𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙 ༄

sixteen

From what Tubbo could see, Tommy's eyes were glazed over and vacant, staring at the orange circle of light as he slowly stepped closer. Phil stood next to him, asking him meaningless questions. Techno and Wilbur were inspecting the portal, while keeping an eye on the golden boy.

Tubbo leapt forward, hooves cracking on stone, reaching his hands out to Tommy. Palm connected with shoulder, drawing Tommy's attention to Tubbo's. Dark, almost grey, blue eyes met shiny honey brown ones. Tubbo looked at Tommy, pleading. He could feel every emotion Tommy was, and it was incredibly overwhelming. There were pangs of hurt and loneliness clashing with swirls of hope and curiosity.

"What's wrong with him? Why won't he answer me?" breathed Phil weakly.

Tubbo shook his head. He didn't know. Emotions only shared so much with him, and Tommy was incredibly guarded.

The boy moved even closer, alerting Techno and Wilbur. They rushed to his side, hesitantly holding him in an attempt to keep him away from the circle of light.

Suddenly Tommy lashed out. He snarled, eyes wild, at Wilbur, who dropped his hold. Tommy's wings rose up and down, sending gusts of wind throughout the circular room. Techno held on, not breaking eye contact with Tommy.

Suddenly searing pain like wildfire erupted in Tubbo's chest, but he wasn't physically hurt at all. He collapsed, hitting stone, but eyes never broke away from Tommy. The golden boy himself was growing more and more agitated, his eyes glowing an icy blue. Techno seemed to be trying to communicate with him, but to no avail.

Fighting back tears, Tubbo scrambled to his feet. He had to get to Tommy. He had to make sure he was okay. If Tubbo was in this much pain, he couldn't even imagine how Tommy felt.

"Tommy!-" he started, faltering when he reached the boy's side.

Tommy turned, ice blue eyes striking Tubbo with intensity. Tubbo stood frozen in fear. Then Tommy bared his teeth in a malicious grin.

"Let me go," he said, but his voice was broken, hoarse and deep like fissured glass. It grated on Tubbo's ears, so he flattened them to his skull.

He wanted to speak, wanted to move, do anything to relieve Tommy of the mental prison he was trapped in, but Tubbo couldn't move. His heart hammered in his chest, his brain screamed, but his hooves were frozen to the stone. No one else seemed to understand when Tommy shook his head, briefly breaking the spell. For just a moment, the smallest second of time, Tommy's eyes turned cobalt blue. They were wistful, sad, communicating goodbyes through the pools of blue.

Tubbo understood. The rest didn't.

They all screamed and shouted when Tommy took flight, yanking away from Techno's grasp. His wings carried him through the sparkling portal, and fire met fire.

Techno sprinted after him. The portal closed, cutting the connection between the human world and the monster one, with Tommy on the wrong side. The room was stunned into silence.

Tubbo didn't know how long it had been. Minutes, hours, he couldn't tell through the fog. He lay on the ground, inches from where the portal had scorched it, tears silently dripping down his face. He had failed.

—

Maybe Tommy wasn't dead, Wilbur thought. He was pacing furiously, black boots clicking against the harsh stone. The room wasn't very wide, so he traced circles. As he walked, he thought. Thinking was better, anyway, better than letting worry and grief send him spiraling.

Maybe he was fine. Tartarus couldn't be that bad, right? It was only just the worst type of hell imaginable.

He dropped his head into his hands, exhausted.