Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Planning a murder was stressful. More so than he had imagined. Especially when he was trying to hide his plan from his unknowing accomplice. Even so, it was going well. Tubbo seemed to have no clue of his alternative motives and everything had fallen into place, just as he and Niki had planned.

However, they should have taken into account their unpredictable variable. That being Tommy-fucking-Innit.

Jack should have known that the arrogant blonde boy would cause more grief for him than he already had, that does seem to be his only life's purpose. From abandoning him during his hibernation after the election to taking his second life for no other reason than he wanted to.

Why couldn’t Tommy just be helpful for once, and die easily! It truly was unfair. The kid had taken his sweet time, stopping and rambling on and on, from what Niki had told him. The nuke had only missed him by thirty seconds. Because, of course it did! Why wouldn’t it?

Now everything was a mess and Tommy, one of the server’s biggest threats, was still alive.

—

Jack smiled at the customer, feeling at peace for the first time since he got a ‘job’ at the hotel. (It was more like free labor). But now that Tommy had been imprisoned, he had claimed the hotel as his, and he was actually making money! Finally, things were going right. He was working really hard on his new hotel. He's been staying up late at nights, he’s begun new advertising, and he even made a couple of business deals.

Nothing too big, but he hoped it would help the hotel's success in the future. He rented out the rooms to people like Tubbo and got a nice payment from that. Things were going well. Almost too well, it made Jack sort of anxious, it felt as if any moment the rug would be pulled from beneath him. Maybe Tommy would be set free, perhaps another war would break out, he wouldn’t be surprised if he came into work tomorrow only to find the hotel blown to smithereens. Everything was eventually destroyed on this server, it was bound to happen. Jack was only anticipating when.

“See you later, Jack,” the customer, Foolish, said, handing him a diamond. Jack nodded, his smile growing.

“Yep, see you!” Jack leaned back in his chair with a content sigh as Foolish walked out the door. He watched him go down the path through the window for a moment before pushing the chair back and standing up. He popped his back, lifting his arms above his hands. There were no other customers in the hotel, it was only him and a malfunctioning Sam Nook, so perhaps he can get an early night off. That sounded nice, he was his own boss after all.

Jack went over to the chests and placed the diamond in it, feeling satisfied at the stack already inside. He glanced back at the front door, noticing how the sky was still a bright blue, the sun still having a few more hours before disappearing over the horizon. He hummed to himself, reconsidering if he really should close the hotel so soon. The hotel was usually more popular at night… but then again, he was really tired. He stayed up very late, redecorating a few of the rooms that needed some spicing up. They looked better but now he had half a mind to collapse onto one of the hotel room’s beds and sleep there. As the hours go by that sounds more and more promising. So he made up his mind and pulled out the keys from his inventory, ready to head out. The hotel should be fine for a single night… maybe.

But as he took a step toward the door, a blur that flashed from outside the window made him pause. It was quick, and seemed to have no shape and it was gone before he could get a proper look. Jack hurried outside, his eyes bouncing back and forth down the path. He saw nothing unusual. The path looked as it did that morning. From the mismatched wood to the grassy cliffs. There was not even an animal around, let alone a person. Even Foolish was long gone.

Then, something tapped his shoulder from behind. Jack spun around, pulling out his sword. The stranger, who now had a sword to their neck, didn’t even flinch. They didn’t even make an expression of surprise, probably because they didn’t have a face. Jack narrowed his eyes, watching the stranger for any threatening movement. They didn’t move.

“Who are you?” he demanded, licking his lips nervously. He mentally scolded himself, it would do no good to show this person vulnerability. “What do you want?” If this person was new on the server that means they either snuck on, even with all the barriers, or was whitelisted by the admin, aka Dream, aka one of the people he hated most on the server. That, or they are above even the admins law. None of those options seemed desirable.

“Are you Jack Manifold of the Dream SMP?” the stranger asked, their voice monotone, like a robot. Jack gripped his sword firmer, trying to hide how that simple question unnerved him so.

“Yeah, what's it to you?” he asked, hardening his voice. He looked the stranger up and down, hoping to find something that would reveal who they were. The only things that stood out though were the lack of a face, the white and red color coordination that reminded him too much of Tommy to be comfortable, and their shirt that had a red rectangle with a triangle in the center. Also their skin was red, but that was not very unusual. Technoblade was a literal pig man and Quackity was part duck.

“I am here to retrieve you,” they said, just as expressionless as before. “Come with me,” Jack took a step back.

“Woah, woah, woah, you can’t come up to me and ‘retrieve’ me. That's not how that works,” He chuckled but there was no humor to it. He was starting to feel more than unnerved, his lungs squeezed with fear. “Who are you?” The stranger tilted their head that was more hairless than his.

“This is the first time that I have traveled to Mojang. It's normally the other way around,” they said. Jack furrowed his brows. That was when the voice changed and began to sound more human. “Jack Manifold of the Dream SMP, we have summoned you. Along with other Minecraft Youtubers you’ve been chosen to participate in the Youtube Celebration Party! It is rare that we hold such an event for server dwelling beings. You will be sent to the DSMP household, built for this occasion solely. You are most welcome!” Jack stared at them with wide eyes. Youtubers? What the fuck was that? There were too many new words to keep track of them all and he tried to process whatever gibberish that just came from this person's blank face.

“I'm sorry… What?” he asked, gaping at them. This person was either crazy or something was going on that made no sense to him.

“Yes, there will be puzzles, games, food, and so on. Irl Jack Manifold had given his consent so I am here to retrieve you.” the person said.
“Irl? I had never given my consent. Look sir or lady or other, I don’t know what you're talking about. I am not going to your party thing, and I think it's about time I leave,” he said, backing up, still holding out his sword.

“Alright. It's time for our departure.” the stranger said as if they didn’t hear him, their voice back to monotone. The ground beneath his feet began to open, a dark black void revealing itself. It reminded him of his hell, and he started to panic.

“NO-!”

Jack was falling. His stomach churned and his lunch threatened to come back up. He held one hand to his mouth, the other held his stomach. He pressed his eyes closed, only feeling more nauseous with them open. When he did take a peek there was nothing but darkness. He immediately closed his eyes again. He hadn’t felt terror like this in a long time and he hoped he would never again.

Memories flashed through his head. Ones of withers, lava, manic laughter, and angry yelling. Bits and pieces of his three canon deaths. He had his lives back again but he hadn’t felt truly safe since he lost his first one. They weren’t even deaths anyone else remembered. Just a background detail to a larger story. One that he wasn’t even sure he was a part of.

His friend had killed him, for apparently no reason. And hadn’t cared. Since Tommy hired him at the hotel he didn't mention it or apologize. Jack wasn’t looking for an apology, in fact he only got hired to kill Tommy, but it still lit a fire in him that only fueled his bloodlust.

Even while falling Jack could feel his chest burn with rage. Did Tommy think he could just disrespect him and get away with it? He would learn soon enough…If Jack hadn’t been kidnapped by a faceless stranger, and falling through what seemed to be an endless portal. That was a bit of a problem, he supposed. His stomach lurched again.

He lifted the hand off his face and also tucked it around himself. The bile traveled up his throat. Oh shit! I’m going to puke! That's when his feet hit solid ground and he fell to his knees, vomiting onto the floor.

He rubbed his mouth once everything left his system and cracked his eyes open. He was… in a living room? And a nice one from the looks of it. Pristine white chairs and a couch were the first things his eyes laid on. Blue and yellow throw pillows sat upon them both with a silver triangle in the middle. They were ugly. There was a red carpet under the furniture and a large screen on the white walls. Tall clean windows, with white curtains, practically made up one of the walls. A light blue throw blanket hung from the side of the couch and it matched the lamp on the side table. On one wall there was one large word in red, ‘Youtube’, it read. Isn’t that what that weirdo said?

Jack suddenly realized he could no longer smell vomit and looked down. The wooden floor was shiny and clean. He blinked and poked the wood just in case. There was nothing there.

That's not normal. Is this magic?

Was he on a whole other server? Everything felt weird, and the nausea he experienced earlier was gone. Also, he felt refreshed, as if he could run a marathon. This was strange.

However, it got stranger when a body fell to the floor next to him.

“Fuckin,” they said, before vomiting on the floor.

“Quackity!?”

-Tommy-

He came back gasping for air, his eyes blown open. Everything was a blur, a mass of black and purple. He blinked several times, his eyes slowly adjusting to the admittedly painful lighting. His cheeks were unpleasantly wet. Tears had been running down his face, making them uncomfortably sticky. He rubbed at them, hoping to get rid of the evidence. However as he ran his knuckles against his cheek he flinched...it hurt.

Everything was brighter than before, burning his eyes. Every sound from the lava was too loud in his ears, and the heat made him feel as if his body was melting. It overwhelmed his senses. He, for a brief moment, wished he was dead again. Back in limbo, where he couldn’t feel anything. Where he couldn’t move anything or see anything.

He sucked in air, desperate to fill his lungs. He squeezed his eyes shut and didn’t move from where he lay on the floor.

“Long time no see,” said an all too familiar voice. His eyes snapped open once more and he sat up. It was painful, his clothing dragged against his skin and his hands landed on the rough floor, poking into his palms. His eyes landed on the figure lounging in the corner. He scooted backwards, despite the pain. Despite the uncomfortable heat. Because that was Dream, his smiling mask and all. The one that killed him. “How was death?”

Tommy opened and closed his mouth, forgetting how to speak.

“How-” he choked. He swallowed a painful lump. He really needed water. “How long?” Dream titled his head like the fucker he was. Tommy tried to glare, hoping that his gaze held more hate than fear. It was unlikely though. His whole body was shaking.

“Only a few hours. Though I was planning to wait a few more days, so you're welcome,” Dream mocked. Tommy could imagine the smirk underneath the mask.

“Welcome? I… I was in limbo,” he swallowed again, tears stinging his eyes once more. He would wipe them away if he wasn’t sure it would hurt again. “for weeks,” he finished. He could still feel limbo around him, even with every sense in his body turned up to a hundred. He honestly thought he would be stuck in the void forever, until the light pulled him out.

“That's unexpected,” Dream said lightly, as if he was talking about the weather. “How interesting. I suppose that's what happens when you doubt me, isn’t it?”

Tommy couldn’t say anything. He wished he could argue. He wished he could stand up and kill Dream. But he could barely move, it was painful to speak, and it hurt just existing. Not to mention, Dream could kill him again if he so chose. So Tommy didn’t say anything. Tommy couldn’t say anything.

