Chapter Text
“What do you see?”
Two brothers laid on the grass, eyes tracking a particularly strange looking cloud. Its shape stuck out in odd places, occasionally weaving through one form to create another.
Pockets of light shone through the empty spaces of the cloud. A pine tree blocked the rays where the boys’ heads laid, casting a shadow and helping them make shapes out of the clouds without having to squint.
“A ballerina.” The younger said, narrowing his gaze as he concentrated on the cloud.
“What?”
“It’s a ballerina! You see the arms?” Tommy pointed upwards, trying to direct his brother's eyes to where he set his own. It was a futile attempt but the older of the two nodded as if he saw it anyway. “And the skirt.” He moved his finger down ever so slightly.
“I still don’t see it.”
“What the fuck.” The younger stated more than said. “Okay, so what do you see then?”
“A duck.”
“A duck?”
“Yes, a duck.”
“What? How?” Tommy gaped, grass getting stuck in his blonde hair as he craned his neck upwards to try and understand how the hell his brother was seeing a duck of all things.
“Those are the wings,” He pointed to where his brother said the ballerina’s skirt was before angling his hand towards the ballerina’s arms. “and that’s the beak.”
“That literally makes no sense whatsoever.”
“I don’t really care.”
“Wha- you should!” The blonde exclaimed.
“I see what I see. What am I meant to do about that?”
“Not be a fucking idiot, that’s what.”
The older sighed as he brought his hands to his face. He removed his rectangle-framed glasses to rub at his eyes, blinking a few times to clear his vision. “God, you’re so annoyin’.”
“Take that back.” There was a glint to his eyes and a smile on his face as he stood up, snatching Techno’s glasses and holding them high above his head.
It was moments just like this that showed him why it could be really annoying having a younger brother that was taller than himself. At least he was stronger. He could easily pick the kid up and take the glasses by force, but that would risk breaking them and Techno would really rather not spend the money on new glasses, especially since it was so unnecessary.
So yeah, maybe Tommy was taller but Techno was stronger by far, so at least he still had the intimidation factor going for him. That intimidation was probably less effective with the memories of him and his brother’s nights spent together watching movies and playing board games, the pink bunny slippers the older wore matching his dyed hair almost perfectly.
“I’ll break them, try me bitch!”
Techno tilted his head in faux contemplation before answering slowly. “…No.”
“Fuck you! Bitch! Dick!” Tommy swore.
Techno’s unimpressed look never wavered. “Okay?”
“Balls! Shit!”
“Now you’re just cursin’ at me.”
“Prick, ass, fuck.”
“You already said fuck.”
Tommy hesitated for a beat. “Shit.”
The pink-haired man huffed in amusement as he stood up, brushing the dirt and grass off his jeans. “Alright, alright, let’s get you back inside. It’s gettin’ late anyway and we should probably have dinner soon.”
“But I wanna stay out here!” Tommy whined, “Please Techno? Just a few more minutes so we can watch the sunset.”
“No, no, no. I know how this goes. You convince me to stay outside for five more minutes, then you pester me to stargaze with you, and then we forget to eat dinner and you end up all cranky in the morning.” Techno huffed. “Nope, never again.”
“You always say that.”
“Yeah, well this time I mean it.”
“But I thought you love telling me about all the constellations and their stories and shit! What about-”
“Tommy..” Techno’s voice would have sounded like a warning if it wasn’t completely taken over by exhaustion. Maybe there was a hint of amusement in there somewhere, but Tommy was too caught up in trying to convince his brother to notice it.
“Oh, come on. Please?”
“Not tonight, Tommy.”
“Pretty please?”
“It’s not going to work this time.”
“Why not? Dad’s not home tonight, it’s perfect!”
“I’m not dealing with an angry Phil when he gets back. I promised him to be responsible while he’s gone.” Both brothers knew how their dad would get if he found out about them being irresponsible. Not that he would be completely pissed, but he’d definitely be a bit worried. God knows that man had enough stress in his life already, there was no need to give him any more gray hairs.
Besides, staying up late was far from the worst thing they’d ever done. Maybe this could get swept under the rug, just this once.
“Since when have you ever been responsible?”
“Since now, apparently.”
The two stared each other down for a minute, challenging the other to see who would break first. Apparently this time it was Techno once again.
“Fine, but I’m makin’ dinner first. You can stay out here, just don’t leave the backyard, alright?” Techno compromised. “Sound fair?”
