Chapter Text
Entry 247.
Stardate 92160.4
It's been countless cycles already, and the SBI crew has yet to know of my true form. If Gaia's on my side, that secret will stay a secret. . . Forever.
"I don't know what's wrong with having one cup of coffee!" Tommy had been going at this war with Wilbur for hours, who does this man think he is anyways? Sure his the head medic of this three man ship but he doesn't get to dictate what the great Tommyinnit gets to have for breakfast. If he wants coffee with his pancakes in the morning, he WILL get coffee.
"The answer is no Tommy. You're only thirteen in human years and that is still very much a child." Wilbur sighs like he's an old man. Even though he's only twenty three by phantom years. Which makes him a fully functioning adult. . . Well, Tommy takes that back. Wilbur is not fully functional, he'll earn that title once he stops kipping sleep. He may be a phantom but they need their sleep too.
"It's just one cup! Please Wilby?" Tommy dragged out the please in his words, followed by his secret weapon. The weapon that is guaranteed to work on Wilbur no matter what mood he is in at the day, it depends on how Tommy used it though. Whether it'd be teasing or comforting, it all hinges on the situation he's in. And this situation, he just wants to try coffee for the first time in forever. Wilbur hummed, and Tommy held onto a sliver of hope that Wilbur would agree. And that Tommy can finally feel like an adult, and maybe, just maybe. He'll be able to understand the bad men better.
"No." Wilbur's answer was final, and Tommy could do nothing but pout about it in his chair. A reaction Wilbur must've found humourous because of his little laugh "Sorry Tommy, we'll wait until your older. Maybe when you're sixteen, how does that sound?"
"But that's way too long!" Tommy argues, and you can't convince him otherwise.
"Sorry Toms, now eat up your pancakes. You still have to train with Technoblade in swordsmanship."
Tommy laughed under his breath. Swordsmanship, Wilbur must be getting real old. Or maybe captain Phil's influence is rubbing off on Wilbur. Tommy finished his pancakes just on time. And Wilbur is also done with his glowworm breakfast.
"I'll see you later sunshine." Wilbur kissed Tommy on the forehead as routine, before heading to his office at the medical wing. While Tommy pretends to not like it, deep down, he craves the affection. And who can blame him? After so many years under the bad men's care it's hard not to lean on the first affection Tommy has felt since. . . Well, since his parents.
Heading to the training room is never easy for Tommy, and you can blame the hall of stars. A hallway that has a window to the void of space spanning the entire hallway. And Tommy would always find himself watching the stars for hours on end , doing nothing but admire and miss the presence of the stars. They're just so close, yet so far away. With a barrier of metal and glass in between Tommy and the stars. Sometimes he thought of just phasing through the walls, but he knew that it would give the crew a heart attack and waste resources in trying to get him back inside the ship.
Tommy had no idea how much time has passed since he began staring at the stars, but he could care less.
"Tommy?"
Okay nevermind. Time to panic.
"Techno!" Tommy turned to his left, spotting a familiar piglin who looked tired today. Damn it, Tommy should've ran when he reached the hall of stars "Hey, Tech just thought I'd enjoy some sight seeing."
"You're late." Techno deadpans, plain and simple.
"Sorry" Tommy bows his head down. Shame doesn't really come to Tommy often, but when they do come knocking on his door, the feeling is tenfold.
"No no, it's fine. Just promise you'll be on time for the next training later. You looking over the stars again?"
"I can't help it! They're just so cool! Take that one for example! That constellation looks like Orion!"
Techno couldn't help but smile at the mention of Greek mythology. One of the great things he learned about humans during the great investigation on the human species by the federation.
"That's probably the belt of the Blood God. Since we're passing by the orbit of my home planet. Look." Techno scans the area visible on the other side of the window, before pointing at small red dot in the distance.
"The nether!" Tommy gasp, pressing his face against the glass window to get a better look at the planet from afar "Are we stopping by there? Can I finally try that warped vine you were talking about?"
Techno gives an airy laugh "Unfortunately no, we need to head back to Phil's home planet to visit Kristen."
"Awe." Tommy pouts again. And Techno just smiled at that, telling Tommy to cheer up since they have a training session to look forward to and Techno promises not to go easy on Tommy.
That's a lie though, Wilbur will chew his ears and Phil won't stop squawking at him if Tommy gets hurt. As if Techno would hurt the runt of his hoard, Tommy can start getting bruises and scratches from training when he reaches sixteen years old in human standard, which wouldn't be until the next many cycles in the future. But with how reckless Tommy is, it's not uncommon for Tommy to get little scratches from the sword prop they use for training.
