Chapter Text
Watching his uncle being dragged into his new cell, kicking and thrashing in Sam's and Sapnaps’ hold, Tommy felt like he could finally breathe.
For the first time in years he felt like he could breathe.
“Tommy?”
Slowly looking towards his ex…well he guessed ex…best friend, Tommy smiled softly and gave a tiny laugh that grew and grew. Doubling over he held his belly as everyone turned towards him.
“T-Tommy…?” He heard Ranboo whisper.
“I'm free!” He cried out, tears pouring down his face. “I'm finally free!”
Raising his head he grinned a bit in a deranged manner and wiped his face. “You said that I'd always be your puppet, that I’d always belong to you!” He sobbed with a smile. “You made me always feel like I was in a cage! Well guess what Clay! You're the one who's never gonna see the sun again, all because of what you fucking did! And everyone finally knows just how much of a creep, a manipulative bastard and how much of a MONSTER you truly are!”
Dream stopped thrashing and glared at Tommy.
“I’M FREE!” He laughed again, falling to his knees in both exhaustion and of happiness. “People finally believe me…I told you all that I wasn't a liar.”
“Tommy…” George softly said as he stepped closer with Bad and Ponk.
“I wasn't a liar…I'm not a liar…” He smiled softly as he stared at the ground.
A soft laugh made him slowly frown.
“Oh Tommy…you really think you're free? That I can’t hurt you…?” His uncle laughed softly, mockingly. “I’ll always be there. In the back of your mind, in your dreams and nightmares…oh Tommy…you'll never be able to get rid of me. Not as long as I’m alive and you need me alive to bring that filthy fox back.”
Slowly, it dawned on him. He did need Dream.
“Tommy, baby, I'm the only one that's ever loved you. I took care of you, I changed your diapers when you were stupid, I held you through your nightmares and through your bad days.” Dream continues. “I fed you, I trained you and I took you in when everyone here turned their backs on you.”
Slowly looking up, Tommy glanced around the room.
They…They did all leave him.
“Shut up! You never loved Tommy!” Tubbo cried out.
“And you did? All it took was one little lie, three burnt blocks and a tiny push to get you to abandon him.” The ram chuckled. “Some friend you are…or were.”
Growling, Tubbo went to step forward but was held back by Ranboo.
“Oh Tommy, can’t you see? You were never meant to be a part of anyone's life but mine.” Dream smiled wickedly. “After all…it was never meant to be.”
The teens eyes went wide as memories flashed before him. Crying out in pain he held his head and dug his claws into his scalp.
“It was never meant to be.”
“TO REVOKE THE CITIZENSHIP OF WILBUR SOOT AND CLAY WASTAKEN!”
“KILL ME PHIL!”
“Please escort Tommyinnit out of my Country and make sure he NEVER returns.”
Screaming in pain he curls up into a ball and attempts to tear the memories out of his head but the only thing that did was cause him to bleed heavily.
“TOMMY!” He heard Jack scream.
“No! Get away!” Tommy cried as more and more memories flash through his head.
“You’ll never be free of me Tommy. Never.”
No! No he was free! He was finally free! He wasn't going to let this bastard get away with this!
Panting, Tommy looked up at Dream and glared. He let out an ear piercing roar before he jumped up and ran towards his uncle as fur started to cover his face.
Reaching out towards him he missed the evil grin that the man wore.
The voices screamed in his ears to spill the blood of the fake god before him and he swore he would. But…why…why was he crying?
“Goodbye Tommy. I’ll be seeing you soon.” The man smiled softly as his green eyes changed to a light brown. “I love you.”
Right when his bloodied claws nearly tore the man's throat out a white portal formed in front of him, shocking him.
Crying out in shock he falls right through but feels someone grab the back of his bloody shirt. But unfortunately gravity decided it wanted to win.
Tommy slipped right out of the person's hold and went hurdling through the air.
Crying out in fear he falls through a bright tunnel, wind rushing past his sensitive ears.
Closing his eyes he flips over and looks up to see Purpled being pulled back through the closing portal.
“TOMMY!” His friend cried.
Reaching out for him he felt tears and blood drip down his face. Quickly, his blood loss and adrenaline loss hit him all at once and made him slowly lose consciousness.
“Gray…son…” He whimpered as the dark overcame him.
Suddenly, under his still body another portal formed and he dropped through.
His too light body hit the dirty pavement of a dark alley with a soft thump and a low groan to pass through his lips.
Blood collected under his head as his features changed and his tail disappeared.
