Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"There you go, there we are…" Giran whispers to the shaking teen next to him. "You're doing so good, Toms. I'm so proud of you."

It was just supposed to be a visit to see Tommy, bring him some gifts for his birthday they all missed, have some cake and a chance for Scar and Tommy to catch up.

"You're doing great kiddo!" Scar smiles. "Almost home."

Oh gods did the three hermits feel sick with the sight that greeted them when they logged onto the Dream SMP using their visitor passes.

L'Manburg was gone and had been slowly being reclaimed by nature.

Wilbur was dead and replaced with somebody named Ghostbur.

Tommy's house was gone.

Tommy's usual semi-happy demeanor was missing and in its place was a jumpy, fearful and broken boy.

There was a white streak of hair mixed in with the golden blonde and Grian knew the cause of it, having seen it many times before.

The kid that the trio had watched grow up into a fine young man looked so small and scared, jumping at just the slightest of noises as if he was a scared child left alone without a nightlight.

"Over here bud, into Grians' house." Mumbo spoke as softly as he could, watching out for mobs. "You're safe here ok?"

But what had cemented the idea the trio had when they first laid their eyes on the kid was the fact that when Tommy looked at them the poor thing looked so tired and ready for death.

So, five hours of hacking later, Tommy was brought onto the Hermitcraft server with the small amount of stuff he still had left and carefully led to Boatem where the trio could take care of the boy.

"Papa…" Tommy spoke in a soft voice that was barely heard.

"Mumbo or me, Tommy?" Grian asks softly.

"Where am I…? I need to get home. I...I need to go home." Tommy whispers, attempting to leave the little huddle he was in with the three hermits.

"No, no, no, no!" Scar quickly pulls Tommy into a careful hug as Grian attacks the zombie that had wondered to close. "You're on the Hermitcraft server Tommy. A safe place. Nobody can hurt you here."

Mumbo and Scar watched Tommy frown in confusion before looking up at them. "What does safe mean again…?" The blonde whispers.

Now if that didn't break the two hermits' hearts even more.

"Oh Tommy…" Mumbo whispers, reaching out for Tommy but an arrow whizzing past his face made him yelp in surprise. "Inside! We need to get inside!"

Scar nods and carefully lifts Tommy up, forcing himself to not freak out over how light he was, before running for Grians'  starter base with Mumbo right behind him. Once the three were safely inside, Scar carefully set Tommy down in Grians' nest and covered him with the parrot hybrid's weighted blanket.

"Stay under here ok?" Scar whispered to the teen. "It'll keep you warm."

"Ok…" Tommy whispered back, not even moving his pinky.

Mumbo anxiously looked over to the doors and sighs when Grian walked in with a surprised shout. "Horde! There's a horde!" Grian shouts in alarm. "Thankfully I inverted my doors."

With a heavy sigh Grian walks over to his nest and kneels next to Scar. "Is he ok? The skeleton didn't hit anybody, did it?" He asks softly, gently running his fingers through Tommys' hair.

"We're fine! The arrow went past us." Mumbo quickly reassures.

"Good." Grian smiled slightly before looking back down to Tommy. "How do you feel bubba?"

"I need to go home." Tommy whispered.

"Oh bubba…" Grian frowns.

"You are home!" Scar smiles. "Safe place! Safest place ever! No bad wars, no fighting, no bad stuff."

They watched as Tommy grew confused again. "What does safe mean?"

Mumbo, Grian and Scar just all carefully played with Tommys' hair, knowing it usually put him to sleep, trying to ignore the shattering of their hearts.

They were not going to fail Tommy as the DreamSMP seemed to. They refused.

"So, let me get this straight, you three went to the DreamSMP without me and found Tommy but he looked like a walking corpse?" Doc asks with a frown.

"Yes." Scar answers.

"So you three hacked the DreamSMP in order to get him free and bring him here?" Doc continues.

"Actually DreamXD let us take Tommy. Apparently he had been waiting for an outsider they trusted to come along and take Tommy." Mumbo corrects.

"Okay...so you hacked the Hermitcraft server then?" Doc cocks a brow.

"Yep! Xisuma really chose a strong password for his terminal this time around." Grian smiles.

"Mhm...so, where is Tommy?" Doc asks as he crosses his arms.

"Back at Grians' base watching the sheep. He seems really interested in the blue one." Mumbo hums. "Grian? Can we…?"

"Yes we can give him the blue sheep." Grian smiles.

"Guys, guys, guys! Focus!" Doc quickly interrupts.

Grian and Mumbo quickly stand up straight and look up at Doc. "Right, sorry."

Sighing Doc goes full doctor mode. "Did he eat? What's his blood pressure like? Is he dehydrated? Have you checked his weight? Does he have his face mask? Due to all of the moss blocks in Boatem he could have some problems with his breathing, what with all those moss spores in one area."

Mumbo, Scar and Grian stand there, blinking in confusion at the rapid fire questions.

"C-Can you repeat that?" Scar asks with a nervous chuckle. "But uh...slower?"

Sighing Doc rubs the bridge of his nose. "Did he eat anything?"

"He ate a big bowl of Fruity Pebbles." Grian smiles.

"But we did have to feed him. He couldn't hold the spoon for long with his shakes." Mumbo frowns.

"Ok, duly noted." Doc frowns. "Now, is he dehydrated?"

"We don't think so. We did the skin test thing and it bounced back to normal almost immediately." Scar says.

"Ok. Now what is his blood pressure?"

"110/70!"

"Excellent! Not too low, not too high!" Doc smiles. "How does his weight look?"

The trio look at each other and frown. "I don't own a scale." Grian frowns.

"Ah! Alright, that can be easily fixed." Doc nods. "Now does he have his face mask? You guys have a lot of spores flying around over there and I don't have any allergy meds as of now. Stress tapped me out when she got Hay fever."

"He does not." Scar frowns. "He doesn't have much of anything if I'm gonna be honest. It took literally five minutes to pack everything he owns."

"What? What happened to all of his things?" Doc frowns.

"He said that Dream destroyed it all during his exile…" Mumbo frowns.

"Exile?! What in the world could he have done to be exiled?!" Doc shouts, smoke billowing out of his mouth. "He's a literal child!"

"Calm down Doc, calm down!" Grian quickly pulls out an aerosol can from his inventory.

Spraying Doc in the face with it Grian watches as the smoke stops and the older man sighs, relaxing slightly. "Sorry, sorry…" Doc groans, rubbing his head. "Can...can I go see Tommy? It's about time for his medicine."

"Yeah! Yeah, let's go!" Grian smiles as he switches to his rockets.

"He must be bored of watching the sheep by now anyways." Scar chuckles as his communicator beeped.

The group pulled out their communicators and frowned at the message sent to everybody.

<ImpulseSV>: Hey! What kind of goat is this?!

[Image attachment]

Grian yelps when he sees Tommy on top of his roof, casually eating a golden apple with a little calf laying its head on his leg. "HOW'D HE GET ON THE ROOF?!" Grian shouts as he rushes for the door.

"How'd he get a calf up there?!" Scar asks as he, Mumbo and Doc run out behind the panicked parrot hybrid.

Together the four Hermits use their Elytra/wings to get to Grians' house to see Tango sitting on top with Tommy leaning against him curiously peeking into the bucket the other blonde was holding.

"-axolotl but I call him a water kitten. Sounds cuter, right?" The group heard Tango say to Tommy as they landed. "You wanna pet him? He likes getting head rubs."

"Tommy!" Grian quickly races forward and pulls Tommy into a tight hug before pulling back and holding Tommy's face in both hands. "How'd you get up here? Are you ok?"

"How'd you get the calf up here?" Scar asks, spotting the baby cow walking around on the roof.

"Lead…scaffolding." Tommy mutters, trying to look back at the Tango. "Can I pet the water kitten?"

Grian took a calming breath before nodding. "Yes, yes you can. As long as Tango says it's ok." He smiles gently.

The hermits watched carefully as Tommy turned back to Tango and reached out to touch the axolotl but before he could a loud boom startled the whole group. "What the heck was that?" Tengo frowns, looking around.

"Creeper?" Mumbo frowns as he looks out to the horizon and spots Pearl running from a small cluster of them. "Yep. Creepers."

"...guys? Where'd the kid go?" Tango asks, looking around until he spots Scar and the calf struggling to pull something up from over the roof's edge. "...no. Scar! Is that the kid?!"

"Yes, now help!" Scar shouts over his shoulder.

"Oh shoot!" Tango quickly puts his Axolotl into his inventory before sliding down to help.

"Grian! Get under him and push him back up!" Scar quickly says, his grip on Tommy's hand slipping. "Hurry!"

Grian quickly did as told and jumped off his roof, catching himself with his wings. "Hold on Toms! Papa's coming!" He quickly shouts as he hovers as best as he could near Tommy.

Reaching out he pulls Tommy to his chest and looks down at him only to frown. "What in the…?" Grian whispers as he flies upwards and lands on his roof again. "He's unconscious!"

Doc quickly walked over and pressed his fingers against Tommy's pulse point and silently waited to feel a beat but he had to wait nearly a minute to get one. 

"He needs a bed, now." Doc quickly says, taking Tommy and jumping off the roof.

"Thanks Tango!" Grian shouts as he jumps off as well.

"Stop by later, I'll make you some biscuits!" Mumbo shouts next as he jumps off with the calf in his arms.

"Bye Tango!" Scar smiles.

"Oh no you don't! Now I'm emotionally invested!" Tango shouts as he too jumps off. "I'm coming too!"

"AHHH! WHY ARE THERE SO MANY OF YOU?!" 

"After I help Pearl!" Tango quickly pulls out his bow and starts firing at the creepers. "Pearl, what did you do to get these many on you?!"

"I went mining!" Pearl shouts back.

"Well bring torches next time!" Tango laughs as Pearl kills the last one.

"Oh thank goodness." Pearl sighs, picking up the gunpowder. "Thank you Tango!"

"Welcome!" Tango smiles, quickly running for Grians' base.

Walking in Tango looks around until he heard a soft curse from upstairs. "Heart rate is slow, blood pressure low, high fever, oxygen levels are low too…" He heard Doc say aloud as he climbed the stairs. "Scar, can I borrow one of your oxygen tanks?"

"Of course! I'll go get it!" Tango frowns as he hears glass and stone being broken. "Be right back!"

"Is he gonna be ok Doc?" Mumbo asks softly. "What caused this?"

"I don't know. I need to run some tests and get some info from Ponk. I entrusted Tommy's check ups to him after I was banned." Doc replies.

Making it to the top floor Tango peeks over the lip and watches Doc pull out a first aid kit. "Grian you measure him, Mumbo I need your help with keeping track of his vitals."

"Right!" Both Brits replied as Doc pulled a few things out of the first aid kit.

Grian took the measuring tape and Mumbo took a book and quill from Doc, quickly getting to work on doing their jobs. "Tango! I know you're back there!" Doc shouts over his shoulder, startling the red eyed man. "Come over here. Medical Emergency!"

Tango quickly listens and rushes over, pressing a button on his communicator that sends out a message to any nearby Hermits of the medical emergency, coordinates included. "Here! What do you need help with?" He quickly asks, hovering beside Grian.

"When Scar gets back with the oxygen I need you to go with him to get some things from my medical office. I need an IV stand, the cooler in my fridge marked TTW 17, a few syringes, a new blood pressure monitor armband and a portable heart monitor." Doc explains. "Got it?"

"Got it!" Tango nods but quickly frowns. "Wait, what does a portable heart monitor look like?"

"You know the thing Scar wears sometimes when his parts aren't charged?" Mumbo speaks up.

"Oh! Ok, gotcha!" Tango nods as Scar flies through the hole he made in Grians' wall.

"Got it!" Scar quickly says as he pulls an oxygen tank out of his inventory.

"Thank you, set it up besi-WHOA!" Doc shouts in surprise when Tommy suddenly shoots up right with a panicked look on his face.

The group watched as Tommy looked around before standing and rushing for the calf that had sat itself down in the corner. The teen wrapped his arms around it as he took shaky breaths until he seemed to calm down. "Where am I?" Tommy whispers, looking around again.

Tommy looked around for another moment before nodding. "Right, right...Grians' place." Standing the blonde dusted himself off. "Come on Wilbur, time to go before somebody blows up my place again. Or worse. The red vines grow on it."

Tommy shuddered and turned to the stairs but before he could get even a step forward he fell to his knees then to his front with a huff. "Not again…" He sighs. "Hold on Wilbur, my legs need to remember how to work again."

"Tommy…?" Grian whispers, trying not to scare the teen.

But said teen still jumped and moved both arms above his head and neck, attempting to curl up. "Not the head!" He cried out.

Grian felt his heart break at the sight of the shaking boy he helped raise. "Oh Tommy…" He whispered, stepping forward slowly. "We're not gonna hurt you. I promise."

"That's what they all say." Tommy whimpered.

Tango and Scar share a concerned look as Grian steps closer. "Tommy, you know me. I'd never, ever, ever hurt you." Grian whispered, getting onto the ground beside Tommy. "I'm papa Grian! Remember…?"

"Doesn't matter. Foolish left me and had two more kids to replace me, Techno tried to kill me and told me to die, Wilbur died, Papa left me, Fundy hates me because I was a part of Wilburs unfinished symphony and not him, Uncle Dream killed me with a potato then revived me and...and everybody hates me and I don't know why…" Tommy says softly, eyes glistening with unshed tears.

"Oh gods…" Grian whispers. "T-Tommy…"

"It's ok if you wanna hit me. I've talked too much…" Tommy whispers, hiding his face. "Just not the face. I don't wanna have another panic attack."

Grian covered his mouth and shook his head in disbelief. He couldn't believe that any of that happened to Tommy in the short time they hadn't seen each other. 

"What in the world is wrong with those...those bastards in the Dream SMP?! He's a kid! He never should've had those things happen to him!" Mumbo growls. "I'm calling Foolish!"

"Please don't. It'll make him hate me more…" Tommy whimpered.

The room was silent for a couple of minutes until Tango stepped forward and sat in front of Tommy and gently took the kids trembling hand. "Hey kiddo, can you look at me? Please?" He asks softly.

It took a moment but when Tommy looked up at Tango the man gave him a gentle smile and gave his hand a gentle squeeze. "Nobody is ever gonna hurt you again. Not while I'm around." Tango whispered. "You're safe with us, I promise."

Tommy looks away in confusion. "Why do you guys keep saying that word?" He asks softly. "Is that a good word?"

Tango's smile slowly dropped as he progressed what Tommy had said. 

"You...You don't…" Tango frowns, gently squeezing Tommy's hand again before taking a calming breath and lays down in front of Tommy. "Yes, safe is a good word. Safe means you'll be protected from bad things that could harm you."

The teen was silent for a moment as he tested his leg by wiggling it. When it moved he slowly sat up but kept looking at the ground. "Sam said I'd be safe...then he let me die." Tommy whimpered.

There was a loud crunch that startled Tommy into jumping into Tangos' arms, trying to hide himself. "Bloody hell-! Doc! Your hand!" Mumbo shouts in concern.

"I'll be fine." Doc mumbles as he stands. Walking over to Tango and Tommy he watches the red eyed blonde try and calm down Tommy's shakes. "Tommy?"

Tommy didn't look up, just tried to hide himself in Tangos' chest more. "Tommy, kiddo, what happened? Can you tell me?" Doc asks gently, ignoring his bleeding hand and the shards of the syringe he had been holding that embed themselves in his hand.

For the next thirty or so minutes Tommy told his tale of the previous months before now. Grian had to leave the room more than once to either punch a wall or to struggle not to vomit when Tommy told them how he lost his final life only to come back two days later for the overworld but MONTHS later for the afterlife.

By the end Tommy was heavily leaning against a silently crying Tango, his eyes glassy and tired. 

"...so now I'm alive again but my vitals are all wrong. It's like I'm a walking corpse…" Tommy whispers as Scar gently carded his fingers through his hair. "...I was collecting some um...I don't remember what but I was collecting it when Grian, Mumbo and Scar came over. I think they kidnapped me…"

"That's right bubba. We kidnapped you." Scar nodded, wiping at his eyes. "And you are never going back there again."

"I'm gonna kill Sam." Doc whispers.

"Doc?" Tommy whispers, looking up at the creeper hybrid.

"Yes Tommy?" Doc asks softly.

"Can I go to sleep? I'm really tired." Tommy yawns. 

"Yes little one. Get some rest." Doc whispers, pressing a kiss to Tommy's forehead.

"Promise you won't leave?" Tommy asks softly.

"Of course not Tommy." Doc whispers, giving Tommy a soft smile. "Never gonna leave you again."

Tommy gave a sleepy smile as his eyes slowly slipped closed, wrapped up in Tangos' arms.

For a few minutes nobody dared to move as they watched Tommy sleep, the kid obviously needing it. "Doc, let me help with your hand." Scar mutters as he stops playing with Tommys' hair.

"I'm fine." Doc mutters, smoke coming out of his mouth. "Just don't get fire near any blood spots. It could explode."

"Noted." Grian mutters from near the calf.

It was silent again, the only noise that could be heard were the sounds of uneven breaths from Tommy, the wind blowing outside and a soft drip coming from the faucet in Grians' bathroom. "Hey." Mumbo speaks up. "Anybody wanna go grief a server?"

Doc, Grian and Scar look up at Mumbo in surprise but the surprise is quickly replaced with excitement.

"Heck yes." Scar smiles, already standing.

"You think XD will let us?" Grian asks as he too stands.

"If we get banned, we get banned." Mumbo smiles. "Let's go."

"Wait!" Tango whisper yells, making the group stop and look at him. "Doc said he was banned. He can't go with you. Plus he promised the kid he'd be here when he woke up."

"True but I never said my things were banned." Doc smiles. "You three! Go to my lab and get my "Boom Sticks" and my camera bots. I want to see everything."

"You got it big man!" Grian smiles. "We'll be back soon, take care of Tommy ok?"

"Of course I will." Doc smiles. "Just be careful you three don't die there."

"Right." The two brits and American smile. "We'll be home soon!"

Doc and Tango watch the trio run down the stairs with excited whoops and hollers, clearly forgetting the traumatized sleeping teen. "Kids." Doc frowns.

Tango laughs as he wipes at his eyes again. "Really Doc? You're only a few years older than them." He smiles. 

Doc chuckles and shakes his head. "I stand by what I said." He smiles. "Children."

Tango laughs and shakes his head at Doc. "Dork." He smiles.

"Oi!" Doc laughs.

The two laugh and sit back. Tango carefully moved Tommy up and held him close to his chest with his head under his chin. "How long do you think he'll be asleep for?" Tango asks, carefully running his fingers through Tommy's hair.

"He looked really tired so I suspect a few hours at the most." Doc hums.

"....my butt is gonna be so numb." Tango whines causing Doc to laugh.

"Oh most definitely." Doc chuckles.

The two laugh again and sit in comfortable silence, just listening to Tommy breathe.

Chapter Text

Doc hums as he gently bounces the sleeping Tommy in his arms. "We gotta get some more meat on your bones." He frowns, gently moving a piece of hair out of Tommy's eyes.

It's been two hours since Tommy had fallen asleep and Doc was honestly getting worried. The kid would stop breathing every 10 minutes before breathing again a few seconds later and there was a strange rattle in his chest.

"You're holding him like a toddler."

Doc frowns and looks at how he was holding Tommy in the mirror near Grians' wardrobe. He had Tommy's arms over his shoulders and his legs loosely around his waist while one of his arms was under Tommy's bottom and the other was patting his back slowly to help keep him asleep. 

Doc looked over to Tango and chuckled. "It's how he likes to be held." He smiles. "He says it makes him feel safe."

"Aww." Tango chuckles as he stands up from the floor. "Think we should make him some lunch? For when he wakes up."

"Tango it's almost six at night. Lunch time has passed." Doc chuckles.

"Wait, really?!" Tango quickly checks both his clock and his watch and laughs. "Oh crap, it is!" 

Chuckling Doc shakes his head and starts for the stairs. "Come on, I'm gonna need help with dinner."

"Ooo! What are you making?" Tango quickly asks, walking behind Doc.

"Beef stroganoff with egg noodles and roasted potatoes as the side dish." Doc hums.

"Oooo! That sounds so good! But uh...does Grian have the stuff for it?" Tango asks curiously.

"...huh. Didn't think of that." Doc frowns.

Tango just laughs and runs ahead of him. "Come on, we can go get some stuff at the Hypixel markets before they close for the night!" 

Doc chuckles and rolls his eye. "Fine but I need to find Tommy's soundproof headphones. More than likely it'll be loud at the market." 

"Sure thing! I'm gonna go grab my money, meet you at the hypixel portal!" Tango smiles as he jumps the last few steps, taking a bit of damage. "Ow! I'm ok!"

Chuckling Doc walks the rest of the way down and looks around at Grians' chests to see if he couldn't find one with Tommy's stuff in it. "Hm...now if I were Grian where would I put...oh." Doc frowns when he sees a chest marked 'Tommy' near Grians' downstairs nest. "Nevermind."

Humming Doc walks over and opens the chest. He frowned at the sight of only ten slots of space being used. "A couple of shirts, a couple of pants, a compass, a Allium called Ranboo, his cape, his dragon skull mask, a pair of socks, photos, his drawing stuff and his favorite blanket...where are his headphones?" Doc mutters. "Did Dream destroy them? That bastard."

Sighing Doc reaches into his coat pocket, hoping to find the ear plugs he had bought the other day. Smiling when his fingers hit something he pulls it out and gives a victorious cheer when he sees it was his ear plugs. 

"Yes!" He whispers, attempting to open the little pack with one hand. "Ugh this is hard."

"Ok I get these open and into Tommy's ears then head out to the markets. Easy!" Doc reassures himself. "Hopefully Grian, Mumbo and Scar will be back by then. It's taking them an awful long time to get back. Wonder if they're still causing chaos."

"MY CASINO!" Quackity shouts as Mumbo shoots off a few blasts from his Boom Stick at the building. "WHAT THE FUCK MUMBO?!"

Mumbo smiles as he turns to Quackity, his Boom Stick still smoking. "Because Foolish is here Flatty Patty." The brit smiles before aiming for the Eiffel Tower. "Say bye bye to your build!"

"NO!" Quackity screams, trying to race forward but Sam and Purpled quickly stop him so he doesn't get hurt.

The group had found out the hard way that Mumbo was in creative mode, courtesy of XD himself, so they couldn't hurt him.

"MUMBO STOP! PLEASE!" Foolish screams as he steps forward, tears streaming down his face.

Mumbo fires off a few rounds and watches as the blasts of TNT blew the tower to smithereens before even looking to Foolish. "Why should I stop?" He asks with a frown. "Did any of you stop when you all beat down Tommy until he was a broken little boy?"

"Wh-What…? This is about Tommy?!" Foolish yells, trying to hide Foolish Jr and Finley behind him.

"Well yes and no." Mumbo frowns until he sees the children hiding behind Foolish and Fundy. "Oh, hello little ones! I just want you to know that your home is being destroyed because none of the people here are good and I want you to know something."

Mumbo pulled out a picture from his breast pocket and held it out with a doleful look. "Your mommy is one of the worst because he left his first born because he was''broken" and "he needed a break from Tommy's trauma" that he helped create." He spoke in a dark tone as the group in front of him stared at the picture of Tommy who looked as if he was on his last leg but forcing himself to keep going.

"Foolish you...you didn't actually say that to Tommy did you?" Purpled asks softly.

Foolish was silent as he stared at the picture of his son. His heart was breaking the more he looked at it. His son, his baby, looked so...so dead.

Tommy's once golden hair that used to match Foolishs' skin was dull and no longer fluffy. The teens cheeks were sunken in and his body looked so frail, almost like a soft breeze could knock him over. His clothes were in tatters and his eyes looked...looked dead.

"I-I…" Foolish whispers, suddenly feeling sick.

"Tommy told me not to talk to you because he thought it'd make you hate him even more than you already do." Mumbo frowns, putting the picture away. 

"What…? He-He thinks I hate him?!" Foolish asks in a watery voice. "No, no! I love him! He's my son, my baby!"

"Then why didn't you protect him from Dream?" Mumbo glares, crossing his arms.

Foolish flinched at that and looked to the ground.

"You told Grian and I that you had tracked down Techno to take him because Dream tried to kill him five times when you brought him home. Didn't you stop to think maybe he'd still been doing it?!" Mumbo yelled, black eyes glowing red. "He's a fucking child and he was sent into Exile and constantly beat and had all of his fucking things destroyed Foolish. And you sat back and did nothing. You clearly don't love him."

Foolish looks up at his friend with tears in his eyes. "Dr-Dream beat him…?" He asks softly.

"Oh please, as if you actually care." Mumbo growls. "A parent's job is to take care of, provide, love and protect their child. What the fuck have you done for Tommy in the past year except make him a big brother?"

Foolish didn't say anything, just hugged himself.

"You're fucking disgusting." Purpled growls at the totem hybrid before turning to Mumbo. "You! Where's Tommy?!"

"Someplace safe." Mumbo frowns. "Somewhere where he'll never ever get hurt again."

"You kidnapped him?! I should arrest you!" Sam yells.

"You can try but I'm in creative mode big man!" Mumbo chuckles. "You can't kill me like you killed Tommy."

Sam flinched back at that. "I-I...I did what I had to do!" He yells. 

"Did what you had to do? Like locking a fucking child up with his long time abuser knowing that Tommy had no where near recovered enough to even see his maks, let alone his face." Mumbo bit back.

Sam faltered at Mumbos' words.

"Now if you excuse me I need to get back to the plan." Mumbo smiles as he lifts his boom stick up again. "Say goodbye to your homes!"

Mumbo laughed as he blew up the rest of Las Nevadas with one thought in his head. 

"Now they'll all know what it feels like to be Tommy."

Frowning Doc looks down at the juice boxes he had found. "Strawberry apple?" He hums. "I wonder if it's good…"

"Doc!"

Turning Doc deadpans at the sight of Tangos' trolley. "Tango, as a doctor, I have to advise against all of these sweets." He frowns as he gestures to the cart.

Tango frowns and looks down at his cart that was half full with coke boxes, gummy candy, jiffy pop, chocolate bars, marshmallows, Hawaiian Punch, boxes of doughnuts and graham crackers.

"What's wrong with it?" He frowns.

Doc groans and rubs at his face. "Tango…"

A startled chirp made both men look over to see Tommy now wide awake in Docs' cart, a child trying to poke him through the holes in the cart. Doc quickly shooed the child away with a frown before looking down at Tommy. "Hey kiddo." Doc smiles softly. "You have a nice nap?"

Tommy just frowned at Doc before tossing an orange at his head. The orange bounced back and into Tommy's hands which surprised the teen greatly as he thought it'd just fall to the ground.

Doc just shook his head with a laugh. "I take it you're still tired." He chuckles.

Tango snickered, trying not to laugh as Tommy did it again. "Maybe we should find him a ball or something Doc." He chuckles. "He seems to like bouncing things!"

Doc laughs as he rubs at the spot the orange had hit him. "Good idea. Let's go to the toys." He smiles

Doc grabbed the juice boxes and put them into the cart with Tommy and started to push him towards the back of the store. While walking to the back Doc took notice of the fact that Tommy hadn't freaked out at being someplace new when he woke up. Had he woken up in strange places before? Was that why he wasn't afraid?

Doc was so invested in his thoughts that he didn't notice somebody coming out of an aisle until they crashed into his cart, startling Tommy.

"Whoa! Sorry about-Doc?"

Doc quickly made sure Tommy was ok before looking up at who he had crashed into to see Iskall staring at him in disapproval. "Did you kidnap somebody?" Iskall asks as he points at Tommy.

"What? No. Boatem did." Doc frowns, ruffling Tommy's hair. "Isn't that right Toms?"

Tommy just frowned and bit Docs hand carefully, knowing his teeth were sharp.

Doc just smiles as Iskall watches in concern. "H-He's biting you." Iskall stutters.

"Yep! He does that." Doc chuckles. "Doing a bit of shopping too?"

"Uh...yeah. Ran outta toilet paper so I came to get more." Iskall smiles as he holds up his pack of toilet paper.

"Then why do you have a cart dude?" Tango asks, startling Iskall.

"Oh my goodness! You startled me." The redstoner laughs. "Well I decided to get some sweets and such while I'm out here. Planning on watching a movie tonight."

"Ah! Gotcha!" Tango chuckles.

"So uh...who's Mr. Bitey?" Iskall asks, poking Tommy's cheek only to nearly get bit as well. "Ah!"

"This is Tommy, one of my patients and a new hermit." Doc hums as he shakes his bitten hand.

Tommy looks up at Doc in confusion for a moment before throwing the orange at his head again. When it bounced back into his hand he purred and held his bouncy orange to his chest. He liked his bouncy orange.

Iskall and Tango laugh as Doc shakes his head. 

"Well it's nice to meet you Tommy! I'm Iskall!"

Tommy looked up at Iskall and growled. He grew to be cautious of new people in case they hurt him. But...Tango didn't hurt him.

"Try letting him sniff your hand!" Tango whispers.

"Hm? Oh uh...ok." Iskall frowns, holding out his hand.

The three hermits watch as Tommy sniffs at Iskalls' hand for a moment before nudging it with his head.

"Ay! He likes you!" Tango laughs.

"Oh thank goodness." Iskall chuckles. "For a moment I thought I was gonna be bit!"

Doc smirks when he sees Tommy open his mouth and-

Chomp!

"Aiee!" Iskall jumps at the bite but doesn't move.

"Welcome to the family!" Doc laughs.

A few minutes later…

Doc looks at all of the different colored balls in their own little cage with interest. They were all different sizes and colors but he needed a specific one for Tommy. Pulling one out he shakes it and frowns. "Nope." He frowns. 

Putting it back he reaches for another one when he notices Tommy looking down the aisle at something. "You see something you wanna look at Toms?" Doc asks gently.

Tommy flinches and shakes his head and looks away from what he had been looking at and down at the ear plugs he had taken out earlier.

Doc frowns and looks down the aisle and tries to figure out what Tommy had been looking at. "Hey Doc! Look what I found!"

Doc turned and saw Tango holding a white ball with an orange stripe. It was a good size and bright enough that it wouldn't get lost. But what sold Doc on it was when Tango shook it and he heard a small chime come from the ball.

"It has a bell inside of it! Isn't that cool?" Tango asks with a smile.

"Tango, it's perfect! Where did you find it?" Doc asks as he takes the ball.

"It was hidden behind some Transformers toys." Tango chuckles. "Think it'll work for the kid?"

"Definitely." Doc smiles as he places the ball into the cart, surprising Tommy. "Where's Iskall?"

"He went to the movie section to see what they got." Tango replies, poking Tommy on the forehead.

Tango yelps when he almost gets bit but laughs it off. "This is fun." He smiles.

"Yeah, until you lose a finger." Doc chuckles.

"Wait what?" Tango asks just as Tommy bit his finger. "AHHH!"

Doc laughs and shakes his head. "I warned ya." He smiles, starting to push his cart down the aisle. "Go get your cart. I just need to grab one more thing before we leave."

"Ok but make the piranha stop biting me!" Tango whines.

Doc leans forward and gently scratches behind one of Tommys' pointed ears. When Tommy starts to lean into his touch he moves his hand up and gently scratches Tommy's scalp to distract him from biting.

Once Tommy let go of Tango the older blonde cheered and ran for his cart. "Freedom!" Tango laughs.

Doc rolls his eye and stops scratching Tommy's scalp, moving back to push the cart. But Tommy quickly snatched his hand and put it back on his head. Doc was surprised but smiled down at Tommy. "You want me to do it again?" He asks softly.

Tommy nods and tries to make Doc's finger move and scratch at his scalp but it doesn't work as well. Frustrated, he whines softly and gives Doc his best puppy eyes.

"Awww." Doc smiles, continuing the gentle scratches.

When Tommy purred and laid his head against the child basket of the cart Doc blinked and looked down at Tommy in surprise. "How did…?" He whispers before one conclusion comes to mind. "Sorcery."

Tommy's small laugh made Doc smile as he pushed the cart forward. Something quickly catches Doc's eye, making him stop. Sitting on the metal shelf was a mooshroom plush but it had no mushrooms on it. The only reason Doc knew it was a mooshroom was due to the strange color of the cow.

Picking it up, Doc smiled at how soft it felt. He squished it a few times but frowned when he felt the dust on it. Looking it over he saw the thin layer of dust on the soft plush.

"It's like me."

Looking up Doc looked at Tommy and tilted his head curiously. "What?"

"It's like me." Tommy repeated, pointing at the plush. "It's defective. No mushrooms even though it's an adult mooshroom."

Tommy then points at himself. "Can't do anything right even though I was taught better."

Doc felt his heart sink.

Tommy points at the cow again. "It's dusty because nobody wanted it."

Tommy points at himself again. "I have scars because nobody wanted me."

Doc stared down at Tommy as the boy pointed at the dusty shelf where the toy had been laying.

"He was left behind."

Tommy points at himself again.

"So was I."

Doc watched as Tommy tried to carefully dust the toy off and softly talked to it like he was comforting it.

Taking a deep breath Doc carefully gives Tommy the plush and bends down so he is level with Tommy. "Then why don't we bring him home?" He asks gently.

Tommy looked at the plush in disbelief then up at Doc. "C-Can we?" He asks softly. "Are...Are you going to take him from me?"

"Only to wash him. I promise." Doc reassures Tommy, placing a hand on his head.

Doc smiles when Tommy presses up into his hand with a small smile. "What are you gonna name him?" He asks curiously.

"Um...Muffin!" Tommy declares. "Because Uncle-...I mean Bad likes muffins!"

Doc chuckles softly and kisses the top of Tommy's head. "Alright big man." He smiles. "How about we go get some ice cream, hm?"

"Really?" Tommy asks in a suspicious voice.

"Mhm. Any flavor you want." Doc nods.

"Play dough!" Tommy quickly shouts but is quickly embarrassed and hides behind Muffins' head. "Please…?"

Doc chuckles again and starts for the freezer section, making a mental note to kill the Dream SMP members for making Tommy feel this way. "Play dough it is." He smiles.

As Doc left the aisle with Tommy he didn't notice Iskall and Tango had been standing behind him with sad faces.

"Geez...what happened to that kid…?" Iskall asks Tango.

"Way too much old friend. Way too much." Tango sighs, looking over at Iskall.

Iskall frowns and nods. Looking to where Doc had picked up Muffin he notices a glow in the dark redstone block. Walking over he picks it up and turns it over in his hand. "You think Tommy would like this?" He asks the red eyes man behind him.

Tango smiles and nods. "I think so."

"Do you think it'd be insensitive to buy him a couple of toys? He seemed really interested in these ones…" Iskall ponders, picking up a fidget cube.

Tango smiles and immediately starts putting toys in his cart with every intent to give them to Tommy. "I hope not because I'm buying him a butt load." He cheerfully says.

"Tango!" Iskall laughs as the blonde grabs a tub of legos and puts them into his cart. "Let me help!"

Together Tango and Iskall had put quite a few toys into their carts and collectively groaned at the realisation that they now had no idea where Tommy and Doc were.

"Should we try the frozen section?" Iskall asks with a chuckle.

"Yeah." Tango smiles, already pushing his cart out of the toy section. "If we can't find them then we just meet them at the server."

Two dings made both men look at their communicators curiously.

You have been added to a group chat.

"Group Chat? We can make those on these?" Tango asks in confusion.

<Docm77>: Guys…

<Docm77>: We were getting smoothies while we waited for you guys and...look.

[Image attachment]

Iskall and Tango both laugh at the sight of Tommy covered in strawberry smoothie, licking some off of his arm.

<Docm77>: The blender exploded and spilled all over Tommy. XD

<Docm77>: But he says it's still a good smoothie! :D

Iskall and Tango lean against their carts, trying to stop laughing. "Oh-Oh gods!" Iskall laughs. "Why is that funny?! It shouldn't be that funny!"

"I don't know! Let's just get home before the kid gets sticky!" Tango chuckles.

"Right, right!" Iskall smiles.

Together the duo quickly paid for their stuff and met up with Doc and Tommy outside. They shared another laugh when Tommy tried to get them with the smoothie by shaking like a dog before heading back to the Hermitcraft server.

As they walked to the portal leading to their server Tango and Iskall kept feeling like they were being watched. So turning around they saw a girl wearing a strange white mask with a =n= painted on it staring in their direction.

They were going to call out to her, to see if she was lost, but when a couple passed in front of her she suddenly disappeared. "What in the world…?" Tango whispers.

"Tango! Iskall!" Doc called out. "Hurry up slow pokes!"

Iskall and Tango quickly look back at Doc then back to where the girl had been. Choosing to ignore it they ran to catch up with their friends. Whomever that was, they hoped they wouldn't see her again.

Chapter Text

"Take me with you."

"No."

"Take me with you."

"No."

"Take me with you...please?"

"Thank you for being polite but no."

"Take me with you."

Mumbo groans as he tosses a lit stick of TNT into The Manifold Hotel. "No!" He shouts as Jack runs by screaming.

"Take me and Sam Nook with you." Purpled says as he points at the robot that stood not too far away, holding a trident up to Mumbos' face.

"No! Who even are you?!" Mumbo asks in confusion. 

"My name is Purpled and I'm Tommy's friend!"

Mumbo sighs and turns to Purpled. "Yes, well, so was Tubbo." He frowns. "And he exiled him and put him into the hands of his abuser."

"Yeah, that was Tubbo! Not me! I actually tried to help but Dream told us Tommy didn't want visitors!" Purpled yelled angrily. "If I knew what had been happening with Tommy I would've helped! I would've held his hand and told him everything was ok like he did for me before his trial! I...I would've protected him...but he hid it so well."

Mumbo looked down at Purpled and sighed softly when he saw the unmistakable look of guilt on the younger's face. Pinching the bridge of his nose he closed his eyes. "I'll ask XD." He mutters. "It'll take a bit of convincing but I'll try."

Purpled smiled and hugged Mumbo tightly, surprising the man. "Thank you." The blonde smiles.

"Yeah...no problem." Mumbo sighed as he pats Purpled on the back a few times. "Now let me go. I need to flatten this place."

Purpled let Mumbo go just as two booms were heard and the upper and middle part of the hotel were destroyed. "Oi! Mumbo!" Grian calls out. "Doc said dinner is ready!"

"He also said he had to borrow a pair of your sweat pants because Grians were too short." Scar shouts over the burning of the hotel.

"Noted! Thank you!" Mumbo laughs up at his friend. "Where are we going next?"

"The prison! I want to have a chat with Dream." Grian grins.

Mumbo laughs and nods, flying up towards his friends when there was a grip on his ankle. Looking back he saw the strange being that had been pointing the trident at him. "I'm not asking about you." Mumbo frowns. "You look too much like Sam and I don't wanna risk Doc killing you as soon as he sees you."

Pulling his ankle away he flies up to his friends with a puzzled look. "You ok Mumbo?" Scar asks curiously.

"Yeah, yeah...but uh...Scar? You've been around robots before, yeah?" Mumbo asks curiously.

"Yep! Cub and Doc always let me see their robots first." Scar smiles. "Why?"

"Are robots warm?"

"Warm? No, not really." Scar hums, racking his mind for anytime he'd been around a warm robot. "They're usually cold because of their metal."

"Huh...ok." Mumbo frowns as Grian goes into spectator mode.

"Let's go guys! Before dinner gets cold!" Grian quickly says, flying towards the prison.

Mumbo and Scar quickly follow suit, hoping to give Dream a piece of their mind.

"There you go Tommy, you're doing great." Doc gently reassures the teen next to him.

"He ok?" Tango asks when he sees Tommy hobbling over to the table he'd set up.

"Fell in the shower. Pretty sure he twisted his ankle." Doc quickly replied, carefully helping Tommy sit down.

Making sure the towel he had wrapped around Tommy was wrapped around him tight enough he carefully lifted Tommy's left leg and carefully moved his foot. A soft growl told him that there was pain.

"It's twisted." Doc frowns. "Tango, remind me tomorrow that I need to go to the medical equipment store to get some things please."

"Got it big man." Tango nods, gently patting Tommy's head. "You're not having the best of luck today huh kid?"

Tommy grumbles and shakes his head slightly. "Foot stings…" He grumbles as he watches Doc stand.

"I'll get you an Advil and the clothes we borrowed from Mumbo and Scar." Doc frowns. "Stay here and stay sitting down ok?"

Tommy sighs but nods slightly, not at all happy that a wet shower floor of all things bested him.

When Doc walked away to get the clothes and medication Tango stepped in front of Tommy. "You ok?" He asks the smaller blonde.

"Mm." Tommy hums.

Tango frowns and tries to remember what Doc did at the store. Stepping behind Tommy he gently moved some wet hair out of the way of Tommy's ear, earning him a low growl of warning. Gulping, he closes his eyes and carefully scratches behind Tommy's pointed, flicking ear.

He continued to gently scratch until he felt Tommy lean into his touch. Opening his eyes he sees Tommy leaning back into his scratches with his eyes closed and a soft rumble coming from his chest.

Smiling, Tango continued the gentle scratching until Tommy fell out of his chair with a yelp. Tango yelped in surprise, not having expected Tommy to fall.

Tommy sat up and looked around in confusion. "What happened?" He frowned.

Tango chuckles and carefully helps Tommy up and back into the chair. "I found your weak spot." He smiles triumphantly. "You know you're just like a puppy when it comes to ear scratches."

"I will bite you if you say that again." Tommy yawns. "Think Doc will let me sleep again after dinner…?"

Tango frowns and looks down at Tommy. "Of course. Why wouldn't he?"

"Dream wouldn't let me sleep in prison. He said I had to sleep on the floor or not at all." Tommy remarks.

"...Tommy, how long ago was it you actually slept?" Tango asks quickly.

"Um...fully?" Tommy asks before looking down, trying to recall.  "Um...I think…"

Tango didn't like that Tommy was taking such a long time to remember.

"I...I actually don't remember." Tommy frowns.

Tango was going to say something when Doc walked back over to them with the medication and clothes in hand. "Ok Tommy, let's get you dressed." Doc hums as he places the Advil bottle down on the table.

"You're the boss Doc." Tommy sighs, lowering the towel so his chest was exposed.

Tango sucked in a breath at the sight of all of the scars that practically covered the teens torso. There were some large burn marks, there were wither scars that were thin and still inky black even though they seemed to be old, there were big slash scars and small slash scars.

"Tango? You ok?"

Tango looks away from Tommy and back to Doc. "You look a bit green." The creeper hybrid frowns.

"Nah, nah I-I'm fine…" Tango spoke softly.

"I'm fine."

Tango looked back to Tommy as the kid slipped on Scars' long john shirt. Once Tommy's head was free he looked up at Tango with pale grey eyes.

"I'm alive." Tommy frowns. "I'm right here talking to you and I'm not melting from the water on my skin so you know I'm alive."

Tango slowly nodded, taking a deep breath. Letting it out he looks at Tommy in the eye. "Did...Did your old server mates cause those?" He asks softly.

Tommy froze and looked uncertain up at Tango. "I...uh…" Tommy searched for something to say because truth be told, he couldn't remember which scars were caused from his fights in the pits and which were caused by his server mates.

Gods he wished he still had his voices. They'd know what to say.

"N-No...no." Tommy quickly tries to cover his chest even though he was already wearing a shirt. "I…"

Doc and Tango share a look before nodding. 

They were going to beat the hell out of the dsmp members if they ever saw them again.

"Here Toms, put on your pants." Doc holds out the pants he had taken from Mumbos' tree to Tommy. "I'll go make your plate."

"...thanks Doc." Tommy frowns, taking the pants.

Tango and Doc walk over to the stove, silently talking over what to do, when there was a knock on the door. "I'll get it." Tommy calls out.

"No! You stay off that-gosh darn it." Doc groans when he sees Tommy already halfway to the door with a slight limp.

Tommy opens the door and yelps at the sight of a person/water kitten. Slamming the door shut he presses himself against it with wide eyes. "You ok Toms?" Doc asks with a frown.

"How big can water kittens get?!" Tommy quickly asks, blindly trying to find the lock to the door.

"Not that big, why?" Tango asks curiously.

"Bull crap! There's a huge one at the door!" Tommy shouts when there was another knock.

"Uh oh…" Doc mutters, quickly walking over to the door. "Tommy, come here bubba."

Tommy limps over to Doc and hides in his coat when Tango opens the door. "X! Hey bud! How's it going?" Tango smiles up at the huge water kitten.

When the big pink being walked in Tommy growled deep in his throat and glared at the big being. It seemed to step back as Tommy did so, so Tommy slowly stepped forward. "Uh...why is he growling at me?" The big pink water kitten asks curiously.

"He either smells something he doesn't like on you or he sees you as an enemy!" Doc quickly says, trying to hold Tommy back.

Tommy continued to growl even as Doc started pulling him back towards the table. "Come on Toms, stop it!" The creeper hybrid pleads when the teen starts to fight back. "I-I'll give you a gapple!"

Tommy still didn't stop trying to advance. He didn't like admins and he could very clearly tell that this water kitten was an admin. He wanted to jump him, scare him, anything to get him away from Tango and Doc.

Stepping forward Tommy felt Doc's grip on him loosening quite a bit, which made him smirk. "Stay away!" Tommy growled. "I'll kill you!"

"Tommy, stop!" Doc shouts desperately.

"No! He's an admin! He needs to die!" Tommy yells, his eyes turning a blood red.

"Tommy he's not like Dream! Or like the ones that kept killing your friends!" Doc quickly says just as he lost his grip on Tommy and lands on his knees on the floor.

Tommy only moved forward a few inches before looking back at Doc. "He's...He's not?" He asks unsurely.

Doc groans as he slowly stands. "Ow…" He mutters before looking up at Tommy. "No Tommy, he's not. X is a good guy, he's my friend."

Tommy looked back over to X and looked him over. "He won't hurt us…?" Tommy asks in a small voice.

"No Tommy, he won't." Doc reassures.

Tommy looked X up and down again before sagging. "If you say he's safe then he's safe…" He mutters, wrapping his arms around himself.

Doc carefully put his hands on Tommy's shoulders and pulled him further away from X. "Thank you Tommy." He says softly before looking up at X. "He has bad experiences with admins."

X looks to Tommy then to Doc. "Noted…" He frowns. "So uh...where's Grian? I need to have a chat about him hacking into the server to add, well, him-" He points at Tommy. "to the whitelist."

Tommy flinched at that and turned more towards Doc. "X there was a good reason why they did it." Tango quickly interrupts.

X looked down at Tango then over at Doc and Tommy. "I can see that." He frowns when he notices the teens body beginning to shake and his previously red eyes turn to a dull grey. "You may want to get him seated. He looks like he's about to fall over."

Doc looks down at Tommy and panics slightly at the sight of his eye lids drooping. "Tommy? Tommy, are you ok?" He quickly asks, lifting Tommy up in a bridal carry.

Tommy didn't respond, just looked up at Doc with a sleepy smile.

"Kid?" Doc frowns. "Can you hear me?"

"I like moths…" Tommy mutters.

Doc sighs, his tense shoulders falling. "He's just tired." He chuckles. "Must've used his energy to try and fight you."

