Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Tommy shivered as another train passed through the underground, sending with it a gust of air that was icy with the winter weather. The thin dirty shirt he was wearing provided no protection against the cold. A small growl sounded from his side, drawing Tommy’s eyes over to a part of the underground where a flickering overhead cast a shadow of darkness over a certain area, making it look like something out of a horror film.

There weren’t many other people in the underground, just one guy who was clearly out of his mind, and a couple older men who were minding their own. No one was watching as Tommy glanced over to the shadows several feet away from him, as something resembling eyes peered through the darkness and blinked at Tommy, making eye contact.

Tommy stayed sitting, staring, as the shadow became corporeal, into the shape of a dark shadow built beast with pointy ears sticking up from its skull and a long snout, resembling something like a dog. It had red eyes, the only splash of color on the otherwise dark black figure. It let out another low growl and stepped closer to Tommy, out of the protection of the shadows that it was previously standing in.

It got closer and closer, but Tommy stayed in his seat. Eventually, the creature was practically at his feet, red eyes boring into his own blue ones. Where everyone else would have screamed in terror and ran away, scared out of their minds, Tommy smiled.Holding out a hand, huffing out a breath of laughter when the creature nuzzled up against his palm, its dark tail thumping happily.

“You’re so dramatic. It’s just a little chilly, Clem. Nothing to worry about” he said quietly, sparing a glance towards the others in the underground, all of which still minding their own business while waiting for the next train to pass through and take them to wherever they needed to go next.

At his feet, Clementine whined again, pushing more into Tommy’s hand. He knew that the girl was just trying to warm him up a little, which is why he said nothing when it brought no warmth, instead running a hand through Clementine’s fur with a soft smile only reserved for his creatures.

He currently had five creatures: Clementine, who was one of the bigger shadowy creatures and stuck with him the most during the day, or for emotional support. Then there was Henry, who was always somewhere close within Tommy’s radar, but rarely showed his face in public. He was Tommy’s protector more than any of the others, and was constantly on the defense. Especially when pigeons were involed. Henry hated pigeons for some odd reason. Then there was Clara, who was a smaller creature that liked to come and go as she pleased. She was more of a rambunctious shadow, who liked to play a lot with Tommy, which was hard for the teen since he couldn’t really interact with the shadows in public. Shroud was a bit of an enigma, a shorter creature who liked to spy for Tommy. He was normally found slinking through the shadows like a spider, watchful eyes keeping track of the blonde no matter where he went. Finally, there was Harold who was like the old man of the group, despite most of the shadows forming at the same time. He normally kept watch over Tommy while the boy slept, which was incredibly useful considering most of the time Tommy found himself sleeping in alleyways or in random areas. Other than that, the creature didn’t show up too often, which was fine with Tommy.

Needless to say, his shadows were the closest thing he’s had to family for the longest time. They were a manifestation of his powers, and were normally in the form of wolves who stuck around him at all times. He was able to sense them whenever they weren’t visible, and the blonde normally had at least two close to him around the clock. They were all a bit clingy with each other. They were everything that Tommy needed them to be at any given time. A shoulder to cry on, a friend, family, a pet, or just something that he could voice all of his thoughts to.

“Hey kid, got any spare change?” a voice asked, bringing Tommy back to the present. One of the older men from earlier was now standing in front of him, a snarl formed on his face that promised nothing good. Either the man didn’t care, or he didn’t notice Clementine sitting at his feet, who was now sitting very still, waiting to jump into action. He could feel in the back of his mind Henry perk up and get ready to form, waiting for the moment this turned even slightly dangerous.

“Sorry man I don’t have any extra money” Tommy replied, not surprised when the man didn’t just accept the fact and walk away peacefully. His life couldn’t be that simple now could it. Plus, it was very clear that the man was better off than him. Everything about the blonde teenager screamed homeless, from his battered shoes to messy hair. The guy in front of him, on the other hand, had clothes in good condition, and a watch on his hand. Clearly he didn’t expect much other than a power trip from robbing Tommy.

The man smiled wickedly at Tommy’s words and pulled out a pocket knife from his jeans pocket. “I wasn’t asking for extra money. Give me all the money you have,'' the man said. Tommy looked him up and down, and raised his brows amusedly.

“I wish you luck, big man. Many people have tried mugging me before, none have succeeded” Tommy said boastfully. In the past, he had been scared shitless when someone would pull a knife or even a gun on him. Now, he would be lying if he said that he didn’t find slight amusement from it.

The man in front of him blanked for a second, before raising the knife again. “I’m not going to ask again,” he snarled.

Tommy sighed “And I’m not going to tell you again. Have at him, guys” Tommy said, watching the man’s face go from confused to full of unbidden horror as the shadow creature at his feet stood up, raising a good foot taller than how she normally stood. With Clementine, Henry suddenly formed at her side, standing somehow even taller than his comrade and snarling at the man in front of the two of them, who was now white as a ghost in the pale station lighting.

The two of them didn’t need any prompting from Tommy to pounce at the guy. To anyone else it would look like they were aiming to kill, with teeth bared and snarls rumbling the floor as if a train was approaching. Tommy knew that his friends didn’t kill if they didn’t have to, and this pesky mugging was nothing that would require such action. They would just do what they normally did; scare the person shitless and make sure they never came back. That and probably leave the man with at least a month of nightmares. Or so he was told.

“Impressive” a voice said when Clementine and Henry returned to his side, getting side pats from the teen, a proud smile on his face. Immediately, the two were on the defensive again, standing back up and growling at the new person.

Tommy watched as the man, someone with long pink hair and a built stature, raised his hands calmly, staring at Tommy instead of the creatures currently threatening him. “What do you want?” Tommy asked pointedly, not wanting to have to deal with another weirdo today.

The man, surprisingly, smiled, as if he wanted Tommy to ask that question. “Nothing from you per say, moreso for you. I work at a school for magic. They offer free housing, free food, and most importantly, free teaching. They would teach you how to master your powers, and you could interact with others like you” he said, his tone calm. Tommy opened his mouth to object, and the man cut him off before he could do so. “You don’t have to answer me right now, but at least think about it. I know how lonely it can get on your own out here, with or without company” he continued, nodding to the shadows at his feet, still growling at the man, though it was more subdued now.

Tommy was handed a sheet of paper with information of a magic school on it, as well as how to get there. “Thanks, I guess. Though I don’t think this is something I’d be…” Tommy trailed off as he looked up from the paper back to the man, only to see that no one was there. Even Clementine and Henry seemed confused, which wasn’t something that happened often. “Interested in” Tommy finished lamely, looking back at the paper in his hands.

The paper was filled with dancing words, of promises of freedom and peace. It was everything Tommy had ever wanted, which is why he crumbled the paper into a ball and clenched it in his fist. The saying ‘too good to be true’ was one Tommy was well aware of. It was a life lesson he’s had forced upon him since he started fending for himself, and he was certain that this was another time where the lesson would come into play.

The tram pulled into the station and Tommy got on, entering an empty car where he would be able to lounge across the seats and get at least an hour rest. It was what he usually did.

Clementine formed from the shadow underneath the seat he was on, and crawled up so that she was resting on Tommy’s lap, her snout pressed to his chest and the comforting weight allowed Tommy’s eyes to close and get some rest.

Only this time, Tommy was awoken after only a short few moments of rest where he was hovering just over the line of sleep, but not fully dipping down enough to lose his consciousness. Which is why when the door to his car opened, Tommy’s eyes opened as well, attention turning towards the door.

Four men with masks dawned on their faces were grinning ear to ear at one another, their smiles turning cruel when their attention shifted to Tommy. The blonde internally groaned, mourning the little bit of sleep that he will now lose on this tram.

“Hello, kid. Listen, I’m sure you know what’s going on here, so I’m going to tell you the same thing I told all the other passengers. Give me everything you have: phones, keys, headphones, money, wallet, whatever. Do this and we won’t have to hurt you”.

Tears sprung to Tommy’s eyes, but not for the reason the robber’s thought. Frustrated tears leaked out of his eyes without his permission, drawing slow tracks down his cheeks as he grew angry over the life he was living. Even with his shadow creatures protecting him, having to constantly be on guard was taking a toll on him. Even in places like this; a (previously) empty car on a tram where he would be able to get a couple hours of sleep before he had to be on his top game again.

The man in front of him cooed, and Tommy drew himself out of his thoughts. “Aww don’t cry, bud. Just give me your shit and we’ll be on our way” he said, a teasing lilt to his voice. The men behind him laughed.

Tommy drew his knees to his chest and rested his forehead on his knees. His heart was beating out of natural fear of the fact that he didn’t have eyes on the people in front of him. Before he could properly freak out, though, he flicked his wrist and Henry formed in front of him. Clementine had apparently left as the men entered- something that Tommy only now registered as he listened to the men shout in surprise and back away from the growling Henry.

When silence fell, Tommy kept his face pressed against his knees, warm tears flowing freely from his eyes as he silently cursed out the world. He could feel Henry’s snout poking at him, nudging at his arms which were wrapped tightly around his knees, but Tommy didn’t move.

Clementine was the next to show up, pressing up against Tommy’s side while Henry stayed next to the opposite side. She laid down on the seat, as close to Tommy as she could get.

Henry nipped lightly at Tommy’s clenched fist, and Tommy opened it slowly. The paper that he honestly forgot he still had was still crumbled into a ball in his palm, indents of the paper marking the inside of his hand.

The words on the page caused the tears to start anew, and Tommy wondered what all he had to lose if he actually sought this out.

“What do you guys think?” Tommy asked, extending the question both to the shadows he could see, and the ones he couldn’t. Shroud appeared on the floor by the other side of the bench, and he could feel the others nearby.

