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Tommy sighs, slowly swimming behind Technoblade with his shoulders slumped. All he was trying to do is get some extra sleep but noooo, Mr. Hard-Ass 'this builds character, Tommy' just was required to force him awake and drag him out to check on the Cluppids with his boring butt.
Tommy does a weird huff-sigh combination and Techno glances at him from far ahead, his eyes turned up and pink fins swaying in the water more than usual. As expected, Techno is enjoying swimming around to check the Cluppids at ass o'clock in the morning and dragging his barely animate corpse around with him, the workaholic he is.
Tommy, of course, does the mature thing and sticks his tongue out at him. Techno huffs and gestures Tommy forward, Techno's over the top red and pink frills making it near impossible to be even remotely close to him, flared everywhere. Tommy taps on them. "Put those away, Techno! I need emotional support to get through these trying times."
Techno doesn't look at him, lightly tugging Tommy as they swim forward with the tiny ghost of a smile on his face. "What trying times, Thes? I see none."
Tommy groans, leaning as much as he can onto Techno, his limbs heavy. "These trying times! These ones! Do you not see the dire peril you are putting me, Big Man Tommy Outiit, through?"
Techno gifts Tommy a small chuckle, pushing Tommy off of him and pulling his frills tight to himself. Tommy grins, declaring, "Cling time now, bitch!" and throwing his arms around Techno's bicep, becoming a dead weight and watching the world pass by (He reluctantly reminds himself to keep it within reason).
Techno looks at him and Tommy grins winningly, wiggling his tail like a pup and gripping Technoblade tighter. "Tommy, I did not bring you along to become a ferry," he says. Smiling again and closing his eyes tightly, snuggling up to Techno, Tommy ignores him. He's not using his serious voice, just his lightly amused one, (there is a difference) so it's fine. Maybe Tommy'll make it up to him later somehow if he actually gets mad?
After Tommy's almost asleep with the rocking of the waves, clutching Techno's arm to his chest possessively, he's shaken lightly.
"We're here," Techno tells him, "Get up, kid."
He hums tiredly, wrinkling his brow. He's supposed to be doing something, isn't he? Prying open his eyes, Tommy pushes away from the comfortable thing he's clinging to and looks in the noise's direction. "Tech?" He mumbles, rubbing his eyes and pumping his tail a couple of times to keep himself from floating to the floor.
"Morning, sleepyhead," Techno says with amusement. Technoblade's low rumble is super nice and Tommy starts purring, rubbing his eyes again and trying to keep upright. He's nudged again and he sighs, looking at the blurred form of Technoblade and pouting. "C'mon, get up."
"No," he huffs, purr ratcheting up a notch as he squeezes Techno tighter, "m'ne. Sleep."
The arm he was clinging to is pulled away from him and Tommy hisses, swiping for it, Techno stating firmly in a rare bout of emotional intelligence, "No. I get you're tired, Thes, and your instincts are getting better of you, but stop it. I need to take care of Henry and Carl and Clementine."
Tommy frowns deeply, trying to get a hold of himself. "S'rry," he mutters, letting Techno go and ignoring the stupid fuckin' baby voice in his head that wants to cling to Techno and refuses to let go.
Techno ruffles his hair before swimming off, telling him in a soft tone, "When we get back I can read to you. I promise."
"'Ok," Tommy mumbles, harshly cussing out the fog in his head. It can shove off, makin' him act weird as fuck. Tommy floats for a bit, then once his brain is more awake, he follows behind Techno, clenching his fists. They're in Mtwn, an abandoned human settlement, the huge concrete behemoths jutting out of the landscape overtaken by fauna and flora. In his professional opinion, rounding a corner and brushing a hand against a building's side, it looks way fucking better now than when the humans lived in it.
Clem's, Shroud's, Carl's, and Henry's pen is hidden inside a square building with lots of black slabs in it, shattered to bits, mostly, and Tommy swims through a small hole in the top, swimming up to the mishmash of a railing next to Techno and watching Clemmie play with Henry.
"Uh- don't worry," Techno says, placing an awkward hand on Tommy's shoulder. Ah, so he's back to normal. "I've done all I can here, so there's nothing left to do except check on the stores. After that we can head home."
Tommy smiles shakily at Techno, the little voice piping up keep-keep-hold-MINE, though he painstakingly ignores the prick with a hollow feeling in his chest and pats Techno's hand, still lingering on his shoulder, swimming quickly out of the roof and toward the direction of the silo with all their stuff in it.
"Wait a minute, Tommy! Chill!"