“Hello.”

Tommy jumped backwards, his eyes widening as they landed on the person before him. A person that had not been in the cell a moment before. A person with bright red skin.

-Dream-

It had surprised him to see a new figure stand before him in his cell. Though he didn’t flinch, not like Tommy did. It was kind of funny to watch the child be as spooked as he was. It was satisfying in a way, to watch the once confident TommyInnit fall so low. But it wasn’t like he hadn’t seen it before, in exile. It was nothing new, but it was still amusing.

The kid had been the bane of his existence ever since he joined the SMP. Ruining things, claiming stuff that wasn’t his, causing chaos, and assisting in wars that ruined his server. TommyInnit was just a pest, selfish and a problem. Dream didn’t care about the server as he once did. But, the server was still his and it still pissed him off when he thought about everything the pest did. TommyInnit ruined everything. He was the reason he was in prison after all. So if he took joy from his pain then he morally can, that's how it works.

“Hello,” the new cellmate said, though they didn’t have a face. “I have traveled to the Dream SMP looking for a TommyInnit of the Dream SMP. Are you him?” The stranger appeared to be staring at Tommy, its eyeless head facing him. The kid was shaking but nodded. Dream scanned the person, looking for any hidden weapons or signs of aggression.

How did this person get in? Did Sam install a teleporting mechanism to ensure his imprisonment? If so, wouldn’t he have gotten Tommy out a long time ago? It made no sense to him, but as long as the person didn’t try to hurt Dream, he didn’t really care. At least it was interesting, better than staring at the obsidian walls.

The faceless head turned to him.

“Dream of the Dream SMP, are you him?” they asked. Dream nodded, now fully intrigued.

“Who are you,” he asked, tilting his head. A new habit he had procured since the beginning of the SMP. “I have never met you before, how did you sneak past the barriers?” The two way barriers were supposed to keep people who were supposed to be outside out, and to keep people who were supposed to be inside in. No one should be able to break through them without his permission, unless he dies and he certainly was not dead. Unless… oh. “What are you?”

“I am Youtube. I am here to retrieve TommyInnit of the Dream SMP. Along with other Minecraft Youtubers you’ve been chosen to participate in the Youtube Celebration Party! It is rare that we hold such an event for server dwelling beings such as yourself. You will be sent to the DSMP household, built for this occasion solely. You are most welcome!” The voice didn’t sound human, not that he expected it too. It is above admin law, therefore a higher being. Above even DreamXD. Youtube… the name rang a bell but he had no idea what it was. Perhaps a god or ancient deity. That had to be it, what else could this thing be?

“Wait!” Tommy choked, as the obsidian beneath his feet opened, the darkness even deeper than the blocks.

“See you later Tommy! I’ll find you once I’m out of prison!” he called, waving. His head tilted. Tommy’s eyes were wide and fearful. Dream wheezed a laugh. That never gets old.

-Tommy-

It was nothing like limbo. It really wasn’t. He could feel things, he could feel his stomach doing some kind of jig, lurching and rolling. He could feel his body fall through the darkness. He can feel his clothing brush along his skin. But that didn’t stop him from panicking.

“HELP! SOMEONE! PLEASE!” he screamed. That was another thing that was different. He could hear things. His voice could travel. But no one came. It's not like he expected them too but he had hoped. Even if it was a weak hope.

He was crying again, wasn’t he? Sure enough, tears dampened his lashes and stung his eyes. That's annoying. But at least he could cry. So that's something at least.

“It's not limbo,” he chanted to himself, finding that his own voice was somewhat calming. After what felt like ten minutes of falling he began to sing to himself. It may or may not have been the L’manburg anthem from so long ago.

“I heard there was a special place…”

Fuck.

He was exhausted.

After an eternity of falling he landed on a floor in a tumble, rolling onto his back, staring at a white ceiling with a gasp. Well, it's no cell, thank god. There was no pain either. He sat up glancing around the room taking in the bright colored furniture that made his eyes throb and the two people lounging on the sofa together. Tommy’s eyes met Jacks and watched his eyes widen. Tommy just stared.

“Tommy?” Quackity asked, standing up. His eyes, one scarred, looked him up and down, seeming a little concerned. Tommy gazed up at him.

Is he real?

That was a stupid question, of course he was. Tommy’s brain wouldn’t choose Quackity and Jack to hallucinate. Especially not in some futuristic living room, (was that a giant communicator on the wall?)

“They got you too, huh?” Quackity asked, crossing his arms with a scowl. His tone was bitter as usual. Tommy could have cried again right then and there. He was out of that fucking prison and Dream was no where to be seen. Tommy gulped and took a deep breath.

“That, that was fucking sickening,” he said, hoping to sound natural. Quackity nodded, not seeming to notice anything.

“That bastard got us trapped here. We can’t find an exit,” Big Q said. Tommy examined the room more closely, not seeing a single door, and the windows only revealed a vibrant blue sky. He stood up and got closer to look down, he couldn’t even see a ground. Or the rest of the building. They appeared to be floating in the sky.

“What the fuck?” he all but squeaked, jumping back.

“Yeah, I think we’re stuck.” Jack said, still sitting on the couch. Tommy glanced over at him, meeting his icy gaze. Oh that's right, Jack didn’t like him. Well that's fine, he didn’t like Jack either. He was used to being disliked, what's one more person anyway? He could handle it like a big man. And sure, the last time he thought he could handle something he was killed but that was insignificant. Yep. He definitely wasn’t shaking.

“Do you think anyone else will appear?” Tommy asked, seriously hoping that no one would. He wasn’t sure if he could handle so many interactions after a mere hour of being revived. He just wanted to sleep. But he spoke too soon as six bodies fell from the ceiling, a few of them throwing up as they landed. He recognised Tubbo and Ranboo immediately and he grinned running over to help Tubbo to his feet. Tubbo was wiping the throw up off his mouth, looking at him with big eyes. There was that green guy, that wasn’t Dream, made of slime; Tommy remembered him. Quackity hugged the slime guy, Tommy didn’t know Quackity could do that. There was also Ghostbur, who laid on his back, blinking at the ceiling. He looked confused, but they all were. Then there were the two who had landed perfectly on their feet.

Tommy’s heart dropped when he saw their confused and angry faces.

I’m gonna die again, he thought.

Because there, next to Ranboo was his ex-brother Technoblade and his ex-father Philza Minecraft.

Chapter Text

Time seemed to stop as their eyes met. Tommy froze as Technoblade considered him with disdain. Tommy carefully pulled Tubbo backwards, behind him, even though he knew it would do nothing if Technoblade decided to kill them. They would be dead before they could blink. 

His hands were shaking again. 

When Philza looked at him, his eyes were not necessarily cold, but it still brought a chill down his spine. His emotionless contempt still stung as it did months ago and Tommy’s stupid body wanted to start crying again. Why was he doing that so often? Maybe it was a side effect of dying a third time; well whatever it was, Tommy wanted it to stop. As soon as possible.

“Fuck no!” Quackity yelled, jumping back from Technoblade. He glared heatedly at the pig hybrid, his shoulders tense like he was ready to bolt. Tubbo besides Tommy was also tense, still with fear. 

“I see I have a lot of enemies here,” Technoblade said amusedly. “Tommy, Tubbo, long time no see.” His smile had no warmth to it. Tommy could see his fingers twitch and begin to lift towards what he assumed was his inventory. Tommy’s breath caught. But Philza placed a hand on his arm and gave a warning look. Techno’s hand dropped. 

Ranboo, besides Technoblade, had cupped both of his hands as he does when nervous. His eyes darted between Tommy, to Quackity, to Techno. Tommy almost felt bad for him. At least he was on friendly terms with Technoblade and Phil.

“Stay back!” Tubbo yelled, leaning past Tommy. “Stay over there!” 

“I was planning too,” Techno said, dryly. Though he obviously wasn’t a moment ago. “I have no interest in starting a fight with you, Mr. President.” Tubbo’s fingers gripped Tommy’s shirt. 

“I won’t hesitate to slit your throat if you so much as move towards your inventory,” Quackity hissed, irises alight with a burning fire. 

“What if I need to eat, a pig man needs to eat you know. This feels very unfair,” Techno said casually. He was smirking. But then his eyes narrowed dangerously, “As it is, my blood lust is minimal but if you attack first, you would be dead where you stand.” Tommy could see Quackity’s left eye twitch, the scarred one. 

Tommy’s fingers itched to grab a sword from his inventory, or anything really, something to put between him and the Blade, but his inventory was empty. It has been since the prison and his death. He didn’t even have a measly potato. Not that he wanted one, not after the last time he saw one. 

“Um guys,” Jack’s voice suddenly called from the couch. “This guy has been standing here for quite a while and he's freaking me out.” Everyone’s head snapped to where Jack was pointing, and there, with red skin and a boring t-shirt, stood the stranger that had appeared before them, and had kidnapped them. 

“Hey, it's that guy again!” Slime said happily, skipping over to the guy. “Dap me up!” The guy did, in fact, not dap him up. Slime didn’t seem to mind though. 

“Oh, it's the weird person. They sent me here,” Ghostbur said, his voice echoey, and sitting up from where he laid on the floor. 

“Hey,” Tommy said, as confidently as he could manage. “Who the fuck are you, and why are we here!” The stranger titled their head, reminiscent of Dream, and Tommy struggled not taking a step back into Tubbo.

“I would like to ask the same question,” Techno’s voice was low and deadly. When Techno’s voice sounds like that, you run, but the weirdo didn’t move. Didn’t seem unsettled in any way, and it was starting to unsettle Tommy (as if he wasn’t already). 

“Me as well,” Philza said, however sounding much more civilized if not irritated. “Where are we? And did you talk about a party earlier?” 

“Philza Minecraft of the Dream SMP, you have been invited-”

“Yeah, we heard all of that!” Tommy yelled, waving a hand, glaring at the figure. Though he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t grateful to them for getting him out of prison. Though, now trapped in a floating living room, and stuck with your deadly ex-family and crazy nut jobs he wasn’t too grateful. “How do we leave?” he demanded.

Please tell us how to leave.

“We’re going to leave?” Ghostbur asked, blinking up at him innocently. Tommy could only nod, too scared that his voice would break if he spoke. “But the sky is so pretty.” His blue translucent eyes widened in awe as he turned to the windows. “Do we have too?” 

Tommy nodded again, more vigorously. 