“Sounds good to me, big man!” Tommy beamed.
“Okay,” Techno patted his brother on the back as he started towards their back door. “I’ll bring some out to you when it’s ready.”
Tommy nodded. He watched Techno disappear into their kitchen, the door clicking shut behind him.
A man stood in the middle of a ravine. A glowing stone in one hand, a ball of fire in the other.
Wait, fire?
Fire that burned so brightly it lit up the entire chasm. It danced in his palm and he watched it with a curious eye.
A few feet away stood three boys. Two were familiar, one was not—though, there was something about him that gave off a sense of deja vu.
Everyone’s bodies were blurred and warped. Their eyes were black and unseeing, chest unmoving when they were meant to breathe, limbs just an inch too long and smiles just a bit too wide to be real. It didn’t take a genius to see that something was off.
Still, the scene continued.
The first held a century-old piece of paper, coffee stained and charred at the edges. The second had a flashlight in his grasp, clutching it so tightly that his knuckles were white. The third carried an electric blue backpack on his shoulders. It seemed to be empty by the way the guy picked it up as though it were a feather.
What’s the paper about? Was it written on? Was it a drawing or a document or something else? Or maybe it was-
A map. The snowy landscape was marked with symbols of mountains and rivers and a particularly large ravine that stood out from the rest. A messy ‘X’ was scrawled atop that last landmark, coincidentally it seemed as though that’s where the four stood now.
“Phil?” One of the boys spoke. It echoed and sounded strangely distorted, but that was probably because of the chasm they were in.
Why was he here? Where even is ‘here?’
“Dad, it’s us.” A voice, his voice, said to his father. He gestured to the trio. “See?”
The group was only met with silence.
“Guys I have a bad feeling about this.” One of the distorted voices said. “Let’s leave.”
“No, wait.” The man apart from the trio called out before they could turn to go. “Just a little further.”
The man, Phil, walked to join the others. Or more specifically, to join one person in particular.
Phil grabbed his wrist and pulled him away from the other two, catching him when he tripped over his own feet.
“It’ll all be okay,” The man cooed, running a soothing hand through the boy’s hair. “Just a little further.”
The once soothing hands gripped his hair harshly, holding him in place as shadows of desaturated color flooded from Phil’s veins to his own. Phil cooed softly, hushing him to get him to relax.
The boy screamed.
By the time Techno was finished with dinner, the last ray of sunlight had already left the sky. Now a moon rested in its place, and with it came the stars.
Techno grabbed a flashlight from a drawer in the kitchen, switching it on and shining it on the ground so he wouldn’t trip and drop the plates of food precariously stacked in his hands. He breathed in the cool night air, looking up to see not a cloud in the sky. It really was a perfect night for stargazing.
He expected Tommy to be sat upright, eyes tracing the invisible lines connecting the stars into constellations, but instead he laid on the grass, curled up in a ball.
“I knew I should’ve made you go to bed.” Techno huffed fondly as he sat down beside his brother. “Tommy wake up, I have food for you.”
No response. The kid slept like a rock and Techno didn’t know whether to be impressed by his inability to startle awake or annoyed that he wouldn’t get up to eat.
“Tommy,” He tried again. “Tommy, get up. You can eat then go to bed again right after.”
Again, nothing. Techno groaned before saying, “I made baked potatoes for you.”
The boy shifted.
“Again?” He mumbled. It seemed Tommy was finally awake. Took him long enough.
“Here.” Techno handed Tommy the plate when he sat up, ice-cold hands brushing his own. “Tommy, you’re freezin’.” Techno gasped, grabbing the blonde’s wrist to check his temperature again. “Why are you so cold?”
“I don’t feel cold.” Tommy grumbled.
“You are.” Techno scrunched his nose. “You feelin’ alright?”
“I feel fine.” Tommy brushed his hand away. “Just a little warm, but that’s just the weather.”
“It’s nighttime and autumn.” Techno felt his hands again, making a dissatisfied face when he found that they were still cold. He then moved his hands to Tommy’s forehead, quickly pulling them away after a second of contact.
“Holy shit, you’re burnin’ up.”
“I feel fine, Techno, really. Can you tell me about Orion again?”
“No, you’re comin’ inside.”
“What about Cassiopeia?”
“Tommy..”
“Techno, I’m fine!”