And because of that, it's not uncommon for the crew to fall into instincts when they see Tommy get hurt, even if it's just a little cut. They've gotten better at controlling it over these past cycles, but when Tommy was first on board it was a mess of instincts. Who knew taking care of something as fragile as a human child would lead to that? They got over it after a few adjustments and learning to be patient and stay in control. Especially since. . . They did end up scaring Tommy a little. . .
Although if you ask Techno today, he'd say that there's nothing to worry about anymore. And while the process took some time getting used to. It's safe to say that the crew wouldn't have it any other way. Because it gave them Tommy. Their new flock, sounder, haunt or Wilbur's favorite human word, Family.
It’s never not busy in the Galaxia Library, being the largest and main library of the capital it’s bound to be busy. Through some miracle though, every time the SBI crew would visit the library, it would always be quite a peaceful visit. The librarians aren’t swamped and the building is almost empty. Wilbur would have to assume that his crewmate, Technoblade, had nailed down when and what time the library would be the least packed. Typical, Wilbur thinks, Techno had always been the wallflower of the SBI crew and it’s not surprising that the man would try any route to avoid talking with new people.
That’s why the SBI crew found themselves at the Galaxia Library, they were just visiting some friends and loved ones that lived in the capital of the Galactic Federation and Techno had the bright idea to visit the library to buy some books for the long trip ahead of them. Tagging Captain Philza and Wilbur with him.
“This. Sucks.” Wilbur whispers as he looks around the books the library was selling.
Of course none of them would catch his interest this time. The theme of little one’s books they were selling just didn’t pique Wilbur’s interest. Last time they had a theme of music from his home planet, so of course he bought those books until he reached his budget limit.
At least Phil and Techno seemed to be enjoying looking through the books “Awe, I remember when my mum would read this to me!”
Phil picked up a book written in Elytrian “Feathers across Galaxia.” Wilbur silently read.
Techno hums and picks another book. Must be from his own culture because when Wilbur silently read the title written in Piglin hieroglyphs it read “Tales of the great Blood God.”
Ah, that guy. Wilbur supposed it's not waste of time. After all, Tommy might like some of these kids books.
“This is the book! You gotta read it Boo! It’s the one with the Nebula Phoenix!”
Wilbur’s ears perked up at the mention of the Phoenix, he hasn’t heard that name in a long time. He turned to see who spoke its name and saw two children. One from the species of bees from the planet of Apis and the other is a child of the end from the Enderian planet. And they’re both looking over the book that Wilbur grew up with.
“Wilbur! We gotta go! Tommy's waiting for us.” But Wilbur can’t stay for long. Techno and Phil are already done shopping if they’re already calling him. Wilbur just had to look at the book one last time though. The illustration of that majestic creature, with nebula wings that nursed the stars that illuminated the dark sky. Is the same creature that painted Wilbur’s mind ever since that fateful encounter when he was a child. Maybe, just maybe, he still has it lying around somewhere in the ship. Waiting for the day Wilbur has time to invest in the creature that saved him when he was little.
Which leads to now.
“Wilbur, what are you doing?” Phil asked right when he passed by Wilbur's doorway. Phil expected Wilbur to be working in the lab per usual. Experimenting on the chemical consumption of caffeine that humans drink in order to add to his human database. He did not expect Wilbur's room to be filled with child drawings and books about one thing and one thing only.
"Oh hi Phil, just looking over some stuff. You know clean things out and make room for future studies."
Phil smiles before shaking his head a little "Wilbur if you're interested in learning about the nebula phoenix again all you had to do was say so."
"Fuck."
Wilbur said it so fast that Phil couldn't hold in his laugh at the sudden word. Wilbur continues with his search in his research box about the phoenix. Phil had known about the phoenix, due to its association with birds and elytrians it's hard not to. A creature that had the body of a human but with feathered wings that shaped itself to look like a nebula. The similarities to an elytrian is impossible to ignore and Phil admittedly became fascinated with the Nebula Phoenix himself. But that was a long time ago now.
"What got you interested in the Phoenix again? Thought you said you were going to leave that 'child stuff' behind to learn more about humans."
"Can a man not wish to be young again Phil? Surely you'd understand." Wilbur says, still looking through his box.
Phil blinked, before grumbling "You little shit."
