.  

“I think it’s best you don’t take him up there” he muttered.

“What?” remarked Tommy, with furrowed brows.

“Michael. I don’t think it’s best to take him up stairs while we do this” stated Philza, as he placed his hands over the small piglin’s ears.

“Tubbo and I already spoke of just taking him back over to Techno’s cabin but we weren’t sure since he would be left alone. Atleast that was until you arrived just now.” he explained.

“So you wish for me to watch over him while you guys work on the ritual” proclaimed Tommy.

“Is that such an issue for you?” questioned Philza.

“No! I will gladly take my nephew and leave while ‘he’ is here. I didn’t bring my own son so I wouldn’t want Michael enduring such confusion" replied Tommy, throwing his head back.

The older blonde just sighed with a small chuckle as patting the young blonde’s head. He also  patted Michael's head before moving towards the staircase at the end of the hall. Tommy turned the opposite direction towards the front door. He grabbed the small coat on the rack nearby and rested it on Michael’s back before pushing open the door. Just as he had left it, the wolf-dog that followed to the door was still there. Stood it from its sitting position and began excitedly pawing at Tommy's leg.

“Woof!” exclaimed Michael, as he reached out for the large dog.

“Yup, this is one of Techno’s wolves. I don’t know which one it is since he has so many” nodded Tommy, as he glanced over to the rest of the pack just a few yards away.

Michael seemed to just hum in response as he swung his small arms towards the canine beside them. It seemed to sniff curiously at the kid’s stubby hands and tried to nip at them. Tommy swatted its nose as he tried to keep it from getting too rough with the young piglin. The small trio slowly made their way across the yard, taking in the quiet scenery. They eventually reached the stair to the double houses. The dog hesitantly followed them as Tommy climbed them towards Techno’s door. Just as before, the warmth chased away the cold air as they entered the house. The blonde lowered the young boy to the ground so he could remove his jacket. 

“Alright big man, Everyone else is busy right now doing adult stuff. What do you want to do for now?” proclaimed Tommy, as he hung his jacket on the coat rack.

Michael shrugged his shoulders as he held up his own coat. Tommy took it as he looked around the small space in front of the door. He snapped his fingers as he looked towards the kitchen.

“How about we make some food. Techno doesn’t use his kitchen for anything besides potatoes and bread” declared Tommy.

“Yeah!” cheered Michael, excitedly.

“Good on you” complimented Tommy, as he led the way towards the kitchen. 

Michael and the wolf-dog followed after him with a small skip. They made their way into the kitchen and over to the cabinets. Tommy pulled a chair up beside him so Michael could stand beside him, with the help of the dog. He swung the cabinets open and pulled a bowl and large pan out. 

“Tonight we shall be making pancakes” stated Tommy.

“ ‘ancakes?” parroted Michael, tilting his head to the side.       

“Yup, we didn’t have a proper breakfast this morning so we shall have one for dinner.” confirmed Tommy, as he reached for a large spoon.

“We could also make some eggs since Tubbo said you really liked those” he offered.

Michael nodded enthusiastically as his eyes lit up. 

“Okay then, I think keeps most of his materials in his basement so I’ll go grab those” claimed Tommy, as he stepped away from the counter.

“Stay right here, I won’t be so long” he assured, as he darted towards the hallway.

Michael gave him a thumbs up as the dog sat obediently beside the kid. Tommy nodded firmly before disappearing down the hall towards the door. He swung it open to descend into the fairly dim space. It was much cooler than the upstairs level but not enough for him to want his jacket. He had a better view of everything compared to when he was down here yesterday. Chest and cabinets could be seen in the shallow light, though very few labels on them. It took the blonde a moment to just figure out where things were. 

Though as he did so, he started to feel weird. The cool temperature of the basement seemed to drop and the dim lights began to grow dark. He thought it was just his mind playing tricks on him but it seemed like it was something else. A bright colored flash caught his eye as the torches in the basement went from a flickering orange to scorching purple flame. A violent shiver went through Tommy’s body, causing him to go weak and collapse to the ground. He was able to cling to a chest that was nearby but he was unable to find the strength to pull himself upwards. Weakened and shivering, the blonde rolled onto his back. Smoke from the purple torches clouded his senses. The scent of lavender & cinnamon filled his nose while his eyes grew tears from the smog in his vision & painful shakes from the cold air. He thought he could hear his name being called but couldn’t really tell. The taste of iron and salt dripped onto his tongue. He was overstimulated by the sudden attack of his sense that he almost went into shock as they were suddenly whisked away. The smoke had faded away and the torches had turned back to their normal color. The dreadful temperature had risen just back to its somewhat normal level and the lights were brighter. Tommy still felt very weak and had a horrible headache but was eventually able to pull himself upwards. He staggered for a moment before he was able to find his footing. A shaky breath escaped his lips as he tried to look around. Everything seemed to have gone back to normal, as if nothing happened. Baffled and shooken, Tommy tried to calm himself as he began searching for the stuff he originally came down once more. He reached up to wipe his face from sweat before feeling something sticky by his nose. He wiped it on his sleeve to see what it was.    

It was blood.

Black blood that a strange purple sparkle to it. 

“Shit” muttered Tommy, as he tried to rub it away.

He’ll have to find some tissue to wipe his nose properly before going to make pancakes with Michael.

~~

The process of making breakfast-dinner had actually gone smoothly though the kitchen was quite a mess when they were finished. The pancakes and eggs turned out pretty well, being just slightly burned on the tips. They ended up eating their food in the living room since there was no one there telling them that they couldn’t . When they finished, Tommy took one of the books off of the shelf to read to Michael. The duo had curled up into the side of the large wolf-dog with a blanket to listen. Almost halfway through the story is when the three of them had dozed off. Tommy didn’t know what time it was when he heard the sound of the front door opening but he instinctively woke up at it. It was almost pitch black but he could feel the vibrations of footsteps coming in. Three figures could be heard chatting in the hallway as the light flickered on. Tommy recognized all three of their voices but wasn’t awake enough to process what they were saying. He glanced down at Michael besides him before carefully moving over to stand up. Once on his feet, he carefully walked over to the doorway out to the hall. He peeked out curiously though he made no effort to hide his presence. Standing by the door was Technoblade, Philza, and Dream. The first one to take notice of the blonde was the least person he wished. Masked man’s head tilted to the side at the sight of him before waving at him. That is when Philza actually took notice of him.

“Tommy! You're still awake!” remarked the older blonde, turning towards him.

“Yeah and just me. Be quieter, the kid is sleeping” scolded Tommy, narrowing his eyes. 

“Sorry mate,” apologized Phil, with a somewhat apologetic look.

“Whatever, what the hell are you guys doing here?” scoffed Tommy, as he leaned against the wall.

“I live here” stated Techno, plainly.

“I know that, I’m talking about Phil and Dream” retorted Tommy.

“Well we just came over to talk about how the ritual went and look back at a book I gave to Techno” stated Philza. 

“How did the ritual go?” questioned Tommy, lifting a brow.

There was silence that passed between the three men, mostly because Techno and Phil’s eyes landed on Dream with uncertainty. The masked man didn’t react much to it since his gaze seemed to be looking into a familiar book in hand. 

‘It went unexpectedly and had some odd results” proclaimed Techno, with furrowed brows.

“How so?” asked Tommy.

“Well, Ranboo is alive. We can confirm that as he is breathing now and the expected white streaks have appeared in his hair” started Dream.

“But?” urged Tommy.

“He isn’t awake, at all” claimed Techno.

“We tried everything but he just isn’t making any kind of reaction or movement besides breathing. All the times I’ve used the revive book, the results were always the same. The only exception was Wilbur and now Ranboo” explained Dream.  

“Philza said he’s seen something similar to this but he needed to see the book he told to keep hold of in case something happened. Such as the predicament we have right now” added Techno.

“You take Michael back over to be with Tubbo since we’ll probably be busy over here for the night” suggested Philza.

“I see. Well, give me a moment to get him wrapped up” sighed Tommy.

Philza nodded before turning back to the masked man. Tommy headed back into the living room carefully making his way over to the small piglin child. He slipped his hand under his head so he could wrap the large blanket around him. As he lifted him into his arms, the wolf-dog seemed to wake up at the loss of weight. The blonde petted the large canine to keep it from jumping up immediately. It looked up at him curiously as he followed him out of the dark living room. Back in the hall, it was vacant as the trio had moved into the kitchen. There seemed to be commotion happening as Tommy hadn’t really cleaned it when they finished making pancakes. So he kinda hurried out the door before they could stop him, using his tail to snatch his jacket & Michael’s coat from the rack. The wind closed the door behind them as they headed back down the stairs. They made their trip across the yard and back to the front door of Ranboo’s base. Since his hands were full, Tommy just kicked the door to knock. He waited for a moment but no one came. He kicked it again though a bit more harder so it was louder. It Unanswered once again. This time, Tommy took a step back to get some force. He launched forward and basically kicked the door open. It went flying open as the blonde stumbled into the house. Lucky enough he only bumped his shoulder against the wall. He steadied himself, making sure he didn’t freak out the child in his arms. He pulled the blanket down to see the piglin boy was still fast asleep.

“Like a rock, just like Tubbo” sighed the blonde, shaking his head.

Tommy kicked the door closed but more gently. He let the jackets fall to the floor before moving towards the staircase. As he reached the top, he slowed his pass as he took in the view in front of him. Just as Dream & Techno said, Ranboo looked more livelier and physically in place compared to his ghostly countertop. He could see his chest rising and falling as he breathed. It was kind of a breath of fresh air for Tommy. On a separate note, he figured out why no one came to the door. Sitting at the edge of the bed was Tubbo. His brunette friend seemed to have fallen asleep while sitting at his husband’s bedside. The blonde wilted his brows as he moved over to him. He placed Michael on top of the bed and fixed the blanket to where it was no longer wrapping him up. After that, Tommy searched around for a bit before finding a spare blanket folded into a chest. He grabbed one of the spare pillows and brought the two items over to Tubbo. He lifted his head to place the pillow under it and threw the blanket over his shoulders. There was no way he was gonna be able to move Tubbo on to the bed but he was able to make his sleeping position just a bit more comfortable. 

A sigh escaped him before began heading back down the stairs. Waiting there was the wolf-dog, who was sniffing at the coats on the ground. Tommy picked the small and placed it back on the rack where it belonged. He then picked his own coat up and placed it onto his shoulders. He moved into the living and made a space on the floor to rest. The wolf-dog made a chuff noise before curling up beside him. Tommy rested on the canine’s back since he didn’t feel like grabbing a pillow. Just like that, the two had fallen back asleep. 

Chapter Text

It was morning 

The rays of the rising sun barely peeked through the closed curtains of the house. Though it did bath the rooms in a light hue of purple. Especially the living room where Tommy was sleeping. He didn't have to worry about curtains so it was a chance to wake up. Not only that but the smell of cooking traveled through the air. His eyes began to slowly open as he stretched out his limbs. The first thing he noticed as he woke up was that he was on the couch. The wolf-dog wasn’t with him and an actual pillow was placed under him. He was also covered with a blanket when he had used his jacket. He furrowed his brows in confusion but it didn't last long as started to strain his ears. The sound of chatter echoed from nearby, most likely from the kitchen. The blonde grumbled for a moment as he staggered to his feet. Once he was up, he folded up the blanket and placed it on the couch. He then began to make his way toward the voices. Though it didn’t take long since they ended up coming to him. Almost like last night, Tommy was half tackled upon entering the space yet it was two figures this time around. He clung to the door frame to steady himself as he looked down.

“Mornin’ uncle ‘ommy! ” greeted Michael.

“Morning big man” replied Tommy, as he patted the top of the piglin boy’s head.

The wolf-dog barked excitedly as pawed at the blonde’s leg. Tommy shook his head as he gave the large canine a head pat as well. He picked up Michael as looked to see who else was in the kitchen. Standing by the stove was Tubbo while Philza, who was sitting at the table nearby.

“Good morning Tommy” waved Phil.

“Mornin’ ” hummed Tommy, as he made his way over to the older blonde.

“You woke up just in time, Tubbo finished making breakfast and was making more eggs for Michael” remarked Phil, as he pulled out a chair.

Tommy was about to give a snappy reply but was interrupted by a yawn & the growling of his stomach. His face flushed for a moment as his brunette friend handed him a plate.