He doesn't stop, determined to ignore the instincts in his head that sound frighteningly similar to his pup brain. It screams for comfort and for Techno, and he's fuckin' sick of it! Tommy can hear the swish of Techno's tail as he works to catch up to Tommy and Tommy abruptly turns and hisses at him. He's just pissed and for what? For fuckin' what and why?
Techno hisses back, bowling Tommy over and growling at him. "Stop it, Theseus! Stop it."
Tommy keeps up his hiss until he runs out of breath, spitting, "Go away, prick! Go away, go away, go away!"
"Why?" Techno asks, using his confused and upset voice, jettisoning down to the sand and pinning Tommy to it (he's still soft with him, gentle, and Tommy despairs. He knows, he knows that Techno would never hurt him, but how else can he get this stupid voice to shut up? It's only getting louder). It feels as if all the wind has fled from Tommy's sails and he goes limp, making an apologetic chirp.
"'M sorry," Tommy sheepishly murmurs, "'s just the stupid baby voice, I think, it's going bloody insane. I-" he chokes emotionally, almost breathing in a mouthful of sand with it, "it's so loud, Techno, and I thought I'd've gotten rid of it once I turned sixteen."
Techno pulls him up and dusts him off with a practiced hand, looking him in the eyes. "Y'know I'm not good with this comfort, emotion stuff, but I've got the voice too. I don't think it ever goes away, not really..." Techno trails off, seeming unsure how to continue, and oh fuck, it's gonna stay forever? Tommy whines sharply and presses his spines close to himself. Techno looks up in surprise, scrambling to backtrack and waving his hands, forgetting he's holding up Tommy, and therefore dropping him.
Tommy doesn't bob down far, catching himself and floating upwards, but oh Moon Goddess, he's gonna stay a baby brain mess until he dies! No, no, he tells himself firmly, unheeding of Technoblade, Techno is just shit at comforting. This is fine and he is the Biggest Man around. He'll be fine!
Fuck.
Tommy rockets bodily into Techno, gripping on as tight as he can and twining his tail into Techno's to try and keep him still, gasping uselessly. Technoblade chokes out some bubbles in surprise, patting Tommy's back and grabbing just as tightly to him, tucking Tommy's head under his chin, near Techno's fluttering gills, and muttering, "Sorry. I didn't help much, huh?"
They stay that way for a while, when the water grows slightly colder and through Tommy's closed eyes, everything seems to get darker. Techno's grip gets impossibly tighter, more constricting than comforting, and Tommy squirms, trying to look up. Techno pulls them sideways until a rough surface hits Tommy's back and Tommy starts getting worried. There's something wrong, and Tommy can see something big up in the sky.
It encroaches, sticking out metal stilts like some of the abandoned human settlements and plunging them into the water, stirring up violent waves that push against Tommy's face, even with how far away he is, and settling heavily. Tommy's chest constricts and he stares, his eyes widening as large as a coral shelf and small puffs of bubbles leaving his mouth.
Loud groans, clicks, and hisses emanate from the fuckin' beast, clearly auditory underwater, and oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fucking shit balls damnit! Tommy clenches his claws around Techno's arms as hard as he can, pulling them around him and pushing them both further into the shadows, the worst cusses he can think of running through his mind, his tail lashing harshly with the adrenaline coursing through his entire body, from his head fins to his tail tip.
Techno presses his own tail against Tommy's, stopping its movements as they stare at the settling beast, still growling, rattling, and hissing, Techno whispering, "Stop moving! You're going to draw it right to us!" Tommy gasps, going as still as a rock formation and breathing shallowly.
The beast seems to open, somehow, with a giant sheet of metal lowering into the water and two creatures walking out, click, click, click, until they're just on the edge of the creature's… mouth and in Tommy's perfect view. Tommy holds his breath, watching their mouths, one with a beak like an octopus, make muffled, odd not-people sounds. The one on the left looks almost like a drowned human, pale and drawn. He feels the urge to punch them, with their odd, swoopy hair and their weird human clothes. They just seem holier-than-thou, like a prissy bitch!
They talk to one individual Tommy can only describe as a water bird but dark like ink, like almost nothing he's ever seen before, and they also wear way too much clothing, a weird layered thing with several trinkets shining in the sun that would get Tommy killed if he wore it. They're either a very, very lucky bastard or a very fuckin' stupid one.
The prissy bitch groans dramatically, and walks inside, looking wobbly from under the water, like they're made of warped wood. Techno's head is turned near backwards to stare at the pair intensely. It's almost awkward, despite the fact that there's a fuckin' beast in the water that apparently the weird pair live in. Or were they eaten? The bird-like creature stands there with their arms crossed, playing with the random baubles on their cloak and shifting, tapping their weird… foot.