His lungs didn’t have enough air at that moment. The colors were too bright, the talking was too loud, the tension too thick, and both he and Tubbo were in danger. He hasn’t seen Tubbo in weeks, was this the last time after so long? 

He wasn’t ready for this. 

“The first challenge is simple: watch the video and answer the question. If every contestant gets eighty percent or over, you can move onto the next challenge. If not, then you must watch the video again.” This person must be a robot, and not like Sam Nook who had emotion. There was no other explanation for how they spoke so monotony surrounded by people who weren’t quite sane, and Technoblade who was definitely insane. 

The whole room went into an up roar. 

“Excuse me?” Quackity asked, sounding almost as threatening as Techno. “I don’t care for any challenges,  you will let me and Slime leave!” 

“What video! We aren't going to do school for your entertainment!” Tubbo called out with furrowed brows, and eyes narrowed. 

Tommy’s fingers curled into fists and he snarled. Tommy started cursing, he wasn’t exactly sure what the insults were, but he didn’t really care. He was ready to ring this guy's neck. 

“This makes no sense!” Jack yelled, standing up. 

“I don’t think you realize who you're dealing with,” Technoblade said, crossing his arms. 

“I have been told that you may need to be informed on the context of the video,” the person said, ignoring everyone. It was definitely a robot or something. Quackity grabbed the robot person by their collar, and even with his shorter stature, pulled them close to his face.

“I will kill you,” he threatened. 

“There is no killing on this server. Death is not possible here,” they said. Tommy’s eyes widened. 

No death?

Really?

“Like we can’t fucking die at all?” Tommy asked, not caring if he stumbled through his words. He ignored the side eye from Philza. 

The robot nodded.

“Correct. And you cannot leave until all challenges are completed.” 

“I have a question,” Philza started, rubbing his chin. “You said we have given consent, I have not though.” 

“Your IRL selves have, yes.” the robot said. Tommy squinted, confused. What was Irl? Luckily Tubbo asked that same question. “Essentially, another you.” 

“Like… like other dimension stuff?” Jack asked, eyes bugging out from his head. Tommy opened and closed his mouth, trying to wrap his around that.

“What?” Tommy asked, gaping at the robot. 

“What do you mean other us’s?” Techno asked. 

“Oh, you mean earth?” Slime asked, innocently. 

“Yes.” 

Everyone looked over at the slime guy who was looking over at Quackity for approval. But the duck hybrid only stared at him. 

“Wait, you know what they're talking about?” Tubbo asked, stepping forward. Slime furrowed his brows in thought. 

“No. But I know earth. I’ve heard about it a… few hundred years ago I think. It's the world of the creator, Mojang!” I think I was in this cave,” The slime guy then began to ramble and Tommy ignored him in favor of Jack who despite being an idiot, may actually have something useful. 

“I have heard of Mojang before,” Jack paused when he noticed every eye on him. “Um, they mentioned it before.” He pointed to the robot. “They said they never traveled to Mojang before.” 

“Mojang is a place?” Tubbo asked. 

“No,” the robot said. “Mojang is the foundation, a world of sorts, one where you all live. However there are more. Earth, or the universe that contains Earth, is a world with access to all and is the place of all creation. The people that you are were first born on Earth, then you, as you are, followed. In a sense they are you and your creators.” 

“That made no sense,” Tubbo deadpanned. 

“Your other selves are what is known as content creators or in this case Youtubers. They have created videos for the public to enjoy, and we at Youtube wish for you too as well. So welcome to the YouTube Celebration Party or YCP! Thank you, and have fun!” Then the robot vanished, there was no ender eye used or a portal. They were simply gone. Tommy jumped backwards.

“What the fuck,” he said. It was just like what happened in the prison cell. Tubbo grabbed his shoulder and Tommy looked over at him. He was frowning.

“Are you okay? What happened at the prison? Did Dream hurt you?” Tubbo whispered, eyes searching his. He could hear Technoblade and Philza mutter things to each other behind him, and Quackity seemed to be concocting a plan to Slime. But as much as he should pay attention to the threats around him, he couldn’t pull his gaze away from Tubbo.

“I’m fine, big man. It was mostly an inconvenience,” Tommy whispered back. Tubbo didn’t seem convinced. 

“You're very quiet.” 

“What are you talking about? I’m not quiet, bitch,” he said loudly, crossing his arms. “I just don’t like being around these fuckers.” Maybe he was over doing it, but he could see Jack scowl, so at least it was convincing him. But then Tommy quieted to say, “It's good to see you Tubbo.” Tubbo’s concerned expression turned into a hesitant grin.

“You too.” 

Ranboo scuffled over to them, playing with the hem of his suit. 

“This is strange,” he said, a nervous edge to his voice.

“You're telling me,” Tommy barked, shaking his head. 

“Are you doing alright?” Ranboo asked, eyeing him up and down. Tommy’s lips tightened. 

“Woah! The black thing on the wall changed.” Ghostbur said with an awed gasp. He was staring at the thing that hung on the wall. It had changed from a black to a white screen, a box with a triangle in the center was at the forefront. 

“Watch the video, complete the challenge!” A bodiless voice echoed throughout the room. Tommy flinched again, much to his chagrin. 

Shitty battle instincts. 

“We will all have to watch it,” Tubbo called to everyone, taking a step away from Tommy. “If we wish to escape from this prison.” His chin was lifted and he had an air of authority that he had picked up during his presidency. 

“What?” Jack said. “But this is Tommy’s video, see.” He pointed to the screen to where Tommy’s name was in black lettering next to a very unflattering picture of his face. “I am not in the mood to watch twenty five minutes of him cursing. No thank you.” 

“This video contains the following Youtubers: TommyInnit, Tubbo, Philza Minecraft, Wilbur Soot, and Jack Manifold.” The voice said again. 

Tommy inhaled sharply. 

All five of them, together, with Wilbur? Wilbur was alive ? 

“I’ve got to see this,” Phil said, walking over and sitting down on one of the white chairs, his wings folding together on his back. “Come sit Techno.” He gestured to the chair next to him. The pig hybrid paused, but made his way over and plopped onto the chair.

“I don’t trust this, Phil,” he muttered. Phil didn’t seem worried though. Quackity and Slime stood next to the window at the back of the room, behind the couch. Quackity was dissecting the Phil and Techno with his eyes, his shoulders tense. Slime was bouncing on the balls of his feet. Tommy looked over at Tubbo. 

Were they really doing this? 

“There's something off about this,” Ranboo said. “I don’t like it.” Tommy frowned and looked around the room again, as if an exit would just appear. None did.

“Me and you both,” Tubbo said. 

“I think this is how you start it,” Ghostbur called, reaching his translucent hand towards the screen. His finger pressed the white triangle in the center and a new voice blared to life. One that sounded familiar. 

That sounded exactly like him. 

But it wasn’t him.

“We added the natural disaster mod to Minecraft!” Words flashed across the screen as another Tommy spoke. The voice was… happy.

“It's Tommy!” Ghostbur said, talking over his other self.

“ This made the game so much funnier!” His voice went high on the word ‘So’, cracking and an image of Tubbo came up. It was moving though, not just a picture. Some kind of poorly drawn landscape behind him, which also moved so it mustn't have been a drawing. Tommy’s never seen a video before but this must be it. It was… strange.

“It's me,” Tubbo said, almost sounding excited. Tommy also couldn’t help but be intrigued. They both watched as Wilbur came onto the screen next, seeming to be talking about something before laughing at digital Tubbo flying away in the wind. “There goes Tubbo!” 

“ There goes,” a copy of Phil’s voice said, repeating what Wilbur said. An alive Wilbur.

“That's Alive me!” Ghostbur said, happily. 

They all looked so happy. 

Other Tommy came back on the screen, looking more serious than Tommy normally does day to day. He was also clean, unlike the Tommy that stood in the middle of the room who was covered in grime and dried blood. The most startling however was the smile… When was the last time Tommy smiled like that, he couldn’t even remember.

“Boys, we’re almost at 5 million subscribers, so thank you so much!”

“Did Tommy just say thank you?” Ranboo’s whisper seemed to travel throughout the entire room. Everyone seemed a little apprehensive, even Tubbo. But it wasn’t that much of a deal. Tommy said thank you all the time… well, not that much but it wasn’t like he never said it. He did… sometimes.

“This is so weird,” Tubbo mumbled next to him. Tommy had half a mind to punch him and disown him as his best friend. 

“He lies! He has 11 million subscribers! It says it right there.” Jack said, his body stretched out on the couch. Well at least he was seemingly comfortable. The thing about this video was that whenever someone spoke the video would pause just enough to hear them, before continuing. But that’ll just make the video longer so if anyone but the deadly war criminals in the corner spoke next, he’ll punch them.

“ Most new viewers find my videos annoying, so if you enjoy any part of this video then please do subscribe.” 

“Is this even Tommy?” Technoblade asked with that dry chuckle of his. “Saying please and calling himself annoying in the same sentence?” 

“Shut up, you narcissistic bastard. I do say please!” he growled, glaring at him.

“Oh please, you're one of the most selfish people I know, and I’m the Technoblade. You want, you take and you don’t give back. When was the last time you actually said ‘please’?” 

Tommy swallowed. (It was less than an hour ago, when he was crying out for help like a child.) Tommy didn’t say anything.

“Exactly,” Techno said with a snort. The video started again. 

“Thank you all again and enjoy this video!” The screen switched to Tommy again, however this time, instead of wearing his famous red t-shirt he was wearing one with green sleeves. He was also wearing headphones like Jack’s. Tommy didn’t like the color green. 

“Okay, you ready!?” The other Tommy shouted. 

“That sounds more like you,” Tubbo said. 

“ Jesus Christ,” the other Phil said. He looked different from Philza who wore a green hat and had longer hair. The faces were the same though. And now that he looked, the little digital characters that were running around looked suspiciously like the clothing they all wore now. Strange.

“Oh, Oh, Oh it's all getting wet!” other Tubbo yelled. 

Tommy smiled, stepping closer to the screen, but staying back from his old family. 

“UHH OHHH,”  other Tommy said loudly. “ Where's Wilbur?” The screen showed a real Phil and his digital perspective looking at a digital Wilbur who was staring into the sky.

“ Wil? Are you okay?” other Phil asked, coming closer. Tommy glanced over at the Philza, noticing how his eyes were pinned to the screen, his stare distant. Tommy turned away, he didn’t care what Philza was thinking, it wasn’t like they were family.

