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Tommy was running through the streets of L’Manburg. He had one mission. One last mission as the hero, Red Chaos. In his childhood, he had dreamed of many, many more missions. Yet his time was cut short. He had to find the Angel or the Blade. Either of them was fine. After all, both of them could do the job.
His heart was pounding, and he could feel himself sweating underneath his mask. With each passing second, he could feel himself getting more and more dangerous. Too dangerous.
He just had to get to one of the lowest districts of the city. There he would find the people he needed for his mission. His last mission. One he would not survive. It already was too late for that, and he had accepted his fate long ago.
A tear threatened to slip down his face at the thought of leaving this world and his friends behind, but he didn't have any other choice. It was too late for that. It was too late for him.
The architecture of the buildings he passed changed from nice and polished to old and decaying. A clear sign of having entered the lowest district of L’Manburg. The only district that was not constantly patrolled by heroes and rather home to the villains residing in the city. It was their unofficial territory. One where heroes weren't welcomed by the people there. In that district, the villains did a better job at protecting the people than the power hungry heroes.
That was something Tommy promised himself he would change, yet he would not get the chance to do so. His clock was ticking, and it was ticking fast. There was no turning back. Not anymore.
The blood in his veins suddenly started burning, something he had anticipated, but not this soon. He had been sure that he had more time left yet that did not seem to be the case. By now, tears were running down his face. The unthinkable had become reality.
He quickly sent his best friends, Tubbo and Ranboo, one last message telling them he loved them. Telling them that they were his brothers in all but blood. Telling them that he was sorry for everything he ever did wrong. Telling them to move on and not feel guilty.
Tommy knew they were definitely going to feel guilty. After all, they were the ones pushing him to join the heroes after being a vigilante for a while. He had listened. It had been his childhood dream after all. A dream that quickly turned into a nightmare.
His body was on fire as he heard footsteps approaching. At the moment, he was stood in an alleyway. The flickering lamps and disgusting stench of garbage made it look very ominous.
A whimper left his mouth as his body felt like it was turning to ashes from the inside. He could feel his power thrum underneath his skin, begging to be released. It cost him all his strength to not make that happen. To not fail the people he tried to protect so desperately.
“Theseus, what a surprise to see you in this part of our humble city”, a monotonous voice said behind him.
The Blade.
“Did the heroes kick you out because you were too annoying?”, another voice said, mocking him.
The Siren.
“Now, now. Let's hear what he has to say. After all, my crows told me he was looking for us”, the third and last of the infamous villain trio called the Syndicate said.
The Angel.
Tommy swallowed. This was it. His hands started shaking as another wave of pain hit his body. Determined he turned around and faced the music or rather the villains who, ironically, we're going to be his saviours. The city’s saviours.
The moment he wanted to open his mouth and deliver his well practised speech, pain hit his body again, forcing him to kneel onto the dirty pavement. Fitting for what he was about to ask.
“Why are you kneeling in front of us, Red?”, the Siren's amused voice reached his ears.
As the fire burning in his veins got stronger than ever, he could not keep quiet any longer. A small shout of pain escaped his lips. More tears of pain made their way down his face behind his mask, dripping onto the floor.
The moment Siren wanted to make fun of him yet again, the Angel stopped him, sensing that something was wrong with the hero in front of him.
“Why did you call for us, Red? Does it have to do with the fact that you are kneeling in front of us in pain?”
Tommy tried to stand up to save a little shred of his dignity, but collapsed a soon as he stood. The moment his knees touched the ground again, a few sparks of light left his fingertips. This was bad. Very bad. And it would go from bad to worse very soon if he didn't put an end to this.
Giving up on keeping any of his dignity, he breathed in and out once before he looked at the Angel. As always, the villain was clad in a dark green suit with golden accents. His face was covered with his black mask resembling a crow’s head. Black wings framed his silhouette from behind.