And Phil didn't need Wilbur to turn to face him to see that smug smile Wilbur had on as he talked "But to answer your question, a bunch of kids at the library mentioned it and I got curious."
"Fair, fair." Phil shrugs before flinching when Wilbur suddenly cries in victory.
"Finally! I thought for sure I left it at home!"
Phil walked closer to Wilbur and saw that he was holding a book, more accurately, a journal.
"What's that mate?" Phil asks.
"It's my childhood log about the nebula phoenix. I wrote everything down here! From what they look like to an encounter I had when I was only fifty nights old!"
Phil looked over to see what Wilbur had wrote. . . And he's just not going to comment on the chicken scratch written in the journal.
"Wait, Wil you said you encountered a nebula phoenix?" Phil finds that hard to believe, studying about them and their stories is one thing, but encountering one is another level.
"It's true!" Wilbur then let's out gasp. An exaggerated, dramatic gasp. Oh no. . .
"Phil! I thought we were like father and son you and I! And yet you would crush the dreams of your dear child!"
Phil let's out another laugh, pushing Wilbur away who had been leaning on him with one hand on his head in a theatric fainting pose.
"Wil you just turned twenty four last five cycles ago."
"Like I said, can a man not wish to be young again?"
"Little shit!"
Wilbur's laugh echoed in room. No longer sounding like the young twelve year old that Phil had taken in. Wilbur's is twenty four now. . . Time sure flies fast.
"Wilbur? What are you doing?" A little voice chimes in and suddenly the room felt bright as the warm sun's light traveling through a planet.
"Tommy! Come here sunshine! I wanna show you something!" Wilbur quickly says and Tommy immediately follows. Running up to Wilbur's side and asking what the mess is all about, and Wilbur being Wilbur, allowed Tommy to sit on his lap while he reads him his log.
"This is the nebula phoenix Tommy. A mythical creature that looks human but has the wings of a nebula where they help create stars!"
Tommy lit up at the description "Really?! Do you have a picture?"
"Only drawings from my memory, but let me show all about them."
It's times like this Phil brought in his SceneRay so he could take a photo of the two. Despite their features of being different, Phil only sees two brothers. An older brother happily telling his younger brother about his endeavors, maybe that's why Phil couldn't wait until his wife Kristen meets Tommy. That way he can show that their dream of having three children to call their own has finally been fulfilled. Sure two may be functioning adults but to Phil, they're always going to be the two teens him and Kristen took in all those years ago.
It's really hard to suppress your instincts.
Tommy had to learn it the hard way, but he just can't let the crew know what he really is. Because if they find out Tommy had been lying all this time, then Tommy will no longer get hugs, forehead kisses or even someone ruffling his hair. If they find out that he's not really human. . . Then Tommy will have to live alone again for the rest of his long life.
He wouldn't say he's backed into a corner though, there is a way for him to let out some of his instincts. And it's all thanks to the best father he could ever ask for!
When Tommy noticed that Techno is the one piloting the ship, Tommy immediately went on a quest to go look for him. Unsurprisingly, Phil is in the Captain's quarters. Tommy made sure to knock first, and when Phil said that he could come in only then did he feel welcomed to head inside.
"Phil?" Tommy first noticed the nest, an arrangement of pillows and blankets organized to create what looked like a bird's nest. And right in the center of it all, is Phil. Right in the middle of preening his wings.
"Tommy! Hi, can I help you with anything?" Phil softly spoke as Tommy walked over and started climbing the bed, when he showed signs of struggles, Phil just gave a small laugh and helped Tommy up the nest.
"I think I should be asking you that Phil. Do you need help with preening your wings?"
Phil hums "You know I wouldn't mind Tommy, go ahead."
Tommy was the given his designated wing. While Phil preens the right side, Tommy gets to preen the left side.
"Are you sure you're not an elytrian Tommy?" Was the first thing Phil said when he gave Tommy a chance to preen his wings for the first time. Phil expected a few hiccups and small mistakes from Tommy but to his surprise, the kid is really good at preening. Reaching Phil's level of preening in only a few sessions. With how skilled Tommy is at preening, a small part of Phil's elytrian mind came to see Tommy as flock, a young fledging he could rely on but also guide in the arts of space travel. As Tommy still has a lot to learn in that field.
For now though, Phil is just content to have his fledgling by his side.
Tommy wishes he could feel the same, while he is content with helping his family, he just wishes someone would preen his own wings too.
When they were finally done, Phil's wings are back to their clean and pristine self.