X chuckles and shakes his head. "So why did Grian whitelist him?" He asks, crossing his arms. "Did something happen?"

Doc looks to Tango who gives him a grim look. "You tell him, I'll feed Tommy." The creeper hybrid sighs, already carrying Tommy over to the kitchen.

Grabbing Tommy's plate and a can of soda, Doc quickly heads upstairs and to Grians' room. Nudging open the door he stopped when he saw fairy lights had been strung up and a new light blue bed was pressed against the wall with a sign on the side with 'roof child' etched into it, the calf was happily munching on some hay and a plate of cookies in the shape of stars sat on the bed covered with plastic wrap.

"What in the world…?" Doc whispers.

He hadn't done this and he had only been up here a few minutes ago.

Walking over to the bed he carefully put Tommy down and watched the teen shake his hands with a smile. "Sweater paws…" Tommy mutters, making Doc chuckle.

Humming softly Doc put the food and soda down on the floor before moving over to Tommy. Gently taking his hands he rolls up the sleeves of the shirt so Tommy's hands were seen again and looked them over. 

"One, two, three, four, five." He counts on Tommy's left hand then moves to his right. "One, two, three, four, five." Doc smiles. "Yep, all there."

Tommy laughed softly as Doc helped him under the blanket. "Nobody ever tried to take my fingers. Always my head or leg." He chuckles.

Doc gave a strained smile as he picked up Tommy's food. "Let me see you hold out your hand." He orders gently.

Tommy frowned in confusion at the request but did as asked. Holding out his hand he watched as it shook slightly but not as badly as it had been since he left the prison. "Excellent!" Doc smiled. "Want to try and feed yourself?"

Tommy nods quickly. He didn't mind it when people fed him but after this morning when Scar made airplane noises he swore he'd slap the next person who tried and he really didn't want to slap Doc. He liked Doc. He's one of the good ones.

"Alright, here you go." Doc carefully placed the plate of food on Tommy's lap. "I'll be right back with your straw and Muffin."

"Turtles…" Tommy frowns.

"Don't worry, it's a reusable straw." Doc chuckles. "No need to throw it out."

Tommy nods with a small smile, looking down at his food. The smell alone made his stomach growl in want. "Hey Doc?" Tommy asks softly, unsure.

"Yes Tommy?" Doc asks as he stands.

"Is it really ok for me to eat this? Nobody will get mad?"

Doc looks at Tommy and frowns. "No bubba. Nobody will be mad. Go ahead and eat it all ok?" He places a hand on Tommy's still wet hair and hums. "I need to find a hair dryer…"

Tommy chuckled and looked up at Doc. "Why are you doing all of this?" He asks softly.

"What do you mean Tommy?" Doc frowns.

"Well...the last time I had a home cooked meal was before I "betrayed" Techno. After that it was just random crap I threw into a furnace." Tommy hums, lifting up a spoonful of egg noodle and meat to his mouth. "And the last time somebody treated me kindly was...was...actually, I don't actually remember."

Doc felt his blood boil at that. "Not even Tubbo?" He asks softly.

Tommy stopped chewing and looked up at Doc for a moment then back down at his food again. "No. Not even Tubbo." He whispers as he moves his food around on his plate. "He tried to be but I never forgave him for leaving me with Dream."

Doc grit his teeth to stop the smoke from coming out of his mouth.

"But Ranboo was nice. So was Purpled and Punz." Tommy smiles slightly, some blue coming back to his eyes.

Doc looked back to Tommy curiously. "Ranboo, Purpled and Punz?" He asks softly.

"Mhm." Tommy nods. "Ranboo never left me alone when my voices got bad. He just curled around me and sang to me."

"Purpled and Punz were hired to be my bodyguards but they became friends." Tommy chuckles. "Dream was pissed the day Punz came through the portal with the whole server. He still tried to attack me and Tubbo but Sapp-...Sapnap stopped him."

"What about Purpled?" Doc questions curiously.

"Huh? Oh! Purpled!" Tommy smiled brightly. "He's awesome! He used to hang out with me all the time and made sure I ate something and didn't fall into hibernation when I was living with Techno. He was always afraid I'd die from starvation or something."

Doc nods along, making mental notes.

"He also used to make these silly jokes about him and I getting platonically married to get back at Tubbo but I never took it seriously." Tommy chuckled. "After all, why would somebody waste that much time on me?"

Doc frowns as Tommy stops eating. 

"Besides...it's a life commitment even if it is platonic. Why should he be tied down to an idiot who's slowly losing his memory and that's traumatized enough that seeing a simple smiley face or a plains biome could send him into a panic attack?" Tommy mutters as he picks at his food.

Doc wanted to say something but a crash from downstairs made him look towards the door. 

"What was that?" Tommy asks, a shake in his voice.

"Don't know. Stay here." Doc quickly says as he heads for the door.

Swinging it open Doc didn't think he'd be greeted by his cousin wearing a pair of tankui ears, a face mask and a clip on raccoon tail. He was actually stunned for a moment before he was being pushed aside and Sam was running over to Tommy.

"Tommy! You're ok!" Sam spoke in a squeaky voice.

"Sam Nook!" Tommy cheered, quickly putting his food on the end of the bed so he could sit on his knees.

Doc watched in confusion as Tommy hugged "Sam Nook" and "Sam Nook" lifted Tommy up. "I'm so glad I found you Tommy." Sam smiles. "Are you ok? Did they hurt you?"

"No. I'm ok." Tommy smiles but his smile quickly drops when he yawns widely. "Just tired…."

"You can sleep when we get back to the server." Squeaky voiced Sam quickly says, trying to head to the door but Doc quickly stepped in the way.

"Put him down Sam." Doc orders.

"Never." Sam hisses. "I'm taking my nookling home, now."

Tommy whimpers when Doc hissed right back at Sam Nook. "He's safer here than he'd ever be on that gods forsaken server!" Doc shouts.

"Tommy is safe with me!" Sam Nook hissed.

"Is he?! Is he fucking really?!" Doc shouts.

"Yes! I can protect him! I know about all of his needs, his wants! I know how to get him to fall asleep after a nightmare, I know how to make him eat his vegetables, I know how to make him put his clothes back on when he pulls a Quackity!" Sam Nook shouts, quickly losing his squeak. "What the fuck can you do?!"

"I can help him fucking heal!" Doc yells, smoke billowing out of his mouth. "I can give him a warm bed, a hot meal every night, I can chase away his nightmares and I can stop him from gaining anymore trauma!"

Sam Nook hissed at Doc who hissed right back.

Tommy felt his heart beat in his head as he tried to look back at Doc but Sam Nook pressed his face into his neck. He didn't know what was going on and he was scared. Why were Doc and Sam Nook fighting? Did he cause this? 

Panic started to set in when Tommy saw smoke slipping past Sam Nook's face mask. He wanted to scream, to call for Tango or X but his voice was stuck in his throat.

"I'll fucking kill you!" Doc screamed, dropping his trident.

"You can fucking try but I'll always win old man." Sam Nook shouted back as he placed Tommy on the floor.

As soon as Tommy was on the floor Doc tackled Sam Nook and started punching.

Tommy screamed and fell back onto his bum. Scooting back until his back hit the stone of the wall, Tommy gripped his hair as the image of Doc punching Sam Nook quickly switched to Techno pummeling Wilbur.

Closing his eyes he screams again when he hears Doc getting ready to explode. But as he hid his face in his knees he felt arms wrap around him. Looking up he is able to make out the image of a woman in a grey hoodie through the tears that were forming in his eyes.

"WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"

Sobbing Tommy covered his ears and hid as best as he could in the woman's arms. "You're ok, you're ok." The woman whispers as she rocks him back and forth quickly.

"GET THE FUCK DOWNSTAIRS AND FUCKING STAY THERE OR I SWEAR TO LADY DEATH HERSELF I WILL END BOTH OF YOU WORTHLESS EXCUSES FOR ADULTS! GO!"

Tommy heard Doc and Sam Nook quickly rush out of the room but he didn't move his head up, afraid the visions would come back.

"GRIAN! KNOCK THEM BOTH OUT! FULL FUCKING STREAM BABY!"

SLAM!

"Holy crap Scar, I didn't know you knew how to swear." The woman chuckles nervously.

"I only whip out the swears when I'm super, mega angry." Scar grumbles as he walks over. "How'd you get in here Pearl?"

"Been in here for a while, setting up a little living space for the kid since it looks like he's gonna live here with Grian." The woman quickly explains, still rocking Tommy.

"Here, give him to me. I know how to calm him down." Scar quickly says, holding open his arms.

Pearl quickly but carefully transfers Tommy over to Scar. "Is he ok?" She asks softly.

"No." Scar frowns as he carefully pulls Tommy into his lap. "Can you go find me Grians infuser thing? The thing that makes the air smell like lavender."

"S-Sure." Pearl quickly stood.

Looking at Scar and Tommy she hesitated for a moment.

"I got him, he's safe." Scar reassures her.

Pearl nods and heads out the room.

Scar looks down at the sobbing teen in his arms and frowns. "I'm so sorry Toms...I gotcha, I gotcha…" He whispers, carefully running his fingers through Tommy's hair. "Everythings gonna be ok, everythings gonna be ok."

Scar spared a glance to the door and saw Mumbo peeking into the room with a sad look. "First full night here and we already gave him a new scar." Mumbo sighs.

Scar sighs and carefully rocks Tommy back and forth, softly beginning to hum Tommy's favorite song.

Chapter Text

Scar silently closed the door to Grian's, and now Tommy's as well, room as his mind wondered. Slowly walking down the stairs he chuckles softly at the sound of somebody getting smacked by what sounded like either a rolled up piece of paper or a tube of some kind.

Making it to the last step he bites back a laugh at the sight of Grian smacking both Sam and Doc with a rolled up magazine while Mumbo just sipped on a cup of juice.

"Are. You. Both. Freaking. Looney?!" Grian yells at the two trembling creeper hybrids, punctuating each word with a smack. "Tommy is traumatized and the last thing he needed to see was two people he cares about fighting like wild dogs!"

"We-We're - ow! - sorry!" Sam yelps when Grian manages to get his backside.

"Sorry ain't gonna cut it!" Grian growls as he grabs Sam by the front of his shirt and lifts the man a few inches off the ground. "How'd you even get here?! Only Tommy was allowed to leave!"

"I-I don't know! I just jumped through at the same time you did!" Sam quickly says. "I swear!"

"It's not polite to swear." Grian grumbles as he tosses Sam back at Doc.

The creeper hybrids grunt when they collide.

"Scar!" Mumbo says as he places his cup onto the table. 

Grian quickly turned and as soon as his eyes landed on Scar he ran over to him and grabbed him by the shoulders. "Is he ok?! What did he say?! Why'd you leave him alone?!" The parrot hybrid asks in quick succession.

Scar gives him a gentle smile as he takes the shaking hands off of his shoulders and into his. 

"He's ok, Grian. It took your mister thing and some back rubs but he's out like a light. If you want you can go up and see him but do not wake him ok? He's really tired." He spoke in a soft, calming voice. "I'll bring you up some dinner, ok? All you gotta tell me is what you want to drink."

Grian took a calming breath as he nodded. "Th-Thank you Scar a-and can I please have a glass of water?" He asks as he slowly takes his hands back.

"Of course. I'll bring it up to you in a minute, ok?" Scar smiles.

"O-Ok...thank you again Scar." Grian sighs with a soft smile.

Scar watches Grian quickly walk up the stairs and waits for the bedroom door to close before turning on the creeper hybrids. "You two. Chairs. Sit. Now." He growls.

"Oh no. You've awoken Bad times." Mumbo chuckles. 

"Nope. Still good times." Scar growls, watching the creeper men scrambling to take a seat.

"Oh no…" Mumbo groans as he looks at Sam and Doc. "I do not envy you two."

Mumbo picks up his cup and starts for the stairs. Stopping beside Scar he takes a sip then leans a bit closer. "Tango, X and Pearl went back home for the night so you're free to do what you want. No witnesses." Mumbo mutters.

Scar smirks and looks at Mumbo. "You got any End Crystals on you?"

Smirking right back Mumbo pulls out 15 end crystals and holds them out to Scar. "Have fun."

When Scar took them Mumbo starts for the stairs again and hums softly as he listens to Scar place down a block that he assumed was obsidian. Chuckling he makes it to the room and reaches for the handle when he hears a slight noise behind him.

Looking over his shoulder he frowns at the sight of Fundy attempting to hide behind a barrel. "What do you think you're doing here?" He asks softly.

Fundy jumped but slowly stood up fully, holding an Allium in between his fingers. "I-I...I jumped through the portal with Sam Nook." He whispers. "Is...is Tommy ok?"

Mumbo glared and turned away. "You need to leave mate. You don't belong here." He huffs.

"I just want to see my brother." Fundy whispers, his tail and ears drooping. "Please Uncle Mumbo…"

"Don't call me that Fundy." Mumbo frowns. "It's just Mumbo to you now."

"What? Why? What did I do?" Fundy quickly asks.

"How about siding with Dream? Almost getting married to the man that beat your "brother" senseless every single fucking day he was in exile? Siding with his neglectful mother and abandoning him just as everybody else has?" Mumbo growls. "Does any of this ring a bell in that empty head of yours?"

Fundy flinches and steps back, his tail wrapping around his leg. "I-I…" He whimpers.

"You what?" Mumbo glares, stepping closer to the fox hybrid. "You what Fundy? It's not your fault? It's not like you care?"

"Stop putting words in my mouth!" Fundy growls, stepping back again. "I was going to say that I never meant to hurt Tommy!"

"You never meant to...you're joking right?" Mumbo chuckles humorlessly. "You knew that Tommy was terrified of being abandoned yet you did it. You knew that Tommy was afraid of Dream yet you made sure he was around a hell of a lot more and took away Tommy's safe place with you. You never checked on him in exile, you never checked up on him when he was with Techno. You did everything you could to fucking hurt him Fundy and it was all on purpose!"

"So what, am I supposed to put my life on hold because Tommy was being taught a lesson?!" Fundy hissed.

"A lesson…? That was you guys trying to teach him a lesson…?" Mumbo whispers in horror. "Fundy...he almost killed himself multiple times."

Fundy stopped for a moment, searching Mumbos' face for any sign of deceit but when he found none he felt bile rise in his throat. "He...He what…?" He whispers.

"He told us his body was trying to kill him while he slept by making him sleep walk straight into the ocean and not change into his shark form. If it wasn't for Mamacita and Mexican Dream he'd be dead twenty times over right now." Mumbo explains. "Then he...well lets just say that he's no longer allowed to make leads."

Fundy shakes his head as he covers his mouth with his hands, tears slowly forming in his eyes. "No…" He whispers. "You're lying."

"I'm not Fundy. Go to his exile place and you'll see the evidence." Mumbo frowns, moving towards Grians' door. "Now leave. I don't want you causing him any more pain."

"No! I-I want to see Tommy! Please!" Fundy pleads, grabbing Mumbos' arm. "I want to see my brother."

Mumbo grits his teeth and pushes Fundy back and away from him and glares down at the fallen fox. 

"You are not his brother. You are his cousin and even if you were brothers you are a terrible one. Brothers love and protect each other from danger yet you always brought the danger closer to him and haven't shown him an ounce of love since Wilbur's death even though he took every opportunity he could to protect you and to show he loves you." Mumbo frowns. "What kind of brother does that?"

Fundy shakily wiped at his eyes and watched Mumbo pull out a neitherite axe. He whimpered when it was pointed at him.

"You step one foot into that room and I'll cut your fucking head off Fundy. Peace, love and plants be damned." He huffs before walking into Grians' room.

Fundy sat in front of the door with a pained heart as images of Tommy's scared face popped up. Closing his eyes he pulls his knees to his chest when he remembers the last time he had actually talked to Tommy. It had been shortly before he left with Tubbo for the fight against Dream.

"Fundy? I-I wanted to-" Tommy's voice echoed in his head before a bottle shattering rang out.

"Get the fuck out Tommy!" Fundy had shouted.

"B-But I…"

"I said to get out! I fucking hate you Tommy! I wish you were never born!" 

Another bottle shatter.

Tommy's pained scream echoed in Fundy's ears. 

"Get out or I'll do it again you worthless piece of shit!"

Fundy felt his tears fall faster when he remembers Tommy's bloody face looking up at him with a betrayed look behind his grey eyes.

"Tommy are-! Oh my gods! Tommy!"

Tubbo had screamed when he ran in.

"Fundy what did you do?! He's-He's bleeding! Oh gods his head!"

Fundy hugged himself when he remembers watching Tubbo struggle to help Tommy out of his house since Tommy had been losing blood fast.

He also remembered how the only thing he felt in that moment was satisfaction. 

Sniffling, he sobs softly into his knees. He knew later on, after watching Dream get put into the prison and saw Tommy's face covered in bandages he felt horrible but that didn't mean anything then. The damage had already been done and whenever he went near Tommy after that he'd jump and start screaming Purple until somebody got Fundy away from him, most of the time it had been a very angry Purpled or Ranboo or Punz or even Sapnap.

"Fundy Icarus Soot-Watson."

Slowly looking up, Fundy gasped at the sight of DreamXD standing on the stairs with an unconscious Sam under his arm.

"Come along. Now." XD spoke in a growl. "You were not permitted to leave."

Fundy sniffles as he wipes the tears off his cheek. "I just wanted to see Tommy." He whispers.

XD tilts his head then looks to the door Fundy was sitting in front of. "Is he in there?" He asks.

"Ye-Yeah." Fundy nods.

XD drops Sam next to Fundy and walks to the door. Bringing his fist up to the door he goes to knock but a soft noise behind the door makes him pause. Tilting his head curiously he presses his ear against the door and listens carefully to the muffled voices behind the wood.

"You're ok Tommy, you're ok." He heard the one called Grian whisper as the sound of fabric moving reached XD's ear.

"Want the mister back on?" Came Mumbos' voice.

"Please." Grian whispers. "Come here Toms…"

XD leans more against the door as he listens to the two hermits behind the door gently speak to the teen he'd allowed them to take. Behind his mask the god gave a soft smile when he heard Tommy's tired sigh and Grians' soft chuckle. 

He knew he made the right choice, no matter what George said.

Tommy whines softly when light hits his closed eyes. Snuggling further under his blanket he huffed and tried to go back to sleep but somebody snoring close to his ear startled him into jumping back and falling off the bed with a surprised 'CAW!'.

Landing on the floor he stands up and looks around until his eyes land on the bed again to see a lump under the light blue blanket. Quickly looking at the floor he spots a piece of bamboo that somebody must've dropped last night. Smiling he quickly picks it up and holds it up like a bat and slowly inched his way over to the bed.

Right as he was carefully lifting the blanket with the bamboo the door opened. "Tommy! Grian! Time to get up! Breakfast is done!" Mumbo shouts, startling Tommy again.

Screaming Tommy drops his bamboo and quickly drops to the ground. Rolling under the bed he curls up into the fetal position and presses himself against the wall so nobody could grab him. Reaching down he grabs his tail and pulls it between his legs and holds it against his chest, ensuring nobody could grab it.

Panting he tried to calm his breathing but he couldn't calm down. Bringing a shaky hand to his face he wipes some of the sweat that was beading on his forehead off as a pair of shoes appear beside the bed.

Soft, hushed whispers that he couldn't quite hear came from above him and he didn't like it. Whimpering he curls up more and attempts to cover his head to protect himself.

"Tommy…?"

Slowly raising his head Tommy blinks a few times so his blurry vision was more clear, or as clear as he could get it, and gasps softly at the sight of Grian hanging upside down from the bed and looking at him.

"Grian…?" He whispers as he slowly scoots forward.

"Hey bud. Are you ok?" Grian asks when Tommy was close to him again.

Tommy nodded and carefully bumped their foreheads together. "I-I'm fine. Just got...got startled." He huffs.

Grian chuckles softly as he bumped Tommy's head back carefully. "Come on now." He spoke gently. "Mumbo made breakfast."

Tommy cocked a brow and gave Grian a 'oh really?' look at which the parrot laughs. "Ok, Scar made it. Now come on little piggy." Grian chuckles, flipping himself out of bed. When he lands on his back he groans and holds up a hand. "I shouldn't have done that…"

Tommy snickers and slowly climbs out from under the bed. "You ok?" He asks, hovering over Grian.

"Fine. Just feel like an idiot." Grian chuckles. "Go on. Go see what Scar made and shout it up to me while I get out of these dirty clothes huh?"

Tommy chuckles and nods, going to stand again but a twinge in his foot reminds him of his twisted ankle. Huffing he looks around and smiles when he sees a big stick leaning against the doorway he limps over to it and grabs it. Tapping it on the ground a few times he nods.

Carefully he leans towards the door and pushes it further open. Once the door was open fully he uses his new walking stick and walks out to the stairs. Frowning he looks down at his ankle then at the stairs. Yeah this was gonna be a bit harder.

Slowly, he makes it a few steps before his stick slips on a stair. Gasping when he was set off balance he tries to catch himself but only succeeds in sending himself further forward. "Shit!" He squeaks as he falls.

Expecting pain he raised his arm so it'd protect his face and the side of his head. Clenching his eyes shut he waits for the pain.

But it never came. Slowly opening his eyes he finds himself on the landing on his side but he hadn't fallen down there because of the lack of pain. Looking up he spots his walking stick against the banister and frowns. 

"What in the…?" He whispers before rolling onto his back when he hears breathing close to his ear. Looking up he sees a man holding a clock and reaching out for him. "Uh...hello?"

"Whoops." The man chuckles nervously. "It wasn't supposed to wear off that quickly."

Frowning he looks the man over. He looked a tad bit like Oscar the grouch with his moss green hoodie and iron leggings. Looking at his face he hums curiously at the head band the man was wearing. It looked like a red version of Sapnaps.

But what made him even more curious about the man was his eyes. They were huge! His eyes made him look like he was constantly giving him puppy dog eyes.

Something gold around the man's neck quickly drew his attention. Looking at the man's neck he spots a ring hanging off a gold chain. From where he was angled he could see that it was a wedding ring with 'DM + BD' etched into the gold band.

"B...D?" Tommy frowns. "Wait. Are you Docs' ex-husba-"

"Tommy!"

Looking away from the man he looks over to a panicked Mumbo and Scar. "Hey guys." He says calmly.

"Oh gods, are you ok?" Mumbo quickly asks, checking the teen over for any wounds.

"What happened?" Scar asks as he steps onto the landing.

"I slipped and fell but the guy with the clock-" Tommy turned to look up at the man but he was gone. Frowning he moves his hand around in the air where he had been. "What the…? He was right here!"

Having been turned away Tommy missed the knowing looks that spread across both Scar and Mumbos' faces.

"Where'd he go?" Tommy asks as he gets onto his knees.

He heard Mumbo chuckle softly before gently pulling him back towards him. "It's ok mate. Let's just have breakfast huh?" The mustached man smiles.

Tommy looks up at the man and frowns. "You have a bean in your mustache."

Mumbo cocks a brow before crossing his eyes to try and see for himself but only sees his nose.

Tommy and Scar laugh softly. "Come on Toms, I'll take you to the table." Scar smiles, going to pick Tommy up but is quickly pushed away.

"I am not three." Tommy growls as he slowly stands, grabbing his walking stick. "I can walk by myself."

With that Tommy climbed down the last couple of steps carefully only to fall to his knees with a groan of pain. Looking back at his ankle he huffs when he sees the muscles under the skin were jumping quickly. 

"Stupid foot." He grumbles.

Scar and Mumbo chuckle as they walk over. "Want help now?" Scar asks.

"...yes. But no picking me up or I'll steal your kneecaps." Tommy growls.

Scar chuckles and crouches down to put Tommy's arm over his shoulder. "So - up we go - how do you feel today?" Scar asks.

Tommy sighs and looks down as they walk to the table. "Grumpy...scared...I want to rip my foot off…" He frowns.

"Scared? Why are you scared?" Scar questions.

"I almost just fell down a bunch of stairs but a mysterious man with a clock saved me, I think, and now I have no idea what to do because I'm not on the Dream SMP so I have to figure out who I can trust in this place and who I can't, I feel like I'm forgetting something and Tubbo and Ranboo aren't here to go through my flashcards with me and-and-!" Tommy was starting to panic but a heavy weight on his shoulders quickly centered him.

Looking at both of his shoulders he frowns in confusion at the sight of a weighted blanket and that he was currently sitting. He didn't remember doing that.

Looking up he huffs when a scarred hand gently stroked back his hair so it was out of his eyes. Pressing up into the hand he watches Scar get down on one knee in front of him, not removing his hand from Tommy's head, and carefully take his hand. 

"Tommy, you're ok. I promise." Scar spoke gently. "Now what's your name?"

"Thomas Theseus Watson." Tommy replied.

"Who are your childhood best friends?"

"Tubbo and Ranboo."

"Who am I?"

"Scar."

"Who is the mustachioed gentleman over there?"

"Mumbo Jumbo."

"Right! Good job Tommy!" Scar smiles. "Now who's your favorite person?"

"…" Tommy frowns and looks down at his lap, thinking before he looks up with a bright smile. "I forgot who my favorite person was!"

Scar gave a strained smile as he gently pats Tommy's head. "Good! We found what you forgot." He chuckles.

"Wish I could remember who it was…" Tommy hums. "But at least it wasn't something important like who my dad is or what blood type I am."

Scar nods along, seeming to agree. "True." He chuckles. "And...about who you can trust? You can trust Mumbo, Grian, Doc, Tango, Iskall, X and myself. The other will have to work to earn your trust."

Tommy chuckles and nods.

"Thanks Scar." Tommy smiles.

Scar smiles back and stands with a soft grunt. "Anything for you bubba." He smiles. "Now, let's eat breakfast before it gets cold huh?"

Tommy nods as he is turned towards the table fully now. "Hopefully you're hungry because you got a lot on your plate." Scar chuckles as he walks to the kitchen.

Tommy frowns and looks up at Mumbo when he comes over to take a seat. "What does he mean by that?" He asks.

"Oh, you'll see." Mumbo chuckles. "Just know it'll be a taste of home."

Humming curiously he lays his head down on the table to wait for Scar to come back. When he did he immediately got what Scar meant by 'a lot on your plate'.

When Scar placed the plate down in front of Tommy he felt his stomach growl. On his plate was a full English breakfast, something he'd get to eat every once in a while back when he was a kid and being raised by Wilbur.

"Holy…" He whispers, tempted to scoop some of the beans up and put them on his toast.

"Hope you enjoy." Scar smiles. "If you want more toast all you gotta do is ask."

Tommy nods as he stares down at his plate. He wanted to eat but then the overwhelming feeling of dread set in.

Scar used so many resources for his plate of food. There was sausage, hash browns, eggs, bacon! This was a very expensive breakfast and Scar was just giving it to him.

Gulping Tommy looked away and started to tug on his shirt to distract himself from the rumbling in his stomach.

Scar and Mumbo look at Tommy then at each other. "Tommy? Are you ok?" Scar questions, looking at the teen now.

"H-Huh? Oh. Yeah. Fine." Tommy mutters, his voice growing quiet.

Scar and Mumbo frown slightly. "Aren't you hungry?" Mumbo asks softly.

Tommy continued looking away as he shook his head no even as his stomach growled loud enough to be heard.

Scar frowns and stands from his seat. All he was going to do was walk over and help Tommy eat - believing that the teens hands were unsteady again - but when he stood Tommy gasped and shot up like he'd just been set on fire.

If it hadn't been for his ankle Tommy would've made it to the door on the first try but a painful throb sent Tommy to his knees. Gritting his teeth he looks back at his bandaged ankle and frowns when he sees a bit of the large bruise under it peeking out the top of the bandage. 

"Bruise? But I twisted it, not broke it." Tommy whispered. 

"Tommy!" Mumbo calls out in concern.

Quickly looking up Tommy stared up at Mumbo and Scar with wide eyes. Scooting back he tried to get away but a painful throb from his ankle made him whimper like a wounded animal and stop moving. Moving his arms up to protect his face he prepared himself to be struck but when nothing came he slowly lowered his shaking arms enough that he could see past them and looked up again.

Mumbo and Scar both had sad looks on their faces as they stared down at Tommy. "Oh Tommy…" Mumbo whispers.

"We'd never hurt you bud." Scar frowns, crouching down in front of him.

He didn't believe them. Why would he? Everybody has hurt him in some way so why wouldn't they be the same?

Looking up at the two he gives them unsure looks until he hears something by the stairs. "What the hells going on down here?" Came Grians' voice.

"I stood up to help Tommy eat and he jumped up and tried to run but he fell and we came over to help him up but he thought we were gonna hit him." Scar quickly explains as Grian walks over.

"Come here Tommy." Grian whispers as he crouches down.

Tommy frowns but wraps his arms around Grians' neck and lets the older male lift him up. It was a bit awkward because of the new height difference (Tommy is 5'8 and Grian is 5'10) but he managed to find a way to make sure he wouldn't fall.

"Sit." Grian huffs at the other two Hermits.

Tommy heard shuffling as he was carried back to his seat so he looked back and saw Mumbo and Scar sitting down again. Chuckling he pokes Grians' head. "Scary bird." He smiles.

"Darn right!" Grian chuckles.

Ten minutes later…

Tommy frowns as he fiddles with his hands. He had been done with his meal a while ago but he'd been too afraid of leaving the table before everybody else was done, memories of Techno yelling at him for doing so making him flinch.

He tried to tune everybody out but his paranoia was telling him to listen, to make sure the others weren't going to kill him.

"-rules. Maybe it'll help a bit." He heard Mumbo mumble.

"Or it'll make it worse." Scar chipped in. "We don't know any of his triggers."

"Maybe we should ask him?" Giran suggests.

"And risk him having an attack? No way man." Scar huffs.

Tommy frowns. Were they talking about him? Had he done something wrong already? Was it the trying to get away?

"Scar, we need to set at least some ground rules. Maybe just no going out at night so the mobs don't get him, no wandering the server alone until he gets used to it, no eating mud, no going to Docs' base without noise canceling headphones and no talking to strangers?" Mumbo asks.

"If we add in the strangers bit then he won't be talking to more than half the server Mumbo." Scar frowns. "I agree with the others though."

"Same." Grian agrees. "But let's add in one more. No being alone with Keralis or Pearl. Those two will try and swindle him. Bdubs told me they've already gotten a good amount of clocks from him."

"Agreed." Mumbo and Scar nod.

"They already swindled me out of five copper blocks." Scar huffs.

Grian chuckled at that.

"Hey! Not funny!" Scar mumbles.

Tommy slowly looks up from his hands and looks between the adults. "Can...can I add on a rule?" He asks softly.

The hermit's look towards Tommy curiously.

"It's for you guys." Tommy frowns. "No more treating me like a baby 24/7! I'm almost grown! One more year and I'm an adult according to human customs so please stop! I had enough of it from Techno, Foolish and papa when I lived on the Dream SMP."

The hermits look at each other guiltily.

"Sometimes it's ok because sometimes I like it. Makes me feel like I actually have a bit or a normal childhood, but not all the damn time! I learned to sleep alone with minimal night terrors, I learned how to conquer my fears of potatoes, I learned how to make myself stop crying, I learned how to do a lot of shit so I am not helpless. So please! Please just...just stop treating me like I am." Tommy begs, voice starting to trail off.

"Tommy...we know you aren't helpless and we're sorry that we made you feel like we do." Grian spoke softly.

"We just didn't want to...make anything worse." Mumbo sighs.

"But it looks like we already made it worse." Scar frowns.

Tommy took a calming breath and nodded slightly. "Thank you…" He smiles slightly. "U-Uh...if you could, can you tell that to Doc too? Please?"

"Of course Tommy." Grian smiles. "Are there any other rules you want to make for us?"

Tommy looks up at the three for a moment before nodding slightly. "Ye-Yeah. Just a couple more."

"Oh! Let me go find a Book and Quill, hold on!" Scar quickly stands and hurries for one of the shulker boxes nearby.

Tommy watches him for a moment before looking down at his shaking hands. He didn't know how to feel about everything. It felt confusing, homey and warm here but he had no idea why. The others were actively trying to care for him and he sort of liked it but he was also scared a small bit.

"Ahh! Grian! Help!"

Looking up Tommy snickers and hides his smile behind his hands when he sees Scar half stuck inside a shulker box, his lower half only being visible.

"What in the world!?" Grian shouts as Mumbo starts dying laughing beside him. "Hold on, Scar!"

Tommy watches Grian hurry over to Scar and start pulling. Chuckling he wraps his arms around his middle as he watches.

"Oh gods, I can make a dirty joke right now but I won't!" Mumbo laughs, standing up. "Hold on, Scar! I'll help too!"

Tommy watches Mumbo walk over and wrap his arms around Grians' middle. "On three! One, two, three! Pull!" Mumbo grunts as he pulls Grian back.

Watching for another moment Tommy stands carefully and limps over. "Uh, guys?" Tommy hums before taping the top of the shulker box, sending Mumbo, Grian and Scar flying back with a yelp when it opens. "Why didn't you just open it?"

Grian, Mumbo and Scar laugh in their little pile on the floor. "I forgot." Grian laughs.

Chuckling Tommy pulls out two books and quills from the shulker box and heads back to the table.

Maybe living here won't be so bad.

Chapter Text

Tommy looks down at the rules that Scar, Grian, Mumbo and Doc had set for him and begins to try and memorize them. Some time had passed since they made the rules, about 2 hours, and the Hermits had to go off and film their episodes of Hermitcraft so they left Tommy to play with his new calf friend and watch some ghibli movies Grian had with a promise to meet up for lunch.

But so far Tommy had only drank half a coke, gave the rest to Wilbur The Cow in a baby bottle, read over his rules and made muffin a little bed out of a shrunken barrel, a little foot cushion and his baby blanket.

A throb in his foot made Tommy wince softly. Reaching down he fixes the ice that Grian had placed on it earlier so it was sitting perfectly on where the bruise was peeking out. Sighing he lays back against his pillow reaches a hand down to gently scratch Wilbur The Cows' head.

Closing his eyes he tries to remember each rule off the top of his head. If he could then he'd reward himself with a star cookie that sat above his head on a trap door shelf.

Rule number 1 no going out at night so the mobs don't get you

Rule number 2 no wandering the server alone until you get used to it

Rule number 3 no eating mud

Rule number 4 no going to Docs' base without noise canceling headphones

Rule number 5 No being alone with Keralis or Pearl

Rule number 6 if you feel like hurting yourself then you have to come to one of us and say Rubber Band

Rule number 7 you have to do every chore we give you unless it's something that can potentially harm you or others

Rule number 8 you have to tell one of us if you go outside or to somebody else's house so we know your not getting lost (this server is a bit tricky to travel through on foot)

Rule number 9 you always, always, always have to tell us if you're in pain or if you get hurt so we can help, no matter how small the wound is

And finally, Rule number 10 If we do or say anything that makes you uncomfortable then please tell us

Using his free hand Tommy picks up the book on his stomach and brings it to his face. Opening his eyes he gives a quick look over before smiling triumphantly. "Yes! I got them all!" He happily tells Wilbur The Cow. "We can have a cookie!"

Wilbur The Cow just moos up at Tommy, making the teen laugh.

Tommy reaches up for the plate of star cookies only to feel something...strange under his fingers. Frowning he carefully sits up and hums curiously at a gift wrapped box with little mushrooms all over it and the cookies on top.

Carefully getting onto his knees Tommy lifted up the plate of cookies and placed them carefully on his pillow. Hugging the box he huffs as he sits back, biting his lip to stop the scream of pain that wanted to slip past him when his ankle was twisted the wrong way.

Hugging the box he takes deep, calming breaths to calm himself. Once he didn't feel like crying again he carefully moved his legs so he wouldn't hurt his ankle again. 

Sniffing the box he felt his hidden away tail twitch when he immediately recognized the smell of earth, mycelium, moss and mushrooms. "Gogy." He purrs.

Carefully peeling back the paper he swore he heard somebody drinking a potion but ignored it because he was told nobody was dangerous here. They must've just been asked by one of the others to check on him.

Once he got the paper carefully opened he excitedly opened the box. Even though George didn't help him much before exile he still loved Gogy. Why? Well because he's Gogy (and because he took up the "mother role" for him when Foolish stopped)! The only other person on the tippy top of his tier list (Phil being the other).

Carefully setting the paper and the box lid to the side Tommy tried to ignore his excitement at the sight of the quilt he and Gogy had been making at the bottom of the box.

Looking into the box he doesn't see the bed dip down behind him since he was distracted by the colorful bracelet he'd picked up. Looking it over Tommy felt a purr rumble in his chest when he saw it was made from resin and had little orange tulip buds inside.

"Henry…" He whispers as he slips it on.

Digging into the box he pulls out a little model terrarium with a cow and a little zombie figure sitting by a little lake.

"Henry the baby and Henry the cow." Tommy whispers, tears gathering in his eyes.

Carefully putting the terrarium aside he looks back into the box. Gasping softly he pulls out a pair of Gogys' old clout glasses. "Gogy glasses…" He whispers. 

Slipping them on he lets out a surprised noise. "Ah! Now it's darker than ever! How does Gogy see outta these?!"

A soft chuckle made him lift the glasses up a bit and look around but he didn't see anybody. Shrugging he reaches back into the box and pulls out a Up DVD and a bag of his favorite microwave popcorn. 

There was a sticky note attached to the DVD case that quickly drew Tommy's attention. Lifting the glasses again he pulls the note off and slowly reads it.

'Dear Little Piggy'

Tommy snorted at the old nickname.

'Can you please call me tonight at 8 so we can watch this together? I know I can't be there (XD is limiting visits so nobody can manipulate you again) so I thought we could watch your favorite movie over facetime together, like we did after he-who-shall-not-be-named betrayed bb.

- Gogy'

Tommy smiles and hugs the note before putting it back on the DVD case. Setting the DVD and popcorn aside he grabs his rule book and flips to a fresh page. "Facetime...Gogy...at...eight." He whispered aloud.

Smiling he nods and tucks the quill back into its place on top of the book and settles it on his lap. Peeking into the box again he smiles when he pulls out a new Mandala coloring book and sheets of meme stickers.

"I'm putting these all over Grians' walls…and on Scars' cat." Tommy smiles.

"Pfft!"

Quickly looking around Tommy frowns when, again, he sees nobody.

Slowly looking into the box again he carefully pulls out the last item in the box, the big quilt he and Gogy had been making since he left Exile. Purring he rubs his face against the soft fabric and slowly traces his fingers over a few of the squares.

Each square was a physical picture of some of Tommys' favorite memories in order so if he ever forgot he could just look at his quilt and he'd remember. So, because of that, they dubbed the quilt "The Memory Quilt".

Laying his head against the soft, cushy quilt he takes a deep breath and feels his tail wiggle enough to pop out the top of his pants, wagging like crazy at the scent that hit his nose. The quilt smelled just like lavender and roses, two of his favorite scents that didn't overwhelm him, and a hint of an earthy undertone, similar to grass.

It made him feel like he was in a meadow.

"Thank you Gogy…" He whispers.

"Your welcome little piggy."

Tommy smiles sleepily when he feels a kiss being pressed to the back of his head and something being laid over his shoulders. Yawning he nuzzles his face against the blanket even as big, strong arms lift him up and turn him over so he is more comfortable. 

Cuddling into the folded quilt Tommy yawned softly and closed his heavy eyes. The smell of lavender never fails to make him fall asleep. "Good night Gogy." He whispers.

"Good night little piggy."

Yawning Tommy grips his quilt carefully and lets his body relax as the thing that had been draped over him before was now put over him again.

"Good night little one." He heard an echoey voice whisper.

"Night...night...X..D." Tommy whispers.

In no time at all he was fast asleep with a god and an invisible mushroom king watching over him. 

George watches Tommy sleep, a slight frown on his face. It'd only been a couple of days and he already felt a lot of separation anxiety with Tommy.

Not too long ago he took up the "mother" role for Tommy after having found out about Tommy's exile. At first he was doing it because he felt bad but later on he started liking playing mother to Tommy.

He'd been there as Tommy grew up so he knew a lot about Tommy already like his allergies, his bad immune system, his favorite foods, colors, hobbies, just about everything so it was easy to find things to do with Tommy.

But one day when he had gone to pick up Tommy from his little dirt hut with XD he found the blonde passed out on his floor, heavily bleeding from a bite mark on his arm. After cleaning him up XD found somebody with his blood type and threatened them to give blood.

With the person being Phil, they agreed immediately. So for a few minutes they struggled to get the blood over to Tommy but eventually got it to work.

They had told Phil what they had seen when they walked into the teens house and when the older man told George who must've done it, seeing as it didn't look like a fight had broken out, George had seen red.

He and XD left Tommy with Phil and left for L'Sandburg. There they found Foolish rinsing out his mouth and cursing softly.

When they confronted him about the attack on Tommy the only thing the shark/totem god had to say was 'You can have Tommy. I don't want him anymore. He's useless to me now. He wouldn't even fight me.' and gods if that didn't make George want to rip out the man's throat he didn't know what would.

So he and XD went back to Tommy and George had a new reason to play mother to the broken teen. Now he won't say what that reason is but he will say this.

He never wanted Tommy to leave his side after that day.

But unfortunately XD decided it would be best if Tommy went with the Hermits that came to visit. George had been heartbroken over the news and pleaded with XD to bring Tommy back, screaming that he could protect Tommy. 

His own words rang out in his ears as he gently ran his thumb over Tommys' pale knuckles. 

"Why XD?! Why did you send him away?! This will only make things worse!" He had yelled at the guilty looking god. "He's our-I mean my kid! I can take care of him better than those Hermits can! I actually know what's wrong with him and how to help!"

Sighing softly George felt the invis potion wear off finally.

"George?"

"Five more minutes? Please…?" George asks softly.

"I'm sorry George but somebody is trying to contact me at Church Prime. We need to go." XD frowns.

"You go deal with it then. I'll stay here and watch over Tommy." George whispers when he sees Tommy shift a bit.

"I don't want you being here alone, George. I'm the only reason why Xisuma Void hasn't detected you yet so if I go he'll see you here and think you're a hacker and ban you. Then you'll never be able to come back to see Tommy." XD whispers, walking behind George.

"But-!" George tried to argue but he knew XD was right. Sighing he slowly stands up from his kneeling position by the bed. "Fine. But can we at least make him a snack? You know how hungry he gets after a nap."

"True enough." XD hums. "I'll go make him a sandwich, you stay here and make sure he doesn't have any nightmares."

George nods and takes a seat on the bed, gently brushing back Tommy's hair out of his face. He heard the door close but he didn't look up, his sole focus being on Tommy. Call him a doting mother if you will but he just wanted to make sure his child was going to be ok. 

Sighing softly, George carefully tucks a blonde lock of hair behind the teens pointed ear and frowns at the large burn scars that covered it. Gently running his thumb over the scars he watches Tommys face for any sign of pain. When he saw none he continued with a small smile.

"I remember when you were ticklish on your ears. Dream would always use a feather to surprise you." George chuckles but a small frown settled on his face. "I wish he was still the man he used to be."

George stops running his thumb over the scars and moves his hand up a bit so he could gently cup the teens face. 

"I'm gonna miss you Tommy but I know now that this place is for the best. There's no fighting, no wars...nothing that can hurt you." He whispers, ignoring the stinging in his eyes. "Gods I'm not ready for this yet…"

Pulling his hand away George lifted his glasses up and rubbed at his eyes. Sniffling he felt his heart breaking slightly. He really didn't want to give Tommy up but he knew he'd be safer here than he'd ever be on the Dream SMP.

A soft whimper made George look up and over to Tommy, who was curled tightly up around The Memory Quilt. Frowning he reached out and just as his fingers gently grazed Tommy's cheek the teen cried out like he had been burned.

Quickly standing George watched as tears started to spill down Tommy's face as he tried to fight off whatever was in his dream. 

Looking around for anything heavy he couldn't find anything he could grab with his bare hands so turning back to Tommy he turned him so he was on his back and pulled out some lavender oil from one of the pouches he had tied to his belt loop. Putting some on his hands he quickly rubs it onto Tommy's neck and a tiny bit under his nose.

Once Tommy stopped trashing he carefully scooped him up and climbed onto the bed. Sitting down with his back against the wall he unfolds the quilt and lays it over them both. Pulling the quilt up and Over Tommy's shoulder the mushroom king slowly started to rock back and forth when he saw that the tears still hadn't stopped.

Resting his head against Tommy's he rubs up and down on his arm. 

"Dear Theodosia, what to say to you? You have my eyes, you have your mother's name. When you came into the world, you cried and it broke my heart." George softly sang.

He could feel the slight shaking of Tommy's arm nearly come to a stop and the wetness on his shoulder from the blonde's tears become a bit less.

"I'm dedicating every day to you. Domestic life was never quite my style. When you smile, you knock me out, I fall apart. And I thought I was so smart." George softly sung as the door opened slightly. " You will come of age with our young nation. We'll bleed and fight for you, we'll make it right for you. If we lay a strong enough foundation we'll pass it on to you, we'll give the world to you, And you'll blow us all away. Someday, someday, Yeah, you'll blow us all away. Someday, someday." 

George smiled when he felt the tears stop and Tommy cuddle closer to him. Leaning back fully against the wall he softly hums the music to 'Dear Theodosia' when the door opens a bit more.

"Aren't you going to sing the rest?" A soft voice asks.

Looking up, George gasps when he sees Mumbo standing in the doorway in his whole potato looking glory, his deactivated camera bot in hand. "Mu-Mumbo! I-I-!" George tried to explain, knowing he wasn't technically allowed to be anywhere near Tommy while he healed.

"It's alright Gogy." Mumbo smiles gently, his skin shifting slightly. Once Mumbos' skin changed back to its previous smooth and worryingly pale self the man put his bot on the ground. "Scootch over a bit would you?"

George looked down at the bed and scooted a bit towards the pillows. When the bed dipped a bit he looked up and watched Mumbo use the bed to steady himself as he removed his shoes. "There we are." He hums before reaching over and giving the calf's head an affectionate head pat. "Hello Wilbur, are you keeping Tommy outta trouble?"

The calf mooed and stood up.

Mumbo chuckles as the calf walks over to it's little hay bed and lays down. "Wilbur?" George asks softly.

"It's what Tommy named him." Mumbo smiles softly as he climbs onto the bed beside George, leaning back against the wall. "Can I see him?"

"No." George frowns.

Mumbo shrugs and turns towards George. Clearing his throat he reaches out and carefully tucks a piece of hair behind Tommy's ear.

"Oh Philip, when you smile I am undone.

My son, look at my son! Pride is not the word I'm looking for. There is so much more inside me now. Oh Philip, you outshine the morning sun, my son. When you smile, I fall apart and I thought I was so smart." Mumbo softly sang to the sleeping teen. "My father wasn't around-"

"My father wasn't around." George joined in.

Mumbo smiles softly and leans forward to kiss the back of Tommy's head. "I swear that I'll be around for you, I'll do whatever it takes."

"I'll make a million mistakes!" George smiles at Mumbo who smiles right back.

