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Everything getting blown up was Tommy’s last straw. Everything had steadily been building to a breaking point, and Tommy was sure Dream saw it too. It just seemed the older man didn’t care to acknowledge this. If anything, he was trying to encourage the breaking point being passed.
Once Tommy was left with nothing, and Dream left through the portal, saying he was not going to be visiting as often, Tommy felt incredibly lost. He knew where he was physically, but his spirit felt lost. He didn’t know where to go. His heart longed to find his family, but his brain that had been conditioned by Dream wanted him to run away and never talk to a human being ever again.
Having come to a solution in his self destructive state of mind was not a good thing, Tommy realised, but he had little care about that. No one would miss him if he was just… gone, would they? There was no way anyone could, according to Dream. His decision seemed like a great idea, and it seemed to work for all parties involved or indirectly involved.
He found materials of all sorts, ranging from cobblestone, his person favourite, wood planks, and dirt. There were a few other miscellaneous materials that Tommy couldn’t be bothered to pay attention to, trying to focus on his goal. This is what he wanted, so he was not letting anyone take it away from him.
The moon shone down, reflecting off the water Tommy woke up drowning in so often, looking almost beautiful. With the darkness, he couldn’t even tell the ground was blown up. Well, he knew there was supposed to be a building in one place, a tent in another, and there was a void of black where they once were. Tommy stopped looking over there.
He heard the distant caw of a crow, which gradually came closer, and grew in volume. He paid it no mind, building up only a few more blocks before the crow reached him. He wasn’t nearly high enough. And now the crow wouldn’t leave him alone. It kept pecking at his hands, trying to distract him from placing blocks below his feet.
“Shoo, you stupid bird,” Tommy said, waving his hand to try and shoo the bird away to no avail. The bird was a persistent one, not leaving Tommy alone for more than a second.
“Why are you trying to stop me? Literally no one cares about me, so why would you?” Tommy asked, getting frustrated with the bird getting his way. Tears of frustration built in his eyes, but he refused to let them go, not wanting his last moment being alive to be spent crying and feeling sorry for himself.
“He’s trying to stop you because we care about you, you idiotic child!” A voice shouted up from below him. He looked down, and saw two figures standing in the torchlight. He knew the person who spoke wasn’t Dream, and Dream said he wouldn’t be back for a while. There was no way that Dream came back today, right?
“No, that’s not real. No one actually cares, that’s not possible,” Tommy murmured to himself, but he apparently wasn’t far enough away to say things without being heard. It probably helped that it was a rather silent night, no wind or rain to obscure his voice.
“Of course we’re real, Toms. We came for you because we care. We just didn’t know where you were,” The second voice said, sounding older and more accented.
“Dad?” Tommy whispered brokenly, a sob tumbling out of his mouth. He didn’t mean to cry out, immediately slapping a hand over his mouth. Dream would have promised him a punishment by now for his behaviour, but those people were obviously not Dream.
“Yes! It’s me, Toms. It’s Dad. I came to help you. I want to get you out of here. I just need you to get off the tower,” Philza calmly requested, voice sounding neutral to anyone other than Tommy and Techno. Tommy could hear the slight catch in his voice, the way he was fighting back tears. The thought gave Tommy the slightest bit of hope, that Phil would take him back, even after being disowned.
“Okay, Dad,” Tommy said, a silent promise to his family that he wasn’t going to jump, at least not right now. They both knew that he would probably want to try again after this.
“Actually,” Tommy thought aloud, “I think I’m stuck.”
There was silence below him, until a hesitant laugh arose from the torchlight below him, causing him to smile himself. A real smile.
“Lame, child. Phil’s gonna fly up and bring you down, okay?” Techno told Tommy. Strangely enough, his voice brought comfort to him. Tommy thought this was probably because his breaking point has been well surpassed, and he was desperate for any comfort available.
Tommy didn’t answer, and Techno didn’t seem satisfied with his silence.
“Is that okay with you, Tommy?” Techno repeated.
“Yeah, I guess,” Tommy replied quietly, moving to sit down on the edge of the tower instead of standing on his blistered feet.
A gust of wind was heard at the bottom of the tower, presumably from where Philza had taken off. Then a shadow was flapping in front of Tommy, but still beckoned to him.
“Come here, mate,” Phil said, his arms out in front of him. Tommy practically dove into them, clinging onto Phil’s chest with all his limited strength. “I got you, Toms. You’re okay. It’s okay.”
Those words seemed to be Tommy’s undoing. He hasn’t heard those words in so long. You’re okay. It’s okay. Tommy knew it wasn’t Phil dismissing him or his emotions. Rather, it was Phil saying that he was going to be cared for. Loved. He cried because of that, that feeling of happiness settling in his soul.
Phil carried them down to the ground, where Techno seemed to be waiting, an anxious energy surrounding him. He was nervously tapping on the hilt of his sword, eyes scanning the surrounding area.
“Hey, kid. Uh, you wanna hug?” Techno offered, uncharacteristically kind and gentle.
Tommy ran out of Philza’s arms and right into Techno’s, the anarchist holding steady against his force. Gentle, yet strong, arms wrapped around him, still wary of the bandages wrapped on most of his arms. Tommy let himself melt into the embrace, his eyes fluttering shut. He felt safe. The overwhelming feeling of protection and safety threatened to bring him to his knees, but Techno held him upright the whole time.
“Let’s go home, Theseus,” Techno whispered into his brother’s dirty hair.
Techno picked him up, carrying him in a bridal style hold to his horse, Carl. Techno put Tommy on first, before climbing on himself, following the crows back home. Tommy was asleep after only a few minutes of riding, tear tracks having long dried to his face from the speed they were going at. He didn’t notice Techno holding him the slightest bit tighter, almost a silent promise to be there for him always. To be his shield, and most importantly; to be his big brother.