The everything turned red. Scaring Tommy into jumping in Phil's arms. The elytrian holding onto Tommy and letting out comforting croons.
Then Techno's voice came over Phil's communicator.
"Phil? Come in Phil."
Phil pressed on his ear piece "It's me tech. What's up? Is Something wrong?"
"It's an intruder! A Nightmareons! They've infiltrated the bridge!"
Phil took a sharp breath. Those shape shifting bastards, what do they want now?
"I'll be right there! Hold on!" Phil hangs up before turning to Tommy, scared and shaking in his shoes. The sight itself hurts but Phil needs to stay strong.
For his sons.
Phil croons to Tommy one last time. Giving Tommy one simple and direct order before leaving for the bridge to help his other sons.
"Stay here."
Completely oblivious to the creature that the Nightmareon had awakened.
When Phil got to the bridge with his Ray gun in hand, it was a disaster. The dreamon had taken the form of his crew. Wilbur and Techno fighting versions of themselves, and when Phil rushed to help, he was ambushed by a dark version of himself. Darn Nightmareons and their shape shifting abilities. As if it can't get any worse the Dreamon took the form of Phil's ray gun.
Techno with his axe, Wilbur with his sword and Phil with his gun, together they fought the shadows of themselves.
So focused, so determined to protect their ship and each other. That they couldn't hear the frantic desires of another crew member wishing to do the same. And it starts by tiny rapid footsteps heading towards the bridge. Wilbur grunts when the Nightmareon got a hit on his shoulders. Then when the pain is fresh, kicked the sword out of Wilbur's hand and pushed him to the floor.
"WILBUR!" Both Techno and Phil rushed to get to his side, but they weren't even able to get three inches close before their shadow counterpart stopped them to continue their battle. Wilbur frantically reaches for his sword, just anything to block the incoming attack from the Nightmareon.
Then he froze. Something small jumped in front of Wilbur. Grabbing the Nightmareon by the neck and forcing the it to turn into bursts of lights. The battle stops so everyone can witness light overcoming darkness. Wilbur was confused at first, until he spotted red nebula wings on a figure. It's hard to tell their features but the wings alone gave Wilbur enough detail to know what is standing before him.
When the Nightmareon that attacked Wilbur vanished, the creature of light went for the ones fighting Phil and Techno. Each one gave a good fight but one touch from the creature bursted the darkness into light once more. The fight created a distance between the SBI crew and the creature. So when the lights went back to normal. The crew bared witness to a creature that was thought to be nothing more than a myth.
As if the shock wasn't enough already, they can now clearly see that the nebula wings belonged to a small figure with blonde hair.
"Tommy?" Wilbur was the first to speak up from where he sat on the floor. The confirmation of when the creature turned at the name, and they saw those blue eyes that belonged to their youngest family, was simply and utterly breathtaking.
Tommy had messed up.
Years of keeping everything a secret to protect himself and them from the truth have now been thrown out in the vastness of space. All because Tommy couldn't ignore his basic instinct anymore.
Mess with a Nebula Phoenix's flock, you turn on their feral mode.
Tommy couldn't move when Wilbur stood up and started walking towards him. But he can close his eyes and wait to be detained, locked up and wait for the crew to call in scientists to inspect him, and conduct their experiments on him. Because that's all what a Nebula Phoenix is useful for. A vehicle to enhance progress, no matter fucked up their methods are. . .
But the cuffs never came, there were no yelling no shouting names at him. Not even a slap on his face. What came instead was a sigh of relief from Wilbur, along with a hug.
"Oh Tommy! Are you okay?! Does anything hurt? You even got a cut on your cheek!"
Wilbur. . . Wilbur worries for him like he just hadn't just found out that Tommy is a liar. He still treats him like he's still Tommy, but Tommy knows it won't last.
He doesn't know why he did it, but he reached out with both hands and started messing with Wilbur's face. It was then that Tommy knows why he did such a thing. It was the same act he did to his parents, but instead of feeling cold death, the cold Tommy feels is warm with life.
And that's enough for him.
Tommy falls into Wilbur's arms and started crying. He couldn't care less about what they do to him now.
He's just glad that they're alive.
He's glad that Phil, Techno and Wilbur. Are still breathing to see another day.
Wilbur hugs him back with gentleness, shushing down Tommy's cries as he did so "Don't worry Tommy, everything will be okay."
Tommy knows that's a lie, but he's willing to bask in the last affection he will ever get from his former family.