Eventually, there's a commotion from inside of the beast, the lanky prick wobbling outdeepthe darkness with arms full of something new. "Techno, Techno, look," he whispers urgently, "do you see it?"
Techno sets his jaw, a muscle in it twitching in anxiety. "I see it," he murmurs, futilely trying to press them both even farther into the concrete that painfully presses into Tommy's back.
The two... Humans, maybe, are making something. It's bright yellow, like Sol above, and very flat, with dark, matte steel branching off of it like a weird, half dead coral. A loud, squealing noise that makes Tommy fold his ear fins and press his hands against them with a wince, emanates from the thing, and Tommy can't stop himself from yipping sharply as it starts moving, Techno slapping his hand back over Tommy's mouth and shushing him.
Tommy slips down and behind Techno with wide, scared eyes, his golden red head fins, laid in thick swaths like an anenome's spines, splaying in the water. His spines instinctually try to splay and he just barely keeps them pressed flat, mainly through worry of pricking Techno.
Unease slips into his chest like a minnow into a dark crevice and Tommy watches, entranced, with morbid, curious fascination and bone deep terror mingling as the yellow thing inflates, expanding wider and bigger like the bullfrogs that live in the rare places that the water doesn't reach. It creaks as it moves up on stilts and sets itself in the water with a quiet ripple.
The beast chimes a high note, almost sounding like a friendly Mer "Hello!" but demonically slurred like they'd only had the noise described and never heard it, the humans perking up and Tommy and Techno shrinking back. The dead human smiles and claps their hands, turning to say some more indecipherable shit to their companion and hopping into the thing like an excited guppy, it dipping under the unexpected weight and movement.a
It shudders, another… thing, 'bout the size of a small shark, coming from it, sliding neatly out of an unseen place in its skin and dipping into the water, a series of plates of some kind deploying out of it like very quickly growing coral shelves, starting to whirr.
Then, with another shudder, it shoots forward in the water.
Tommy pushes out of Techno's slightly relaxed grip, unable to stop himself from quickly following behind the thing and its occupants, Techno growling after him and hissing, "Thes!" chasing behind him. Tommy grabs sand and rubs it into his scales, like Techno had taught him, staying just far enough behind the beast to keep out of sight. Looking back, Tommy squeaks at how close Techno is to him, going as fast as he can manage without possibly being spotted and moving with a deadly, practiced grace.
Damnit. Tommy floats sheepishly until Techno catcins up, Techno grabbing his neck and killing him towards him with an ironclad grip, hissing in harsh reprimand that makes his instincts go wild and he chirrups in hurried apology, grabbing Techno's arms and curling around him, sorry-pod-sorry! sorry! sorry!
Techno sighs, patting Tommy's back. fine-fine-love-forgiven, he huffs in return, making Tommy relax and blink heavily, coming back to himself. "We're going home," Techno states, trying to pull Tommy away from the slowly disappearing beast, but Tommy refuses, pulling back as hard as he can.
"Tech," he says,"Wouldn't it be smart if we stalked the bastards? Saw what they were getting up to to make sure it's nothing that'll fuck us over?"
Techno sighs, humming in consideration with a calculating look in his eyes.
"Techno, c'mon. You can't tell me it'd be a bad idea to be prepared!" Tommy tries to reason, knowing that if he tries to run off by himself, he'll just be caught and forced to stay in their den for a week, curled up in the nest and bored out of his mind.
"Okay."
Tommy has to do a double take. "Yeah?"
Techno sighs again. "Yep. You won't leave my side the entire time and you'll be quiet, or you're out of luck," He whispers harshly, swimming away with Tommy's hand in his and not seeing Tommy nod. The beast is far off, floating in the middle of nowhere and shining with Sol's light, but with Techno leading, they don't have much trouble catching up.
The beast stops after they arrive at a large island, no humans to be seen, and the individuals get out of it, marveling at the burned out shell of a house barely visible from where Techno and Tommy watch. It's boring and all the people do is walk around the beach of the sirel island, looking like they've never seen a tree before. Tommy sighs. The people then go on to put small disks in the water, which Tommy is required by law to poke.
He pulls Techno, who is glaring at the beings like they hold the secrets of the universe, over to it and picks it up. There's a thunk and Tommy's innocent curiosity sours into wariness, and he sets it down quickly. It's too late, though, metal shicking out of it and encasing both Techno and Tommy within seconds, Techno looking at Tommy in mute horror. The box fills with water just as quickly.