His small tusks turned into sharp canines that slightly peeked out past his lips, his pointed ears lost their points and his tail sunk into his lower back.
His spell that he'd had on himself to hide just how injured he had truly been disappeared and left him looking much skinnier, shorter and more sickly looking.
His head rolled to the side just as rain started to pour down from the sky and make his already cold body even colder from the icy water pelting his skin.
People passed by the alley that he laid in, not paying him any mind.
If only they did.
Digging through the trash, Tommy sniffed and sniffed to try and find some kind of food. He dug past maggot covered fruit and meat, past empty cans of soda with a little lion on it and past what he thinks is the remains of some kind of stick.
Actually…did that thing still work?
Pulling out the stick he gave it a little shake and pushed a button on the front. When the little lion picture on the front turned pink and shined against his face he giggled and sat down in front of the garbage can.
Clicking the button he turned it off and on again until he eventually grew bored. He tucked it in his pants pocket and started digging through garbage bags again.
For the past week he’s been surviving off of food he’s found in the garbage and any money he could manage to beg for at night went towards medical supplies for the wounds on his head.
“Hey!” A loud voice shouted.
Jumping, Tommy turned to see an older woman walking over in a track suit and a belly purse…wait…no…what was it called…?
“Oh…Oh dear…” He heard the voice say quietly.
Looking up at the woman he blinked when suddenly there were two other women behind her, all of them looking at him worriedly.
Well he was a sorry sight, he’ll admit that.
Looking down at himself he hums as he holds out the bottom of his new, much too large shirt that he had…uh…admittedly taken from a cart. It was black with pink writing. To him it was kinda blurry since he can’t see very well anymore but he thinks it says Saja Boys.
He had no idea what a Saja was but he hoped it was a good thing.
But he had managed to find a pair of pants that fit him well enough in a thrift store after his last pair was stained with juice that some lady poured on him when he was sleeping. The denim was already really dirty since he was almost always on the ground since his legs would give out at random times and sometimes that meant a trip into a mud puddle.
And he bet he didn’t smell too nice either.
He hadn’t had a shower since before going to fight Dream and even then he only really washed his hair since he couldn’t take being in the water for too long.
“Are…Are you alright dear?”
Looking back up he almost forgot that the ladies were there. Giving a friendly smile he nodded and gave a little wave but that made the bandages on his arms slide down a bit to show the angry bruise that a chef at a restaurant he’d been sleeping behind left.
“Ok…am ok.” He muttered, giving a gap toothed smile.
A loud gurgle made his face quickly turn red. Holding his belly he giggled nervously.
“Hungry…excuse me.” He said before giving a slight bow.
He turned to leave when the woman, the one that had first walked up to him, gently took his boney hand. Looking down at it he frowned curiously as he was led out of his alley way and into the sunny square he had always tried to avoid during the day. Whining he attempted to pull away and hide but the woman just held his hand tighter.
“It’s okay dear, we’re just gonna get you some food. You’re much too small!” The woman says softly as the other women gently guide him towards what looked like a McDonalds…oh! It was a McDonalds.
Together the little group walked in and the two women behind him gently led him to a table while the one that led him here went to order.
“What’s your name hon?”
“Tommy…Thes…Theseus.” He attempted to say.
Ever since he landed on this strange server he hasn’t been able to speak properly. He suspected that he aggravated his brain injury during the fall.
Speaking of his brain injury-!
Whining when his head started to hurt badly he curled in on himself and held his forehead. Whimpers left his lips as he tried to stop the headache but nothing was working.
Not his breathing exercises, not rubbing his temples, not even blocking out the sun.
“Oh dear…” The woman next to him whispered. “Maybe we should take him to the hospital?”
Hospital?
No! No way!
They’d send him to a foster home until they could find his family and who knows how long that’d take!
He’s seen so many signs written in Korean so he knew he was on a Korean server when he’s supposed to be on an american server! How he got here, hell if he knows!
But he’d be damned if he was going to be stuck in an unfamiliar place with unfamiliar people and-!
Crying out when he felt blood slip down his face he stood from his seat and ran back outside.
Quiet.
He needed to find somewhere quiet!
Hide.
Yeah…yeah! He just had to hide! Then the world would be quiet like when he was a kid!
Looking around he tried to find a place to hide, a place to make things be quiet when he spotted what looked like a building under construction. He didn’t see any workers so he ran for the building and ducked under the construction tape.
He made it inside and climbed and climbed until he made it to the top floor. Panting he held his knees and looked around. Just ahead of him was what looked to be a half complete room.