“Good thing I started early since you seem more than ready to eat, Tom,” joked Tubbo.

“Fuck off” scoffed Tommy, before digging into the plate.

Phil and Tubbo just laughed off his response before they all settled at the table. Tommy placed Michael in the chair beside him as Tubbo passed the plates of eggs down to the kid. Sitting just behind the blonde was the wolf-dog, which was an obvious sign of begging. He rolled his eyes but passed the meat on his plate to it. It happily began licking away at it on the floor as he turned around to face the others.

“So what are you doing over, Phil? Thought you would be doing whatever it is you do” uttered Tommy.

“Hehe, Well I originally came over here for two reasons. The first one was to come check on Ranboo to see if there were some changes from last time” confessed the older blonde.

“There was very little unfortunately so I decided to join Tubbo for breakfast,” he added.

“Which was a good thing since I went a bit overboard with the waffles. Niki came by and took some over to Techno’s place” nodded Tubbo, as he picked one up with his fork.

“What! I could have eaten them” challenged Tommy, jokingly offended.

“It sounded like it but I thought you would want something with more variety since Michael said you guys had pancakes last night” replied Tubbo, crossing his arms.

“That’s what that mess was in Techno’s kitchen?” questioned Phil, lifting a brow.

“What mess? Michael and I were clean pancake makers” stated Tommy.

“Ah yes, the cleanest of pancake makers that somehow got batter on the ceiling and sink window” muttered the winged man. 

“It's called being creative, Phil. You should try it some time” proclaimed the young blonde.

“What do you mean?” stammered Phil, with a laugh mixed in.

Michael laughed followed behind his while Tubbo just shook his head as he tried to hold a laughter. Things felt a bit lighter compared to yesterday’s breakfast chat. It didn’t feel so forced and the banter between everyone felt natural. It brought comfort to Tommy, but also a bittersweet feeling. As he began to finish up his breakfast, Tubbo stood up from his place at the table. 

"I'm gonna get Michael ready to go out for the day, Niki And I have some business in Snowchester" he claimed.

"Aun' Puff?" asked Michael, with his ears perking upwards.

"I don't know if we'll see her but we can visit her house" shrugged Tubbo, as he walked over to pick up the small piglin.

The brunette carried him out of the kitchen and towards the stairway. Which left Tommy sitting at the table with Phil on his own. It wasn't too awkward but something in the young blonde’s gut was telling him something was wrong. Mostly because the winged man was in between having full eye contact and no eye contact. It was a bit odd but Tommy decided to just wait for him to speak first. He collected the other empty dishes at the table before standing up and making his way towards the sink. The hound followed at his side, watching intently. As he started soaping the wash cloth, the sound of Phil clearing his throat caught his ear.

"So, Tommy, how are you feeling? Like after last night?" asked Phil.

"What part of last night?" countered Tommy.

"Well, mostly with Dream staying over so we could perform the revival spell" stated Phil.

"You guys warned me ahead of time so I kinda expected him to be around, just not when i immediately came back" remarked Tommy 

"Though that's not your fault," he added.

"Yeah" nodded Phil.

The silence began to fill the air between them with the exception of the clinking of Tommy washing dishes. He could feel Phil’s eyes on him but they didn't feel hostile. This seemed like a lot of hesitation from someone who was the greatest man before the gods themselves, at least in Tommy’s eyes. The older blonde cleared his throat awkwardly again before continuing.

"Well, I have foul news concerning Dream and his temporary residency here" uttered Phil.

Tommy's hands stopped moving across the dish he had. He lowered it into the water as he slowly glanced over his shoulder at the winged man. He lifted his brow with a narrowed gaze.

"His residency?" repeated the young blonde, cautiously.

"It's just temporary, mate. He'll only be sticking around until Ranboo wakes up" assured Phil, his tone rising out of what seemed like stress.

 "He's going to be staying in Techno’s home so I came over to tell you and ask if you would want to move your things over here with Tubbo & Michael until he leaves" he explained.

Silence is what the two blondes were faced with once again. Tommy turned his attention back to the dishes he had in hand. He felt the hound rub his face against his leg in comfort but he didn't respond to it. After setting all the dishes to the side, he dried off his hands on a nearby towel before turning to completely face Phil.

"We don't like Dream, none of us are his biggest fans, but we need his knowledge of the revival spells to figure out what's going on with Ranboo" stated Phil.

"Techno & I will keep him away from you whenever you're on property, we'll also have Wilbur & Niki keep an eye on him as well" he included.

"It's just this one time, Tommy" he claimed, as moved over to where the young blonde stood.

The two stood across from each other with still gazes. Tommy’s eyes fell to the floor as he looked down at the hound at his side. He ran his gloved hand across his head before a sigh escaped him.

"I understand," he muttered.

“Are you sure?” asked Phil.

“Oh yeah, it’s fine, I’ll probably won't stick around for long though, '' assured Tommy, though his tone was a bit dry. 

“Tommy,” started Phil.

“No, it’s truly fine Phil, it might be better since Shroud needs a break from being in the arctic. I can move my stuff over here with Tubbo so it won’t be in anyone's way” expressed Tommy.

“Well, I can at least help you move your items if you want” offered Phil.

“I’m good, I need to organize some of my things anyways” shrugged Tommy, as he began to move past the winged man. 

Phil gave him a concerned look before following behind him. The hound followed as well but stayed close to the young blonde’s side. Tommy went to retrieve his jacket that he spotted hanging by the coat rack.   

“I meant to ask you about this the other day but where did you get the jacket? You usually wore your blue sweater” uttered Phil, as Tommy started putting it on.

“Hm? Oh well, I didn’t have the proper push to make another for Shroud when we came to live with you all so I just gave him the sweater and dug this jacket from my storage. I used to wear it when everyone lived in Pogtopia since the caverns are cold” explained Tommy. 

“You could have asked me or Techno to get you winter cloaks if you needed them, I think he still has the one he gave you before the last altercation with L’manburg” claimed Phil.

The young blonde just shrugged before reaching towards the door handle. He turned it and opened the door. The cool air hit his face as he stepped out and knocked whatever sluggishness he felt out of him. His sneakers sunk into the snow as they began making their way across the yard. While walking Tommy decided to ask his own question.

“Do you know the names of all of the hounds in the hound army?” he asked.

“I think so, some of them have basic names while others are specific greek names” nodded Phil.

“What about this one, they have been following me around ever since I returned last night” questioned Tommy, gesturing to the hound that walked in between them.  

Phil hummed to himself as he looked down at the large canine. He ran his fingers through their white fur and scratched behind their ears. They responded with growls but didn’t pull away much from the winged man.

“I think this is Artemis, she has gray patches behind her ears that match the ones that Apollo had. Techno specifically named them together since they were the only ones to survive from their litter and shared fur traits” proclaimed Phil.

“I see” murmured Tommy, as he patted the top hound’s head. “What was Artemis again?”.

“If I remember correctly, she was the goddess of the hunt and the moon. Also a protector of animals, women, and children” described Phil. 

“Maybe she likes you because she sees you as a kid,” he joked, with a smug look.

“Oh fuck off” scoffed Tommy, rolling his eyes.

The winged man just laughed at the young demon’s dismay. Though it was embarrassing, it was nice to be able to joke with the older blonde since he had been busy for the past few months.

The two reached the stairs up to Techno’s cabin. Phil stepped up first to the door and pushed it open. As he went in, Tommy gave a gesture for Artemis to sit outside before following in. He stayed close behind Phil as they made their way in. The sound of familiar voices carried from the kitchen but the young blonde saw no reason to follow them. Instead he headed straight for the stairs to the second floor. Phil allowed him to and was the one to stop by in the kitchen. As he reached for the top, Tommy almost sprinted into the bedroom. There was no reason to rush but he felt weirdly exposed. He hadn’t even looked at the men in the kitchen but the feeling of being watched crawled up his back like insects. He let the weird chill pass through him as he began grabbing his items. He collected his clothes from the closet and shoved them into a box that was left in there. He then moved the box over to the basket of knitting materials & toys and set the basket atop of the box. Finally, he began to clean the desk he had been using for writing. He put all the little notes he tucked away into his satchel until he came to the bottom drawer. His hand hesitantly hovered over it as he remembered what was in it. The item didn’t belong to him but he had used it for his plan. Yet if “he” was going to be staying in this room, then he couldn’t allow him to be able to know his plan. He couldn’t allow himself to be foiled again but that man. The young blonde pulled open the drawer, pulled the large book out and carried it over to his packed items. He then shoved it under all his knitting materials where it was out of sight. A shake of breath escaped him as he placed everything on top of it. His eyes scanned over the knitting supplies, a thought came into his mind. His nerves & emotions felt all over the place and he needed a way to calm down. So he knew what he was going to do for the rest of his time here.  

~~

The sound of yelling echoed from across the yard, causing Tommy and Tubbo’s ears to perk up. They were sitting just outside of Ranboo’s house with Artemis and Michael. The duo looked up to see Phil walking around from the cabins with Wilbur behind him. The brunette seemed to be on a tangent of some kind and trying to argue with the winged man. Phil was responding to him with equal energy but had a calmer demeanor. Tommy & Tubbo looked at each other with confused looks before noticing the two men making their way over to them. Wilbur turned his talking point from Phil to the boys.

“Are you two seriously going to be okay with this?!” exclaimed Wilbur.

“Okay with what?” questioned Tubbo, as ushered Michael over to Tommy.

“If I remember correctly, we agreed that the teletubby asshole would only be here for one night but suddenly he’s moved into Techno’s house!” uttered Wilbur, throwing his hands up.

“Will, mate, you don’t need to wrap them into the argument. They already know and Tommy is staying with Tubbo now” sighed Phil.

“So you just kicked Tommy out to make space for him, of all people?!” challenged Wilbur, his wings fluffing outwards.

“You know it’s not like that” claimed Phil. “Why would we make him stay in the vicinity of someone who he doesn’t like?”

“If you were so conscious about that, then he wouldn’t be staying here any longer than we need him” fired Wilbur.

“But we do need him, his revivals are inconsistent and we need to know what went wrong with Ranboo’s revival” stated Phil, his tone rising up.

“We can do that but without him being here” declared Wilbur.

“Wilbur-” started Phil, but the argument seemed to be going into a circle.

Tommy wasn’t really sure where it was going but they were too being too loud about it. He assumed Wilbur wanted support on his argument but the young blonde didn’t have much of the energy to keep up with the conversation. Instead, he finished up with what he had started earlier. He turned towards Artemis, who was sitting right next, and lifted it up. It was a yellow knitted bandana that had an arrow pattern made into it. He wrapped it around her neck and made sure it looked straight. 

“Looking good, Arty” complemented Tommy, as he petted the hound’s head.

She held her head up high proudly and pressed into his hand. A smile curled on the blonde’s face as he scratched behind her ears and fluffed her face. After that though, he reached into his satchel for the other knitted item he finished while trying to calm his nerves. He glanced over to Michael, who had his ears covered. He reached over and rested the piglin child in his lap as to comfort him. The excessive bickering between the two winged men was unnecessary but they weren't listening to each other, which wasn’t a new thing. Instead, Tommy stood up and headed into the house with Michael in his arms. Tubbo and Artemis followed him since nobody wanted to get in between a father-son argument. As they closed the door, Tubbo piped up.

“Things are heating up here, which is funny because we are in the arctic,” he remarked, as he lifted some of his hair out of his face. “So Michael and I should be on our way for the day.”

“Do you want to come with us?” asked Tubbo, looking over at the blonde.

“No thanks, I have to check up on Shroud and tend to some things at Church Prime” claimed Tommy, as he set Michael on the ground.

“But I do have something to give you guys before I go” he uttered, as he reached into his bag.

Tubbo lifted his brow curiously as he leaned forward to look. Tommy first pulled a knitted plushie of a yellow cow with little white flowers on it. 

“Gold!” exclaimed Michael, excitedly.

“Shroud has a mooshroom plush that I fixed up for him, so I thought it would be respectful if I made Michael here a moobloom plush to match it” stated Tommy, handing the toy over to the young piglin.

“Awe, that’s so sweet of you” remarked Tubbo, as looked at the plush in his son’s hands.

“And for you Tubbs,” started Tommy, reaching back into his bag.

He pulled out another knitted plush but it wasn’t an animal this time. It was the head of a sunflower with a tiny smiley face in the middle of it.