Henry sniffed at the sheet, as if he would be able to smell through its intentions. As the most protective of the group, Tommy was more than surprised when the creature snuffed, which to Tommy was a resounding yes. The others shared the same sentiment in one way or another, leaving the teen baffled.

“This is crazy. You know this is crazy right?” Tommy asked out loud, his voice weak and choked, glancing between his three friends. Clementine nudged at his hand, before sparing a look to the other two as if to say ’we’re shadow people that you conjured up because of your powers. How much weirder can this get’. Which, true. Tommy laughed wetly, memorizing the line he would have to take in order to get to the station where the school was closest to.

Even now, he knew that the chances of all this being real were close to nothing. Tommy, exhausted by the world and craving some sort of change, decided that it was better to seek it out and see if something like that truly existed in the world. It was better than his current alternative, and if it ended up being something completely different, his shadows would protect him.

“I guess we have a different line to catch after this one stops,” Tommy said, lifting his head from his knees and setting his feet on the floor, shaking his legs out from where they were starting to go numb after so long of sitting down.

Tommy got to the other line just in time to see a tram pulling up to the station, doors opening to another empty car, leaving Tommy to take a seat. Clementine made herself visible again, since the shadows all did their best to keep themselves hidden from the public eye unless it was necessary. She curled up on the seat next to Tommy with her head in his lap, calming him. Tommy knew by now that the shadow could probably tell he was a little nervous, and was doing a good job of being there for him.

That’s what his shadows did, that was their self imposed duty. They comforted him, protected him, and were there for him. They were more his friends than any other human he had ever interacted with, and Tommy wouldn’t trade them for the world.

As the tram moved on, rumbling with the movement, Tommy hoped that he was making the right decision in switching lines.

Chapter Text

Tommy was jostled awake by a cool muzzle nudging his face. The blond opened his eyes, taking a second to remember where he was and what had happened at the station. With a little bit of searching, he found out that the train was going to be stopping soon at the place where Tommy needed to get off at. Where that was, he had no fucking clue.

“Thanks girl” he whispered to Clementine, running his hands through her cool fur. The car that he was in was still empty, and it looked like Clem had just gotten up, if the way she was stretching her limbs meant anything.

That was the strange thing about his creatures. They were clearly shadows that turned into something physical. They blended in far too easily with the darkness of the night, and were able to go invisible or incorporeal within a moment's notice. They never needed to eat, sleep, or rest. Despite all that, Tommy would say that they all acted like living creatures, specifically wolves. They would yawn when the day grew later, stretch after sitting for a while, and pant after running. Tommy liked it, liked those little things that made them feel all the more real.

When the train came to a stop, Tommy brought out the flier again as he exited the underground, now walking without any of his pets at his side. That’s not to say that Tommy couldn’t feel how close Henry was hovering, what with how crowded the sidewalk was heading out of the station.

“Okay there should be a bus stop a minute walk from here. I have to ask to get taken to… the fisherman's hut? What the hell?” Tommy muttered to himself, rereading the section of the flyer to make sure he didn’t misunderstand something. There, right where the instructions were neatly printed on how to find this magic school, was what he just read out loud. “That better be a code word or something. I am not going to learn magic from a hut” Tommy continued, pocketing the flyer as he set forth towards the bus stop.

“Hello! Where’re you heading today little man?” the bus driver asked when Tommy boarded the vehicle after a short wait of sitting at the bench. She was a friendly looking lady with split dyed hair that was white and brown, and a kind smile on her face.

“Um, the fisherman’s hut?” Tommy said, though phrased it more like a question. He was waiting for the girl’s face to morph into confusion, for her to ask Tommy where the hell that was. To both his relief and surprise, though, the girl’s smile brightened even further.

“How fun! I’ve never seen you before. What’s your name?” she asked, motioning for Tommy to find a seat. The blonde sat down just a couple seats down from the driver’s chair so that he could continue his conversation with the girl, since that man from the station gave him next to no information about where the hell he was going. He still felt a little crazy for accepting that offer, not going to lie.

“Tommy. I was wondering if you could tell me a bit about the school? I wasn’t really told anything”.

The girl shot a confused glance over to him, with a sort of twinkle in her eye. “What school? You’re going to the fisherman’s hut, correct?”. When Tommy didn’t respond out of confusion, the woman smiled and turned back to the front. “The names Puffy by the way. You’re going to like it there, Tommy. Trust me” she said vaguely, before heading out.

Tommy spluttered, wondering what the hell was happening to his life right now where these kinds of things were happening. He spent the rest of the bus ride allowing himself to fully wake up; coming to terms with the fact that the hour or so nap he got on the train would probably be all he got until night fell again. He’s thankfully had a lot of training with running on a lot less.

“We’re here” the woman announced happily, pulling Tommy out of the mental checkout that he was hovering in. Out the window, Tommy could see a path that led from the road up to a beautiful big castle looking building. It was made up of gothic architecture and was clearly very old. The sight of it took Tommy’s breath away, not knowing that something like this could exist so close to where he was previously staying. He's seen a lot of old buildings, living in Europe, but nothing compared to this.

He thanked Puffy for the ride, and she smiled warmly and gave out a “See you later!” as Tommy left the bus, which Tommy didn’t question at this point.

The closer he got to the school, the more he could see it. There were dozens of windows all along the walls, paired with a couple of things that showed people went there, that it wasn't abandoned. A basketball court was off to the side of the entrance to the school, and a flower bed that surprisingly had flowers in full bloom, despite it being the beginning of winter.

There were even a couple of kids hanging out in the front yard of the school. Tommy couldn’t help but stare as he walked past them. There were two girls who Tommy had originally thought were just running around, but it was clear that they were doing some type of friendly sparring.

One girl was throwing fireballs at the other girl, only for the second to douse it in water that came from her hands. The two were both attempting to douse the other in their respective powers, and Tommy had to tear his eyes away from the sight and force his jaw to stay closed when it wanted to drop out of shock.

After a couple wrong turns and Tommy building up the confidence to ask someone where the main office was or where he could find whoever ran the school, Tommy came up to the door of an office, and knocked hesitantly.

Moments later, the door was being pulled open, and Tommy was greeted by a man who couldn’t be older than mid thirties. He had blond hair down to his chin, a green bucket hat on his heat, and a heavy looking green cloak around his shoulders.

“I was wondering if you were going to show up here. When Technoblade told me about what he saw, I was excited to see your potential. My name is Philza Craft, and I’m the headmaster of the school” the man immediately said upon letting Tommy into the room, taking a seat behind the desk in his office, gesturing to Tommy to take a seat as well.

The man’s office was well decorated with pictures of a whole bunch of different people on the walls, and a bookshelf filled with all different sizes and colors of books. The desk was an organized type of clutter, and the man stared at Tommy with piercing blue eyes as if studying him.

Tommy shifted awkwardly, before deciding to introduce himself. “I’m Tommy. I- am very confused” he admitted sheepishly.

Philza laughed. “I would assume as much. Techno isn’t much of a conversationalist. At least to people he doesn’t know. You do know that this is a school for magic, yes?” At Tommy's nod, the man continued, “Well, this is a boarding school for mages to not only teach them about their magic, the magic of the Earth, and how to use it, but to also meet other magic users and get protection from the outside world. All magic users are welcome to join” he explained.

Tommy took a couple seconds to process the information. “For free?”.

Philza laughed. “Yes, for free. Most of the people here joined because they didn’t have much else for them outside of here. I think you’ll find that you’re quite similar to a lot of others in this school” he said with a knowing face.

Tommy thought about it, sending out a check to the place in his mind where his ties to his shadow creatures were held. He was sent back with reassurance, and eventually nodded at Philza. “Sounds nice. How do I join?”.

Philza smiled so warmly that Tommy couldn’t help but be reassured that he was making the right choice here. “You just did. There’s no initiation process or anything. I’ll show you to your dorm room and have a schedule sent down to you once it’s curated. You’re going to be sharing a room with three other boys whom I think you’ll get along greatly with” the man explained, writing something down on a slip of paper.

Tommy was handed the paper that listed a set of directions to what was apparently the resident hall, and was told which room he was in. With a thank you being sent to the headmaster, Tommy headed out of the office and towards his new room, excited to sleep somewhere other than the streets for the first time in who knows how long.

When the blond knocked on the door after finally making it across the school to the resident hall, it was immediately swung open by a boy that looked to be around his age with frizzy brown hair and green eyes and shorter than him by a good bit. He smiled widely when he saw Tommy, opening the door wider and immediately introducing himself.

“You must be our new roommate! I’m Tubbo, this is Purpled, and this is Ranboo” the boy said excitedly, gesturing to each of the boys in the room. Purpled was sitting on what must be his bed with a dagger being twirled between his fingers impressively. He was sporting a purple hoodie with black jeans, and also had blond hair. The boy gave a little wave to him with the hand not currently occupied. The other roommate, Ranboo, was standing a little behind Tubbo, though was clearly much taller than him. They had split dye hair that was black and white, and had two different colored eyes, one a deep brown that almost looked red in the lighting, and one green.

He waved to each of them. “I’m Tommy. It’s nice to meet you” he said kindly, if a little awkwardly. It was a long time since he’s interacted with someone his age. Even longer since it was a positive interaction.

“What’s your power?” Tubbo asked.

“Tubbo! You can’t just ask someone that! He’s clearly new, you’re going to scare him off” Ranboo scolded, sending an apologizing look towards Tommy.

“Well excuse me for being curious. Why don’t you let Tommy here answer for himself” Tubbo shot back. His words were snappy, but there was no real anger to his face, something that had Tommy relaxing.