Sniffling, he wiped the blood off his face and walked over to the doorway. Peeking inside he saw bags of concrete, plastic tarps, a discarded hoodie, a pair of safety goggles and what he thinks is a concrete mixer.
Walking in he held himself as he walked and ducked behind a wall that blocked out the sun.
The throbbing in his head slowly stopped but every little noise made him whimper in either fear or pain. Pulling a picture from his pants pocket he hiccups and hugs it to his chest.
The photo was from back when he was a young child, happy, healthy and safe with his family.
When it was just Technoblade, Wilbur, Phil, Fundy and his mum, Foolish.
When the only thing he was afraid of was the dark.
Rubbing his face he tried to stop his tears but they just wouldn’t stop flowing.
“Mommy…daddy…” He whispered brokenly. “Wanna go home…want…home.”
Slowly closing his eyes he curled around his photo until he felt like he was being watched. Hiccuping he rolled over and spotted a magpie watching him. Slowly blinking he tried to figure out if he really was seeing the little hat it was wearing or if his pained head was making him see things.
The bird hopped towards him and…yep! Yep, that bird was wearing a hat.
“I like your hat…” He whispered.
The bird ruffled its feathers before hopping over to him. It stopped just before his face and sat down.
Sniffling softly, Tommy gently scratched under its beak and took in how cool the bird was. It had six eyes all together, black and white feathers and of course, its little hat.
The bird nuzzled his fingers before moving closer until it was tucked under his chin. Nuzzling the bird back, Tommy ignored his aching stomach and just focused on the bird.
The face of a certain crow man went through his head as he closed his eyes.
“It's okay Tommy, grandpa's here and I’m never leaving you again.”
A single tear fell down his face and landed on the bird's beak.
“Wanna go home…” He whispers.
When his eyes fully closed he almost instantly fell asleep.
The bird took this moment to gently shake its head to get rid of the tear on it.
Turning its head it gave a soft coo to attract the other animal it had been traveling with.
After a moment a blue tiger slowly peeked its head into the room, its big smile and bulging eyes making it look both scary and goofy.
Slowly it walked in and looked down at the small child its friend had found. A loud gurgle and soft whine from the little one's belly made it tilt its head curiously.
Strange.
Was it hungry?
Giving it a sniff he almost immediately recoiled at the smell of garbage and infection. Laying on the ground he gave the child a lick before laying his head over his chest to keep it warm.
A soft purr left him as the child reached down and gently and slowly stroked his head. “Kitty kitty…” The child whispered.
Listening to the little one breathing he got a bit sad when he heard a slight rattle in its chest. Even though he was a supernatural cat he still knew what a death rattle sounded like.
His magpie friend squawked at him and he couldn’t agree more with it.
This little guy needed food and help.
A loud gurgle followed by a whimper of pain made his mind up.
First food, then help.
Getting up silently he walks to the window and jumps out. Walking on the air he slowly builds up to a run then he starts to jump to get to his destination faster.
He eventually made it to a little shop he’d seen his new owner get a flyer for.
Slinking into the alleyway he went to try and shift when he heard something shift in front of him. Looking up he sees a thin demon with long hair and an elongated face staring at him. Oh…a water demon.
“H-HI…” The water demon whispered, tears rolling down his face.
Looking behind him, the tiger checked to make sure no one was looking before spitting up a credit card that he’d taken from his owner's wallet when he got curious. He gently moved it towards the water demon then looked over to the wall of the little shop.
“Do…do you want me to use this?” The water demon asked softly.
He slowly bowed his head then pointed at the crying demon.
“M-Me…?”
Then he pointed his paw at the wall.
“The…The shop?”
Next he turned and pointed towards the distance.
“You want me to use the card in the store and…follow you?”
The tiger slowly nodded.
“I…uh…okay.” The demon sniffled.
He stood and slowly shifted into his human disguise.
His skin was pale and his eyes were a gentle blue while his black hair was down to his backside and the clothes he was wearing became a bit baggier.
Overall he made a convincing human.
Perhaps this could work.
When Tommy woke up he was surprised to find that the cool bird was still in his arms and that it was still light out.
“Well…friend.” He giggles as he cuddles the magpie.
Now why did he feel like something was-
The sound of bags being dropped made him jump up and look around to see a…blue tiger?
“Blue? Not orange..?” He whispered as he tucked a piece of hair behind his ear.
The tiger sat down and gently pawed at a bag that was on the ground.