“I was going to make a joke about your bee nickname and you never having a flower since bees like flowers but it would have come out too cheesy” expressed Tommy, as he handed the plush over to his friend. 

The goat boy looked down at the plush flower for a moment. He then slowly looked up at the blonde with teary eyes.

“Tommy” awed Tubbo.

“Eh? Don’t cry!” exclaimed Tommy, “If you cry then I cry”.

“But this is so nice of you” cried Tubbo.

“Yeah, I’m the nicest big man around” declared Tommy, proudly trying to fight back tears.

Tubbo just laughed before wrapping his arms around the blonde in a hug. 

“Clingy much” scoffed Tommy, returning the hug with his tail wrapping around his leg.

“Says the clingiest between the two of us,” teased Tubbo, smugly.

“Bitch” uttered Tommy, as he ruffled the brunette's hair.

“Asshole” challenged Tubbo, as he pinched the blonde’s ears.

“Ass!” repeated Michael, catching both boys by surprise.

The two looked down at the small piglin, who had a tooth grin while holding up his new plush. They then shared a look before bursting into laughter. Tubbo moved to lift Michael up and placed him on his shoulders.

“Why yes, your uncle Tommy is an ass,” proclaimed Tubbo.

“Turning my nephew against me, I’m hurt by this” spoke Tommy, as he wiped a tear away. 

“I can make him take it back if you admit you are the clingy one” stated Tubbo. 

“Why would I want to incriminate myself? I am never clingy” uttered Tommy crossing his arms.

“Oh yeah? Then why is your tail still attached to me?” inquired Tubbo, gesturing to his leg.

The blonde narrowed his eyes at his friend as he slowly retracted his tail from his leg. He turned his head away as he rose his head high, either from pride or embarrassment.

“Okay so I’m a smidge clingy but not by much” argued Tommy.

“Good enough for me” shrugged Tubbo, as he fixed his jacket.

“But yeah, Michael should be on our way official” he declared.

“Right, I gotta go see how Shroud is doing” nodded Tommy.

Tubbo moved over to grab his pack before setting Michael on his shoulders. Tommy turned back to the door to look outside. Phil and Wilbur were still going at it but their focus was on each other. He opened the door completely and walked past the two of them. Tubbo did so as well but headed towards the stables.

“See you later, Tommy” waved Tubbo.

“Bye bye, unc’e ‘ommy” exclaimed Michael, also waving. 

“Goodbye you guys” replied Tommy, returning with a wave.

As the two turned to walk away, the blonde’s waving hand lowered to his side. He felt a longing to spend just a bit more time with the two of them. To goof around with Tubbo and entertain Michael with mischief. Even have some banter with Phil over stupid things. They were small things but they mattered. Tommy was going to miss a lot of the small things. A sad sigh escaped him as he began to walk towards the border of the base. He shoved his hands into his jacket pockets as pushed open the gate door with his foot. As he was about to continue forward, he stopped in his tracks. He looked over his shoulder to see that Artemis was still following him.

“Sorry Artemis, you have to stay here” uttered Tommy, as he turned to the wolf-dog. 

She tilted her head to the side before taking a step forward. The blonde turned around and ushered her back. They walked right back into the gate bounds. Tommy crouched down to Artemis’s height as he placed a hand on head.

“Stay, you need to stay” stated Tommy, firmly.

“Because you have to take care of everyone, especially since I won’t be coming back” he said, with a shake tone.

Artemis gave the young blonde that he thought looked like sadness. She rested her muzzle on his shoulder, allowing Tommy to wrap his arms around in a hug. The thick fur rubbed against his face and brushed away at a few stray tears. His breath hitched for a moment as he held back from more spilling. He then stood up straight as to properly wipe away tears. He gave Artemis a final head pat before turning back towards the gate. He closed it behind him and headed across the journey. Artemis rested her front paws onto the gate as the blonde walked away. She tilted her head back and let out a bellowing howl. Her howl led the rest of the hound army in a congression of howls. It sounded of a sorrowful song as Tommy left the arctic. This would be his last time ever stepping foot out to the base.  

Chapter Text

It was afternoon 

The sun warmed Tommy’s body as he headed towards Eret’s castle. It was nice to not be freezing his ass off but he was going to miss the arctic. Though it was no longer his focus at the moment. As he stepped past the large doors, he was surprisingly greeted by a ferret sitting in the doorway. It squeaked at him as it sat right in front of him. Tommy crouched down and scratched behind its ear as he was welcomed by it. The ferret gave a small salute before scurrying off down a long hallway. Tommy followed after it since it would probably lead him to where the king was. As he was led by the ferret, he examined the stone walls he walked past. They were mostly covered in paintings and tapestries from events that happened long ago. Some felt foreign to him but he recognized a few of them since he scarcely remembers Eret telling him stories of them when he was much younger. Those were the days before they were considered a traitor and a king. With Fundy and Tubbo, they surrounded the herobrine to listen to their stories. They sounded like things from fairytales at the time but seemed more realistic as Tommy got older. Which was scary to him now that he thought more about it.

 He was quick to brush the thought aside as the ferret led him to a turn down a corridor where light was coming from. Turning at the corner, he was greeted by sunlight once more. It warmed his face and felt like he was waking up properly for the first time today. His eyes traveled upwards as he squinted up to the glass domain that sheltered the castle’s garden.  As he let out an exhale before he heard his name being called. Though it wasn’t his actual name pronounced right.

“Mommy!!” exclaimed Shroud. 

The blonde felt his leg being slammed into as the spider child clung to him. He looked to see the small boy with an excited look as he gave him a toothy closed smile. A smile curled on to his lips as he reached down to lift his son into his arms.

“Hey there, big man! How are you doing?” greeted Tommy, as he squeezed Shroud in a hug.

“Fun with Clara! Fun with Aunt!” giggled Shroud, pointing over to a bench.

Sitting on it was Eret, who was thanking their ferret, and Clara, who was making their way over to him. Eret followed behind the small robot over to the blonde.

“ [Hello, Tommy Innit!!] ” greeted Clara.

“Welcome back” smiled Eret, fixing their sunglasses.

“It’s nice to be back here, so much warmer” uttered Tommy, as began to shrug off his jacket, “What have you guys been doing while I was gone?”

“I finished up my advisor meeting early so I could take Shroud & Clara around the castle so they could get used to it. We were just about to get lunch before you arrived” stated Eret, “So good timing for you to arrive.”

“I always have good timing!” claimed Tommy, proudly.

“But lunch does sound good right about now” he muttered.

Eret silently laughed before leading the way across the garden, which led into a different corridor. Tommy followed behind them, carrying Shroud on his hip and holding Clara’s paw. They returned back into the castle hall but it didn’t take long to arrive in the kitchen. There were some maids who were finishing packing a basket of food before bowing as Eret arrived. The brunette returned the bow before taking the basket. They thanked the maids before giving them permission to have time off. They returned the thanks before leaving out of the kitchen from a side door. 

“So where would you like to have lunch, Tommy?” asked Eret, turning towards the young blonde. 

“I get to choose?” questioned Tommy.

“Well of course, today should be about you,” nodded Eret.

I guess so” hummed Tommy.

“Well then, I have one place in mind” he claimed.

~~

“Huge!!” cheered Shroud, the arachnid child’s voice echoing up against the stone walls around him.

“L’manhole is the biggest hole you’ll ever see big man” declared Tommy.

“Tommy!” scolded Eret.

“I didn’t mean it like, it’s a literal hole! You are the dirty minded one here” defended Tommy.

“I see, well then you speak the truth” uttered Eret, with furrowed brows.

“I’m always a truth speaker,” proclaimed Tommy.

The brunette shook their head dismissively while Shroud giggled at their antics. They had come down to the bottom of L’manhole to have lunch and spend some time away from people. It was also pretty peaceful, even more peaceful than the Church’s courtyard. The running of water and croaking of frogs created an ambience that bounced off the stone walls around them. The feeling of the soft earth under Tommy’s hand was quite grounded to him, along with the lighthearted banter with Eret. They conversated over leftover lunch while Shroud explored just a few feet away with Clara. It was quite relaxing overall and it brought a sense of calm to the young blonde. He hadn’t taken time to really appreciate the place since Doomsday. The day it happened was filled with anguish and tragedy that all anybody could do was mourn the loss of the infamous nation. 

Yet, at least two years after its great fall, it still held to its original purpose. A haven with an unfinished symphony. The gurgling of running water, animals moving about the brush, friends having a chat while children play. L’manburg bore healing scars but it still left its mark on the world, both good and bad. That’s how Tommy wanted to go as well. Which is why he chose for them to have lunch here. He exhaled gently as he began to lean back to rest on the ground, with his gaze fixed on the sky above. A few clouds danced across and he was able to make shapes out of them but they were mostly blobs. His ears twitch as the grass shifted around him from the gentle breeze. He opened one eye to look over to Eret, who was holding a journal in their hand. It was Tommy’s journal. He had given it to them so they could look at everything he had written down over the last few days. The brunette’s brows were furrowed as they flipped the page.

“Tommy,” said Eret, slowly looking over at the blonde.

“Hm?” hummed Tommy, as he closed his eyes.

“Is there anything else you want specifically to happen after you're gone?” asked Eret.

“What do you mean?” questioned Tommy.

“Like a funeral, since we didn’t get to have a proper one the first time, or did you want things to stay private” stated Eret, as they closed the journal.

Tommy pressed his lips together as he opened his eyes. 

“I guess there can be a small acknowledgement of me being gone but I don’t expect anything grand” he shrugged, “You can just have a little party at Church Prime since I’ll be leaving the place in your care”

“Nothing else?” wondered Eret, lifting a brow.

Tommy hummed to himself for a moment as his eyes scanned over the clouds above. He felt the blades of grass rub against his ears as he pressed the palm of his hands into soft ground under him. A slow exhale escaped him as tried to relax further into the dirt.

“You know that fairytale, about the woman placed in a glass box when the dwarves think she’s dead?” inquired Tommy.

“Snow White? Yes, I am very aware of it” replied Eret.

“Put me in one of those, I don’t want some shitty coffin, this big man isn’t shitty” proclaimed Tommy, proudly.

“Is that so, then your wish shall be granted” chuckled Eret.

“Lay me on top of moss and flowers, like a bed, a moss flower bed sounds to rest in” added Tommy.

“I shall, I shall” nodded Eret.

“And uh,” stammered Tommy, as he tried to think of more things.

It was an odd conversation to him, to be talking about how you want to be treated in your death. Yet he didn’t have a say in what happened last time so he was going to take advantage of the time he had left to do so. He didn’t want to look as pathetic as he felt when it came to this so he wanted to look cool. Though Eret had a better word for it, “majestic”. Tommy wanted to look majestic and cool. Especially since he knew Shroud was still going to be around after he was gone. He would hate to see his son greatly upset over his absence. Which is why Tommy has told a lie to Shroud today. He has only ever told his arachid son one lie before now. The lie was that there was nothing wrong with Tommy. It was a little lie that he told everyone so he wouldn’t have people constantly worrying over him, even if he wasn’t okay. The lie he told Shroud today was that he was going to be sleeping for a very long time. 

He compared it to a frog hibernating and sleeping in the dirt. He could see the sadness on Shroud’s face when he told his son that but he assured him that there will always be a reminder of him somewhere and that Eret would be taking care of him. That seemed to cheer up the small spider child before he had run off to play with Clara. A little white lie in his son’s head to avoid complete heartbreak. It wasn’t something Tommy wanted to bear witness as his final hours passed by. So today, he was just going to just be walking around and spending time with his son. They had come out for a picnic and were planning to visit a few other places around the land to spend the rest of the day without too much hassle. 

~~

Footsteps echoed as the small group walked around across the stone floors of the museum. It was Eret’s personal exhibits for the entire history of the lands. From before the settlement, the rise & fall of L’manburg, the Eggpire spread, the growth of new nations, and everything in between. Tommy knew a big portion of the history but Eret seemed much more knowledgeable since it was their speciality. As the king spoke about each one, Shroud and Clara ran around to check out each exhibit. The spider child and small robot tried to explore everything they could. At the moment, the small duo were climbing the small stairs into a copy of the original “Hotdog” Van. Tommy and Eret laughed as Shroud waved at them through the window. Tommy followed behind his son but at a slower pace. He took in the parts of history that were preserved in the museum. He had been here for all of it and a little more that wasn’t on display. The tips of his hands traced along the counter tops of the van, as the memory of powder and liquid covering his hands passed by. He seemed to just barely smell the bitter chemicals, gun powder, and cooking meat that would have filled the compact space. 