"I'll make the world safe and sound for you!" The two sing together. "You will come of age with our young nation. We'll bleed and fight for you, we'll make it right for you. If we lay a strong enough foundation we'll pass it on to you, we'll give the world to you, And you'll blow us all away. Someday, someday, Yeah, you'll blow us all away. Someday, someday."

The two smile when they hear Tommy softly snoring in his sleep, a clear indication he was deep asleep and nightmares weren't going to bother him again.

"You're really good with him." Mumbo whispers.

"I'd hope so. I've been taking care of him since he was in diapers, before Techno took him." George whispers back. "Then I took care of him when he came to live with Foolish, Dream, Drista and Puffy. He always clung to me and I never knew why."

"Because you're Gogy." Mumbo chuckles. "His favorite person in the whole world."

George chuckles and shakes his head. "No way. That title definitely belongs to Phil or Wilbur." He smiles.

"Nope. Definitely you." Mumbo smiles. "When he was little he always claimed that you were his "most favoritest person in the whole wide world" because you let him be him. He never had to hide anything from you. You just...knew."

George smiles softly but it's quickly gone from his face when the past few months come to mind. "I didn't know everything." He sighs. "When I found out about what Dream had been doing to him I denied it at first and let my love for Dream fog my brain. But...then Dreams Vault happened and I saw how bloody and scared and h-how…"

Mumbo watches as George wipes at his eyes with a sniffle. "I watched Dream attempt to land the final blow on Tommy before he hid behind me Mumbo and the only reason why Tommy didn't become Ghostinnit back then was because Purpled and Sapnap stepped in and blocked his attack with their shields before Purpled delivered a swift kick that knocked Dream on his ass." George whispers.

Mumbo frowns and looks at Tommy who has his face squished between Georges' shoulder and face. He hadn't been told that. 

"George-"

"Don't. I-I know what you're gonna say and don't." George whispers. "It is my fault because I pushed away Tommy's fears as a child while you, Grian and Scar listened to him. You tried to keep him away from Dream while I..I only blocked them out because I loved Dream. I'm a horrible friend. I don't get why Tommy thinks of me as his favorite person."

Mumbo frowns and places a hand on George's shoulder. "George you were bad back then, I'll agree with you on that." He begins. "But Tommy told us about all of the amazing things you've done since then for him. You went with him to all of his medical appointments with Ponk, you fed him when his hands shook to much, you sang him back to sleep when he wakes up from a nightmare and you've done a dozen other things that nobody else on that godforsaken server has done for him in a long time."

George sniffles and looks up at Mumbo. "Yeah? Like what?" He frowns.

"You loved him." Mumbo smiles gently.

Blinking, George looked down at Tommy and couldn't hold back the fond chuckle that bubbled in his throat when he saw that Tommy had begun to chew on his shirt sleeve. Carefully taking it from his mouth the mushroom king gave a soft smile.

"Promise me you'll take care of him for me?" George asks softly.

"Of course George, of course." Mumbo chuckles softly.

Chapter Text

Purpled sat in front of the shrine to the server god, Dream XD, with his hands pressed together as hard as he could and his head bowed low. Ever since Mumbo had told him he needed to ask XD if he could take him too, Purpled had been drawing up a plan while the rest of the server went to a server wide meeting at L'Mancrater.

Purpled planned to ask XD himself for permission to be with Tommy, to help him finally recover so there was no way in hell he was going to give up on calling the creepy looking god to the church. 

If he was going to be honest, Tommy's his best friend and he hates knowing that Tommy had been in so much pain without him noticing so he wants to help Tommy through his recovery and possibly, hopefully, get the answer to his question he asked the other blonde not too long ago.

Now I know what you're gonna say.

"ThAt'S tHe GuIlT tAlKiNg!"

No. No it's really not.

It's because-

"Ah, Alien Purpled."

Purpled quickly looked behind him when he heard a strange, echoey voice. He smiled slightly when he saw the server god walking into the church with a sandwich in hand. "DreamXD!" Purpled quickly stood and bowed to the god. "I have a request."

The god smirks. "You want to go be with Tommy. I know."

Purpled slowly raised his head and saw that the god had raised his mask up a small bit and bit into the sandwich. Frowning, he stands up fully. "That's a Tommy sandwich." He mutters.

XD stops mid chew and tilts his head a bit. "Hm?"

"That's a Tommy sandwich." Purpled points at the sandwich in the gods hand. "It has lettuce, tomato, pickle, onion, a cut up pork chop and mustard on it. He made them for me before I went mining because he knows I like strange sandwiches."

"Hm." XD swallows and holds out the sandwich to Purpled. "Would you like a bite? It may be the last authentic Tommy sandwich you ever taste."

"S-So I can't go?" Purpled asks softly.

"That's right." XD smiles, sharp shark-like teeth on display. "You belong here so here is where you will stay."

"But-!" Purpled tried to argue but XD just turned and started for the door.

He couldn't let XD leave or he'd never see Tommy again.

Looking around he tried to figure out something when he felt a familiar slimy feeling on his skin. Reaching up to his eyes he wipes at his face and feels slime get attached to his thumb. Pulling back his hands he sees little blue blobs dropping onto his open palm.

He was crying. 

For the first time since Tommys' prison death he was crying.

Scrunching up his face he felt the blobs fall faster as he fell to his knees and sobbed. He sobbed knowing that he'll never be able to see Tommy again, he sobbed because he lost the last good person in his life again, he sobbed because he didn't know what to do.

He felt his human disguise slipping but he didn't care. He didn't care when his pale skin started to turn a lilac purple, nor did he care when he felt his antennae twitch on his head. There was no doubt in his mind that they were glowing a bright blue to show he was sad. 

Letting out a louder sob that almost reassembled a scream he wraps his arms around his stomach and just let himself cry as his fingers curled just a bit so they looked more like fleshy claws.

"Oh dear…" He heard XD mutter softly.

Purpled continued to sob on the ground until his face was lifted up and off the ground by XD himself.

The slime continued to fall down his cheeks even as the god wipes at his face.

"Blow." XD gently commands as he pressed a hanky to Purpleds nose.

Purpled did as told and blew his nose which sounded a lot like a trumpet. Sniffling he sits back and rubs at his eyes to try and stop the slimy tears.

"Either you are very spoiled and don't like being told no, you really want to get out of here or you really care for Tommy. I wonder which one it is." XD hums, standing up.

"Of course I care for Tommy!" Purpled growls, slowly standing up. "He's my best friend!"

"Oh. He's your best friend, huh?" XD frowns, turning away from Purpled in disgust. "Tubbo was his best friend once and you know what happened there."

"Well I'm not like Tubbo! I never would've exiled Tommy! I never would've given him to Dream! I never would've-!" Purpled tried to go on but XD turning to look at him made him stop.

"You claim to care for Tommy but I don't see it. If you did then why was he alone when he came out of the prison?" XD snaps.

"Because I was sitting in front of his grave because I promised him I'd never leave his side because I knew he had abandonment issues." Purpled frowns. "I thought he was in that grave, not still in the prison."

XD frowns. That was a good answer.

"Where were you when Henry died?" XD asks. 

"I was out there looking for the bastard that killed my nephew so I could serve their head on a platter to Tommy." Purpled replies. "I barely slept because I didn't want to stop looking."

XD grew curiouser and curiouser about Purpled. "Where were you the day of Tommy's trial?" He asks.

"I was sitting right behind Tommy, ready to be there for him when he was let go but then Tubbo sentenced him to exile on a trumped up charge." Purpled growls. "I had to be held back by my brother, Ranboo, Phil and Techno so I wouldn't kill Tubbo. The only thing that got me to calm down was Tommy hugging me and telling me he'll be ok…but I didn't believe him."

XD frowns. He does remember an uproar in the courthouse.

"Then I may have...caught the...courthouse...on fire." Purpled chuckles nervously.

"...either you influenced Tommy or he influenced you to use fire as a revenge method." XD sighs, placing a hand over his mask. "Come with me."

"U-Uh...where are we going?" Purpled asks as he smacks his watch that gives him his human disguise. Once his skin flickered back to it's peachy color he pulled his hood up and quickly tried to catch up to the god. "Ar-Are we gonna go see Tommy?"

XD looks down at Purpled as the teen bumps into him from his sudden stop. "You're really wrapped around Tommy's little finger aren't you?" He chuckles.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Purpled asks curiously.

"Well when you talk with him you're not stoic as you are with everybody else, you admitted that he is your best friend when before you came here to be with your brother you hated other people, you burned down a courthouse for him and, let's not forget, you proposed to him three times with a ring you made yourself." XD smirks, leaning over the smaller male.

"...when you say it all like that you make me sound like a simp." Purpled frowns.

"...." XD was silent but it was clear he was confused. "What's a simp?"

"I really don't wanna explain simping to a god…" Purpled groans, pinching the bridge of his nose.

XD frowns and shrugs. "Hm. I'll ask George later." He huffs, starts for the doors but stops when he seems to remember something. "Alien Purpled...you are aware of Tommy's...problem right?"

Purpled frowns and pulls on his hoodies sleeve. "I-I do." He sighs. "He forgot who Tubbo was last week. It took him four hours to remember. Tubbo was heart broken."

"So...do you still want to be with Tommy?" XD frowns. "Knowing that one day he will forget you."

Purpled looked down and was lost in thought for a few moments. He knew it was a giant possibility of Tommy forgetting him one day and he knew for a fact that no matter how far away that day may be he'll never be ready. But he cared for Tommy. He has ever since Wilbur showed him and Punz those drawings.

Tommy needed someone and Purpled wanted to be that someone which was why he convinced Punz to accept being a bodyguard for Tommy and over the months they've known each other he can't help but feel both protective and close to the other blonde.

He's watched Tommy forget things and remember them again with an apology for forgetting in the first place. 

He's watched Tommy grieve for his dead son, Henry, for months without closure.

He held Tommy's hand as he grieved in the evenings, trying to stop him from scratching himself up with his claws.

He's seen Tommy lose his first and second cannon lives. 

He's seen Tommy get back up because he thought that's what he was supposed to do instead of heal.

He's watched Tommy fight many battles and win. 

But the one thing he's never watched was somebody helping Tommy in these endeavors. 

Frowning he stuffs his hands into his pants pockets and gets a bit of a surprise. Looking down at his right pocket he pulls out a little bottle cap pin that Tommy had made for him after they watched Up for the first time together.

Tommy had told him it was his favorite movie so who was he to deny him when he asked him to watch it with him in his little dirt house?

So after the movie Tommy had given him a bit of a surprise when he held out a pin similar to Elles' pin except it wasn't made from a grape soda cap. It was made from a Coca Cola cap, Tommy's favorite drink. Purpled wore it for weeks after that but when Tommy died for the final time it hurt too much to look at it so he tucked it away in one of his pants pockets.

He'd completely lost the pair that had it due to all of his pants being purple the pair got mixed up with the others. He was heartbroken and checked every single pair but never found it.

But now he had and now, looking down at the red cap he couldn't help but remember every good time he's had with Tommy. Be it sparring sessions where he taught Purpled to fight like a piglin or just the moments where they sat in a flower field and relaxed to the sound of rustling leaves and buzzing bees.

Smiling softly he quickly but carefully pins the cap to his hoodie and dusts the little flecks of lint that stuck to it off. 

Looking up at XD he nods with a bright smile and a fire burning behind his eyes. "I do and even when he does forget who I am I will never stop being there for him. Because that's what friends do!" He says in a determined voice.

XD chuckles softly. "Excellent answer." He smiles. "Now come along, I have a test waiting for you."

Purpled nods and quickly follows behind the god. On the way out of the church the purple loving alien seemed to not notice Ranboo and Tubbo in the trees near the church, both of whom wearing similar guilty looks and clutching onto red pieces of cloth to their hearts.

Grian hums softly as he, Mumbo and Scar walk along Bdubs' path towards Tangos' house, the sound of Impulse's horse's feet hitting the ground the only other sound.

Mumbo, Scar and Grian all deduced that their filming and building was going to take a few hours more than expected and the work on the gigabase was going to take even longer so they had asked Tango to babysit for them.

Tango had happily said yes so now they were working on getting Tommy over to the other blonde. Oh! Speaking of which!

"How's he doing back there Impulse?" Grian asks over his shoulder.

"He's drooling on my back!" Impulse laughs. "It's cold!"

Grian and Scar laugh.

Mumbo turns around and chuckles at the sight of Impulse leaning forward a bit more on his horse with Tommys face squished into his back. "You doing ok?" He asks Impulse.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry for scaring him so bad earlier." Impulse frowns, reaching back to make sure Tommy wasn't slipping.

Mumbo nods with a slight frown. Now, what Impulse was referring to would be when they were getting Tommy ready to go visit Tango. They made sure he had his discs, a pair of clothes, a snack, pajamas and Muffin but they were missing his rule book so they went back inside to find it when Impulse came over to borrow a few logs.

Grian had happily given them over and introduced Tommy to him before the other could leave. But unfortunately when he did he took off using a firework and the noise caused Tommy to scream and cover his ears. The kid had started crying and begging for Wilbur to put down his crossbow.

For the next twenty minutes they tried to calm Tommy down but nothing worked until somebody grabbed his Memory Quilt and put it over him. Once he was covered up he slowly stopped crying and once five minutes passed Tommy had slowly peeked out of his blanket and asked them what happened to the festival.

So there was a new rule added to the Hermits rules that Tommy made. 

Absolutely no taking off with rockets near Tommy.

Soon after, Impulse offered to take Tommy to Tango on his horse as a form of an apology, which brings us to now.

"It's alright mate. None of us knew." Mumbo sighs. "Want me to take Tommy?"

"Nah. He's good." Impulse smiles softly. "Thankfully the horse ride conked him out so if somebody passes over us he won't have another attack."

Mumbo nods and looks ahead to see a Pass N' Gas up ahead with Tango and Keralis talking outside it. 

"Tango!" Giran calls out.

Tango turns and smiles, waving at them. "Yo! Take puppy to my place! I'll be there in a minute!" Tango shouts over.

"Puppy?" Grian asks with a frown. "Who's puppy?"

"Don't look at me." Scar frowns. "Maybe he thought we were asking him to babysit a dog?"

"Oh! Yeah, maybe. I never did say Tommy's name in the message." Grian frowns and looks back at Tango. "Can you still babysit Tommy?"

Tango frowned and tilted his head. "Yeah! I already said I would! Just take him to my house! I'll be there in a minute!" He calls back over. "Where is puppy anyway?"

"There he goes again with the puppy." Scar huffs.

The group quickly make it to the Pass N' Gas and stop in front of Tango. "Tango there is no puppy." Grian frowns. "We have a Tommy but not a puppy."

"O...k? That's who I meant." Tango chuckles, walking over to Impulse when he sees blonde hair behind the man's back. "Hi puppy! Keralis! Come here, I want you to meet puppy!"

Keralis chuckles and walks over curiously. "So this is the famous puppy huh?" He smiles. "He doesn't look like he'd bite you."

"Oh, trust me, he will." Tango chuckles. "Just ask Iskall and Doc. He bit both of them yesterday."

Tango and Keralis chuckle until Impulse knocks on Tangos' head. The two Big Eye crew members look up and see Impulse hold a finger up to his lips before pointing back at Tommy.

The two share a look before looking at Tommy's face to see he was fast asleep, loosely gripping Impulse's cape. "Whoops. Sorry." Tango whispers.

"Tango, come here for a second would you?" Grian whisper yells.

"Huh? Oh! Sure!" Tango smiles, quickly walking over to Grian. "What's up?"

"Why are you calling Tommy a puppy?" Grian frowns as he crosses his arms over his chest.

"Because he acts like a puppy!" Tango smiles. "He growls when threatened, he likes ear scratches and he likes the ringing ball Doc got for him."

Grian, Scar and Mumbo look at each other for a moment before looking back at Tango in confusion. "What…? You guys...never noticed that before?" The blonde man frowns. "Is it just me?"

The trio of hermits shrug until they hear a crash come from not too far away. Looking over the three sees XD walking over with George beside him. "XD!" Grian smiles. "What's up? You forget something?"

XD shakes his head and holds out a file to Mumbo who gingerly takes it. "Your request has been accepted Mumbo K. Jumbo." XD states. "The Alien known as Purpled will be allowed to leave the Dream SMP and join this server with permission from myself and the Void Tamer, Xisuma Void. He will arrive one week from today at spawn, 3pm sharp."

Mumbo looks down at the file curiously then looks up at XD. "That file contains his medical history, vaccination history, mercenary clan members names, addresses, numbers and the such in case you need emergency information. It also has a list of people who I have determined to be ok to let him have contact with." XD continues. "Don't lose it."

"I won't!" Mumbo nods. "And thank you XD, for everything."

"You're welcome Mumbo Jumbo." XD nods. "But you know I do not do things for free…"

"R-Right…" Mumbo gulps. "What...What would you want? I-I'm not a wealthy man this season...or almost every season...but I have end crystals!"

"Ah yes. End crystals. Your loophole around your 'peace, love, and plants' thing this season." XD chuckles but one look from George made him pause. "What?"

"XD." George frowns.

"What?! What did I do?!" XD groans.

"Stop teasing him, he looks like he's gonna shit himself and no that would not be funny." George frowns.

XD sighs and looks down at Mumbo again. "As thanks for taking my nephew in, I will grant you this request at no cost." The god sighs.

"Nephew?!" Impulse squeaks.

"Yeah! Tommy is the son to The Blood God and a Life & Death God, the grandson to Lady Death and her Angel who is haunted by the demon Redza and nephew to a goddess of Chaos and XD." Grian explains nonchalantly. "Tommy himself is a god too but he doesn't know all of his attributes yet, only that he's a nature god."

Impulse, Tango and Keralis all stare in shock at Grian until their attention was put on Tommy when the teen decided to fall off the horse.

Tommy slowly sat up with a groan and looked around with his quilt safely over his head. Yawning he slowly crawled over to the horse and huffed up at it. The horse stared for a moment before leaning down and biting the back of the quilt and pulling upwards.

Once he was up a bit in the air Tommy lowered his foot down and carefully lifted his hurt foot up he huffs again which makes the horse release him. "Thank you." Tommy smiles up at the horse tiredly. "I'll make you a golden carrot when I get back ok?"

The horse huffs and nods at Tommy as the teen limps over to XD. "Hi Uncle…" Tommy yawns, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"Hello Tommy, did you have a nice nap?" XD asks softly.

"Yeah. Dreamt about MCC." Tommy smiles. "Remember when me and the boys won?"

"Yes I do! I was so proud of you!" XD smiles, scratching under Tommy's chin.

The teen purrs happily and leans into the scratches.

"...ok his nickname is now Kotek." Tango quickly says.

Tommy looked over at Tango and waves. "Hi Tango." He smiles softly.

"Hi Kotek!" Tango smiles back.

Tommy frowns in confusion. "My name is Tommy, not kitten."

"You know Polish?" Tango asks curiously.

Tommy sighs and turns towards Tango fully. "I know Piglin speak, Ender, Enchantment Table, Guardian, Russian, Spanish, German, Polish, Swedish, Old Norse, Animal-" Tommy was going to go on but George placing a hand over his mouth stopped him.

"I don't think he was asking for a list of every language you know dear." George chuckles.

"Oh."

When his mouth was uncovered Tommy looked over to Tango. "Sorry." He says softly.

"Hey, it's alright Kotek." Tango smiles. "I just learned something new about ya so that's a good thing."

Tommy hums as he gets behind George. The man chuckles softly when Tommy lays his head against his mushroom hat and pulls him under the quilt with him. "Looks like this is my home now." George smiles.

"Hey! George is my chosen!" XD huffs.

"Don't get jealous XD, he's just giving sleepy cuddles." George hums, reaching up to run his fingers through Tommys' hair. "Just don't try eating my hat, ok Tommy?"

Tommy slowly nodded, his arms tightening around George. "I'm sorry Tommy but we need to go. I need to...prepare, the Alien Purpled." XD smirks.

"If one hair on his head goes missing because of you I will tear open the boundaries of our realms and tear your head off your shoulders Uncle ." Tommy growls darkly, glaring over George's hat.

XD chuckled nervously and nodded. "Alright little one, I get it. No hurting your drift members."

"Good." Tommy frowns, backing away from George only to step on his hurt foot. "Pierdolić (Fuck)!"

Tommy grunts when he falls on the ground, grabbing at his leg when pain radiates up from his ankle. "Little one!" XD calls out, quickly walking over. "What happened?"

"I'm ok Uncle, really." Tommy grunts as he struggles to stop the on coming tears. "Gods, why did my pain tolerance have to be reset when I got revived? I used to be able to handle having a sword going through my stomach, an axe in my head and being set on fire! Now a stupid twisted ankle is getting to me!"

XD gingerly picked up Tommy's ankle, being as careful as can be, and ran his hand over it. "Twisted? Who told you this was twisted?" XD frowns. "Your ankle is broken."

"Broken?!" Tommy asks in surprise. "But all I did was fall in the shower!"

"You fell in the shower?! Who the fuck let you take a shower?!" George growls. "You could barely walk when XD and I found you and the Hermits!"

"Doc and Tango let me because a blender exploded and spilled strawberry smoothie on me." Tommy smiles until XD moved his ankle a bit. "SHIT!"

"Sorry little one." XD frowns. "I'm trying to see the other side."

"Then move to the other-!" Tommy stopped yelling and gained a strange look. He looked down at his hands then around himself. "Never mind...it's fine."

George and XD share a look before George gets on his knees to distract Tommy from XD messing with his foot. "Look Toms, it's a new trick I learned." The mushroom king smiles, pulling out a grass block out of his inventory. "See how this is grass?"

Tommy tilts his head curiously and nods.

"Watch." George hums, placing his hand over the block.

Pushing down on it he groans softly as his hands glew a dull grey. There was a soft 'pop!' when George lifts and hands and-! "It's mycelium!" Tommy gasps in awe.

George chuckles, giving the block to Tommy. He watches Tommy happily turn it over in his hands and poke at it to see if it was real. Leaning over he kisses Tommy's temple as the teen looks around for another grass block. 

"That was so cool! Can you do it again?" Tommy smiles.

Chuckling, George nods and watches Tommy show the mycelium block to XD who, he knows from experience with the god, had a fond look behind his mask. Looking over to the Hermits he stands and walks over. 

"So he broke his foot huh?" He asks, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Doc told us he twisted it!" Grian quickly explains. "Is he ok? Please tell me he's ok…"

George sighs and looks back to see XD carefully undoing the bandage around Tommy's ankle. "He'll be fine." He says softly. "But you need to keep him off of that ankle no matter what. Even if he threatens to take your kneecaps."

Scar laughs softly. "He did that to me earlier." He smiles.

George smiles softly. "Sounds like something he'd do." He chuckles.

"Excuse me?"

George looks over at Keralis who was attempting to hide behind Tango a bit. "Yes?" He huffs. 

"Is...is Kotek ok?" Keralis asks softly. "He was yelling and getting angry but then he just...gave up."

George sighs softly and shakes his head. "That's Tommy for you. He'll pretend he's ok but he's not one for yelling and cursing anymore. Not since…" The mushroom king frowns and looks away. "Nevermind. But just know it takes a lot of energy out of him and he has none to spare anymore."

"Why? Is the kid ok?" Impulse asks. "Is he sick?"

"Ah...well…" George frowns, wrapping his arms around himself now.

"George…? Is there something you haven't told us?" Mumbo asks, placing a hand on the smaller man's shoulder.

"I-I'll tell you later…" George whispers , quickly walking away and back to Tommy and XD.

The group of Hermits look at each other then over to George. A brick of dread settled in each of their stomachs and their thoughts wandered, trying to think of what could be wrong with Tommy.

Tango chuckles as he watches Tommy sniff at one of his candles. It'd been a good half hour since the strange encounter at the Pass N' Gas so he and Tommy had gone over to his house and had a bit of a snack to calm down.

"Hey, Kotek!" Tango calls out.

"Huh?" Tommy looks over from the candles.

"Wanna play with your ball?" Tango asks, pulling the orange and white ball from the bag Scar had given him earlier.

Tommy smiles and nods. He was going to stand up from the chair he was seated in but a hard stare from Tango made him chuckle nervously. "Right, broken ankle." He smiled. "Forgot."

Tango chuckles and walks over to help Tommy over to his bed. "Here, you can sit on my bed and I'll toss it over then you toss it back ok?" He smiles.

"Sounds fair." Tommy smiles back, throwing an arm over the older blonde's shoulders.

Tango nods and carefully lifts Tommy up, dropping the ball in the progress. The red eyed blonde looks down at the ball curiously. Since yesterday he'd wondered why Tommy needed a ball with a bell in it and now that the younger blonde was here, maybe he could ask. It couldn't hurt right?

"So, if you don't mind me asking, why did Doc want to get you a ball with a bell inside it?" The red eyed man asks curiously.

"Huh? Oh!" Tommy uses his free hand to reach up to his eyes, poking right below his left one. "I'm partially blind. Constant exposure to gun powder, close up TNT explosions, fireworks and wither explosions."

Tango looked down at Tommy and instantly felt a protective feeling wash over him when he saw the teen just lean into him with a small smile, like what he just said wasn't anything to worry about.

Carefully setting Tommy down on his bed he tucks his quilt around his waist. Turning a bit he grabs a footstool from his closet and carefully puts Tommy's broken foot atop it. "There we go." He smiles.

Tommy smiles and lightly wiggles his bandaged ankle only to yelp in pain.

"Hey! You wiggle that foot again and I won't make you my famous loaded fries!" Tango threatens as he goes to the top of his bed to get a pillow. 

"What's...loaded fries?" Tommy asks with a confused frown.

"You'll see tonight as long as you don't wiggle that foot." Tango smiles.

Tommy chuckles and nods. "Sir yes sir."

Tango carefully puts the pillow under Tommy's foot and nods. "Perfect! Now let me get an ice pack and then we can play." He hums, heading for his fridge.

"Mr. Tek I'm alright. I don't need ice." Tommy quickly interjects. "I was icing it the whole time Grian, Scar and Mumbo were out filming."

Tango looks over to Tommy then down to his foot. There was a lack of swelling so he must be telling the truth. "Alright then I'll get us something to drink." He smiles. "What's your poison?"

"It used to be whiskey that I stole from Schlatt or Budweiser I'd get from Sapnap but now it's Cola again." Tommy smiles.

Tango's grip on the fridge handle tightened a bit as he looked back over to Tommy. "I-I'm sorry...what?" He asks softly.

"I used to drink whiskey and Budweiser but when Fundy, Tubbo, Ranboo, Big Q, Purpled and Sam found me passed out in a tree with empties under me they made me give it up." Tommy hums. "I haven't touched a drop for almost three months!"

Tango gives a strained smile and nods. "That's good Kotek! I'm proud of you!"

Tommy looked surprised for a moment but tears quickly welled up in his eyes. "Uh...th-thanks." He mutters, wiping at his eyes.

Tango nods and grabs two Coca Colas, pretending not to notice the teens reaction to praise. Walking over to Tommy he looked down at the cans when he heard somebody outside.

"-go bother Tango while we wait for our iron to smelt."

"Cleo?" Tango frowns. "Why is she here?"

A soft jingle made Tango look over to Tommy to see the younger blonde attempting to bite his ball but he couldn't quite do it.

Frowning Tango looked to where the ball had been then over to Tommy again. "How did you get...it was over…huh?" He frowns but quickly remembers that Cleo was coming in.

Quickly putting the cokes down he walks over to his door way just as Cleo was going to walk in. "Heya Cleo!" He smiles. "Sorry but you can't bug me right now, I'm babysitting and my focus needs to stay on the kid."

Cleo frowns and raises a brow. "Kid? Who brought a kid to the server?" She asks curiously.

"Boatem." Tango replies.

"...is he blonde?"

"Yes."

"Is he part piglin?" Cleo asks, gaining a small smile.

"Grian said so, yes." Tango nods.

"Does he have blue eyes?" Cleo asks, bouncing a bit.

Tango had to think for a second but shook his head. "Uh no actually. They're grey."

"Ok does he have a big scar on his face?" Cleo asks next.

"Yes…?"

"Move." Cleo quickly pushes Tango out of the way and stomps her way in. 

Tango yelped and caught himself on his doorway. "Hey! Wait! Cleo!" He shouts as the red head stomps her way to Tommy.

"HEY! WHERE'S MY HUG?!" Cleo shouts as she crosses her arms.

Tango watched Tommy jump and throw the ball at Cleos' face in surprise. Wincing, he quickly walks over to intervene when Cleo just starts laughing. "That's one way to greet me!" She laughed until she noticed the raised foot. "Oh crap, what happened Toms?"

Tommy gasped and was going to stand but quickly abandoned that mission when his ankle gave a slight twinge. "Auntie Cleo!" He happily chirped. "Y-You're here! You're safe! Dream said he killed you!"

Cleo frowns but quickly stands to give Tommy a big hug. "Oh come on my little sweet potato you should know better than to believe anything that smiley bastard says." She whispers, pressing a kiss to Tommy's cheek.

Tommy laughs and wraps his arms tight around Cleo, like he was afraid she'd disappear if he didn't. Hiding his face in her neck he tried to stop himself from crying but a few tears managed to make their way down his face. "I missed you…" He whispers.

"I missed you too sweet potato." Cleo smiles.

"Not that this isn't touching or anything but uh...what's going on?" Tango asks in confusion.

"I used to be friends with his mom." Cleo smiles as she turns to Tango. "He was the one that brought me back to life so I stuck around him for a while. I was actually there the day Tommy was born and the day that Foolish gave him to Techno."

Cleo looks down at Tommy with a smile, running her fingers through his messy hair. "When he came back to live with Foolish I barely let him out of my sight and he became my duckling." She chuckles but her smile fades as she looks back to Tango. "But one day I walked into the training room to see Dream stabbing Tommy then forcing him to drink potions of harming to heal the wounds. I tackled that bastard and nearly bit his arm off but Puffy stopped me."

Cleo held Tommy closer to her side and covered his ears. "Dream claimed I did it and got me kicked out. I tried to tell Foolish but he was too busy being a "hands off parent". Bastard just didn't wanna raise a finger when he found out about Tommy hearing voices." She growled. "I managed to get Dream alone and beat him within an inch of his life and promised him that if he ever hurt Tommy again then I'd come back to finish the job."

Tango looked from Cleo to Tommy then back. "Geez…" He whispers. "This kid has been through hell hasn't he?"

"What do you mean?" Cleo frowned but a tug on her shirt made her look down at Tommy.

"Auntie Cleo! Guess what? I broke your record!" The blonde smiles. "I ate seventy one waffles in one sitting."

"Holy shit! Where'd you put all of it?!" Cleo asks, looking Tommy up and down. "You look like a twig!"

"Oi!" Tommy frowns.

"Well you do!" Cleo smirks. "What's wrong? The server run outta potatoes?"

Tommy laughs when the zombie lady tickles his sides teasingly. "Auntie!" He smiles.

Cleo smiles softly. "I'll be right back ok Toms? I need to go get something."

Tommy quickly grabs her hand before she could leave, a worried look on his face.

Cleo frowns slightly but leans down and kisses the top of Tommys' head. "I promise I'll be right back ok?" She says softly. 

When Tommy let go of her hand Cleo headed for the door and started to run towards her base. 

Tango watches his doorway for a moment until Tommy spoke up. "Please don't tell her." Tommy whispers.

Tango quickly looks over to him in confusion. "Huh?" He asks.

"Don't tell Auntie Cleo." Tommy frowns, hands gripping his quilt tight. "She'll freak and blame herself for not being there even though she couldn't help it."

Tango frowns and walks over to Tommy, crouching down in front of him. "Kid, she's family, yeah?" He asks softly. When he got a nod he placed a hand on the blonde's shoulder. "Then she should know, right?"

"No." Tommy immediately says. "If she found out what's been happening to me then she'll freak out and try to kill Foolish, Techno, Dream...everybody who's hurt me. But no matter what any of them did to me I don't want any of them to die because then they'll leave forever and I don't want them to leave forever and-!"

"Hey, hey, hey!" Tango whispers, pulling Tommy into a tight hug. "It's ok...it's ok. We don't have to tell her."

Tango listened to Tommy's sniffles for a moment until he heard a quiet 'ow.' . Slowly pulling back he looks back at Tommy's ankle. "You ok? Want an Advil?" He asks softly. "Your foot must hurt."

When Tango didn't get a reply he looked at Tommy and frowned at the confused look on the younger's face. "Kotek?" He asks softly. "You ok?"

Tommy frowns and slowly looks up at Tango. "Mr. Tek? What were we just talking about…?" He asks softly.

"What…?" Tango frowns. "Kotek...we were just talking about Cleo and...you don't remember?"

Tommy slowly shook his head and sniffled softly. "I-I'm sorry…" He whispers, looking around. "Where'd Auntie go?"

Tango carefully held the other's face in his hands and searched Tommy's eyes for a moment but when he didn't see any sign of lying he gave Tommy a gentle smile.

"Cleo will be right back ok? She just stepped out to take her camera bot home." Tango smiles as he fixes the quilt so it was better around him. "So how about we play with your ball until she gets back huh?"

"I'm not a baby Mr. Tek." Tommy chuckles. "But...ok. Just try not to get me in the face. I get nosebleeds easily now."

Tango chuckles and nods. "You got it, Kotek." He smiles.

Standing up, Tango looked around for the ball. Spotting it by one of his chests he quickly walks over and picks it up. "Found ya." He smiles but when he turned he was face to mask with a short girl in a mask that had two equal signs for eyes and a lowercase n for a mouth. "AHHHH-hi. Who are you?"

The girl looks over to Tommy.

Tango tilts his head and looks over as well to see Tommy chewing on his own hair. Chuckling, Tango was going to go over and stop him but the girl pushed him back against his chests.

Grunting he rubs the back of his head and looks at the girl curiously until it hits him. "Wait. You're that girl from the hub station." He frowns.

"Drista."

Tango freezes at the strange, echoey voice. "Come again?" He asks softly. 

"My name is Drista, the goddess of Chaos and Tommy's Aunt." The girl replies. "And I'm pissed."

"O-Oh. I'm sorry." Tango smiles nervously. "Mind if I ask why?"

"Because my nephew has a broken ankle and has already had two attacks since he's been here!" Drista shouts, floating above Tango. 

Tango gulps and looks over to where Tommy was still chewing on his hair but also watching a chicken that had snuck in.

"He can't see me or you right now." Drista growls, grabbing Tango by the collar and hoisting him up. "So don't look at him for help."

Tango gulps but nods.

"Good. Now where is Grian, Docm77, Goodtimeswithscar and Mumbo Jumbo? I need to have a word with them." Drista spoke in a voice dripping with venom.

"T-Try Boatem! They might all be together for their recordings!" Tango quickly says.

"Thank you." The angry goddess huffs as she drops the red eyed man. 

Tango grunts as he rubs at his hip. "Ow…"

"Here."

Looking up Tango sees Drista holding out a duffle bag to him. Frowning, he carefully took it. "Uh...thank you?"

"Not for you." Drista huffs. "It's the rest of Tommys' stuff. He had me hold onto a lot of it after his house was griefed for the first time. He was afraid he'd lose some of it."

Curious, Tango reaches for the zipper but a book smacking his head makes him yelp. Rubbing his head he looks up at Drista. 

"Drista chop." The goddess spoke with a smile in her voice.

Tango laughs softly and stands. "I take it, you only want him to open it?" He asks.

"Yep." She chuckles. "Now if you excuse me I need to go talk to some Hermits…"

With that the goddess quickly disappeared.

Tango looked around curiously and frowned. Was everything back to normal?

"AHHHH!" He heard Tommy scream. Looking over to the younger blonde he raised a brow towards him. "I wasn't chewing on my hair…"

Tango chuckles as he stands, throwing the duffle bag strap over his shoulder. "Oh really?" He smirks.

"...the chicken did it." Tommy frowns, pointing at the chicken.

Tango laughs and walks over to Tommy again. "Sure it did." He smiles, tossing the ball over to Tommy. "Catch."

Tommy quickly caught it before it could hit him in the face and grinned. "Got it!" He cheers.

Tango smiles and moves a few feet away so Tommy could throw it back at him. "Toss it Kotek!"

Tommy smiles and tosses it over to Tango. 

Tango was about to catch it but his communicator beeping distracted him enough that he missed the ball and got smacked in the face with said ball. Grunting he blinked in surprise, to which Tommy just laughed at.

Chuckling Tango pulls out his communicator and looks down at the screen. "Oh...that's what she meant by talk to…" He hums.

On the communicators screen there were four death messages and one new chat message. 

Mumbo Jumbo blew up

Grian blew up

Goodtimeswithscar blew up

Docm77 blew up

<Drista>: OH BABY A QUAD! >:D

Chapter Text

"What's a simp?"

George choked on his tea and turned to XD with a shocked look on his face. "Where did you learn that word?!" He shouts.

"Alien Purpled said that when I described his and Tommy's friendship that I made sound like he was simping." XD shrugs. "He wouldn't tell me what it meant so I came to ask you."

"Oh...uh...well basically simping is how you treat and act around me, sooo you're a simp." George frowns before taking a sip of his tea.

"Wait...so it's like how I treat you...?" XD asks.

"Yes." George nods.

XD nods and forms a trident in his hands, surprising George.

"What do you think you're doing?!" George quickly asks.

"I'm going to go kill an Alien for simping for my nephew." XD chuckles, already heading for the door.

George groans and leans back in his chair. "Tommy will never forgive you for hurting Purpled." He calls out so XD would hear him.

XD stops for a moment then turns to George. "But..."

"If he'd stop talking to Tubbo what do you think he'd do to you? He's known you for only a few months and he's known Tubbo since he was little." George frowns.

XD was silent before sadly trudging over to his seat next to Georges, his tridents handle scraping against the ground the whole way. "Can't I at least-?" "No."

XD huffs and takes a seat. "If I were Drista you'd let me."

"XD if you were Drista I'd be afraid for my life." George frowns just as his communicator dinged.

Pulling it out he reads the message that popped up with a frown.

Purpled blew up

<Drista>: KILL THE SIMP! >:}

<Purpled>: I HAD A STACK OF ALLUIMS ON ME!

"XD!" George yelled in a scolding tone, throwing a pillow at the laughing god beside him.

"Telepathic connection baby!" XD laughs, blocking the pillow. "It's way faster than communicators!"

Chapter Text

"Don't laugh Tango. Don't. Laugh. They are trying so hard! DON'T LAUGH!"

Tango struggled to keep his laughter in as he cut up some strawberries as a snack for himself, Tommy and Cleo. He could hear Tommy and Cleo attempting to sneak away with some snacks and failing horrendously at being quiet due to the crinkling of the chip bags and the soft cursing when something slipped from their arms.

"Auntie, can I have a soda?" He heard Tommy whisper.

"Yes but hide it." He heard Cleo whisper back.

Tango hummed softly as he moved onto the bananas.

"Ah! It's cold!" Tommy whines.

"I didn't mean hide it in your pants, you numpty!" Cleo laughed softly.

"Where else was I supposed to hide it?! Up my butt?!" Tommy whispered back. "I have no pockets!"

"You have an inventory!"

"...oh yeah." He heard Tommy whisper before realization seemed to hit him. "Wait, we have inventories."

Tango heard Cleos' footsteps stop for a moment. "Oh. Yeah. Well, we're smart aren't we?" Cleo chuckles softly.

Tango slammed his hand down on the counter, trying so hard not to laugh. "St-Stupid ants. I-I should change my fl-flooring." He stammers.

"Go, go, go!" Cleo whisper yelled.

"You're carrying me!" Tommy giggled.

"Oh yeah." Cleo frowned.

Tango felt his shoulders shaking as he bit his lip. He had to keep quiet, he had to let them think they got away with it.

"Freedom!" He heard Tommy whisper when the bed creaked slightly behind him.

"Hide the snacks!" Cleo whispers next, the sound of crinkling chip bags resounding through the room. "Shit! Shut up ya crisp bag…"

Humming Tango drops the cut up fruit into his blender before moving to wash his hands. He was fine, he was totally fine. His lungs didn't hurt from keeping in his laughs, no way!

"I'm gonna-gonna use the blender guys!" Tango calls out.

"Hold on! The ear plugs!" Cleo quickly calls out, grabbing the little Green buds off the bed.

Turning Tango watches Cleo stick them into Tommy's ears then cover them with her hands. "Go for it!" Cleo smiles.

Nodding Tango starts up the blender but keeps an eye on Tommy to make sure he was doing ok. So far Tommy only flinched slightly when Cleo flexed her fingers slightly so it must be working.

Turning back to the blender Tango turns it off and grabs a few cups. "Smoothies are done!" He calls out just as there was a knock on his door. "...I swear if that's Bdubs."

Cleo laughs and stands to answer the door. "If it is then he has the nose of a bloodhound." She smiles.

"You can say that again." Tango chuckles. "He always knows when I'm making smoothies."

Tango held out one of the cups to Tommy as the door opened.

"Doc, Stress! What's up?" Cleo smiles.

Tommy and Tango both look up and towards the door as Doc walks in with a red shulker box in hand. "Where's Tommy?" He asks with a frown. "It seems I made the wrong diagnosis."

"Doctor mode…" Tommy whispers, quickly trying to hide under his quilt.

"He's on the bed but what are-oi! The heck?!" Cleo growls when Doc completely ignores her and starts pulling random medical equipment out of his Shulker box. "What's all that for?!"

"Calm down Cleo." Stress says gently, trying to calm the zombie lady down. "We just need to do a quick check up on Tommy, that's all."

"A quick check up?! All that stuff is for a quick check up?!" Cleo asks, a slight tremble to her voice. "That's a lot of serious stuff Stress!"

Tango peeks over to where Doc was pulling things out and he couldn't help but agree with Cleo. Doc was pulling out tanks of air, blood pressure cuffs, potions, bandages, blood drawing equipment, an IV stand, a cooler marked with TTW 17, a strange little machine with wires coming from it with sticky pads on the ends of each wire, a scale, things for a cast and many other items that were hard to remember the name of.

"Doc? What's all that stuff for?" Tango asks with a frown.

"Tommy's check up." Doc hums, pulling out a strange tube with a hose connecting to it and a ball inside of it. "There's a lot of things that go into making sure Tommy is healthy."

"So you bring a whole fucking clinic to him?!" Cleo asks. "What the hell could be wrong with him that you need a portable ER?!"

Doc stops and looks over to Cleo. "You don't know?" He asks. "Huh. I thought Foolish would've told you a long time ago."

"Foolish is a prick (A/N: this is only directed towards my aus' Foolish, no hate to the real one!), why would he tell me anything?" Cleo growls. "Now what's going on?"

"Tommy? Do you want her to know?" Doc asks the teen attempting to hide himself while stuck in one place.

"No." Tommy whispers almost immediately. "I don't want Auntie sad."

Doc nods and turns to Cleo. "Would you mind leaving the room for a few minutes Cleo? Stress and I would like to do this fast in order to not put any unnecessary stress on Tommy."

Cleo looked to Tango for help but the red eyed man just shook his head. There was no use fighting it. So, with a final look at Tommy, she left the room and sat outside the front door. "What's wrong with sweet potato…?"

Inside the house Tommy peeked out of the safety of his quilt and looked over to where Stress was helping Doc remove the items from the shulker box until everything was set up nice and neat on a table to ensure nothing would become unsanitary. He didn't like the sight of so much medical equipment. It reminded him of the festival...

Looking to Doc he saw him turning and quickly hid himself from view again. "Alright Tommy, out from Quilt Town." He heard Doc gently say.

"No." Tommy whispered, pulling his quilt tighter around himself.

"Please Tommy? We can have the same deal we had when you were little." Doc whispered, taking a seat beside Tommy.

"...promise?" Tommy asks softly as he slowly peeked out from his safe place.

"I promise." Doc smiles softly, reaching over and gently moving a piece of hair out of the way of Tommys' face.

Tommy took a deep breath before dropping his quilt. "Ok." He frowns, gripping the top of it in his shaky hands.

"Now, Grian gave me a copy of the rule book and it said that you want us to stop treating you like a child 24/7, correct?" Doc asks gently.

"Mhm." Tommy nods. "I'm almost 18, I don't need to be treated with kid gloves."

Doc nods and places a hand on top of one of Tommy's trembling ones. "I see you're scared." He spoke carefully. "Do you think us treating you like a kid now would be ok? We could use better ways to keep you calm."

Tommy thought about it for a moment. If he didn't agree then would he be drugged? Did they have Grandpa Puffys' Calm Down Tranqs? No, no they couldn't have them. Only Puffy knew how to make them….right?

Gulping Tommy nods and looks away, too afraid to look up. Due to this he missed the knowing look on Docs' face. "Tommy, we won't hurt you if you say no." He spoke softly. "I promise you, nobody will ever, ever hurt you here ok? Not maliciously anyways…"

"That's what Tubbo promised too…" Tommy whispered. "Then he hurt me."

Doc frowns and mentally adds another name to his "Make Pay" list.

"Tommy-"

"Wilbur made the same promise." Tommy whispered in a monotone voice, his dull eyes quickly becoming duller. "He broke it too. So did Techno...Foolish...Fundy...Ponk...Sam…"

"Tommy!" Doc quickly says, worry filling his heart when he saw that Tommy had started to sag and tears filled his eyes.

Tommy jerked upright and looked around for a moment, rubbing the back of his head. "Yeah?" He asks softly, wincing slightly.

Doc gave Tommy a searching look before turning to Tango who frowns and shakes his head. Slowly looking back to Tommy he gives the younger a soft smile. "Let's get started huh?" He smiles, rubbing Tommy's shoulder. 

Tommy just smiled back and nodded.

Tango sighs as he sits down next to Cleo.

"They kick you out too?" Cleo asks softly.

"Yep. I was making Tommy laugh too much and kept distracting him from Docs' questions." Tango huffed. "I was just doing what I was told to!"

Cleo chuckles and shakes her head. Leaning back against the door Cleo could make out a few words but the rest was garbled. Sighing she rubs at her face. "Tango?" She asks softly.

"Hm?"

"Is he ok?" She asks softly. "That was a lot of stuff…"

"He'll be fine Cleo." Tango smiles reassuringly. "I promise."

Cleo sighs but nods and leans forward.

A few more minutes passed until Stress stepped out and called Tango and Cleo back in. "Thanks for waiting out here guys." She smiles.

Cleo was the first one up and in the basement. Quickly walking over to Tommy she frowns when she sees Doc pressing a button and Tommy raising his hand with a strange pair of headphones on his head. "Good. Now, repeat the word that's being said ok?" Doc says as he presses another button.

"...monkey?" Tommy frowns.

"Alright, again." Doc nods.

"...kitten."

"And again."

"...apple…?"

"One more time!"

"Squid!"

"Good job Toms." Doc smiles at the excited shout.

"Can I-?"

"Not until your foot heals." Doc frowns. "You try going swimming now and your tail will be broken."

"Ugh…" Tommy grunts. "Last time I swam with a broken tail it hurt like hell."

"Then don't do it again ok?" Doc orders gently.

"Yes sir." Tommy sighs.

"Thank you." Doc smiles, pulling a gapple out of his inventory. "Here you go."