All attention was turned back to him, and Tommy fidgeted nervously. “I’m fine with showing you my powers. Just- they can be kind of frightening” he warned.

“It’s fine, we’re used to all different types of powers. Can’t be anything too crazy” Ranboo brushed off with a wave of their hand.

Tommy nodded, and gave the okay to the ties in his head. Immediately, Clara appeared in front of him, clearly going for more of an innocent look. The already small wolf shape was even smaller, making her look just older than a puppy. Her ears were drooping over her head, and the whole thing would’ve been cute to the others if not for the fact that she was made of shadows and had glowing red eyes.

“Holy shit! That’s insane! That is freaky” Purpled said. “In a good way!” he hastily added when he got a look sent by Ranboo.

Tommy laughed a little, and brushed at Clara’s ear, who pressed into the affection greedily.

“What’s their name?” Tubbo asked, staring at the creature.

“This is Clara, but I have four others. Henry, Shroud, and Harold are a bit more cautious of meeting new people, but Clara and Clementine like to show up a lot”.

“So your power is shadow creatures?” Ranboo asked, studying Clara.

“Pretty much, yeah. I can feel where they are at all times, and can occasionally get or send emotions to them. They’re never visible in public unless they need to be so they don’t cause panic, but they protect me and hang out with me” Tommy said, a bit of fondness entering his tone.

“That’s so cool boss man! They can stay visible whenever they want to, we’re all fine with that” Tubbo said, gaining nods of agreement from the other two. “Just- ask them not to sneak up on me. I’ll shit my pants if I randomly turn around to see a creature from hell looking thing staring at me” Tubbo joked, though Tommy could sense there was some truth to his words.

Despite the fact that nothing about his creatures resembled ‘a creature from hell’, he nodded anyway. “What are your guys’ powers?” Tommy asked, hoping he wasn’t doing anything wrong by asking. Tubbo got scolded a little, but it clearly wasn’t too weird of a question to ask.

Tubbo smiled, as if he was waiting for the question. “I can create explosions! They’re kind of hard to show, obviously, but I’ll have to give you a demonstration at some point” he explained, his eyes promising chaos.

“I can teleport. Sometimes I can teleport objects that I’m touching as well, but it’s a bit of a work in progress” Ranboo chimed in. As an example, they closed their eyes for a second, and Tommy’s jaw dropped as he appeared next to Purpled, sitting on the bed with his feet hanging off the side. Purpled didn’t seem all that startled, so this must be something that happened somewhat regularly.

“I have telekinesis, but only for smaller objects,” Purpled explained. As a demonstration, the boy stopped twirling the dagger between his fingers, and instead dropped his hand away from it, as the dagger stayed floating in the air in front of his face. Tommy’s eyes widened. It wasn’t like he didn’t know that magic existed. It wasn’t common knowledge, but after discovering at twelve that you have the power to summon shadow creatures, you find out that magic isn’t quite the folktale that you grow up hearing about. Still, Tommy’s never interacted with someone who also had powers before, and seeing three others who were just like him made something warm grow in his gut.

Tommy was shown which bed was his; a twin sized bed that was a couple of feet off the ground, and freshly made. When he said that he didn’t really have any belongings with him, the boys explained that it was fine, and he would be able to get clothes from the communal shop area, and everything else would be provided.

“I was homeless too before deciding to go to a magic school. I didn’t have anything either when coming here, so no one will judge you or anything” Purpled chimed in, giving Tommy some peace of mind.

“I wasn’t homeless, but my folks weren’t all too happy with me when they found out that their son was responsible for their kitchen being destroyed. It wasn’t the best environment for me, so I looked into my options for a boarding school, and managed to find this one through some searching” Tubbo explained.

Ranboo decided to share some of their story as well. “I actually have a pretty good relationship with my parents. They both thought it would be beneficial for me if I learned more about my powers and interacted with others who have powers as well. I usually visit them during holidays and in the summer, though” they explained.

Tommy nodded. “My parents died pretty early, so I don’t remember them. I was living with my aunt for a while before she passed, and have been homeless ever since. I went to school for a while, but some kids saw the creatures a little after they started developing and I didn’t go back there” he supplied. Each boy was incredibly understanding.

“You’re going to fit in great here” Tubbo said with a determined nod. Tommy laughed, and couldn’t help but feel like that was the truth.

The blonde let Clara explore the dorm room a little, and the others all took turns ruffling her hair (or hesitantly putting his hand out in Tubbo and Purpled's case), and Clara was soaking up the affection with pride, her tail wagging up a storm. It was nice to see, and Tommy found that he didn’t have any regrets so far in listening to that strange man from the underground.

Chapter Text

Tommy, for the first time in who knows how long, slept in past the sunrise. It was a strange feeling; to wake up without pain from sleeping in some random position, without being cold, and without immediately waiting for the dangers that the day would bring.

It was another positive thing to wake up with Clementine laying on his legs, sleeping peacefully. Of course, she wasn’t actually sleeping, he didn’t think. Sometimes Tommy thinks that his shadows liked to act living, for whatever reason. Who was he to judge?

“Oh you’re awake! That’s good- you never want to wake up after Tubbo. He’ll wake you up in the worst ways” Ranboo said, gaining Tommy’s attention. The taller student was dressed in day clothes, clearly haven gotten up before the other three. With a quick look, it was confirmed that both Tubbo and Purpled were still asleep. Tubbo was sprawled like a starfish across his bed, his mouth wide open and loudly snoring. Purpled slept in what Tommy had a feeling was classic Purpled fashion: straight as a log on his back with his hands by his side.

“Doesn’t he not use his powers in the room?” Tommy questioned, wondering if there were worst ways to wake up than some of the mornings he had out on the streets.

“Well yeah, but there are still ways that he can make waking you up an awful experience” Ranboo explained, shivering at a memory. Tommy laughed, and Ranboo joined.

The blond noticed that Ranboo’s eyes were straying to Clementine, who was still slumped over his legs. Though it was clear now that she was “awake”, and staring at Ranboo with her red eyes. Ranboo looked like he wasn’t trying to stare, but it was easy to tell when their eyes kept going back to the shadow.

“This is Clementine. Clementine, well, you know who they are” Tommy introduced, gaining a look of confusion from Ranboo.

“Didn’t we meet a different one yesterday? How does Clementine know who I am?”

Tommy hummed “It’s hard to explain. The shadows don’t have to sleep, eat, or anything like that, so a lot of the times they’re hovering near or around me in a sort of mental space? They can hear and see what’s around me, and step in when needed. I can’t talk to them so I’m not certain that’s how it works, but they usually know whats going on around me at all times” Tommy stumbled to explain. He’s never had to explain to someone else how his powers worked, and never bothered to look too far into it himself. It was always facts: his shadow creatures were his, made by his magic, and protected him. He never had any need to question that.

“That makes sense, I think” Ranboo nodded.

A little while later, Tubbo and Purpled were awake, and Tommy finally began to get ready for the day. He borrowed an outfit from Purpled until he could stop by the common store or whatever it was called and get some new clothes for himself. Thankfully, the clothes fit well though, and Tommy smiled at having something to wear that wasn’t the same clothes he’d been wearing for far too long. These ones were soft and clean. Tommy rubbed the fabric in between his fingers, revelling in the texture.

He had even taken a morning shower with hot water before putting on the clean outfit, which was practically heaven on Earth. The teen felt refreshed and clean for the first time in forever, and it was an amazing feeling.

“After breakfast we can go to our classes. Your schedule was dropped off, it’s on the table” Ranboo explained to Tommy, gesturing to the small coffee table that sat near the door, cluttered with a couple of books and papers. There was a letter sitting nicely on top with Tommy’s name written in nice handwriting.

Tubbo peered at the paper as Tommy looked at his schedule, baffled by the classes listed on there. Intro to magic, self defense, connection to the earth, history of mages, and a couple others. All having to do with magic.

“Oh sick we have intro to magic together! It’s a beginners course but I didn’t want to take it my first year here” Tubbo said with a bright smile.

“I thought there’d be more regular classes on here” Tommy admitted, still studying the paper in his hands.

“I thought so too when I first got here. There’s not much use for all of that in our world, though. Obviously if you missed your primary years of school there’s some classes you can take, but for the most part it’s learning how to navigate the world of magic” the brunette explained.

Tommy nodded, thankful for his roommates. Once everyone was dressed and ready for the day, they headed off for the dining hall, Tubbo and Purpled giving a tour as they went.

“These are where a lot of entry level classes are. There’s some upstairs as well” Purpled said as they walked down a wide hallway with doors on each side of the wall. They were all decorated in one way or another, with some doors painted bright colors, others having stickers on them, and some just having a simple sign on the door saying what class was held inside.

The hallway opened up into a large corridor that had a couple different hallways leading out of it. One was double doors that lead to the open courtyard that Tommy could see through the halfwalls along that side of the room. From what Tommy could see, it had a fountain with benches and bird baths in a circle around it, and there were grassy areas with trees for shade. There were a couple of students sitting together in a group with books in their laps.

Instead of going that way, though, Tommy was taken down straight across from where they just were. There were beautiful paintings lining the walls here, with people, animals, plants, and scenery filling each one with vibrant colors. It made the place feel homely, despite how big the school was. Even the hallways were big, with plenty of space between each wall and high domed ceilings with fancy lighting at the top.

“This is where the dining hall is. There’s three meals a day held here, and then there’s usually snacks left out incase anyone gets hungry in between then” Tubbo said, walking through an arched walkway with spiraling columns on each side. Through there was a large dining area with circular dark tables throughout the floor, with chairs tucked nicely into each one. There were a couple tables occupied by groups of people who were all chattering to each other, lost in their own conversations.