It was hard believing the man had been a vigilante once. Everything about him screamed villain. But the Angel of Death then called Crowfather had indeed been one of the good guys a long time ago. But something had changed. Nobody knew what. From one day to the other, everything changed.
“Come on, hero. We don't have all day”, the Blade spoke impatiently as he was standing to the angel’s left.
Not wanting the villains who resembled his only hope to leave, Tommy rasped what he had wanted to say for the past few minutes.
“Please… please kill me. That's all I ask. Please kill me. I'm begging you.”
The villains were silent. Were they shocked or amused? Tommy didn't know, nor did he want to. The only thing that counted, was his wish, his plead, to be fulfilled. It was the only way to end his last mission successfully. His most important mission.
“Now, why would you think we would do that?”, was the Angel’s answer.
“Well,” the hero cleared his throat, “you three are villains. Shouldn't it be a pleasure for you to kill me?”
“Oh, don't get us wrong, Theseus. It is an absolute pleasure to kill one of you corrupt, power hungry heroes. It just never occurred that any outright asked to be killed”, the Blade answered.
“There is a first for everything, isn't there?”
Before Tommy could add anything else, pain flooded his senses again. His whole body was shaking. He was running out of time. Something had to happen, and fast. The whole city was in danger. He had to finish his mission to save them. To save Tubbo and Ranboo.
His heartbeat sped up as his whole body started to burn from the inside out. His powers that he had been keeping locked away for the past few hours were begging to be released. But Tommy could not let that happen. Another tear slipped down his face as he collapsed further on to the pavement. He was already laying now.
“What the fuck is going on?!”, the Siren demanded to know.
The villain trio walked to where he was laying on the ground, trembling in pain. Before anyone could say anything, Tommy's communicator started ringing and vibrating. Somebody was calling him. He threw a quick glance at it to see who the caller was. Dream. His mentor and the only person he definitely wanted to avoid right now.
Lifting a shaky hand from the ground, he brought it to the communicator bound to his left wrist and tried to decline the call. But with his shaky hand, he did the exact opposite. He accepted.
Panic immediately flooded his veins. The burning sensation in his body lost to the cold feeling of dread for a split second.
Almost immediately after he had accidentally pressed the green button, the hologram of his mentor appeared next to him. Even though the city’s number one hero was wearing his white mask with his iconic black smiley face painted on it, he could see the man was raging. His body language told it all.
This was bad.
“Red, where the hell are you?”
The stone-cold voice of his mentor was heard very clearly. Before Tommy could answer, Dream continued talking.
“We weren't finished, you know. And you can't escape me. Now come back here before I make you, you lowly rat.”
Tommy swallowed. His mouth was dry. Still, he found some courage and spoke up against the hero.
“Your game is over, Dream. It's all over. I'm no longer going to be your weapon. Your test object. By the time you'll find me, it's going to be too late.”
For a second, Dream was stunned, but seconds later he chuckled.
“Tommy, Tommy, Tommy… you can't escape me. There is nowhere for you to hide. Now come back, so we can restrain your powers again and carry on with our experiment.”
The hero casually dropped his civilian name. After all, Dream knew Tommy's but Tommy didn't know Dream’s. That's how it had always been and how it would always stay.
“Listen here, Dream. You are not going to restrain my powers. Not anymore.”
Tommy's voice got raspier the more words he was speaking, but still he carried on. He needed to defy his mentor once before ending his mission and saving the city.
“Oh, but Tommy... You do know what will happen if we don't restrain your powers, right? You’ll destroy the whole city. Not only that, but you’ll kill every civilian you promised to protect. Just come back. It's the only way you can save them, after all.”
“It's not the only way.”
“But it is.”
“No, it isn't, and you know that. My powers can't destroy the city if they aren't there anymore. If I'm not there anymore.”
Before Dream could say anything else, he ended the call. All the adrenaline he had flowing through his body disappeared, and he sagged back together. Pain was still washing over him, and it was getting worse by the second. Time was really running out now.