Tommy smiles and takes the gapple happily. Biting into it he let a purr rumble out of his chest at the sweet, electrifying taste of gold and blaze powder. Wait. Blaze powder?

Raising a brow he looks down at the gapple to see that it had a purple hue around it. Looking up at Doc in shock he feels an overwhelming feeling of panic start to over take him.

"Th-This is enchanted." He whispers, eyes still blown wide.

"That's right, it'll help you recover faster!" Doc smiles softly, thinking that Tommy was happy.

"Bu-But these are really, really rare!" Tommy quickly says as his hands begin to shake. "Why would you give me this?!"

"Because...you need it?" Doc frowns. "Tommy, are you ok?"

Tommy dropped the apple and shook his head, covering his ears as Ranboos' angry voice rang out in his ears and his seething face was suddenly in view.

"What the hell Tommy?! I spent four freaking weeks trying to find one of those!" Ranboo screamed at Tommy.

"I-I'm sorry Ranboo I thought it was-!" Tommy backed away from the angry enderman until his back hit a wall.

Tommy whimpers at the phantom feeling of clawed hands on his shoulders.

"Sorry isn't good enough for this Tommy! I wasted so much time finding that damn thing and you just ate it like it was nothing! That was time I could've spent with Tubbo or Techno or my freaking son!" Ranboo snapped. 

"I-I-!" He stammered.

"But no! I went out looking for that damn apple and now you fucking ate it all because you took a little damage! Get over it already!" Ranboo continued.

"I...I'm-"

"Just shut up already Tommy! I hate hearing your stupid voice and I hate you!" Ranboo yelled as he pulled his hand back only to bring it back down, his sharp claws ripping through the delicate skin on Tommy's cheek.

Tommy sobbed when he felt phantom claws ripping into his face. Curling up tight he didn't even feel Doc's arms wrapping around him or Tango trying to scratch behind his rapidly flicking ear. He didn't feel anything except panic and fear.

Tommy quickly slumped down the wall as blood poured out of his face and quickly stained his yellow jumper red.

"Oh-Oh gods...Tommy I...oh my god your face...Tommy I'm so...oh my gods we-we need to get you to somebody. Now." Ranboo looked pale, or as pale as one could get with his half and half complexion.

"Purple…" Tommy whispered as feelings of fear, betrayal and pain filled his trembling frame.

"What…?" Ranboo whispered in a pained voice.

"PURPLE! PURPLE, PURPLE, PURPLE!" Tommy screamed on the top of his lungs.

"P-Purple…? Tommy are you afraid of-?"

"PURPLE, PURPLE, PURPLE, PURPLE, PURPLE!" Tommy sobbed.

"GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM TOMMY RANBOO!" A new voice shouted.

"Purpled! I-I just-I was angry and-!"

"Fuck off before I go upstairs and kill Michael." Purpled threatened. "I'll kill him and bring you his head."

Ranboo quickly backed away and ran upstairs, not sparing Tommy a second glance. 

"Tommy…gods." Purpled whispered. "We need to get you to Phil."

"Ran-Ranboo-!" Tommy sobbed, quickly leaping into Purpleds' arms.

"I know bubba...I know." Purpled spoke in a near growl. "I'll make sure he never does it again. I promise."

"Cleo, no!"

Tommy gasped in shock when cold water was dumped on his head. Shivering he slowly looked around, a faint taste of blood on his tongue. Bringing his hands away from his ears he didn't know what to make of the small clumps of hair that stuck to his hands with the smallest hints of blood under his nails.

His eyes wandered everywhere until his mind reminded him that he wasn't at the Bee n' Boo mansion.

He was in Tangos' house, on his bed, getting his hearing tested. 

There was no warm, sticky blood rolling down his face, just water. 

There was no Enderman hybrid in sight nor was there an Alien. 

Just a Zombie woman holding a dripping cup and tears in her eyes.

"Auntie…?" Tommy whispers, grunting softly and gripping his throat when a sharp pain went through it. "Why...why does my throat hurt…?"

"It worked…" Doc whispered before quickly moving forward and cupping Tommy's face. "Tommy, this is very important, ok? Do you remember what just happened?"

Tommy frowns, looks down at his wet lap and shakes his head. "N-No. I don't." He frowns. "I'm sorry. I must've blacked out."

Doc shares a look with Stress before nodding. "It's ok bubba." The creeper hybrid whispers, pulling Tommy into a tight hug. "That's ok…"

Tommy frowns and loosely grips Docs' doctor coats' sleeve. Leaning heavily into Doc he swore he heard Keralis and the clock guy somewhere but he felt too tired to look. Yawning, he cuddles close to Doc. Maybe a small nap wouldn't hurt.

Tango sighs as he rubs his forehead tiredly. It was nearing eight and Tommy still hadn't woken up from his "nap". He had no clue what to do and it honestly hurt. There was a kid that needed help and he had no idea how to.

Rubbing his face he turns to look at Tommy and frowns when he sees Cleo still staring down at the blonde. She'd been that way for hours, as if she was afraid that Tommy would disappear if she took her eyes off of him.

"Cleo…" He spoke softly.

"I'm not moving." The zombie woman whispered, her eyes still on Tommy.

Tango sighs and shakes his head. "I wasn't gonna move you. I was going to ask if you're hungry. It's a bit past dinner time but I can whip up something real fast." He offers.

"...got any fish?" Cleo asks softly.

"I got Salmon, Cod, Trout, name it and I fished it up." Tango chuckles softly.

"Cod please." Cleo hums.

"Coming right up." Tango smiles, moving over to his little kitchen.

Pulling out three Cods from his fridge Tango tried to think of something to go with it when he saw the masked girl, Drista, hovering in the doorway. 

"You can come in." He calls out, seemingly startling her if her floating a foot higher than before was anything to go by.

Drista slowly flew in and took one look at Tommy before turning to Tango. "He had a panic attack didn't he?" She asks softly.

Tango frowns but nods as he tosses the Cod in a furnace. "Doc said he was stuck in a memory or he was having a bad flashback." He spoke softly. "He tore out some of his hair and screamed for almost a minute straight. Scared the daylights out of Bdubs and Keralis."

Drista nodded and floated above Tommy until she noticed an oxygen tube in his nose. Following the line she spots a strange little device on a barrel that sat next to the bed. "What's this thing?" She asks curiously.

"That is an oxygen purifier. It works better than an oxygen tank since it can't run out of air." Tango explains as he searches his fridge for anything else to go with the cod. "Doc got one for Scar and one for Kotek."

Drista nods and places a hand on Tommy's forehead. Her hand glowed a light purple for a moment before it faded away. "He'll wake up in a few minutes but he'll have forgotten what happened earlier." She sighs.

Tango nods with a frown. "How's things on his old SMP?" He asks softly.

"Excellent." Drista chuckles, doing a little spin. "Everything has been leveled except Tommy's hut, The Prison, Church Prime, Ponks' Clinic, Erets' Castle, The Spider Spawner Room, Gogys' cottage, Phils' cabin, Phils' shop and the Syndicate Book Club room."

"So now everybody that has hurt Tommy is dealing with exactly what he dealt with." Drista chuckles. "XD is making them live in tents in the plains biome, hunt for their food, no building, items will be destroyed every other day and absolutely no sharing or stealing, otherwise you go to hell. The only ones exempt from the rule are the children; Foolish Jr, Finley, Michelle, Micheal and Yogurt."

Tango chuckles and grabs a couple of potatoes from a barrel. "It's the bare minimum of what they deserve." The blonde frowns.

"Trust us, we know." Drista sighs.

A soft groan makes the two look over at Tommy and watch him slowly sit up with a hand on his throat and Cleo helping him keep steady. "What happened?" Tommy asks softly. "Why does my throat hurt?"

Cleo said nothing and held a straw to Tommy's lips. 

The teen gives a curious look to the straw before slowly sipping on it, his burning throat being soothed by the cold water that came from it. Pulling back he sits up fully and stretches his arms upwards until he hears a couple of pops. Sighing softly he lowers his arms and rubs at his eyes tiredly.

"What time is it?" He asks softly.

Tango quickly pulls out a clock from his inventory. "It is...7:50." He replies. "How do you feel Kotek?"

Tommy doesn't say anything as he pulls out his phone. He was trying to type in something but Cleo quickly took his phone. Frowning up at her he tilts his head curiously.

"Answer the question Tommy." She spoke softly.

Tommy sighs and rubs at his face. "I feel...hungry...my foot stings...tired and...and I think a little sad?" He replies, his hands flopping down to rest on his lap. "Can I have my phone back now? I need to call Gogy."

Cleo frowns but holds out Tommy's phone.

Tommy takes it and quickly goes to his contacts. He was so focused on calling Gogy he didn't see the worried look that Cleo was giving him. Once he pressed call he held the device up to his ear and waited, tapping his knee as he did.

"-up or I'll turn you all into mushrooms!"

Tommy frowns and looks down at his phone in confusion. Putting back to his ear he clears his throat. "Gogy? I-Is everything ok?" He asks softly.

"Hold on Tommy, I have some-OI! WHAT DID WE SAY?!" George shouts on the line, making Tommy grimace and pull the phone away from his ear.

"I-Is this a bad time?" Tommy asks with a frown.

"FOOLISH PUT THAT DOWN OR WE'LL LOCK UP YOUR MAGIC!" George yells before sighing. "I'm sorry bubba, I don't think I can watch Up with you tonight. Things are bad over here right now."

"Do you need help? I can come back and-!" Tommy was starting to get out of the bed but George interrupting him stopped him.

"No, no, no. You stay there bubba. It's the safest place for you right now." George quickly says. "Promise me you'll stay there."

"Gogy, everytime there's trouble over there there's always a war and somebody loses a life." Tommy frowns. "I'm not taking a risk of it being yours, Jacks', Purpleds', Phils' or Ranboos'. I'm coming to help."

The other side of the line was quiet as Tommy stood on his one good foot and started to use the wall to get to one of the entrances when XD suddenly appeared in front of him. "What are you doing out of bed Tommy?" XD asks in a stern voice.

"I'm going to help." Tommy frowns up at his uncle. "Gogy has never been in a war on the SMP, he has no idea how bad they can get!"

"Tommy, lay down." XD orders, pointing at the bed.

"No! I need to go help Gogy!" Tommy shouts. "I'm still a soldier, I can fight."

"Thomas Theseus Watson, get back in that bed this instant or else!" XD yells, quickly growing fed up with his nephew.

"Or else what? You'll exile me? You'll blow up my home like Dream did? You'll turn me into a ghost?!" Tommy was sounding like he was near hysterics. "I don't care! I don't care about myself XD! I don't care if I get hurt as long as my remaining Drift members are safe!"

XD was silent as Tommy pulled a large stick out of his inventory and quickly walked past him while using it as a cane. With a sigh XD opens his inventory and pulls out a little rag doll with black yarn hair and a light blue dress. 

"Tommy if you don't lay back down I'll destroy Rosie." He spoke softly.

Tommy stopped where he was, his heart skipping a beat as he turned to see XD holding Rosie by the arm above an on fire hand. His heart began to beat faster the longer he stared at the doll - his son's doll. "Y-You wouldn't. Surely not!" Tommy chuckled nervously.

"XD what are you doing?!" Drista shouts in a voice of panic. "Put Rosie down!"

"I'll put the doll down when Tommy lays down and stays there." XD spoke with a frown in his voice. "Now, Tommy. Lay down."

"XD, you're acting like Dream!" Drista growls.

"I am doing this for his own good Drista! He needs to learn that he can't always do what he wishes when he can-!" XD snapped but Drista interrupted him with an angry yell.

"You're using something he loves to get him to do something you want XD!" Drista yelled. "Dream did the same thing if you don't fucking remember!"

"Well maybe this is something I agree with from the Admin." XD huffs. "If it makes Tommy obey and behave then so be it."

"What the fuck is wrong with you…?" Drista hissed, moving to Tommy's side. "Tommy are you-Tommy? Tommy? Buddy?"

Tommy wasn't listening anymore. His eyes had become incredibly dull as he opened his inventory and started dropping things on the ground until his inventory was completely empty. Falling to his knees he didn't care about the pain that radiates up from his ankle. Pushing everything forward and away from himself he stared down at the grass in front of him with tears in his eyes.

"Take it. Take it all…" He whispered. "Just please don't kill Henry, Dream."

XD's burning hand quickly went out as he stared down at his nephew. He didn't know what to say. He honestly had no clue what to fucking say! He was just trying to get Tommy back to bed and now…

He wanted to move forward, to apologize like George taught him, but Drista wouldn't let him. She pushes him back and rips Rosie out of his hand with a disgusted sound. Before XD could even try to get it back the doll was given to Tommy.

"Drista I didn't mean-" He tried to explain himself but the young goddess would let him.

"Shut up! Just shut up and go away before I make you regret ascending!" Drista snarled.

"I just wanted to help!" XD growls, the ground under him shaking.

"Help?! You just pushed him into-into...into whatever the hell this is! He thinks you're Dream for Deaths' sake!" Drista yells angrily. "We agreed to let Tommy leave so he could fucking recover but you just-!"

Soft sobs made Drista turn towards Tommy. The young goddess touched down and watched Tommy cling onto Rosie, whispering how sorry he was for not saving Henry.

"Tommy-" XD tried to step forward to help his nephew, to hug him or something to make him stop crying, but a glare by Drista made him stop.

"Touch him and fucking die." Drista growls.

"Drista I didn't mean for this to happen I just wanted to help!" XD whispered as he watched the other pull Tommy into a tight hug. "Please let me help…"

"Didn't I tell you to leave?" Drista asks as Tommy clings to her.

"Dris-Drista!" Tommy sobs. "He-He's dead! Henry's dead! I-I didn't hic! I didn't save him! I failed my baby!"

"Oh Tommy, no, no, no…" Drista whispers as she pulls her nephew closer. "You didn't fail him…"

XD felt useless as he watched his nephew cry because of something he did, something he caused. Wringing his hands he looked around for anything he could use to help but something smacking him in the side of his mask made him look down to see a potato at his feet.

Frowning he looks over to the kitchen area to see Tango holding another potato in his hand and an angry look on his face. "Get out!" Tango yells at him. "I don't care if you are a god, I will throw this!"

XD sighs and takes one final look at Tommy, his heart aching as the boy begged for his son who has long been dead.

"I'm sorry Tommy…" He whimpers, body turning to smoke as he travels back to the Dream SMP. "I hope you can forgive me one day."

With that XD was gone in a cloud of smoke, leaving behind a crying teen, two worried hermits and a very angry goddess.

Chapter Text

"HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO HIM?!"

XD yelps as he dodges a flower pot that had been aimed for his head. Looking up from his cowering stance he watched as George grabbed a frying pan and got ready to throw it. 

"WE ARE SUPPOSED TO BE HELPING HIM RECOVER BUT YOU PROBABLY JUST SET HIM BACK FUCKING MONTHS IF NOT THE ENTIRE YEAR!" 

XD quickly dodged the frying pan and sat behind the loveseat he had been standing behind. 

He had completely forgotten George had been on the other line when he was talking with Tommy so now he was facing the consequences.

"I was trying to help!" XD yells.

"BY ACTING LIKE DREAM?!" George yells back in a wet voice.

XD flinched and looked down at his shaking hands. He had acted like Dream hadn't he? 

"I was trying to be a good uncle!" XD yells back, trying to ignore the strange stinging in his eyes. 

"BE A GOOD UNCLE?! YOU WERE GOING TO DESTROY THE ONE FUCKING THING TOMMY HAS LEFT OF HENRY, XD!" George screamed. "YOU DIDN'T EVEN SOUND LIKE YOU HAD ANY TYPE OF REMORSE FOR USING IT UNTIL TOMMY CALLED YOU DREAM!"

XD sunk down. He really hadn't felt anything until Tommy called him Dream. He hadn't cared that he was using something so important to Tommy as a bargaining chip but he should've just laid down when he was told.

"I don't care about myself XD! I don't care if I get hurt!"

XD stared at his hands as Tommy's words replayed in his mind. Sighing he leans back against the loveseat and listened as George sat down somewhere behind him with a sniffle.

"I fucked up George." He whispers. "I'll admit it, I fucked up. But what can I do now? He's probably terrified of me, Tango threw a potato at me meaning he's not afraid to die to protect Tommy, Drista will attack me for being near him…"

George wiped at his eyes with a soft sniffle. "There's nothing you can do except wait and hope you didn't just destroy his trust in you." He spoke softly. "Tommy doesn't trust many people anymore, XD. Just pray to Death that you haven't made it to the list of people he can't trust."

XD sighs as leans his head back against the loveseat when he hears a knock at the door. Looking over he slowly stands and glides over, believing it to be Purpled with the first part of his test done. Opening the door he didn't expect to see his little brother, Foolish, and the piglin that knocked him up, Technoblade, standing in front of the door.

His grip on the doorknob tightened as memories of how these two traumatized their own child flashed before his eyes. "Calm XD. You already fucked up once today." He told himself.

"What do you want?" XD asks with a huff.

"Where's Tommy…?" Foolish asks softly.

XD looked his brother up and down before chuckling. "Why do you want to know?" He asks as he steps out of the cottage.

"Because he's my son!" Foolish yells, tears springing to his eyes. "Mumbo showed me a picture of him an-!"

"And now you feel guilty for what you've done and now you want to make it up to him so you can make yourself feel better, right?" XD asks with a frown.

Foolishs' mouth snapped shut as he looked up at his brother.

XD chuckles and shakes his head. "Get out of here Foolish and stop acting like your namesake. It already cost you a son. I'd hate to see what else it will cost you." He hums, moving his mask out of the way enough that one of his emerald green eyes was visible for a moment. 

Moving it back into place he turns to return back to his and Georges' cottage when he feels somebody grab his wrist. Quickly looking back he expected to see his brother giving him a hopeful look, not the blood god.

The pinkette was staring up at him with eyes filled with hope, regret, pain and a deep sadness that XD had only seen in Georges' eyes when he told him that Tommy had died. Gritting his teeth he pulls his hand away and delivers a swift punch to Technos' face, sending the piglin hybrid to the ground.

"Don't you ever touch me again, mortal." XD spits as the pinkette struggles to sit up on the ground.

"I-I just...I just want to know where my son is." Techno spoke softly, eyes slowly looking up at XD. "He needs me. I can feel it."

XD felt all of his anger boiling deep in his belly as he stared down at Techno. "He needs you? HAH!" XD laughs. "He hasn't needed you since the day you told him to die, since you attempted to give him to Dream not once but fucking TWICE! You fucked up Technoblade! You fucked up big time."

Turning to leave again XD tried to calm his boiling blood but he couldn't get it to simmer. Walking towards the door he reaches out to open it when he feels a new presence enter his domain. Looking to the sky he spotted a few storm clouds on the horizon and sighed.

"Storm is coming. I'd advise you two to get back to your tents before the rain comes so you can raise them up or something." XD hums. "Item destruction day is tomorrow. Don't forget or I'll take a life."

Pushing open the door to the cottage XD missed the hurt and scared looks that were thrown his way by Techno and Foolish.

"Wh-Why do our items have to be destroyed?" Foolish asks softly.

"Because Dream destroyed Tommy's tools, food, clothes and materials every time he visited and I clearly stated that you all will go through the exact same things Tommy has gone through, to an extent of course. I've already blown up your homes so now they are nothing but craters, I have already split you all up, I have you all living in tents." XD hums in thought.

"There's still so much more that needs to be done to you all so you know the same pains that Tommy has gone through. So, so, so, so much more." XD sighs sadly. "I'm even thinking about killing all of the children so you'll all know what Tommy went through when he lost Henry."

Foolish gasped and stepped back at that.

"But Tommy may despise me for that so I won't." XD sighs. "Oh well. Maybe when I catch him on an off day he'll let me."

A hand wrapping around his ankle made XD want to drop kick whoever was grabbing him. Looking down he sighed at the sight of Technoblade bowing his head and kneeling in front of XD. 

"Please XD, please. I just want to see my son, I just want to make sure he's ok!" Techno pleads. "I haven't seen him in so long, please…"

"You...you stupid, moronic, piece of shit!" XD yells, kicking Techno away from him. 

Techno grunts as he skids a few feet back. Slowly sitting up he lets Foolish help him in his endeavor. Looking up at XD he actually felt fear at seeing the seething god stand before him.

"You call Tommy your son yet you have done nothing but hurt him since you met again or do you not remember the fractured arm, the Withers, the destruction of his home, the attempted murder of his best friend, teaming up with his long time abuser!" XD growls. "How can you sit there and call yourself his father when you have done nothing but hurt him in nearly every way imaginable?!"

"You should be thankful I didn't kill you months ago for everything you've done to my nephew!" XD grunts, crossing his arms. "Tommy has been nothing but good to you and if you dare say he betrayed you, take a good look at who he "betrayed" you for. Somebody who he loved more than he ever loved himself, somebody that's always held his hand when he needed it, somebody who's been there for him. Tommy's "betrayal" was your own gods damned fault because you didn't show him the love he needed and craved. You just left him time and time again and yet you still expected him to hold you above everything else. How could he when he barely even knows you."

"You fucked up Technoblade, Foolish. Now neither of you will ever be allowed to see Tommy again." XD huffs. "To think I was going to allow you to visit him. How stupid am I?"

Shaking his head XD turns and gasps at the sight of a shorter male with bright blue hair standing behind him with crossed arms and an unimpressed look on his face.

"Is it time for MCC already?" XD asks softly.

"XD, mind if we speak someplace alone?" The man questions, glancing at Techno and Foolish.

"No problem. I was finished speaking with the trash anyway." XD huffs.

Together the two walk into George's cottage and send twin glares towards Techno and Foolish as the door closes.

Outside Foolish and Techno watch the door with heavy hearts.

"He can't keep us away from Tommy, Tech." Foolish whispers. "Tommy is our son, we have every right to see him."

Techno didn't say anything as he stood. Dusting himself off he tries to play off the pain in his heart and the voices that screamed at him to find Tommy, to hold his boy close and make him better. Gods how he wished he could get a straight answer out of them on what was happening.

"Whatever you say Foolish…" He whispers as he steps away from the golden man. "Whatever you say…"

Grian hums softly as he wraps his wings around Tommy, holding the boy close to his chest. Gently rubbing up and down his back he listens to Tommy's shaky breaths and soft sniffles. 

"Shhh, shhh love. You're alright, you're gonna be ok now." He whispers to the boy in his arms. "Papa Grian is here now. Papa has you…"

He had only arrived a good twenty minutes ago with Mumbo, Doc, Scar and Cleo and he had immediately been drawn to Tommy's shaking and sobbing form. The poor boy was practically clinging onto Rosie and begging her to bring him Henry.

He's pretty sure Tommy woke up his parental instincts but he didn't mind. He just quickly made a nest out of whatever was grab-able and pulled Tommy into it. He whispered soft words to him and rubbed his back in small circles. He let Tommy wrap his tail around his leg and curl up close to his chest with his head right over his heart.

He didn't know why but listening to his heart knocked Tommy out in only a few minutes of having his ear pressed against his chest. The blonde had a loose grip on his red jumper, tears still slowly rolling down his reddened face and a soft whimper or plea for Henry passed through his lips.

"Grian…" Mumbo whispers.

"Hm?" Grian asks, not taking his eyes off of Tommy.

"Tango said we can stay the night if we'd like, so you don't have to leave Tommy." Mumbo whispers, reaching out to gently tuck a piece of hair Grians' ear. "You wanna stay?"

"Mm." Grian hums, leaning into Mumbos' touch.

Mumbo nods and gently rubs Grians' cheek with a gentle finger. "You two doing ok in here?" He asks softly.

"Chick is asleep, warm, safe." Grian whispers. "He may be hungry. Need to go find food. Maybe seeds…"

Mumbo chuckles softly and shakes his head. Leaning forward he kisses Grians' forehead. "No seeds ya silly bird." He smiles warmly. "Pirate Stew."

"...that works too." Grian chuckles softly.

"Hey, Mumbo." Tango calls out softly.

Mumbo looks away from Grian and Tommy to turn to his red eyed friend. "Yeah?" He asks.

"Doc and Drista want to have a word." Tango frowns. "It's about the Dream SMP."

Mumbo frowns. His least favorite topic.

"I'll be right there. Does Grian need to join in?" He asks softly.

"Since he's with Kotek he'll be included by communicator." Tango replies.

"Right." He nods and looks at Grian and Tommy. "I'll be right back. Keep the chick safe ok?"

Grian nods tiredly as he nuzzles into Tommy's hair. "Keep chick safe."

Mumbo chuckles and stands up from his crouched position. Taking one last look at Tommy and Grian he starts for where Tango was standing.

Once outside Mumbo noticed two things. One being Cleo yelling at Doc for not telling her anything about Tommy and the other being Drista angrily throwing rocks into the nearby water.

Walking over to Drista he places a hand on her shoulder, concern filling him when he felt how tense she was.

"Are you alright?" He asks softly.

Drista was quiet for a moment, stopping mid throw of another poor rock. With a sigh she sagged and let her arms hang at her sides. "No." She whispers as she drops the rock in her hand.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"...no." Drista sighs as she turns to Mumbo. "It's nothing."

"Drista, you threw that last rock far enough that I'm pretty sure you reached boatem." Mumbo frowns. "Something is really wrong, I can tell."

Drista sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. "It's just...why? Why did Dream have to do all of this to Tommy? He did nothing wrong. He acted how others wanted him to, he ate what people wanted him to eat, he dressed how people wanted him to dress." Drista frowns. "So why? Why does Tommy get beat down by everything and everyone when he's been nothing but obedient!? He's done what he's told! He's done what's been asked of him! So why?!"

Mumbo backed up a bit when Drista started to let off red sparks that bounced around her head and shoulders.

"Why did Techno leave him so many times? Why did Tubbo betray him so many times? Why did Clay beat him every chance he got? Why didn't Foolish stop him? Why did Foolish replace him with Junior and Finley? Why did he have to suffer so much while everybody else got to have fun?" Drista shouts in a wet voice. "Why is he afraid of so much now? Why can't he look at a block of TNT without crying? Why is he so afraid of Withers? Why did Henry have to die?!"

Drista turned and punched the tree closest to her, effectively splitting it in half.

"Why didn't I notice my best friend was in so much pain…?" She whispers as the electricity dies down to a few tiny sparks.

Mumbo feels his eyes stinging but pays it no mind as he walks over to Drista. Quickly pulling the goddess into a hug he held her tight as she struggled not to cry.

"I don't know the answer to any of your questions unfortunately." Mumbo whispered. "But I do know this."

Holding Drista out at arms length he crouched down to one knee to look her in the mask.

"Tommy will never, ever, ever feel any of the pain he felt on the Dream SMP again." He whispers to her. "Wanna know why?"

Sniffling, Drista nods slightly.

"Because he has his kickbutt Auntie, his hermit papas, his favorite scar covered man, his favorite zombie lady, the kitty gang, his new friend Tango and so many hermits that'll be there to protect him." Mumbo smiles softly. "He's in the safest hands possible Drista. Nothing will ever hurt him again and his good karma will come. I know it."

Gently squeezing Dristas' hands, Mumbo stands up in time to get a big hug from the young goddess. Smiling, he gives her a tight squeeze and gently rubs the back of her head like he'd seen Tommy do to make her sleepy when they were little.

Drista quickly pulls away from the hug and squared up with a 'Hey hey hey!'.

"I do not want to sleep yet! Fuck off!" Drista growls.

Laughing, Mumbo starts walking over to where Tango, Doc and Cleo were standing.

"So it still works! Good to know!" He smiles.

"Wait...oh you fucker!" She growls as she chases after the mustatashed man.

"Oh pants!" Mumbo quickly ran and hid behind Doc with a nervous laugh. "Save me!"

Doc chuckles and shakes his head. "Alright, alright! No killing the potato man Drista!" He smiles as he stops the masked girl from attacking Mumbo. "We have business to attend to. Then you can kill him."

"Yeah!" Mumbo smiled before he processed what was said. "Wait what?!"

"-so that's why I think we disallow anybody from the Dream SMP from seeing Tommy." Drista states firmly. "We never know who's gonna be the next Dream."

The group was quiet until the communicator in Tango's hand buzzed.

"What about George? And Phil, Ranboo, Big Q, Karl, Charlie, Glatt, Ghostbur? He'd really miss them Drista." Came Grians hushed voice. "Tommy loves them with all his heart so wouldn't it pain him to never see them again?"

"I thought of that." Drista spoke with a smile. "I decided that George, Phil, Karl, Charlie, Glatt and Ghostbur can come see him! But not Ranboo or Big Q. Big Q is losing it and Ranboo...well Ranboo attacked him the other week."

"What? But he said that Ranboo never hurt him before!" Doc spoke up with a frown.

Drista looks at Doc in confusion before looking away to the side. "Tommy must've forgotten." She sighs. "He probably didn't want to believe that Ranboo would ever hurt him."

Doc frowns and crosses his arms. "I'll kill Ranboo…" He growls.

"Do that and Tommy will hate you forever." Grian spoke up. "You saw what he did to that boy that called Ranboo a freak."

Doc sighs as he nods. "The boy ended up missing three days later and they still haven't found the body."

"Yep, now shush on the killing Ranboo stuff." Grian frowns. "Whoops. Sorry Tommy."

The group frowned at the communicator. 

"I knocked him with my wing." Grian says a moment later. "Anyways, I'm on board with the plan as long as Tommy's trusted are allowed to visit."

"Agreed." Doc nods.

"If it means Kotek won't have to go through what he did earlier again then I'll agree too." Tango frowns.

"I'll agree if I get to beat Dream." Cleo smirks.

"I'll agree as long as it'll keep Tommy safe." Mumbo states as he looks to Drista.

Drista nods and goes to pull up her inventory for a book and quill when a sleepy and annoyed voice comes from the communicator.

"Wow, deciding on my future. So not like Dream at all."

The group jumped at Tommy's voice coming out from the communicator.

"Tommy!" Drista quickly says before flying back into Tangos' house.

The group of hermits quickly run after her and see Tommy sitting up in the nest with Grian fast asleep against his shoulder.

"Wha? But he just talked to us!" Doc frowns.

"He always forgets I know how to knock him out without hurting him." Tommy frowns as he looks up at the little group. "Now what the fuck is going on? Why are you guys trying to decide shit that affects me without me?"

Drista sighs and floats down close to Tommy.

"After what happened with XD earlier I don't think I can trust anyone from that server to not act like Dream." She admits. "So I thought it'd be best that you never see them again."

Tommy sighs and shakes his head. "You lot are so stupid." He growls. "My grandfather is literally the Angel of Death, my grandmother is Lady Death, my father is the Blood God and hears voices that makes him kill, my mother is a god of life and death, not to mention the ocean and weather, so he can easily end you with a simple lightning bolt or a snap of the fingers just to bring you back and do it again, my cousin and uncle or fox hybrids and if they think I'm in danger they'll go nuts because they can't find me and foxes are very protective of their young."

"Do you really think that you mortals and a god of War and Pranks can stop them all? All my grandmother has to do is snap and your head will pop like a balloon poked by a needle." Tommy hisses. "You'll be dead before you can even form your swords."

"Then of course you piss off the Angel of Death and...well I hope you're ready to burn for it." The tired blonde sighs. "There was a major reason why people hundreds of years ago feared the name Philza."

Tango suddenly started wondering what he'd gotten himself into.

"So, again, do you think you can beat them in a fight to see me if they want to?" Tommy asks with a frown.

Doc frowns and crosses his arms. "Tommy, XD showed his true colors earlier and if he acts like that then what the hell will the others act like or have acted like?" He asks in concern. "We just want to keep you safe."

"You are keeping me safe." Tommy chuckled softly. "Tango threw a freaking potato at XD and Drista threatened to kill him."

"You threw a potato at a god?" Mumbo asks Tango, who just nodded with a proud look on his face.

"Yep! And I didn't die!" Tango laughs.

"Yet…" Drista smirked.

"...what?" Tango asks worriedly.

"Nothing Drista smirks, looking back to Tommy.

"Look, the only way this will work without you guys getting this server raided then let me say goodbye." Tommy frowns. "Let me tell them why I'm leaving."

The group look at each other before shaking their heads.

"Tommy, it's to dangerous." Mumbo spoke up.

"Papa Mumbo, I've been in war after war, exiled with only an amnesiac ghost that thought we were on vacation, tortured day in and day out by my own uncle, betrayed by my best friend, hated by everyone and, let's not forget, killed by my long time abuser only to come back to life and be told everybody liked it better when I was dead by a human I used to see as a friend…something I won't do again." Tommy mumbles the last bit.

Shaking his head Tommy looks up at Mumbo again. "What I'm trying to say is that I've gone through worse than saying goodbye." He huffs. "Besides, I'll have two gods and Gogy by my side. I'll be fine."

Mumbo shares a look with the others before sighing. 

"On one condition, Toms." He frowns.

Tommy nods once to show he's listening.

"All of us are your bodyguards too." Mumbo smiles.

Tommy chuckles and nods.

"Fine. But don't blame me when nothing exciting happens because all the humans and passive hybrids are pissin' themselves when you lot walk up with me." He smirks.

Mumbo chuckles and crouches down. Reaching a hand out he ruffles Tommy's hair.

"I won't." He smiles. "Now, how about some pirate stew?"

Chapter Text

Tommy gasped as he suddenly opened his eyes. Looking around he pants softly as he tries to figure out where he was. He could see a dark red curtain that was lowered onto what looked like a stage made of oak planks.

Kr clank!

Gasping, Tommy looks off to his left to see McChill pressing a button on the wall. 

"Big M?" He whispers, remembering the man from SMP Earth. "What's-?"

Tommy didn't get to finish his question since the curtain in front of him opened with a rather loud woosh. The blonde gasps and covers his eyes with his right arm when the stage lights that shined brightly above quickly made it impossible to see clearly.

"You couldn't even do one thing for me! Just one thing!"

Tubbo?

"All you had to do was behave and not act like Techno."

What was happening? Was this a dream?

"You did this to yourself Tommy."

It had to be! It had to be a dream! He was not about to be exiled from his home by his ex-best friend again. He couldn't! Not again! Tubbo couldn't do this to him again!

"Thomas Theseus Tommy "God Slayer" Watson-Wastaken, you are here by...exiled."

He did.

"Dream, please detain and escort Tommy out of my country."

The lights died down enough that Tommy could see the silhouette of Tubbo disappearing as a silhouette was held back by two others off to the side. Looking behind the Tubbo silhouette he bit his lip nervously when he saw that there was no place for an audience to the stage. It was just an endless void of inky darkness.

"Purpled…?" He whispers as he looks at the struggling one, having seen the brightly glowing antenna on the silhouette.

"I won't say I told you so Tommy but..."

Tommy gasps as the stage he was standing on started to melt away as the figure of his psychotic Uncle stepped closer. Backing up he kept an eye on the smiley bastard until a pair of strong hands gripped his upper arms tightly.

Tommy's breaths were coming faster as he looked up and into the red eyes of his father, Techno. 

"Dad…?" He whispers before a harsh chuckle comes from his right.

"He's not your father Toms!" A crazed voice laughs. "I am! I raised you after all!"

Tommy quickly looked to his right and was greeted with the crazed face of his Uncle Wilbur. A scream ripped it's way out of his throat as he struggled to be free. He had to get away! He had to find Grian and Scar and Mumbo an-an-!

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

Tommy felt the hands on him disappear and the background change with a strong gust of air. Slowly looking around himself he sniffles and rubs at his face. He had no clue when he started crying but he had and he hated it.

He wasn't a crybaby! He was Technoblades' son! He didn't get to cry! He had to be...why…? Why was he holding a bloody knife?

Slowly looking down at his clothes, Tommy felt bile make its way to his throat at the sight of bright red stains that he knew all too well.

"Wh-What did I do…?" He whispers softly, his hands shaking and his vision becoming blurry with tears. "Wh-Who did I…?"

"I told you Tommy."

Tommy quickly turned to see Dream standing behind him, maskless and giving him a mock sad look.

"Un-Uncle…?" Tommy whispers.

"Don't you remember Tommy?" Dream whispers as he moves closer. 

Once he was right in front of Tommy he gently cupped Tommy's bloodied cheek and bent down a bit so he was eye level with Tommy. 

"I'm the only one in the world that loves you." Dream smiles. "I watched you grow up, I taught you how to fight, I held you through your nightmares, I stopped you from cutting...what did Foolish do? What did Puffy, Drista, Sapnap, Bad, Wilbur, Fundy, Techno, Ranboo or Tubbo do? If they loved you then they would've stopped me from hurting you."

Tommy felt his tears begin to fall as he was pulled into a gentle hug. His hands were pressed close to his chest and he swore he could feel something tightening around his neck.

"Now, why don't you come home? Come be with me in the prison! I swear I'll never hurt you again Tommy, my little Toms…" Dream spoke in a soft voice. "My little puppet…"

Tommy shook his head and quickly pushed away from Dream. Panting softly he grips the sides of his head in shaky hands and steps away from his Uncle.

"No! I-I have Grian! I have Cleo, Drista, Doc, Scar, Tango, Gogy and Purpled! They love me! They care about me!" Tommy screams at the man. "All you care about is power and control, not me or your sister or your brother or even your friends! Somebody like you can't love or care about people, Dream!"

"People like me?" Dream huffs. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that you're a monster!" Tommy sobbed, rubbing at his teary eyes.

"Heh...that's rich coming from you Tommy." Dream spoke in a cruel voice. "After all...look what you've done."

Tommy slowly looked up at Dream and frowned slightly in confusion when he saw the man pointing off to the side. Turning his head Tommy let out a blood curdling scream at the sight of the last people that care about him, dead and on the ground.

The knife that had stayed in Tommy's hand dropped as he fell to his knees. Screaming he closes his eyes tight and yanks on his own hair to try and force himself to wake up but he wasn't.

Maybe he wasn't dreaming. Maybe he was awake. Maybe he had killed the only people that loved him.

"Oh Tommy…" Dream whispered as he pulled Tommy back against his chest in a hug. "It's ok, it's ok."

Tommy sobbed as he twisted himself to get away from the bloodied and still forms of his friends. Gripping tightly onto Dreams hoodie he felt something tighten around his throat again. Cracking open his eyes he sees small, neon green colored, strands of string wrapping themselves around his throat.

"We can be monsters together Tommy." Dream smiles, gently carding his fingers through knotted hair. "We can show them all why they made the mistake of not loving you."

Shaking Tommy slowly looked back over to the pile of bodies that he had made.

"I'm sorry…" He whispers before he and Dream had been swallowed by the darkness that had surrounded them.

Tommy slowly opened his eyes and the first thing that hit him was that he was wet and he had the taste of salt water in his mouth.

Coughing he turns over and hacks up some water and...a piece of kelp? Ugh! He hated kelp!

"Kotek!"

Slowly laying down on his stomach, Tommy looked up to where Tango was staring down at him with worried eyes. Panting softly he looked behind him to see Scar tossing a squid tentacle away from himself with a frown.

Sitting up the best he could, Tommy spit up some more salty water when he realised what must've happened when he felt his gills form on his neck and water dribble out of the slits.

He sleepwalked again.

He had tried to drown himself.

Just like back in exile.

Tears formed in Tommy's eyes as his face met the wet grass under him. His body felt so weak and heavy while his lungs burned terribly.

The tears flowed silently as he listened to Scar yelling for help and Tangos' panicked pleading for Tommy not to close his eyes again. But Tommy's eyes slid closed as he attempted to look at his hearts like how MD and Mamacita made him promise to do.

".....sorry….." Tommy managed to whisper before the sweet embrace of unconsciousness overtook him.

Had Tommy been able to check his heart meter he would've seen that he was only on half a heart.

Tommy silently looked down at his hands as he sat listened to the hermits and his Aunt around him softly snore or make their best impression of a chainsaw revving.

A loud snore startled Tommy into looking over at Doc and Tango. "You two need nasal relief strips." He whispers with a small laugh.

A jolt of pain in his left arm made Tommy grunt and grab at it to try and stop the jumping muscles. Sighing softly he tries his best to ignore the pain that shot up from his arm and to his shoulder, having grown used to it.

He still doesn't know what happened earlier or how he got into Grians' makeshift nest with everyone or how he was in a pair of star patterned pajamas or how he smelled like cherry blossoms instead of sea water but at least the pajamas didn't irritate his skin.

Rubbing at his eyes the blonde felt sleep trying to pull him down but he refused to follow it. He was too afraid that he'd wake up in the water again so here he sat, 4 in the morning, slowly rocking back and forth, with his arms wrapped around himself in a poor imitation of a hug. 

Tommy looked around once more as his nightmare replayed in his head for a moment until he heard a familiar sound behind him.

Snort!

Snort snort!

Slowly looking up Tommy saw a huge Piglin Brute standing behind him wearing leather armour and gold boots. Tilting his head he gave a curious chuff as the brute bent down to him.

How did a brute get here? Did it come through the nether portal on the little island? He didn't know that other piglins could swim.

"Wait, they bathe in large lava pools…" Tommy frowns at his own thoughts. "Of course they know how to swim."

Tommy was so caught up in his thoughts that he failed to realise that the brute had a rather...fond look to his eyes and that the brute was not wet. He also failed to notice when the brute got on his knees next to the nest and nudged his head forward so the back of his neck was visible to the brute.

But he did notice when he was suddenly lifted up by his scruff by the brute. Chirping curiously he looked around when he was starting to be carried away.

Oh.

Well apparently he's going for a ride.

Tommy purrs softly as he looks around himself when the brute starts to carry him over to a chest. The brute opens it and starts to carefully rummage through it and pulls out a couple bars of gold and some golden apples.

The brute gives Tommy a golden apple and puts the rest of the items in a satchel. The teen happily bit into the apple, his mind in a slight haze so he didn't feel bad about taking one of Tangos' apples.

Looking around himself curiously Tommy gave a soft chuff when he realised that they were going outside. But he wasn't allowed outside without one of the hermits.

Whimpering he tries to get away from the bigger brute but stops and hangs limply when he gets a warning growl, dropping his apple in the process. Yeah, getting the brute that's carrying you by the scruff mad was not a good move.

"I can't leave without one of them." Tommy whispers meekly.

The piglin grunted as he carried Tommy to a little bridge of netherrack. 

Tommy looked around them and at all the...the water…

Whimpering Tommy tries to turn and starts to let out loud and squeaky distressed baby piglin noises, ones that had there been any other piglins around would have made them help him.

Tommys skin quickly became covered by rose gold fur as he cried out for help. He didn't want to disobey the rules but this brute was making him! He wanted down! Now!

As soon as Tommy was put on the ground he attempted to run back into the basement but as soon as he looked around himself he saw that there was water surrounding him and the path was half destroyed.

The brute had carried him down the path while he struggled.

Tommy whimpered and shakily turned around to get back to the brute. Hiccuping he buries his face into the brutes chest, not noticing how small his piglin form had become nor did he see the white stripe of fur that went across his face.

The brute carefully lifts up Tommy and wraps the rose gold piglins legs around his waist. Chuffing softly to help calm down Tommy, the brute starts for the portal. 

Tommy echoed the chuff but kept his eyes squeezed shut until he felt the overwhelming heat of the nether on his back and head. Sniffling he lets out a few curious oinks as the brute shifts him so he is being held like a baby and gives him a gold bar.

Tommy gave a few chuffs and squeals of admiration at the gold, his instincts screaming at him to keep the pretty pretty shiny. Purring he silently chews on the top of the gold as he was carried away from The Big Eye Crews' nether portal.

"-ope, nope, nope, nope. Bdubs not like it in here!" He heard somebody quickly saying.

Looking up he spots the man with the clock struggling to put on a pair of gold boots. Taking the gold out of his mouth, Tommy chuffs a few times when the mossy man came closer.

"Hello! Don't mind Bdubs, he's just tryna get home and outta hell!" The mossy man quickly tells the brute as he tried to squeeze past. "Please move…"

Tommy oinked at the moss man and met eyes with him when the brute turned to let him pass. When the moss man gave him a curious look Tommy looked up at the brute for a moment before slowly shaking his head.

The moss man frowned as the brute started to walk away, still carrying Tommy in his arms. Moss man frowns and quickly makes for his nether portal. "I don't think that was that babys' papa." He whispers as he runs.

Tommy oinks softly as the brute covers him up with a thick fur blanket. The brute had carried him a fair bit away from Tangos' and it still didn't seem like their trip was over.

The brute had told him that they were gonna camp out in a good sized hole in a wall that was safe from the Ghasts and safe from Wither Skeletons not too long ago.

So the brute unrolled a bedding roll and carefully laid Tommy down on it and covered him up with the fur blanket. Tommy nuzzled into the roll and wrapped himself in the fur. Looking at the brute closely, Tommy felt like the big guy was familiar in some way but he hadn't been into the nether on this server yet.

Sniffling he starts to chew on the fur as he thought. Could it be the shade of pink the other was? Or was it the red thing wrapped around the brutes leg?

Yawning Tommy shook his head as the crackling of the campfire started up.

"Protector?" Tommy whispers.

The brute looks over to Tommy and stares at him for a moment.

"Why did you kidnap me?" Tommy asks softly.

The blonde watches the brute look away to poke the fire before he looks at him again. 

"Mine. Gold." He grunted out.

Tommy untucks one of his clawed hands and wiggles his stubby fingers. "I gold?" Tommy questions, looking up at the brute.

The brute nods slowly before silently crawling over. He reached out and gently rubbed a clawed finger against his fluffy cheek.

The big guy smiled gently when Tommy nuzzled into his finger with a yawn. 

"Piglet tired." The brute spoke softly. "Piglet sleep."

Tommy yawns softly and cuddles up under the fur more.

The brute was going to move towards the fire again but a weak grip on his wrist stopped him. Looking down he saw that Tommy had a weak grip around it and was staring up at him with hopeful eyes.

"You...you not leave right?" Tommy whispers as his fur starts to disappear and turn back to heavily scarred skin.

The brute looked down at Tommy for a moment before laying down next to the blonde. 

"Not leave." The brute grunted out but when he saw Tommy shaking slightly he scooted closer and held him to his chest. "Piglet cold."

"Not cold." Tommy sniffles. "Scared."

The brute squeezed Tommy a tad bit tighter. "Why?" He spoke in a low voice.

Tommy was surprised the brute knew how to speak English. Usually only hybrids could learn the overworld language. But he shook off the surprise and reaches up to rub his eye.

"Because I'm scared you're gonna leave me an-and I can't walk well right now and...and I could take damage. I don't like damage. Don't wanna go back to the void. Don't wanna see grandma again yet." Tommy whispers wetly.

"You...you were in the void?" The brute whispers.

"Uncle killed me then revived me." Tommy sniffles. "Hate raw potatoes now."

The brute held Tommy closer, his breathing getting a bit shaky.

"I-I'm also scared 'cause…'cause I don't like being alone. Hate it…" Tommy whimpers. "But always alone…"

The brute swallowed before he spoke again, his body starting to lose some mass.

"Why not go to your family when you feel lonely? Li-Like your father?" He asks softly.

"Because my father ha-hates me...don't think he ever cared." Tommy whispers.