At the far end of the room was a long counter where there were steaming platters of food. The closer the group got, the more Tommy could see the different types of foods being offered, all still steaming with warmth. There were scrambled eggs, bacon, pancakes, waffles, and so much more. Tommy’s mouth was watering just looking at it, and he quickened his pace to grab a plate, fill it with food, and follow Purpled to a table.

“Do your animals need to eat?” Tubbo asked halfway through the meal. Tommy’s creatures were out of sight for now, since he didn’t know how the rest of the school would react to shadow beats following a new kid around. He didn’t want that type of attention right now. Or ever.

Tommy shook his head. “No. They’re not really living. Just shadows that can go corpreal. A lot of the times you don’t see them, they’re hidden in the shadows” the boy explained, laughing at the way that Tubbo’s expression dropped to one of horror as he started looking around the room, staring down each shadow.

Tommy, who knew what he was looking for, dragged his eyes over to the shadow casted by the empty table next to them, where the darkness of the shadows was just a bit too unnatural. While he couldn’t see Henry in the shadows, he knew not only that he was there, watching, but also that’s the creature occupying the shadow. Tubbo did not seem comforted by the information, but was still asking questions with an open mind, which Tommy could appreciate.

“Henry you said is the one that protects you a lot, right? Has he had to do that a lot?” Tubbo asked, his tone gentle in a way that let Tommy know that he could back out of the conversation if he had to.

“Sadly yeah. Not as much recently because I’ve been getting better at being aware of my surroundings, but I usually can’t stay in nicer areas” Tommy explained, the tone of the conversation taking on a more serious tone.

“Yeah well here the only thing you’ll need protecting from is the occasional bullies and teachers who assign way too much homework” Purpled chimed in, lightening the mood of the table, drawing a laugh out of Tommy.

“That reminds me! We should probably get going, Tommy” Tubbo said. He was shown where to drop off his plate and utensils, and was led back to the hallway of classrooms that they passed by before. Tubbo stopped in front of a door with vibrantly painted music notes that looked almost like they were shimmering, before opening the door.

The classroom was filled with desks, most of which were occupied by students. There was a big white board in the front of the room with a man with curly brown hair, a simple dress shirt and black jeans standing at the front. There were posters lining the walls, most of which filled with information that Tommy didn’t look too far into.

When the door creaked shut behind the two of them, the man’s eyes found his, and he smiled warmly.

“You must be our new student! My name is Mr. Soot, and I’m happy to have you here. Choose a seat anywhere, though I’m sure you’ll sit next to Tubbo here” the man said brightly, giving Tommy the biggest smile. Like he was genuinely excited that Tommy was here. The thought made him feel warm.

Tommy, of course, took a seat next to Tubbo, who was sitting in the second row of desks from the white board. From here, Tommy could see that there was a lesson plan written out in messy but legible handwriting.

“Now, to start this lesson, is everyone here familiar with the foundations of magic? A peron’s capacity to hold magic?” Mr. Soot asked the class. Hands shot up all around him, and it was only Tommy and one other kid in the back of the class who didn’t have their hand up. Blood shot to Tommy’s face, making him go red as he shrunk down in his seat a little. “Ah, no worries you two. I was going to review it anyways” the professor said nicely, not even sparing a look at Tommy, continuing on as if there was nothing wrong. It made Tommy’s shoulders relax a little, and Tubbo sent him a reassuring look.

“Magic lies in a person’s capacity to handle it. The power behind your magic, the potential, and even what powers you have all emerge from you. Your ability to learn and grow with that vital part of yourself. Not everyone can be magic, in fact, it’s such a rare thing because the Universe only deems a rare few worthy of holding magic” Wilbur started. Something about the way he spoke made the words weave their way around Tommy’s head like he was seeing the sentences form in the air. It wrapped around his brain and gathered his full attention, like a soft blanket draped across his shoulders.

“A person discovers their powers around the age of eleven to fourteen. Many people think that it’s at this age where you develop your powers, which is wrong. Magic is never dormant, or missing. It simply grows as you do. It’s around your preteen years where your brain can begin to take on more complex thoughts, and in doing so opens your mind to the possibility of handling your magic” again, the words were woven like a melody, ringing through the air.

“As you progress through life, so will your magic. Of course, some people finish their progression before and after others. Your progress can also be halted by life situations. The reason that the ability of magic varies so greatly is because each person has a capacity that their magic fills. There’s no DNA or gene that will make this any bigger or smaller. In fact, I bet almost none of you have parents that are mages. Instead, it relies on a person’s ability to continue growing. There’s nothing wrong with stopping early” Mr. Soot continued to explain. It was beginning to make sense in Tommy’s mind, a picture playing out of how all these puzzle pieces were sorted together.

“Additionally, a person’s branch of magic, or type of powers, also relies on that specific person. For example, I have word magic. My words can influence others and make people feel a certain way. All throughout my life I’ve loved talking, loved singing, and loved influencing. That’s because my magic is a reflection of who I am, and what I needed most in life”. Ah, that made a lot more sense. Tommy spared a look to Tubbo, who gave a nod at the look of realization painted across Tommy’s face.

The lesson continued, with Tommy learning more about why it was that people had magic. It was so interesting to learn about, when the blonde previously thought that it was going to be a boring lesson that would have him dying for it to be over.

“That was so interesting! I had no idea how people developed powers, but that makes sense! I mean, it was explained in a hippie sort of way, but woah! This shit is so cool!” Tommy gushed to Tubbo as the two of them made their way out of the classroom.

Tubbo laughed at Tommy’s enthusiasm lightly, with a matching smile on his face. “Gosh you’re making me remember my first couple of weeks here. It’s truly a complex system, but it’s so awesome. I’m glad you’re liking it” the teen said.

“I am too” Tommy agreed.

Chapter Text

After Tommy’s class with Tubbo, he had a self defense class with Purpled, who met him at the door to the classroom with Tubbo leading the way.

“As a quick warning- the teacher looks and sounds intimidating, but I swear he’s really nice and sarcastic” Purpled debriefed as he opened the classroom door.

It was a similar size to Mr. Soot’s, but instead of desks and various posters on the wall, the center of the room had training mats lining the floors and a couple mirrors near the front of the room. Like the last class, there were some students who got here before the two of them. A couple of them gave Tommy curious looks, but didn't pay him any mind.

“Nice to see you made it” a familiar voice spoke from the side. Tommy whipped his head over to see the same person with long pink hair from the underground, the same person that gave him the flyer to the school.

“It’s you! You’re a teacher here? Actually, that makes sense” Tommy exclaimed, gaining a confused look from Purpled.

“You two know each other?”

“Kind of. He was the one who gave me information about the school and disappeared before I could ask any questions” Tommy explained.

The man chuckled lightly. “I knew you would make the right choice. We’re all happy to have you here, Tommy. I’m Mr. Blade” the professor introduced himself, reaching a hand out for Tommy to shake.

Tommy took the hand. "Thanks for introudcing me to the school. It's pretty cool so far" he said honestly.

Eventually Mr. Blade had to get the class started once enough students showed up. “We’re going to do a little bit of review today. We’re going to talk about the basics of using your powers in order to protect yourself.” Unlike Mr. Soot, who’s words created a symphony that filled your head, Mr. Blade’s words were short and to the point, delivered by a monotoned voice. It was no less attention grabbing though, not with the way that his voice demanded attention from the room, tone dripping authority and his words filled with information.

“Magic can be used for a lot of things. It can be used to protect yourself first and foremost. Notice how I said protect and not attack. Never use your magic to start attacks. That is one of the biggest rules in the magic world, and people have been doing well following it” the man said seriously. Tommy wondered if there were some stories behind those strict words.

“Now, we’re going to start with getting familiar with using our powers to protect ourselves, before venturing into stronger defenses” Mr. Blade said. “Get in a line in front of the mats, and you have to protect yourself from some simple magic attacks that I’ll throw at you” he instructed.

Mr. Blade got into position when the first student walked on to combat him. Not knowing what to expect, Tommy was confused to see Techno take a hands on approach as opposed to using magic. The student in front of the professor had to use their magic as well as physical skills to dodge swings and avoid well timed hits. A couple of times they landed, but never were they hard enough for the student to do more then let out a rough breath before going back for the attack. The first scrabble ended with the student pinning one of Mr. Blade's clenched fists, and the man nodded approvingly and the next student walked onto the mat. The dance started again, with its own vairants because of different powers and skill sets.

Tommy was near the middle of the line along with Purpled, the former watching with apt attention as the students in front of him took turns using their powers to defend Mr. Blade’s attacks. One person with a red beanie and long dark brown hair went invisible as soon as they stepped onto the mat and snuck around to avoid attacks. Another person with short cropped blue hair defended themself by dropping out of the way of the kick sent their way, seeming to know exactly when each attack would come, and avoiding it seconds before anything hit them.

“That’s future seeing powers. They can see a couple of seconds in the future” Purpled explained quietly to Tommy, who's eyes widened even further.

Eventually, it was Tommy’s turn to go up. He would be lying if he said he wasn’t shaking a little from nerves as he felt the eyes of the entire class on him as he faced Mr. Blade. An attack wasn’t even thrown yet before Henry was formed by his side, teeth bared and claws sharp. A growl was shaking his body despite the both of them knowing no real harm would come to Tommy. He heard a couple whispers from the line of students, who were all watching to see what powers the new kid held.

When the first attack veered towards Tommy, a fist aiming for his stomach, Henry jumped in front of it and absorbed the blow easily. Mr. Blade nodded approvingly, and sent another jab Tommy’s way. He avoided punches and kicks, with Henry stepping in whenever it looked like he wouldn't be fast enough to avoid the blow. Like one kick heading for his ankle in order to trip him up. This time, Tommy had the instinct to hold onto Henry’s fur. A strange feeling filled Tommy’s body, forcing him to close his eyes so he wouldn’t get dizzy. Only, when he opened his eyes, he was not in the same place he was just a couple seconds ago.