"This is why I did not want to bring you!" Techno yells, making frenzied circles in the box and pounding on its sides.
"I'm sorry," Tommy blubbers, chirruping apologies and joining Techno in his search for weak points. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Goddess, I'm such a fucking idiot!" sorry-sorry-pod-sorry!
"Yeah, Thes," Techno spits, "maybe you are."
Excited shouting comes from outside the box, Techno stopping his circles and pulling Tommy behind him despite his obvious ire, displaying his claws and growling. Light fills the dark box, windows to the outside somehow opening, and Tommy shades his eyes, the beings staring at them like they're not Mers and are instead some sort of spectacle. The dead human shakes their hands and seems to do some sort of happy dance and the bird man simply stares with their coal black eyes.
They try to give something to them, a small black piece of something that they drop into the tank from a small hole that opens up in the top of the box, and he hisses at them. Kidnappers! Wronguns! Techno slashes at them for him and Tommy curls up, hiding behind him just a little. The dead human and the bird instead throw black dust into the capture tank that makes Tommy sneeze and shake his head as something seems to change, the indecipherable words and chirps from the beings turning into actual words.
"-ello? Hello?" The bird says in the most unassuming voice Tommy's ever heard, "Can you understand us now? I'm Philza, and I'm Captain of the research vessel S. B. I. We just need some questions answered, mates, and then we can let you go on your way."
Techno rumbles, "Why the fuck would we listen to you?" The bird tries to speak again, but Techno slams himself against the glass, making both of the beings reel back. "All I see is idiots that decided to throw around hazardous materials and hurt random people. Let me and my brother go." Techno ends his sentence with a thunderous growl and the bird man winces.
"I'm sorry we trapped you two, we didn't intend to. Can we negotiate?" The bird man offers and Tommy can see Techno thinking about it. He chirrups a small apology at getting them into this fucked mess, but Techno just waves him off.
Eventually, Techno sighs, and nods reluctantly. What? Why is he agreeing to talk? But Tommy holds his tongue, looking confusedly at Techno and clutching Techno's torso. Techno moves away from Tommy, Tommy's fingers from his torso. "Is there a way we can move this elsewhere? I don't want my brother wrapped up in this. He's just a kid."
Again, Tommy would have said something, but again he holds his tongue, glaring and crossing his arms as he floats to the back of the box with a flick of his tail. He's going to fucking kill them. Philza's eyes turn upwards and his feathers fluff slightly, likely the closest to a smile he, with his beak and all, can make. "Of course, mate! I'll open up a passageway for you and Wilbur, my associate, can stay with your brother. It's no problem at all!"
Philza walks forward and taps on the box, opening a small passage way, barely big enough for a fish. Techno looks at Philza and raises an eyebrow, gesturing to the passage way. Philza's feathers poof up and his shoulders are back, conveying surprise, and he taps a couple more times, the passageway opening up until Techno can do a little shimmy wiggle through it. Tommy near laughs out loud, releasing a hiss of bubbles and pressing his hands over his mouth to not draw attention.
After Philza and Techno leave, Tommy's left with the prissy prick, who has mostly been very quiet and sat there, wiggling his hands and rocking on his feet. "Why can't you let us just leave?" Tommy glares, growling at the prick, "We didn't do anything to you." He wishes they had, though, so he could rip them apart, the voice in the back of his head hissing possessively.
The bitch just shuffles and looks slightly apologetic. Oh, yeah, they'll be damn sorry when he bites their damn face off! He splays his spines in an effort to intimidate, his head fins spreading out in a frill, rattling them in a rather terrifying display. "Sorry, I can't do that. We're meant to research and that's what we're doing," the bitch says, backing away a bit. "My name is Wilbur, by the way. I use he/him pronouns. What about you? Might as well bond while we're here."
Tommy would spit, but he's underwater, so he simply hisses and hides in the corner, curling up.
The idiot keeps asking him the same question over and over and over until Tommy snaps, spitting, "I am Tommy fuckin' Outiit, you damn bastard, and I use he/him pronouns! Shut the fuck up!" The man does, for a minute, but a shit eating grin spreads across his face.
"I knew I could get you to crack!" He laughs, pulling out a clear pouch filled with something that looks an awful lot like blood. What the fucking fuckity fuckery? Then, he bites into it with almost translucent fangs, Tommy watching in horrified fascination as he drinks it, watching the blood go down channels in his fangsz turning them crimson. Now, Tommy is not a coward and he loves some bloody meat, but at least he doesn't drink it straight up! What the hell kinda shrooms is this guy on?