"That's not true." The brute quickly says before he can stop himself. "He loves you more than life itself, he wishes he could take back every bad thing he's ever done to you, he wishes he could call you his son again, he wishes he had the right to."

Tommy shook his head. "No...no he doesn't." Tommy whispers as his eyes glaze over. "He teamed up with my abuser even after he said he'd never hurt me again, he tried to give me away twice, he has never looked or acted guilty, he hit me a few times when I lived with him and he told me to die."

Tommy took a shaky breath as he moved in closer, slowly closing his eyes. "If that's his idea of love then I don't want it." He whispers. "I don't wanna be afraid of him anymore. I wish I could forget him again."

The brute was quiet but if you listened close enough you'd hear his heart shatter.

A few minutes passed before soft snores were coming from Tommy. The brute carefully untangled himself from the boy and sat up as long, cotton candy pink hair flowed over his shoulders and his fur completely disappeared.

"Techno."

The brute, now revealed to be Technoblade, looked up and let out a sob at the sight of the mossy man from before standing beside Scott Smajor, the God of the Night Skies.

"Please just let me stay with him a-a bit longer." Techno sniffles, his shoulders shaking from the effort of keeping in his sobs.

"I'm sorry Techno, X has already contacted Sam Dude about this and he wants you back as soon as possible. You are being put under arrest for kidnapping, child abandonment, neglect of a child, child endangerment and breaking and entering when you get back." Scott sighs. 

Techno shakes his head and pulls Tommy close. "I'm so sorry Tommy. I wish I could've been a better father to you." Techno whispers, leaning down to kiss Tommy's forehead. "I love you Tommy, never forget that."

Tommy slowly opened his eyes and whined softly when he felt the chilly temperature of the overworld seep into his achy bones. Scooting closer to the brute he tries to get comfortable but when he heard a familiar snore he moved back a bit and looked up to see he had been laying against Scar, not the brute.

"Brute?" Tommy whispers, looking around himself only to see that he was back in the nest.

Tears formed in Tommy's eyes as he sat up fully and looked around, a soft sound echoing from his chest that was meant to call for the brute. "Protector!" Tommy grunted softly.

Sniffling Tommy starts to rub at his wet eyes. A sob hiccup escapes him as he pulls his legs to his chest and leaned back against the edge of the nest. 

"H-He promised." Tommy hiccups in a small voice.

"Shhh, shhh. You're ok Tommy." A voice whispered before he was carefully picked up and out of the nest.

Tommy didn't know who was holding him back at that moment he didn't care. He just wanted comfort and, if his memory served him right, hugs were a form of comfort. So, with a tiny bit of difficulty, Tommy reached up and wrapped his arms around the person's neck with a soft whimper.

"You're safe now Tommy, you're ok." The person whispered. "It was all just a bad dream, I promise."

The person leaned back on his knees and rubbed up and down Tommy's back. "Bu-But…" Tommy whispers.

"Shhh, shhh." The person whispers, gently pulling Tommy back so the blonde could see who was holding him. "It's ok, it's ok. The dream is over and you're awake and safe."

Tommy sniffles and rubs at his eyes, his stomach grumbling softly.

"And apparently hungry." The person chuckles.

Sniffling Tommy leans his head against the person's shoulder as his eyes try to focus on the person. "Scott?" Tommy frowns slightly when he squints up at the older man.

His impaired vision was just barely able to make out the soft and warm black eyes but the literal stars in the olders eyes made it easier to tell who he was. Reaching up he carefully gripped onto the scotts long pony tail and ran his fingers through it.

Sniffling Tommy moved closer to Scotts' face and gave him a sniff, the scott struggling not to laugh at Tommy's actions. "You still smell like the ocean and cheesecake." He hums.

The person laughs softly. "You and Daniel, I swear." He smiles. "It's been a while hasn't it?"

Tommy nods slightly with a yawn, being too tired to put up his grumpy front as he had the day before. Resting his head against the older man's shoulder he let Scott carefully run his fingers through his uneven hair.

"What happened to your hair? I thought you wanted to keep it long." Scott hummed curiously.

"Uncle burned it in prison." Tommy whispers. "Said that it was punishment for getting him put in there and if I was good he'd let me sleep in the bed instead of the floor."

Ok he was apparently too tired to lie as well, the fuck?

"O-Oh…" Scott frowns, making a mental note to ask George and XD about it. "Well...let's get some breakfast now, shall we?"

Tommy nods slightly, gently gripping onto the sash that went over Scotts' chest. He liked the feeling of it. The top part felt rough like leather but the underside felt soft like felt or cotton.

He felt Scott carefully lift him up and hook his legs around his waist before making his way off to the side. Snuggling closer to the older male he tried to go back to sleep but when he felt Scott slowly putting him down on a seat he whined and tried to grip on harder.

He didn't want to let go yet! His heart still hurt and he still wanted a hug.

"Shhh, shhh." Scott chuckled. "You're ok Toms. I just need to put you down so I can make you some breakfast."

Tommy thought about it but he didn't care. He still wanted to be held.

Reaching up he tries to pull Scott down so he could climb back into his arms but the sound of a bucket being carefully placed down made his ear flick curiously. Looking over he sees a blurry bucket with something brown peeking out of it.

Tilting his head, Tommy squinted slightly to try and see what it was but due to his impaired vision (thanks a lot fireworks and explosions), Tommy could only make out a strangely shaped brown blob.

"Tommy meet Chip, Chip meet Tommy!" He heard Scott say with a smile.

Tommy frowned until a pair of glasses were placed over his face and his vision became just a bit clearer. Curious about being able to semi see again he looked around until his arm was bumped by a wet nose. Turning towards it he yelps in surprise at the sight of a brown water kitten staring at him with its tongue hanging out.

So it wasn't a nose that bumped him. "Ew, Chip licked me!" He laughed as he turned fully towards the water kitten and spoke in a soft voice so he didn't scare the little guy. "Hi."

The water kitten blew a bubble at him before doing a little flip and splash in his bucket.

Tommy was in love.

Smiling Tommy remembers what Tango had told him earlier about Water Kittens being able to be out of the water for a little bit and instantly, but carefully, pulled the Water Kitten out of the bucket it'd been sitting in and pulled it close to his chest.

"Hi…" He whispers to Chip who just wiggles his tail and licks Tommy's face. "Hah! You're more like a water puppy!"

Off to the side Scott chuckled softly and took a few photos for XD and George.

"Why's his name Chip?" Tommy asks as he gently rubs the top of the creature's head.

"Well he looks like a chocolate chip don't he?" Scott chuckles, ruffling Tommy's hair.

Tommy smiles softly, completely entranced with the Water Kitt-Water Puppy that he didn't mind that Scott had touched his head without his permission.

"Why don't you play with Chip for a bit while I make breakfast?" Scott spoke in a soft voice.

"Can I?" Tommy asks softly as Chip rolled over onto his back with a happy squeak.

"Of course!" Scott smiles down at Tommy. "Chip loves it when people give him belly rubs by the way."

"But I'm not a person. Would he still like belly rubs from me?" Tommy frowns in confusion.

"What?" Scott asks in confusion.

"I'm not a person, I'm a monster and a tool." Tommy spoke in a dead voice, his eyes becoming glazed over. "I am Technoblades son, I am The God Slayer, I am a nature god, I am a psycho who used to hear voices, I am a selfish brat, I am the one that never should've been born, I am a stupid child who forgets to make himself feel better and I am a warrior that has to fight until there are no enemies left. I am not a person. I am a thing that exists for no reason other than my father needed to get rid of some adrenaline."

Scott searched Tommy's face for a moment. "Oh Tommy…"

"Huh?" Tommy asks softly in his normal voice, looking up at Scott when he spoke. "Did I...did I say something wrong again?"

Scott bent down and gently held Tommy's face in his hands, the teen leaning into his touch with a soft chuff. Looking into Tommy's eyes he saw that they were no longer glazed over and that confusion shined brightly behind those stormy grey eyes.

"No bub. You're ok." He smiles gently. "Why don't you play with Chip for a while and I make your favorite breakfast huh?"

"Ok." Tommy smiles, happy that he gets to play with Chip some more. 

"So, what's your favorite breakfast?" Scott asks as he stands up straight. "Eggs? Fruit? Porridge?"

"...what's porridge again?" Tommy asks with a frown.

"Oatmeal." Scott smiles.

"Oh! Um...I...I don't remember what my favorite is." Tommy frowns. "But I remember when I was living with Techno he fed me these oval shaped things. They were small and really sweet and they were all bunched up and they were green, like Tubbo."

Scott chuckles softly and nods. "I think the things you ate that one time were called Grapes. Would you like some grapes?" He asks, trying to help Tommy along with figuring out what he wanted to eat.

Tommy hums as he carefully puts Chip back in the water. "Yes please." He nods slightly.

"Ok, I can get some grapes but is there anything else you'd want to eat? Anything at all." Scott smiles.

Tommy thinks for a moment, watching Chip swim around in his bucket. "I-I can ask for anything…?" He asks nervously.

"Mhm! Name it and I'll make it!" Scott smiles.

Tommy fiddled with his fingers for a moment before he pulled the too long sleeve of his borrowed pajamas into his mouth. "Deo us'd bake dez-" Tommy mumbled around the cloth in his mouth but Scott quickly stopped him.

"I can't understand you buddy." Scott chuckles. "Can you take your sleeve outta your mouth?"

Tommy slowly removes the cloth from his mouth and takes a deep breath. "Deo used to make these strange...golden brown discs I liked. Can you make them?" He asks, trying hard to remember what they were.

Scott thinks for a moment before it hits him on what Tommy had described. Chuckling he nods. "Of course bub." He smiles kindly. "Did Deo ever put anything in the discs? Like chocolate chips or blueberries?"

Tommy tries to think back but his memories were very, very muddied. Whining he lays his head down on the table when he feels a headache coming on.

"You ok lad?" Scott asks in concern. "Should I wake up Doc?"

Tommy wanted to say no but then he remembered rule number 9. Nodding slightly he whimpers when a pulse of pain comes from his temple. "In the rules." He whispers.

Scott quickly walked over to the nest and shook Docs' shoulder until the creeper hybrid groaned and looked up at him with a glare.

"Whot…?" Doc asks in a groggy voice.

"Tommy has a headache." Scott spoke softly so he didn't wake up the others.

"What? Where is he?" Doc quickly asks as he starts to get up. "When'd it start?"

"Just a second ago. He said something about the rules?" Scott frowns.

"Rule number 9 you always, always, always have to tell us if you're in pain or if you get hurt so we can help, no matter how small the wound is." Doc says as he hops out of the nest.

Grabbing his white coat he quickly makes his way over to where Tommy was rubbing his head and attempting to hide from any light source that could make his headache worse.

Crouching down he gently turned Tommy towards him. "Hey bubba, can you look at me?" He spoke gently, cupping Tommy's face in his hands.

When Tommy's eyes met his, Doc was concerned about the fact that the teens eyes were red and puffy but he chose to ask about that later.

"Can you tell me what's going on bubba? Why's your head hurt?" Doc asks softly.

"Can't remember…" Tommy sniffles as his eyes grew wet again. "...what Deo put in the golden discs."

"Golden discs?" Doc asks, looking over to Scott.

"Pancakes." Scott explains.

"Ah." Doc nods as he carefully pulls Tommy into his arms and into his lap. "It's ok bubba, it's ok."

"Wanna remember but brain hurts." Tommy hiccups.

"I know engel*, I know." Doc whispers. "Do you want me to make it go away?"

Tommy nods slightly as Doc slowly rocks them back and forth. "No...No bad drugs…please…"

"No bad drugs, gottcha." Doc whispers.

Doc pulled out his cell and brought up the contact he needed. Quickly pressing call he kissed the top of Tommy's head as the rings started. After four rings the person picks up with a sleepy groan.

"Hello…?"

"Deo? That you?" Doc chuckles when Tommy suddenly looks up at him with wide eyes.

"Yeah…? Doc? Why are you calling so early in the morning?" Deo groans softly, bed springs popping in the background. "I needa make a new bed…"

"Because I have a question for you."

"Ok?" Deo sounded a bit suspicious.

"Do you and the BB boys still have your guest passes?" Doc questions, trying to dodge reaching hands.

"Yeah, why?"

"You guys wanna come over for breakfast?"

"Uh...I guess…? Why?" Deo asks in confusion.

"Because there's some-Agh!" Doc laughs when Tommy manages to snatch the phone from him.

Tommy hisses at Doc and quickly hides behind Scotts legs with the phone in hand.

"How do you use a cell phone again?" Tommy whispers before putting the phone up to his ear upside down.

"T-Tommy…? Is that you sunshine?" Deo asks in a hopeful voice.

"Deo! Deo I've missed you and the boys so much!" Tommy quickly says. "I-I'm so sorry I stopped the calls and letters. I was in Exile for a while then I lived with Techno then a war broke out, my home was destroyed an-and so much has happened. I'm so sorry."

Tommy rubbed at his eyes as new tears started to flow down his face. "I'm so sorry." He sobbed out.

"Hey, hey, hey, it's ok Sun-Sunshine. It's ok." Deo whispered. "Are you with Doc? Are you safe?"

"Mhm." Tommy hummed as he tried to wipe away his new tears. "Scar, Grian and Mumbo kidnapped me."

"Ok Sunshine we-we'll be right there ok? Just stay there." Deo spoke in a soft voice but it sounded like he was holding back his own tears. "Oh gods Toms, you have no idea how good it is to hear your voice. We've all missed you so much."

Tommy hiccuped softly as Scott carefully picked him up and set him down in the chair from before and turned the phone around for him. "Mi-Missed you guys too." He sniffles.

"I needa get off the phone so I can wake up the boys ok? Bu-But we'll see you soon. I promise Toms." Deo whispers.

"O-Ok…" Tommy sniffles again. "I-I'll wait here."

Tommy hiccups and wipes at his eyes again as he places the phone down. "Deo and the boys are coming." He whispers sleepily.

Doc stands up and smiles softly when Scott gives him a look. 

"Hey, if you wanted to know what Deo put in his pancakes then why not get the info straight from the source." Doc chuckles softly.

The God of the Night Skies just shakes his head with a fond smile. "Let's just hope X is still asleep by the time they get here." Scott chuckles. "Or you'll have to explain why there's suddenly three rowdy teens on the server."

Doc chuckles and looks over to Tommy. Cooing softly he smiles at the sight of Tommy fast asleep at the table with the Axolotl snuggled under his chin. "I think you just lost your pet for a while." Doc chuckles.

"Awww." Scott laughs when he sees Tommys fast asleep with his head on Chips' belly. "You good Chip?"

Chip squeaks and licks his eye.

"He's good." Scott smiles.

Chapter Text

Grian hums softly as he slowly covers an apple in caramel, listening to Tommy, Purpled and Scar chat at the table.

Today was Halloween and he was excited for the night's festivities. The whole server had come together and planned a secret surprise Halloween Party for Tommy and his friends that they made sure was free of any triggers.

No fireworks, no strobe lights or loud noises.

Only sweets, games, a movie screen set up to play some old horror movies, snacks and even a bounce house that False and Cleo had to chase Etho, Scar, Grian, Bdubs and Impulse from multiple times.

Looking down at his watch Grian smiles when he sees it's almost time for Deo and the others to arrive. "Tommy, Purpled!" He calls out.

Both blondes look over at him curiously.

"Why don't you two get your costumes on and get ready to go trick or treating?" Grian smiles.

"Uh...I'm 18 and Tommy is 17. We're too old to-" Purpled would've continued speaking had he not made the mistake of looking at Tommy. "Aww..."

Grian chuckles when he sees Tommy giving Purpled his famous puppy dog eyes. "You were saying?" He asks with a smirk.

Purpled sighed in defeat and shook his head fondly at Tommy. "Alright, alright! Let's go put our costumes on!" He smiles softly.

Tommy jumped up so fast that Grian, Scar and Purpled all reached out to catch him if he fell over but he didn't and raced upstairs to get changed.

Purpled sighs softly and crosses his arms over his chest with a fond look. "Did he do this when he was a kid?" He asks Scar.

"Oh yeah." Scar laughs. "As soon as we said that it was time to go trick or treating he'd race to put on his costume. Last time we took him he was dressed up like Jellie. She was so confused."

Purpled laughed at the mental image of Jellie staring at a child Tommy dressed as her with a shocked look on her face.

"Got any pictures?" He asks with a smile.

"Grian?" Scar smiles.

Grian grins and places a large scrapbook down on the table. "Page 16!"

Purpled laughs and goes to look at the photos in the book when a thump from upstairs startled him. Quickly running up the stairs he bursts through Grians' bedroom door to see Tommy laughing on the floor, half in and half out a dragon onesie.

"I fell." Tommy laughs when he notices Purpled in the room with him.

Purpled chuckled and shook his head. "I see that. Want some help?" He asks as he leans back against the door frame.

"Yes please, my foot is stuck." Tommy laughs as he brings his legs to his chest to show that both of his feet were in the same leg hole.

"Oh gods, how'd you manage that one?" Purpled laughs as he walks over.

"I'm excited." Tommy smiles, his tail thumping against the floor quickly.

"I can see that." Purpled hums as he gently patted the other blonde's tail. "Come on, help me pull your foot out."

Tommy and Purpled quickly yanked Tommy's leg out of the hole and laughed when it flung back and almost hit them from their pulling.

Laying back on the ground Purpled closes his eyes while Tommy buttons up his onesie. "So why are we dressing up like dragons again?" Purpled questions. "I thought you wanted to be Michael Meyers and Laurie Strode."

"'Cause dragons are awesome." Tommy says as if it was obvious. "They're big, they can fly and they make pog masks."

"You were too afraid to go through the scary costume aisle weren't you?" Purpled smirks knowingly.

The older blonde groaned when he felt Tommy lay over his stomach with a whine. "I saw a smiley mask and immediately ran back to Grian." Tommy mumbles.

Purpled chuckled and ruffled Tommy's hair. "Don't worry Toms, I'll protect you if that bastard ever tries to lay a finger on you again." He smiles, looking down at Tommy.

"I know." Tommy smiles as he leans back into Purpleds hand. "Now come on and get in your costume! I wanna go trick or treating!"

Purpled groans as Tommy dragged him over to where his bag that held his costume was. Getting an idea he closes his eyes again and lets his tongue roll out of his mouth.

"Put on your costume!" Tommy huffed.

"Can't, I'm dead." Purpled smiles before playing dead again.

He stifles a laugh when he hears Tommy do his little irritated foot stomp.

Opening his left eye a bit he frowns when he sees Tommy on his cell phone. "What are you doing?" He asks.

"Telling Ranboo and the boys you don't wanna wear your costume so one of them can match with me if they want." Tommy hums. "Why?"

Purpled glared at Tommys back and grabbed his bag. Quickly slipping out of his purple hoodie he throws it to the side and pulls out his purple dragon onesie and slips it on, struggling with the buttons for a moment.

Putting up the hood he stalks over to Tommy and takes his phone from him. Pulling Tommy into his side he quickly takes a selfie of them and sends it to the group chat while Tommy tries to process what just happened.

Cow boy: Fuck off, I'm matching with him.

Half & Half: Too late I found my dragon onesie and I'm already out the door.

Luke I am your father: Deo is already in his too.

Luke I am your father: So is Bitzel

Luke I am your father: So am I

Crow Father: Ok so it's gonna be Kakashi, Sally and Jack Skeleton with a horde of dragons following them.

Crow Father: This is gonna be fun.

Cow Boy: Fuck all of you.

Crow Father: XD

Tommy bounced on the heels of his feet when Grian gave him his trick or treat bucket. He was excited to go trick or treating but he had to wait until the others got there so he settled on jumping in place.

"Are you sure you haven't had any candy yet Toms?" Scar laughs as he wheels himself over to the two teens.

"I may have snuck a few caramel apples." Tommy smiles.

Scar laughs and leans back in his chair. "Make sure to save some of that energy then ok? We got a surprise for you guys after you get your candy."

"Scar! Come on, we gotta put on your control belt." Grian calls out.

"Coming!" Scar smiles as he wheels himself over.

Tommy nods and jumps into Purpleds arms, startling the older blonde.

"Really?" The alien asks as he looks down at the smiling piglin hybrid in his arms.

"Yep!" Tommy smiles.

"Alright." Purpled shrugs and helps Tommy keep steady in his arms. "You're lucky you're my best friend or else I would drop you like you're a hot piece of iron I got out of the furnace too quickly."

Tommy laughs and hugs Purpled around the neck, his bucket hitting the other on the back. "Can we go now…?" Tommy asks cheerfully.

"No." Purpled hums, walking him and Tommy over to the nearby couch.

Plopping down Purpled chuckled at the squeak that he got from Tommy. "Is it time now?" Tommy asks.

"No."

A beat.

"Now?"

"No."

A tick on the clock.

"Now?"

" No. "

A tap of the foot.

"Now?"

"Tommy I will punt you into the sun if you ask again."

A drip from the sink.

"Now?"

Purpled pulled Tommy back and looked him in the eye. Giving him a glare he tries not to laugh when Tommy puts his trick or treat bucket over his head. "Really? Gonna use your bucket to blind me? Real mature." The alien huffs playfully.

"Hey I am the most mature person ever!" Tommy huffs.

"You still fake gag when you see people kiss in movies." Purpled chuckles as he lifts the bucket up and past his eyes but still wearing it.

"...and you blush and look away, your point?" Tommy frowns.

"...touche." Purpled hums.

A knock on the door and Tommy is up and off of Purpled in a second to answer it.

Purpled groans as he gets up, rolling up his sleeves. "Scar, you got the first aid kit right?" He hums when a group of teens burst through the door and tackle hug Tommy.

"Whoa! Avalanche!" Grian chuckles as he and Scar walk over.

"Right here." Scar smiles as he holds up a bright red fanny pack.

Purpled nods and walks over to the group on the ground. Reaching into the pile he smiles when his hand touches fluffy hair. Moving down he grabs the person by the back of their onesie and pulls them out of the pile only to be met with the feline-like eyes of Luke.

The two stare at each other for a moment before Purpled slowly puts Luke down on the pile again. "Wrong blonde, sorry." He mumbles.

Reaching in he pulls out a random person and smiles when he sees he'd gotten Tommy this time. Carrying him by the back of his onesie he pulls a small pumpkin out of his inventory. Setting Tommy down he puts the pumpkin in Tommy's lap and goes to deal with the dog pile.

"Anyone hurt?" He asks.

"Deo is on my tail again!" Ranboo cries out before yelping. "Nevermind, now he's biting it! Come here you soggy noodle!"

Bitzel and Luke laugh as they roll out of the pile, both of them sporting bloody noses. "We landed face first on the ground." They laugh.

"Oh gods." Phil laughs as he, George and XD walk into the house. "Everyone ok?"

Purpled squints and tilts his head in confusion. "Etho…?" He says uncertainly.

Phil, who was out of his normal forest green kimono, frowned and tilted his head. Looking down at himself he remembered his costume.

"Oh right! No, no! It's me, Phil!" The man laughs. "It's a tradition between me and Etho."

"Ohhh." Purpled nods and looks over to where George was crouched by the couch, softly talking to Tommy.

"You gave Tommy a pumpkin?" XD asks curiously as he fixes his little spider bowtie.

"He likes pumpkins." Purpled shrugs as he gives Luke and Bitzel some tissue and an ice pack.

XD looked down at Purpled and quickly grew confused. "Alien Purpled? Are you aware you have a pumpkin bucket on your head?" He asks.

"Yep." Purpled nods before turning towards where he thought the couch was and walks forward only to fall over Lukes' leg. "...I'm ok."

XD hums as he watches the alien sit up and lift the bucket off his eyes. "What did I fall over…?"

"Boys! No! Break it up!"

XD looks over to Grian and Scar curiously. Looking down he sees Scar trying to seperate the wrestling enderman and something else hybrid and the last son to Herobrine. 

Laughing he turns and watches them, content to just stand there and watch the fight instead of treat or tricking. A soft crunch made him look down to see Tommy watching the wrestling match while chewing a big bite of pumpkin.

"...I take it the pumpkin is good?" XD laughs.

Tommy nods as Bitzel takes a bite of the pumpkin. The blonde looks down at his Pumpkin and gives a soft whine when he looks at his friend.

Bitzel stops mid chew and stares at Tommy. Spitting the piece of Pumpkin into his hand, the bear hybrid held it out to Tommy with a smile.

"Ew!" Tommy laughs.

Bitzel laughs and pops it back into his mouth. "'S still good!" Bitzel smiles.

"You are so weird." Tommy laughs before walking over to Phil. "Grandpa! Pumpkin!"

Phil looks away from the fight and down at the pumpkin being offered to him. Smiling, he takes a bite and hums. "Sweet pumpkin." He hums. "Are you ready to go?"

Tommy nods and puts his pumpkin down. Quickly walking over to Purpled he takes his hand and leads him over to Phil. "Ready." He smiles.

Purpled chuckles and takes Tommy's bucket off his head. "You're gonna need this." He smiles, holding the red jack o lantern shaped bucket out to Tommy.

"Oh! Thank you!" Tommy took the bucket and pulled Purpled over to Phil. "Can we go now?"

Phil chuckles and pulls up Tommys hood for him. "Yes we can." He smiles. 

Tommy cheers happily, excited to get the holiday started.

1 hour later…

Tommy wants this holiday to end.

His feet hurt, he kept getting made fun of because a few of the hermits' costumes made him jump, his stomach hurt from eating too much pumpkin earlier, his eyes hurt and he was a bit chilly from the autumn temperatures.

Yawning, Tommy rubs at his eye and struggles to keep up with his friends and family. Oh yeah, he almost forgot. He was also tired from staying up the night before due to watching Dead Silence with Purpled. He was actually surprised Purpled was still standing since the older had also stayed up and even boarded up their bedroom windows before settling down to watch kids movies and shows all night, both of them jumping at every sound.

"Tommy? You ok?" He heard Ranboo ask softly.

Tommy slowly nodded and weakly clutched onto his heavy buckets handle. He almost forgot that he'd been walking with Ranboo.

"Are you tired?" Ranboo asks softly, crouching down slightly so he could look at Tommy.

"No…" Tommy whispers, starting to fall behind.

He heard Ranboo chuckle softly before he felt a larger hand wrap around his free one. "Wanna go to Phil?" Ranboo asks softly, knowing how Tommy can get when he's really tired.

Tommy shakes his head slightly and leans against Ranboo a bit more as they slowly walk through the Big Eye Crews' shopping district. "I can still walk." He mumbles.

Ranboo chuckles and intertwines his and Tommy's tails together so he knew if Tommy was dragging behind again. "Want me to hold your bucket?" He asks.

"Dude...I'm 17, I can hold my own bucket." Tommy grumbles sleepily just as his buckets handle slipped out of his weak grasp, spilling its contents everywhere.

Tommy and Ranboo look down at it for a moment before Tommy laughs. "Or not." Ranboo chuckles.

Bending down the two quickly scoop up the fallen candy and dump it back into the bucket that Ranboo immediately picks up once every piece was inside again.

"You two ok?" The duo heard somebody call out.

"Tommy's tired!" Ranboo calls back before Tommy could protest.

Tommy frowns and punches Ranboo in the arm, making the duo hybrid yelp in surprise before laughing softly.

"Same with Purpled!"Grian calls out as he points to where Phil was giving a rather tired alien a piggy back ride. "Did you two watch another horror movie?"

Tommy knew that the question was directed towards him but he still turned to Ranboo. "Well, did you?" He asks as he crosses his arms over his chest.

"...he was talking to you." Ranboo frowns.

"Nope, I think he was talking to you and you can't prove he's not tampon wrapper boy." Tommy huffs stubbornly.

"I WAS A BANANA AND YOU KNOW IT!" Ranboo shrieks to which Tommy just covers his ears and laughs.

"Tommy, I was talking to you!" Grian calls out.

Tommy sags and chuckles nervously. "Maybe!" He calls back.

"What did we say about watching horror movies at night?" Scar calls out next.

"Not to because that's how we get nightmares or panic attacks." Tommy pouts.

Ranboo chuckles and shakes his head. "Watching horror movies at night, for shame." He grins as the two walk forward again to meet up with the group.

Tommy frowns and uses his tail to yank on Ranboos', successfully knocking the other onto his ass. He smirks when the duo-colored teen lets out a surprised yelp at the action.

"Tampon wrapper boy." He smirks.

"...I was a banana." Ranboo huffs.

George chuckles when he sees Tommy, Luke and Bitzel chase after a raccoon, all three of them holding apples out to the trash panda. "Be careful boys!" He calls out as he picks up their dropped buckets.

Moving to stand next to XD he holds out all three boys' buckets to Jevin who watches Tommy run straight into a tree with a laugh.

"Looks like the kids are lively today." Jevin chuckles, placing goodie bags into the buckets.

"I gave Tommy a Bang mixed with a Five Hour Energy." Deo smiles as Purpled jumps on his back, shaking like a Chihuahua. "Him too."

Jevin looks to Phil and George in concern. "Should I be concerned?" He asks.

"Don't worry mate, they'll probably crash around midnight." Phil chuckles as Tommy clings to his side with a shaky giggle.

Phil looks down at Tommy and smirks. "Hi bud. I see you made a friend." He gestures to the Raccoon on his grandson's back.

"I can see math." Tommy whispers before running off again.

The group was quiet for a moment before Deo burst out laughing. "What the fuck?!" He laughs.

"XD?" George frowns as he struggles to remove Purpled from Deos' back.

"Yes dear?" XD hums in amusement.

"Remind me to add Five Hour Energy to the list of things Tommy isn't allowed to drink." George huffs, pulling on the back of Purpleds onesie. "Same with Purpled."

"Noted." XD smiles as Jevin gets tackle hugged by Tommy behind him.

<XisumaVoid whispered to you>: Everythings' set up! You can bring the kids over!

Grian smiles at the message and turns to Scar, showing him his communicator. "Sweet!" Scar smiles.

Turning towards the group Grian nods towards XD who nods back.

"Children! Let us go to spawn!" XD calls out to the chatting teens not too far off the path. "Phil! That means you too!"

Phil, who had been relaxing in the grass, held up a thumbs up before sitting up with a groan. "Is the surprise ready?" He calls out.

"Yep, now let's go!" Scar grins excitedly.

Phil grunts as he gets up, counting the teens as they walk past him. He frowned when he realized he was missing three dragons. Looking around he chuckles when he sees Tommy and Purpled stuck in a tree while Ranboo was trying to get them down.

"Why did you two climb up there if you knew you couldn't get down?!" Ranboo calls up the tree.

"Apples!" Tommy calls out before yelping when he almost fell off the branch but was caught by Purpled. "They called to us!"

"You have apples in your buckets!" Ranboo sighs.

Purpled yelped at Ranboo, holding a giggly Tommy close.

"Don't you use that tone with me, young alien!" Ranboo scolds.

Phil chuckles and walks over. "You can understand him?"

"Huh? Oh hi Phil." Ranboo smiles.

"Hey mate." Phil smiles back.

"You're about to be tackled."

"Huh?"

Phil yelped when he was suddenly jumped on by Tommy and Purpled, falling onto his back in the grass. Groaning he slowly sits up and gives the two laughing blondes a glare as they roll around in the grass.

"Told ya you were gonna be tackled." Ranboo smirks.

"Shut." Phil huffs.

"Come on, come on!" Grian smiles as they finally make it to spawn.

Grian and Scar race ahead and smile. "Ta da!" They cheer.

The teens look around in awe at the spawn.

Just that morning the area had only had a few structures here and there but now there were stalls and stalls of games, snacks and delicious smelling food.

There was a jack o 'lantern carving station, a DJ area, a dance floor, bounce house and a giant movie screen not too far away from the carving station.

"What is this?" Ranboo asks as he crouches down near a bobbing for apple station.

"Those are apples." Luke smiles.

Ranboo gave Luke a deadpan look as the others laughed.

Grian, Scar and the other adults laugh softly. "It's a Halloween party!" Grian smiles.

"Come on! Let's go play some games!" Scar calls out, already running for the ring toss game that TFC was running.

Purpled looked around, a bit uncertain, as the other teens ran into the party and already started to play games and dance like loons. All except one.

"Purp? You ok?" Tommy asks softly.

Purpled looked around again before looking back at Tommy. "Y-Yeah...I'm ok. Just a bit nervous. You remember what happened the last few times that...that we've been at festivals." He frowns.

Tommy gives Purpled a soft smile and takes his hand in his.

Purpled looked at their hands then at Tommy in confusion. 

"We're not there anymore Purp, we're safe here." Tommy smiles. "You know, Henry used to get scared of all of the attention he got from his uncles, aunts and papas. All the kisses, hugs, questions and the crowds of people always got to him. Which was why he always ran to me and was such a mamas' boy."

Purpled chuckled softly when he remembered how Henry would always hide either behind Tommy or beg him to pick him up when everybody crowded the poor kid.

"Not to be rude, but what does that have to do with you holding my hand?" Purpled questions.

"Well, when I took Henry to the nether to play with the baby zombie piglins he would sometimes get nervous about leaving my side." Tommy explains. "So I'd take his hand in mine, give it a little squeeze and say; I know it's a little scary but I'm right here and I would never, ever, ever let you get hurt. So go have fun and play."

Purpled smiles softly as he listened.

"So I'll tell you this Purp!" Tommy chirps. "I'm right by your side and I'm not going anywhere ok? Let's tackle the scary-ness together!"

Purpled chuckles when Tommy fist bumped the air with his free hand with a cheer. Mirroring Tommy he laughs when he is pulled into the party.

That night Tommy, Purpled and all of their friends played games, carved pumpkins, played in the bounce house and ate too much delicious food together.

But at the end of the night the group of teens were found by XD and TFC, fast asleep in the bounce house with smiles still on their sleeping faces.

Chapter Text

Deo. Was. PISSED.

No, no, no, he wasn't pissed. He was fucking furious. He was seeing red. He was seething. He was...he was...he was INFURIATED!

For the first time in over a fucking year he had just seen Tommy and now he had to step outside to stop himself from destroying Tangos' candle and copper shop.

Tommy had broke down and told them what had happened to him and honestly he wanted to murder ever Wastaken - minus Tommy and Drista - and Tubbo and Techno and Sam! He wanted to kill his own fucking adoptive father, that's how pissed he was.

He had trusted Tubbo, Techno and the other people on that stupid SMP to take care of his Tommy...did he say his? He meant their Tommy.

He knew Tommy's mind had been slipping for years but now it's getting worse due to all of the trauma that could've all been avoided if somebody spoken up for a fucking CHILD but nobody fucking did.

Now Deo wanted them dead. They hurt somebody he cares about so now he was gonna hurt them.

"Deo?"

Deo looks over his shoulder at Wisp, the masked man standing a few feet behind him. "What?" He growls.

It wasn't too long ago that he and the boys let Wisp join their private server under the condition that he stay away from them, the wound made by his betrayal still open. Hey, they felt bad that he couldn't find a place to stay after SMP Earth shut down.

"We uh...we were about to put in Deep Blue Sea. You gonna come in and watch?" Wisp asked in a soft, unsure voice.

"...really? You're gonna make a traumatized shark hybrid watch a bunch of sharks get killed?" Deo asks, a tiny bit of his anger melting into humor.

He watches Wisp think about it for a moment before rushing up the stairs to the shop and quickly opening the door. "No Deep Blue Sea!" Wisp shouted into the building.

Deo huffs, a small smile making it to his face. Shaking his head he pulls out his phone and opens his contacts. Scrolling through the list he ignores the pang in his heart at the sight of Schlatts smiling face on his contact and clicked on the one named 'Schlatt Toby'.

Putting the phone up to his ear he listens to the rings until-

"Hello…?"

Deo bit back his anger as he listened to Tubbo shuffle around a bit on the other end. Taking a deep breath he looked out to the water and watched the sunrise over the horizon.

"So after everything he's done for you you fucking exile Tommy with his twisted minded, manipulative, abusive and creepy Uncle? Then not only did you replace him once more with Ranboo you also replaced Henry with a Zombie Piglin child. Oh yeah, you left him to die to those bastards who chose to blame everything on him all because you didn't want to fucking be accociated with him." Deo chuckles humorlessly. "I thought you were the best friend. Sounds more like you're the number one cause of his new nightmares."

"D-Deo I...I had to ok? I had to exile Tommy, he fucking burned-!"

"Wrong!" Deo quickly interrupted. "If you had even bothered to check with that forgetful husband of yours you might've known that they were together, testing how fast Tommy could swim in and out of shark form. He had an alibi. You just didn't listen, just like always."

"But Dream said-!"

"Dream is a manipulative bastard Tubbo. He's been hurting Tommy since he was a fucking child, he knew how to make it seem like Tommy had done it and even knew how to trick Tommy into believing he'd done it too." Deo frowns. "So instead of listening to the guy that loved and cared for you more than he ever cared about his own fucking life, you listened to the psycho and abandoned him. You made his number one fucking fear real."

"...I…"

"You left him all alone Tubbo. You left him with his voices, with people who wanted him dead because of things he couldn't fucking control." Deo spoke in a voice that only held anger and disgust. "You were his best friend and he fucking needed you but where were you Toby? Certainly not by his side like he'd always been for you. He's killed people, burned down buildings and even gave up a fucking life for you. What the fuck did you do for him?"

"...I let him live with-"

"Please! That mansion was Ranboos only you idiot. Ranboo let Tommy live with you guys, not you. Now try again." Deo frowns.

"I...I held him through his nightmares and made him warm milk to calm him down."

"Oh wow! You were a decent human fucking being. Congrats." Deo sneered.

"What do you want from me Deo?! I know I fucked up, I know I can never take it back so what the fuck do you want me to do?!" 

"Suffer." Deo growls. "I want you to suffer just as much as Tommy did."

Bringing the phone away from his ear he ends the call and turns around only to be met by Tommy staring at him with a worried look on his face.

"Hey Sunshine, what's goin' on?" He asks softly, tucking his phone back into his pocket.

He watches Tommy fiddle with his fingers for a moment before looking up at him.

"Why did you say you wanted somebody to suffer?" Tommy asks quietly. "Suffering isn't fun. It hurts. A lot."

Deo smiles softly, more of his anger melting away as he walks closer. Pulling the shorter boy into a hug he rubs up and down his back.

"Nevermind that Sokar*, let's go watch a movie huh?" He whispers, smiling softly when he felt the rumbles against his chest that told him Tommy was purring.

"Ok. Can we watch Halloween?" Tommy asks softly as he is led back inside. "Luke said I can't watch Deep Blue Sea."

"Of course we can Sokar, of course." Deo chuckles softly as he gives his friend a squeeze.

Bitzel didn't know what to feel right now.

He was happy, ecstatic even, to see Tommy again but he was also mad and sad about the things that had happened to the younger boy.

He knew personally what it felt like to lose a family member and what it felt like to go hungry for long periods of time so when Tommy told them about exile and September 16th he knew how much it must've hurt his friend.

Sweet berries being placed on his plate made him look up to see Tommy silently slipping the fruit onto his plate of pancakes.

"Boss? What are you doing?" He asks softly.

"Giving you my berries." Tommy hums, sitting back. "I know you love sweet berries and you look hungry."

Bitzel looks down at his berries before looking at Tommy. The blonde had forgone syrup for his pancakes and opted to just pick them up and take small, calculated bites. It hurt so bad to see his boss acting like this.

"You know you'll get to eat later...right?" Bitzel asks gently, immediately regretting his words when he sees Tommy flinch.

Tommy looked up at him with a confused look before he nodded and took a bigger bite. "R-Right. Not used to that anymore…" He whispered.

Bitzel looked down at his plate again before carefully putting his plate down on the floor. Quickly unzipping his hoodie he slips it off and turns towards Tommy. "Move up a bit Boss." Bitzel whispers.

Tommy sat forward a bit and Bitzel quickly wrapped his hoodie around the smaller boy and felt a bit sick at the sight of Tommy, somebody who used to fit the same size clothes as him, looked dwarfed in his hoodie.

"Warm…" Tommy whispers, pulling the hoodie around him more.

Bitzel smiles softly and moves a bit forward more so he is sitting next to Tommy again. Pulling him close he watches Tommy snuggle into the dark blue hoodie with a soft sigh.

"I missed you." Tommy whispers.

Bitzel smiles and kisses the top of the blonde's head. "I missed you too Tesoro*." He whispered back.

"Hey! The den is ready!" Deo calls out proudly. "I think it came out pretty good."

Bitzel looked over at the little blanket fort that Deo was calling a den and rolled his eyes. "Not bad for a first timer." He jokes, helping Tommy stand up.

Deo laughed and ducked into the den.

Bitzel looked down at Tommy as they walked over to the den and had to ignore how his heart ached when he saw Tommy biting his lip and sweat started to form on his forehead.

"Foot hurt?" Bitzel asks softly.

"H-Huh? N-No...no I'm ok." Tommy whispers, leaning more on Bitzel.

"Toms...Toms you know it's ok to not be ok right? You don't have to hide how you feel. Especially from us." Bitzel frowns.

Tommy was silent for a moment before shaking his head. "No...no it's not." He frowns. "Everytime I show that I don't feel good or something...everybody leaves me. I don't want you guys to leave me. I just got you back."

Bitzel looks down at Tommy and feels a new emotion joining the others.

That emotion was hatred.

Hatred towards those bastards he trusted to protect Tommy, to love Tommy like they did.

He felt hatred towards Techno and Foolish boiling deep in his soul.

He felt hatred towards the Dream SMP members who did nothing to protect Tommy or even just help the kid when he very obviously needed it.

He was going to make those bastards pay.

"Ow…"

Bitzel looked down at Tommy and quickly let go of him so Wisp could take him when he saw his claws had dug into his younger friend's arm. "I-I didn't...I...I'm sorry." He quickly apologizes as Wisp unbuttons the blondes pajama shirt a bit so he could slip it past his shoulder.

Bitzel whines and feels his stubby bear ears lower a bit when he sees that Tommy's arm was already bruised. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorr-" The bear hybrid would've gone on and on about how sorry he was but he was stopped when Tommy suddenly fell into his arms.

Wrapping his arms carefully around Tommy he looks down at the blonde and watches as he nuzzles against Bitzels chest with a soft purr.

"It's ok Bit, I know you didn't mean it." Tommy whispers, his words a bit deeper due to his purr. "Don't cry."

Bitzel was confused until he felt that his face had become wet. Sniffling he quickly wiped at his eyes and laid his cheek against Tommy's head. 

"I'm not crying, you're seeing things Tesoro." He whispers.

"Uh huh, whatever you say little cub." Tommy chuckled softly.

"...shut." Bitzel smirks, earning him another chuckle.

"Baby bear. Tiny, tiny bear. Barely a grisly, still just cub."

"I will drop you, I swear to XD." Bitzel frowns, glaring down at Tommy playfully.

Tommy laughs and squeezes Bitzel tighter. "No! I don't wanna faceplant you asshole!"

"Ay! There's our Toms!" Bitzel laughs.

He felt Tommy's purr before he heard it suddenly get louder.

Smiling, he holds Tommy close and rubs up and down his back gently.

He may want to get revenge for his friend and kill those bastards for what they did but he couldn't bring himself to pull away from Tommy. Not when he just got him back.

So, for now, revenge can wait until after a Michael Meyers movie marathon.

Wisp sighs softly as he leans back against the wall that the "den" was pressed against. He had no idea what he was doing there. He had betrayed his friends not too long ago in order to get more power from Technoblade and Philza.

He did regret what he did especially when a server wide call had been put out about a medical emergency from Business Bay for Tommy. 

Apparently the blonde had fallen very, very ill due to his piglin instincts acting up because of losing a drift member. But luckily a few SMP Earth members did have some medical training and were teleported over to help before Business Bay could lose Tommy.

What? Spying? No! He wasn't….ok he may have spied just a tiny bit. He was worried, sue him.

Sighing again Wisp ran a hand down his mask until he felt something tapping his foot. Looking forward again he frowns curiously when he sees Tommy sitting in front of him with a pancake hanging from his mouth.

He watches as Tommy silently sits back and takes a bite of his Sweet Berry Pancake before he holds it out to Wisp. "...uh…" Wisp looks over Tommy's shoulder at Deo.

Deo just smirks and takes a bite of his pancake.

Oh Wisp was putting maple syrup in his hair later. 

Sighing, Wisp looks back at Tommy and frowns when he sees that the younger boy hadn't stopped holding out the pancake to him.

"I-I'm good bos-...I mean Tommy." He sighs. "I'm plenty full."

Leaning back against the wall, Wisp closes his eyes and tries not to listen to Deo and Bitzels chuckles at how Michael was killing people on the screen. Or at least he was trying to but when a body leaned against his he opened his eyes and looked down to see Tommy leaning against him, silently eating his pancake.

"Uh...you ok Tommy?" He asks softly.

"Mhm." Tommy nods slightly. "But uh...can...can you take off your mask? Please…?"

Wisp sucked in a sharp breath at the request. He hated taking off his mask since people tend to make comments about the scars that covered his face from a car accident years ago but he could see how hard Tommy was trying not to look at his mask and he could feel how bad the other was shaking in fear. So, with a sigh, he removed the light blue mask from his face and put it aside.

Covering his face with his hand he tried to ignore the non-existent eyes on him and just listen to the movie. But, yet again, his plan was foiled by a gentle hand carefully removing his hand from his face.

Looking down at Tommy he watches the teen give him a searching look before a soft smile spreads across his face. "We match!" He smiles, pointing at his own scar that went from his right temple to his left jaw.

Wisp chuckles softly and shakes his head. "Yeah, sure." He smiles slightly.

Wisp looks down and attempts to hide his face until he feels something being placed on his foot. Sighing again, getting tired of being interrupted when he's trying his hardest to hide, he looks up a tiny bit and is surprised to see a light blue face mask and a pair of black sunglasses on his shoe.

Frowning curiously he picks it up and turns both items over in his hands.

"I always wondered why you never took off your mask in front of us." Tommy hums, leaning against Wisp. "But I get it now."

"Doubt it." Wisp huffs as he looks the mask over. 

Huh. It had a little flower pattern on it. Cute.

"After my Uncle accidentally sliced my face when he was trying to protect me from a wither skeleton he and the rest of my family wouldn't stop asking if it hurt or would just stare at me with guilt." Tommy frowns. "Then whenever I'd go outside people would ask how a little kid like me could get such a big scar. It got bad enough that I started to hate my face because people always looked at me with pity and...and sometimes disgust."

Wisp looks down at Tommy curiously. "Yeah?" He asked softly.

"Mm." Tommy nodded. "People are arseholes."

Wisp huffs and shakes his head. "Tell me something I don't know."

Tommy was quiet for a moment before smiling. "I like lemons now. Ponky gave me one from his tree before it was burned down and it was delicious!"

Wisp looked down at Tommy in confusion. "Ok that was something I didn't know before but what the fuck? Why would somebody burn down a perfectly good lemon tree? Lemons are awesome." He huffs. "They make lemonade and some of the best salmon I've ever tasted."

Tommy chuckles softly and shakes his head. "You're silly."