His breath hitched when he watched Mr. Blade turn around, staring with a blank expression at Tommy, who was now halfway across the classroom, standing on regular flooring instead of the mats he was previously on.

Tommy stared down at Henry, who was standing in front of the teen still in his defensive stance. Somehow, Tommy was able to stay with Henry when the creature used his shadow travel or whatever it is they do to randomly teleport to random places. It was something Tommy’s never done before, and he stood there for a couple seconds in pure shock before Mr. Blade clapped his hands from the other side of the room, startling him out of his stupor.

“Very good, Tommy. I see you still have potential to grow your magic” the man said, showing more emotion than the monotone he had the entire time so far. There was a hint of pride in his voice, something that had Tommy puffing his chest and smiling widely.

“I didn’t know I could do that” he admitted with a chuckle. It caused a couple students in line to huff a laugh as well. Henry, at his feet, snuffed in what seemed like agreement, as if he too didn’t know he could protect Tommy in that way before. He could feel the anticipation coming from his creature, like the shadow was excited to find ways to use this new skill.

“Mr. Soot is better with all the growth stuff, but it seems like your potential was stunted with your previous lifestyle. You’ll likely experience more upgrades to what you thought your magic was capable of” the professor explained as Tommy walked past him. He gave a greatful nod, taking the information in stride.

Tommy made his way back to where the other students who were done with their defenses were hanging out and found an empty chair, Henry going incorpreal again. He could feel the eyes of a couple others students on him, but nothing felt judgeful, so he didn’t mind for now.

Purpled was up next in line, and Tommy watched with rapt attention as he stepped up bare handed in front of Mr. Blade. As the first punch was sent his way, Purpled summoned a metal platter that was sitting on a shelf in one of the corners of the room with a flick of the boy’s hand, bringing it in front of himself and deflecting the attack. If it hurt to punch a metal plate, the man didn't show. The rest of the jabs went a similar way, with Purpled protecting himself with a flourish of his hands. Mr. Blade was clearly going harder on Purpled than most of the other students, his movements quicker and less projected. Purpled was defending himself perfectly though, keeping up with only his quickening breath to show for it. When Purpled’s turn was over, he joined Tommy, sitting on the desk in front of the chair Tommy was occupying, catching his breath before speaking.

“That was sick! You said you didn’t know you could do that?” Purpled questioned, his eyes alight.

Tommy nodded. “I had no clue. It felt really weird, like that feeling you get when you’re falling on a rollercoaster or something, that swooping feeling” Tommy tried to explain, finding it hard to encapsulate exactly how strange and niche the feeling was.

“Either way, that was insane. You’re going to have to practice that, it has a lot of potential” said Purpled.

"Thanks. You kept up really well out there," Tommy complimented.

Purpled brightened at the compliment. "Thanks. I used to do combat before coming here, plus I know my way around my powers pretty well."

The two of them continued quiet chatter as the rest of the students took their turn using their powers to defend themselves. It was so interesting- seeing how each power was different, and used in a vastly different way. Some students dodged the attacks, some countered it, some blocked it, and some were even able to absorb it in a way. There were a few who stumbled and took hits, but none of them faltered. It was inspiring to see.

When the class was over, Purpled and Tommy walked towards the door with the rest of the class.

“Tommy, can I talk to you for a second?” Mr. Blade asked, causing the two to stop.

Purpled sent him a look, silently asking him if he wanted Purpled to stay. Tommy shook his head, and nodded towards the door. Purpled said that he’ll save the boy a spot at the lunch table and left, leaving Mr. Blade and Tommy alone when the rest of the students filed out of the classroom.

“I wanted to get a chance to get to know you, as well as your powers. Usually, students will have assessments at the beginning of the year to see where they’re at, but since you joined late you obviously won’t get that” the professor explained.

“That sounds good. What did you want to know?” Tommy asked.

Mr. Blade shrugged. “Tell me a bit about how your powers work, how you discovered them. Tell me about your life. Don’t share anything you’re uncomfortable with.” Tommy explained everything similarly to how he did for his roommates, doing his best to describe the newest addition to his powers to the man. Mr. Blade listened with full attention on Tommy, nodding at appropriate times and asking questions occasionally. It made Tommy feel truly listened to, and he found himself rambling on about his life for a while after he finished explaining his powers.

“Would you be interested in meeting with me occasionally to work on your powers? I think it would be beneficial for you to get better control and understanding of them” Mr. Blade offered, catching Tommy by surprise.

“That- yeah, that sounds great. Thank you, Mr. Blade”.

“Please, out of classroom time, you can call me Techno” the professor- Techno- said with a huff of laughter.

Tommy smiled widely. “Thank you Techno”. A little after he was sent off to go get lunch, and he quickly found his new friends sitting at the same spot they had for breakfast. When Tubbo saw him, the boy waved aggressively, causing Tommy to laugh as he sat down.

“Boss man! Ranboo grabbed you a plate so you could get first pickings before the options dwindled. We… kind of got a little of everything, since we didn’t know what you liked.”

“I got you a little bit of everything. The others got the seats” Ranboo corrected, sliding the tray over to Tommy. True to their words, Ranboo really did get every option available in the dining hall. There was a sandwich with almost every topping stacked onto it, a couple granola bars, a white pasta dish, and salad that was also overly filled. It had every single dressing option poured into little cups on the side of the tray.

“You didn’t lie. This is more food than I've seen in a while” Tommy said with a chuckle, deciding to try the pasta dish first. The table went quiet for a second, and Tommy looked up, wondering if the joke went too far. Thankfully, the table quickly burst into laughter.

"That's exactly what I said my first meal here" Purpled said with a laugh.

"Don't make yourself sick on it. That's also what Purpled did his first meal here" Tubbo said, poking fun at the teen. Tommy laughed, but did heed Tubbo's advice, taking slower bites of the food and stopping when he felt full.

“Tommy, tell everyone what you figured out in class” Purple prompted, gaining everyone’s attention.

“Oh yeah! I figured out I can kind of teleport” Tommy said in between bites of food.

Ranboo choked on the drink that he was drinking, and Tubbo doubled over with laughter whilst patting his back, tears forming in the brunette’s eyes with the force of his laughter.

Ranboo squeaked out a high pitched “what?”.

Tommy found himself joining in the laughter, hurrying to explain what happened in class, as well as a little of what Techno, or Mr. Blade as he referred to him, said after class.

“That’s crazy! He thinks that you have even more potential? This could make you really powerful!” Ranboo exclaimed, though their voice was more hushed than normal.

“Why’re you saying it so quietly” Tommy questioned.

“Some people here aren’t the nicest when it comes to powerful magic” Purpled chimed in to exclaim, sending a look over to Ranboo who nodded in understanding. “They can be jealous on Ranboo and tend to pick on him a bit” the boy continued.

Tommy huffed in anger. “That’s stupid. I’ll protect you Ranboo” he said dramatically, throwing a fist over his heart.

“You mean Henry will protect Ranboo” Tubbo teased, gaining a gasp of offense from the blonde.

“I’ll have you know that Henry is technically an extension of myself”. Tommy crossed his hands in front of his chest, thought couldn’t keep down the smile that tugged at his lips as he passed banter back and forth with his friends. It felt nice and freeing, a feeling that he found himself willingly sinking into and basking in the comfort that it brought.

Tommy had one more class after lunch, a study of magic’s influence on the Earth or something like that. It was an interesting class, but the instructor was a bit boring, talking slowly and without any enthusiasm. It was either that, or the fact that Mr. Soot was such a good instructor that any other professor paled in comparison to him.

By the time that class was over, it was only a couple hours until dinner, and Tommy found himself the outside of the school that he passed by earlier today, wandering around the grassy grounds. There were trees for shade, the fountain he saw, as well as a couple different blankets splayed across the grass.

There were a couple students minding their own business, but Tommy still found a spot underneath a tree where there weren’t any students around, and allowed his shadows to materialize themselves if they so choose to. Immediately, Clara was corpreal by his side, taking her chance to sniff the ground with curiosity, despite Tommy not really knowing if she can actually smell.

Clementine was next to materialize, nudging his side with her nose. Tommy had a soft, fond smile spread to his face as he laid back against the grass with his head near the base of the tree and knees bent with his feet resting on the ground. He could feel his other shadows near him, but staying in the shadows for now. That’s how it normally was. Clementine and Clara were the most “in touch” with the non-shadow world, or whatever it was called.

“This is really fun, Clem. I don’t think I’ve ever made a better decision than the one I made when deciding to follow the flyer and go on that train. I feel like I actually belong here and it’s a feeling that I didn’t realize was so freeing.” Tommy spoke softly to Clem, keeping his eyes on the green leaves above his head as he spoke.

“Like, it’s like I’m dreaming and haven’t woken up yet. I have clothes, a place to stay, a soft bed, warm food, and friends. Friends, Clementine. When’s the last time I’ve ever had friends?” Tommy asked rhetorically. The answer was a while. After discovering his shadow creatures and realizing that he was different from the rest of the world, he would be lying if he said he didn’t isolate himself from others out of both self pity and confusion on what was going on. Even after figuring out his powers, it was an instinct that never truly left him.

Silence lapsed when Tommy didn’t say anything else, and it was a comfortable feeling that he stayed with, listening to the sound of Clara walking around the grounds, while staying close to him. Clementine, the older soul she is, stayed right at Tommy’s side with her head in her paws. He was sure that if another student saw him right now, they would be scared of the creatures near him. He couldn’t find it in himself to care, not when he thought of his roommates smiling and petting Clementine and Clara over the head when they materialized in the dorm room.

