Chapter Text
There was screaming. Lots of it.
Fire roared around him and smoke billowed out of the crumbling building. Desperate sobs choked their way out between coughs. He crawled his way out from under a beam, eyes wide as he searched the ruins from his spot on the ground. A strangled gasp clawed its way out of his throat as he spotted a heap of feathers and blood. He scrambled up, running to his fathers side—
Wasn’t he hurt? This wasn’t how it went..
He shoved debris off of his dad, his shaking hands flickering between small and soot covered to bigger and scarred. There was more screaming as he uncovered his father, looking into dull green—
Wait no. Blue? Green? He couldn’t remember..
—blue eyes. Lifeless and empty, staring back at him. He laid his head on his dads large black wings, carding his fingers through the dirty feathers. His head hurt and his face was wet with something. Whether it was blood or tears he didn’t know. The screaming stopped, replaced by heartbreaking sobs.
He wished whoever was crying would shut up.
He heard footsteps and slowly looked up. His blurry gaze met a mask. An eerie smiley face stared back at him with hauntingly empty eyes. He raised a hand, far too small to be covered in so much blood and reached out for the hero.
The screaming was back and—
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Tommy shot up with a gasp, feathers puffed up as he sat up and looked around. He brought a hand up to his mouth, muffling his sobs. He curled his small wings around his stomach, flinching back when a cool hand landed on his shoulder.
“Fuck. Don’t do that, Sam.” Tommy muttered with a shake of his head. He stood up and stepped out of the mess of blankets and feathers that littered the floor, brushing the hand off of his shoulder with a nudge of his wing.
“Are you okay, Tommy?” The metallic voice asked.
“I’m fine.” He turned away, his feathered ears twitching as Sam spoke.
“You had a nightmare. Your heart rate has increased. You're shaking. You are not—“
“Power off, SamNook!” He snapped, his wings flaring out as he turned toward the robot who was now slumped over slightly.
He took a few shaky breaths and bit his trembling lip to hold back another sob. Tommy took a stumbling step back and caught himself on his rickety dresser. He scrubbed the tears away from his face and pulled open the drawer, grabbing his hoodie and jeans along with some armor.
It wasn’t armor. Not really. It was just some crappy skateboarding gear that he’d found. It did the job though. Protected him well enough.
Tommy put the outfit on, methodical motions he’d done countless times over the past five years. He sat down on a rug and pulled his boots on, tying the red laces before glancing up at his reflection in the cracked mirror that was leaned up against a stack of car tires.
His eyes were red and puffy from crying but he ignored it, pulling the black hood over his messy blonde curls and pinning it in place. The stitches holding the red sleeves onto his hoodie were already starting to loosen. He really needed to learn to sew properly. He strapped his spray paint covered fingerless gloves on before standing up.
Tommy glanced at his backpack and spear sitting in the corner and shook his head slightly. He swiped his dagger and mask off the floor, strapping the gas mask securely over his face and slipping the dagger into the sheath on his thigh. With a heavy sigh he held the blue tarp that acted as a door to the side and stepped out.
Piles of trash were stacked high and close together, creating narrow pathways on the ground. There was a trash compactor and an incinerator towards the back of the junkyard but he never went back there. The machines didn’t even work anymore. The place had been abandoned over a decade ago.
He was surprised it hadn’t been bulldozed yet. But he supposed that was a good thing seeing as he was living there.
Living was a strong word. He was surviving there. Burrowed into the side of a trash pile like a pest that just wouldn’t die. That was a bit harsh but it was the truth.
He shook his wings out and straightened up a few of the red feathers at the top before moving to the black feathers that covered the rest of his wings. It was soothing and it calmed his mind, even if it was just for a moment. Even if his heart ached to have someone else doing it.
He quickly left the junkyard, hopping the fence before scaling a nearby building to get up onto the roof. He ran for a bit, jumping between rooftops to get farther away from the junkyard. His shoulders slummed slightly, releasing some of the tension in them as he stopped on the roof of a large hotel.
He sat down on the edge of the building and closed his eyes as he reached out with his mind, searching for a power to mimic. He wasn’t really sure why he was. It’s not like he was planning on doing anything tonight that warranted him needing powers. He just needed to get out. Clear his head for a bit, you know?
Tommy stopped thinking about it when he found a suitable power and opened his eyes. His wings morphed and then disappeared like they were never even there, leaving the cold night air blowing onto his exposed back through the two slits in his hoodie. Curved ears now sat atop his head and a fluffy, stripped tail laid beside him.
A raccoon hybrid. He hadn’t been one of those in a while. He sighed softly and held his hand out in front of him. A small ball of light appeared in his palm and he smiled at it. He passed it between his hands for a moment before tossing it up into the air where it soon fizzled out.
He leaned back on his hands and looked up at the sky. Dozens of stars twinkled against the dark blue hue of the night sky. He loved the stars. He didn’t know the names of any constellations but he didn’t need to. The names didn't matter. Not to him anyway.
The stars were a constant in his life. A comfort. He'd spent a lot of time stargazing after the accident. He— he didn’t want to think about the accident. He wasn’t even sure why he called it that. It wasn’t an accident. It was a deliberate—
He groaned heavily and let sparks of light dance across his fingertips. He came out here to clear his head. Getting worked up again wouldn’t help him. He took a deep breath and closed his fist, letting the light fade away before he stood up.