"I'm a Vampyr," Wilbur says when Tommy looks weirded out by the straight up blood his fuckin' weird ass kidnapper is drinking from his weird ass pouch. When he looks to him for more information, Wilbur complies, explaining further, "that means that I drink the blood of other creatures to live. And when I go out in a bright place like this, I need layers."
"Ah," Tommy wisely says, nodding, "that explains the bitch boy outfit. Looks awful, by the way," he snaps. Wilbur gasps in affront, holding a too pale hand with abnormally long fingers and black claws to his chest.
"I'll have you know that all of this is designer!"
"The fuck's dee-sihgn-eer?" Tommy asks. Is a a fabric or some shit? Wilbur just sighs in disappointment and moves closer to Tommy's tank. Probably to kneel and beg for Tommy's forgiveness because he's such a piss baby bitch boy.
"What are you doing, bitch?" Tommy asks, his hands pressed to the glass, the Vampyr sitting next to the sand while Techno interrogates Philza on the other side of the tiny island.
"We're bonding!" The Vampyr, Wil-bitch, exclaims, sitting next to Tommy and leaving against the tank. Tommy hisses at him, snapping his teeth, and Wilbur laughs, disappearing.
"What the fuck?" Tommy shrieks, "Where'd he go?" He's a breath away from calling Techno when he hears echoey giggles where Wilbur was. "Wilbur?"
"Yes, Tommy?" The echoing voice answers.
"Holy shit, is that you?!" Tommy shrieks excitedly, careful to make sure Techno's still talking with the bird man. He is, and he doesn't seem to be done verbally ripping the bastard a new one. Philza is hunched and he even looks smaller, his feathers pressed tightly to himself. Tommy kinda feels bad for him.
"Helloooo! Tommy?" Wilbur's voice echoes, even though they're not even in a cave or anything, drawing back Tommy's attention.
"Yeah, Wil-bitch?" He snipes, flicking his tail.
"C'monnn, let's do something fun! I'm bored. Can I come in the tank with you?'" The very, very, very, stupid, gullible, and idiotic dumbass asks. A terrible, sadistic smile stretches across Tommy's face, bringing up a hand to hide it.
"Oh, sure!" He chirps, "Come on in." Oh my Goddess, if he actually does, Tommy's gonna rip him into tiny pieces.
Wilbur seems to hesitate, so Tommy smoothes down his spines and presses his head fins down flat, trying to look innocent and unassuming. "Okay," Wilbur echoes, "I'm coming in now." Tommy can't hear him get up, but the top of the tank slides open and he can hear breathing. "Hey," Wilbur says, "How are you, gremlin child?"
Tommy takes offense. He takes so much offense. "I am not a child! I'm also not a 'gremlin,' whatever that fuckin' is, you bitch!" Thank the Goddess he's gonna be literally bathing in this idiot's blood! Tommy pounces at the place where the breathing is loudest, but he launches straight through nothing, flailing and slamming his face into the tank's side.
"Did I mention that when I go invisible, I'm also intangible?" Wilbur says, sounding giddy. "You can't hurt me. The sun was too bright anyways, so this is a pleasant break. What's a little murder between friends, anyway?" Tommy growls, shaking off the dizziness in his head. It simply makes it worse, but he pretends it worked. Guess he can't kill the bitch.
"Fine," he growls. "I won't try to kill you like this, then. Coward! Piss baby!"
Wilbur laughs again. "You can try to goad me and it will work, but I'm not going tangible." The breathing leaves out the hole in the tank, and Tommy almost slams his face into the wall again. He could've left! The entire time! And now his only maybe friend is gone and he's not escaped yet. He growls and does a couple fast, violent circles, which make his headache worse, so he's forced to lay on the bottom of the tank.
"Are you not feeling great?" Wilbur asks, tangible again and with a hand pulling one of his curls, jittering. "You did slam into that wall… I'll get you a healing pot, wait a second," he mumbles, walking away.
When he gets back, he's holding a bottle with something red and iridescent inside, and while it looks maybe not poisoned, Tommy does not fucking want it! He glares up at Wilbur, saying, "I'm not drinking jack shit! Fuck off!"
Wilbur lights up, for some weirdo reason, and starts rambling, "Oh, you don't need to drink it! It's a splash potion, I didn't sleep for a month trying to figure the damn thing out. The only alchemy books we have are in Enderian, when we went to the End that one time on a job. Almost died. We did get Ranboo out of it, though…" Tommy just closes his eyes and flops down.