The other Wilbur sighed dramatically.

“I’ve been waiting for the day…” other Wilbur breathed as lightning struck. Other Phil began laughing.

“Okay, well you have fun waiting for the day. I’m going to make a house for us,” other Phil said. 

“See, when it hits 0:00 disaster is going to strike us, Wilbur,” other Tommy said, approaching the other Wil. Tommy was struck with how this Wilbur was not acting particularly sane. It was bringing back unpleasant memories. 

“This already feels like a disaster,” other Wilbur muttered. 

“ Well, it's pissing it down,” other Tommy said as other Wilbur suddenly began yelling.

“ WATCH THIS PHIL!” other Wilbur began aggressively breaking down a digital tree. “ MMMMMMMMMM.” Other Phil laughed. Then the scene jumped to other Tommy having a white box and placing what looked to be small blocks into another box, creating a digital pickaxe. So it must have been a digital crafting table.

Everything was odd, someone was laughing at every other word, with big smiles on their faces. They were making jokes with each other, as if they were best friends. Tommy hadn’t felt that way in years, if he ever had. 

He did come to the Dream SMP in the first place because of his wacked up family. Then when he arrived he was considered a problem. He caused more problems than could be fixed. He was, still was, rude and annoying to a point that even his best friend got rid of him for a time, and he knows Tubbo didn’t want to, but Techno was right, he was selfish. Really, really selfish. But he always knew that, it's not some big revelation. That's just who TommyInnit was, and he hated it, but he was unlikely to change. He hated himself really, but was that a surprise? It was fine. 

“Can we build us a shelter please? You know I’m self-conscious to rain.” other Tommy said.

“What does that even mean?” Jack asked. 

“Mule!…” other Wilbur breathed in awe and a digital mule appeared on screen. “Mule…”

“Wilbur?” other Tommy asked as his digital perspective glanced at Wilbur’s character running across a stormy field. “What the f*ck?” The word was censored by some groan or something. “ Does he not know that it's pissing it down with rain? other Tommy asked with a grin.

“He’s turned into a cow!” other Tubbo yelled with glee. Tubbo chuckled and Tommy smiled. It reminded him of the old days, way back when. 

“Your other selves are so strange,” Quackity said, lounging against the window with his arms crossed. Tommy, Tubbo, and Ranboo had somehow made their way to the floor, sitting away from Techno and Phil.

“As if they aren't already,” Techno said with a huff.

“ He’s further along than us, Tommy. Come on,” other Phil said, chopping down a digital tree. 

“Phil, I’m really bad with rain. I’m, you know, rainophobic.” other Tommy joked. Which was… random. 

“Me too,” Ranboo said, sounding serious. 

“I see rain and I can’t stop insulting it,” other Tommy continued. Tommy could hear Jack quietly scoff behind him. It seems that Jack didn’t appreciate Tommy’s humor from any world, even if (from what has been shown) they didn’t have the same type of humor. 

The screen jumped back to Wilbur.

“Mule…” 

“That's starting to unnerve me,” Tubbo said, his brows creased. It seems he too was reminded of Pogtopia Wilbur. Tommy was sure it was just a joke, probably. Everyone else seemed to be joking and the atmosphere was light. Other Tommy was smiling, so there was probably nothing to worry about. Probably.

“ Wilbur, are you, are you okay?” other Tommy asked, sounding both amused and concerned. 

“ Thinking about mule…” other Wilbur said. 

“Insanity must be a Wilbur thing,” Quackity said. 

“I think he really likes mule,” Ghostbur said, staring up at the unmoving screen. It restarted a second later.

“I'm thinking about everything me and mule are going to do together,” other Wilbur’s voice was quiet and his face looked pale, with eyebags, like he didn’t sleep, like in Pogtopia. 

“Okay- okay,” other Tommy said, laughing loudly, but appearing a little nervous. Other Phil was also laughing. 

“Tubbo, let's build us a house together.” other Tommy said, his character jumping through the rain. Tommy said his Tubbo smile. 

“You wanna live with me?” other Tubbo asked loudly. 

“No thats… I wanna live with… actually I don’t wanna live with the mule man. I’ll, I'll live with you.” The scene jumped again to other Tommy’s character being next to a dirt hill with Jack Manifold. “ Tubbo, do you think you can go just check on Wilbur? He’s being a bit…weird.” 

“ Yeah.” Other Tubbo’s digital character went up to Wilbur’s house. “ Wilbur…” 

“Mule,” other Wilbur said. Tommy now wanted to reach through the screen and smack some sense into other Wilbur, and stop this weird mule obsession. Even Ghostbur was starting to look uncomfortable. “ I’m upgrading my house.” The house wasn’t even done yet. 

“Okay…”

“Ready? Don’t open the door!” other Wilbur yelled, his character jumping in front of the door. Other Tubbo raised his hands in surrender.  

“ Okay, okay, I won’t.” Other Tubbo sounded panicked which was understandable, other Wilbur was freaking everyone out. Other Wilbur asked if Tubbo was ready again before opening the door, revealing a mule inside the house.

“Mule.” 

“OH MULE!” other Tubbo shouted. Tommy honestly didn’t know what else he was expecting, mule was all the guy talked about. He wondered if this Wilbur had a strange thing for mules or if this was a new development. 

“Watch this Tubbo: watch this,” other Wilbur then, seemingly, smacked the mule; it was hard adjusting to the digital stuff. “ Mule scream.” Other Tubbo gasped. 

“ I… I don’t want to leave this place,” other Tubbo said in awe. 

“Wait, I’m into that?” Tubbo asked, sitting forward. Tommy laughed, it was quick and gone soon but for a brief moment he felt light. Weightless. 

“Stay in here,” other Wilbur said, walking out of the house. Other Tubbo didn’t hesitate to agree. Maybe both this Wil and Tubbo were insane?

“I thought I was in this video,” Jack said, sounding bitter. Tommy thought about mocking him and stopped himself because it would make the video go on longer.

 Other Tommy came bouncing up to the house now that the wind stopped. 

“ Wilbur and Tubbo, wanna come explore with us?” he asked. 

“ I’m not allowed to leave,” other Tubbo said. And… well it was stupid, but that brought back meomeries of exile. It was just a single line that probably didn’t mean much, but it tugged at something in his mind. He told himself to calm down, to breathe. Tubbo wasn’t exiled, Tommy wasn’t exiled. He, Tubbo, and Ranboo were all safe. Nothing to worry about… except being stuck in a room with Techno and Phil. Jack was there too, so he wasn't too happy about that.

Other Wilbur then tried to come exploring as other Tommy had suggested, but other Tommy told him that it was okay, and he didn’t have to come. He sounded nervous. Jack also said the same thing. They ran away.

“Hey, I spoke,” Jack said. 

“ Can I come?” other Tubbo asked. Wilbur said no as he built a roof over other Tubbo. 

“Why do I feel like like is just getting worse?” Ranboo whispered to Tommy. Tommy nodded, frowning. 

“This is so fucking weird,” Tommy said. 

“Will you shut up?” Techno asked, raising an unimpressed brow. Tommy scowled but looked away.  

The screen started playing again, showing other Tommy and other Jack wandering off and coming up to what seemed to be a barrier. 

“Guys, it looks like we’re trapped in here with mule boy,” other Tommy looked over and saw Phil’s character. “ And the old man.”

“Hey!” Philza said, not really sounding offended. “I’m not that old.” Tommy twisted his head towards him with raised brows. 

“Your fucking lying, old man.” It wasn’t like their old banter, but it wasn’t full of hatred as he had hoped. To make up for it, Tommy glared. Phil gave him a flat look in return. 

Bastard. 

“ Hey Phil! What's it like being the biggest porridge fan in the world?” other Tommy asked, running up to him. Tommy smirked, just a little. 

“ I DON’T EVEN LIKE PORRIDGE THAT MUCH! I haven't had it in years!” other Phil yelled. Other Tommy began speaking in an impression of an old man.

“HANG ON, RIGHT. MY WIFE MAKE ME PORRIDGE IN THE MORNIN’. SHE MAKE PORRIDGE IN THE EVENING. But not in the afternoon, that's brunch,” other Tommy said. And Tommy snorted, a laugh forcing itself out. Tubbo also laughed, and if he wasn’t mistaken, so did Jack and Techno. Ranboo was merely smiling. Tommy spun to look at Techno and found that his expression hadn’t changed from before. It was still flat and unimpressed. Techno met his eyes with a raised brow. Tommy blew a puff of air and turned away. Tommy raised his eyes back towards the screen. He could have sworn he heard Techno’s laugh though, it wasn’t easy to mishear. 

Maybe he somehow mistook Jack’s laugh for Technoblade.

He wasn’t so sure. 

The screen switched to Wilbur’s who was standing in front of the open door, Tubbo was still inside the building.

“Hello friend, you can come outside now.” Other Tubbo tried to walk out but Wilbur placed a block in front of the doorway. “That was a test. You can’t come outside. I was testing you, you failed the test. Now I have to trap you.” Well, that made Tommy feel even more uncomfortable than before. He swallowed, his earlier laughter long gone. Tubbo also looked unsure, staring at the screen as if it confused him. 

“ It's so dark in here! Just me and mule!” other Tubbo yelled. It did make Tommy feel better but at least the other Tubbo was smiling. He still sounded close to laughing. That was a good thing. It seems he wasn't actually upset. 

“ It's so clear and lovely!” Wilbur said happily walking across the field, and Tommy could feel the hidden gloat. 

“ I’m just completely trapped in here with this mule. I feel like I’m slowly losing my mind.” other Tubbo said. 

“I’ve already lost it,” Tubbo said, leaning towards Tommy.

“For sure,” Tommy said, pushing his face away. His lips twitched upward.  

Other Tommy appeared on screen again telling Phil he would go check up on Tubbo and Wilbur. Tommy thought that was a good idea, maybe he could rescue Tubbo while he was at it. 

“ How is it… big guy?” other Tommy asked Wilbur, almost hesitantly and Tommy couldn’t blame him. Though it was weird watching himself be nice. Did he, Tommy, act like this too and just haven't realized? Probably not, he was sure that if he did, less people wouldn’t hate him. 

“Oh, it started raining again,” other Tubbo said, looking through a hole in the house. 

“How do you know it's raining Tubbo?” other Wilbur asked, and Tommy got a chill up his spine. Other Tubbo gasped and stuttered no. 

“ I can hear it!” he yelled, closing the hole in the wall frantically. 