The teen tensed, his ears flicking as he heard something shift behind him. He whipped around, ears flattening against his head when he saw Dream standing in front of him.
“You know, I’m surprised. You’re normally a lot more destructive whenever you show up.” The Hero mussed.
The bastard. Of course he'd show up when he wasn’t even doing anything. He growled in response, barring his teeth beneath his mask and reaching for his dagger. He wasn’t looking for a fight tonight, but Dream looked ready to strike.
“What are you planning, Mellohi?” Dream asked with a tilt of his head. The twisted antler-like branches that rested atop his head cast long shadows across the roof. The hero tutted with a shake of his head as Mellohi growled in reply.
He shifted his weight and when Dream predictably charged at him he stepped to the side, swinging around him. In a swift motion he unsheathed his knife and attempted to stab the man in the back, hissing in frustration when the blade was stopped by the bark that was ingrained into the hero's skin. Stupid fucking creaking hybrid.
Mellohi jumped back as Dream swung around unarmed. Pain blossomed in his nose as the crossbow materialized in the hero’s hands. Fuck okay not unarmed, he quickly corrected. Fucking illusions.
He stumbled to the side but quickly regained his footing and swung his fist at Dreams face. He grinned as the hit landed, teeth smeared with red from the blood steadily leaking from his nose. The man recovered quickly and brought his crossbow up.
He tried to dodge but wasn’t fast enough. The arrow clipped his shoulder and he held back a yelp. He staggered back but Dream was on him, sending a kick to his ribs that had him sprawled out on the roof. This fight was not going well. He needed to get the hell out of here.
Mellohi rolled over and threw a ball of light at the hero’s masked face before scrambling to his feet and jumping to the next building. He kept running, leaping from rooftop to rooftop as he heard the heavy footsteps of Dream behind him.
He brought a hand up to his mask and tapped a button on the side of it twice. “I need help. Fuck.” He muttered as he stumbled. “Code green. I’m in the residential area just off of Main Street. Get me out of here!”
His lungs burned and his chest ached as he ran but he pushed himself to keep going. He sped up as he got to the edge of the building and jumped. His foot touched the ground of the next roof and it disappeared. The illusion swirled before fading completely and Mellohi fell.
He tried to twist in the air. Searching for something— Anything to stop his descent.. His leg caught on the railing of a fire escape. His scream echoed through the night air. He hit his shoulder as he landed on a dumpster before rolling onto the ground.
Tommy let a sob tear its way out of his throat as he laid there for a second. He couldn’t stay here. He'd get caught if he stayed here. He pushed himself up and crawled behind the dumpster, curling in on himself. He closed his eyes as his features morphed once again and Dream climbed down into the alley.
“You really should be more careful jumping across roofs. Wouldn’t want to get hurt.” The hero taunted, walking around the small alley. He held his breath when he heard the hero’s footsteps pass him. Tommy heard Dream scoff before speaking again. “He got away. I’m heading back.”
He waited until the footsteps fully receded and he couldn’t hear anything. He let out a shaky sigh as he let the illusion fall. He released his hold on Dream’s power and let his wings rematerialize. Tommy slumped back against the dumpster and looked down at his leg, biting his lip to hold back a sob.
The limb was bent awkwardly. Definitely broken. He tapped the side of his mask again and spoke. “I need an extraction. My leg is definitely broken.”
He tried again after receiving no answer. “Ender? Pyro? Anyone..? Fuck.” Useless fucking allies. This was the exact reason why he didn’t work with others. He can’t rely on anyone. He'd just have to help himself.
Tommy reached up and grabbed onto the side of the dumpster. He pulled himself up with a whine, his whole body protesting at the movement. He leaned heavily against the wall and limped out of the alleyway. Every movement of his leg sent his vision blurring pain shooting through it but he pushed through it. He had to.
Slowly he headed back home— no not home. He didn’t have a home. Not anymore. It couldn’t even be called a home anyways. It was just a pile of trash that he’d carved a not so structurally sound cave into. Really that thing could collapse at any moment and kill him.. Okay maybe he shouldn’t go there.
But still, it wasn’t his home.
The twenty minute walk that getting back to the junkyard should’ve taken, took almost an hour and a half due to the constant pain and frequent breaks. But he made it back. He hobbled into his shelter and threw his mask off with shaking hands.
“Power—“ He took a gasping breath. “Power on SamNook.” He whispered as he held back his tears.
The machine's eyes lit up as he powered back on and straightened up. “Tommy, what happened?”
Tommy stumbled forward and practically threw himself at Sam, sobbing as Sam carefully lowered them both to the ground and situated himself in the pile of blankets and feathers.
“It— it was Dream he—“ Tommy clung to Sam’s metallic body and tucked his head against the robot’s chest, smearing blood across the scratched metal surface. He sobbed incoherently as Sam tried to soothe him, whispering reassurances and rubbing his back.
“You should contact Conduit. She can help you.” Sam insisted, laying a cold hand on Tommy’s head, pulling the pins out of his hair and letting his hood fall around his shoulders.
He shook his head slightly, mumbling a quiet, “I’ll do it tomorrow.” He curled up against Sam, making sure to keep his injured leg straight. He shook out his wings before wrapping them around himself. He chewed his nail as he wept, trying his best to muffle his choked sobs.
It wasn’t long before he fell asleep like that. Pressed against a robotic body and despite the cold metal against his skin he felt warmth.
He felt a strange sense of comfort.