Looking at the bags he got very confused when he saw the letters CU on them. Crawling over he opens the bags and gasps at the sight of so much food. Digging through the bag he found onigiri, kimbap, sandwiches, meats on sticks wrapped in plastic, drinks like pouches of tea and some colas.
In the other bags he found candy, crisps, bento meals and even hard boiled eggs.
“Is…you…helping me…?” Tommy asked slowly as he looked up at the tiger.
When the tiger bowed its head, Tommy smiled and jumped up to give the big cat a hug.
But that's when he noticed the man with long black hair that was silently eating a onigiri in the corner of the unfinished room.
“H-Hi…” The man whispered with a slight wave.
Tommy, curious, waved back.
Getting to his knees he crawled over to the man and sat a couple feet away from him.
Holding out a shaky finger he gave a lopsided smile at the man's shirt.
“Match.” He says as he points to his own shirt.
The man gave him a curious look then looked down at his shirt. When he saw what was on his shirt, the man smiled softly. “Do you like the Saja Boys too?” The man asked.
“Soda pop!” The teen giggled, remembering seeing the same writing on the cola that was in the bags by the tiger that was on their shirts.
The man giggled softly and relaxed his posture. “I like them too…do you…do you want some of my rice ball?”
Practically drooling at the thought of food, Tommy reached out for the rice ball but stopped when his fathers voice echoed in his head.
“Never eat off the floor and never eat off other people okay baby?”
Drawing his hand back he gave a polite smile and shook his head. “Never eat…off…other people. Germs.” He said slowly to make sure that what he wanted to say was actually what was gonna come out.
“Oh! Right…oh! There’s more in the bags.” The man smiled as he pulled the bag close to them both.
The man put his food in his mouth and dug into the bag until he had three different flavors of onigiri in his hand.
“This one is egg…this one issss…oh! Purple rice with kimchi and this one has beef in it!” The man said happily.
Tommy tilted his head then smiled and pointed at the beef one.
When he was giving the ball he carefully opened it and stuffed the wrapper in his pocket. When a bag of crisps with a piece of pizza on the front and a cola with a man with light blue hair and wearing a pink sweater was placed in front of him.
Looking up at the man he smiled thankfully and took a tentative bite of his rice ball. He hummed happily when the seaweed hit his tongue followed by the rice. Tears slowly made it to his eyes as he ate silently.
The man watched him worriedly but he gave a gentle smile back. “Good…” He muttered as he ate a bit faster.
He got through his first snack fast then went on to shakily lift the cola. Wiping the top of the can off with his shirt he looked at the bags of food beside them. Should he slow down? What if the man was gonna take his food away? Wait…was this even his food?
Was it gonna be taken away?
Watching the man he attempted to sneak the egg rice ball closer to him but the man glanced up from his bag of crisps with a turtle on it and smiled. “You want the egg one?” He asked as he picked up the other ball. “Yay! I like kimchi. It's spicy.”
Tommy blinked in surprise but stowed the other ball in his pocket. Wiping his eyes again he hiccups and reaches for his cola when the magpie landed beside him. It gently pecked his hand then dragged the bag of crisps closer to his hand.
“O-Oh…right. Food…sugar.” He nodded.
You always have to eat real food before you drink your sugary drink.
The blonde silently ate his crisps and moved closer to the man.
Making himself as small as possible he sat next to him and ate as quietly as he could. Dream always hated it when he made a lot of noise while eating.
A gentle, long fingered hand carefully rested on top of his head.
The phantom feeling of someone bashing his head into the ground made him flinch, drop his food and whine in fear. “Sorry-!” He whispered. “Loud…too loud…”
The man watched him worriedly and slowly petted his head to show he meant no harm.
“It’s okay…you’ve been quieter than a fish…” He said softly. “Are you okay? Do you want…hey…what happened to your head?”
Ah. He must’ve felt the scabs on his scalp or maybe the scar from when his skull was bashed in by that golf club.
“Uncle…bad…hurt me…” He whispered as he stared down at his dropped food.
“Your…but family…” The man frowned then pulled Tommy into a gentle and light hug. “I’m so sorry.”
He…he believed him? Just like that?
His tears fell faster as he hugged the man back, his face tucked into his neck.
Sobs left him as he finally, finally had a good experience with someone new.
“It’s okay…it’s okay…let it out.” The man whispered.
The tiger gently licked his arm and sat beside the two.
Whimpering, he pulled the tiger close and just…cried.
For the first time in forever he let himself feel something other than what he was told he was allowed to feel.
And if that meant he had to cry to a completely random person who might kill him…then so be it.
He’s been through worse.