Following Shroud and Clara off the van, he watched as they explored the copy of the old community house. It brought a mix of emotions as the blonde looked up at it. He and Tubbo used to run in and out during their first disc war. When it wasn’t really a war but a childish game of snatching and trickery. Another nice thought was just trading items for things they didn’t have with locals. Though the happy thoughts couldn’t drown out the bad ones. The blame of the original community house being destroyed was pinned on Tommy at least twice, one leading to exile and him basically betraying everyone since he didn’t know who was truly on his side. Untrue words were spoken and sides were switched. The last time it was destroyed led to the true end of L’manburg as an existing nation. The people and memories of it were still around though. At least those who wished remember it for what it originally was and not what it became.

A quiet sigh escaped Tommy, before he heard his name being called by Shroud. He looked over his shoulder to his son. The spider child stood outside a stone build. He lifted a brow as he headed towards it. A knot seemed to tie into his stomach because he knew what the stone build represented. He hesitantly entered into it and held his breath. It was the button room, a recreation of the spot where Wilbur had ended it all the first time. The stone walls were lined with buttons while a too familiar anthem was painted onto the back wall. Shroud moved around the room happily as he clicked buttons away without care. They didn’t connect to anything which was fortunate enough but that didn’t mean the memory wasn’t there. Eret seemed to have sensed this discomfort and called Shroud & Clara off to look at the map. Tommy followed behind them but paused just at the door to look back at the exhibit. It was unnerving to be standing in what was once the point of view of a man who he saw that was a great man yet was being torn apart from the seams. The young blonde felt useless to do anything about it at the time. Wilbur still seemed to be losing threads of himself but holding himself together with some support from Phil and Technoblade. Even Ranboo, during the time he was alive, was helping to tie some threads together. 

With a sigh, Tommy left the exhibit to look over the map of land with Eret and Shroud. The king held the arachnid child on their hip as they pointed to different places on the current map. A few steps away were the old versions of the maps, before the people started spreading across the land. Right down to what could have been the first month of settling on the lands. There had been nothing but the edge of a valley with winding rivers. Now, the rising and falling of nations and people had gone by and left what could be described as shedded skin. Like a snake, the land and the people within it were growing while leaving behind old wounds of life. It was nice to see the progression yet Tommy felt himself still stuck in the past. Like being frozen in time yet the world is still going. It was surreal with memories feeling fresh yet old at the same time. He wanted to be able to feel free from his worries yet existences made it hard with the trauma that was stained on him. The things and people who had caused him damage seemed to have moved on to other things, leaving him behind like a broken doll.

The blonde hummed to himself as he traveled across the maps on the wall until he felt an arm hook with his. He looked over to see that it was Eret with a soft smile on their face.

“How about you, Tommy?” they asked.

“What?” muttered Tommy.

“Do you want to go fishing?” asked Eret.

“Fishing?” parroted Tommy, lifting a brow.

“Fish!!” exclaimed Shroud, waving his arms excitedly.

“I was telling Shroud about the riverbed where you, Tubbo, & Fundy used to play around during our early L’manburg days and he wanted to go” nodded Eret.

"Ah, fishing, sure, don't wanna waste a day staring at a map of the land when you can explore it" shrugged Tommy.

"Yay!" cheered Shroud.

Eret and Tommy had a shared adoration of the spider boy as he wiggled out to the monarch's arm to skip to the exit. Clara followed closely behind with the other two just a few steps behind.

~~

"It's a long fish" cooed Shroud, as he watched Eret drag a large fish from the river.

"It’s a sockeye salmon, they were once the national animal to L’manburg" informed Eret, holding the creature up with their fishing rod.

"Want to tell him why?" asked Tommy, with a smirk.

"No" stated Eret, bluntly.

The young blonde bursted into laughter at the reaction. The king rolled their eyes before unhooking the fish and tossing it back into the water. Shroud waved the salmon goodbye before looking over to Clara. The hedgehog robot carried over a bucket with a load of tiny fish swimming in it. 

“Woah!! Little fishes” proclaimed Shroud, his eyes lighting up.

“ [These are tadpoles, they are baby frogs] ” informed Clara.

“Where the hell did you find them? We haven’t seen frogs since we’ve been here?” questioned Tommy, also peering into the bucket. 

The small robot pointed towards a puddle nearby. It wasn’t a very big puddle but it seemed big enough to hold a bunch of tadpoles in. Though it was in clear view of the sun, a sign of its small water source drying up.

“Doesn’t seem like we can just put them back” claims Eret.

“We’ll just put them in the river,” Tommy suggested.

“Not a good idea, there are a lot of things in it that would eat tadpoles” uttered Eret, shaking their head.

“They go home?” ask Shroud, looking up at the blonde

“The puddle was their home but it’s going away” says Tommy, scooping his son into his arms. 

“So we have to find them a new one” he proclaims.

The spider boy giggled as the blonde ruffled his hair. Eret looked over the duo with a small smile before a sigh escaped their lips. They reached their hands to the bucket of tadpoles that Clara held. The robot lifted it up to the monarch, allowing them to take it.

“I think Aimsey was talking about looking for frogs last time I spoke to them, so we can drop the tadpoles off at Daisy Hollow when we head back to my castle” claims Eret.

“Really, why?” questioned Tommy.

“To bring cozy vibes to it, they already have rabbits and bees so they were going to bring frogs to the mix” informs Eret, as they grabbed their fishing road. 

“We should be heading back soon anyway so we can have dinner” they added.

“Awe, no more fish” whined Shroud.

“You guys can always come back, the river isn’t going anywhere” assured Tommy, gently squeezing his son’s face.

“Okay” pouted Shroud.

Tommy squeezed his son in a hug before collecting his bag. Eret did the same, with the help of Clara carrying the picnic basket. The small group cleaned their spot around the riverside before heading back towards the Prime path. The walk back was pretty lively with a bit of jokes that went over the spider boy’s head. It was a nice cool off and distraction from Tommy’s rampage thoughts. There were so many thoughts in his mind that it sounded like static from a radio as he tried to focus on one. Being able to listen to Eret’s speeches and Shroud’s childish dialect made the static feeling in his head become background noise. Even if it was just for a moment. 

Though, his eyes seemed to wander to the sky. Orange hues began to bleed into the bright blue sky. The clouds cast longer shadows and so did they. The blonde felt his breath hitch for a second as he realized the sun was setting. Just a few more hours, that’s all he had. He just hoped he made today memorable for those around him.  

~~

The sound of childish laughter echoed through the halls of the castle as Tommy chased after Shroud. It was just after dinner and nearly bedtime for the young arachnid. Yet Shroud was still full of energy and didn’t want to go to bed just yet. So to tire his son out, he challenged to a game of tag. They had been playing the game for a few hours and Tommy was the one who was "it" at the moment. He was a quick runner, chasing behind Shroud as they ran through the halls. He scooped his son in his arms once he was able to catch him. 

“Gotcha again, big man,” proclaimed Tommy.

“Am It, am it” chanted Shroud, between giggles.

Tommy chuckled as he squeezed his son into a hug, swaying the small hybrid around as they stood in the hall. Shroud let out a hiss-like purr while he returned the hug as he rested his head on the blonde’s shoulder. Tommy began to gently rub small circles into his son’s back. He felt Shroud’s hair brush against the side of his face as the young arachnid rubbed his face into the crook of his neck. The blonde smiled as he began to walk slowly down the castle hall. While doing so, he hummed softly as his eyes looked up to the paintings on the wall. They have become a bit familiar now since Tommy has spent all evening in the castle. He had walked the halls with Eret and Shroud before dinner and now he was walking around it again after with just Shroud. The monarch said he had some tasks to do before the day's end. Which was understandable and Tommy didn't want to get in the way of that, along with Shroud. He had sent Clara up to the Shroud’s new bedroom to charge for the evening. Which gave him some time to have a final moment with his son. 

He carried the small boy out into the inn courtyard of the castle. The sky was a dark blue as small stars decorated it like a painting. Very few clouds were out and the air was cool to embarrass but not cold enough to be freezing. The two wandered through the castle’s courtyard, passing by different colored flowers, each with their own meaning and story. The running water of the fountain and flashing of fireflies filled the dark yet comforting atmosphere. Enjoying the calming night, the young blonde sat on a stone carved bench and rested his son in his lap. Shroud’s head rested on Tommy’s chest which allowed him to gently run his fingers through the dark curls of spider boy. He continued to hum gently as he rested his chin on Shroud’s head. It was as if the world was slowing down just for the two of them. Though Tommy wished would just stop moving altogether. He wished it had stopped and given him time. It was a selfish wish, he knew it was. Especially since he was given his time he had left to someone who he felt deserved more as well. Someone who was rarely selfish yet had their time of existence ripped away. Someone that Tommy had looked up, both literally and emotionally. So he couldn’t allow himself to be selfish, not anymore. Especially in these last few hours.

A soft sigh escaped him as he looked down at Shroud. The arachnid boy seemed half-asleep in his arms but was fighting it. He chuckled lightly before gently pulling him away from his chest.

“Shroud, buddy” uttered Tommy.

“Hm, yes mommy?” hummed Shroud, blinking all his eyes slowly.

“I need to tell you something” stated Tommy.

Shroud’s small ears tilted upwards literally in tired curiosity.

“In a bit, I’m gonna take you up to your new room in the castle and it will be the last time I do this, do you remember why?” informs Tommy.

“Cause you are going to sleep?” replies Shroud, a little unsure.

“Yes, but I won’t wake up for a very very long time” nods Tommy, “So I won't around to be with you for a very long time”

Shroud nodded but there was a slight gloss that appeared over his eyes.

“It’ll be okay, you’ll have Eret & Clara to take care of you, and you have all of my things to hold on to if you miss me and Clara will even sing the songs I used to for you” explains Tommy, as he cupped his son’s face in his hands.

“But I won’t see you,” whimpered Shroud, large tears pricking his eyes.

“I know, it'll be rough, for everyone actually, but I want you to know that I love you and nothing could change my mind. A lot of people care for you as well and will be there for you when you need comfort” assured Tommy.

“And all I want for you to do is be the biggest man that you can be, even if I'm not around to tell you that you are” he proclaimed, as his own tears started to build up in his eyes. 

Shroud nodded as tears ran down his small face. Tommy pulled him cradled in against his chest, as he let his own tears fall down his face. Normally he would fight them but he felt he needed to be vulnerable in front of his son. To let him know that even big men cry, even if it would contradict everything that Tommy once claimed before this moment. He wanted the arachnid boy to be tough but also know that sometimes it is okay to wear your heart on your sleeves. So allowed himself to allow unguard emotions to spill shared tears with Shroud, only with the stars as his witness. As he breathed slowed and became a little shaky, Tommy felt the weight of Shroud in his arms grow just slightly. The hybrid boy seemed to relax his entire body into the blonde’s arms tiredly. He gently pushed his son’s hair back so he could look down at him. All of his eyes were closed as he sniffled quietly. Tommy sighed softly as he ran his fingers across the small boy’s puffy cheeks before standing up from the bench. His tail dragged against the ground as he walked across the stone ground with his sleeping son in his arms. The stone ground turned to carpet as he re-entered the halls of the castle. Tommy looked either way before heading towards the stairs. It was a spiraling staircase that led up to the second floor, which had a much more cozy vibe than the first floor. Their floors were made of wood and a long red carpet stretched down the halls. Heading down the south hall, he entered the fourth room from the staircase. Opening the door leads into a very cozy child-like bedroom. A bed with infamous nation flag blanket was in the corner while a load plushies scattered across it,, a box other miscellaneous toys rested at the foot of the bed, books & novelties lined the bookcase, a robotic hedgehog sleep at her charging station beside the bookcase, and a hand-made rug laid on the wooden floor. The young blonde moved across the room and pulled the blanket back before tucking his son under it. He made sure that he was laying in a comfortable position, even grabbing one of the plush toys to tuck into his small arms. Once he was sure that he successfully tucked his son in, Tommy crouched down to gently run his hand over Shroud’s face for a final time. A bittersweet feeling washed over him as he looked over the sleeping child’s face. He leaned forward and pressed his forehead against Shroud’s. 