“ Good, because if I were to see you outside of your prison, Tubbo…” other Wilbur said. 

Tommy wanted to leave. 

That was clearly a threat right? And he called it a prison… 

Was it just him or was it getting hard to breathe in here. 

“What's wrong?” Tubbo whispered next to him. Ranboo also looked over, frowning with concern. Tommy shook his head, staring up at his other self who yelled ‘ What the fuck is going on with you two,” with a smile.  

“Nothing, I just want to leave,” he said quietly. Tubbo slipped his hand into his, squeezing carefully. 

All Tommy could do was inhale deeply, matching Tubbo’s breathing.

Fuck, why was he here and not in his bed or working on his hotel? 

On the screen, Wilbur broke down the blocks in front of his and Tubbo’s face saying ‘ Knock, knock,’ quite ominously. Tubbo seemed happy that Wilbur was there though. The screen switched back to other Tommy who was screaming about how windy it was.

“He’s screaming, he’s screaming Tubbo.” other Wilbur said emotionlessly. 

“ I AM SCREAMING BECAUSE IF YOU SEEN OUTSIDE!” other Tommy screamed, running up to their house. “Can we please work together here,” he said, walking into the house and pausing when he saw Wilbur. “ Guys?” 

“I’m liking this Tommy more and more, can we replace him with this one?” Techno asked, casually. The screen paused again.

“What's so special about him?” Tommy snapped. “We’re the same fucking person.”

“For one, he's polite. Two, he hasn’t been nearly as annoying as you. Three, he just asked to work together. I think he's got you beat,” Techno said.

 Tommy refused to feel shame and guilt. He refused. But yet, his hands still clenched into fists, even as Tubbo held one of them.

“Shut the fuck up,” Tubbo yelled, rounding on Technoblade. The guy who killed him. “You have no right to speak after what you’ve done.” 

“And you do, Mr. President?” 

“Yeah, he fucking does!” Tommy shouted, standing up. 

“Why is everyone yelling?” Ghostbur asked, turning to them. 

“Do I need to remind you of the butcher army or Tommy’s betrayal? You're not so innocent,” Techno said, eyes piercing Tubbo. 

“HEY!” The three of them hesitated at Ranboo’s outburst. “Look, we all want out of here and the only way to do that is to watch the video, which we can’t do if we’re talking. So please, just for the next… twenty minutes can we all stay civil? Please.” He ended in a mutter, a bright blush on his black and white cheeks. 

“Alright, mate,” Phil said, even if he wasn’t even in the argument. 

“You are right, Ranboo,” Techno said. And… wow, Techno must like Ranboo more than Tommy assumed. He was glad Ranboo was there or that may have ended in bloodshed. 

“Anything for you, Ranboob.” Tommy mumbled, sitting back down. Tubbo nodded, eyes looking down at the floor, his face still red with rage. Ranboo’s face was still bright red but he seemed less anxious. He was always anxious. Man, Ranboo was such an introverted, nervous and sweet guy, Tommy couldn’t imagine him as anything else. 

Chapter Text

Tommy glared at the screen as Wilbur and other Tubbo screamed when they fed a mule. Other Tommy ran out the door and then promptly returned. He was trying to warn them about the upcoming disasters. 

“ This is worse than every tragedy ever,” other Tommy said as faded images that seemed to be tragedies flew over his face. Tommy blinked, he could have sworn he saw his own face on one of those pictures. 

“ We’re better as a pack, like penguins. You want to be a penguin with me, don’t you, Wilbur,” other Tommy said with a grin as Wilbur’s digital character smacked his character.

“Did you know penguins mate for life!” other Tubbo yelled happily. 

“I don’t want to be Wilbur’s mate for life,” other Tommy said. 

“I’d sure hope not,” Tubbo whispered.  

“But- but I said we were penguins.” other Tubbo said, confused. 

“I don’t think you quite know what mate means in the context of penguins, Tubbo,” other Tommy laughed. Other Phil did as well.

“What do you mean?” other Tubbo asked as other Tommy dragged a hand over his face seemingly done with everything. The screen switched again with other Tommy telling Phil that he was going to go speak to Wilbur and Tommy could feel his nerves spike. 

Other Tommy walked back into other Wilbur’s and other Tubbo’s house to find them in a hole. Tommy shouldn’t have expected anything else, it was quite normal to find his own Tubbo in a hole, though he wasn’t usually with a mule enthusiast. That… that part was quite unusual.

Other Wilbur then attacked other Tommy’s character with a sword. He breathed. It wasn’t real. This Wilbur did not just attack his Tommy. It was all fun and games. And Tommy knew that, he just wished his emotions and heart, which was drummed against his ribs, knew that. 

“Are you guys okay?” other Tommy asked, staring at the closed door in the rain, or at least his character was. 

“We’re fine.” other Wilbur said dryly. 

“Hey, we are fine!” other Tubbo yelled. “If you don’t go away we’re going to start spite dying!” Other Tommy was laughing in disbelief while Tommy just stared. 

“... what the fuck does that mean?” he asked quietly, squinting at the screen.

“I think it means suiciding spitefully,” Tubbo said, bluntly but quietly. He too stared at the screen. 

“Huh…” Tommy shrugged it off, it was nothing to worry about despite his screaming emotions.

The screen jumped to Jack and Phil who were chatting. A strange pairing that Tommy was not expecting. 

“What's your opinion on prunes?” other Jack asked him.

“I SPEAK FOR THE FIRST TIME AND THAT'S WHAT I SAY?” Jack shouted, standing up, throwing his hands in the air. “You’ve got to be kidding me!” He slumped back onto the couch with a groan.

“ I hear you guys love them,” other Jack continued. 

“‘You guys?’” other Phil yelled. “Okay, next time there's an event after covid is gone, I’m gonna punt you straight into the fucking sun!” 

Playful death threats? They must be close. Close enough to be considered friends at least. Tommy glanced back and forth between Jack and Phil. Have they even had a proper conversation?

“Is it just me or is it hot in here,” Jack asked, his chuckle forced, tugging on his collar as sweat beaded down his neck as he eyed Phil and the screen, back and forth. Tommy almost felt bad for him, almost.

Other Jack laughed. Then the screen switched again back to other  Tommy running towards other Jack who was screaming about how Phil was angry. Other Tommy answered by telling him about Tubbo’s ‘ spite dying’. 

“I don’t even know what that means,” other Tommy said, his pitch getting ten times higher. Phil also seemed confused. 

Then the screen switched again and that was, for some reason, when a chill ran up Tommy’s spine. Which was strange since it seemed just as ‘normal’ as the last five minutes. Even with all the little comments that made his stomach suddenly churn or the ‘jokes’ that chilled him to the bone, for some reason a sense of dread washed over him, similar to the moment the stranger had told them that they couldn’t leave or when Technoblade side eyed him from where he sat. 

Luckily the terror from the prison didn’t return, but his gut still sank to the floor. Perhaps he was just being dramatic… What could possibly happen?

“Come get your mule bits!” 

Other Wilbur’s voice cut out, probably due to technical difficulty. That happened a lot with their coms. “ Come get your mule bits!” 

Other Jack approached them. 

“Come one, come all!” 

“Wilbur, you promised me we weren’t selling the bits!” Tubbo yelled, a little whine to his voice. 

“Even in this video Wilbur is still trying to scam people, it seems.” Quackity commented nonchalantly from the back. Tommy glanced back and sure enough his arms were still crossed. He was still leaning against the window. Slime was still next to him. Apparently the screen's rule of pausing when someone speaks doesn’t apply to the slime. The guy was ranting about something happily and yet the television was still playing.

“What bits do you have?” other Jack asked. 

“All bits of the mule you could ever want!” other Wilbur exclaimed. It was sort of unnerving to stare into the eyes of Wilbur’s digital character, or at least Tommy thought so. 

Other Jack stuttered before answering, “ The ear!” 

Other Tubbo opened the door behind Wilbur from inside the building. 

“Wilbur, Wilbur, Wilbur. There's an ear, there's an ear,” other Tubbo whisper yelled . Wilbur didn’t say anything but instead walked into the house and began to hit the mule. Other Tubbo began screaming.

“Nooooooooooo! Nooooooooo! Nooooooooo!” 

“What are you doing?” other Jack cried. “ It wasn’t dead before!” Wilbur threw the meat at Jack. 

“ For you, my friend!” other Wilbur said cheerfully, as if Tubbo and Jack weren’t just screaming. Tommy, Ranboo, Tubbo, and even Jack gaped at the scream. What the fuck…

“What…?” Ghostbur asked after a moment, his echoey voice sad, and his brows creased with disbelief. “What is alive me doing?” 

Other Wilbur closed the door behind him. “Don’t look in there!” he yelled just as cheerfully. 

“My friend!” other Tubbo whined. The other Jack stared, mouth agape, very similar to the real one. 

“Huh,” Tubbo said, obviously unnerved, perhaps scarred. 

The screen switched to Jack running to the house he shared with other Tommy and Phil. “Don’t go to the mule bits shop,” other Jack said, freshly traumatized. Yes, please, fucking, don’t. Tommy did not want to see any more of this Wilbur even if he was alive… Well, that was a lie. He didn’t want to see him like this. 

Where was his smile? The one from before the drug empire or after they had won their independence? Where were his amused smirks whenever he made Tommy laugh. Tommy missed that Wilbur. He feared he’ll never see him again. Not even on a giant screen while being forced to watch videos about alternate selves. Why did he always have the worst luck?

This is fucking stupid.

“It’s some horrific shit in there.” Other Jack saw Wilbur approach, “ NO! He’s coming back over to me! What’s he doing?” The camera zoomed in on what Tommy assumed was a chat of some kind, and enlarged the many lines from Wilbur that repeated, pay pay pay. “Pay? PAY!?” Other Jack sounded horrified, absolutely panicked as if his life was on the line. A far cry from the playful mood earlier. Tommy shifted in his seat. 

Jack continued to panic when other Tommy began to speak, “ Jack go and speak to him, we don’t want anything to do with your mule business. I have a plan come to the home.” 

“I’m at the home right now,” other Phil said. 

“Come up stairs! He struggles with the stairs and he struggles with his words!” other Tommy said with a laugh. Was it just Tommy’s imagination or was the cold glare of death locked onto him coming in waves from Techno’s chair?

“Alright, fuck you guys, your not getting any of this iron,” other Phil said, sounding like Tommy’s old Phil, when they were an actual family. 