Yeah, he could get used to this.

Chapter Text

The next day started in a similar way, only this time Tommy was the first person awake. To no one’s surprise, Clementine was sleeping in the unshadow realm (when Tommy explained that he had no name for the “mortal realm” without making it sound so grim, Tubbo said that he wanted to come up with a name for it. That was late last night, so Tommy was ready to see what name the boy came up with), only this time she was lying at the foot of Tommy’s bed, curled up around Ranboo’s extra pillow that they had thrown towards Clem when the lanky person got sad that Clementine didn’t have any cushion for her head against the floor. Tommy tried telling him that Clem didn’t care, but they weren’t hearing it.

“Want to help me commit my first prank here?” Tommy asked into the open air, knowing his shadows would hear it through however his magical communication with them worked. He really needed to ask Wilbur if he could help him come up with better ways to explain everything.

After a couple seconds, Tommy felt the feeling of eyes watching him, and he turned towards the corner of the room to see red eyes watching him from underneath the table near the door. He smiled, and that was all the motivation that Shroud needed to step out of the shadows and take on his own form.

“What do you say we are the ones that wake the others up this time?” he whispered to Shroud, a mischievous smile on his face. Shroud perked up, his tail beginning to wag and Tommy sprouted out a plan.

Tommy sat down in his bed and watched as Shroud crept closer to a sleeping Tubbo, keeping low to the ground as if he was hunting prey. Shroud jumped up onto the bed without it moving, and leaned over Tubbo, who was still peacefully sleeping.

All at once, Shroud let out a loud growl right next to Tubbo’s face, his fangs growing out of his mouth until they were terrifyingly visible. Tubbo shot up and screamed in fear when he saw Shroud, his entire body jerking in fear as Tommy doubled over laughing and Shroud leapt off the bed.

“You- you asshole! That was so not cool!” Tubbo shouted, placing a hand over his heart. Tommy was leaned over himself with a hand clutched to his stomach as tears flowed from his eyes, laughing so hard that he couldn’t breathe.

He heard Tubbo trying to keep his own laughs in from where he was sitting on his bed. “Get pranked, bitch!” the blonde shouted between fits of laughter.

“That was terrifying! I wake up to a hell beast staring me in the face. No offense… Clara?”

“That’s Shroud. He doesn’t get out much” Tommy joked, Tubbo rolling his eyes.

“Whoever it was, I’m pretty sure they took years off of my life. Why’d you target me?”

“I was told that if you ever wake up first you prank people. I had to assert my dominance,” replied Tommy, scratching a proud Shroud on his lap with a wide grin thrown to Tubbo. The brunette huffed, but didn’t deny the claims.

The rest woke up soon after, Ranboo jolting awake from the sound of Tubbo’s screech and Purpled waking up to his alarm, which apparently was close to the only thing that could wake him.

Today, Tommy didn’t have any classes with his friends, and so after all the morning classes had passed, he met the group outside with a tray of lunch in his hands. Purpled and Ranboo were sitting under the shade of a tree closer to the fountain, making conversation with trays of lunch sitting on their laps.

They looked up when Tommy sat down, giving him a smile and including him in the conversation easily.

“How was your class?” Purpled asked Tommy.

“It was alright. It was a little boring, but I’m not sure how entertaining Intro to Earthly Relations to Magic is supposed to be.”

Purpled nodded in understanding. “I had that class a year ago. It’s pretty boring, but it usually levels out with the tricksters that are always in those classes” he explained.

It was then that Tubbo made his way over to the group, a plate with a sandwich and chips on his plate.

“Two kids got into a fight in front of the classroom halls. It was crazy. Mr. Blade and Mr. Soot had to pry the kids off of each other” Tubbo recounted, an excited smile on his face.

“Are they okay?” Ranboo asked.

“The professors or the students?” Tubbo joked. “They’re all okay. There was no magic involved, just old fashioned fists and feet.” Tommy wondered how destructive fights could get if magic was involved, since there were some pretty destructive powers here.

Which reminded him, “How come I’ve never heard of like, evil witches? Surely there’s at least one bad person that made themselves known to the general public. There’s barely any talk of magic out there” Tommy asked.

The three shared a look, before Ranboo decided to speak up. “This question is better for Mr. Soot to answer, but since magic relies on personal potential, it’s really hard for people to use their magic for bad. Either your magic will end up failing you, or you could get your magic taken away altogether.”

“It’s happened before. Someone got corrupted or some shit and ended up losing their powers permanently and were kicked from the school. Multiple someones, since it happens every several years or so” Tubbo chimed in.

Tommy nodded. “That makes sense.” It was interesting, how on the surface level, magic seemed so simple. You either had it or you don’t, and you have certain powers that are unique to only you. Under the iceberg, though, it was such a complex system that Tommy found his brain reeling from all the information being given to him over the past couple of days.

“You have your first day of training with Mr. Blade today, right?” Purpled asked, drawing Tommy’s attention.

The teen nodded. “Yeah, I’m excited” he expressed.

“You should be. He doesn’t make offers like those often. He’s one of the more stoic teachers” Purpled responded, making Tommy fill with pride.

“Speaking of, I should get going. I have training with him and then I’m done for the day” Tommy said, reminded that he was supposed to meet Techno after he finished lunch. He waved goodbye to his friends and made his way over to the hall of classes.

As he was on his way, taking a shortcut through a less used hallway that Tubbo showed him this morning, the sound of steps gained his attention. He turned around to see another student a couple paces behind him. Tommy was going to just turn around and continue walking, but that was before he realized that the student was staring at him head on.

“Um, hello?” he asked, wondering if he wasn’t actually supposed to be here. He wouldn’t put it past Tubbo.

The student was breathing deeply, but not in a way that seemed panicked. “Danger” the student said with a laugh that sent chills down Tommy’s spine.

“Are you in danger? Do you need help?” Tommy asked, feeling Henry hiding in his own shadow, ready to pounce at a moment’s notice.

“Danger. They’re coming. You can’t stop us all,” they said. The student had what seemed like red eyes, and they were practically boring into Tommy’s soul.

Without warning, Henry formed at Tommy’s feet, a low growl coming from the creature.

The student backed up a couple steps, but never once took their eyes off of Tommy. “The time is nearly here” they said, before turning back and walking down the opposite way of the hallway.

Tommy shared a look with Henry, confusion and fear racing through his mind.

“The hell was that?” he asked aloud as he began walking again, Henry coming with him. He was reassured by the fact that he wasn’t leaving him, even if he was just a quick call away. He wondered if his magic was always active for that to be able to happen. Yet another question for the professors.

When he entered Techno’s classroom, there were a million thoughts in his head. The pink haired man looked up at the sound of the door creaking, sending Tommy an acknowledging nod.

“Your head looks busy” the man immediately pointed out, not giving any energy to small talk or little pleasantries.

Tommy nodded. “I just had the craziest encounter” he said, and explained what the student said, and how they were staring at Tommy with their red eyes.

He expected Techno to brush it off, to explain the student was on some magical weed or something and was baked. Instead, Techno’s eyes widened.

Moments later, Mr. Soot was entering the classroom with hurried footsteps.

“Can you tell him what you told me?” Techno asked, the brunette teacher glancing between the two of them in confusion. Again, Tommy recounted what happened, and watched as an inquisitive look took over Mr. Soot’s face.

“Doesn’t it sound like?” Techno started.

“It does” Mr. Soot agreed.

“Can someone tell me what’s going on?” Tommy asked. The two professors finally looked back over at him, a sheepish look on Mr. Soot’s face.

“First of all, I’m glad you told us this Tommy” Mr. Soot started. “Second, it sounds like we might have a bit of a problem” he continued, sitting down in a chair so that he was facing Tommy. “Have you been told about people who lose their magic by using it for bad?” Tommy nodded. “Well, there’s a group of people like that who call themselves the Eggpire. They have been trying to find a way to replicate magic for themselves. About ten years ago when me and Tech were students here, they made this big scene, trying to cause havoc. They were cast off by Phil, and we’ve only heard reports here and there of them.”

Tommy’s mind was spinning in circles. “So they’re back?”

“Might be back” Techno corrected. “It could also easily be one of their members made their way into the school and are trying to scare a new kid” he said. It calmed Tommy’s nerves a little, but there was a look to Techno’s face that he didn’t like.

“What would it mean if they were back?” Tommy asked, his voice quiet.

Mr. Soot was the one to respond. “Well, we would have to put them in their place. It’s nothing we won’t be able to handle, but I wont lie and say it would be the easiest thing” he said honestly.

Techno cleared his throat. “I do still need to train Tommy. Do you want to stay, Wilbur?” he asked. Mr. Soot, or Wilbur, shrugged before nodding.

“Guess so. Wouldn’t mind seeing what the new student has” he said. Something about the words made Tommy flush.

Techno set him up in a previous style of how class was. They were on the training mats, and Techno was in front of him.

“We’re going to try and get you to shadow travel again. First, you’re going to try and do it on your own, and then I’ll step in. Close your eyes and focus on the pull of your magic. I want you to envision it, and try and replicate the feeling when you shadow traveled” the pink haired professor explained.

Tommy nodded, and did as he was told, closing his eyes and breathing deeply. Like Techno said, he could feel that area in his brain where his magic resided. It was something he’s always been able to feel, and it’s from there that the strings connecting him to his shadows originate from.