“Goodbye Shroud,” he whispered, “Hope you do alright without me”

With a heavy sigh, Tommy stood back to his feet. He walked over to a small music box that sat on the bookshelf. Grabbing the small handle on it, he winded it all the way up. A small bird emerged from top of it and began to sing a soft song as a small light illuminated the room. Tommy turned away from the music box and headed for the door, flipping the large light off as he passed it. Taking one last look over his shoulder, he closed the bedroom door. He inhaled slowly as he pressed his back against the door. From everything he has been doing for the past few days, this felt like the hardest thing. Guilt weighed heavy on his chest as he wiped his face from the dried tears from early. As he stood in the hallway, his eyes traveled along the walls round him. Instead of the dignified paintings like on the first floor, stained glass windows lined the stone walls. Each one had many colors on it that greeted images or casted rainbow light. Though the most impressive of the windows was the one at the end of the hallway. Standing up from leaning on the door, Tommy made his way towards the window. It was much larger, taking up most of the wall, and seemed to have a much clearer piece of art. It was an image of a lake surrounded by trees. That was all it was. Yet it was more than that. The art held a quiet air about it that filled the blonde’s tight chest with bittersweet nostalgia. As if every memory that he held or pushed away came rushing back like a wave crashing on a beach. Tommy felt his chest tighten more but it also released everything he was holding in. His body was shocked from all his emotions that had built as they came crashing down. Tears pooled from his eyes as he reached up to touch the window. It was cool yet smooth against his warm calloused hands. Through his teary eyes, he could see the glow of the moon through the glass. It brought a silent comfort as he bathed in its glow for a few seconds. An exhale escaped him soon as he slowly blinked the tears as he rested his forehead against the window. Slowly. Tommy stepped away from the window and headed back to the stairwell. He headed back down the stairs slowly and headed down into the long corridors once more. They were silent with just the gentle crackling of the torches on the wall and the steps of Tommy’s boots. He walked until he reached a large dark oak door. Pushing it open, he went into a very large office room. Across the room was where Eret sat at their desk, holding their head in their hands.

“Eret?” spoke Tommy, softly.

The monarch’s head shot up as the older brunette’s white eyes landed on the blonde. Even from where Tommy stood, he could see the tear streaks on the king’s face as he tried to wipe them away.

“Tommy, hello, are you doing alright?” asked Eret, closing what Tommy assumed was the journal he had given them.

“I’m still here, I just tucked Shroud in for the night not too long ago and I was just coming to see how you were doing” stated Tommy, as he cleared his throat. 

“I feel like I need some water from how much I’ve been crying” he joked, even though it wasn’t one.

“Yeah, I think we both do,” nodded Eret, as they sniffled softly.

“Let’s head to the kitchen, I need some fresh air anyways” they proclaimed, standing up from their desk.

Tommy nodded as he watched the king reach for their cape, leaving their shades and crown on the desk. Eret crossed over to the door where Tommy waited and the two headed back into the hall and towards the kitchen. The duo walked in silence and their gazes fixed on the floor. Tommy could feel Eret’s eyes looking over at him occasionally but he didn’t say anything about it. Reaching the kitchen, the monarch headed off to grab two glasses that were a bit too fancy for Tommy’s taste and fill them with water being refrigerated in the large ice box. Eret returned with the glasses and headed one to the blonde. He nodded in thanks and sipped from the cup. The cold liquid was refreshing and caused Tommy’s body to relax as he leaned against the counter. Eret stood beside and seemed to drink down the water like a shot. It was quite humorous to see the king uncouth over a thing such as a glass of water but it was understandable considering the circumstance at the moment. He watched as the monarch swirled the few cubes of water left in their glass around, filling the silence. The only other thing filling it was the ticking of the large clock on the wall. Glancing up at it, it was just an hour before midnight. There wasn’t much left for Tommy to do. Eret held the information that he wanted them, he had given almost everything away, and said his farewell to those he loved. The only thing left was for the final transaction to be complete. Tommy always wanted to go out with a bang like fireworks but now he rather simmer out like a candle in the night.

“Eret” uttered Tommy.

Hm?” hummed Eret, looking up from their glass. 

“There is one more place I want to visit,” stated Tommy.

~~

A soft breeze rustled the grass as the duo walked down the prime path. The night ambience filled with the singing of crickets, fireflies flickered about, and the glow of the moon as it lit their path as they walked amongst the shadows. Besides that, it was mostly silence since neither Tommy or Eret were speaking to each other. What else was there to talk about? From today and yesterday, they seemed to talk about everything under the sun and over the moon. They made amends long ago and talked about their feelings during their days of war since both of them had guarded their hearts like fortresses at the time. Now there didn’t feel like much to talk about. So instead they just enjoy each other’s company in silence.

 Soon, they reached the top of the hill where a familiar hobbit hole of the house was. Tommy hadn’t visited in two days yet the place already looked abandoned and rundown. His soft gray eyes shifted over to where a worn out oak bench sat looking over the horizon of trees. There were no lights around it with the exception of the moon and the faint glowing of fireflies. Taking a seat on it, Tommy placed the small box he was carrying on the ground in front of him. Opening revealed that it was a record player and there was already a disc placed inside of it. He moved the needle of the player over the disc, allowing it to play. The music slowly began to build up and fill the silence of the night. The young demon let a sigh escape him as he slouched against the back of the bench. 

The monarch stood just beside him, unsure if joining him to sit down was appropriate. Tommy didn’t tell that he couldn’t nor that could so Eret stood respectfully to the side of the bench. Allowing the both of them to enjoy the music that played into the night. Though it wasn’t a part of the natural order, the melody blended well with the atmosphere of peaceful tranquility. The gently blowing of the wind ruffled their clothes and grass around them while the moon illuminated their silhouettes. Tommy’s closed eyes slowly opened as he looked up at the moon. A wave of sweet familiarity washed over as he quietly stared up at it. Basking in its glow reminded him of being looked down upon by a figure with soft loving eyes. The breeze wrapped around him like a thin blanket, causing him to rub the sleeves of his jacket on. Resting his head on the back of the bench, Tommy looked over at Eret. The monarch’s white eyes were fixated towards the moon but they were quick to catch the blonde’s gray ones.    

“Eret,” spoke Tommy, in a flat tone.

“Yes Tommy?” hummed Eret.

“Everything will be okay, right?” asked Tommy, “I know I’ve give a shit ton of stuff but I’m mostly worried about Shroud right now”

“You think you’ll be able to handle him?” he questioned.

“Tommy, I basically helped raise you, Tubbo, and Fundy during our early days. I may not have made the bestest choices during the revolution but I was able to make what I thought was best when it came to taking care of you a lot. I think I’ll be able to take care of Shroud to the best of my abilities, especially in your favor” replied Eret, placing a hand on the blonde’s shoulder.

The brunette’s pupils stare brought a strange wave of assurance to the young blonde. He let a sigh escape as Tommy looked back up at the moon.

“Thanks, for that” spoke Tommy, softly. 

Eret nodded as they also looked back up at the moon, still with their hand on Tommy’s shoulder. The two went back to enjoying the quiet music that played from the record player mixing with the ambience. Tommy looked solemnly up to the sky, suddenly feeling as if a weight was being lifted off of him. He couldn’t tell if it was his consciousness fading from slumber or something else. Though it didn’t matter much since there was nothing else for him to do. So he muttered something aloud that he felt was his last action to ever do. It wasn’t a common language phrase but the words he remembered seeing in the large book that he had used in the forest. The almost ethereal words escaped his mouth as his entire body relaxed into the bench, just listening to the close of the song. His eyes grew heavier and heavier until the last thing before his consciousness faded away completely was the soft glow of the moon.

Chapter Text

The sound of rushing water filled the wide open space yet it seemed to be eternally still and silent at the same time. Nothing splashed about in the liquid void around as a lone enderman hybrid sat curled into a ball atop of an island only fit for one. He had no idea how long he had been there. Days, weeks, months, years, decades, and so on and so on. His memory seemed to worsen by the day and the undead scars burned into his gentle skin from touching the water. So all he could do was loathe and cry out into the silence of whatever plane of existence this was. He had only seen one other person in this void of a forever setting sun and unmoving ocean yet their visit hadn’t even left a lasting impression and he had forgotten them as quick as they came. It seemed so bad that he was forgetting his own name and face. Even when it was written on almost every page of the notebook he clung to and he stared at his reflection in the watery void. 

Was that even his face?

It was a ridiculous question that had a simple answer but every moment longer in this plane made him feel like a stranger to himself. 

A weak breath escaped him as slowly opened the soaking notebook in his hands. The pages stuck together and the words were smudge but they somewhat reminded him of what he once had. He had a family, an odd one but a family nonetheless. He had a son and best friends who he tried to be there for. Mentors who watched over him and helped him grow as a person. Though he tried to hold very few foes, they also taught him some things. However, it wasn’t always the best advice. Even so, they were sorta worth remembering in some way. A way to learn from their mistakes and how it affected him. It made him contemplate how he lived life up until his final moments and how he would have done things differently. What he would have said or done if he had another chance. 

Even if he couldn’t do anything now, he just wanted another chance.

As more tears began to burn into his already scorned face, he noticed something happening around him. His blurred gaze slowly shifted up from the notebook as he looked towards the uncanny sky. The eternal sunset seemed to be fading at a rapid pace as darkness began to seep in and small lights started to decorate the sky. Shocked and confused, he shakily stood to his feet with his eyes fixated upwards. The unnatural hues of soft yellow and orange were chased away by shades of dark purple and the water around the small island seemed to drain slowly. He clenched his notebook to his chest as he shrank into himself as his surroundings began to change drastically. A sudden wind appeared that nearly knocked him off his feet. The harsh breeze was cold against his open burn wounds yet it seemed to warm them at the same time. It was a foreign yet healing warmth that seemed to wash over his entire body. 

As he watched the sky turn dark and the water sink lower, a flash of light appeared behind him that caused him to turn. He squinted so his eyes would adjust to the brightness. Once he was able to, he realized it was a bridge. A bridge made of floating golden tiles that traveled across what was once the water over to a bed. It was a strange thing but he had been sitting on hardened earth with his knees tucked to his chest for so long that he had no real complaints. Like a moth to a flame, slowly began to walk across the tiles towards the bed. His notebook slipped out of his hand and disappeared into the abyss that was once the water. He didn’t care though. All he wanted was to actually be at peace. His tail hung lowly behind him and his lanky arms hung at his sides as he dragged his feet towards the bed. His hands rose up to touch the post of it, his finger pads tracing along the detailed engravings and the soft cushioned blanket. For the very first time in what felt like forever, he felt tired and his body was weighted. As if in slow motion, his entire body came crashing down onto the bed. He sank into the plush mattress and pillow. A purr of satisfaction seemed to creep from his dry throat. His two-toned eyes began to grow heavy as he began to blink slower. With blurring vision and slow breathing, he fell asleep for what felt like the very first time. 

…

Snore-like purred seemed to escape the ender hybrid as he rolled over onto his back. Though the sound of him seemed to startle him a little. As he inhaled to stop it, his eyes fluttered open as he exhaled. He blinked slowly a few times before he was able to somewhat process what he was looking at. It was a ceiling made of dark oak wood. An oak wood ceiling that was quite familiar. He blinked a few more times before looking around him. The room was dark due to curtains blocking the view from the windows. The walls seemed to be also made from oak wood but the floor was made of stone. He rolled over once more to look down at the large rug on the floor. It was a mix of red and green though he remembered it used to be poorly stitched together. Sitting up from his resting position, he allowed his feet to make contact with the floor. The carpet was cool to the touch but it probably wasn’t as cold as the stone was. Shakily leaning on the post of the bed, he slowly stood up. Almost instantly did he fall back down on the bed, feeling like a child learning to walk.

 It took him a moment to collect himself before attempting to stand again. This time he actually tried to muster up strength in his legs and took it much much slower. He was much more stable this time around and was able to take a few steps. With those steps, he moved towards the door of the room. It was left a sliver open, which let the sound of muffled voices carry into the room. At least they were muffled to the enderian. Reaching out for the door, he pushed it open a little further to allow him to shuffle out. His shuffling was able to carry him all the way to the edge of the staircase he stood atop of. For the first time, they intimidated him. Mostly because he didn't want to fall down on them. So with a shaky breath, the enderian pressed his palms against the walls to keep himself steady. He lowered one foot after the other with ease to avoid missing a step. This fortunately was not in vain as he had made it to the bottom of the stairs in very little time. With a relieved sigh, he stretched out his arms from what sluggishness he felt in them before continuing through the house. He followed the sounds that he had heard upstairs. Yet this time, they were much clearer and were actually voices. Voices that he recognized. They seemed to be coming from the kitchen area. So with more shuffling, the enderian made his way to the doorway of the kitchen. Looking inside, there were four familiar faces sitting around the table:

A blond man with large black wings, a piglin brute hybrid with a red cloak, a brunette goat boy, and a man with a porcelain smiling mask.