"Hey you're the one that brought up lemons." Wisp huffs, slipping on the face mask.

"Whatever." Tommy chuckles before he leans against Wisp again. "Anyways, I started to wear one of my Uncles' old masks and it stopped the questions for a while. But one day I met a War veteran who had a huge facial scar at the grocery store with Wilbur. I freaked him out a little with my mask but after I explained he nodded and told me something that I won't forget...or at least I hope I won't forget."

"What?" Wisp asks curiously.

"Scars means that we survived something and we should wear them proudly because we lived to tell the tale about each and every one of them." Tommy smiles. "At first I didn't get it but later on I started to understand a tiny bit and for the first time in a long time I took off the mask and stepped outside. I still got stares and questions but I ignored them."

Wisp hums, looking down at his knees. "But how did...I-I mean you said that you…"

"Hated my face?" Tommy hums.

"Yeah…" Wisp frowns. "How did you get...how did you get over that?"

"Tubbo, Connor, Ranboo, Fundy." Tommy smiles slightly. "They never let a day go by without calling me cute or handsome and when I had bad days and hid behind my mask again they stayed with me until I was ready to take it off. Hell, Dream and Foolish both helped me on the bad days too. Even Bad, George, Skeppy and Sapnap helped, which surprised me. I still have bad days sometimes but I'm getting better at dealing with them."

Wisp looks down at Tommy curiously before looking at his shoes again, fiddling with the sunglasses in his hands. "Was that...was that why you hid behind a veil or face mask sometimes back on SMP Earth? We're those your bad days?" He asks in a quiet voice.

"Mhm." Tommy nods slightly. "But being around you guys helped a lot because none of you looked at me like a freak. Or at least when I'm not eating ten packets of those spicy Korean noodles." 

Wisp snickered and looked down at Tommy. "How the fuck did you eat those by the way?"

"Dude, I grew up with Tubbo and Drista. As soon as they found out about those fucking noodle packets they demanded I ate them with them. It hurt the first time because we messed up and didn't put enough water in the pot! It felt like I ate lava again!" Tommy shouts, making Wisp laugh and Deo and Bitzel to jump and look at them in confusion.

"Those fuckers kept trying too!" Tommy shouts. "So I had to keep eating them too! It didn't stop hurting until I ate it the way Skeppy made them since he got in on it!"

Wisp laughs and dodges Tommy's flailing arms.

"Oh gods, poor Rat man." Tommy whines as he drops his arms into his lap. "He heard so many curse words the first time Skeppy tried the extra spicy version. That was a dark day for the Skephalo household. Sapnap asked to spend the night that day."

"What the fuck?!" Wisp laughs.

"Yep." Tommy chuckles. "Mo-Foolish ate the extra spicy ones for the first time and the only thing he had to say was that it could be spicier."

"What even the hell is your mum?" Wisp shakes his head with a chuckle.

"A shark and totem of undying hybrid/a god of life and death/a god of the ocean and weather who started to date the guy who let me die in a prison and a person who wanted to kill me because of a crazy red egg." Tommy chuckles. "I still wanna turn that thing into a giant fucking omelet but the Eggpire said no and tried to stab me. I brought a frying pan and everything!"

"...I'm sorry, WHAT?!" Wisp shouts in disbelief.

"Yep. That egg thing needs to leave my family alone, like seriously it already got my great, great, great, great, great uncle, why does it want me and Techno so fucking bad?" Tommy frowns.

Wisp stared at Tommy in disbelief. How could he just shrug at that without thinking it was weird?! Just what the fuck happened in the short amount of time since SMP Earth was shut down that'd make Tommy think that an egg trying to kill him was normal?!

Groaning, he shakes his head and hugs his knees. He and the boys had been told about Exile and a few little things that happened like how Wilbur had gone insane, Techno destroyed L'Manburg and that Schlatt had died, oh and the fact that Tubbo totally dropped the fucking ball, but he had a feeling that wasn't all.

Wisp had to get to the bottom of this. He had to.

Luke sighs as he sits down next to Doc. Leaning back in his chair he looks at the egg timer he'd set to tell him when the cookies he was baking were done. "Ten more minutes." He huffs.

Covering his face with a hand he tries to calm his nerves. After he and the boys hugged Tommy super tight when they first arrived and asked what had happened and what he meant by Exile Tommy had brokedown and told them everything (it may have helped that they used the fact that he seemed to be touch starved to their advantage).

When Tommy had finished telling them about Exile, Wilbur, Techno, Foolish and...Dream, Luke had seen red and nearly left to attack the Dream SMP. But he had to be the level headed one, he was the mom friend and fuck if Tommy didn't need mothering.

His friend is practically skin and bones, there are deep eye bags under his stormy grey eyes that used to hold a baby blue color but now don't and Tommy seemed so...so lost.

Before Tommy would hold himself up high and laugh when somebody poked fun at him.

Now, after Deo said he looked like shit, he just apologized profusely and tried to fix himself up.

Before the younger blonde would stand tall and walk with confidence.

Now Tommy walked with a hunch and hugged himself as he walked, watching the people around him like if he looked away they'd attack him.

Before Tommy's clothes fit, they remind Luke and the boys of how an old style prince would dress for a day of meetings and army rallys.

Now Tommy wore somebody else's clothes because all of his were practically destroyed during exile except that stupid shirt Tubbo made him.

And before Tommy talked highly about his mum.

Now he looks awkward talking about the man and instead opts for talking about George and Phil with the brightest smile the boy could seem to muster.

Groaning Luke leans forward and lays his head on the table. "Why did we ever let him go to that stupid server…? We could've just done the puppy eyes at him and he never would've gone." He spoke to himself, his hand clenching and unclenching.

Looking over his arm he looked at his left hand and looked at the rose gold ring that Tommy had sent to him to replace his cape piece. Sitting up he runs his finger over the ender letters that were engraved into the gold.

'⟟ ⍙⟟⌰⌰ ⌿⍀⍜⏁⟒☊⏁ ⊬⍜⎍' (I will protect you)

Sighing he looks at the timer again. Five more minutes.

"You doing ok kid?"

Luke looks over to Doc who was nursing a cup of coffee. "Huh?" He asks softly.

"I asked if you're ok." Doc hums, sitting up slightly from his slouched position. "I know it can be quite a shock to see somebody in the state Tommy is in right now and you've been pale since you saw him."

Luke nods slightly, looking down at his hands again. "I'm fine." He whispers. "Just...Just making cookies."

"Kid, you don't have to put up such a brave front. Grian, Mumbo, Scar, even Tango have all cried once or twice after finding out what happened." Doc frowns.

"I said I'm fine Doc. Just...he...he looks so different now and he acts so differently too." Luke huffs, his brows furrowed as he played with his ring. "I just want to know why? Why did Tommy have to go through all of this when he's already gone through so much."

"His dad left when he was six, his psycho uncle pretended to be his father, he was taken and tortured by hybrid hunters, he grew up thinking that Dream was the only one that really loved him, he heard voices that screamed at him if he did something wrong, he started to lose his memories because his brain wanted to block out the trauma and now...now he's lost his best friend, he lost his son, his home, his uncle, his mother and his father." Luke sighs. "How the hell has he survived this long without...without…"

"Without giving up hope?" Doc finishes.

"Mm." Luke nods.

"Well...I don't know exactly." Doc sighs. "But I do know one thing."

"Yeah? What's that?" Luke asks.

"Tommy would never, never let the enemy win. He'd fight until either he was dead or the enemy was." Doc says in a confident voice. "My proof? Dream is in prison and Tommy is walking free, Foolish is feeling what it feels like to be replaced and Techno is now in prison for all the crimes he committed against his own child. Scott made sure of the last one. You should've heard how much he screamed at Sam for not doing it in the first place."

Luke smiled slightly and looked over to the god that was feeding a brown axolotl in a bucket.

"Good Chip!" Scott smiles at the Axolotl.

Luke chuckles and leans back in his chair. "Maybe so." His smile fell as he gently scratched at the table's surface with his index finger. "But he never should've had to fight alone."

He heard Doc take in a breath before sighing. "True enough." Doc whispered.

The room fell into an uncomfortable silence, making Luke's striped tail flick around anxiously.

"Just because Tommy fought alone before doesn't mean he's going to now kiddo." Scott spoke up after a minute.

Luke looks over to Scott, not expecting the other to comment. "Huh?" He asks softly.

"Tommy isn't alone anymore Luke." Scott looks away from Chip and gives Luke a kind smile. "He's surrounded by people who love him, people who will be his shield and fight side by side with him."

Scott carefully picks up his bucket of Axolotl and walks over to the table. "He may be down and out of the fight for now with some enemies ready to jump on the attack but he has people who'll form a shield in front of him and help him up." He continues. "From what I've seen in the past and even from now, Tommy is strong and I know we can help him get through this, even if it takes forever."

Luke smiles softly and nods. "Yeah." Luke looks over to the nest and at the sleeping Hermits and Drista, a warm feeling growing in his chest that almost immediately becomes cold when he remembers Tommy's nest back on the Dream SMP. "But...how do I know I can trust you guys with our Tommy? That you'll actually treat him better than the Dream SMP members…"

Scott frowns but nods nonetheless. "You're the mama friend aren't you?" He asks curiously.

"...maybe." Luke huffs.

Scott chuckles and gently pets the squeaking Chips' head. "Well, how about we make a deal?"

"What kind of deal…?" Luke asks suspiciously.

"The kinda deal that states that if we ever hurt Tommy like those sick people did or worse then you and the BB boys can kill me." Scott states.

Luke frowns. He didn't doubt his and the boys' ability to kill a god, they've done it before anyways, but he was a bit iffy on this. He knew Tommy cared about Scott since they'd met when Wilbur dated Daniel, aka RT, so he knew if any of them hurt him they'd be in big trouble. With both Tommy and Daniel.

"I...I don't know." Luke frowns. "Tommy likes you, trusts you. If we hurt you he'd…"

Scott nodded in understanding and tried to think of something else to offer before breaking out into a smile. "What if I turn you, Wisp and Bitzel immortal? I'd have to give up my own immortality in order to do it but with Tommy's own god hood he'd be immortal too so you guys can always be together!"

Luke stared at Scott for a moment. "T-Tommy's a what?" He asks in pure confusion.

"Did he not tell you?" Scott frowns, a slight tilt of his head.

Chip looked at his owner and immediately copied his head movement with a squeak.

"Ok that was cute but what the hell are you talking about? Tommy is a Piglin and Shark Hybrid, not a god." Luke frowns.

Scott chuckles slightly before leaning back in his chair and snaps his fingers. A moment later a thin book appeared on the table titled 'Godlings' in front of Luke.

Curious, Luke flipped the book open to a random page and was met with a picture of Deo. Frowning he looks over the information that was off to the right of the picture.

"Justin Deo Dude, Youngest Son of Herobrine, God of Chaos, War and Revenge. A bit temperamental and rough around the edges but is still kind, caring and loving towards friends and family." Luke read aloud. "I knew about the Herobrine thing but not about the god thing…who else is a God that I don't know of?"

"Schlatt was a Nature and Wealth god." Doc spoke up, putting his cup on the table. "And it's still too soon to tell but I think that Tubbo is a demi-god, born between Schlatt and a mortal."

"There's also Grian, Captainsparklez and I sense something in Mumbo but I can't put my finger on it. He could either be a god or a servant." Scott hums in thought.

Luke slowly looked from Scott to the book once again. Flipping the pages a bit he stops when he sees an old photo of Tommy looking back at him, a gentle smile on his face and Henry in his arms.

"Thomas Theseus "Tommy" Watson-Wastaken, Son to The Blood God (a god of war and destruction) and Son to Foolish the ruler of the seas and ruler over life and death." Luke spoke softly. "He is a bit naive, has a big heart but no tolerance for backstabbers or liars. When he loves somebody he cares about them with his whole being, not just his heart."

Smiling slightly Luke looks a bit further down the page. "Thomas is a God of Nature, the Ocean, Weather...uh...I can't read this." He frowns when he sees that the next few words are in a strange text.

"That's because Tommy hasn't figured out those ones yet." Scott explains, gently taking the book from Luke and carefully closing it. "Once he does it'll become visible on the page."

"Oh…" Luke frowns. "Well...thank you for letting me read it. Now I know a bit more about both Deo and Tommy."

"Of course lad. Now you should prepare." Scott smiles, looking towards the door.

"Prepare?" Luke asks in confusion. "Prepare for what?"

Not a moment later Deo walked in carrying Tommy in a fireman's hold, the blonde laughing and wiggling his feet as he was carried. "He's an idiot." Was the only thing Deo said before putting Tommy down in Luke's lap and walking out with a roll of paper towel.

Luke looked to the door then to the younger blonde that was laughing and curling up to him with a bright smile present.

"What did you do honeysuckle*?" Luke frowns.

"I ate three candles and a ton of honey comb then puked on Wisp." Tommy snickered, tucking his face into the crook of Luke's neck.

"...WHY WOULD YOU EAT A CANDLE?!"

Tommy only laughed harder.

Chapter Text

Sighing Tango looks inside his refrigerator. It was now mid afternoon and the other hermits left to make a little "surprise" for Tommy. He had wanted to make them lunch, maybe just a couple of sandwiches with some chips, but when he looked into his fridge he realised that he had no sliced bread or any sandwich meat of any kind or even jelly.

What he did have though was the junk food he'd bought the other day and he had a feeling Grian would spawn trap him if that was the only thing he fed the kid all day.

"I have to go back to the store." He groans.

Looking over to Tommy and his friends he raised a brow in confusion at the sight of four of the younger males staring at Luke in disbelief. "You guys good?" He calls out.

"Luke just ate your fish!" Tommy calls back.

"Oi! You had half!" Luke frowns.

"I ate half!"

Tango chuckles and walks over to the group. Looking in the middle of them he saw that, indeed, the fish that he had put down in a block of water to distract the younger boys was gone, only a tiny bit of blood making the water turn slightly pink was left.

"That's alright, you guys must be hungry huh?" He asks with a smile. "You all did eat pretty early."

"I threw up my breakfast." Tommy smiles.

"Yeah! On me! What the fuck was that aim?!" Wisp shouts, making Tommy laugh and hide behind Deos' arm.

Tango chuckles and shakes his head. "Well I have some food here but not much." He admits. "I'm surprised Scott even found the pancake mix. So I thought we could go to the store as a field trip."

"Only if you buy the snacks." Deo smiles, patting Tommy's head. "We all eat a lot."

Tango smiles and nods. "Deal." He smiles until he sees Tommy's grip on Deos' arm tightened a bit and his eyes widen a tad. "Kotek? You ok?"

Tommy was going to say something until he noticed that all eyes were on him. Gulping the younger blonde slipped the hood of Bitzels hoodie over his head and attempted to hide inside of it.

Tango chuckles and carefully turns Tommy towards him. "Hey, hey, you're ok bud." He whispers. "Wanna just tell me?"

"...not a child." Tommy whispers softly. "But...yes please."

Tango nods and leans forward so Tommy could whisper to him.

"I'm...I'm a little afraid." Tommy whispers. "I know we just went to the store but I'm still...afraid. What if there's a lot of people? What if they look at me? O-Or my face?! I don't want to go…"

Tango frowns slightly but nods in understanding. "Ahhh, I understand." He hums as he leaned away from Tommy. "But I can't leave you here alone kid, not with that bum foot."

"O-Oh…" Tommy frowns as he pulls the hood down a bit more.

Tango felt his heart melt slightly as he looked down at Tommy. He didn't want to force Tommy to come with them but he knew if he left Tommy alone then both Drista and Doc would be after his head. 

"I can stay with him." Deo spoke up. 

Tango was going to agree until he remembered what Mumbo had warned him about.

"Don't let Tommy and Deo be alone together. They tend to start wars or find some way to get hurt when it's just them. I once left them alone for five minutes and when I came back Tommy had a bump on his head and Deo had a bite on his arm."

"Uh...maybe somebody else should stay with him." Tango frowns.

"...did Mumbo tell you about the bite?"

"Yep."

"Shit."

Tango chuckles and shakes his head in amusement. He was going to ask if Luke could stay with Tommy when he heard a light knock come from his newly installed doors. "I'll be right back, you guys just...don't bite each other." He quickly says as he rushes for his door.

Pulling it open he heard a yelp come from the group. Looking over he spots Tommy biting down on Deos' arm and Deo biting Tommys' arm. "What did I just say?!" He calls out which earns him a muffled laugh from Tommy and a muffled growl from Deo.

Sighing Tango looks towards his door again to be met by Etho looking at him with amusement shining in his eyes. "I came over to ask if you wanted to work on a project together but I guess I came at a bad time?" He asks curiously.

"No, no." Tango sighs softly. "Just babysitting."

"Not a baby!"

"According to Grian you are since you're a hatchling!" Tango calls back.

"I'm not a birb!" Tommy calls out. "I'm a brute and a great white!"

"...oh look a cat." Tango states pointing behind the blonde.

Tommy let out a loud CHIRP! and immediately attempted to hide behind Deo until he saw that there was no cat. Looking over to Tango he looked so betrayed that Tango immediately started to apologize.

Etho chuckles and peeks over Tangos' shoulder to see who he was speaking to. "Hey, that's the kid TFC saw Grian, Mumbo and Scar with a couple of days ago." He hums before looking at Tango. "He doing alright? TFC said that the kid looked dead on his feet."

"He's...doing better." Tango sighs, looking over at Tommy. "He sleep walked right into the water last night though. Almost drowned."

"Dang." Etho frowns. "Is he doing alright now?"

"Well he ate three candles and a crap ton of honey comb earlier, then threw up on the boy wearing a face mask and the boy with the cat ears licking Tommy's hair had to brush Tommy's teeth free of the wax and honey and now he just ate half of the fish I put down to distract him and his friends." Tango chuckled. "So I think so…?"

Etho chuckles and shakes his head. "Oh dear."

"Yep. But now I have to go to the store and he thinks people are gonna stare at him so he's scared to come along." Tango frowns.

"So the babysitter needs a babysitter?. Etho smirks.

"Mm." Tango hums, watching as Tommy played with a worm that came out of the ground. "If I don't have somebody here with him then Grian and Doc will kill me."

"Well...if you're in that much of a bind then I'd be happy to watch him for ya." Etho offers.

"Are you sure?" Tango asks, looking back at Etho. "I wouldn't be troubling you will I?"

"No, not at all." Etho reassures. "I have a bit of down time and nothing to do. Hence why I wanted a new project."

Tango chuckles and nods. "Alright, thank you Etho." He smiles. "Come on, I'll introduce you to him."

The two walk over to the group to find Tommy biting down on Wisps arm while Luke attempts to continue to groom him. "Stay still!" Luke huffs down at Tommy.

Tommy looks up at Luke from biting Wisps' arm and growls. "Mine." Came his muffled reply.

"Kotek, release." Tango chuckles as he pulls a gapple out of his inventory.

As soon as Tommy's eyes were on the apple he released Wisps arm and attempts to reach for it. Unfortunately he fell forward and ended up face first in the block of water. Quickly pulling his head out he scoots away from the water and his breathing comes faster and faster until he starts to cry.

"Oh shoot." Tango quickly rushes to Tommy's side and pulls him into a hug. "Shhh, shhh. You're ok Kotek, you're ok."

Tango looks down worriedly at Tommy. He knew Tommy must've been afraid of water after what happened earlier but he hadn't thought he'd have this kind of reaction.

The boy was sobbing and gripping hard onto Tangos' shirt. He could hear the rattle in the teens chest getting worse until he felt the younger blonde being pulled away from him a bit.

"Squish, squish, squish!" He heard Etho cheerfully say.

Frowning, he looks over to his friend to see him squishing Tommy's tear stained face, much like that one scene with Ponyo and the baby. Looking at Tommy's face he saw his tears were still flowing but much slower than before.

Looking at Etho again he chuckles when the man leaned back and clapped before spreading his arms out. "Sad begone!" Etho commands, making a small smile appear on Tommy's face.

Tango looked down at Tommy and watched him curiously. The teen had stopped crying and was watching Etho curiously, small hiccups making him jump every other second. How did that work?

"Holy crap that worked." Etho chuckled. "I didn't think it'd work on a teenager."

"What was that and can you teach me, Grian, Mumbo, Scar and Doc that?" Tango asks as he helps Tommy maneuver a bit so he is comfortable in his arms.

"That was something I used to do to Phil's kids when they were little to make them stop crying." Etho chuckles. "Had no clue it works on teens though. It stopped working on Wilbur when he was ten. Poor kid, he was always so sad."

"You know my grandpa?" Tommy asks softly, cuddling closer to Tangos' chest. Hey, he liked Tangos' heartbeat. Sue him. Wait no don't sue him he only has a couple dollars at his access. "And my Uncle?"

"Grandpa? Uncle?" Etho frowns behind his mask before gasping. "Holy crap you're Technos' kid aren't you?! Jeez you got big. Well I'm Etho, an old, old, old friend of your grandpas."

Tommy chuckles and hides his face behind Tangos' arm, starting to feel sleepy already. "I'm not Techno's any more." He yawns. "He abandoned me so grandpa Phil adopted me. He's a better papa, he checks up on me and makes sure I know he loves me. He even spends time with me."

Tango frowns and presses a kiss to the top of Tommy's head which earns him a happy purr. "I'm sure Techno loves you Kotek. Just...in his own stupid way." He sighs, remembering what Tommy had told him the other night.

"No he doesn't." Tommy whispers. "He hates me, wants me dead. He's bad. Phil is good. He loves me, wants me alive."

Tango frowns but decides not to argue. He didn't want to upset Tommy any further than he already was. "Tommy, is it ok if Etho watches over you while I take the boys to the store with me?" He asks softly.

"Mhm." Tommy hums, already half asleep against Tango. "Your name sounds like mango, Mr. Tango."

Tango chuckles softly at the sleep reply. "Yeah? You like mangoes?" He asks.

"Mhm." Tommy hums as his eyes slide closed.

Smiling softly, Tango rubs up and down the younger blondes back. "Get some rest, Kotek." He whispers when he feels Tommy lean more into him.

"Is he always like this?" Etho whispers. "Falling asleep quickly I mean."

"Don't know. Doc said that Tommy's body might be trying to catch up on it's sleep." Tango whispers back.

"Huh?" Etho asks quietly, carefully petting Tommy's head.

"Tommy hasn't gotten much sleep for a long while. He actually couldn't remember the last time he slept without a nightmare waking him." 

"Jeez." Etho frowns. "Poor kid."

Tango nods, slowly standing up with Tommy in his arms. "He should be asleep for a little bit. But if he wakes up before we get back and he gets shaky give him a soda. It could be his low blood pressure or he could just need a snack. Doc said something about low blood sugar at his checkup yesterday." He explains as he walks over to the nest.

"I'm gonna have to give you my copy of his rule book for now but I will give you a copy when I get back." Tango continues as he carefully steps inside of the nest.

"Rule book?" Etho asks curiously, watching his friend carefully lower the sleeping teen onto a little mountain of pillows.

"Mm. Half of Boatem made rules for Tommy and Tommy made rules for them." Tango explains.

The blonde man hums softly as he covers Tommy up with a red blanket. "We'll be back as fast as we can. I just need to get some stuff for lunch and dinner, oh and some snacks for in between now and dinner." Tango quickly says as he stands up and holds out a book to Etho. "I'll call you to see how he's doing in a little bit ok?"

Etho chuckles and takes the book. "You sure you're not his dad or something?" He asks. "You're acting more like a parent than a babysitter."

"I am?" Tango asks curiously. "Uh...well I don't think he and I are there yet. We only met a couple of days ago after all."

Etho shrugs and carefully climbs into the nest. "Whatever you say old friend." He smiles behind his mask. "But don't worry, I'll take good care of your not-son."

Tango rolls his eyes with a chuckle. "Thank you Etho."

"No problem." Etho hums, opening the rule book. "Just get back quick ok? Separation anxiety is the worst. I had to practically drag Phil out of his house after the twins were born to get some fresh air. Then the little crap went and bought a fan and said that now he had fresh air."

Tango chuckles and shakes his head. "You have weird friends." He smiles as he carefully climbs out of the nest.

"Eh. He's not so bad when you get to know him." Etho shrugs. "Although he did try to force feed me cod last time I saw him. Crazy old bird."

Tango chuckles and ushers the boys out. "Come on guys! The faster we can get to the store the faster we can get back!"

"Separation anxiety~" Etho singsongs.

"Shut!"

Etho hums as he re-reads over the hermits rules.

Rule number 1 no treating Tommy like a baby 24/7, sometimes is ok but not 24/7.

Rule number 2 no forcing Tommy to take baths

Rule number 3 tell Tommy when you leave so he doesn't think you're leaving forever (added by Scar)

Rule number 4 no talking about the smiley masked bastard.

Rule number 5 no touching the top of Tommy's head without asking

Rule number 6 no asking about his scars, it makes him sad (added by Mumbo)

Rule number 7 hold Tommy's hand when you go out on a walk so he doesn't run off (added by Grian)

Rule number 8 he may forget so remember that Tommy needs his medicine every Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday (added by Doc)

Rule number 9 if Tommy wakes up from a nightmare, don't force him to tell you about it. just hug him if he wants it, but not then make him some honey milk (Added by Grian)

Rule number 10 absolutely no taking off with fireworks near Tommy

"Wonder why we can't take off near him." Etho frowns until he hears rustling. Looking up he chuckles when he sees Tommy slowly sitting up with a dazed look on his face. "Morning!"

"Morning…" Tommy yawns, rubbing at his eye. "Hungry…"

Etho chuckles softly as Tommy's stomach rumbles loudly. "Don't worry, Tango texted, saying they were almost done. They're just trying to find Deo and Wisp." He smiles. "They ran off to one of the nearby stores and now they can't find them."

"oh. Ok." Tommy yawns, scooting closer to Etho. "I sleep here."

The kakashi wannabe chuckles when Tommy lays his head over his chest and cuddles close to him. "No." He smiles gently. "No going to sleep. You need to be awake for when Tango and the boys get back so you can eat."

"I don't need to eat. I learned to go without." Tommy yawns.

Etho frowned at that but carefully sat up so he didn't jostle Tommy too much. "Hey, you ever try ketchup chips before?" He asks.

"Ketchup can come in chip form?" Tommy asks curiously.

"Yep! They're one of my favorite chips! Wanna try some? I got a few bags on me." Etho cheerfully says as he pulls up his inventory.

"Ca-Can I? I won't get in trouble?" Tommy asks softly, starting to sit up so he wasn't leaning on Etho anymore.

"Nope, no trouble whatsoever." Etho hums as he pulls out a red chip bag from his hot bar. "Here."

Etho opens the bag with a slight grunt. Pulling a chip out of the bag he holds it out to Tommy. "Try one, see if you like it." He spoke gently so he didn't scare Tommy.

When the blonde reached out and took the chip he smiled slightly. "Thank you." Tommy whispers before taking a hesitant bite.

Etho watched Tommy curiously, waiting to see his reaction. When Tommy's eyes lit up slightly he chuckled. "I take it you like them?" He asks.

"Mm!" Tommy hummed as he chewed.

"Want more?"

"Mm!"

Chuckling, Etho gives Tommy the bag of chips and takes out his own. "So, it's you and me for a little while." He hums. "What do you wanna do?"

He watches Tommy think until he suddenly perked up and looked at the door. "Can we go outside? I've only been outside a few times so far!" 

"Really? How long have you been here for?" Etho asks curiously.

"Um...I think three days and three nights. Tonight will make it four!" Tommy smiles, proud of himself for remembering.

"Wow." Etho hums as he stands up. "Then I guess we're going outside. Maybe we'll see some hermits on the way."

Looking down he quickly became aware of the fact that Tommy had a red cast around his foot. "Uh...maybe I should carry you." He hums. 

"No way man! I can walk just fine!" Tommy huffs.

"Uh huh. Stand up." Etho smirks as he puts a hand on his hip.

"Uh...n-now?" Tommy asks nervously.

"Yep. Come on, stand up and walk to the door." The redstoner hums, walking over to the door. "If you wanna go outside then you have to walk over here."

He watches Tommy gulp and felt a bit bad when he saw the teen struggle to stand with the cast on his foot. Crossing his arms he watches the other slowly walk over to him, dragging his cast covered foot behind him.

"S-See?" Tommy huffs, looking a bit pale. "I can...I can walk."

Etho frowns and looks down at Tommy. "Are you sure you don't want me to carry you? You're sweating a little bit." He spoke gently. "I won't carry you like a baby if that's what you're worried about. I can put you on my shoulders. I may be old but I'm still strong. "

"...I…" Tommy looked like he wanted to refuse but just sighed and nodded. "Please."

Etho nods and crouches down to let Tommy hop onto his shoulders. Once he was secure and Etho had a good grip on his legs he carefully crouch walks out until he could stand up fully without worrying about banging Tommy's head on something.

Taking a deep breath he starts to walk, ignoring the nagging feeling that a teenager shouldn't feel this light. He couldn't exactly see Tommy's face from this angle but he could tell he was a bit jumpy when they went near the water so he quickly changed course and started to head towards Jevins slime shop.

Maybe jumping on some slime would help calm the kids' nerves.

Etho sighs as he walks out of Jevins shop carrying some slime. He had to put Tommy down for a moment or too so he could go inside but he made sure the kkd would be alright. No being near the water and he made sure he had something to distract him in the form of a frog that had hopped over from the swamp. 

See? He's a good babysitter!

"Alright, now to...where's the kid?" He quickly says when he looks at the place he had left Tommy. 

Scratch that. He lost the kid. He's a bad babysitter.

Panic started to set in when he started to check the pools of water and the nearby trees only to find nothing but a creeper, zombie and a frog giving him a judging look.

Groaning, he starts down the path and ran towards Falses' base. Maybe she had seen Tommy.

Running past Scars' wagon shop he skidded to a stop with a frown. Was that…?

Quickly walking backwards he stops in front of the wagon to see Tommy and Keralis sharing the ketchup chips he had given to Tommy earlier with a frog on the top of Tommy's head. "Uh…" Etho goes to say something but he honestly had no idea what to say.

"Hi!" Keralis cheerfully says as Tommy tries to give the frog a chip.

"Hi…" Etho waves before turning to Tommy. "Tommy, I told you to stay outside the shop."

"I couldn't." Tommy frowns, shrinking a bit. "A creeper creeped up behind me and I kept scooting away with Hopper until Mr. Keralis came up and killed it for me."

"What? Crap it must've spawned when I left." Etho groans before crouching down to check Tommy for any wounds. "You ok? Nothing hurt? If I give you back to Tango hurt then I'll lose my deposit."

Tommy snickers as he was checked over. "I'm fine." He smiles slightly. "But I may have a dirt stain on the back of Bitzels' hoodie now…"

Etho sighs and stands back up with a smile. "That's fine. That's easily fixed." He turns to Keralis as he gently pats Tommy's shoulder. "Thanks for saving him, Keralis."

"No problem." Keralis smiles. "I know he'd do the same for me."

"I would! I just need a sword and maybe a shield so I don't take damage." Tommy confirms. "And I also need to put Hopper somewhere safe."

"Hopper?" Etho asks curiously.

"My frog." Tommy smiles as he points at his head.

Etho and Keralis look at the frog on Tommy's head.

It was a little orange frog that croaked at them when they stared at it. "Huh." Etho frowns. "Looks like Hopper likes you."

"Mm! I saved him from a salmon. Since he's little the salmon can eat him in one gulp." Tommy frowns. "I also...may have...smacked the salmon."

Etho chuckles and crosses his arms over his chest. "Why would you smack the salmon?"

"Because it was gonna eat Hopper! It was a dick head and you know it." Tommy huffs.

Etho tried not to laugh. He really did.

"Pfft!" Keralis bent over and tried not to laugh.

"Keralis, don't laugh. This is a pg server, he shouldn't be cussing." Etho smirked at his friend.

"I didn't cuss!" Tommy frowns. "Dick is an appendage and a name and head is also an appendage! So I only called the salmon an appendage."

"...did any of that make sense to you?" Etho whispers to Keralis.

"No." Keralis whispers back.

Tommy frowns and flips both men off. "I make perfect sense, you guys are just dumb."

Etho and Keralis laugh at Tommy's words. "Whatever you say Chirpy." Keralis smiles.

"Chirpy?" Tommy asks curiously.

"You've been chirping ever since I saved you and Hopper from the creeper so I thought I'd call you Chirpy." Keralis chuckles. "Sounds cute right? Perfect for a baby bird!"

"I am not a bird! I am a piglin and a shark!" Tommy huffs. "...I think. My family is all sorts of mixed up."

"Eh he's true there." Etho nods. "Wilbur and Techno are twins but Wilbur came out as a fox hybrid and Techno a piglin brute. Then there's Phil who's an avian hybrid and Kristen who's a goddess of death...his family is so mixed up."

Tommy chuckles and nods. "Don't forget my mom's side." He smiles. "My mom is a god, totem of undying and a shark hybrid while my blood uncle is a god who loves to make deals. Sort of like that strawberry looking dude from that show Schlatt showed me except that man was a demon, not a god….I don't think."

Etho raised a brow and looked Tommy up and down. "Huh." He frowns. "Your mom is a totem of undying hybrid?"

"Yep." Tommy nodded slightly so he didn't dislodge his frog. "He has a golden form and a human form. In his golden and his shark form he has an ankh on his chest which is really cool! Oh! I have one too but I need to be in shark form and I...I really don't want to go into the water right now. I was lucky Hopper was sitting on a lily pad."

Etho nods and pats Tommy's shoulder again. "Understandable." He hums. "Hey, wanna go scope out a place for you to build?"

Tommy looks up at Etho with a bit of hope and curiosity in his eyes that made the steel colored haired man smile.

"I-I can build here?" He asks. "An-And nobody will...will destroy it?"

"Destroy it?" Keralis frowns. "Why would anybody destroy something you made?"

"O-Oh...um...I-I mean…" Tommy stuttered.

"No." Etho quickly spoke up, trying to save the kid from the question. "Nobody will destroy it. I promise."

The look of doubt made Etho wonder what had happened over on the kids' old server. He had a feeling he wouldn't like what he'd find but he also wanted to understand the kid.

"Come on, I know a great place to build your first base." Etho smes, reaching down to pick Tommy up but the blonde frowned and shook his head.

"I don't want to build a base yet." He frowns.

Etho and Keralis share a look before looking at Tommy. "Then what do you want to build?" Keralis asks curiously.

"I want to build a...um…" Tommy thinks for a moment before smiling. "A restaurant! Someplace people can hang out, have a nice meal and it's something that'll help me pay back Mr. Tango for the candles and honeycomb I ate earlier."

"You ate a candle?" Keralis asks.

"Yep. Then I puked on Wisp." Tommy chuckles sheepishly. "Luke had to help me get the wax out from between my teeth."

"Why did you eat a candle?" Etho questions. 

"Because I wanted to see what it tasted like." Tommy shrugs. "It tasted like bees wax and string."

Keralis chuckles and leans back against the Swaggon. "You and Bubbles would get along so well." He smiles. "He did the exact same thing when he saw it added to his crafting book."

Tommy chuckles and leans back too...until he falls backwards into the wagon. "Ack!" He yelps. "...you both saw nothing!"

Etho smiles and climbs onto the wagon beside Tommy. "Come on Chirpy, let's go find a place for your restaurant."

"I do not chirp!" Tommy huffs.

"You kinda do." Etho chuckles when Tommy makes a tiny chirp in the back of his throat.

"I will bite you." Tommy huffs. "And not in the way that means I like you!"

"You bite people you like?" Keralis asks with a raised brow.

"Mhm! My grandpa Puffy said that it may be a part of my love language or something. I can't remember exactly what she said." Tommy frowns. "But I remember she said I acted like a cat."

Keralis and Etho chuckle.

"...wait. Where's Hopper?!" Tommy asks as he quickly sits up, looking around for the orange frog.

Etho and Keralis looked around them but came up empty. "Maybe he went back to the water?" Keralis frowns.

"Oh." Tommy frowns as well. "Can we go check the pond?"

"Not if you want to go check out the area for your place." Etho sighs. "Tango and your friends should be here soon."

Tommy sags but nods. "Ok." He sighs as he carefully stands on his good foot. "But you gotta help me set up a border for it so nobody takes my spot."

Shrugging, Etho nods and carefully lifts Tommy up but unlike last time he has him on his back instead of on his shoulders. After making sure he had a good but careful grip on the teens legs he starts walking...that is until he realised he had a tail.

Turning he sees Keralis following them with a smile. "...you coming with?" Etho asks.

"Yep! Thought I could get to know the new hermit before everybody starts to bombard him with questions." Keralis hums, quickly moving forward to be next to Etho and Tommy.

Etho felt Tommy tense up under his hands but he chose to ignore it for now. No use in making the kid stressed. 

"Is that alright Tommy?" Etho asks, looking over his shoulder at Tommy.

Tommy was silent for a moment before he nodded with a soft sigh. "Yeah." He spoke softly.

"Great! So how did you get that white in your hair? Is it a highlight or natural?" Keralis quickly asks.

Yet again Etho felt Tommy tense but this time he didn't ignore it. "Nope, no questions about the white or about his scars." Etho quickly interrupts. "Ask something else."

"O-Oh...um...oh! When did you first meet Grian, Mumbo, Scar and Doc?" Keralis asks this time.

This time Etho didn't feel Tommy tense up, instead he seemed to relax a bit. Smiling behind his mask he starts down the path while looking around, trying to find a spot for Tommy's restaurant. 

This wasn't so bad. He could get used to babysitting! Hell, he could probably introduce Tommy to Iskall! They would surely hit it off.

Now if only he could make sure Tommy wouldn't bite the poor man.

An hour later...

A soft groan left Etho as he stretched his arms. It'd been half an hour since he had begun walking around with Tommy on his back and had begun to try and find the perfect place.

They had walked around a good portion of the continent when they had decided on the area across the way from Joess' Respawn Egg (with his permission of course, he just wanted a free meal in return).

Tommy and Keralis were marking out the "skeleton" of his build using some wool that Joe had given them so he had a free back for a moment. But now he had another problem.

<Tango>: Etho I have a slight problem. Deo got arrested so it's gonna be a bit longer. Grian called to remind me to make Tommy lunch but since I'm not there I can't. Is there any way you can take him to your place for lunch? If you can then no junk food. Doc says it's empty calories.

He had to feed Tommy and if he was anything like Phil when he started on a project then getting him away from his future build was gonna be tough.

"Hey Etho! Chirpy fell asleep!" Keralis calls over, holding Tommy like a prize he'd just won from a claw machine.

Or not.

"Alright! I gotta get him to my place for lunch anyway." Etho calls back. "You wanna come over? I'm gonna make ramen!"

"Sure!" Keralis smiles as he walks over until his communicator starts beeping. "Oh uh I may have to have a rain check on that."

Carefully taking Tommy the canadian watches Keralis take out his communicator. "Everything ok?" He asks as he adjusts his hold on Tommy.

"Nope. Bubbles is trapped in the nether. He got some zombie pigmen angry and they're after him and his pick axe just broke so he's stuck in a little hole in the wall he made." Keralis frowns. "I always tell him to bring an extra pickaxe but he never remembers. See ya! Tell Chirpy I said bye and have a nice nap!"

Etho chuckles and nods. "Will do! Be careful." He smiles.

"Will do!" With that Keralis was off into the nether, leaving Etho standing with Tommy sleeping peacefully in his arms.

"Come on bub, let's get you some food." Etho hums as he starts for the horse trail leading to his and Iskalls' place.

"No." Grian huffs. "Take his name off that list."

"Grian it's not your choice." Scott sighs.

Scott had had a feeling that it wasn't a good idea to tell Grian and the other Boatem (+ Doc) memebers that Tommy had signed up for MCC. If only he'd listened to that feeling.

"Nox already approved his application and Tommy seems really determined to do this! I can't say no." Scott continues.

"Tommy is in no condition to do something like MCC! He can barely stand by himself for gods sake!" Mumbo speaks up. "When in the hell did he even sign up?!"

"He asked me about it when Doc went to the bathroom before Business Bay arrived. He asked for an application and I gave it to him." Scott frowns. "He was almost immediately added to the list of approved players after I sent his application to Nox."

"His blood pressure has been going out of whack, his breathing is terrible, he's severely underweight, his fucking oxygen levels are constantly low and he's having constant heart palpitations!" Doc hisses. "Take his name off that fucking list!"

"I can't! I'm not running MCC this month! Nox is and he thinks that having Tommy play would bring in a lot of people." Scott sighs. "Something about people wanting to see the great "God Slayer" in action after a years long disappearance would bring great publicity to the games."

"So you're using Tommy?!" Scar yells, starting to pace with Jellie right on his heels.

"No! You know I'd never do that! Especially after what he's been through!" Scott shouts, getting a bit angry that his friends would think that he was using a kid for views and ticket sales. "I care about Tommy like he's my own blood, I would never use him like that. Maybe to get me a drink from the fridge when I don't wanna move but never like that."

Scott saw a small smile on Grians face but it quickly vanished.

"Scott, Tommy can not be allowed to do this." Grian frowns. "Tommy is very fragile right now and is in no condition to do any of the games. He fucking tried to drown himself in his sleep last night for Death's sake! What if he tries to do something worse during the games?"

Scott bit his lips as he thought it over. Everybody that just watches the videos people post always thought that it was filmed all in one day but the truth was that it took at least a week to get through all the games, make sure people were ok with their temporary code changes depending on their teams and to make sure people were settled.

So if Tommy sleepwalked and almost drowned what would he do if he slept in the hotel? Would he end up on the roof? The pool?

Sighing, Scott sagged. "I didn't think of that." He frowns. "But it's already too late! Nox already made the announcement that "The God Slayer" was making his return debut at this month's MCC."

Grian, Mumbo, Scar and Doc all glared at Scott until somebody cleared their throat. The group look over to the door of Grians' house to see X leaning against the door frame. 

"If I could make a suggestion." X moved away from the door frame and walked into the house. "What if you guys come to a compromise?"

"Compromise?" Doc huffs. "Why should we? Tommy shouldn't be anywhere close to the games, much less the field."

"I get that but Tommy is making his first major decision after being on that hell server." X frowns behind his axolotl shaped helmet. "If you shut it down he'll think he needs to ask permission before he makes any decision and that wouldn't be good."

Doc, Grian, Mumbo and Scar all look at each other before sighing. "Maybe so but we're trying to keep him safe." Doc frowns. "He's just a kid."

"He's a young adult, not a child." X huffs. "And from what Tango told me a couple days ago, the kid hasn't made a decision for himself since he adopted that baby zombie."

"But what if he gets hurt?" Scar frowns. 

"Then he gets hurt." X shrugs. "He'll learn what his limits are and he'll be able to learn what to do when he reaches his limit."

"X, he's afraid of taking damage, he's afraid of TNT, he's afraid of Withers, smiley faces, the color lime green!" Grian growls. "He can't safely do MCC."

"Ah but that's where the compromise comes in." X smiles. "In exchange for letting Tommy play in MCC, Scott will be put on his team in order to ensure Tommy does rest, goes to Doc when he needs to and be sure he can safely play the games."

Grian, Doc, Scar and Mumbo frown but stayed quiet.

"If you're still not convinced or are afraid that Tommy will have a panic attack then have Nox put somebody that has helped Tommy in the past, somebody who won't hurt him and somebody you know will actually care." X continues. "Maybe...that Purpled kid, the one that's coming in six days. He seems to care a lot about Tommy if he's willing to make a deal with XD in order to leave and be with him."

"Well...he does have a point." Mumbo frowns. "Purpled seems to care a lot about Tommy and if both Purpled and Scott are on Tommy's team then I'd say he'd be the safest person at the games."

"And what if he falls in the void?! O-Or if somebody hits him?" Grian counters.

"Then we help him." Mumbo frowns. "Or Purpled or Scott can help him. He'll have people on his team that care about him, Grian, it won't be like on the Dream SMP."

"I-I…" Grian stutters, looking to Doc and Scar for help.

Doc crosses his arms and looks to Scott. "I'll only agree to the compromise if I can be Tommy's doctor during the event instead of the medics that are on duty during the events and Tommy is given a button or a signal of some kind of when he needs a break." He frowns.

"I-I'll ask Nox." Scott nods.

"No, you're going to tell him." Doc hisses. "You are a god and he is a human. If he disagrees then I think some force should be used."

"G-Getting a bit scary there Doc…" Scott chuckles nervously.

"Good." Doc huffs. "Maybe you'll fucking listen then."

Doc steps forwards, startling Scott a bit. "Tommy's health means more than some stupid set of games or views or ticket sales." He growls. "So if Tommy's health is in any way put at risk and it could've been prevented I swear I will make whatever the hell happened in Third Life look like a Dog Show. Am I clear?"

Scott gulps and nods quickly. "Cr-Crystal."

Doc nods and takes a step back. "Good."

"W-Wait! I still haven't agreed yet!" Grian chirps.

"What will it take to get you to agree?" X asks.

"Nothing! I'm not putting Tommy's life, sanity or health at risk just because-!" Grian was going to say something else before Scar interrupted him.

"Grian...is this because he died?" Scar asks softly.

Grian turned towards Scar with a heartbroken look. "Don't you say that." He quickly says. "He's a-alive and-!"

"I've seen how you look at that white lock of hair on Tommy's bangs." Scar frowns. "You're scared it's gonna happen again, aren't you?"

Grian looks down and wraps his arms around himself. "I-I…"

"Grian…" Mumbo frowns, moving closer to his old friend.

"He wasn't supposed to die before me." Grian spoke softly. "He promised."

Mumbo sighs and pulls Grian into a tight hug. "Grian he won't die again." Mumbo whispers. "He's not going back to that server but to say goodbye and he's gonna have his team with him and not to mention him ."

Grian slowly looked up at Mumbo at that. "He called back?"

"Yep and he's more than happy to be a guard for Tommy at the "goodbye party" since he has a few choice words for Puffy and Foolish." Mumbo chuckles softly. "Tommy is going to be safe, safer than safe even."

"Tommy has three gods guarding him now and when he's at MCC he'll have another god with him and a very protective Alien, Grian." Doc speaks up, walking over to the two. "And he'll have me as his doctor. I'll make sure Tommy doesn't die, Grian. I promise."

Grian sighs and looks away for a moment. With a sigh he nods and wraps his arms tighter around Mumbo. "Fine." He whispers. "But if Tommy dies I will kill each and every one of you."

Scar chuckles as he walks over with Jellie in his arms. "Want a Jellie hug to calm your nerves?" He asks.

"...yes please." Grian whispers, taking Jellie from Scar. "Thank you."

Mumbo turns to Scott and sighs. "Grians' on board but I want to know who the fourth member of your team will be be before I agree." 

"I have no clue." Scott sighs. "But once I do I'll make sure you know."

Mumbo nods and looks at Scar. "Got anything to add?" He asks.

"Yep. Only one thing though." Scar shrugs, turning to Scott. "Since this thing takes a whole week at the least you need to make sure that Tommy will have time between games in order to get his medicine. It's really important."

"Of course!" Scott quickly agrees. "I remember what happens when he doesn't have it."