He decided to follow one of the strings, one that he knew lead to Clementine. He knew previously that she was somewhere in the room with her, but following the string allowed him to find out she was hidden deep within a shadow casted by a desk. That much he was familiar with. It was how he kept tabs on his friends, and was able to call them in a moments notice. Instead of leaving it there and being content with knowing where they were, Tommy decided to see what he could do with this mental string. Well, string was the closest description he could get to the way it felt.

He imaged himself following the string to where Clementine was, and could feel that he reached the end of the string. Squinting his eyes a little, he mentally yanked himself on the string, and felt the once felt feeling of his stomach dropping. He wrenched open his eyes to find himself standing right by the desk where Clementine was under, only now she was sitting on top of the desk, red eyes flickering between him, Techno, and Wilbur.

“Impressive” Mr. Soot breathed, gaining Tommy’s attention. “Most students aren’t able to recreate something like that first try. I have a feeling there might be even more to your magic that you’re yet to discover”.

Tommy smiled, “Thank you Mr. Soot” he said politely, if a little shy.

The professor scoffed, waving a hand. “Please, if you can call Techno by his name, you can call me by mine. Call me Wilbur” he said warmly.

“I do agree with Wilbur” Techno chimed in, making his way over to Tommy. “I wouldn’t be surprised if you discover more of your powers. For now, we’ll work on getting better and quicker at using the shadow travel, and then progress to longer distances, test your boundaries” the professor explained.

Tommy nodded, and they spent the rest of their time doing just that. After the first time of shadow traveling, it took Tommy several tries to replicate it again, but it slowly got easier and easier. By the third time in a row of Tommy teleporting to either Clementine or Clara who poked her head in for a little, there was a headache growing behind his eyes and Techno said that he was done for today.

Tommy thanked both of the professors, both of which were extremely helpful and patient with Tommy the entire hour. He left the classroom feeling light, despite the growing headache.

Chapter Text

At night, when all of the roommates were back in the dorm, Tommy decided to share what happened with the student and the Eggpire.

“You guys wont believe what happened to me earlier” Tommy started, before explaining the strange words the student shared with him, as well as what Techno and Wilbur thought of it. He wasn’t sure if they really wanted him telling a whole bunch of people about it, but Tommy felt a certain comfort in sharing the information with his friends. Even if it was moved to the back of his mind, it was still causing stress to seep into his mind, and explaining it to them helped a little.

“That’s crazy! There haven’t been updates on the Eggpire for a while. I hope Techno is right, and they just want to scare you” Purpled said, his eyes wide.

“I agree with Purpled. Every now and then there’s talk of the occasional person claiming they’re from the Eggpire to scare people. It’s probably, hopefully nothing.” Tubbo said, his voice sounding sure. Tommy nodded in agreement, sharing the sentiment.

“How was the training by the way?” Ranboo chimed in as a way to change the subject. Tommy smiled, and easily accepted the topic change. Already, his stress was leaving him, slowly but surely.

“You tell me” he said with a wide grin, before closing his eyes and shadow traveling over to Clara. It was a little disorientating, but the fact that he did it on command made him burst into a prideful grin.

Ranboo gasps, and their facial expression morphed into one of excitement. “That’s so cool!” He expressed.

Tommy thanked them, and the rest of the night was spent with lively conversation and the occasional friendly banter.

—-

It was around lunch the next day when the next interesting thing happened. Tommy was walking with Ranboo, and the two were heading to the lunch tables after a shared class together.

“Is that who I think it is?” A voice asked from behind the pair, causing Tommy to stop and glance behind him, while noting that Ranboo suddenly went tense.

A blonde tall boy stood a couple feet away, an unfriendly look on his face that was clearly targeted to the two of them. Tommy quickly understood the situation. As did Henry, who was pooled in Tommy’s shadow.

“Leave us alone, James.” Ranboo said, their voice edging on a plead.

The boy, James apparently, laughed. “Aww and not get introduced to our newest street rat here? Where’s the fun in that? You know you’re friends with a creep, right?” The boy sneered, turning to Tommy.

Tommy’s hands clenched into fists at his side, and he tilted his head to the side, studying the boy. “Ah, yes, a creep. I’ll totally take the word from a no life bitch who reeks of insecurity” he countered back. He was pretty proud of how quick he came up with that.

James spluttered, his expression growing angrier. “Let’s just leave Tommy, please” Ranboo muttered next to Tommy, pulling on his shoulder.

“Yeah Tommy. Just leave. I wouldn’t want you to get your feelings hurt” James laughed.

Tommy brushed off Ranboo’s hand, turning his full attention to James. “I would say I wouldn’t want to hurt your feelings as well, but it seems like mommy and daddy don’t love somebody enough, so I guess I can’t talk much. They seemed to have done the work for me” Tommy snarled, his words laced with venom. James went red in the face, and took another step closer to Tommy. Henry threatened to form, but Tommy dismissed the creature with a flick of his wrist. For now.

“At least I have parents. Word in the hall is you don’t have any”.

“And yet I’m still somehow in the same place as you. Funny, how that works. A homeless orphan can somehow perform better than a snob who clearly is so insecure about himself that he has to pick on others”.

That was the final snap for James, who lunged forward, red magic pooling at his fingertips.

With a simple flick of his hand, Henry was standing in front of Tommy in all his intimidating glory. He let out a deep rumbling growl, his fangs poking out of his mouth, and sharp claws pressed against the floor. Henry easily went up to Tommy’s waist with how tall he was right now, and he watched as James faltered.

“What, scared?” Tommy taunted, giving a nod to Henry. The creature ran at the boy, who backed up in a panic, practically tripping over his own feet. Henry let out another growl and charged at James, and the boy raced out of the hall; Henry only following for a couple of feet before turning around and heading back towards Tommy, his tail wagging behind him smugly.

A quick glance showed Ranboo was staring in shock at the place where James was only moments before, their jaw dropped.

“That was… badass” Ranboo said, drawing a laugh out of Tommy.

“Yeah well, it’s not our first rodeo dealing with pricks who think the orphan comment is going to do anything” Tommy huffed, scratching at Henry’s ear and giving him a thank you.

The two continued their walk to the dining hall after a couple more moments, and Henry stayed dutifully by Tommy’s side. He didn’t care enough to call him away, not with the anger in his veins that was only feeding Henry.

The blonde could feel eyes on him as he entered the dining hall with Ranboo and made their way over to the table where the others were sitting at. It was the first time he had walked around the public areas of the school with his shadows out and roaming, and it clearly shocked a lot of students. Some of them were staring at Henry with fear in their eyes, and others unfiltered curiosity.

Tubbo quirked an eyebrow as the two sat down, asking what Henry was doing here. Ranboo recounted the events with James, and by the end both Purpled and Tubbo were laughing their asses off.

Purpled slapped a hand on the table in his laughter, wheezing. “That’s too good! Oh my god, he needed to be knocked down a peg. I wish I was there to see it.”

“Your shadows are truly a terrifying thing when they want to be, boss man.” Tubbo agreed, sending a look to Henry, who stared back with his blood red eyes. The short brunette shivered, and averted his gaze.

“He wanted come out a lot sooner. I was practically forcing him in the shadows so he wouldn’t pounce too quickly” Tommy explained.

“Have any of them ever hurt someone? Can they even do that?” Purpled asked, gesturing to the way that Henry was comprised of shadows.

Tommy was silent for a couple moments too many, and the others clearly noticed. “Most of the times, they’ll just scare someone by pouncing at them and then fazing through before they get hit, however that works,” Tommy started. “There was a couple times, though, where someone wasn’t scared off by them, and they had to attack. They can be physical enough to bite and scratch.”

“Have they ever killed someone?” Tubbo asked. He was smacked in the shoulder by Ranboo.

Tommy hesitated. “Um, yeah. Once. It was when I was first on the streets and didn’t have as much control over them. This man was seeking a power trip, and thought roughing up a street rat would do it. He had a knife, and, well, used it. I was bloodied up and beat when Henry stepped in. He tried a couple things, but the man wasn’t deterred. Henry ended up knocking the man down and biting his neck pretty bad. I don’t think he ever got back up afterwards” Tommy said quietly, shrinking down in his seat, keeping his eyes on his lap. He could still remember the man's screams, even with the way that Tommy's blood was rushing in his ears as he pressed his hands to a knife wound.

It was quiet for a bit, and Tommy was worried to hear what they would say. It was one thing for some random person he didn't know to say awful things to him. If they suddenly decided that they hated him, Tommy doesn’t know what he would do. He couldn't go back on the streets again.

There was a hand on his shoulder, and he looked over to see Tubbo, who scooted closer to Tommy, and was staring at him. “None of that is your fault. Not only do magical causalities happen, albeit rarely, when getting control of your powers, but it was also very clearly for self defense. No one here is going to judge you for that” the brunette said.

Tommy smiled, and Tubbo wrapped his arms around the blonde in a tight hug, that Tommy positively melted into, resting his chin on Tubbo’s head as he closed his eyes and soaked in the comfort.

The two stayed like that for a while. Tommy never knew just how much he needed that. He doesn’t know when the last time he got a hug was. It was a while, though, and he forgot how comforting platonic affection was.

Tubbo chuckled lightly at the way Tommy melted into the hug. “If I knew you were so touch starved I would’ve hugged you a lot sooner.” He said. His words were teasing, but something about his tone told Tommy that he would likely be giving Tommy a lot more hugs in the future. Tommy saw no problem with that.

Lunch ended like it normally did; with endless jokes and lighthearted banter. If Tubbo stayed sitting closer to Tommy throughout the lunch, occasionally brushing shoulders with the blonde, neither of them said anything.

___

After Tommy’s last class of the day, which was one that he didn't share with the rest of the roommates and thus sat quietly in the back of the classroom, taking notes without making a presence of himself. There were still the occasional glances from students who were either curious of the new kid that joined earlier in the week, or because they had either seen or heard of Henry sticking around with him.