As soon as the enderman hybrid came into full view, all their attention was on him. Silence filled the air as they looked at him with stunned expressions. The enderian blinked slowly before clearing his throat hesitantly.

"Um, g-good morning?" He spoke, his voice feeling a bit horsey.

There was a pause, waiting for some kind of response. The first to stand up was surprisingly the piglin brute. His white circle eyes were at ease as normal but his brows were tilted in a weary way.

"Good morning, Ranboo" he spoke slowly, as he walked over to the hybrid.

Suddenly he was pulled into a tight hug by the piglin brute. It was a bit of a shock but Ranboo allowed himself to melt into the brute’s arms. It had been so very long that he had been hugged so warmly. It had been so long since his seen the piglin since he was the last thing he saw before,

Before… 

He died.

Ranboo felt tears well up in his eyes and they began to burn down his face. He didn’t care though, even if it was hurting him. He was just glad to be back, to be alive, to be in the arms of his loved ones. He felt two more sets of arms wrapped around him as the scent of honey and charcoal filled his nose. The embrace and familiar surroundings made him feel so warm, both inside and out. 

He was home, 

With everyone who he held dearly.  

~~~

The flickering of a candle held Ranboo’s focus as he enjoyed the feeling of small fingers playing in his hair. A few soft snorts escaped the small zombie piglet who called his son as he put flower pins in it. Michael didn’t ask many questions when the two were reunited and was just glad to know “Boo” was awake. All he wanted to do was play and talk about things he had done while Ranboo was “sleeping”. Which was when the enderian hybrid realized how much better that Michael had gotten at speaking common. Tubbo gave the credit of improvement to the sheep captain but Ranboo felt the goat hybrid should give himself credit as well. Though there was a tangent of guilt in his heart knowing he wasn’t able to be there for this newly forming growth of his son. Even if his mentor assured him that he didn’t miss too much. Any updates outside the arctic mostly came from Tubbo or Philza’s crows but nothing of interest had happened.

With that in mind, Ranboo felt more relaxed than normal. Especially after a certain masked man had dismissed himself a few days after his Ranboo’s revival. Phil and Techno claimed they didn’t need his help now that he was awake. Though it concerned the ender hybrid about the “help” Dream provided, if felt not to question things he wasn’t really wishing to know. So Ranboo let himself sink into a calm and domestic role as there was nothing to fight or defend anymore. The prison was empty, Techno & Tubbo had rekindled a bond, the spread of vengeances seemed to have died down, and some fighting had dispersed. No words of uprising conflict or whispers of betrayal. Everything was just quiet.

A bit too quiet.

Ranboo’s mind wandered to a few people he hadn’t heard much from. Such as Sam, who Techno claimed Dream was dealing with him. Quackity, who seemed to give up on the rivalry with Wilbur, at least from the dark avian’s words. 

And Tommy.

The only thing he heard about Tommy was that he was tending to Church Prime and looking over Shroud. At least that’s what Tubbo told him. He said that he and Toms last spoke only last week but haven’t checked up on him since. Which brought a small bit of comfort but also made Ranboo worried. He trusted Tommy, he did, but things felt off without the blonde demon bothering and teasing him. He honestly expected him to come running in at any point, to hear the loud shouting or ill-mannered statements echoing in the distances and to smell of cornflower dye from his blue sweater. So many expectations yet none of them were fulfilled.

his eyes wandered from the candle to the window. It was late at night and it was snowing outside. The candle in the middle of the living room illuminated the darkness as he sat on the floor. Michael was still putting and taking pins out of his hair but Ranboo could feel his son resting his snout on his head. A soft chuckle escaped the hybrid as he turned around to scoop the small piglet into his arms.

“It’s time for bed, Michael” whispered Ranboo.

“Nooo” pouted Michael, before a yawn escaped.

“Yes, we can play tomorrow '' hushed Ranboo, before shakily standing at his feet. 

Michael whined defiantly but curled up into his arms as he pressed his small face into the crook of Ranboo’s neck. The ender hybrid rolled his eyes playfully before making his way up the stairs. He had gotten his land legs back but walking up the stairs of this home was tiring. Though it did make him grateful that Tubbo decided to claim this base as their home away from home since walking up all the stairs in the Snowchester mansion in the state he was in would have killed him, again. A tired sigh escaped Ranboo as he reached the top of the stairs and headed towards the bed. In it already was Tubbo, past out. He reaches over to run his hand through the goat hybrid’s hair before laying Michael beside him. The small piglin whimpered as he made grabby hands to him. 

“Boo” whined Michael, sleepily. 

“I’m here, I’m here” assured Ranboo, as he sat on the edge of the bed.

“I’ll be here when you wake up, Michael” he added, reaching over to place a hand on his son’s cheek.

The piglet pouted before rubbing his face into Ranboo’s large hand, holding it close with his small hooves.

“You won’ leave again?” asked Michael.

“I won’t,” nodded Ranboo.

His duo-colored eyes softened as he looked into his son’s white ring pupils. It was a sweet statement but held a painful weight coming from Michael. He was worried that Ranboo would leave him behind if he fell asleep. It would seem silly if it hadn’t happened before. And this broke the ender hybrid’s heart a little that his son would be so worried about that at such a young age. With a shake breath, Ranboo cupped his son’s face in his large hands and pressed his forehead against his. He gently rubbed his face as he could feel small tears burning his thumbs.

“I won’t be leaving you any time soon,” he added.

“I promise,”

~~~

A yelp in surprise came from Ranboo as he got a snowball to the face. Techno and Wilbur laughed from their place across the yard. The hybrid huffed as he brushed the snow off as he looked over at Tubbo beside him. The brunette was just laughing at his dismay. Ranboo pouted before tossing a small snowball at the goat hybrid. 

“We are supposed to be defending the fort!” exclaimed Ranboo, before scooping a large snowball into his hand.

“Nah, I'm enjoying watching you lose at a simple snowball fight” proclaimed Tubbo, crossing his arms. 

“This is anything but a simple snowball fight” scoffed Ranboo. 

“We are going against tryhards, plus you're the one who wanted to do this” he claimed.

“Yeah but mostly for the LOLs” shrugged Tubbo.

“Seriously” huffed Ranboo.

Tubbo nodded as he leaned against the small snow wall of the fort. Suddenly a snowball came flying and smacked him in his head. He grunted from the impact before looking up in what seemed like shock. Across the field was Wilbur cackling like a maniac. The goat hybrid furrowed his brows before looking over at Ranboo.

"Hand me the balls" he proclaimed, holding his hoofed hand out.

"Poor phrasing but okay" replied Ranboo, with a stifled laugh.

He scooped up more snow and handed it over to his partner. Suddenly, Tubbo chucked the snowball like a catapult across the lawn. Wilbur peeked back up just to be met with a fast ball of snow to the face. The winged brunette seemed to fall backwards from the impact, which got a laugh out of the piglin brute beside him. Though the laugh was short lived as Techno also got a snowball to the face. Now it was Tubbo to start laughing maniacally. Ranboo just shook his head as he continued to make snowballs.

 As he did so, his eyes wandered over to the porch where Phil was sitting watching with Michael. The small piglin was cheering them as he bounced on his hooves to look over the porch railing. The blonde man watched solemnly with a soft yet familiar smile on his face and his black feathered wings splayed against the rails limply. It was a small thing but it brought a bit of warmth to Ranboo’s heart. 

It was the type of posture that he recognized as one of being completely and utterly relaxed. To not have to worry or stress about things dwelling on people coming after them. No serious conflicts or favors needing to be returned. Everything felt homely and calm, with the exception of the banter during their snowball fight. It seemed like an impossible dream. Though Ranboo was quickly brought back to reality when he got another snowball to the face. 

The enderman hybrid huffed in response as he threw another ball in retaliation. Doing so seemed to spark a conversation topic that he hadn't thought of until now.

"God, I wish Tommy was here, we're basically being cheated with Techno and Wilbur teaming up" huffed Tubbo.

"But that would be three to two, doesn't that seem unfair?" questioned Ranboo, lifting a brow.

"Technoblade is basically two people alone when it comes to a battle, besides Toms has both of his eyes" shrugged Tubbo, jokingly pointing to his scar.

"True, I guess, but where is Tommy? You said the last time you spoke to him was like two weeks ago?" asked Ranboo.

"I don't know, we haven't checked up on him in awhile since he said he was busy with Church Prime maintenance and taking care of Shroud" uttered Tubbo, dodging an incoming snowball.

"I see," hummed Ranboo, as he started making another snowball.

Hearing this seemed to increase the slowly building worry in the back of Ranboo's mind. Almost two weeks have passed and no sign of the blonde demon. There had been an attempt to call him on his communicator but there wasn’t a signal. Though it was written off as the weather messing up the connection, which was believable. Yet there didn’t seem to be an attempt on Tommy’s end to return that contact. Ranboo wasn’t completely sure why but that made him feel uneasy. He considered him as much as family as he considered Tubbo, Michael, and the Syndicate as a whole.

 It felt like a hole carved out of his life, 

Out of his heart,

Out of his soul.

Ranboo’s brows furrowed as he looked down at the snowball in his hand. A huffed slowly escaped his mouth before his breath hitched. He tilted his head back as a loud sneeze escaped him. It caught Tubbo, Techno, and Wilbur off guard. The three looked at him with wide eyes for a moment as he shook his head. He blinked a few times before looking at the trio with a slightly confused expression.

“I’m good,” he proclaimed, giving a thumbs up.

Another sneeze came, which was prepared for. Tubbo chucked the snowball he had in hand as standing up. He then brushed the snow off his pants and jacket before turning to the enderman hybrid.

“Maybe it’s time to head inside, we clearly won this snowball fight” claimed Tubbo, offering his gloved hand to Ranboo.

“Yeah right” scoffed Wilbur, from across the yard as he also stood up.

“Nah, I think they pretty clearly won,” smirked Techno, ruffling the brunette’s hair as he started to walk over to the duo.

“What, Techno!” exclaimed Wilbur, following behind the pinkette.

The piglin hybrid chuckled mischievously as he placed his cloak around Ranboo’s shoulders. 

“Besides, I think we’ve been out here long enough, the sun should be setting soon” spoke Techno, “And some of us aren’t built for really cold temperatures, Wilbur” 

“I can handle cold weather, I’ve been staying with you guys here since I was revived” huffed the brunette.

“And you’ve gotten sick three times” called out Phil, from the porch.

“Phil!” yelled Wilbur.