“Clearly you’re not.” He stared at Tommy. Now that he really looked at his brother, he could easily see that he was not as ‘fine’ as he claimed to be. There were eyebags under his eyes and his mouth was twisted into a grimace and he just looked so tired. How could this much have changed within the last half hour? “You’re comin’ inside with me and I’m takin’ your temperature. Come on.”
“But Techno.” Tommy whined, drawing out his name.
“Nope, no arguin’ with me. I’m in charge and what I say goes. Now come inside so I can shove a thermometer in your face.”
“Ugh,” Tommy groaned dramatically. “Fine, fine.”
“Thank you.” Techno rolled his eyes and led the way back into their house, dragging Tommy along with him.
It took three painstakingly long minutes for Techno to find the thermometer and take Tommy’s temperature. In that time, Techno refused to let his little brother move from off the couch, giving him a stern look whenever he tried to sneak away. Tommy grumbled when he got caught, but stayed put anyway.
“You’re normal.” Techno told Tommy, brows furrowed in confusion. He took the thermometer out of his mouth and set it on the kitchen counter.
Tommy smirked, clearly a bit too smug at the fact that he was right and Techno was wrong. “I told you so.”
“This proves nothin’.”
“It does, though! I’m okay, I’m not sick!”
“Tommy, people don’t just go from freezin’ cold to swelterin’ in two seconds.”
“I do. I’m just that good.”
“You’re impossible.” Techno rubbed at his face, trying to clear away the exhaustion.
“I’m the best.” Tommy beamed.
Techno stared at his brother with a blank expression for a good minute and a half. Tommy paid him no mind, getting up from the couch and heading to his room.
“Hey, we still have to eat dinner.”
“I can have some leftovers, the potatoes are probably cold by now anyway.”
“That’s okay, we can just nuke ‘em-”
Burning heat tore through the air, sucking the air from his lungs. It was bright, painfully bright. Reds and oranges and golden-yellows lit up the night sky as he inhaled smoke from the blast.
This again?
The ground shook beneath him. Once the deafening rumbling ceased, his ears rang, shooting spikes of pain into his skull. When the smoke finally cleared, he was somewhere new.
“-wouldn’t want all my hard work to go to waste.”
He stood alone in a deserted graveyard, and yet he still felt a presence near. But that wasn’t what intrigued him.
An open grave of someone whose name faded long ago was dug out before him. Blue and yellow flowers were left at their headstone arranged in a beautiful bouquet. There were burnt-out candles at the base and window clings of animals and instruments plastered on the plaque with no coherent design.
They were loved, that much was clear to him. They were missed too. After all these years, after their name wore off and all that was left were the mementos left by loved ones, people still cared.
He felt a pang in his chest. Sympathy, most likely.
But then again, there was a pile of dirt dug out from where the coffin was meant to lay, so maybe this person wasn’t as well looked after as it seemed.
Another strange thing about this scene: there was no coffin. A wooden chest sat in its place, small and unassuming.
Hands reached out to grab the chest, lifting it up out of the empty grave. Nimble fingers fiddled with the latch for a few seconds before the chest swung open, revealing what was stored inside.
It was a piece of paper, neatly folded into thirds and untouched by time. When the hand carefully unfolded the paper, the contents of it were revealed. It was a map.
Not only a map, it was the map. The one he recognized from his earlier.. whatever that was.
He could hear the wind pick up around him, whooshing and whirring in his ears. It was strong, but not strong enough to push him around, only shift the gifts left on the headstone.
There was someone behind him. The presence hovering over his shoulder was undeniable, but it wasn’t intimidating. Instead it had more of a calming effect.
A breath brushed his ear, then a second, then a third. He felt the presence inhale, as if preparing for something groundbreaking.
“Hello.”
“Hello?” Techno snapped his fingers in front of Tommy’s face. “Tommy? Tommy, are you okay?”
The blonde continued to stare blankly through his face.
“Tommy.” He clapped loudly, trying to get his brother's attention. Techno knew he succeeded when he saw Tommy flinch, eyes snapping to Techno’s face.
“Hey, sorry.” Techno apologized. “You zoned out there for a while. Food’s ready.”
Tommy cleared his throat. “Thanks.”
The pair picked up their utensils and started eating, a strange silence filling the room. Normally Techno would enjoy the silence, but this was Tommy he was dealing with. Quiet was a rarity around the kid, but this time it felt different. Instead of feeling like a breath of fresh air, it felt like an unliftable weight had found a home on Techno’s shoulders.