“ No, no, no, Phil, please please, Phil, please,” other Tommy’s voice was high pitched. 

“It’s fine Tommy,” other Jack suddenly said. “We’ll inherit it one day.” The real Tommy may or may not have had a sudden urge to snort. Too bad Jack wasn’t funny. Not funny at all. 

For some reason unbeknownst to Tommy the other thems went back to the Mule bits shop. Tommy mentally groaned. 

“You want some mule bits?” other Wilbur asked yet again. “What bit of the mule?” Tubbo screamed ‘No!’ from behind him. 

“The back,” other Phil said. 

Wilbur went back inside as Tubbo screamed. “Do it.”

“No! I don’t wanna!” Tubbo gave in and swung his digital ax. The perspective changed to other Tommy’s POV and he watched through the open door. His eyebrows raised as Tubbo sobbed. 

“What the fuck!” Phil yelled, which was a surprisingly appropriate response. It was official, Tommy liked this on-screen Phil better than the real one. 

The three other thems than ran away while wearing pumpkins. Tommy nodded approvingly. 

“Here's what we do! This time we go and save Tubbo!” other him said. 

“Aww thanks man,” Tubbo said. 

“We are child protection services!” 

“I actually need food, I am on one heart!” other Jack said, his little digital hearts indeed down to one. 

“I don’t have any,” other Tommy said as he held food. Yeah, that seems like something I’d do.

“Typical,” Jack scoffed from behind him. Tommy forced himself to stay still. 

“What is this operation of yours then?” other Tommy demanded at Wilbur’s counter. “I can hear cries from behind you!”

“Don’t look in there.”

“I can hear CRIES Wilbur! I can hear the cries of a distorted child!” other Tommy yelled. He was smiling a bit and real Tommy couldn’t decide if that was a good or bad thing. His skin was itching. Should his skin be itchy? Was that a normal reaction to watching another you yell at your dead brother over your sobbing friend with digital people on something called Youtube? He wasn’t sure.

“Name a bit of mule,” Wilbur said, practically cutting other Tommy off. This Tommy didn’t seem to mind though, instead his brows furrowed in thought. 

“Um, um anus.” 

Someone in the room snorted in a mocking manner. Tommy gritted his teeth. 

Other Wilbur darted back into the building. “Tubbooo!” Other Tommy laughed, real Tommy did not. 

The camera jumped in time and it showed other Tommy walking around the building. “Wait Jack, I have an idea,” he said just as other Tubbo screamed,

“Wilbur, I named this one! I named him!”

“Do it, Tubbo.” 

Tommy shrunk in on himself, his nails digging into whatever he was holding. 

Other Tommy dug into the ceiling with a axe. 

“What the FUCK is this.” He leaped off the roof, half laughing, half gasping. A moment later he somehow appeared back on the roof again. “This is this SWAT bitch!” Which was actually something real Tommy would say, or something he would have said long ago before everything. His chest tightened but he released his nail-deep grip into Tubbo’s hand after his friend whacked him multiple times. 

Other Tommy turned around and there on the ground were many floating things. Tommy wasn’t actually sure what that meant. 

“Man down! Man down!” 

Aw, that's what that means. Tommy dug his nails once more into Tubbo’s arm, pulling him close. The bee boy tensed but grew limp, throwing him a glare. Tommy smiled his most apologetic smile ever, he used it on Wilbur and Techno many times. It didn’t work very well, looking back on it. 

Other Tommy mined threw a gate, running into Wil. “We need to speak to the child in the basement. Wilbur, you’re going to stand outside, sir, with your arms behind your back.” 

“I just need to speak to Tubbo first.” Wilbur then ran down stairs only to find a whining/humming Tubbo going around in circles. “Hey Tubbo.”

“Hey,” Tubbo replied in the smallest voice Tommy had ever heard come out of him, save for a few traumatic times. 

“You know what to tell them, right?” Wilbur’s voice was cold and sharp. Tommy’s entire body tensed, his fingers twitched, his heart beat ceased. 

Pogtopia. Pogtopia. Pogtopia.

Chapter Text

“Tubbo?” other Tommy asked, peeking into the hole other Tubbo dwelled in. That Tubbo made a noise similar to a dying animal. “You alright?” 

“AUHGDHAGHUGH.”

Other Tommy’s laugh eased real Tommy’s nerves somewhat, at least to a manageable degree. It’s just a joke, he told himself. All a joke, keep it together Big Man.  

“Are you okay?”

“ M y h om e…” other Tubbo groaned or something as he placed trap doors. Real Tommy’s eyes darted to real Tubbo and back to the screen. He wasn’t even aware the bee boy could make that sound. 

The screen changed to Wilbur and Jack, unfortunately. Wilbur was once again speaking of mule bits and Jack was once again scared for his life. It turned back to other Tommy and Tubbo. 

“I’ll give you this whip,” fake Tommy said, holding what was obviously a fishing rod, only digital. “It was bestowed upon me by my great, great, great grandfather, who stood right there.” He gestured to other Phil. “ Whip him if he ever goes too far.” 

Technoblade huffed, a pig like huff. Phil himself snorted a laugh, lounging back in his seat. Tommy genuinely couldn’t tell if he was putting up an act or was actually enjoying himself, he wouldn’t be surprised if it were the latter. 

The screen switched to Wilbur once more. 

“Am I being detained?” he asked other Jack. A half finished house was being built around him. 

“I don’t even know!” 

“Am I being detained?” he asked again, forcier. Was that even a word? It probably was, Tommy was really good at englishing. Wilbur asked three more times as Jack panicked. Eventually fake Tommy ran up. 

“HOW IS HE IN CHARGE RIGHT NOW?” other Jack screeched. 

Tommy snorted and received a swift kick to the back. He glared over his shoulder at Jack who narrowed his bug eyes at him. Prick.  

When he turned back around other Tommy and Jack were running away from Wilbur as other him yelled, “Phil, give him some life advice!” They then left better Phil to deal with the insanity that was Mule Wil. Tommy almost felt bad for him. “He’s full of it! He’s full of life advice!” 

“Walk with me Phil,” said Wil. Tommy swallowed a groan. He had hoped that the video would stay on other him’s and Jack’s perspective, apparently he never got anything that he had ever wanted, ever. He wasn’t even being dramatic. 

He loathed to admit it, but Techno was correct in this single instance; other Tommy was better, but only compared to this Wil, not him of course. No other, fake Tommy’s could ever be better than the real one…nope. 

Tommy bit his lip.

Not at all… 

“When I started ‘Mule Bits’, I had one goal in mind. To sell bits of mule to the world right?”

“Right…” Phil sounded nervous. 

“We’re living through the worst meteorological disasters the world has seen in many years. And I thought my mule bits could help improve this world.” Tommy cringed, shushing his frantic mind. This speech sounded awfully like many of the ones Wilbur had given a long time ago. Phil, shut him up, please. Tommy brushed his tongue over his teeth, which were in a desperate need of cleaning (like the rest of him). He picked dry blood off his shirt with his finger nails, his eyes glued to the screen. “I like to think I was on the right page, Phil. I know we haven't spoken much, but I wanna truly say this.” Haven’t spoken much? “As long as nothing bad happens in the next 3 seconds , we will be best friends forever.” 

‘TORNADO INCOMING’ was in big red letters across the screen. 

Snorts and chortles echoed through out the room. Even Tommy couldn’t force a frown. Techno nodded as if he expected that to happen and Phil was laughing similar to his on screen counterpart. Quackity held a hand to his mouth as if to hide a smile while Slime guy played with his own gooey fingers. Tubbo had a startled laugh, Ranboo was gaping at the screen in disbelief. Ghostbur just seemed happy that everyone else wasn't killing each other. 

“I guess we’re not going to be best friends forever,” Phil said, his amusement staining his face.

“Maybe cause Wilbur’s dead,” Tommy said accidentally. He clicked his teeth together. Shoot, Techno’s gonna kill me now! Phil didn’t move but the look he sent his way was… strange. It wasn’t apathetic, as it normally would have been, but it wasn’t angry either. He seemed tired, perhaps irritated .  

The screen switched to other Tubbo. Tommy could feel his own Tubbo perk. 

“Oh,” he said as thunder echoed. “Well that’s certainly a surprise-” The tornado began to sweep Tubbo off the ground. “AHH!AHHHH! OH MY GOD! WHA-!” His voice was full of many voice cracks. 

“There I go!” Tubbo cheered, a grin dancing onto his face. 

“Up and away,” Ranboo commented all Ranboo like, dry tone and all. The screen switched to Wilbur.

“There goes Tubbo!” he laughed. Tommy craned his his head forward. That line was in the intro of this Youtube thing! See, Tommy could be smart and shit. 

Wilbur continued to laugh, his smile growing. Tommy stilled, he leaned in even more, his heart beating as if played by a very passionate drummer (at this rate he will have a heart attack). That was a real smile. A real one. That was a real Wilbur smile! 

Tommy, for the first time since arriving in this floating prison, didn’t want to leave right at that moment. He still wanted to leave, but maybe he could sit here for a few seconds, maybe. 

“What’s this!” Jack shouted when the screen switched to him. The tornado began to sweep him up too. “I keep moving! Tom!” 

“What is happening!” other Tommy screamed. 

Tubbo’s view came on screen. He was above the clouds, floating among the night sky. “This is beautiful!” The whiplash between fake Jack’s/Tommy’s and fake Tubbo’s was immense. One was so calm while the others…

“I GOT STRUCK BY LIGHTNING!” Jack cried, being carried off into the sky. 

Wilbur ran through the fields. “WHAT’S HAPPENING TO MY BUSINESS!?” Tommy was glad he had his priorities straight. 

Jack and Tubbo met in the sky. “TUBBO!” 

“This is beautiful!” Tubbo replied. 

“Tubbo, come here!” 

“AIR PVP!” Tubbo pulled out his sword and attacked. Tommy rubbed his nose, nodding. Yeah, this makes sense. Jack screamed. 

“What the fuck!” real Jack yelled. “This is uncool man!” 

“Sorry man, I can’t control other me’s actions,” Tubbo said with an apathetic shrug. Jack hmphed. 

“You could try!” 

“I’ll DIE!” Jack screeched. Tommy rolled his eyes, Tubbo wasn’t about to kill the idiot, though his screaming was kinda funny. 

Other Jack’s screen turned red with words that read, ‘you died’ . Oh. That’s not good. 

