Might As Well Be Dead

Chapter 15

A huge flowery meadow stood before him, the long grass swaying in the cool breeze, a small river could be seen in the distance cutting the line between the meadow and the forest beyond it, and the hot sun beaming down on him from above. The scene before looked like something out of a fairytale, if you asked Tommy. It was calming, something Tommy hadn't felt in a very long time.

"TOMMY!" he turned around to see Tubbo walking closer, a picnic basket hanging loosely on his scarred arm and a folded checkered blanket occupied his other hand. 

He looked like his Tubbo, with scars and a weathered look that no young adult should hold, but he looked relaxed as well. His usually frowning face held a gentle happy smile, and his usually bleak eyes shined with some type of newfound hope. He also looked different than he did when Tommy last saw him as well. He wore a button-up green shirt and tan slacks, his brown boots looked like they were for the snow climates though, which gave Tommy a feeling he still lived in the snow biomes. his hair was pulled back in a half-up to keep his long bangs out of his green eyes. 

Tommy looked behind the goat hybrid to find Ranboo walking behind Tubbo, a black collar stuck out of his purple sweater with black jeans, and his normal black dress shoes covered his feet. The rest of Ranboo looked the same, from his hairstyle to his warm smile. Holding Ranboo's hand was a slightly older Micheal, a huge smile on his face as he let go of his father's hand to rush at Tommy. He wore a striped yellow and black sweater with blue jeans, his brown eyes sparkling as he ran towards Tommy at full speed. The uncle couldn't help himself from smiling as well. 

"Uncle Tommy! Why'd you run ahead?" Tommy caught Micheal in his arms as he smashed into him, he felt some of the air leave his lungs by the impact. Tommy lifts Micheal off the ground as the child melted into his uncle's arms. 

"Just excited, it's not every day we leave the snow biome." Tommy gave Tubbo a playful glare, who in return rolled his eyes chuckled, walking ahead of the two as Ranboo neared Tommy and Micheal. 

"I'm setting up the picnic near the river! You guys have fun." Tommy lets the kid in his arms climb out as he chased after his dad, probably to help the goat hybrid with setting up. After a few seconds of watching Micheal leave Tommy and Ranboo looked at one another.  

"C'mon, you're teaching Micheal how to fish, aren't you?" Ranboo smiled as he spoke, his hand being lifted for Tommy to grab. The white-haired male did so with no difficulty, grasping his best friend's hand with no hesitation. He smirked, his blue eyes sparkling as he did so. 

"You know it." 

Tommy was shaken awake from the made-up world, his blurry gray eyes meeting Dream's green ones. His heart ached as he was brought to reality, wanting to go back to the false world his mind had created for him. "C'mon Toms, I made breakfast. We're hitting the road again after eating." With a nod Tommy rose to a sitting position, letting the skewed bacon be handed to him. 

The older man ruffled his hair before picking his own skew sticks up to eat. As he ate, he couldn't help his dull eyes cloud up more as he thought back to his short dream, wishing that that made-up world was reality. It felt so real, like his last one. Part of him had hoped it was real. He knew it was selfish, he knew he didn't need them, but a part of him would never stop wanting. And he knew that. 

He'd just have to forget them and let things go back to how they were. It would be easy, since he had been living that way for a year now, he'd be ok once he left the server. Then all this would be a distant memory he'd look back to when something reminded him of his time on this server. He'd be happy soon, He had to be. 

That Morning. . .

Technoblade remembered when he disowned Tommy, how he and Tommy's relationship ended on such a sour note. He remembers when he thought he'd never get a chance to fix any of his past mistakes and get the little brother he wanted back. He remembers hearing Tommy being pronounced dead to the server, and how the reality of the situation came crashing down on him. His regret came full force, leaving Techno to stay awake most nights in silence as horrid thoughts plagued his mind. 
   
It was a horrible thing to think about, the fact your little brother was probably dead somewhere in the woods. He knew Dream had to have something to do with Tommy's disappearance, but he didn't think that it was this severe. He didn't think that Dream kept him locked up, basically making the younger dependent on him in every way.