Ranboo, Tubbo, and Techno just laughed at the brunette dismay as they headed towards the cabins. 

~~~

The quiet sound of footsteps thumped up the small stairs as Ranboo headed up them to the bedroom of his house. He was going to look for his cloak since Tubbo was going on his weekly visit to Snowchester with Michael and he wished to tag along since he was feeling better at getting around on his own. Yet he seemed to have misplaced his cloak since the last time he wore it. So he was just going to check the bedroom if it was there. He pushed open the wood door and began to search around the space. He looked behind the door, under the bed, and in a few of the chests. A huff of annoyance escaped him while his tail flicked side to side. He turned towards his closet when he felt his tail thump against something. That something fell over and hit the floor with a thump, spooking the young enderman hybrid. 

He jumped in surprise as he looked for the source of the thump. His bi-colored eyes landed on a basket that was laying on its side. The contents of it were a bunch of yarns, threads of string, needles, and crochet hooks. It seemed like a strange array of items for a moment since it seems to have taken Ranboo so long to notice it. Yet as he crouched down to pick it up, a familiar scent filled his nose as he picked some blue yarn. It was wool yarn and it smelled like cornflowers. The same time of materials that Tommy used to make his blue sweater. There wasn’t a lot of it but it seemed to be enough for the enderman hybrid to recognize its scent. Which meant everything in the basket belonged to Tommy.

Almost everything.

As Ranboo sat the basket up properly and started to place all the items back into it, he noticed an odd looking book that had fallen out as well. It didn’t seem like anything he would expect his blonde friend to own. He picked up and ran his long fingers across the smooth yet detailed engraved book. The cover of it was a dark deep purple as vines, leaves, flowers, and skulls decorated it in gold. There wasn't a title nor an author of the book. Yet just holding it in his hands maybe something tighten in Ranboo’s chest. Hesitantly, he opened the book. The pages were made of parchment and the words were written in heavy smelling ink that seemed to drown out the scent of cornflowers from moments ago. Each page had different things on them such as stories, spells, types of ceremonies, and forms of summonings & exchanges. There were lists of items that were accompanied by illustrations of great detail. The edge of the pages had vines and flowers painted on them in a similar fashion as they were on the exterior of the book. Yet through all of this, there was a part of the book that caught Ranboo’s eye.There seemed to be a forgotten bookmark. It was out of place in the beauty pages, as it was just a thinly ripped piece of paper with a poorly doodled sheep on it. Ranboo lifted a brow as he scanned over the bookmark for a moment before looking down at the saved page. It was a summoning for the Goddess of Death.      

Ranboo felt his entire body freeze for a moment.

 Something was wrong, definitely wrong. 

Why was this book with Tommy’s items? 

Why was he looking at summoning the Goddess of Death? 

What did he summon her for? 

What did Tommy do? 

Where is Tommy?

As the thoughts began to race through Ranboo’s mind, his head snapped up in surprise as the bedroom door swung open. Stepping into the room was Tubbo, with his cloak in hand.

“Ranboo, I found your cloak! Techno gave it back to me to give to you since he put some extra lining into it for the cold-” exclaimed Tubbo, before his eyes landed on the ender hybrid sitting on the floor.

“What are you doing?” he asked, tilting his head to the side.

“Um, I was looking for my cloak and accidentally knocked something over,” said Ranboo, as slowly looked down at the book in his hands, “but I know you wanted to visit Snowchester today but I feel we need to go see Tommy first”

“Oh, well that's fine since we haven't heard from him for a few weeks,” nodded Tubbo.

Ranboo nodded in return as he placed the odd book atop of the basket of knitting materials. He accepted his cloak from Tubbo before following the goat hybrid out of the room. As he started to tie it around his shoulders, his thoughts still raced with so many questions. He had been right to worry about Tommy’s wellbeing. All the signs were there but he hadn't noticed them till now. His absences for three weeks, not answering any calls on his communicator, and now realizing his belongings were in his house under his nose the entire time. Something had happened to the blonde but it had gone unnoticed for far too long.

 Ranboo felt like his heart was going to jump out of his chest as he followed behind Tubbo down the stairs and out the front door. Yet the thumping in his chest was quickly replaced with a short pause as he looked across the snowy yard. Standing at the bottom of the porch was Phil and Technoblade talking with a familiar tall totem-shark man known as Foolish. It was odd to see the demi-god this far from his summer domain or the nation built on a false desert. And he wasn't the only one to consider it odd. 

"What the hell is Foolish doing here?" questioned Tubbo, lifting a curious brow.

"I don't know, do you think something happened in Las Nevadas?" spoke Ranboo, hesitantly.

"I don't know why he would come here if that was it, Techno and Phil aren't exactly allies with Big Q" replied Tubbo, as he started to walking towards them, "Let's go see what's up"

Ranboo nodded but his body suddenly felt stiff as he began to walk through the snow. He wasn't exactly cold with his cloak on but a chill ran through him as he approached the demi-god. Him and Tubbo’s approach seemed to catch all three men's attention.

"Ranboo, you got your cloak on! Does it feel warmer?" greeted Philza.

"It does, thank you for lining it" nodded Ranboo, looking between the winged man and piglin brute

"No problem, it needed freshening up anyways" shrugged Techno, "might even need to do some patchwork for your old Snowchester coat to"

"Can you do mine as well, Techno? The hood lining has been coming out since I sliced holes in them for my horns" asked Tubbo.

"Like fill the holes in or around the holes? I’m not that good with smaller stitches" replied Techno. 

"I think you two can talk about this later, we still have a person to question here" interrupted Phil, gesturing towards Foolish.

"Oh right, hi Foolish '' hummed Ranboo, giving the totem man a small wave.

"Hey Ranboo, good to see that you're, um, alive again" smiled Foolish, though there was nervousness in his voice.

"Anyways Foolish, why are you here in the Antarctic again? I don't sense that you're being followed by a certain cat-maid again?" questioned Phil, crossing his arms.

"Haha, yeah no, I was able to shake off Hbomb months ago" claimed Foolish, puffing his chest out before coughing awkwardly, "But um, I was asked to come to the Antarctic to summon you all to a meeting"

"A meeting?" parroted Tubbo.

"Yup, Eret wanted me to tell you that she needs you ALL to come to the L'manhole for this meeting" nodded Foolish.

"L’manhole? Why there?" inquired Techno.

There was an eerie moment of silence as Foolish seemed to hold his breath before sighing.

"I can't exactly say why, it's not my place to, but Eret just told me to escort you guys to L'manhole, including that Wilbur guy" stated Foolish.

"That's a bit odd," muttered Techno, furrowing his brows. "Is it really serious?"

"I'd say so, since he wants all of you there" nodded Foolish, looking at all them.

"Well, we already made amends and an alliance with Eret so I doubt it's some kind of ambush" shrugged Tubbo, "We can drop in first since Ranboo and I were going to visit Tommy and then Snowchester"

Foolish just nodded in response but Ranboo noticed the totem man's expression dropped for just a second. It seemed to go unnoticed by the others since Tubbo and Philza stepped away to fetch Wilbur and Michael from the cabin. Ranboo followed behind Techno to get the horses. As he helped the pinkette gather the reins and saddles, his mind wandered back to the book had found earlier. He felt he could still smell the ink of the writing on his hands and the flashing of art in his mind. Especially the Goddess of Death and her summoning. Phil has spoken about her in the past or just referred to the goddess as "Her". He spoke highly of her but Ranboo had yet to ever meet her, even in death. Which was odd but he hadn’t really thought to question it or any of the memories from his time in his purgatory. The only significant memory from it was the final moments. Where the sky turned from a sunset to a dark purple void with distant lights looking like stars. He had moved across a tile bridge made of golden light towards a strangely inviting yet beautiful bed before rising to find himself in his bed in the cabin. It was an experience that seemed unique to him when compared to how Wilbur described his revival and when Tommy spoke about it for the first time. There was no train to pick him up nor the pain of being snatched back into his body. He had been gently guided back to the living by an unseen force. There was something that made Ranboo’s resurrection different and something deep inside him told him it had to do with Tommy. Why else would he have found that book in his basket? Yet the enderman hybrid was the only one who seemed to know at the moment since Tubbo nor Phil had spoken about it. All they said the first few days of Ranboo being awake was that they had to use the revival book that Dream held possession of. Yet they thought it didn’t work because he didn’t wake up immediately like the past times the masked man used it.  

Ranboo felt himself spiraling as he thought more about it. So much that he found himself muttering unintelligible to himself. It wasn’t until he felt a hand touch his shoulder did he snap out of it. He flinched a little before looking up to see it was just Technoblade. The piglin brute was giving him a look of confusion as he held the horses’ reins in his hands.

“You good, Ranboo?” asked Techno, tilting his head to the side.

“Uh yeah, just spaced out for a moment” uttered Ranboo, nodding slightly before going back to fix the saddle of the horse in front of him.

“You sure? You don’t have to come if you don’t feel up for it” inquired Techno, as he led the two horses out the stable.

“I’m fine, besides it’ll probably do me some good if I get out more” assured Ranboo.

“Okay then, but we don’t want you to strain yourself too much” hummed Techno.

Ranboo nodded in response before towing behind Techno as they guided the horses back to the front yard. As they walked with them, a few of the hounds barked and playfully nipped at the horses’ hooves and their cloaks. Techno swatted a few of them lightly while Ranboo ran his hand across their white furs. Doing so, he noticed one of the hounds was just looking up at him. They were just a few steps out of arm's reach but they were just looking up at him as they walked beside him. He tilted his head to the side, which the dog copied. He then tilted his head the other way and the dog did the same. It was quite cute and it brought some ease to Ranboo as stretched out his hand to pet the hound. It leaned its head upwards to lean into the ender hybrid’s hand. This is when he noticed a yellow bandana around its neck. There was also an arrow embroidered on it, along with the letter “A” as well. Curiously, Ranboo paused to crouch down to the dog’s height to examine the bandana closely. It was made of yellow yarn that was tightly knitted together while the arrow was made in orange while the “A” was in white. The colors were soft to the eyes and sat comfortable loose around the hound’s neck where it wasn’t hurting them. Though it was a little damp from being covered in snow and pine needles as if the canine has had it for a decent time. A pinch of pain squeezed in the hybrid’s chest as he had a feeling he knew who made the bandana. Ranboo didn’t know why it brought him pain but it only made his worry grow more. He gave the dog a final pat before standing back up to trot over to his mentor. 

Phil and Tubbo returned back to where the piglin brute and totem man were standing with Wilbur and Michael in tow. The winged man had already helped his brunette son mount one of the horses while Techno was guiding the tiny piglin to hold the reins while Tubbo supported him. Foolish seemed to stand close by but wasn’t interacting and was messing around with his communicator. Which was understandable to Ranboo since the closest people that Foolish was quite close to amongst them were, Tubbo, Michael, Tommy, and himself. Atleast to arms length. 

Even so, the somewhat easy going atmosphere seemed to some simmer away as Ranboo mounted a horse with Technoblade. The brute nodded towards Foolish as the totem man began to lead them across the arctic. 

~~~

The air was a lot warmer compared to the arctic but much cooler than the Nether after they  emerged from the portal. Ranboo guessed what Techno said was true, it didn’t seem like much changed in what might have been half a year. Everything seemed peaceful with each other and the things around them. There were also a lot of different flowers growing alongside the prime path as they walked on it. It was actually quite nice to see since not a lot of flowers grew naturally in the arctic. Some of them were quite familiar with the ender hybrid. Clusters of hyacinths gathered near the Community House, peonies lingered down the path towards the Holy Lands, and forget-me-nots danced alongside the stairs outside the Royal Museum. Amidst those flowers, two stood out as they walked up the stairs of the prime path. In the place of what was the yard of Tommy’s shack were an allium and a daffodil surrounded but overgrown grass.

Those two unlikely flowers meant something that struck Ranboo’s heart. 

Not only that but the element that the shack was in looked worn down as if it hadn’t been taken care of or anyone was staying in it. It rubbed him the wrong way. There wasn’t a sign of Tommy in it. Phil had spoken that the young demon had started to stay with them after Ranboo’s death and when Dream started hunting him again. Which explained the lack of care but he would have thought his friend would have tried to fix the place up since he had basically disappeared for three weeks. Yet it seemed untouched besides the two flowers in the overgrown yard. Another pain clenched in Ranboo’s chest which caused him to grip his shirt as a shaky sigh escaped his lips. Not enough to be agonizing but it felt like it was building up to be.

As the feeling started to fade away, the horses they were riding slowed down as Foolish came to a stop which caused the ender hybrid to look over Techno’s shoulder. Standing just a few steps ahead on the bridge that hung over L’manhole was Eret. Herobrine monarch barely glanced at them as they started to dismount. Their shaded gaze was fixated on a marigold flower in their gloved hands. It was only when Foolish stepped onto the bridge to place a hand on the ruler’s shoulder.

“They are here,” spoke Foolish, in what might be the gentlest voice that anyone has ever heard from the demigod.

Eret’s head lifted a little as they looked over at the small group before a soft smile curled on to their lips.

“Hello there, I didn’t hear you all arrive” they spoke, standing up from the railing of the bridge they leaned against. 

“That’s a surprise, you are usually quite a very observant person” remarked Wilbur, dryly joking.

“I expected you all to come, yes, but I didn’t exactly know when since I know the trip through the Nether is quite difficult at times” shrugged Eret.

“It becomes easier to navigate when you have the human GPS and Foolish to guide you” proclaimed Tubbo, as he lightly elbowed Techno.

“Heh, well of course but I’d say Foolish did most of the work” snorted Techno, as he ruffled the goat boy’s hair.

“Even so, what's this thing that you wanted to tell us? It must be important since you gave Foolish directions for all of us to be here” questioned Phil.