Scar nods and sighs. "I'm fine with it then." He spoke softly. "Just don't stab us in the back Scott...unless of course you want to see why Bdubs was scared of Jellie and I last season."

Scott gulped when Scars eyes turned blood red and Jellie let out a low growl from Grians' arms.

"G-Got it…" He chuckles nervously.

Gods, new parents are scary.

Chapter Text

Doc groans as he plops down onto the grass. "All of my bones hurt." Doc groans as he is quickly joined by Scar and Mumbo.

"Same." Both men groan.

For the past hour or so Doc, Grian, Mumbo, Scar, Scott, X, Cleo, and Drista had been working on a surprise for Tommy. Something they hoped he'd like.

For now, Grian was made the main caretaker for Tommy since he was less likely to use TNT randomly, make a mistake with redstone that could cause an explosion (since he didn't use it very often), not to use a firework crossbow, not to yell when angry and he seemed to know a lot more about why Tommy had that white streak in his hair.

So the group had only thought it was fair that Tommy got his own room and a quick way into Grians' room when he wanted comfort or just to check in with him.

So for the past hour (and then some, they haven't tallied up how long it's been fully since everybody was still a bit heated about the argument with Scott) they have been tearing down every block of Grians' house and working on adding the addition.

So far they had managed to get Grian and Tommys' rooms done but now they still had the roof to do, along with getting the furniture that Scott, X, Drista and Cleo were getting back at Hypixel with George and XD (they were meeting at the furniture store) and they still had to go grocery shopping to make sure Grian had enough food in the house to support a parrot hybrids and a piglin/shark hybrids diet.

So you'd imagine why Docs' bones hurt.

"Oh come on ya big babies!" Grian huffs as his crossed face appears in Docs' vision. "We still gotta put on the roof and put down the carpet and the banisters."

"Grian, mate, we're tired. Can't we take a break?" Mumbo groans as he sits up a bit.

Grian sighs and collapses to his knees before laying on his belly with a soft 'oof!' . "I was hoping one of you would ask." He mumbles, resting his face against the cool earth. "I was starting to run outta steam ten minutes ago."

Mumbo chuckles and lays back down.

"At least we're almost done." Doc sighs, carefully sitting up when he feels Scar rest his head against his leg. Gently petting Scars head, which gets him a happy laugh, he looks up at the bas-house they had rebuilt. "Then we can bring Tommy down here and he can see his new room."

"How long do you think it's been since he had a room?" Mumbo asks softly.

"Probably the same amount of time it's been since he felt safe." Scar sighs. "C-Can we not talk about this? It's making my heart hurt."

"Mm." Mumbo agrees softly. "Sorry mate."

"It's ok Mumbo." Scar sighs. "Hey, back to happier notes, what should we make for dinner? We've got a lotta mouths to feed with the BB boys here."

The group was quiet for a moment before speaking in unison.

"Take out."

The four share a laugh until Doc flopped back on the ground. "Thai?" Doc asks.

"Too spicy." Grian mumbles. "Luke, Tommy and Bitzel can't eat it."

"Oh right, their hybrid traits." Mumbo mumbles. "Um...chinese?"

"Pizza?" Scar chimes in.

"McDonald's?" Doc hums.

"...ok I'm stuck on ordering all three because all three of those sound good right now." Grian chuckles.

The other three men laugh softly, staring up at the sky.

"All three it is!" Mumbo chuckled. "Now we just need to decide when to order."

Doc sighs softly as he starts to tune out what the younger men were saying since his mind kept wandering back to Tommy's test results he had gotten back that morning.

"Low blood count, slight grey tinge to his blood, heart palpitations, old wither scars…" Doc thought. "What the hell is this and why won't George tell us?"

A soft woosh startled the group into looking behind them to see "Group B" walking over with Tango and the BB boys, George and XD. "Hey guys." Doc smiles. "Got everything?"

"Yep!" Scott smiles, his arms full of posters and random bags full of action figures. "I got stuff to decorate his room with."

"He grabbed nearly every anime and game poster the store had and just about every Funko Pop that was on the shelves." Drista laughs, carrying a laundry basket full of clothes. "I grabbed him some clothes since I know his size."

"Hey! I did not grab...ok maybe I did, but only because I don't know what he likes anymore, it's been a while!" Scott huffs.

"Is that the only things you grabbed?" Doc asks with a yawn.

"Don't worry." X spoke up. "Cleo and I got the rest while they got clothes and decor."

"X grabbed the wardrobe, rocking chair, hamper, TV and an empty bookshelf." Cleo smiles. "I got the portable radio, laptop, desk, DVD player, bed sheet set and mirror."

"Nice!" Grian smiles as he sits up.

"We got Tommy some sowing and knitting stuff!" Luke chirps. "Thankfully we bought it all before Deo got taken to jail."

"...what?!" The group yells, all of them now sitting up.

"Hey! It was lock up, not jail and that bitch had it coming!" Deo growls. "Some lady came up and snatched Lukes' face mask right off of him and called him a monster for both wearing a mask and for being a hybrid. Then when Luke said that he couldn't control whether he was a hybrid or not and that he hasn't been vaccinated yet and the fact that we have a weak immune system friend at home she fucking jumped on him!"

"Deo kicked her and socked the crazy lady in the face and she screamed that Deo had attacked her first." Bitzel frowns. "Luckily the store had cameras so she couldn't get her Karen way. Bitch wanted to press charges."

"Geez, you two ok?" Doc asks as he stands up. Walking over to the boys he took out his pen light and shined it in Lukes' eyes. "Any head pain? Arm pain?"

"Don't worry Doc, I already got them checked out." Tango smiles from behind Deo. "Both of them are fine, no wounds or injuries."

Doc nods but places a hand on Lukes' shoulder. "Don't listen to that crazy lady, ok? You are not a monster at all. You are an amazing kid and unfortunately some people will react that way to you but they are all wrong. You are a kind, caring and loving kid. Ok?"

Luke chuckles and nods. "Ok Doc, thanks." He smiles, tail swaying happily behind him.

"No problem and as a doctor I appreciate you wearing your mask out in public." Doc smiles.

"Hey I don't wanna catch anything." Luke chuckles. "Oh! We should probably get these groceries back to Tangos' place."

"Groceries?" Mumbo asks.

"In our inventory." Wisp smirks. "Thought it'd be easier to carry everything and it was also in case Tommy decided to tackle hug us when we walk through the door."

"Wait. So Tommy's not with you?" Grian quickly asks, concern in his voice.

"Who's with him?!" Scar asks.

Etho laughs softly, watching Tommy roll around in the mud. Not too long ago the kid had come down with a tiny fever and Etho had thought that if it helped Techno as a kid it should help Tommy right?

"Come on kid!" Etho calls out to the very muddy teen. "We need to get you cleaned up and get some lunch in you!"

"We already had lunch." Tommy whines, sitting up in the large mud puddle Etho had made for him.

"Yeah but you're a piglin bud." Etho chuckles as he ruffles Tommys' hair, getting some mud on his hand. "You need to have two lunches."

"But I'm not hungry anymore." Tommy tries but his stomach rumbling sells him out.

"...do you wanna stay in the mud until I make your lunch?" He asks with a knowing smile.

"Mm!" Tommy nods, laying back down in the mud.

Etho chuckles and nods. "Alright but if anything gets near you scream ok? I'll come help you."

"Ok." Tommy mumbles, rolling onto his back in the mud.

Chuckling Etho starts for his base stairs. Thinking about what to make for the kid he missed the little pack of Raccoons that came out of the trees and were headed right for Tommy.

A couple minutes later Etho walks back down to get Tommy, having made a couple of sandwiches for the teen, and was shocked to see a bunch of raccoons either leaning against Tommy or laying down on their belly in the mud.

"Huh? Apples? No I don't have any." Tommy hums as he gently scratches behind one of the raccoons' ears. "I do have a pack of bubble gum. But I don't think you guys should have bubble gum. It's hard to get out of fur."

Raising a brow, Etho watches the blonde talk to the raccoons until they turn his way and start hissing, tails flicking and ears back. "Whoa, whoa!" Etho quickly steps back and raises his hands to show he means no harm.

"Guys! Stop!" Tommy quickly says as he goes to sit up but stops.

Etho watches Tommy for a moment until the kid starts to hack and choke. Panicked, Etho ran over and helped Tommy sit up. Patting his back he cringes when he hears the strange rattle in Tommy's chest get louder.

"Come on little buddy, let it out." Etho quickly says.

The raccoons run away quickly as Etho continues to pat Tommy's back. "Come on, come on." He whispers fearfully.

Once Tommy leaned forward and hacked one last time, Etho was surprised to see pieces of string coated in a thin layer of blood, something grey and spit sitting on Tommy's lap.

"Oh." Tommy groans. "That's the way they wanted to come out. Stupid wicks."

Etho looks to the string then to Tommy before frowning. "Wicks?!" He asks.

"Yeah, from the candles I ate earlier." Tommy frowns, looking a bit tired. "I puked up the wax onto Wisp, not the wicks. We thought I was gonna pass them the other way."

Oh. Oh right, the candles!

Sighing softly, Etho ignores that his clothes were now muddy and carefully lifts Tommy up. "Come on bub, let's get you cleaned up and get some food in you." He smiles gently at the tired blonde.

"M'kay…" Tommy yawns. "Am I allowed to take a nap?"

"Allowed to…?" Etho frowns. "Yeah, of course kiddo but only after you eat ok?"

"Ok…" Tommy whines softly, tucking his head under Ethos' chin.

Sighing softly again Etho makes sure he has a good grip on Tommy and starts up the stairs. Half way up he's stopped by a very concerned Iskall.

"Why is Bitey so muddy and tired...and shirtless?" Iskall frowns. "What happened? Should I call Doc?"

"Huh? Oh, no, no! He's fine. He was running a little fever so I let him roll around in the mud." Etho chuckles. "He may be a Piglin but he's still a pig and pigs need to roll around in the mud to regulate his temperature."

Iskall chuckles softly, the tension leaving his shoulders. "Oh ok." He smiles. "So I take it he had fun if he's this tired?"

Etho chuckles when Iskall ruffled Tommy's hair only to groan when his hand came back muddy. "Ugh…" He frowned. "Muddy."

Chuckling, the silver haired man started his trek back up the stairs. Humming softly he feels Tommy lean into him more and his breathing steadying. "Sleepy piggy." He chuckles to himself.

Walking into his base he heads into the bathroom first so he could get some of the mud off of Tommy. Carefully leaning him against the tub he reaches down and removes the plastic bag he had put around his cast. Tossing it in the bin he grabs a washcloth from the little cubby he set up and got it wet in the sink.

For the next ten or so minutes Etho cleans the mud off the teen and works on his hair, all the while trying to ignore the scars that covered the younger male. But his eyes kept catching glimpses of some of them and he wondered how he had gotten them, why had he gotten them. 

A lot of them looked nasty and looked as if they came from life threatening injuries. A lot of them also had the black lines connected to them, showing that they had been caused by a wither. The kid was only 17, why was he fighting withers?

Sighing he gently wipes at Tommy's face and frowns when he gets a better look at the scar that covered most of his face and even a small part of his neck. Gently moving some of the blonde hair out of the way he ran his thumb over the slightly bumpy skin and noticed that there were small patterns in the large scar that reminded him of fireworks.

"What happened to you kid?" He whispers.

Grunting softly he stands up and turns just to yelp at the sight of one of the last people he'd see on Hermitcraft.

"Phil?" He whispers, looking the other man up and down.

"Hey mate." The man smiled slightly.

Etho couldn't believe it. Phil was standing right in front of him. He looked a tad different.

His hair was much longer, just below his shoulders, and it was a shiny golden color with a red highlight covering a good portion of his fringe.

His baby face was gone and he had a bit of a stubble on his chin that looked a tad patchy in some places.

There were wrinkles around his face, smile lines Etho thinks they're called, and dark bags under his eyes that made it seem like he hadn't slept in a while.

Before the most jewelry Phil used to wear was his emerald earring but now he had on gold necklaces, a gold ring with an emerald in the middle on his right index finger and a gold bracelet with a little crow pendant hanging from it on his left hand.

Now there was one other thing that was different that worried Etho a tad. Phil had a walking stick with a golden handle and his wings weren't out like how they always used to be.

His clothes were a tad bit different too.

His dark green robe was replaced with a light blue coat that looked to be made for cold winter climates and his yukata was replaced with a white dress shirt.

It was also strange to see him wearing tight fitting pants instead of his flowy Hakama pants.

Even his shoes were different!

Instead of his wooden sandals he had on a pair of heavy duty winter boots.

But the one thing that seemed to stay was the man's white and green bucket hat and the katana on his hip.

"Been a while huh?" Phil hums, walking into the bathroom.

"Yeah. It has been." Etho smiles.

The two were silent until Etho suddenly punched Phil right in the jaw, sending the other to the floor.

"That was for leaving Wilbur all alone as a kid you idiotic fuck!" Etho growls down at the groaning man.

"Bad time?"

Looking up Etho frowns at the sight of Iskall standing at his bathroom doorway with a bag hanging from his hand.

"Oh. Hey Iskall." Etho hums. "What's up?"

"I brought over a change of clothes for the...the kid. He's almost my height so I thought...I-I'm sorry but why did you punch this man?" Iskall frowns.

"...cause I wanted to." Etho shrugs.

"Come on Etho, stop glaring at me." Phil huffs as he pours some tea for himself and his old friend. "Can't we talk about things before you punch me again?"

Taking a sip of his tea, Etho continues to glare at Phil. "Tommy said that he's Techno's kid right?" He frowns and puts down his cup, immediately lifting his mask back into place. "Then why did you adopt him and why did he say that Techno abandoned him?"

Phil looks up at Etho and gives him a sad smile. "Yeah." He chuckles. "After...after September 16th he needed a stable parental figure and I was the most stable. As for the Techno thing...that's harder to explain."

"Yeah, leaving behind one of your sons to fend for himself at such a young age was a real stable thing to do." Etho huffs bitterly.

"I…" Phil sighs and places a hand on his forehead, leaning against it. "I know I messed up with Wilbur but I've been doing really well with Tommy. I've-"

"The kid is skin and bones Phil." Etho frowns. "He asked me earlier if he was allowed to nap, he jumps if I move too quickly, he looks around for possible exits, he nearly cried when I yelled at the pot for burning me and when I gave him his ramen earlier he asked me permission to eat."

Etho watches as Phil frowns and rubs his forehead, an old habit of the mans. "I-I know." Phil sighs. "I've been working on that with him."

Etho raises a brow at this.

"After everything that happened between him and Dream...Tommy just hasn't been the same." Phil frowns, looking down at his cup of tea. "He's been even more quiet, jumpy, afraid to touch my things even if I tell him he can, he's terrified of yelling, he hates being in the water alone and he practically turns to stone when he sees anything that looks like Dream unless it's XD."

"Who's Dream?" Etho frowns. "What the hell did he do to this kid that made him so afraid of things?"

Phil sighs as his shoulders sag. "He's Tommy's uncle on his mothers side." He spoke softly. "He's basically tortured Tommy everyday of his life since he moved in with them with Wilbur and Fundy. I don't know about everything that happened but I do know that that bastard deserves to rot in prison for the rest of his miserable days until the day he dies."

Etho held his cup a tad bit tighter and nodded. "Fuck…" He sighs. "Where were you? You said you don't know what happened so where were you?"

"Techno was having trouble with his voices and he was terrified of going by himself so we had to leave to protect the others." Phil frowns. "Tommy was so heartbroken that Techno was leaving."

"Geez." Etho frowns. "But I'm sure you guys called and everything right? You must've told him beforehand."

Phil shrunk a bit.

"...you're kidding." Etho groaned. "God, next thing you're gonna tell me is that you left on the kids birthday."

Yet again, Phil shrunk a bit and leaned more against his hand like he was trying to hide himself.

Etho looks over towards Iskalls' base where he could see the redstoner helping use an old pair of his crutches. Looking towards Phil again he growls deep in his throat.

"PHILIP WATSON MINECRAFT! WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" Etho snaps.

"I know, I know!" Phil quickly says. "I-I should've explained it to Tommy but Techno was getting worse by the day! I had to get him away from the others as soon as I could!"

"God Phil! You practically repeated what you did to Wilbur to Tommy!" Etho groans, covering his face. "How could you let history repeat itself?!"

Phil sighs and slicks back his hair. "I don't know but I regret it every damn day, every time I hear Tommy crying in his sleep, everytime I see him afraid to get close to people because he thinks they'll be like Dream and Tubbo." The blonde sighs as his hat falls to the ground. "He's a good kid and I don't understand why all of this shit had to happen to him."

"So I've been trying to help him, to try and make up for the past, but George and XD practically ripped him away from me." Phil huffs. "I barely get to see him anymore. Even when I went to his house he was never there, always over at Georges' cottage having a sleepover or he was off picking flowers with XD and Ranboo or even doing stunts off of Purpleds' UFO with Purpled! Do you know how many mini heart attacks I had watching Tommy jump from the top of that giant ass UFO?! I am old Etho! I could've died, that's how many!"

"Geez…" Etho frowns.

"Doesn't help that wars break over the stupidest things." Phil frowns. "Sapnap started one because Tommy was treating his fish for fin rot but he wouldn't listen and started killing everybody's fucking pets! Hell, he almost killed Yogurt if the little guy hadn't shifted to human form."

At Ethos' confused look Phil sighs softly. "Yogurt is a fox hybrid but was stuck in snow fox form. Fundy adopted him and took him in." He explains. "He's...seven I think Fundy said?"

"...the fuck is going on over there Phil?!" Etho frowns.

"What?" Phil frowns, seemingly confused.

"What?! What do you mean what?!" Etho shouts. "You got kids being traumatized, starved, a crazy person and a man making wars over fish! What the ever loving fuck is going on?!"

Phil sighs and lifts his cup to his lips to take a sip until a soft chirp comes from the door.

The two look towards the door and see an excited Tommy walking in on the crutches. "I don't have to be carried anymore!" Tommy shouts just as he falls face first on the floor.

The room was silent for a second until Tommy rolled onto his side and laughed. "I fell."

Etho chuckles softly as Phil gets up and helps Tommy sit up. "We saw that." Phil chuckles. "Are you ok?"

"Mm!" Tommy nods as he grabs for the crutches. "Just excited! I can go out on walks with these!"

"There you are!"

Tommy laughs and dives forward to hide in Phils' chest when Iskall walks in holding two sodas. "I turn away for one second and you run away!" Iskall huffs.

"I'm sorry but I was excited!" Tommy cheerfully says, surprising Phil. "I haven't been able to leave a bed or chair for days and my legs were getting itchy! I had to walk!"

"Well come on and walk back over to my side. We gotta let the old people have their talk." Iskall smirks at the 'Hey!' He got from Etho.

"Can we watch Paddington? I was supposed to watch that with Michael but Boatem kidnapped me before I could." Tommy asks as he carefully gets up. "Oh and I need my potion of harming. Docs orders."

"No problem, I got a few in my chests and heck yeah we can watch Paddington! I love that movie!" Iskall laughs, watching Tommy carefully in case he needs help.

Once the two were back over to Iskalls' base the room was quiet. But the quiet was broken by a chuckle from Phil. 

"It's only been a few days and he already looks so much happier here than he has since before Henrys' death." Phil spoke softly. "How the hell did you guys do it?"

"What?" Etho asks softly, now standing behind his old friend.

Etho looked down at Phil and took in his slightly shaking shoulders and how the other man seemed to sink into the floor a bit.

"Do you know how long it's been since I saw him be playful? Since I heard him laugh?" Phil asks softly. "How long has it been since he asked for things? He wouldn't even ask to sleep in a bed the few times he spent the night at my cabin. He just...just laid on the floor and said it was fine."

Etho frowns and crouches down next to Phil. When he saw that Phils' cheeks were wet he didn't know what to do. He's only ever seen Phil cry a handful of times. 

When his twins were born, when they took their first steps, when Kristen had to go back to the void, when he became a grandfather.

Back then Etho knew what to do since most of the time he was happy. Even when Phil was sad that Kristen left for the void he still knew how to help. But right now he had no clue what to do.

"How did you guys do it?" Phil asks softly as tears slid down his cheeks. "How did you make him so happy in such a short amount of time?"

When Phil looked at him, Ethos' breath hitched at the sight of his friend's wet eyes that shined in both heartbreak and glee. It was a weird combination but Etho at least understood that.

But before he could speak, another voice spoke up.

"He's never been hurt here so he has no mistrust about the server."

The two look over to the doorway to see Scott leaning against the frame. "I talked to X and XD." He sighs as he walks in. "You can visit anytime you want Phil. You have an access pass and a departure pass for both here and the Dream SMP. Now it's time for you to go."

"B-But-!" Phil tried to argue until Scott raised his hand to stop him.

"Kristen, Ghostbur, Glatt and you know who needs your help to fix up the stage area for the server." Scott explains. "Tommy will be fine. He's safe here."

"But what if-!" "He's safe Phil. He has his friends, the hermits and Drista here with him. Nothing will hurt him. I promise." Scott smiles softly. "You know I wouldn't let anything happen to him."

Phil sighs and wipes his eyes with a nod. "R-Right. You two have always been like brothers, even when you visited him on SMP Earth…" He chuckles softly.

"Don't. I will cry." Scott threatens.

"...you're like brothers." Phil smirked slightly.

"I will cry!" Scott huffs as small tears bead at the corners of his eyes.

The room was quiet until Scott winces and wipes at his eyes. 

"Gods, fake crying hurts like hell." He huffs.

Chapter Text

Scar sighs softly as he places Tommy's new guitar in it's stand. "That's the last thing." He whispers, taking a seat in Tommy's new desk chair.

Looking around the room he smiles at all of the posters that Scott had struggled to put up, the shelves that made Deo get a headache and Wisp ask if it came from Ikea due to the missing parts, the small mountain of toys that Tango had brought over after saying he and Iskall got him a few things and the rocking chair with a basket sitting next to it, filled with yarn balls and knitting needles.

Looking to Tommy's bed he chuckles at the galaxy patterned bed sheets that Cleo had picked out, his gaze was brought down when he saw the gift box he saw George place on the bed earlier. He already knew what it was and he thought it was sweet.

Sighing again, Scar runs his fingers through his hair. "Things are sure gonna be different now." He whispers. "Hopefully we don't do anything to make things worse for him…"

Scar leans back and takes a deep breath and lets it out.

"Gods I hope this doesn't overwhelm him." He whispers to no one.

"Scar!"

"In Tommy's room!" Scar calls out.

Scar groans as he gets up and stretches for a moment when he hears his control belt, the one that turns on and off his leg braces, gives a warning beep and it's buckle shined red.

"Whoops. Must've forgotten to charge it last night." He frowns.

"Scar!"

Looking up he sees Phil rushing over to him with a large orange envelope in hand. "Here, take this!" The blonde man quickly says, holding out the envelope.

"What's this?" Scar asks curiously, taking the item.

"It's a list of things that Tommy is afraid of, can't do anymore, his old daily schedule, a copy of his immunization records, his favorite things, care instructions, a body language guide, a couple packs of his flashcards and pictures of Henry he asked me for." Phil quickly says.

"Phil? What's wrong?" Scar quickly asks, seeing how shaky and panicked the other man was.

"XD just left in a hurry saying that a riot broke out on the Dream SMP and a couple people got hurt, including Ghostbur. I need to get back home. Now!" Phil explains as he runs towards the stairs.

"Wait! Why was there a riot?!" Scar calls out as he runs after the man.

"Some people are pissed that Tommy and Purpled get to leave while others are pissed off that their homes were destroyed!" Phil shouts back, running over to Scott.

Scar frowns and stops by the door, watching Phil and Scott disappear. Sighing softly he looked over to Grians' couch to see Mumbo watching him with a frown. "Riot." Scar shrugged, walking over to Mumbo.

"Ah." Mumbo nods.

The brunette man sits down next to his fellow Boatem member and groans. "Ugh...my legs." He huffs.

"You ok?" Mumbo asks worriedly.

"Mm." Scar chuckles. "Just a bit tired and achy."

Scar heard Mumbo give a sigh of relief before he had a head resting on his shoulder. Leaning his head to the side he rests his head against Mumbos' with a small smile.

"Tired?" He asks softly.

"Mm…" Mumbo murmurs. "Don't think I've ever built that fast in my life."

Scar chuckles and nods. "Same." He smiles. "And I still need to make the tree."

"Need help?" Mumbo mumbles, hugging Scars' arm.

"Nah...I'll just ask Gem to do it." Scar smirks.

Mumbo snickered softly at that. "Scar…" 

"I know, I know." Scar huffs playfully. "I'll just ask her to help me get some glowberries. I wanna see Tommy try some."

"No! Those things made Bdubs hyper for a week!" Mumbo quickly huffs. "You are not giving those to Tommy! He will be literally bouncing off the fucking walls!"

"Hah! You cussed!" Scar laughs.

"...oh pants." Mumbo huffs. "Know what? For that I'm stealing your dessert tonight!"

"Not if I eat it first!" Scar says cheekily.

"Oi!" Mumbo laughs.

Chuckling, Scar leaned back against the couch as Mumbo laid down on the couch so his head was resting in the brunette's lap.

The two were quiet for a few moments until Scar seemed to realise something. "Hey, where's Grian and the others?" He asks curiously.

"Grian, Drista and George went to the store, Cleo and X went with them to make sure they didn't only buy junk, the BB boys went with Tango to go put his groceries away but they'll be back and Doc went to go get Tommy." Mumbo smiles. "I was left here to order dinner and you already know where Scott, Phil and XD went."

"Mm." Scar nods with a soft chuckle. "Oh gods, things are gonna be so different now aren't they?"

"Yep." Mumbo chuckles. "But different can be good."

Scar nods and sighs, running his fingers through Mumbos hair. "True." He hums. "But...what if we do something wrong? What if we make things worse? Like...Like his first night here?"

"That won't happen again, Scar." Mumbo frowns, looking up at his friend.  "I promise."

Scar sighs but nods. "Ok but...but what if-!"

Mumbo sitting up made the brunette man stop and watch his friend take his hands in his. "Scar, buddy, we can do this. Ok?" Mumbo spoke softly. "Nothing bad will happen to him here."

"But...I…" Scar gave Mumbo a searching look, not knowing if he should tell Mumbo about what he heard Doc ask Scott earlier that day.

"No buts!" Mumbo huffs. "He's safe here. We're his papa's Scar! We can do this!"

"You and Grian are his "papa's" I'm just an Uncle." Scar huffs back.

"Well, Uncles are important too." Mumbo smiles softly. "You know what they say. It takes a village to raise a child."

"...we are not giving Tommy to the villagers." Scar frowns.

Mumbo gives the scar covered man an unimpressed look which just made the other laugh.

"Hey, you set me up for it." He smirks.

"That's it, I'm stealing Jellie." Mumbo frowned as he quickly stood up and raced for the door.

"What?! No!" Scar quickly got up and ran after his friend.

Huffing, Scar lays down on his bed as Jellie runs over and hops onto his chest.

"Ugh! You're getting chunky Jellie." He chuckles. "Off please, I need to read something."

Grunting when Jellie jumped off of his chest and over to her window hammock, Scar sat up and pulled out the envelope that Phil gave him from his inventory. Humming he pinches the little metal things that kept it closed and lifts the top to see another, smaller manila envelope peeking out.

Frowning, he takes it out and sees Ender letters written neatly on the front. Turning towards his lantern he holds the envelope to it and manages to see a piece of paper inside and maybe some...cookies? Who would send him cookies?

"Huh...must be from Ghostbur." Scar shrugs, placing it down on his bed. "I'll give it to Tommy when he gets back."

Taking out the rest of the big envelopes contents, Scar was surprised by the mess of papers, decks of cards and photos that slipped out of his hand and onto his bed.

There were pictures of Tommy and Henry smiling brightly, pictures of them sleeping, reading and pictures of Henry's first outing with his mama (Tommy) and...ugh, The Bee Duo.

Scar makes a face and tosses that one aside, making a mental note to airbrush Ranboo and Tubbo out of the photo before giving it to Tommy.

Picking up the papers he shuffled through them until he got to Tommy's "care instructions" as Phil put it.

"Tommy's major scars on his face were caused by burns and can become very itchy and warm on some days or when he gets flustered. Apply a cold pack carefully to it when it does get warm or he could get a fever." Scar reads aloud. "Makes sense."

Looking down at the rest of the page of paper he frowns when he spots the words "do not give him packing peanuts" .

What was so bad about packing peanuts? They were just little pieces of styrofoam. What could they do besides get stuck to Tommy's fur when he's in his piglin form?

Shrugging he slowly reads over the instructions then moves onto Tommy's favorite things.

He chuckled softly when he saw Georges' and Phils' names on the top.

Must be Tommy's list of favorites.

His eyes roamed over the paper until he came to a lot of crossed out names and items.

Raising a brow he re-reads over it from the top.

George & Phil

Purpled

XD

Drista

Grian

Scar

Mumbo

Doc

Puffy

Nikki

Jack

Potatoes

Dream

Wilbur

Fundy

Foxes

Fireworks

TNT

Obsidian

Lava

Sam

Sam Nook

Ponk

Foolish

Badboyhalo

Antfrost

Punz

Hannah

Connor

Hedgehogs

Callahan

Hbomb

Cats

Cat maids

Cows

Orange Tulips

Mushrooms

Crows

RACCOONS

Deo

Luke

Bitzel

Wisp

Techno

Snowy Biomes

Favors

Lime Green

Sapnap

Karl

Tubbo

Ran boo(?)

Hamilton songs

Lemons

Pigstep

Eret

Schlatt

Quackity

Skeppy

Captain

Rat

Fran

Swimming

The Ocean

The Beach

Plains Biomes

Gunpowder

Scar frowns slightly. He was going to have to have a talk with Tommy about the cat maid thing but the rest was...strange. Just last year Tommy would kill to protect Puffy, Foolish, Nikki, Jack and Tubbo. Now their names were heavily crossed out, so much so that the pencil was very dark and it was hard to read the names.

"How bad did they fuck up?" He whispers to himself.

Scar knew the jist of what Tommy had said (more like the jist of what he heard before he heard Badtimes making a fuss in his head) that had happened but he had only said that Tubbo had Exiled him, that Foolish disowned him, about Puffy drugging him during therapy sessions, about Jack and Nikki trying to kill him for some reason and about Bad being used as a puppet for some red egg, but he also knew how loyal Tommy was.

He knew that the one time that Bad had snapped at him after...the hunters...Tommy hadn't cried like he wanted to (he'd seen the kids watery eyes). He had watched Tommy make a whole basket for bad (he had been babysitting that day) and walk himself the three miles to the Skephalo house (Tommy had stated that he wanted to do it himself with no help) and deliver the basket himself with a "I'm sorry for being difficult" and promptly started his three mile walk back home.

Bad had come by with Sapnap the next day and apologized to Tommy for yelling.

He knew that the one time Tubbo had shown how bad his fathers drinking had been affecting him after Tommy had found out about it, Tommy hadn't come home for six hours after making sure Tubbo and Quackity were safe. When he walked through the doors covered in blood and dragging a wagon full of alcohol, Schlatts ID and wallet he knew what the boy had done.

Schlatt had started to go to AA that week.

He knew that when Foolish had started to party a bit more than he used to after Techno left that Tommy hadn't minded (or at least showed that he didn't mind) when his mom wouldn't show up for things like piano recitals, dance recitals, school functions or birthday parties due to still being asleep or waking up in somebody else's bed. The kid hadn't even minded when Foolish had called him Techno a few times.

When he had asked Tommy why the only thing the kid could say through silent tears was "It makes mama feel better so it's ok. I know he still loves me so...so it's ok." .

The look on Foolishs' face when Scar told him that during an argument still haunted him.

Then of course there was Puffy. Tommy had always looked at Puffy like she had hung the stars in the sky while listening to all of her old pirating tales. But after Puffy had started being Tommy's therapist, Scar did notice some changes. Tommy had become even more shut in, jumpy and he had seen bruises on the kids neck sometimes, not to mention the track marks.

None of the hermits knew why but...but now they did. But even then, Tommy still would fight anybody that said a bad thing about Puffy. He once tried to fight Captain Sparklez and didn't stop until he passed out.

Now...Now Nikki and Jack were new but from the way Tommy had written about them, he knew he looked up to them and cared deeply for them.

So what the hell happened to make Tommy scribble their names out so hard?

Groaning, Scar dropped the paper and rubbed his face.

"Maybe I'm thinking too much into this…" He whispers.

Sighing he picks up another piece of paper and starts to read it over. "I'll think about it later." He mumbles. "Still got a lot of reading to go."

"...ar…"

"..car.."

SCRATCH!

Yelping, Scar sits up and looks around to see Jellie sitting to his left on top of some of his papers and to his right was Tommy...in clothes he didn't leave in.

Last Scar saw Tommy, the kid was wearing a pair of pajamas that they had borrowed from Bdubs and Bitzels' hoodie. But now the blonde was wearing a light blue knit sweater that was way too big on him and black sweats that legs slipped past Tommy's good foot by a good seven inches.

"Why do you look like Jasons mother?" Scar frowns. "Also what scratched me?"

"Jellie scratched and I rolled in mud." Tommy smiled up at Scar.

Chuckling softly, Scar gently pets the top of Tommy's head and yawned slightly. "Ugh...well, thanks for the wake up call." He mumbles. "You ok? Where's Doc? Wasn't he with you?"

"Mhm." Tommy nods as he presses up into the brunette's hand. "But he brought me over here and said that I need to stay with you for a little bit. Something about Mumbo and Deo and super soakers."

Scar chuckles and scratches under Tommy's chin, earning a soft purr from the piglin hybrid. "You have fun with Etho?" He asks as he goes to climb out of bed only to notice that his belt was off. "Shoot...battery died."

"Had a lot of fun and I got to watch Paddington and eat marmalade. Not in that order." Tommy hums, watching as Scar removed his belt and the prosthetics from around his legs. "Want me to put it on the charger for you?"

"If you wouldn't mind." Scar sighs. "I need to listen to the battery."

At Tommy's soft laugh, Scar smiled slightly and sat back. Looking at Jellie he frowned at the envelope under her paws until he remembered. "Oh! You read Ender right?" He asks, watching Tommy roll his way over to the charging station on his desk chair.

"Yeah, why?" Tommy asks curiously.

"There was an envelope with the papers that Phil gave me." Scar explains as he carefully tugs the envelope away from the cat.

Once Tommy had connected everything he rolled over and took the envelope.

Scar watches Tommy's brows knit in confusion. "This is Ranboos' handwriting and it's addressed to me." The blonde frowns as he turns the envelope over in his hands. "Should I open it?"

Scar wanted to say no. To throw it out after everything that happened but he couldn't. He didn't want to see Tommy sad since he knew the boy still cared a lot about Tubbo and Ranboo. He could see it in the way Tommy broke into a small smile and how his voice always seemed a bit happier when he talked about them.

"Only…Only if you want to." Scar frowns.

He watches Tommy think it over for a moment before climbing onto the bed next to him and Jellie, who had seated herself in Scars' lap.

"It-It couldn't hurt right?" Tommy asks softly. "After all, we're the Bench Trio!" 

Bench Trio? He was gonna have to teach Tommy about making up better group names later.

Carefully placing a hand over one of Tommy's shaking ones he gives the blonde a gentle smile. "Tommy, bub, you don't have to feel obligated to do this. You have a choice in this." He spoke softly.

He watches Tommy nod slightly but still his fingers quickly unclasped the envelope and tore the top part off.

Scar watches as Tommy pulls out a piece of paper with a beautiful Allium drawn onto it, a white hand holding it out to a reaching pale one.

Watching Tommy he starred as Tommy ran his fingers over the drawing with a look of awe on his face. "He's gotten so much better." He says proudly.

"Who?" Scar asks curiously. 

"Ranboo." Tommy chuckles softly. "I started teaching him a long time ago when he could only draw stick figures."

Scar nods and gently takes the paper from Tommy when he goes back to look in the envelope. A fond chuckle makes him look up from the drawing to see Tommy running his thumb over another drawing but this one was very different.

On the paper were three stick figures and a pink blob with one eye drawn in messy crayon. One stick figure had brown hair while another had black and white hair and the last had golden yellow with bits of pink. 

Frowning he looks at Tommy again.

"Ranboos' earlier work?" He asks to which he gets a snort.

"No!" Tommy laughs. "This is Michael's work and it is very pog!"

Scar chuckles and nods. But something quickly caught his eye. Above the stick figure with yellow and pink hair was a word messily written in black crayon.

"Why does it say 'mommy' above the one that looks like you?" He huffs. "Did you have a kid?! Am I a great Uncle to a baby piglin?!"

"What? No I...wait...why does it say mommy?" Tommy frowns as he holds the paper close to his face so he could see the letters better.

The two were quiet until Tommy placed the drawing down and sighed. "M-My name is pretty close to it. So...So maybe Michael wrote an M instead of a T?" Tommy spoke softly, quickly peeking into the envelope again. "I'll ask him when I say bye."

Scar had a feeling it wasn't an accident. If he knew Ranboo and Tubbo well enough, which he did, he knew for a fact that those two were trying to guilt trip Tommy into coming back by making their kid write "Mommy" instead of "Tommy".

For another moment Scar watches Tommy read over the neatly folded paper he had pulled out. Taking a peek he saw it was completely written in Ender, a language he had no idea how to read.

Frowning he lays back and pets Jellie until he hears a soft sniffle. Looking over to Tommy he saw his shoulders shaking and how he held the letter to his chest.

"Toms…? You ok?" He asks in concern.

"Ranboo said he's sorry. He says he and Michael and Tubbo miss me, that they want me to come home so we can be a family." Tommy whispers. "He also says that he regrets ever putting his hands on me, that he was stressed out an-and mad..."

Scar gripped his pant leg tightly, not wanting to show he was angry. He wanted nothing more than to tear that letter up and find a way to make Tommy forget reading it but he knew he couldn't. He couldn't hurt Tommy like that.

Gently placing a hand on Tommy's shoulder he watches the younger male sniffle and rub at his eyes with his sleeve.

"You want to go back...don't you?" He asks softly.

"I-I...I don't know." Tommy sniffles, his breathing speeding up slightly. "I miss them so much an-and I...they want to be a family. I've wanted that for a while too but…"

"Tommy…" Scar sighs and pulls Tommy into his side, Jellie instantly climbing into the blonde's lap. "Calm down bubba, breathe in and out for me."

Scar calmly helps Tommy calm enough that the blonde had stopped crying and just stared at the letter in his hands. Again, Scar wanted to rip the letter up but he knew that would hurt Tommy and he didn't want to be like the jerks he used to live with.

He wanted to be the jerk that loosened the sugar shakers lid and watch Tommy put some in his corn flakes only to have a mini mountain of sugar.

Not the one that would traumatize a child into believing they didn't deserve anything good and couldn't have attachments to anything.

"Tommy, I know you miss them and your heart is saying to go back-" Scar spoke softly, watching Tommy nod. "But...But what does your head say?"

Tommy was quiet for a minute, his brows furrowed as he thought. Sniffling he wipes his nose and looks up at Scar.

"That they don't really care." He whispers. "That they're mad that I'm not there so they want to bring me back...like when I joined SMP Earth."

"And...that...that they're using Michael to get to me. They know I love the little guy but they...they also know I don't want to raise another kid after what happened to...to Henry." Tommy whispered, looking down now.

Scar frowned at that. What happened to Henry? Wasn't George and XD watching him until Tommy got settled?

"But they said that they wanted to be a family." Tommy frowns. "Last time we played family I-I was the stay at home mom, the house wife. I made dinner every night, I cleaned the house and took care of Henry while they ran off every other day or just lazed around the house…so...so maybe they don't care about me. Maybe they just want free child care and a maid."

Scar frowns as he watches Tommy's face turn from thoughtful to blank. "If they want that then they should call Hbomb. He's a good maid...even though he boarders on sexual harassment towards the older people on the server when he's their maid." The blonde chuckles. "You should've heard the shit he said to Fundy. It was funny as hell."

"...no...no more hanging out with this "Hbomb" guy, ok?" Scar frowns.

"Don't worry Uncle." Tommy chuckled softly. "He doesn't do that to us minors or anybody below 20. He acts like himself! And he's awesome. He gave me a Pigstep music disc for Christmas last year and stayed the whole night with me in exile!"

Scar didn't like how happy Tommy had sounded when he talked about that. Somebody staying the night shouldn't bring that much joy to somebody.

For a moment he watches the younger male ramble on about "how cool Hbomb" is and "how many cats he takes care of". Looking at Tommy's hand he saw that Tommy had crumbled the letter a bit in his hand.

"Tommy, Tommy-" Scar turned Tommy a bit so he was looking at him.

"Mm?" Tommy hums, bouncing a bit on the bed.

"The letter."

Tommy frowns and looks down at his hand and gasps. "Whoops." He frowns, quickly straightening the paper out but stops when he turns the paper over.

Scar watches Tommy's face morph from curious to confused.

Leaning forward he curiously looks at the paper over Tommys shoulder.

⏁⊑⍜⋔⏃⌇ ⏁⊑⟒⌇⟒⎍⌇ ⍙⏃⏁⌇⍜⋏, ⍙⟟⌰⌰ ⊬⍜⎍ ⌿⌰⏃⏁⍜⋏⟟☊⏃⌰⌰⊬ ⋔⏃⍀⍀⊬ ⎍⌇?
         - ⏚⟒⟒ ⋏ ⏚⍜⍜

What did that say? Gods he needs to learn Ender.

"You ok Bubba?" He asks softly, placing a hand on Tommy's back. "What does it say?"

Scar watched Tommy frown and place the letter to the side before slowly petting down Jellies' back.

"N-Nothing." Tommy whispered. "I uh...can...can you call Deo for me? I want to be with the boys."

Scar nods slightly, already pulling out his phone. But before he even realised what he was doing, he had taken a picture of the writing on the back of the letter and sent the photo to Doc.

Quickly opening his contacts he goes to press call when Doc's smiling face pops up on screen. Frowning he answers the call and puts it to his ear.

"Doc? Everything ok?" He asks. 

"Get. Over. Here. Now."

Scar frowns and looks down at his phone when he is hung up on.

That can't be good.

Chapter Text

Doc sighs as he looks up at the other hermits, gods and mushroom king that sat at the table with him.

He had just told the group what the back of the letter had said and they had all almost immediately quieted down but he could just feel the rage rolling off of Mumbo, Scar, Grian and XD.

"So…?" He asks softly. "What are we going to do?"

"What are we gonna do?! Those two want to FUCKING MARRY TOMMY and the only thing you can think of saying is what do we do?!" Grian spoke up quickly.

Yes my dear, you read correctly. You see, when translated, the end of the letter reads: Thomas Theseus Watson, will you platonically marry us? - bee n boo

And nobody is happy.

"This is amazing!" Scott cheers.

...scratch that. Scott is happy.

"Amazing?!" Scar growls. "How is this amazing?!"

"Well Tommy, Ranboo and Tubbo are all very close right?" Scott smiles. "So this was bound to happen sooner or later and it's gonna be so amazing! Can't you just picture it?"

"Yes and I hate it!" Scar huffs. "After everything those bastards have done to Tommy they deserve to rot, not marry the boy they left behind!"

"I agree with Scar!" Mumbo growls, slamming his fist on the table. "I mean, look at Tommy! He's skin and bones, lost height, is afraid of so many things and worst of all, he fucking died! If those two really care about Tommy then they never would've let him become like this!"

"Tommy would still be happy, healthy and able to eat a potato without looking like he wants to cry if those two had done something, anything to help him!" Grian yells next. "So why in merry hell should they get to marry Tommy?!"

"For once I agree with mortals." XD grunts. "Those two should be ashamed of themselves for even thinking they even deserve to be in the same chunk as Tommy. My nephew has suffered immensely due to their actions and I won't stand for this."

"Then sit." X huffs, leaning back in his chair. 

"What was that mortal?" XD growls.

Doc looks over to X and frowns.

"I said 'Then sit' not-mortal." X grunts as he leans forward. "Just like I told Grian and the others earlier, this is not your decision to make. Unless your name is Thomas Theseus Watson. Is it?"

"No! But-!" XD tries to argue but X shakes his head.

"Tommy is a good kid. I've seen him fight before." X sighs. "It was bloody and I felt like I wanted to puke at the sight of an adult fighting a thirteen year old but I couldn't leave the stadium. Too many people were in the way."

"What does seeing Tommy fight have anything to do with Tubbo and Ranboo?" George asks softly. 

"I saw both of them there next to Grian and Mumbo. As soon as Tommy dropped after his winning stance those two tried to rush the stadium even though they knew they would get arrested or something. I watched them drop and run to him just as Mr. Beast called for the medics to get to Tommy." X explains. "They were kids and they ran onto a bloody arena floor, crying and calling out for the boy and screaming for medics while trying to stop the blood from seeping out multiple wounds? That shows you care at least a bit."

Doc looked over to George when he heard a sharp intake of breath. "You ok?" He asks softly.

"Y-Yeah...I guess that's why Dream didn't let Sapnap and I watch that fight." He whispers.

XD places a hand on George's back and growls at X. "That was years ago!" He growled. "Not now. Not after everything Tommy has been through now. Between Exile, constant betrayals, constantly being blamed for shit that wasn't his fault, being abandoned by everybody he loved and being compared to Techno every single day, I'm surprised Tommy hadn't snapped by now!"

"XD…" George frowns.

"I am not letting my nephew marry those two ungrateful brats. Not after he killed for them, cared for them, loved them, brought them into his Drift, took care of their fucking house and the child they all agreed to raise together and fucking giving up two lives for them, only for them to thrust a knife into his back every chance they get!" XD yelled, shaking the house a bit. "I am not letting history repeat itself."

X nods but leans forward on folded arms, glaring directly at XD. "That may have been what happened in the past and what you have seen or been told but there's no way for you to know everything." He huffs. "What if they have been trying to make it up to Tommy when you weren't looking? What if they have been attempting to reconcile but because you instilled the fact that those two don't care into Tommy's mind then he hasn't been giving them a chance? What if Tommy still cares and wants to marry them?"

XD went to stand but George stopped him.

"I may have Dream in my name but I am not that monster that used to be among men." XD snarled, venom dripping from his voice. "I have never once manipulated my nephew. Not fucking once."

"Liar."

X and XD look down the table at Tango who was glaring his red eyes at the masked god.

"Just yesterday you tried to use Rosie to get Tommy to do what you wanted." Tango huffs. "You threatened to burn it if he didn't obey you like a good little puppy. How was that not manipulative?"

"I…" XD began but he seemed to have nothing else to say so he leaned back in his chair and sighed. "...fine. Say I let these boys marry my nephew, what then? What if they hurt him again? What if they do something worse this time? What if Xisuma is wrong?"

"Then we'll kill them." Cleo frowns, speaking up for the first time. "But we kill them on the Dream SMP so they'll stay dead and not respawn."

"...fine. I'll allow it." XD huffs. "But only if Tommy wishes to marry. I won't force him to."

"So you're giving Tubbo and Ranboo your blessing?" Scott asks softly.