Tommy narrowed his eyes, blocking out memories. Or he tried too yet some still slipped through. Images of the Nether, of exile were quite prominent. Jack had come to visit me. They were near lava… Tommy gritted his teeth, taking a shaky breath. Jack had died that day, but Tommy didn’t, that was what mattered. He was alive, he had protected himself, and he had affected something. He wasn’t forgotten. He could control something. He was Tommy fucking Innit. 

Yeah, a Tommyinnit who ruined everything- 

Tommy dug his nails into his own palm. 

“Why did you do that?” other Tommy asked all innocent like. Sure, rub it in my face. Tommy huffed, and curled his arms around himself. He may have looked like he was pouting but he definitely wasn’t. He was merely cold. 

“I need to get out of here,” Wilbur said in the woods. “What's happened to my business! My house, my business, my home and business!” 

Chaos continued to ensue. Jack saw a witch in the tornado, other Tommy almost got himself blown to bits by a creeper, and Wilbur cried some more about his business. Eventually, as it was inevitable, Tubbo found Jack again. 

“I found you, Jack!” His voice was like an animal, feral and hungry. Honestly, props to Tubbo, good for him for taking the initiative. He’s a man who knows what he wants. 

“I have been turned,” Tubbo said, eyes stuck on the screen. “Other me is insane now. Is insanity contagious?” He glanced at Tommy. 

“Probably, absolutely,” Ranboo said, leaning past Tommy to meet Tubbo’s eyes. He sounded so wise. 

“STOP HITTING ME!” other Jack screamed. Other Jack screamed a lot. 

It switched to fake Tommy’s POV. “PHIL! What’s your last words?! You’re gonna die from the shock!”  

“Oh, I’m totally fine, what do you mean?” 

“No, you’re not,” other Tommy reassured him. 

“Your hearts gonna fail!” Jack chimed in still flying. Tubbo didn’t seem to still be attacking him. 

“Phil, your hearts not going to fail,” Techno said, sounding genuinely worried, a smidgen frantic. “I’ll protect you.” 

“Yeah, I’m good but thanks buddy,” Phil said, waving his hand nonchalantly. Ghostbur turned to them.

“I’ll protect you too, Phil. I don’t want you to die.” His brows furrowed and his transparent face crinkled with sadness. 

“I know, buddy,” Phil said with a sigh and nod. His oldness had never been so old. He sounded tired as if he heard those exact phrases a hundred times and it was slowly wearing him down. He probably had heard them hundreds of times knowing Techno, and Ghostbur’s love of following along with whatever anyone’s saying. 

Focusing back on the screen, it was yet again, chaos. Jack was falling, Wilbur was monologuing (again), and other Tommy was calling for Jack. 

“Tell my wife I cheated on her several times over! Back-to-back! It was a horrible night and I don’t regret it!” fake Tommy yelled. That sounds like something he would have said before exile. 

Oh shit, exile-

Yeah, nope, don’t go down that road.  

“Tommy!” Jack called. 

“Where are you?” 

“Tommy, look up!” 

“Jack Manifold!” fake Tommy screamed. That seemed like a real friendship moment or something. Tommy didn’t like that, it was kinda unsettling after everything. They were once friends but then he killed Jack, Jack tried to kill him, and that was just a whole complicated mess. Jack was also an idiot. 

It was brought back to Wilbur and Phil. Phil was rebuilding the house while Wil stood there. 

“Phil, I didn’t have insurance.” 

“It’s okay, we can rebuild.”

“Phil, I am uninsured. You don’t understand. You don’t understand! They are going to investigate the property and they’re gonna find SO many drugs!” Wil’s character was hunched down. 

Tommy’s leg bounced, his shoulders tensed. Drugs. It’s been a while since he recalled the drug business he and Wilbur began to start in their early days of the DSMP.

 “He’s a drug addict,” Techno started. “Everything’s coming together.” 

“He could be selling them,” Quackity said, eyes narrowed when he glanced towards Techno’s chair. 

“Could I sell them?” Slime asked, tone excited. “What are drugs?”

“I thought we agreed to shut the fuck up!” Tubbo yelled, tilting his head towards the ceiling. 

“I thought the drugs were a secret!” other Tubbo then yelled out. 

The time jumped and Wilbur was in the basement with the random trap doors set by Tubbo. “Why have you broken open my meth crates? Where’s the meth?” Wilbur demanded as Tubbo jumped down with him. Jack also came down right when Wil began to dig for his meth. 

“I just wanted a taste!” other Tubbo cried, causing other Phil to laugh. 

They all appeared back on land with a time jump. “I’m going to be serving quite a long time in prison over the next following months,” Wil said to other Tommy. 

“Especially child labor,” Tubbo said. “Like, Jesus.” 

“Wilbur, Tubbo,” other Tommy started. “This storm is only getting worse, would you like to move in with us? The only rule is, no cigarettes, no meth.” Real Tommy was quite sure, knowing the little he actually knew about this other Wil, that those rules would not be accepted. 

“Fuck,” Wil confirmed. 

“I think we’re out of the equation,” Tubbo said. Other Tommy did not give up though, which Tommy understood but honestly he really should have left them outside. They were not meant for in doors. His own Tubbo was but that Tubbo… ehh, not really. 

“You can do them outside. Yeah, child labor is more than fine, in fact you know what? We encourage it.” 

“No. No we don’t,” Phil said.

The time jumped again. This time it was fake Tommy standing outside of the cave house, staring out at the storm.

“Hello?” a voice whispered. Other Tommy turned around to find Wilbur standing in the doorway. 

“Uh, Wilbur? What’s happened to you?” he asked. Tommy wanted to know the same thing. Wilbur walked inside and closed the door.

“Knock on my door.”

“This is our house, Wilbur.” 

“Knock on my door,” Wil repeated. Other Tommy did as he asked and the door opened. “Hello, how can I help you?” 

Other Tommy stumbled through his words, eventually saying, “You live with me!” 

“Sorry, are you trying to sell me something?” 

Tommy couldn’t tell if he was Ghostburing and had short term memory loss or was fucking weird, probably the latter. 

“No, this is my home.” 

Wilbur shut the door. “Okay, thank you! Uh, not interested. No money.” He began placing blocks before the door. “No dinero.”

“I don’t speak… that,” other Tommy said as he mined into the stone. Time switched again and he was walking through the storm towards Jack and Phil. “Guys, we’ve been kicked out?” 

“What? What do you mean?” Jack asked.

“Kicked out?” 

“We’ve been evicted and we have 21 minutes,” other Tommy said. 

“I HAVE NOTHING!” Jack shrieked. 

“Jack, think about it. We have the power of friendship, eh?” other Tommy said. Real Tubbo snorted and Tommy elbowed him in the ribs. 

“That’s not worth much to me!” other Tubbo sung. 

“You were on meth about five seconds ago.”

“No, no, it’s out of my system, I did a lot of yoga!” 

Chapter Text

Tommy was attempting to keep up with literally everything that was said on the screen but it was somehow only getting more and more difficult to do so. Other Tubbo (that Tommy decided to call F!Tubbo, as in Fake Tubbo) was shouting things. Things like how he was extremely tall and muscular, which wasn’t remotely true. But Tommy wouldn’t ever say that out loud because of fear. Tubbo had some muscle he supposed.

“And I scream testosterone,” F!Tubbo finished and Tommy, including his fake self, laughed. Tubbo, thankfully, didn’t seem to notice. 

F!Tommy and F!Tubbo went to Wilbur’s door, ignoring the sword in the maniac’s hand. They were asking to move in before the storm. Wil, like a prick, chose Jack to let in. Who would choose Jack? However, despite Wil’s terrible decisions and stubbornness, the old man, and Tubbo also ended up inside the house.

“This group can stay. Tommy, go make yourself a new house,” Wil said. 

“Good bye!” F!Tubbo singsonged.

The door was kept shut and the F!Tommy stood in the rain.

Tommy, the real one, gazed up at the screen, blinking. A chant sounded through his head. 

Don’t get emotional. Don’t get emotional.

How stupid would he be if he cried over this stupid, stupid video? 

Why did he feel so emotional over something so ridiculous? It wasn’t the panic or fear that the video somehow incited within him multiple times. It wasn’t the anger either. Something clenched in his chest and a lump formed in his throat.

“What the fuck!?” F!Tommy yelled as music began to play. “It’s fine, it’s fine, it’s fine. I’m desensitized to it. I’ll make a treehouse.”

Fuck. Why did this bit remind him of how he had been fucking exiled? That feeling of betrayal and abandonment trickled back to him. Only a tiny bit, but enough that made him want to curl up in a ball and never, ever move again.

The screen switched back to Wil and the others, and they were dancing. They were singing. Tommy refused to look at R!Tubbo (Real Tubbo) at that moment, he knew if he did, all the questions he once had would come back and steal away any sense he had left in him. 

Were you happier when I wasn’t around?

Were you glad I was gone?

Did you even ever want me around?

Questions like that would flood his head all throughout exile and only got worse as time passed. But why should they cloud his head now? It was just so fucking ridiculous. So, so stupid. 

Ranboo must have noticed or something because they leaned over to meet his eyes. The concern in their own helped him breathe a tab better. Tommy gave him a nod.

For the next minute or so they all watched other Tommy make a fake girlfriend named Bertrude. She was made of a pumpkin and wood. Just as he was making Berturde a roof Jack showed up.

Then the perspective changed to Wilbur’s. He was watching the F!Tommy treehouse from above and blatantly judging like a big prick. Tommy wasn’t sure if he preferred the insane mule Wilbur or the asshole Wilbur.

“I say,” F!Tubbo spoke up. “We kill them.” 

“What the fuck!” Tommy said, gaping at his Tubbo. The horned boy raised his hands in surrender.

“I wasn’t the one who said it! It was the Tubbo high on meth!” 

“Guys, guys, guys!” B!Phil yelled (Better Phil). “They’re gonna kill us!” The old man ran towards F!Tommy and that other Jack who were still talking about the hot fake girlfriend.

Tommy could actually see himself making a fake girlfriend like Bertrude. In fact, he probably did before and he simply couldn’t remember because it’s buried under a mountain of other shit. If he actually couldn’t remember, was he turning into Ranboob?

Back to the unfortunate POV of Wil, F!Tubbo was still talking. 

“We need a place of worship,” he was saying. 

“If there is a god, which I assure you there’s not, he’s given me nothing but pain and hardship. God, if you are there and you do love me, smite those three in the next 5 seconds.” Wil looked to the treehouse. 