“It is quite important but first things first” uttered Eret, before pausing.

They then let the flower they had in their hand slip out of it down into the caving hole below the bridge. After that, they turned to look up at Foolish.

“Can you take Michael back to the castle? What we are about to talk about isn’t something fit for a child’s ears” asked Eret.

“What? What do you mean?” exclaimed Ranboo, his ears perking up at the request as he whipped his tail defensively around his son.

“As I’ve said, we aren’t going to be talking about pleasant things so I wouldn’t to stress the young boy. I promise nothing will happen to him while he is at my castle, I’ve made sure of it” stated Eret.

“I don’t plan nor think of lying to you all, not like I have done in my past”  they assured. 

Ranboo furrowed his brows a little as glancing over at Tubbo for guidance. The goat boy gave the ender hybrid a reassuring nod, he placed his hoofed hand on Michael’s head. He sighed before looking down at Michael. The small piglin looked back up at him with curious eyes. Ranboo leaned over to pick his son up into his arms and nuzzled his face as Foolish approached him. He made eye contact with the totem man while slowly handing Michael over to him.

“Be careful with him, Foolish, or-” Ranboo started.

“Or else you’ll have my head mounted on a wall, I got it Ranboo, there is nothing to worry about” interrupted Foolish, as he lifted Michael up to rest the kid on his shoulder. 

“There is always something to worry about with you,” replied Ranboo, with an unamused tone.

“Maybe but he’ll be fine, I’ve been pretty solid with taking care of kids” claimed Foolish.

Ranboo gave him an unconvinced look as he watched the older man walk back up the path. He gave a wave to his son, which Michael returned, before returning to look back at Eret. The brunette nodded before turning to walk across the bridge to seemingly lead them across it. They exchanged looks of curiosity before following behind them. The hanging bridge was pretty steady as they moved across it, no swaying or breaking planks. Though the ender hybrid felt he had a moment of dejavu as he crossed it. It didn’t last very long once they were on the other side of the bridge. Which when Eret started to lead them off the path and down a hill. The overgrown grass waved gently as the wind blew through its blades and brushed against their legs. Trees seemed to sprout around them and hid away their shadows underneath the dense leaves. As their surroundings became more wild, the ground became more uneven and dipped further downwards. Until they reached an odd opening into what looked like a cave. Ranboo had never seen nor noticed this, even with his history of mining trips. Yet he noticed a shift on the others’ faces as they paused outside the entrance.

“What, why are we here?” asked Wilbur, his brows furrowed as he glared over at the monarch.

“How else are we supposed to get to the bottom of L’manhole? I doubt that jumping is a viable or safe option” spoke Eret, yet with no malice in their voice.

“Even so, it also doesn’t explain why you wanted us to come here? This is feeling more like a trap the further we follow you” retorted Phil.

“It isn’t one, there is just something that you all should have the right to know that's down here” replied Eret.

Yet that was all the monarch had left to say before descending down into the cave. There was room to argue with the monarch but they had already started walking again so everyone just kepting following them. Heading down into the cave, Ranboo realized it was more of a tunnel with uneven yet smooth stone stairs. There was a hinting smell of gunpowder mixed with faded burning wood in the air but the observation fell on a dead nose since the other seemed unfazed by it. The thing that did seem to catch most of their attention was the dwindled scratches of words on the stone wall. There weren’t enough to understand what they wore since it seemed half of them were scorched away by something. Most like an explosion due to the history that the hole might hail from. Which wasn’t too much of a mystery once they reached the bottom of the tunnel. The exit looked like a large bomb had blown right into the stone. A few jagged rocks were scattered about yet had been covered with moss from the moist air that seemed to collect at the bottom. The earth was surprisingly soft under their feet and the terrain around them was surprisingly peaceful. Waterfalls poured down from above into a shallow bubbling lake. In the lake stood a pole of a infamously familiar multicolored flag, hanging limply in the light breeze.  Around it the lake were small animals living quietly amongst themselves. Frogs croaked on lily pads, lizards warming on rocks, and mice nibbled on blades of grass. A few bees seemed to float around a decently sized patch of flowers just on the other side of the lake. 

“This is beautiful” murmured Tubbo, lifting his hair up from over his eyes. 

“It is quite nice, like there wasn’t anything before it” uttered Ranboo.   

“Mother Nature truly knows to take her course when she is needed” hummed Eret, as they stood at the edge of water with their backs towards them.

“Is this all? To show us the ruins of an old country?” questioned Techno.

“No, it is not. I’ve brought you here under the will of a good friend of ours” sighed Eret.

“A will?” parroted Phil.

“Yes, though you are all the last to know of it, which I both do and don’t regret choosing it to be that way” nodded Eret. 

“First simple of orders, hello Ranboo, ” they greeted, turning to face the ender hybrid with a solemn grin on their face, “Has everything been okay with? Any phantom pains or sore aches?”       

“Not too much, I’d say, some of them have faded away” hummed Ranboo, as he ran a hand across his chest.

“That’s good, I’d imagine Phil nor Technoblade would have let you come this far if you were in pain, physically at least” replied Eret.

“Yeah, but what does that have to do with this ‘will’ you are talking about?” interjected Tubbo.

“Because he is the reason there is a will in the first place” claimed Eret.

“What?” said Ranboo, his ears twitching upwards.

With a slow nod, the monarch reached into their red tailcoat and pulled out a leather notebook. It was pretty worn looking and seemed pretty dense with pages. Eret held the book open with one hand before flipping to the first page. Their shade gaze looked down at it before glancing back up the group in front of them.

“Would you like me to read it or would you?” they asked.     

There was a pause as they quietly exchanged glances. Unease and nervousness settled over them, along with curiosity. Something silently told them that the one who should make that choice was Ranboo and Tubbo. With a final look, the two nodded slowly. Eret returned the nod before a sigh escaped their lips before they started to speak:

“Dear whoever reads this journal. I’ve either left it in the hands of a good friend or abandoned it where someone could find it. You may wonder who it belongs to but you don’t have to wonder any longer. As it belonged, or once belonged, to Thomas Careful Danger Kraken Innit or just Tommy. I have many names after that, some epic and some not so epic. But they are just names that boil down to me just being Tommy Innit. A name that isn’t usually seen with praise. Which is fine, I have been a part of many things that just lead to destruction. From nations, houses, paths, and people. I don’t think I could have admitted to this in life without someone pushing me to but I shall admit I was at fault for a handful of things. I used to refuse to take responsibility or lie my way out of things. Which I think I was pretty damn good at but some people would argue. Besides that, I did take responsibility for some things. And one of those things involved a good friend of mine. A friend who had died unfairly recently. A friend who was a really good person and could be considered the opposite of me. A friend to most people and who found him reliable and loyal without being tied down. Which is funny because he’s married and has a son! Which is stupid.

Don’t tell Shroud I said that, I love that kid.  

Besides that, it was unfair for him to die. I know death isn’t ever fair and rarely can be fought against. Yet that doesn't mean negotiations aren’t possible. So what could you even give Death in exchange for life? Well, another life. Sounds crazy but it’s possible to exchange the soul of the dead with a soul from the living. So that’s what I did. I unselfishly exchanged my second chance at life to give my dead friend one. The second chance I was given felt crueler than the first one I had before. The world seemed to move on without me while I felt trapped in the past. No matter who I was with or what I did, I felt stalemate and left behind. Nightmares and pains seemed to torture me constantly. I had people who I trusted to help me through it but they also seemed to leave me too or ignore me. I was unneeded and unwanted. And that feeling only seemed to grow after the loss of that good friend who was one of the very few people who seemed like they cared. Not just for me but everyone and his death affected many. Seeing them in hurt somehow made me feel guilty for becoming numb to pain. They deserved better and you who reads this also deserved better for whoever you are. 

So that’s why I’m no longer going to be around, even if you try to revive me with that stupid book of Dream’s. I was given three days before the exchange was official and I would be able to bring Ranboo back. Ghostboo had faded long before Philza and Technoblade could revive him, it was obvious. I had given up almost all my items, my roles were passed on to friends, and said my farewells without causing worry for everyone. If I played my cards right and I should be gone by the time anyone reads this. I’ve left everything that has to do with my death and my remaining wills in the hands of King Eret.

-

If you see Ranboo, tell him that he better keep his promise and take care of Tubbo for me.

and that I’m sorry I couldn’t be there to welcome him home.

…

The faint sound of sizzling burns and sniffling seemed to fill the silence as Eret closed the book in their hands. A shaky sigh escaped them as they placed the journal back in their pocket. They slowly removed their shades for their whitened eyes looked towards the group. Red rings hung under their eyes as if they had been crying for a long time.

“I’m sorry couldn’t tell you all sooner, things would have gotten out of hand if I had everyone who was written in the journal to show up at the same time” they proclaimed, awkwardly clearing their throat.

The words were met with silence. 

Ranboo’s trembling hand reached up to his face as tears burned into his face, trying to wipe them away but they kept coming like a stream. He could feel Tubbo’s weight leaning into his side, the goat boy’s hoofed hand tightly clasping his free hand. Through blurry eyes, the ender hybrid looked over his mentors. Techno’s eyes were fixed on the ground and not even trying to hide the glossy layer of tears in them. Phil stood close to him, seeming to try and comfort him but also himself. One of his black wings was draped around Wilbur’s shoulder as if to comfort him as well. The expression on the brunette’s face was one of confliction as hot tears poured down his face. Suddenly, the winged man stepped forward towards the monarch and grabbed them by the collar of their tailcoat.

“Where is he?” muttered Wilbur.

“Will, mate-” uttered Phill, but was swiftly ignored.

“Where the fuck is Tommy, Eret? I don’t- no, I WON’T believe my brother is dead by just some words on pages, I want to see him with my own eyes. He wouldn’t throw his life away just cause he was-” argued Wilbur, before hesitating on his final word.

“Sad?  You were going to say Tommy wouldn’t throw his life away because he was sad? As much as I wouldn't like to point out hypocrisy during a moment of grieving, you did the exact same thing, Wilbur” retorted Eret.

“And I know it really hurts to think that something else you did rubbed off on him because of how much you cared for him, how all of you all did, but couldn’t feel at the time. But also he did it out of selflessness, which he thought he was incapable of. It might seem like he threw his life away for being sad but to him, it was to bring back a life because those around him were sad” they replied. 

“Though, if you would like to see him, then you may” they sighed.

The monarch placed their hands atop of Wilbur’s and removed it from their collar as the winged brunette's grip loosened. They then turned to start walking again, just around the lake. The others quietly followed behind as they slowly started processing the words spoken to them. They were led around to where the bees seemed to be tending to the patch of flowers. Yet in the middle of the patch, on slightly elevated ground, was a beautiful carved glass coffin that was half buried into the ground. Periwinkle flowers neatly clustered around while a single marigold flower rested neatly atop of the black suit body with a red tie inside the coffin. The face looked soft and relaxed, even with a few scars decorating their hands and cheeks. Their closed eyelids shut tightly that hid away what would be shining and lively gray-blue eyes. Their dried lips had a flat expression that once constantly held a smug or mischievous grin on it. The skin was paler than normally and that was probably cool to the touch. It was uncanny yet heartbreaking to look upon the body.

“Tommy…” were the only words that Ranboo could choke out before fresh tears began to bubble into his eyes.

There was no voice or shout to respond to the name that fell from his mouth. No whitty or playfully mean reply. No weird nicknames or empty threats were barked out. Not even an odd sound escaped the body. Not even the faintest breathe.

It was like pinching and clenching that Ranboo kept feeling in his chest came full force as his heart was squeezed so hard that he thought he would stop breathing and fall to his knees all together. Yet Tubbo was the one to beat him to it as the goat boy’s legs seemed to buckle underneath him. His hands gripped as the earth under him as hitches of sobbing caused his body to tremble. Ender hybrid was quick to be on the ground to console his partner but to also join him in the grief. He wrapped his arms around Tubbo’s shoulders as he let him lean into his chest. The feel of tears staining his shirt didn’t bother him. Ranboo just rested his head between Tubbo’s horns as he let his own tears soak his hair.The feeling of three more sets of arms hugging around them as it became a group hug. A hug that was a cycle of comforting another and while comforting themselves.   

Their hearts heavy as stone sinking into the abyss of any ocean of grief and guilt. Yet the light of the sun above its surface had faded long ago.