A bubbling sensation tickles his scales and a taste he can't describe is in his mouth and Tommy feels his head clear and his aches dissipate, but it's like all his energy has simply vacated his body. "What'y'd'?" Tommy mumbles, "Drug me?" He stares balefully up at Wilbur, not even having the energy to hiss.
"No," Wilbur says, sliding down the glass of the crate, turning his head to look at Tommy, "Healing potions are just tiring. Rather than giving you health, – which can't be done, because health isn't anything, it's just your body working correctly – it artificially speeds up your healing process and expends a ton of energy."
Wilbur sounds tired too and Tommy sighs. "How'd'you know this?" Tommy asks, looking up at Wilbur. He's too tired to be angry anymore, but it simmers in the back of his throat. At least his instincts are quieter.
"I'm our medical researcher," Wilbur explains, "so I have to know it. I do like it! But I also have to."
Someone shakes Tommy's shoulder and he groans, batting at them. "Go 'way, Tech," he mumbles. Then, in a rush, the situation comes back to him, filling his mind with harried images and feelings, and he shoots up, slamming his face into someone else's.
"Fuck!" Tommy reels back, staring at the pained face of his brother.
"We have to leave," Techno urges, "Now, Theseus! Me and Philza have negotiated and it's time to go." He's pulled out of the tank through a passage similar to the one Techno left through, too tired to do much but be dragged along, barely beating his tail. When they get outside, it's dark, the Goddess shining softly above, and Wilbur is waiting for them.
Techno snarls, pulling Tommy close, and Wilbur runs a hand through his hair. "… Will you come back, Tommy?"
Tommy thinks, and really, was Wilbur so bad? He gave him one of those healing things and talked to him and didn't get mad when Tommy tried to brutally murder him while he was in the throes of emotion. Techno hisses at Wilbur again, starting to speak, but Tommy beats him to it. "Yeah, sure, Wil-bitch. I'll come see your ugly mug every once in a while. Don't fuckin' expect me to forgive you, though!"
Wilbur grins, and salutes. "Yeah, sure, gremlin child. See you!"
Tommy just scoffs at him, flips him the bird, and swims away with his upset, confused brother, deciding to ignore any questions until they're home.
A few months of "bonding", as Wil-bitch calls it, pass by. Tommy keeps his promise, dragging Techno along with him most times, and they go back to spend time with the weird blokes, with Tommy showing Philza the best sea snail hunting spots and talking to more people than he ever has in his life. He'd say he was sick of talking, but that would be untrue, and while Wilbur isn't good at sitting still, he lets Tommy braid his hair like he does with Techno's when he asks and does pranks with him!
They even figure out something pogger than anything ever before when Tommy and Techno doze on the ship's ramp, drying off in Sol's warmth. Tommy wakes up after a while and he feels weird. He looks at his hand and he's squishy! No scales to be found anywhere and when he reaches up to feel his head fins, there's no webbing in between his fingers either, and his head fins have been replaced with golden hair, curly like Wilbur's!
Tommy shrieks and Techno wakes up with a startled growl. Tommy makes another discovery just that fuckin' moment. Techno looks weird too! Gone are his red eyes and slit pupils replaced with blue ones and circles! "Christ," Tommy shrieks, "we look hideous! I'll never get any wives!"
Techno freaks out too, huffing, hissing, and growling frantically, trying to flop around to get anywhere and drawing Phil and Wilbur, their foot steps growing closer and stopping. "What the fuck!" Wilbur shouts, adding even more commotion to the angry, confused pile. "Could you guys do that before?"
"NO!" The brothers yell in unison, still screaming and flopping about.
"CRAWWWKKK!" Phil caws loudly, making Tommy stop his caterwaul and look at Phil. "Look, this may be new and honestly fucking terrifying, but if you little shits don't calm down, nothing will be done about it," he says firmly. "Are you two okay? Hurt? Dying?"
Tommy says no and Techno reluctantly follows after.
"Then what we'll do is you'll stand up with our help and we'll put you back. Hopefully that will reverse whatever this is." Phil walks forward, beckoning Wilbur to help, and pushes Tommy down the ramp, Tommy's new limbs going every which way uncontrollably and making him spit out a couple of curses. He heavily splashes into the water, feeling some sort of tickling change go over him. Soon enough, he looks at his hand, and it's proper red scales again.
Techno falls into the water next and Tommy watches, fascinated, as Techno's hair transforms into his proper hair fins, his eyes change, his second eyelid sliding across to protect him from the water, and his pink and red scales invade Techno's weird skin.