“Tommy, what just happened?”
“Hm?” Tommy hummed, picking up his fork and starting in on his potatoes boredly.
“What was that?”
“What was what?”
Techno sighed. “Tommy, you know what.”
His brother said nothing, instead opting to pick at his potatoes with his fork.
“You were shaking and unresponsive.” Techno recalled the moments prior. “And you were mumblin’ somethin’.”
Tommy took another bite.
“I think you said somethin’ about a map? Does that sound familiar to you?”
Techno huffed quietly when he was met with silence once again.
“Tommy, I get it if you don’t want to talk about it, but I just want to help. I can’t do that if I don’t know what’s going on.” The older sighed. “You don’t have to tell me, but tell someone, alright? Maybe Phil when he gets back?”
Tommy set down the fork slowly, taking a deep breath and looking into his brother’s eyes.
“Dad’s not coming back.”
Of all the things Techno had expected to come out of Tommy’s mouth, that was not one of them. He almost let out a laugh at the abruptness of it all.
“What?”
“He’s not coming home.”
A beat passed while Techno processed the information.
“What do you mean, Tommy?”
Tommy paused. He opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it again. “I saw him. Just now.”
“What? You just said he’s not home.” Techno glanced out the window. Nothing moved. “If he’s not here, how did you see him?”
“In my head.”
“In your head?”
“Yeah. I think.”
Techno moved to sit next to Tommy instead of across from him. He waited patiently for Tommy to elaborate, brows furrowing as the wheels turned in his head, trying to decipher what his brother meant by seeing Phil in his head.
“He was in a ravine and it was dark. There were others there, three of them.” Tommy looked to Techno. “I think two of them were us.”
“Okay,” Techno nodded, eyes distant as his brain worked to make sense of things. “Okay, then who was the third?”
“I don’t know.” The blonde sighed. “Honestly the other two might not even be us, everyone was weird and fucked up. But Dad was there, I know it. His voice was all fuzzy, but it was the only one I recognized.”
“And the map?”
“I saw it twice. Once it was in the ravine with us, but it looked all gross and dirty. Then there’s the one in the graveyard, but it looked brand new.”
“Hold on, the graveyard?”
“Yeah! It was windy and dark and the grave was all dug up and I could’ve sworn I heard someone behind me but that could’ve just been you trying to wake me up, and-”
“Tommy, Tommy, slow down.”
“I know how it sounds, Techno, but it’s real, I saw it!”
“How can you be sure this wasn’t just a dream?”
“Because I was there! I could feel and see and smell everything.” Tommy glared at his potatoes like they had personally offended him. “It was real.”
“And you’re sure about this?”
“Well, yes. I mean- yeah it was a dream, but I wasn’t dreaming, y’know?”
Techno stared.
“It makes sense, don’t pretend like it doesn’t, Techno.”
“Oh to be young, ailing, and Tommy Innit.”
“I’m not sick!” Tommy argues. “The thermometer said I’m normal, remember?”
“Normal is hardly a way to describe you, Tommy.”
“Okay, what the fuck. I do not deserve this hatred, mister Techno “The Blade” Blade. In fact, I actually request a formal-”
“Listen, listen,” Techno interrupts his brother. “Here’s the deal. If you go to bed, recover, and feel fine in the mornin’, then we can argue about your not-dream dreams. But until then, Phil’s fine and he’ll be back tomorrow afternoon, alright? No need to worry, kid. I’m sure he’s just fine.”
Tommy let out a groan, dropping his fork onto his plate to rub his palms into his eyes. “I’m not just making this up, Techno!”
“I know you’re not.” Techno sighs, giving Tommy a thin-lipped smile. “But if we were to do somethin’ about Phil’s maybe-disappearance in your dreams, you’d need to be well rested for us to get anywhere, yeah?”
“Yeah. I guess.”
“Glad we came to a consensus.” He said, pushing Tommy’s hair out of his face. “Now go to bed, rest up, we’ll continue this conversation in the mornin’.”
“Whatever you say, Big Man.” Tommy stood up, stooping up the stairs and into his bedroom in defeat. The brothers say their goodnights and Techno takes a deep, long breath as he sees Tommy’s lamplight flicker off.
The moonlight lit the hallway Techno walked down. The creek of his bedroom door and the soft shifting of the floorboards were the only sounds accompanying him as he crawled into bed and drifted off into a dreamless slumber.