“Is it true what he said, Red?”, the blade inquired, his voice sounding indifferent about the situation.
By now he couldn't stop whimpering from the pain flowing through his body and only nodded to answer the villain’s question. His vision was starting to turn black around the edges, and he felt light-headed. His hands were pulsing with power, begging to be released. Before he knew it, he was laying on his back on the dirty pavement.
“Please kill me”, he said one last time.
Now he could only hope that the villains carried out his wish and helped him fulfil his last mission. It was a win-win situation, right? They got rid of him, and he could die protecting the city, his people. So why were they hesitating?
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the Angel stepped forward and kneeled next to him. Then the man sighed.
“Are you sure about this, Red?”
“Yes.”
“For all it's worth, you are a good hero, Tommy”, Angel said, using his civilian name.
“If you need a new mission,” Tommy got cut off by a coughing fit, “then go into the heroes' laboratory and destroy everything.”
“Why?”, the Siren simply asked, seeming a bit stunned regarding this predicament.
“They… they have created a drug enhancing powers. Small quantities,” he again had to cough, "are safe. Large ones are deadly."
“Is that what they injected into you?”, the question, came from the Blade.
“Yes. They've been trying it out on me.”
“And now your powers are getting out of control because of it, and you need one of us to kill you.”
The Blade had pieced the puzzle together.
“Do you know how my powers work?”, the Angel asked the fallen hero.
In response, Tommy nodded. He knew all too well how the villain’s powers worked, since it was a requirement to know them if you were a hero.
The Angel could paralyse people. A very powerful gift. If somebody was hurt, he could make the wound go numb and release the victim of their pain for a while. He could slow somebody's heartbeat to calm them down. And he could kill people. It only took five minutes to do so and one touch. As far as Tommy knew, it was painless and efficient.
The villain placed his hands on Tommy’s chest and looked him deep in the eyes once more. Probably looking for permission. The heroes eyes were determined, so the angel carried on with his task.
Tommy could feel a bit of the Angel's powers slipping into his body. The cold was a great contrast to the burning feeling in his body. Then the hands got lifted off his chest. The deed had been done. There was no turning back now.
A sigh of relief left him. As breathing got harder and harder, he relaxed as all the tension left his body. For a minute, forgot that he was surrounded by the city's most feared villains and tried to tug off his mask to make breathing a little easier.
Seeing him struggle, the Angel lent him a hand and unclasped the mask behind his head to pull it off completely. As cold air hit his face, shocked gasps were heard.
“Phil… that's a child!”, The Siren gasped.
A small smile formed on the dying boy’s face. This was the first time somebody had commented on his age. Dream had always said that age was no excuse. Tommy wanting to be cool and showing his worth had always agreed.
“Oh god…”, the Angel breathed.
The only one not uttering a word regarding this topic was the Blade. The villain in question only stood behind the Angel, looking down onto the fallen hero.
By now Tommy could not feel his fingertips anymore nor could he feel his feet. He couldn't move his body since everything felt numb. A relief in his opinion.
“We have been fighting against a child all along?!”, the Siren said horrified.
The man dropped to the ground next to Tommy and pulled him into his lap for whatever reason.
Tommy tried to say something, but couldn't find the energy to do so. It didn't matter anyway. He had done what he had to do. He has fulfilled his mission. He had saved the city.
“Reverse it, Phil! Immediately!”, the Siren shouted, trying to get his fellow villain to do something.
The Angel only shook his head in response. Then he looked at Tommy again.
“It's too late, Wil. There's nothing I can do anymore.”
The smile was still resting on Tommy's face as one last tear slid down his cheek. The hero took one more breath. His last one. Then he closed his eyes forever.
There, laying in an alleyway, Tommy Innit also known as Red Chaos died in the arms of one of the most feared villains, protecting his city from himself.
His final mission had been a success.