"Oh my Goddess," Tommy breathes, looking up in obvious excitement, a slow grin stretching across his face, "can we do that now?!"
Phil and Wilbur also go and meet the humans. They seemed happy about what they found, but they talked to fuckin' humans! Humans!
Eventually, they're invited to tour Phil and Wilbur's 'research vessel' once again, lounging by the ship's entrance, floating on their backs together, Tommy pressed to Techno's side, toward Sol, shining merrily in the sky.
Phil invited them and immediately Tommy does a barrel rolls, turning towards Phil. Techno tightens his arms around Tommy, eyes half moons and pupils blown out and content, and softly growls, possessive. "M'ne."
Tommy pats him absentmindedly and excitedly asks, "Now? You mean now, as in right this fuckin' minute?" Phil nods and Tommy does a few more barrel rolls, seeing how quickly he can complete them before he gets dizzy. "Hell yeah! No contest!" He shakesa Technoblade with grin as bright as Sol on his face, forgetting a minute that Techno's half asleep and in his instincts before Techno whines (Tommy doesn't think he'll ever get used to hearing that come out of Techno's throat) and he quickly pulls back his hands. Techno pulls Tommy back to his side and grasps for Phil with another distressed whine
Phil throws on his heavy duty life vest and hops in the water without a second thought, startling them both and making Techno growl again in warning, quiet-quiet-sleep-mine-pod, he grumbles, curling around Phil and burying his face into Phil's feathers, Tommy swimming down and under, curling around Phil's other side and regaling him with a story about the time both Henry and Clementine got lost, oh, it was so annoying, Phil, (but Tommy knows that Phil knows that he really was scared for them) and then Carl escaped and brought them home.
He shares every detail, going over them until he can't tell Phil anything else about the little bell Clemmie left behind and how upset Shroud got, right depressed he was, when every Cluppid escaped but them, then switching to another story until Techno shakes himself out, uncurling around Phil and looking at them disgruntled, his head fins half hair and half fin, the pink strands' tips floating about in the water.
A camera clicks, and Tommy snaps up his head, Wilbur's echoing giggles and pounding steps loud as he makes his escape, a camera violently bobbing, along for the ride. Tommy grins and yells out playfully, "Delete that, you bitch, or me 'n' Techno 'll come and beat you up!"
"Too late, gremlin! It's saved to the ship's databanks now," Wilbur's voice smug and echoing down the ship's halls. Tommy laughs, brushing a hand through his newly transformed hair– instead of fins! – that he's unsure he'll ever get used to, fascinated.
Phil taps Tommy and he turns to look at him.
"I've already asked Techno, mate," Phil explains, smiling, a still disgruntled but slightly more awake Techno peeking out from behind him, almost all of his head fins half-fin and half hair, stringy with salt water, "he says he's okay with you two going to see the ship too!" Tommy whoops, whistling nonsense tunes like Wilbur does.
"Are you ready?"
"Born ready! C'mon, Tech!" Tommy crows, grabbing Techno gently by the wrist and tugging him and a bobbing Phil to the ship's ramp. Phil scrambles up it and pulls them up too, Tommy wiggling to make it easier for him. Once they're all dry, Phil handing out towels then wrapping one around himself, Tommy wobbles onto his feet. Techno is already standing, no wobbles to be seen! Has he been practicing without him?
Techno grabs Tommy's hand and Phil gestures them to follow him, calling out, "WIL! I'm showing Techno and Toms around the ship, come and help!" Loud crashing and obvious scrambling from deep into the ship ensue, Wilbur's enraged and excited shouts loud enough that they almost ring as he gets closer.
Tommy snickers. "Awe, Wilburrrrr! It's nice to know you care," Tommy good naturedly simpers when Wilbur comes into view, heaving for air.
"Oh, shut up, you gremlin." Wilbur pants with a weak grin, trying to bat at Tommy without looking at him. "Of course I care."
Tommy smiles happily, pulled along by his hand, mine-love-mine, hugging Wilbur and bringing him with them. "C'mon then, prick. We don't want to take too long and injure Phil's old man bones."
Wilbur nods solemnly. "Yes, we absolutely can't have that. Don't want to have to plan the funeral too soon, do we?"
Phil amusedly scoffs at them, batting their shoulders softly. "Shut. Here's the kitchen," he says, pointing out an open doorway. Tommy peeks inside and Techno silently walks into it, probably still out of sorts from his nap and his dip into his instincts. "We don't have much in the cabinets right now, or I'd offer you something. Most of it's packed away!" Phil chuckles, beckoning them out of the room again.