He knew Dream had a weird fascination with Tommy since the beginning. Maybe he should have done something about it, but with their already rocky relationship, he never felt like he should have. That and the fact Tommy was very clear that his and Dream's fight was his own. Now he knows that was a mistake. 

Now he was determined to do whatever he could to get Tommy back and away from Dream. So, walking through the snowy woods following a very determined Tubbo, he walked quietly listening to the muttering of the others around him. He was still baffled by the information Tubbo gave them that morning, how he believes that Tommy had been revived so many times... that he basically is a walking corpse.

It hurt knowing that while he slept soundly, Tommy had been tortured in ways that Technoblade himself couldn't fathom. He was brainwashed now, thinking that Dream was the only one that he needed, seeing as he went with his abuser willingly. 

It made him wonder what other things happened in the base that Tommy had been living in that Dream didn't write down. But either way, he was going to get Tommy away from him. He was snapped out of his thoughts by his brother jabbing his elbow into his side, the piglin hybrid sending a glaring gaze towards him. "What?" 

"You're muttering." The other huffed out, his brown eyes looking forwards again. Technoblade fell silent, blue eyes clouding slightly as his thoughts slowly started coming back. Wilbur noticed, quickly starting a conversation with his twin. "What's on your mind, Tech?" Taking a deep breath the pinkette looked forwards himself. 

"Just, Tommy..." A hum of understanding. He knows his whole family is worried about their youngest member. "I'm worried, y'know?" Techno paused again, letting his thoughts straighten. "What if he kills Tommy? You know how Dream is. If he thinks something is his, he doesn't give up that thing easily..." Wilbur's eyes darkened at the thought.

It was something that they all had considered, even if no one wanted to say it out loud. Dream was a very possessive man, someone who didn't let go of things he wanted or owned easily. The shorter of the two quickly tried to regain some of his positive thinking, flashing a small smile before speaking again. 

"I know, I'm worried for Tommy too. He's in a lot of danger, and I don't think he even knows it." It was obvious Tommy trusted Dream, and that scared Technoblade even more. Before Technoblade could let that settle in his brain, Wilbur kept talking. "But we'll get him back, yeah? And then we can fix this whole mess and help him recover." He doesn't understand how Wilbur can look at the positives so easily, but then again, from what he remembered Wilbur had always been that way since they were kids. 

"Yeah, I hope." The pinkette says quietly. 

"All we can really do is hope." Both twins looked over at their frowning father, his eyes slightly cloudy as he spoke. Both Wilbur and Technoblade decided to let silence take over their minds again, all three lost in their own thoughts. 

That Afternoon. . .

Tommy walked into their base and let himself settle on their couch. He sighed, curling up as he let his backpack slide off his shoulder and onto the floor below. Dream smiled, sliding his mask off before setting his own bag down. "We're sleeping here, but I also want you to grab what you want from here too, ok? If you need a rest then that's fine, I'm just telling you." Tommy nodded, watching as the blond made his way further into the house, probably to his room to pack.

With it now quiet, he let his thoughts go back to that dream he had. It seemed so real, just like the other one he had. He didn't understand what these weird dreams meant, did they even mean anything? The newest one seemed to be in the future, seeing as Micheal looked older in the dream. 

He curled further into himself. If it was the future, how come he wasn't with Dream on some other server, but with the Beloved family? Had they failed to get to the portal? What happened to Dream? How come he seemed... so happy? His voice in the dream, it seemed so cheerful, almost loud like it had been back before Dream escaped prison. It confused him, how come he could easily show his emotions in the dream? It was hard for Tommy to even smile, let alone decipher the feelings he felt and show them to others so easily. 

It had to be just a dream, it had to be. Tommy let his eyes fall closed after a few seconds, a long tired sigh leaving his lips. It was just a dream, it didn't mean anything. He was leaving the server, and he was going to be happy. As he told himself this he didn't understand why he felt so... sad.