Nothing happened. 

“Ohh,” Tubbo said. “God is a lie and religion is fake.” 

Lightning struck from the skies and a dark tornado appeared.

“This must be god!” 

F!Tubbo switched up very quickly it seemed.

“No, it’s not god! It’s mule,” Wil said. “Tubbo, we must build a shrine.”

God fucking dammit! 

Couldn’t this Alivebur not talk about mule for five seconds? Tommy was going to scream and throw something if he didn’t shut up about it.

It’s not an unfinished symphony at least…

His head really needed to be quiet sometimes. 

The two mule enthusiasts made they’re way to the field. Wilbur claimed he could hear him talking to him. Apparently he wanted cobble stairs, whatever that meant. Mule needed cobble stairs. F!Tommy came and shouted at them about how they only had twelve minutes until the disaster and of course F!Tubbo and Wil completely ignored the warning. Instead they charged at him yelling, ‘Kali ma!’ 

“Tubbo, I don’t want them near the shrine!” 

F!Tubbo jumped at F!Tommy with a sword and other him screamed. B!Phil and other Jack appeared.

“If nothing bad happens in the next 10 seconds, then they can come on the shrine,” Wil said. 

“Okay!” F!Tubbo said. “7… 6… 5… 5… 5-, 4…3, sorry. 5- Fuck! 2…1 and 0.” 

“One of them. The one they call Manifold.” 

Why does this alive Wil keep choosing the bald idiot?

“Look at the shrine made of stairs!” Wil chanted. 

“Shrine of stairs!” said Jack. 

F!Tommy ran away, yelling how those three were all dead men walking. Real Tommy had to agree with his other self on that one. 

It wasn’t three seconds later that Tubbo sacrificed Jack Baldifold anyway. 

F!Tommy called Jack a stupid fuck (deserved) and walked on to the monument. Wilbur yelled to get the child off and F!Tommy finally gave up trying to convince them. Real Tommy wasn’t sure if he was happy he did. On one hand, his pleading hit too close to Pogtopia and the insanity of his own Wil. On the other, giving up on Wil was never a trait he possessed. It felt wrong in a way. 

His mental crisis didn’t matter though because yet again, not a moment later F!Tommy was already coming up with another plan to save Wil and Tubbo. This time it involved whips and kidnapping. It seemed like a good plan. He could see himself coming up with it.  

Wil and Tubbo watched the F!Tommy crew (as Real Tommy dubbed it) approach in the rain. 

“What do you want?” 

“I’m going to whip you unless you come with-!”

The tornado lifted F!Tommy off his feet and stole Tubbo. The two mule enthusiasts ended up in the sky with Jack. B!Phil and F!Tommy was carried close to the ground. 

“Tommy, please say nothings going to happen. I’m so sorry I didn’t come with you,” Wil said. There was a plea in his voice. He sounded scared and genuinely apologetic. 

Real Tommy chewed on his cheek, peering at the chaotic screen. 

Ignore it, a voice that suspiciously sounded like Dream whispered. It’s not real. It isn’t your Wil. 

  “Whatever you do, hang on to your whips and hang on to your wives!”

“That was the most Tommy thing to say,” Tubbo said. 

“I’m much more sophisticated than that!” 

Tubbo shot him a look.  

Tommy slumped against the couch, crossing his arms. 

“When you're up so high, you realize how insignificant everything was before. Tubbo, when I look down on the shrine I realize how insignificant it was!” 

It was about fucking time Wil realized that. 

“ In 25 seconds, what happens?” Wil asked, referencing the ticking timer. 

“I assume it all goes downhill very quickly for us,” F!Tubbo helpfully said. 

Things happened and Tommy tried to catch it all in case it appeared on that quiz the person talked about but it seemed insignificant. Jack was saying goodbye to F!Tommy’s girlfriend before Wil killed her and took the pumpkin head. Jack attacked Wil and cried. Meanwhile, a mountain began to grow from the ground. F!Tommy and F!Tubbo screamed about it. For some reason that Tommy could actually understand, F!Tubbo started to climb it. It seemed like the appropriate thing to do in that circumstance. 

“It’s a sign Wilbur!” F!Tubbo shouted as F!Tommy and B!Phil called for him to come down. “Do you not see?” He continued to climb and found a hole at the top. “I found the pit to hell, Wilbur!” 

“This is a volcano!” F!Tommy yelled. “This is worse than any wives I’ve ever met!” 

“Wilbur! Everything you said was true! The pit to hell is true!” 

“Tubbo,” Wil said, climbing the mountain. “Mule isn’t real! Tubbo, I was wrong! When I was up in the sky I saw how small and insignificant-” 

“Mule’s not even that hot!” F!Tommy interrupted. 

Tommy, definitely, didn’t snort softly at his own (Fake him’s) joke or take pride in the huff of laughter from Tubbo. Ranboo shook their head fondly. 

“Look!”

“No Tubbo, this was a mistake!”

“Mule is rising up from beneath!” F!Tubbo said. Wil made it up the mountain and could see F!Tubbo. He came closer to the hole and gasped. “See? Do you not see?” 

F!Tommy screamed as he too made it up and found the hole with lava. “It’s rising!” 

“It was predicted, Wilbur!” 

“Tubbo, Mule’s real…” 

The awe on Wil’s face caused Tommy to facepalm and glare at the screen. This video was now giving him physical pain to rival the mental pain, in the form of a migraine. 

Why!?

Why couldn’t Fake Tubbo keep his stupid mouth shut?

F!Tommy ran down the mountain, shrieking. As he did, Wil was on a door above the hole with F!Tubbo.

“Look me in the eyes and do not break my gaze!” 

“Okay!” 

“ Kali ma!” Wil said. 

“Kali ma!” 

Smack! 

Wil hit F!Tubbo into the lava. He shouted ‘Kali ma’ as he fell. 

The perspective changed to F!Tommy and the others as they tried to figure out a way to survive. Unfortunately, according to B!Phil, everything was dead. 

“LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!” Wil said from the top of the mountain. Everyone looked up at him. Tommy already didn’t like this. “I WARNED YOU! I GAVE EVERYONE THE MOST PREPARED PLAN THEY COULD HAVE EVER ASKED FOR!” 

“What’s he talking about?” Ranboo questioned in a whisper. 

“AS YOU LOOK UP AT THE MOUNTAIN OF MULE, HE WEEPS! HE WEEPS FOR ALL OF YOU WHO FAILED TO HEED HIS WARNING!”

Lava was cascading down the mountain. 

“DO YOU SEE, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN? DO YOU LOOK UPON ME RIGHT NOW? WATCH ME BE SWALLOWED IN HELLFIRE! WATCH ME JOIN MULE!” 

“Oh god,” Tommy heard Philza mutter. 

“WATCH ME JOIN MULE IN THE AFTER LIFE!”

“Join Mule Wilbur!” F!Tubbo said. 

The lava crept up closer from behind Wil.

“YOU STILL HAVE YOUR CHANCE TO REPENT! YOU STILL HAVE YOUR CHANCE TO SIGN UP AND JOIN INTO OUR ORGANIZATION! BUT IF YOU DO NOT, AND I PRAY-”

“I don’t want to join your cult!” F!Tommy said.

Wil was set ablaze.  

“I HOPE I SEE YOU IN HELL!

The Wil on the screen fell to the ground and died.

“Oh Jesus,” B!Phil said. 

Tommy closed his eyes just to process all of that. With a hand to his mouth, he tried to not have those stupid emotions again. Opening his eyes, he looked over his shoulder at the two maniacs with a love of killing and hoped they wouldn’t catch him staring. 

Techno had a hand on Philza’s shoulder as the old man shook his hand as if denying something. He was pale as fuck. 

The sounds on the screen didn’t even make it to his brain. Even as he turned back around he didn’t even look up at what was happening for several seconds. When he did, he found a newly accented Wil flying around. Tommy wasn’t sure what accent it was. 

“It’s me, your old pal Wilbur Soot. I’m just in a tornado!” 

Chaos took over and Tommy didn’t even try to understand it. There was screaming and tornados. Jack was missing and Wil still had his accent and a new dislike for radishes. They all (except F!Tubbo) hid in a hole base with Wil ‘wiggling’ his way in. 

“Why did you start speaking like that?”

“It’s me, Wimbler!” 

“Oh no, his brain’s been hit by the lava!”

F!Tubbo then screamed as a tornado picked him up again. B!Phil cursed for he, too, for some reason, wasn’t in the hole base like a moron. F!Tubbo stood on the decapitated head of Bertrude after everyone climbed back outside. F!Tommy seemed upset by this development as he should. The disrespect was sickening. B!Phil placed down a glowing Bertrude and F!Tubbo and Wil apparently took this as a sign to start singing to her. 

“Where’s my treehouse?” F!Tommy spun around and found it in the rain. Berturde’s head was still there. “Her head is still there! We need to rescue her!” He jumped down the small hill and ran. “Who runs the world? Girls, girls!”

F!Tommy mined the pumpkin head and turned to Phil who somehow appeared there like a magician. 

“Phil! We’re all safe! She’s gonna be oka-” 

F!Tommy fell from the tree house, died, and then a creeper exploded. The head was gone.

‘Meteor Strike Inbound’ appeared on the screen. Something stuck from the sky. 

“Oh shit,” B!Phil said. 

“What the fuck was that?” other Jack yelled. 

“Sorry, I get exploded a lot these days!” F!Tubbo said as F!Tommy got surrounded by zombies. 

“Guys! I have a horde of girls following me! Help me! They’re too in love with me!” 

The perspective changed to Wil. He looked up to the sky. 

“If this is a meteor strike, this isn’t too bad. I think we can survive this.” 

“Where did you get that knowledge from?” F!Tommy asked. 

“I was just saying that if you look up, if this was the meteor strike that’s inbound then I mean…” 

“I don’t see a meteor,” F!Tubbo said.

Meteors appeared then. Many of them. 

F!Tommy screamed and everyone died, their screens turning red. They all stared in shock.

Words appeared on screen again saying ‘click this video please’ and ‘or this one ’. Two arrows pointed to two boxes with images of Tommy, or F!Tommy to be precise. 

…Is it ending?

“Dude… Let’s find a mule.”  

The screen went dark. 

“Hello,” a voice said. Tommy jumped, his heart slamming against his chest. 

Tommy turned to it with a grimace. It was the red and white person again. Their faceless head was staring at them all. 

“Are you ready for the questions?”