"Yes." XD spoke through gritted teeth. "As much as I don't want to...if it'll make Tommy happy then...then I'll allo-...I will give my blessing."

The room fell quiet once more.

It was a few minutes before the silence was broken by loud singing from outside. Curious, Doc and Grian went to look out the window.

"Pfft!" Grian laughs at the sight of Deo, Wisp, Tommy and Bitzel running around in their boxers, singing What would you do with a drunken sailor on the tops of their lungs. "They're pulling a Quackity."

Doc groans and knocks on the window to get the boys' attention. "Guys! Put on your pants!" He yells when they look over at him. "Come on! We talked about this!"

The boys looked at each other before flicking Doc off, sending Grian into hysterics.

"Oi!" Doc huffs.

Grian sighs softly as he pulls out his cooler from the closet, a few things tumbling out with it. "Finally…" He grunts as he places it down on the floor.

"Are you ok papa?"

Turning, Grian smiles when he sees Tommy being tied to his desk chair by Luke. "Yes I'm ok." He hums. "Do you mind telling me what it is you're doing?"

"Doc has to get me a shot." Tommy huffs. "Something about that strange cold that was going through Hypixal a while ago."

"Ah." Grian nods. "Alright."

"Make sure my arm is still visible!" Tommy cheerfully says.

Grian shakes his head and picks up his cooler. "Be careful you two." He chuckles.

"We will!" Both blondes call out. 

Humming softly, Grian walks to his deep freezer and places it on top. Looking around he spots the waters he had bought earlier and smiles. 

"Alright so we're bringing water, juice, a couple of sodas for Tommy and a few bottles of tea…" He mumbles. "Hopefully that should be enough. If not, we should be able to make a stop at a corner store or something."

"What are you doing papa?"

Looking down, Grian chuckles when he sees Tommy sitting next to him, curiously sniffing at the counter that held many, many lunch bags. 

"I am making our lunches for when we head out to the MCC grounds." Grian smiles, grabbing an apple. "Want an apple Toms?"

"...will it keep Doc away from me so he can't give me the shot?" Tommy asks innocently.

Grian chuckles as he peels the skin off the apple carefully. "No but it will be a good dessert after eating all that junk we had for dinner." He smiles.

"Mmm...ok." Tommy nods, leaning back in his chair a bit more. "Wait. Is MCC time already here?"

"No, not really." Grian hums, starting to cut the apple into slices. "But we need to get there early so we can prepare everything for you."

"Huh?" Tommy frowns. "What's that mean?"

"It means you, me, Grian, Scar, Mumbo, Scott, Tango and somebody new will be going to the grounds before game day." Doc states as he walks up behind Tommy. "We will be going to set up your medical gear like your heart monitor, oxygen level monitors, blood pressure machine and getting both your eyes and ears checked out."

"M-My eyes…?" Tommy whimpers.

"Mhm." Doc nods once. "We'll make sure you're fit and able to do the games and that you won't pass out since you have been falling asleep a lot more than you used to."

"I-I'm just exhausted." Tommy chuckles softly. "Ponk said it could happen."

Grian and Doc frown and share a look. Sighing, Grian bends down and pops an apple slice into Tommys mouth as Doc gently wipes at his arm with an alcohol pad. 

"Yeah?" Grian asks softly, seeing Doc uncap the needle. "What else did they tell you?"

"Well...they said my blood will get a gray tint and I'll feel even more tired since my body is trying to recover." Tommy frowns in thought. "But it'd take a miracle to get rid of what I have so my body is just using up too much energy which is making me really tired."

Doc glanced up at Grian as he got ready to stick the needle into Tommy's arm.

"Oh?" Grain asks, slipping another apple slice into Tommy's mouth. "What do you have, Toms?"

Grian watched Tommy sag and looked down at his lap. "Uh...I...well…" He whispers.

"Toms, we need to know everything that's wrong ok?" Grian spoke softly. "That way we can help you."

"Especially if it's medical related." Doc adds.

"I-I know but...but I don't want you to be sad." Tommy whispers. "I love you too much to want you to be sad."

"Oh Toms…" Grian whispers, kissing the top of Tommys' head. "I love you too, that's why I need to know."

"...Alexs' magical medical guide for hybrids volume 4, chapter 20, page 456." Tommy sighs. "That's what I have."

Grian and Doc share a look of confusion but quickly get back to work on what they were doing.

One distracting and one administering medicine.

"We'll give that a look, thank you Toms." Grian spoke softly, placing a hand on top of Tommy's head.

Tommy nods and leaned into Grians' hand.

"Hey papa?" Tommy hums as Grian runs his fingers through his hair.

"Hm?"

"Who's the new person?" Tommy asks with a tilt of his head.

"Puppy boy!" Wisp shouts behind him, startling Tommy into trying to look behind him.

Grian and Doc chuckle softly. 

"His name is TinFoilChef, or at least that's his player name, but you can call him Tin." Grian smiles. "He's a good friend of mine, he even tried to adopt me until he realized I was older than I looked."

Tommy chuckles softly, not feeling the needle go into his arm.

"We just learned something about him last year so we thought you two should meet." The brunette hums. "Plus he's coming to act as a bodyguard for you in case anybody tries anything during the games."

"What did you learn?" The blonde asks curiously.

"You'll see later ok, hatchling?" Grian smiles, ruffling Tommy's hair.

When Tommy smiled, Grian felt relieved. He thought Tommy wouldn't take too kindly to somebody new joining them but he was glad he was wrong.

"All done!" Doc hums, surprising Tommy. "Thank you for staying still engel."

"You already gave me the shot?" Tommy asks.

"Yep." Doc nods with a small smile. "You're getting better at taking shots. I'm proud of you."

Grian chuckles when Doc ruffles Tommy's hair. Bending down he starts to untie Tommy but something wet hitting his hand made him look up to see tears running down the blondes cheeks and quickly reforming in the corners of stormy gray eyes.

"Toms…?" Grian frowns. "What's wrong bubba?"

"N-Nothing...sorry." The blonde mumbles. "I'm ok…"

"He gets a bit emotional when people say that he's done good or that they're proud of him. It may be because of all of the bad things people screamed at him on that server."

Grian looks up to see Drista floating next to Tommy, her mask half way off. She had a strange look on her face. One that looked both angry yet fond. A strange combination.

"I do not! Shut up!" Tommy hisses.

"Do so!" Drista chuckles, pulling out a dagger from her boot.

Grian watches her cut Tommy free and help him get the ropes off of him. "Come on big man, I need to talk to you." Drista huffs when Tommy rubs at his arms. 

"What about?" Tommy asks suspiciously. "Because if it's about the letter then no. I'm older than you Drista, I can take care of myself."

"Nope. It's about you eating that fucking candle." Drista huffs.

"....I don't know what you're talking about." Tommy chuckles nervously.

"Uh huh."

Grian chuckles as Tommy tries to explain himself and the candle but getting nowhere. He knows Drista is protective over Tommy so he also knew this was gonna be funny to watch. 

Grian hums softly as he places the last sandwich into a little plastic holder. Finally he was done making everybody's lunches for the trip and he could take a break before he had to pack.

Walking over to the sink he starts to wash the ham and cheese smell off his hands when he hears a soft whine. Turning around he sees Tommy staring out the front window, in the same place he's been since the others left to pack their things.

He'd find it cute if he didn't know the reason why Tommy was sitting like that. "Hey Toms?" He calls out.

Tommy's pointed ear flicks slightly but he doesn't turn around to look at Grian.

Grian frowns and turns to his cookie jar. Tommy had made it for him in his old arts and crafts class he went to after school.

It used to be just a normal glass jar but now it was decorated with painted on golden leaves and a gapple above the word "Papa" right underneath.

Opening the lid he picks out the biggest peanut butter cookie before replacing the lid. Walking over to Tommy he waves the cookie by his head. "Come on bubba, follow papa." He coos when he sees Tommy's nose wiggle.

He held back a victorious cry when Tommy started to follow him and away from the window. Leading Tommy to the couch he looks over to his DVD collection. He could set Tommy up to watch a movie while he packed. That should distract Tommy long enough.

Helping Tommy settle on the couch, he smiles when he hears the soft chuffs coming from the teen. Once he knew Tommy would be comfortable he gave him the cookie and stood up.

Turning on the TV he puts Up on and gives Tommy the remote.

"Here bub, watch this and I'll be right back ok? I need to pack." Grian smiles gently, watching Tommy nibble on his cookie.

He moves to walk away but a tight grip on his arm makes him look down to see Tommy with both of his arms wrapped tightly around his right arm and a scared look on his face.

"Toms…?" He frowns.

"N-No! Don't go! Please!" Tommy cries, pressing his face against Grians' arm. "I'll be good dad! Please just don't go! Don't leave me again!"

Grian takes a sharp inhale of breath as he looks down at Tommy in shock. Then it hits him.

Tommy isn't seeing him as Grian right now. He's seeing him as Technoblade.

"Please don't go dad! Please don't leave me with Wilbur and Dream again! Please!" The blonde sobbed. "I don't want to hurt anymore! Please!"

Gulping, Grian crouched down and gently held Tommys' shaking shoulder. He had no clue as to what to do. He didn't know Techno well enough to know what he'd say in this circumstance.

What would Techno say to calm down Tommy?

Taking a deep breath he pulls Tommy into a tight hug as the teen sobbed for his father. "Shhh, shhh baby." He whispers in a poor attempt at Technos' voice. "You're ok, you're ok. Pa...I-I mean dad isn't going anywhere. I promise."

Tommy's cries didn't lessen one bit. Instead they got louder.

Grian looks down at Tommy, pain filling his heart as he cradles the teen close to his chest. Positioning his head over his heart he tries to fight back his own tears as he slowly rocked. 

He didn't know what to do! What could he do?!

Tommy was crying out for his father, not for Grian. But Techno was back at the Dream SMP, in prison for his crimes against his own child. There was no way to get him here without a prison break and pissing off XD.

But…

Looking down at Tommy, Grian felt his heart break at the sight of Tommy's red and wet face as the teen desperately gripped onto his red jumper. He could also feel the teens tail wrapped tight around his leg.

No. No, he could do this himself.

Carefully standing up with Tommy in his arms he heads over to his new "nest room" (as Scar had dubbed it earlier). Walking towards the room he tries to think of who he could call for just a tiny bit of assistance.

Should he call in his favor with him or should he call Fundy?

Or should he call Tubbo and Ranboo?

Or hell, should he even call in Foolish or Puffy?

He knew he could call George but he also knew that Tommy didn't know the man back then. If he really is stuck in a memory then he needed somebody he knew back then.

At least that's what Doc told him, Scar and Mumbo.

Pushing open the door he carefully pushes the dimmer switch up enough that he could see but it was dark enough to not bother Tommys' sensitive eyes. Walking further in he carefully bounces the blonde in his arms to try and hopefully calm him a tiny bit.

But no luck.

Sighing he climbs into his nest and nuzzles the top of Tommy's head. "Shhh, shhh…" He whispers. "You're gonna be ok bubba, everything is gonna be ok."

Holding Tommy close he slowly rocks back and forth, trying to remember anything that could help. Then it hit him! Tommy's lullaby!

Oh gods he hopes this works.

Clearing his throat he began to sing in a soft voice.

"We were playing in the sand. And you found a little band. You told me you fell in love with it, hadn't gone as I planned." 

Gently rubbing his thumb against Tommy's cheek he carefully wipes the tears that continuously fell away.

"When you had to bid adieu, said you'd never love anew, I wondered if I could hold it and fall in love with it too." Grian softly sang, taking great joy in the fact that Tommy's cries were subsiding a bit. "You told me to buy a pony, but all I wanted was you."

Softly humming the last bit he watches Tommy's eyes grow a bit heavy as his tears slow and his breathing comes to him in hiccups. 

He couldn't help but be reminded of when he was a baby.

When Foolish first gave birth, Tommy had to be rushed to the children's ICU due to complications during his birth. After a few days people were allowed to visit him and Grian and Mumbo had been two of the first.

When he looked down into the incubator at Tommy he knew he was gonna be ok. He already looked like a strong fighter with his scrunchy little face and strong grip on his finger. 

And, ta da! He was right! 

Tommy may be a little broken right now but Grian knew, as he looked down at the blonde in his arms, he knew Tommy was gonna be ok.

Mumbo hums as he places the last lunch bag into the fridge.

He had come over to check on Grian and Tommy but had found the main room empty besides the half eaten cookie that had been left on the floor. Curious, he had looked around until he had found Grian and Tommy in the downstairs nest room. 

The two were curled up close to each other, both softly snoring and gripping onto the other for dear life.

Instead of waking them he decided to cover the two up with Grians' weighted blanket and went to be an elf.

You know, like the ones from that story about the shoemaker?

So he had picked up the half eaten cookie and thrown it away, went upstairs and packed up both younger males' bags for them and set them by the door, cleaned up the mess from Grian making a whole bunch of sandwiches and snacks then he put all of the lunch bags and boxes into the fridge, nice and neat.

So, there Mumbo stood in the middle of the kitchen with no clue as to what to do next.

He could go and join Grian and Tommy in the nest for a nice night's rest or he could watch Up, which was still playing on the Television, or he could even edit Grians' new video for him.

Crossing his arms he starts to think over his choices when he hears a knock on the door. Looking up he frowns. Who would be knocking now?

He had texted the others and only Tango and Doc said they were packed but they were collecting all of the medical gear.

The knock came again but this time it came a lot louder. 

Huffing he quickly walked over and yanked the door open to be face to chest with...somebody. Looking up at the 7'3 man he smiles and steps back. "Ah! Tin!" He greets. "You're here early!"

"Mm." The man nods, stepping into the house, slightly ducking so he could get in. "I packed and got bored. Thought I'd come over and meet this...Tommy was it?"

"Ah! Yes!" Mumbo nods as he closes the door. "But uh...slight problem!"

Turning to Tin he was surprised to see him over by the nest room.

"He's asleep." The tall man huffs. "But not in a peaceful one."

Confused, Mumbo quickly walked over and peeked in. He saw Tommy and Grian in the same position they had been not too long ago. Looking up at Tin he watches the man duck down and step inside. 

"Wait! Tin, don't!" Mumbo quickly whispers. "Tommy awoke Grians' parental instincts and you know how protective parrots are!"

Tin just waved him off. Rude.

Slowly stepping in he watched as Tin carefully pulled Tommy out of the nest and that's when Mumbo saw what Tin meant.

Tommy's face was scrunched up like he was fighting back a scream and his tail was twitching like crazy, sometimes smacking his chest or sides. Even Tommy's ears were flicking back and forth quickly like he was listening for danger.

"Is...Is he ok?" Mumbo asks softly.

"No." Tin frowns. "He's trying to wake up but he can't."

"Sleep paralysis?" Mumbo frowns, stepping closer.

"Possibly." Tin grunts, squeezing Tommy a bit when he starts to shake. "Did his parents tell you anything about how to calm him?"

"L-Lavender oil." Mumbo nods. "George says he rubs it on Tommys face, neck and arms and it usually calms him down."

"Usually?"

"Sometimes it doesn't work."

Mumbo quickly grabbed a little bottle of the lavender oil that Grian had bought earlier for his mister and brought it over to Tin. He watches as the older man rubs some of the oil into Tommy's neck then into his flicking ear. 

Mumbo watched and waited with baited breath as Tommy seemed to slowly calm enough that his face smoothed and his ears stopped flicking. Though his tail was still going wild and hitting anything it could.

"Is he gonna be ok?" Mumbo whispers.

"Mm." Tin sighs, carefully putting Tommy back into the nest and under Grians' arm. "He'll be fine now."

"How do you know?" Mumbo frowns.

"Smell." Tin shrugs. "His smell changed from sour and scared to sweet and calm."

"You can smell his mood change?" The redstoner asks in surprise.

"Yep." Tin chuckles. "Now come on, let's let them sleep. I still need to make my cookies for the trip."

Standing Mumbo watches as Tin pulls out a bag from his inventory with a smile. "Hope you like chocolate chip." 

An hour later…

Mumbo frowns as he taps at the table top. For the past hour he's been sitting at the dining table while TFC made biscuits for the trip.

Looking at the clock he sighs when he sees it was just past one. He was absolutely bushed but he didn't know if he should try to sleep or stay up to watch over Grian and Tommy. He knew that TFC could watch over the two, the man was a night owl at heart due to all of his mining but he wanted to be there for his friend and his metaphorical son.

Groaning, he lays his head on the table and huffs.

The day had gone by so fast between all the building, decorating, putting groceries away, chasing the BB boys down to make them put their pants back on with Luke and Doc and, of course, the talk earlier.

Gods he wished it went by slower. He was still worried about Tommy attending MCC but he knew he had to support him. It was one of the things the teen had been without for far too long.

"You ok Mumbo?"

Mumbo raises his head slightly and sighs when he sees Tin in his "Kiss the Cook" apron and holding a plate cooling rack of biscuits.

"I'm fine. Just…" Mumbo trailed off as he sat up and leaned back in his chair.

"Worried?" Tin finishes as he places the cooling rack on the table.

"Yeah." The raven haired man sighs. "This is gonna be Tommy's first MCC since he went to that stupid server and...and now…"

"Now he's sick and you have no clue if he'll be ok. Right?" Tin frowns.

"Exactly." Mumbo huffs, his leg bouncing a bit. "Scott told us what games the teams are supposed to be playing this month and three of them Tommy could get damaged. He hates damage! George said that he has severe panic attacks when he takes even the slightest bit of damage."

"Then there's the fact that Dream hasn't been banned so he could've signed up! What if he's on one of the teams going against Tommy's? He could cause Tommy to freak out or hurt himself!"

Tin frowned at Mumbo before sighing and taking a seat across from Mumbo.

"Kid, he'll be fine. Tommy's strong for a teen." Tin spoke calmly. "I've seen him in the pits before and I watched him take out groups of people that were ready to kill him without breaking a sweat."

"Yeah, that was before everything that happend." Mumbo huffs. "He's lost a hell of a lotta weight, he's lost muscle mass, he's lost height, he has a broken ankle and he thinks we don't notice but we see the way he hesitates when he eats. Tommy isn't the way he used to be anymore Tin."

Mumbo rubs at his head when an image of Tommy on that other server passes through his mind. "He looked so dead when we found him, Tin." He whispers. "He looked like he was minutes away from kelling over. I don't know what I'd do if he did…"

Laying his head down on the table he tries to ignore the nagging feeling in his brain that told him to protect, that shouted at him to scent and keep the "piglet" home where it was safe. He had no idea what it was.

He was a shapeshifter, a magical being not a hybrid, so why was his brain acting this way?

"Mumbo…" Tin began but he stopped for a moment before he spoke again. "Why don't you pack a few toys or something? It'll keep him distracted and he'll forget he's riding in a bus for a while."

Mumbo frowns and looks up at Tin before turning when he sees him looking behind him. Standing behind him was a sleepy looking Tommy, silently rubbing at his eyes and slightly hunched over with his casted foot raised up just a bit.

"Papa…?" Tommy whispered. "I had a nightmare."

Mumbo quickly stood and walked over to Tommy's side, helping him stand upright. "Do you wanna stay up with me and Tin?" He asks softly.

When Tommy nods he carefully lifts Tommy up and carries him over to the table. Pulling out a chair with his foot he grunts softly when he feels Tommy tugging on his mustache. "You have a noodle in your mustache." Tommy mumbles.

"Hm?" Mumbo chuckles when Tommy suddenly gets in his face.

"Noodles in the stache! Messy!" Tommy huffs, knocking on Mumbos' head. "Stay clean! Clean!"

"Agh!" Mumbo laughs. "Stop! Ok, ok! I'll stay clean bubba! Just stop!"

Tommy huffed as he was put down in the chair. "Messy spud."

Chuckling, Mumbo walks over to the sink to clean his mustache. As he walked to the kitchen area he shared a look with Tin that said "don't tell him, please".

When he gets a small nod he sighs and continues to walk to the sink.

"He'll be ok. He'll be ok." Mumbo kept telling himself.

Gods did he hope he wasn't wrong.

Chapter Text

Tommy frowns as he looks up at the large metal thing he was supposed to sit in for the next six to eighteen hours. He thought he knew it from somewhere but he had no clue from where.

Not to long ago, maybe around twenty minutes ago, Tommy and the others in Grians' house had a loud wake up call from Tango so they could get to the lot just outside of the Hermitcrafts' main hub and meet up with the driver that was taking them to the MCC grounds.

Grian had helped him get his hair brushed and his clothes together before they all left with a promise for a surprise after MCC since they didn't have enough time then. He didn't mind but he did mind being carried to the lot at 8 in the morning.

One, he was still tired. Two, people were heading off to school and such in Hypixel. Three, he had wanted to sneak a banana before they left but he had been carried out too fast.

Oh well.

A soft knocking made him look a bit more upwards and a few windows down. Tilting his head he watches as one opens and Tangos' head peeks out. "Hi Mr. Tek!" Tommy waves slightly, trying not to fall on his crutches.

The other blonde had a grinning face mask over his mouth, something that made Tommy frown. Did he have allergies or something? 

"Hey Kotek! Come on, we're leaving soon!" Tango spoke with a smile in voice. "Tin saved you a seat across from him and Doc!"

The blonde frowns and looks to the steep stairs that he was supposed to walk up. On crutches.

"I-I'll be right there!" He calls up to the man.

Tango nods and slips back into the metal thing. 

Carefully moving closer to the thing he barely misses a hit to the head with a duffle bag when Mumbo passes by. Frowning, he looks back and watches as the redstoner helps Grian and Scar put everybody's bags and medical equipment into the bottom of the metal thing. He wanted to help but he knew he was practically useless with his foot in a cast.

So, with a sigh, he moves closer to the stairs and looks up at the metal prison driver. He had his hat tipped down and his eyes were hidden by the lip of his hat but from what Tommy could see he had a strange mask over his mouth. He swore he could see some strange fake teeth on it.

"Hey kid."

Tommy jumps at the really low voice the man spoke in. He couldn't tell if the man was faking it or if it was his real voice but that didn't matter at that second. He had to answer.

"Yes sir?" He asks quietly.

"Mask up. Nobody is allowed on without a face mask." The man huffs, pulling a plastic wrapped face mask out of his coat pocket. "Here. I've been made aware of your condition so this has filters in it, makes it harder for things to get to you."

When the man tossed it to him he frowned and caught it using his tail. Pulling it close to his face he raised a brow at the sight of cats all over the mask. "Thanks…" He hums, carefully unwrapping it.

Holding it away from his face Tommy sniffed at the air around it but didn't smell anything besides detergent and dryer sheets. Humming he slips it on and fixes it so it was over his nose and wasn't gonna slip.

"You use Snuggle huh?" He asks with a curious hum, walking closer to the steps, still trying to figure out how to climb up.

"Hey! What's up with your clothes?"

Tommy huffs and looks up with a glare when he sees the driver's attendant looking down at him. His hat was tilted down as well so Tommy couldn't see his eyes and with the face mask he couldn't see the other half of his face.

Peeking a little bit behind the attendant he could see a thick red tail with a pointed end, almost like Bads' tail except his was black, thinner and was covered with fur. This one looked like it was made from skin. 

Looking back to the man he frowns. "What's wrong with my clothes?"

Looking down at his clothes, Tommy didn't see anything wrong with it.

For his top he had on a simple white tee shirt, his old denim jacket he had pulled out of his bag that Tango had given him earlier (having stated that he had forgotten to give it to him after Drista gave it to him after all that happened the past couple of days), a few gold chains he had stolen from his father and a long black pleated skirt that had roses embroidered around the bottom.

What was wrong with his clothes? He was nervous so he did the one thing he always did that made him feel a bit calmer and that was wear women's clothes. He remembers Phil saying he was like the Monkey from Fruit Basket, whatever that means.

"You got a problem with a boy in a skirt?" Tommy huffed.

"Nah just curious on why the great God slayer is wearing one. Aren't you supposed to be some kind of prince or something?" The attendant chuckles.

"They said I had a princely attitude, not that I am one." The blonde grunts, his tail flicking in annoyance. "Now either help me up or fuck off."

The attendant shrugged and climbed down the stairs. When he wrapped an arm around Tommy's shoulders, he noticed something almost immediately. The attendant's smell was very familiar but he couldn't place where.

"Do I know you?" He asks with a raised brow.

"You should, although you do have memory problems right?" The attendant chuckles.

Growling, Tommy shakes the other off and starrs to climb up the stairs himself with a lot of struggle. "Leave me alone." He huffs. "Prick."

He heard the attendant chuckle as he climbed and it took a lot out of him to not reach back and sock the guy in the face with a crutch.

Sighing he leans forward when he makes it up, accidentally leaning on the driver's shoulder. "At least it doesn't hurt as much anymore." He huffs, quickly making his way down the aisle.

Spotting Tin and Doc he sighs and seats himself in the bench seat next to them. Grunting he slides over to the window and lifts up his leg so his cast covered foot was on the seat.

Wrapping his arms around himself he hears Grian, Scar and Mumbo climb aboard and walk down the aisle. Taking a deep breath he tries to ignore the feeling of hands around his neck.

He knew he shouldn't have spoken like that to the attendant, Dream had taught him better, but he also knew he had to semi-act like himself from a year ago since, from what he was told, he was gonna be on camera during MCC. If he didn't act like himself then the vultures known as media and social media freaks would be on him in an instant.

"Toms? You ok?"

Tommy looked over at Doc and gave him a shaky smile. "Fine Doc. Just a bit...a bit nervous." He chuckles. "Grian said I...nevermind that."

Frowning, Tommy leaned his head back against the cool glass of the window behind him and sighed. "Gonna be back in the public's eye again." He hums. "Just worried what the vultures are gonna find as they pick away my appearance. Got a new major scar after all."

He watched Doc nod until his vision was filled by a new baby blue backpack. Raising a brow he takes it and looks up to see Scar smiling down at him with Jellie on his shoulder.

"Mumbo packed you some things so you didn't get bored on the bus ride up to the MCC grounds!" He smiles. "He asked me to give it to ya since he forgot to grab something from treeza!"

Tommy hums and unzips the bag to see quite a few things. So this thing was a bus. He remembered what those were now. He wasn't allowed on those back on the server he lived on with the Wastakens' after he beat up a driver for calling Fundy a freak.

He could see a pencil pouch, a book of word puzzles, sudoku books, 4 regular books, a Rubik's Cube, Muffin, Mumbos' old DS, a couple of games, the charger, bookmarks, a couple comic books and a couple balls of yarn with a pair of needles sticking out of one.

"Wow." Tommy smiles. "Tell him thanks for me would you?"

"Sure!" Scar chuckles, putting his mask back over his face. "Oh! And we're gonna be making a few stops. Mumbo and Grian need to pick up their fur babies from their care center and we have to pick up a couple more people, then we're getting your eyes and ears checked."

Tommy nods as he pulls out one of the books. Running his fingers over the top of the book he feels little bumps and grins. It was in braille! He didn't have to strain!

"Art of War…" Tommy hums. "Huh. My dad likes this one."

Scar chuckles until the bus gives a jerk forward and starts moving. 

Tommy frowns and looks over the seats to see if Mumbo had made it back on the bus and saw him taking a seat next to Grian, or at least a blob that looked like Mumbo was sitting next to Grian.

Humming, Tommy sits back and flips the book open to start reading.

There was a strange feeling in his stomach, like something wasn't right, but he ignored it and chopped it up to all the cookies he ate the night before.

So, with a sigh he listened to the bus clamber on as he read the first page. It was too late to fuss now.

They were on their way.

Smiling, Tommy slipped a bookmark into his book when he heard Scar and Grian laughing up front. He was glad they were having fun.

He's seen how stressed they've been since he came around. They think they hide it well but they don't really. Not when he's been trained to watch for body language queues.

Stretching he grunts when he feels his shoulder pop. Sighing he closes his eyes to relax a bit when he heard the small intercom above him crackle to life.

"Gentlemen! If I may have your attention please!" The attendant's voice cracked through the mini speaker. "We are coming to our first stop and at this time we ask you to please make room in your seats if you can."

Tommy frowns and looks over at Doc and Tin who looked just as confused as he felt. When the bus stopped Tommy strained his ears to see if he could hear any voices.

"-know it! For the last time Tubbo, fuck off!"

Purpled?

Tommy felt his tail start to wag as he sat up more. Chirps started to leave his throat as he looked through his window and saw Big Q, Bad, Techno (?), Purpled, Ranboo, George, XD, Phil, Fundy and...Tubbo.

Scooting closer up to the window he could make out a little pink blob in Tubbos' arms which he believed to be Michael and a white blob in Fundys' arms that he assumed to be Yogurt.

Purring softly he knocks on the window when he sees them moving closer to his window to put their bags inside. He sees the blob he knew was Fundy look up so he waved until his shade was yanked down, startling him. 

Looking at the shade he huffs a couple of times. He didn't know buses had shaders, that was weird.

Peeking back he sees Doc sitting next to him with his arms crossed over his chest and a slightly angry look on his face. Looking down he saw his foot was seated on Docs' lap. When did that happen?

"Doc? Are you alright?" Tommy questions as somebody gets on up front.

"Fine." Doc nods. "Just wanted to sit with you."

"Mommy! Mommy, mommy, mommy!"

Was that…?

"Michael?" Tommy frowns. Who was he calling mommy?

A moment later he sees the little zombie pigman trying to get past Doc's legs, little huffs and chuffs leaving him. For a moment it looked like he was gonna make it over Docs' knees but he got stuck on his belly. The little pigmen huffs and looks up at Tommy with a pleading look in his eye.

Chuckling he leans forward and carefully lifts the little one up. Leaning back he seats the child on his leg with a slight grunt. "You're getting so big Mikey!" Tommy chuckles, pressing their foreheads together.

"Mommy…" Michael cooed, placing his little clawed hands on Tommy's face.

Tommy wanted to correct the little guy, remind him that he's Tommy, not mommy, but...Michael looked so happy and...and it reminded him so much of Henry. Maybe it wouldn't hurt for just a little while.

Hugging the little zombie pigmen a bit tighter, he kisses the side of his head and smiles at the happy squeal it got him. "Hi little piglet." He chuckles.

"Tommy!"

Humming, Tommy looks over the seats as well as he can and sees two blobs walking his way but the closer they got, the clearer they became. One he saw was Tubbo wearing his red cape piece around his neck like a bandana and the other was Ranboo who had his cape piece tied in a bow around his wagging tail.

Tommy wanted to say something but Michael quickly being taken from him stopped him. Looking up at Doc he growls low in his throat.

"I'm just giving him to his parents Tommy." Doc explains but Tommy just growls louder.

"Put. Him. Down." Tommy slowly growled. "Unless you want your other hand to be robotic too."

Doc gulped slightly and went to argue but Tin speaking up stopped him. "Never take a piglet from their sow." Tin sighs. "Put the little one down or Tommy really will take your limb."

"What?" Doc frowns.

"Piglin sows are overprotective of their children and they have been known to kill to protect their piglets." Tin explains. "So, unless you want to respawn back at Hermitcraft then you should put the kid down."

Tommy huffs as Doc gives him back Michael. Holding the little one close he softly chuffs and cradles the back of his head. Looking behind Doc he glares at Tin suspiciously.

"How do you know so much about Piglins Mr. Chef?" Tommy asks softly.

"Well it'd be a shame if I didn't know anything about my own species at my age huh?" Tin chuckles.

"You're a piglin hybrid?!" Tommy gasps.

Tin chuckles as he tucks his hair behind a pointed ear and leaned forward a bit so a thin grey tail could slip through a little slit on the back of his pants.

"Surprise!" Tin smiles. "When Grian told me about you I knew I had to meet ya. We are pretty rare."

Tommy smiled. He couldn't believe it! There was somebody else like him! He and Techno weren't the only ones!

The blonde went to say something when he heard the little speaker crackle to life again.

"Attention assholes in the aisle! You are blocking the way for everyone else." The attendant huffs. "Sit down or I'll personally come down there and tie you to a seat."

"We're trying but these guys won't let me go over to Tommy!" Tubbo calls out, startling Tommy.

"Tango Tek and Grian, please move your arms or I'll rip them off." The driver says over the intercom.

Tommy peeks over the seats and spots the other two halves of The Bench Trio moving past Grian and Tango but a slight tugging on his shirt made him look down. Letting out a startled yelp at the sight of Purpled looking up at him with a smirk, he instinctively kicked and got Purpled in the nose.

"Ow!" Purpled yelps.

"Tommy!" Tubbo quickly ran over and started to pull something out of his Snowchester coat but stopped when he saw Purpled climbing up onto the bench seat next to Doc. "Oh. It's just you."

"Purpled! You jerk!" Tommy growls. "Never do that when I'm wearing a skirt!"

"Sorry, sorry." The alien boy laughs. "But those two were holding everybody up and I knew if I didn't get over here quick then they'd take my spot next to you."

Tommy grunts and carefully takes his foot off of Docs' lap so Purpled would have room to seat himself. "Whatever prick." He huffed.

"Hey! We were going to sit next to Tommy!" Tubbo snaps at Purpled. "Move!"

"Nope." Purpled smirks. "Go find another seat."

"Purpled, please move so we can sit with our fiance." Ranbo frowns.

Tommy frowns and looks up at Ranboo and Tubbo. "Fiance?" Purpled grunts, looking between Ranboo and Tubbo then Tommy.

"They asked me in a letter." Tommy confesses with a frown. "But I haven't given them an answer yet. Although I don't know why I should say yes after everything that's happened."

Ranboo and Tubbo both flinched at this.

Tommy huffed and carefully moved his leg down. "You two can sit with us, Doc is going back to sitting next to Tin." He hums, gently patting the back of Michaels' head. "Besides, I want to hold Mikey a bit longer."

"Geez, even little Toms is gonna get married before me? Shit that stings."

Tommy looks up and sees Quackity turned in the seat in front of him so he was facing him with who he believes is Bad but he couldn't tell very well due to the helmet the other was wearing.

"Language Quackity." The man huffed.

Nevermind it is Bad.

"I'm not getting married, Quackity." He huffs. "Besides, somebody else asked me first and I believe they should know my answer first."

"Yeah but it's Ranboo and Tubbo. I know you'll say yes." Quackity chuckles.

Tommy frowns and rolls his eyes as he scoots closer to the window so Ranboo and Tubbo could sit down. "Whatever you say, Quackity." He huffs. "You are the expert in finances' huh?"

He heard the duck hybrid let out a choked sound as he went back to playing with Michael happily...until he heard his fathers laugh not too far away. Looking towards the aisle when Tubbo and Ranboo sat down he sees his father wearing a prison jumpsuit with a number 2 on the back of it directly across from Quackity and Bad.

"Went right for the jugular huh Toms? I taught you well." Techno smiles.

Sighing, Tommy looks down at Michael and chuckles softly when he sees him chewing on his shirt a bit. "Not food bub." He whispers to the baby zombie pigman as he takes his shirt out of his mouth. "Silly."

"Shut it Techno!" Quackity hissed.

"Make me flatty patty!"

"Hey! I have a fat ass and everybody knows it!"

"LANGUAGE!"

"English!"

This was gonna be a long bus ride.

"My turn."

"No way! I've only had him for five minutes!"

"Tough luck!"

Tommy grunts as he was pulled from Purpleds' lap to Raboos', trying to keep the bottle he was feeding to Michael steady. 

This is how it'd been for the past hour or so after the first time Ranboo slid out of the seat from a sharp turn. Every fifteen minutes he was to sit in somebody elses lap so they could all sit together and he hated it.

Purpleds' lap felt alright and the only thing he did was wrap an arm around his waist to keep him steady, Tubbos' hurt his bottom because of his boney knees and Ranboo wouldn't stop playing with his hair so he was getting tired! He was going nuts!

Hell, he was even about to ask to be transferred over to Mumbos' or Tangos' seats so he could also get away from the bickering as well.

Tubbo and Ranboo were always either glaring at Purpled or they were bickering over who would make the better platonic husband for him. Now that really pissed him off but he couldn't do anything if he wanted to keep holding Hen-Michael, he meant Michael.

So he endured it. That is until Tubbo said this; "We actually care about Tommy! You just want to ensure that you get to leave!"

Tommy looked up at Purpled then at Tubbo before grabbing the brunettes' horn. "Toby Schlatt!" He growls. "I have had enough of your mouth!"

"Ow, ow ow!" Tubbo whines.

"Purpled has been asking me to marry him for months but I kept saying no because...nevermind that, but if you don't fucking shut up about him not caring about me after everything he's done for me while you and boob boy abandoned me then I will tear off your tail and stuff it down your fucking gullet! Do I make myself clear?!" Tommy shouts in the rams' floppy ear.

When he got a whimpered yes, Tommy let go of him and held Michael closer. "Now if you have nothing nice to say, don't say anything at all, understand?" He huffs.

"Y-Yes Tommy." Tubbo whines, rubbing at his ear.

"Thank you." Tommy sighs, carefully turning in Ranboos' lap so his legs were in the aisle. "I'm taking Michael and sitting somewhere else. You guys are giving me a headache."

Carefully standing, Tommy slowly made his way down the aisle and past his father. He heard him begin to try and speak but he kept moving until he was sitting behind XD and George. Grunting he moved back so he was sitting with his back against the window with his hurt leg on the seat and Michael sleepily leaning against him, soft snorts coming from the tot as he drank the rest of the milk from his bottle.

Sighing, he leaned his head against Michaels' and tried to relax but somebody running their fingers through his hair made him look up. He smiled slightly when he saw Gogy leaning over his seat and his arm outstretched.

"Hi mama." He smiles.

"Hi my little spore." George smiles. "You ok?"

"I'm fine." Tommy nods, leaning into George's hand. "Got a tiny headache from those threes' bickering though."

"Want a Advil?" George hums.

"No thank you. I'll be fine." Tommy hums softly. "But I am tired, Ranboo played with my hair. Is it ok if I nap with Michael?"

"Not yet." George chuckles. "We're almost to our first stop where we'll get yours, Tubbos', Ranboos', Quackitys', Technos' and Mumbos' eyes checked out. Then you and Tubbo will go next door to get your ears checked."

"But Doc already checked my ears back at Tangos' house." Tommy frowns.

"Maybe so but we still wanna make sure you two will be ok during MCC." George frowns. "Just hold on a bit longer ok?"

"Ok." Tommy sighs.

"You know I'm proud of you Toms."

Tommy looks up at George curiously. "Huh?"

"I'm proud of you little spore." George smiles. "You're handling seeing Tubbo and Ranboo so well."

Tommy frowns and looks down at Michael, carefully taking the bottle from the sleeping piglet. "On the outside maybe." He sighs. "My heart is racing and telling me to hug them and enjoy the attention they're giving me while my brain is telling me to run and that they'll leave me again."

Carefully lifting Michael over his shoulder he pats his back gently but firmly as he speaks. "I just don't know which one to listen to." He frowns. "Do I listen to my head or my heart?"

"That's up to you Toms." George smiles softly.

When Tommy hears a soft burp he sets Michael down on his knee and rubs his belly gently. Looking down at Michael he couldn't help but remember Henry and how well they had all worked as a family.

Yes Ranboo and Tubbo were gone a lot but when they came back they spent all their time with him and Henry. Ranboo and he would make spaghetti while Tubbo and Henry watched movies and colored together. 

But then Purpled used to do the same thing. He would watch over them when they went swimming or he would join them on the couch and watch Disney movies until Henry fell asleep between them.

Then even when Ranboo and Tubbo would laze around they'd still get up to go to Church Prime service with him and Henry since they knew how important it was to him.

But Purpled helped him make a mini chapel in one of the spare rooms so they wouldn't have to travel so far at night and risk getting home at an ungodly hour and he even went to prayer even though he wasn't religious.

Groaning, Tommy rubs his head. 

What was he gonna do…?

A few hours later…

Tommy grunts as he sits back down in his seat. He had just gotten done with his hearing test and hopped right back on the bus after Grian said he was gonna grab something from the undercarriage of the bus. 

Lifting his hurt leg onto the seat he listens as Michael makes it down the aisle to see him. He always knew it was him from the soft chuffs he made as he walked. Tommy thought it was adorable since chuffs are a happy noise that Piglins and pigs make which means that since Michael always made that sound, he was always happy.

"Mommy, mommy!" Michael snorts as he waddles over to Tommy, patting his knee that was still on the floor. "Up!"

Chuckling softly, Tommy lifts up the little one and sets him on his knee. "Michael, my name is Tommy. Not mommy." He explains gently, squishing the little zombie pigmens face carefully. "Can you say Tommy?"

Tommy watches Michael carefully, waiting for his response. The little one tilts his head before placing his little clawed hands on Tommy's face.

"Mommy." He smiled.

Welp, he tried.

Sighing, Tommy rubs noses with Michael. "Ok, ok." He smiles softly. "You win."

Michael squealed happily and hugged Tommy tight, making him laugh softly.

Sighing, Tommy holds the little one close to him. He could get used to this again.

"Aww how cute."

Frowning, Tommy looks up at the bus attendant that had sat himself in the seat across from him, mask missing and hat tilted up slightly. Something about him both made him relax and made him anxious.

"He yours?" He asks.

"Why does everybody think that?" He frowns.

"You're a piglin, he's a zombie piglin." The attendant hums. "Makes sense."

"...racist demon." He huffs.

"Oi!" The attendant frowns.

"Whatever." Tommy rolls his eyes. "Just leave me alone would you?"

"Nah." The attendant chuckles. "I think we got off on the wrong foot and I'm sorry about that. I like your skirt."

Raising a brow, Tommy watches the other put a hand out towards him.

"My name's Eryn. Eryn Stream." The attendant smiles.

"Thomas Watson." Tommy frowns, not shaking the other hand. "Eryn huh? Sounds familiar. Have we met before?"

"Not face to face, no." Eryn chuckles, putting his hand in his lap. "We have through a wall though."

"A wall?" Tommy asks in confusion, shifting Michael in his lap. "Did we live next to each other at some point?"

"You can say that." Eryn shrugs.

"Well...I'm sorry for all the screaming and crying that must've come through the walls." The blonde sighs.

"...it's alright." Eryn frowns. "I'm sorry for not protecting you like I promised."

Tommy frowns again, watching as Eryn stands up. Protect him? Promise? Who was this guy?

"Hey, how about some music while everybody is off the bus?" Eryn asks, holding up a CD.

Tommy got even more confused and looked around the bus and, sure enough, nobody else was there except Yogurt and they were sitting four seats back, softly snoring away. Looking down at Michael he frowns. Where did everybody go?

Slowly looking up at Eryn he gets a good look at him.

Pointed ears, small, sharp horns on his head, long black hair tied back in a ponytail, a small scar on his lip and heterochromatic eyes; one bright red while the other was dark brown.

"Hey, I know I'm handsome but I need an answer man." Eryn chuckles. "You can check me out later."

"As if!" Tommy huffs. "But I would like to listen to some music please."

"As polite as ever." Eryn chuckles.

Tommy watches Eryn walk to the front and slip the CD into a DVD player embedded into a strange box. When he pushed a button on the DVD player, a little screen popped out above Tommy and nearly knocked him in the head. 

Frowning he looked up at it in distaste but when the beginning of luvbirds' Parting Words echoed through the speaker, Tommy felt a chill go up his spine.

Ok now he was thoroughly freaked out. 

"This is your favorite song, right?" Eryn smiles, pulling out his mask from his pocket. "I like it too. Soothing."

Tommy looked up at Eryn as fear set in. How the fuck did this guy know about his favorite song? He only ever listened to music with headphones on when he was little. 

Holding Michael tighter he watches as Eryn sits back down across from him. Peeking behind him he saw Quackity and Techno arguing outside, just out of reach.

"Uh...you know what? I think I'll go outside and get some fresh air." He chuckles softly, trying to scoot out of his seat.

"Do that and I'll kill Yogurt."

Tommy stops and looks over to Eryn. "...what?"

"I said do that and I'll kill Yogurt." Eryn smiles. "Do you know how much energy it's taken to find you Toms?"

Tommy slowly shakes his head. 

"Please don't kill Yogurt." He whispers.

"Yog! Yog!" Michael giggles.

Eryn chuckles and rubs the top of Michaels' head. "Aww. He really is cute." He smiles. "How old is he?"

"Tubbo told me he was two years old. He's still a tot." Tommy answers quickly.

"Two? Damn. He's big for two." Eryn smirks. "How well do you think he can swim if I threw him into a big body of water? The hotel does have a giant pool you know."

Tommy narrowed his eyes and growled, his tusks growing. "Touch him and die."

"Aww you care more about him than you do Yogurt." Eryn laughs. "No-"

Tommy yelps in surprise when the driver suddenly appears and punches Eryn on the top of his head. Hard.

"OW! YOU FUCKER!" Eryn whines as he holds his head.

"Excuse my brother." The driver huffs. "He's desperate and thinks you're his god."

"...heh?" Tommy frowns.

"We're demons, kid." The driver chuckles. "We're servants."

"Jerk." Eryn huffs as he punches the driver in the leg.

"You shush, you just threatened to kill two toddlers." The driver growls at Eryn before turning to Tommy. "He didn't hurt either of you did he?"

"No sir." Tommy replies, looking down at Michael. "We're fine. Just a bit shaken up."

"Good." The driver nods, lifting his hat a bit. "I'm sorry about all this. Eryn is still a dumb kid and mix that with his demon genes, he thinks threatening is the only way to get attention."

"Oi!"

"Shut it!" The driver huffs. "Now, I hope you can forget everything and let us start over?"

"No." Tommy frowns.

The driver and Eryn both freeze and look at Tommy.

"No?" Eryn frowns. "What do you mean no?"

"I mean, no." Tommy huffs. "This is all to fucking creepy. You know my favorite song, you know me yet I don't know you and I can see the red vine you idiot."

Eryn frowns and looks down at his arm to see a tiny bit of a red vine peeking out of his sleeve. "Shit!" He hisses as he pulls his sleeve down.

"You have something to do with that egg that's been haunting my family, don't you?" Tommy asks, raising a brow.

"...no." Eryn sheepishly replied.

"Mhm." Tommy hums. "Look, I can't just forget this and I'm not in the mood to start over. This is all too creepy. It's like you've been stalking me."

Eryn and the attendant glance at each other then look back at Tommy.

Tommy stayed silent as he slowly looked between the two. "You...You've been stalking me, haven't you?"

"Nooo…" Eryn grins nervously.

Tommy nods slowly before letting out a distressed Piglin call, startling Michael, Eryn and the driver a bit. Not even a second later, Quackity, Techno, Mumbo and Tin were on the bus. 

"Tommy? Tommy, what's wrong?!" Quackity quickly asks, pushing the driver out of the way.

"The attendant is a stalker!" Tommy whines as the duck hybrid slips into his seat. "He's been stalking me since I was little! He told me so!"

"What?!" Quackity, Techno and Mumbo growl, looking towards Eryn.

"...I'm so dead." Eryn chuckles nervously.

Chapter Text

"Lunch time!"

Tommy groans as he slowly opens his eyes. Looking around he sees that he was still on the bus and he was leaning against somebody. Frowning he looks up and sees Bad looking out the bus window.