And so the tour continues. In the hallway, they pass large tunnels of water with lots of plants Tommy recognizes inside of them and he stares at them as they're introduced to room after room after room, until they're in front of another unassuming silver door and Tommy is almost deceased from boredom.
Wilbur waves his hands from side to side, introducing the door with a flourish. "This is my room! The best room in the entire ship, besides the medical lab." The door slides open when Wilbur inputs a code that he awkwardly hides, curling his lanky form around the pad.
The room looks how Tommy imagined it, sheet music everywhere and unmade sheets, with random knicknacks stuffed into sleek boxes. Messy and fun, just like his pod! His Wilbur!
"It's not usually this out of sorts," Wilbur explains, puttering around his room and messing with bits and bobs. "We're just getting ready to-" he stops himself, eyes going wide. "Nevermind," Wilbur tries to quickly dismiss, but what the fuck? Getting ready to what?
Tommy gasps, a realization clicking into place. Looking at Techno, it's obvious he's had it too, his head tilted and eyes sharp. "You're- you're-" Tommy dithers, giving a rattling hiss, "You're fuckin' leaving us!"
Phil looks panicked at Tommy's shrieks, stumbling to comfort him. "No, no, mate, I promise-" Tommy hisses, clinging to Techno's arm, and clicking help-pod-help-mine! at Techno with a heartbroken expression. "What are you saying?" Phil asks, bringing Wilbur over to his side, too. "Look, I promise we're not leaving without you!"
"Well then, fuckers, what were you trying to do?!" Tommy hisses, sarcastically inviting explanation.
Wilbur rubs his neck, Phil looking slightly sheepish beside him. They don't look sorry, just… Tommy wracks his brain, sorry they were caught! "Well, guess the jig is up. We weren't planning to ask, really." Tommy gasps, he knew it! "No, no, wait, Toms!" Tommy hisses again, tears pricing his eyes and burying his face into Techno's side.
Techno sighs, protectively winding his arms around Tommy. "Tommy, let them finish," Techno begins loud enough that they can hear, then lowers his voice and whispers to Tommy, his voice lowering in a matching angry hiss, "I've got a plan. They won't be leaving us anytime soon." Tommy takes a breath and nods firmly, turning his eyes to Wilbur with a stormy expression.
"Thank you, Techno. Okay, so. What I meant was that we… may not have been going to ask, but we were hoping to bring you." He winces. "… without your knowledge. Sorry, we've never done this before..." Phil nods, adding, "I'm sorry it upset you, mates, but we can't leave you. We won't." Tommy tapped Techno, asking for permission to speak with a breathy whistle. Techno shakes his head minutely, staring at Wilbur and Phil with a calculating stare, and Tommy huffs in disappointment.
"Come… with us and join the ship. This is only a little of our usual crew, you know, and well…" Wilbur trails off, Phil continuing, "We want you two to get to meet them and since you two can't stay shifted constantly, we've been sprucing up the place for you, widening Niki's water tubes and the like. Will you… come with us, mates? We'd be chuffed to have you."
Techno and Tommy stand and stare for a minute, looking at each other and then looking at Phil and Wil. They look more nervous the longer Tommy and Techno stay silent. Slowly, an elated smile spreads across Tommy's face, brighter than Sol, and he looks to Techno hopefully, asking a silent question.
Techno nods, just a little, and Tommy shakes with excitement, unable to stop himself from yelling, "Yes! Fuck yes! Hell yes! All the damn yesses in the sea!" Wilbur shakes his hands side to side with a widening grin, seeming just as elated as Tommy, and he slams into them both, wrapping his lanky arms around them and beckoning over Phil. "You shoulda just asked, you pricks." Slight vehemence drips into his tone.
"We wouldn't have let you leave anyways," Wilbur confides, playing with Techno's hair. "Even if you had said no."
Techno gives them a rare, small sadistic smile, rumbling, "Who said that we would have either? This is just easier." And Tommy grips them all hard, trilling possessive agreement. This is never going to happen again and they're never leaving. He's sure that they can see it in his face.
They're all grinning (except Techno, but he's doing his own equivalent) and Phil wraps his expansive wings around all of them, wrapping them in comforting darkness.
Tommy genuinely can't fucking believe it. His chest is tight and bubbly with his happiness and excitement, his instincts screaming mine-love-happy-love-mine contentedly. He just- genuinely can't fucking believe it. He's gonna go to space with his family, his pod, and Techno won't have to worry about the humans or other mer and-
They're gonna be safe, they're gonna be happy, and it's going to be pog.
Tommy can't wait.