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For someone who had just gotten kidnapped, Tommy was actually cackling a whole lot.
The hand on the back of his shirt faltered a little bit, fingers tightening again as the person holding him looked at him curiously. They were being followed at full speed by the rest of the SMP. Techno had pulled out all the stops. Of course, it helped that everyone was meant to be training his horses that day in speed training, so they had all the horses out. Which meant now that the hybrid hunters who’d nabbed Tommy were being pursued by a group of fully armed, very angry SMP members on very fast horses, because Techno knew how to breed his horses for speed and for health.
Hooves thundered on the ground behind them, and Tommy glanced back. “Oh, you guys are in so much trouble,” he said. “You know, they’re only not shooting yet because I’m here, but if you hurt me I don’t think they’re going to care.” Raising his voice, he called, “Yo, just shoot anyways! I’ll be fine!” Techno kicked his horse in the ribs again, Dream right on his heels alongside Punz. A good few strides behind were Ant and Velvet, Velvet with the reins and Ant with a bow. “Come on, Ant!”
The hybrid hunter holding him—they were hybrid hunters, they had grabbed him because of his hybrid status (even though he hadn’t gotten anything yet, but well…it was probably going to happen now thanks to the adrenaline boost that came from being kidnapped—smacked the back of his head. Ducking down, Tommy snickered loudly. “Shut up or I’m throwing you off this horse.” Turning, Tommy met their gaze. Beamed brightly.
“Do it, it’ll be fun.” He replied, staring them down. Their face dropped and they glanced over at someone else.
An arrow shot by their shoulder. Glancing back, Tommy spotted Ant loading another arrow, eyes narrowed. Then, he fired another arrow. One of the hybrid hunters yelled as the arrow struck them in the back. Then, they grabbed at the injury. Doubled over and then slumped off their horse. When they hit the ground, the hybrid hunters kicked their horses into an even faster gallop. Oh. That’s how they managed to recognize where the SMP was and knew how to get on. They came here and bought some horses from Techno a while back, he realized, frowned. He remembered this group. They seemed…off somehow. They weren’t the group that borrowed one of Techno’s stallions—he didn’t let anyone borrow his stallions, anymore. But they bought some mares and geldings, and then they’d sort of just…fucked off after paying. At least they paid, sure, but still. No one really didn’t pay for their animals. Not unless they wanted Techno coming after them.
Which, Tommy guessed they had Techno coming after them now anyways, but that was because they had nabbed Tommy, not because they had stolen horses.
“You would have been better off stealing the horses you bought from him, honestly. Like, this is a really bad idea.” Tommy commented, chattering nonstop. Maybe it wasn’t the best idea. But it was funny, and that was the important thing. And also, maybe if he annoyed them enough, they would let him go.
“Stop talking.” They ordered. Snorting, Tommy looked to the path ahead. I wonder how I can get out of this. Although maybe I should wait until someone manages to take them out and then I get out, he mused. Inhaling slowly, he touched the side of his head. Grunted.
“I have a bit of a headache, you got any meds?” They growled again. Something sharp stabbed him in the back. Eyes widening, Tommy gasped. Glanced down. There was a bloody triangle sticking out of his lower stomach, the tip of the knife that had been driven into his body. “Oh. Rude. Are you going to want this back?”
“Shut up or I’m going to slit your throat.” Tommy glanced back at them. Narrowed his eyes. Then, he opened his mouth and yelled.
“They have knives!” He warned the others. “Fight at a dista—”
Stabbing him in the throat, the man threw him off the horse.
Everything went…weird. His shoulder hit the ground first. Something in his chest broke. Already, he could feel blood spilling from his throat. He reached up. Grabbed onto his throat, stared ahead as he hit the ground. The world rolled, dirt and rocks scratched across his skin and tore at his clothes. Then, his back hit a rock, and he slammed to a stop. A gasp left him. He grabbed at his throat.
Suddenly, Phil was next to him with Bad, Skeppy, and Ponk. Gentle hands cupped his face, held his cheek. Then, delicately, Phil tipped his head up. Ponk moved in, already pouring potions into the wound, Blinking, Tommy stared up at them. Swallowed weakly. Then, he looked around. Spotted the rest of the SMP fighting the hybrid hunters. “Phil—Phil—help them—” He choked out. Grabbed Phil’s hand. “Please—you gotta—” He coughed and shook. Looked at the others. Frowning, Phil brushed Tommy’s hair out of his eyes. Turned and then nodded. Then, he ran off. Gasping, Tommy closed his eyes. Dropped his head against the ground. Someone else caught his head, Skeppy. The man settled Tommy’s head in his lap.
“Tommy, you need to stay awake, okay?” Skeppy reassured. Gently, he brushed Tommy’s hair out of his face again. Looked down at him. Panting, Tommy sucked in a few breaths. Blinked and then closed his eyes a little bit. “Tommy, come on. Stay conscious. You need to stay with us, you need to stay awake. Come on, sweetheart. You’re going to be fine, I promise, you just need to…”
Tommy felt his head drop into Skeppy’s hands a bit more, and everything went dark.
+++
He woke up to someone gently massaging his shoulder, trying to get a knot out of it.
Blinking a little bit, Tommy tipped his head to the side. Groaned. There was something on his face. Oxygen mask. A slight pinch in his arm—IV. Beeping surrounded him. Oxygen monitor, an electrocardiogram, some other machines he didn’t quite recognize the names of but knew they were for checking things like his blood pressure and other vitals. Look, when it came to hybrids, they needed to have as much information as possible when it came to their vitals. They needed to know if anything changed.
For Tommy, that meant keeping a very close eye on him. On his vitals. Especially when it came to making sure he wasn’t going into shock from blood loss. As he opened his eyes a little bit more, he looked up. Met Phil’s gaze and then smiled weakly. Beside him were Wilbur, Techno, and Kristin, too. Tubbo was somewhere in the room, Tommy could hear him and Ranboo talking quietly to one another. In their sleep. They were sleep-talking.
Reaching up, Tommy clumsily batted at Wilbur’s face. Accidentally smacked him right across the face. Then, he yawned. Stretched languidly with his arms in front of him. His arms shook a little bit, he felt some movement at his throat as the stitches were tugged a little bit. Frowning, he yawned again. Looked at Wilbur. Then, he rolled onto his side.
“How are the others?” He asked. Hiccupped and winced. “Ow. That hurts.” Touching his throat, he felt bandages under his fingers. Looked at the IV in his arm. Something overcame him. “I’m gonna pass out now.”
And he did.