He decided, after the class seemed to drag on forever, to walk around the school once more. There was a tingle of nerves in the back of his mind, an almost there fear of seeing the person again, of hearing their strange words.

His feet had a mind of their own as Tommy’s brain wandered, and he found his feet hitting a grassy floor.

The sound of a guitar dragged his mind to the present, a soft melody carrying through the air and wrapping the notes around Tommy’s mind.

There, sitting against a tree trunk with a guitar settled in his lap, was Wilbur. He had his head resting against the tree, but his eyes were open as they settled on Tommy. The man gave him a warm smile, gesturing for Tommy to come sit closer.

“I come here every so often when I want to chill. Since my magic has to do with sound, sometimes I can infuse music with magic, and make songs that will make people feel a certain way” Wilbur said as Tommy sat next to him.

“Is that what you’re doing now?”

Wilbur shook his head. “Nope, just playing for fun right now. Usually if I make my music have a positive quality there ends up being a lot of students crowding around me.” Tommy wondered if he was intruding, but if Wilbur was annoyed he showed no sign of it, and in fact continued a conversation with Tommy.

“How are you liking the school so far?”

“It’s amazing. It’s so cool to be able to talk with people that just get me. I don’t know the last time I made friends or felt safe, and it’s a feeling I sometimes wondered if I’d ever get again” Tommy marveled, resting his back against the tree. His shoulder were touching Wilbur, and it was a simple little platonic affection that he’s beginning to realize he was extremely deprived of.

“I’m excited to see what you end up doing with your magic. I remember coming to this school as a student only a couple years younger than you. I’m only older by five or so years, so I remember the exact feeling of that puzzle piece sliding into place and finally fitting in. Me and Techno knew immediately that we made the right choice in going here.”

Tommy tilted his head to the side in confusion. “You and Techno?”

Wilbur chuckled, a huff of laughter as his hands rested on the strings of the guitar, hovering over notes and playing nothing. “We’re brothers. Not many know that, though, since we look and act so differently. If you can believe it, we’re actually twins” the brunette explained.

Tommy’s jaw dropped as he stared at Wilbur in exaggerated shock, but shock nonetheless. “No fucking way. That’s crazy”.

Wilbur laughed along with Tommy, “Yeah I’ve heard that quite a few times”.

The two of them fell into comfortable silence. At some point, Wilbur began strumming his guitar again, as he was doing so, Tommy remembered another thing that Wilbur said.

“You said you’re excited to see what I do with my magic. Does that mean that I can get faster at the shadow travel?”

Wilbur paused in his strumming, and looked at Tommy with a contemplated look on his face. “Tommy, I can see auras of peoples magic when they talk. Yours has so much potential, I wouldn’t be surprised if you ended up being able to do more than just the shadow travel. I’d recommend that you continue to push yourself to your limits. Sometimes it’s times where you don’t think that you can go any further where you realize just how much you can continue to do”.

Tommy hummed, imaging what it would be like to do even more with his powers. Already he felt like they were useful and powerful. He’s never seen anyone in the school yet that was able to conjure a physical manifestation of their magic, and he’s seen a lot of different powers.

—-

After his talk with Wilbur, Tommy went back to his dorm with a mission. His roommates were all chilling around, with Tubbo and Ranboo sitting on Tubbo’s bed while Purpled was sprawled across his own bed, all three of them in conversation. They looked up when Tommy walked in, and before any of them could greet him, Tommy blurted out a question.

“Do you guys want to help me train my powers?” he asked. Even though he trusted these new friends, there was still an innate part of himself bracing for the rejection, for the excuses or harsh words.

Still, he wasn’t surprised when he didn’t get them.

“That sounds cool! How and where do you want to do that?” Ranboo asked, excitement in his voice.

Tommy considered it, before eventually shrugging. Thankfully, Purpled took the opportunity to chime in with his own idea for where they should go.

“There’s this old classroom in the back of the school that no one goes to anymore that I use as a practice room sometimes. I’ll show you where it is.”

“Wait, that’s where you disappear off to when you say you’re gonna go studying? Why didn’t you bring me with? I could’ve exploded things!” Tubbo complained, throwing his arms in the air and giving Purpled a playful glare.

“Remember what happened last time we tried to practice our powers at the same time?” Purpled drawed. Tubbo stayed quiet, rubbing at a spot on his arm as if recalling a memory. Tommy didn’t want to know.

—

Purpled led the group to the back of the school, where there were more cobwebs and the walls looked more worn down. Purpled gave Tommy a little history lesson as they walked, telling the teen about how the school used to have a lot more students back in the day. Since there were more magic schools that opened up in the past hundred years, there were less students attending *forgot the name of the school tbh*, they had less of a use for all the classrooms. Now some of them sat abandoned, while the others were used for storage.

Tubbo reached the door Purpled pointed out to them before anyone else, attempting to throw open the door and instead yelping in shock as the old wooden door didn’t budge.

Purple threw up an amused eyebrow. “You really think I didn’t ask someone to magic the door so no one would be able to enter if it wasn’t me?” he teased, walking past Tubbo and effortlessly opening the door, much to the brunette’s dismay.

Inside was a moderately sized classroom that Purpled clearly did the best he could in making the space work. The desks and chairs had been moved out of the room a while ago, and there were training mats on the floors and a couple on the walls. In addition to that, there was a weapon rack in the corner of the room, holding items from sharp spears to a slingshot in its shelves.

Purpled walked around the place with familiarity, giving the others an extended tour.

“These are obviously the weapons. They were just sharpened, so don’t touch” he said, snapping at Tubbo who was just about to touch the spear. The teen pulled his hand away quickly and tucked it behind his back with a sheepish look. Purpled sighed, but there was a fond smile on his face. “This is where I do target practice. I usually have stands that I put up, but I was in the process of switching them up after most of them got roughed up too badly” he continued to explain, gesturing to a spot on the floor.

Tommy took it all in with wide eyes. His shadows tugged at his magic, and he let whoever wanted to form come forward. Clementine and Clara walked out of differing shadows, Clara immediately exploring the room with little sprints and jumps, while Clementine huffed in what seemed like amusement.

“How do you know when to form them?” Tubbo asked, staring at Clara who was bounding over to him. After a moment of hesitation, Tubbo ran his hand over Clara’s fur, marveling when his hand brushed something solid instead of passing through like how it sometimes looked it would.

“Even though they’re my magic, it still kind of has a mind of its own. I can make them form or not form most of the time, but if I’m in distress or danger they can show up without me prompting them too. I also have pretty much no control over them when they’re out of the shadows. It used to be scary, if I’m being honest” Tommy admitted, remembering a younger Tommy who had shaken with fear when shadows that took the shape of aggressive wolves inched closer to him.

“Well, let’s see how well they defend you. Want us to just start attacking you or is there some sort of method to this?” Purpled asked, cracking his knuckles with a smile that was far too eager.

“I say we just start attacking him, that way he can’t-” Ranboo cut himself off as they teleported, showing up at Tommy’s side and sending a push to his shoulder. “-Prepare himself” he smirked, laughing at Tommy’s yelp.

“You bitch! I wasn’t ready!”

Tubbo held his hands out to his side, light forming in his palms in crackling explosions “In the real world, you won’t be ready. I’m sure you have enough experience to know that.” Tommy thought to the countless times where he was taken off guard, or attacked while he was sleeping. He thought to an empty tram car and endless exhaustion.

The next time one of his friends came at him, he was better prepared. Tubbo formed an explosion in his friend, sending it at Tommy with calculated percision. Tommy doesn’t know what would’ve happened if he didn’t duck out of the way in time, but he thankfully did, and the explosion hit the wall behind him, shaking the lights.

There wasn’t any time to recover, Henry forming in front of him just as Purpled charged at him with clenched fists and a smile stretching on his face. The shadow stopped Purpled, growling at the boy and lunging at him when the blonde teen didn’t back off. Purpled yelled in surprise as Henry crashed into him, landing on his chest. There was an underlay of real fear in Purpled’s voice, but it quickly faded when Henry simply stayed standing with his paws on Purpled’s chest and sniffing his face.

Ranboo was the next to take a hit at Tommy. They teleported behind Tommy, grabbing for his neck. Tommy was knocked to the side by Clementine, and caught from hitting the ground too hard by Henry. By this time, Shroud was also formed and hiding in the corner of the room. Hidden from everyone but Tommy and the shadows.

A grin spread on Tommy’s face as he grew out of breath, continuing to trade hits with his friends, none of them actually hurting the other. When Tommy heard crackles in Tubbo’s hands while fighting Ranboo hand to hand, he wasn’t able to turn around without losing the fight to Ranboo.

Panic seeped through his veins, and suddenly he could see Tubbo, though his vision was darker and he was still aware of the fact that he was fighting Ranboo. His breath hitched in surprise when he leapt to the side to avoid Tubbo’s blast, using the momentum to block the fist coming towards him.

Tommy landed on his side, breathless. He stared up at the ceiling and looked over to Tubbo, his vision now normal. The shorter brunette was staring at Tommy with a similar look of shock, his mouth agape.

“How did you do that? I thought I had you, but you dodged it without looking?” he exclaimed. Purpled walked over to Tommy and offered a hand, pulling the teen back up to his feet.

Tommy shook his head. “I don’t know. It was like I was aware of the fact that I was fighting Ranboo and I could still see them somehow, but I also saw Tubbo through some sort of old timey filter or something.”

Purpled hummed, walking over to the one desk that still sat in the room and hopping up onto it, his feet swaying above the ground. “Sounds like you just unlocked another part of your magic” he said with a smirk. Tommy balked.