!TW! Fire, death? (You won't know until the end..)!
A cardboard box from when Tubbo was young. A cardboard box that marked the end of his childhood with Schlatt, and the beginning of a family with Phil, Wilbur, Techno and Tommy. But everything was turned around against him. Techno's out the picture somewhere, Wilbur is dead, Phil's turned against him, and Schlatt is his hope again. The only thing that didn't change in Tubbo's life, Tommy. Tommy continued to be his best friend, his one and only. And Tubbo fucked that up when exiling him.
As Tubbo's head came back into reality, he was in the corner of the cell, his head resting on his knees that were pulled up to him face. Schlatt sat close to him trying to calm him. Tubbo's eyes flooded with tears without realizing, and from that he broke down, loud sobs continued to escape him as he tried to catch his breath through the sobs. "Tubbo, breath buddy." Tubbo continued to huff.
"Tubbo, lift your head and look at me." Tubbo hesitated but continued to do so, upon Schlatt seeing his face, his face was completely red, eyes puffy, nose runny, and continuous huffs fell from his voice. "Breath." Schlatt forced Tubbo to make eye contact, to which his breathing slowed from quick and sharp huffs, to calm, deep breaths. "Th..Thank you." Tubbo spoke through slight sniffles. Schlatt nodded, then stood up and walked a few feet away, before sitting down again. Tubbo's chin resting on his knees as he spoke, "Do you think we'll ever get out..?" Tubbo spoke in a dazed, tired manner, his eyes completely dissociated while looking in a different direction from where Schlatt was.
"I'll be sure we do." Schlatt spoke, but to no response, Tubbo just tucked his head back into his legs, tired.
Days passed of the same general thing, though some days were less crying and more talking, they got closer than they already were, and they were so much more scared to lose each other. Phil would come in and out of the lab, to which Tubbo didn't care, but would sometimes yell at Phil to ask him if Tommy was okay, but alas, there was never a response.
One day Phil came into the lab, and he walked over to the cell, and unlocked it. Tubbo woke up confused, "H..mm?"
"Tubbo stand." Phil spoke, Schlatt immediately alerted hearing Phil. Tubbo stood up and Schlatt got closed to the cell door. "Schlatt stand back, I only need Tubbo."
"You take one of us you take the others happiness, take us both."
"This would take your happiness regardless." A sickening smile grew on Phil's face, Tubbo lazily walked to the door, being tugged out by his shirt, Phil felt he was taking to long. As the door shut on Schlatt, Schlatt felt immediate panic.
"Wait Phil bring your ass back here bitch!" But Phil carried on walking, while Tubbo walked besides him, but Tubbo looked back before leaving the building, and his face was full of fear. As Tubbo walked outside with Phil, Dream was standing next to a cage in the air, where Tommy was being held. "Tommy?" Tommy fixed himself from resting his back against the cage to facing Tubbo. "Tubbo!" Phil continued to walk Tubbo to a tree, the L'Mantree. Several feet away from Tommy, but close enough for Tommy to hear, and see Tubbo. "Stand back against the tree, and your arms wrapping around it." Tubbo thought for a minute before doing so, and he realized. "They're going to put me in flames."
"No..no...no, no. I.. I won't. I won't!" Tubbo's heart racing, he started to run, he ran in the opposite direction, and didn't stop. As Tubbo kept running, he forgot one thing, Dream has ender pearls. Dream pearled in front of Tubbo, and Tubbo had to stop, he fell down trying to stop himself, so Dream picked him up and carried him back to Phil. Dream held Tubbo to the tree as Phil tied the rope around Tubbo's wrists to keep him there. "HELP!" Tubbo continuously yelled, Schlatt from inside the building a few yards away, heard Tubbo's cries for help, which sent him into a question of how to get out, and help Tubbo.
Tubbo continually crying out for help as Phil made sure there was enough for everything under Tubbo to catch fire, whether it be small kindling or paper. Tommy in a cage looked at Tubbo, he had made the connection of what they were going to do to Tubbo. Tommy kept ramming his shoulder into the opening side of the bars on the cage, but no budge, he couldn't get out, and he tried to a point his shoulder was in aching pain. Dream and Phil walked a bit away from everything to speak, and during this, Tubbo wept as Tommy tried talking to him about how to get out, but Tubbo was losing it.
Phil came back, matches in hand, Dream walking not far behind. "Tubbo don't fucking let them get close to you!"
"Tommy I can't do anything!"
"JUST SCREAM TUBBO!" And as Phil got closer, starting the flame, that's what Tubbo did. He shouted and screamed, panicking.
"It's a shame Tubbo. I genuinely considered you a son, but you got engaged in the government, and you already know my opinion on that." Phil stared into the match that was lit in between his fingers. "Goodbye." Phil spoke, his fingers flicking the match to the kindling and paper below Tubbo. Tubbo's eyes went wide, his heart sinking. He had one hope that was barely there.
"SCHLATT"
Schlatt snapped back into reality hearing Tubbo yell, and when he heard him, everything in Schlatt's brain went off, except for one thing, Save Tubbo. Schlatt looked at his hands for a second, before taking a deep breath, and pushing himself against the wall, phasing through it. He felt himself fade off slightly more, but he kept going, he ran towards Tubbo, who was barely being touched by fire, and he possessed him.
Fire consumed Tubbo's body, but it wasn't being hurt or affected, Schlatt's possession had worked. Tubbo was safe, now we waited through the fire being active. Tubbo felt no pain though Schlatt did, he was defending Tubbo's body, and from that risking his own. Dream assuming Tubbo was dead because he couldn't see Tubbo's body through the flames, let Tommy out of his cage, Tommy in shock, also thinking Tubbo was gone, left himself sitting on the ground, begging it was all a dream.
As the fire continued to burn, the rope that held Tubbo to the tree burned, and he could walk away now, but Schlatt chose against leaving, someone would get more hurt if he did. Behind Tommy's stern exterior, he was was on the verge of tears, but he tried against showing that. "What was the point?" Tommy spoke, a slight quiver in his voice.
"Well, the L'Mantree is gone, and so is Tubbo, its 2 against one that say you've killed Tubbo and burned the loved tree."
"W...what?"
"We're making sure you're alone, fully." Phil spoke
"But don't worry Tommy, I'll still be here for you."
"No... no Dream I don't want you with me, I never fucking have." Tommy clenched his fists, he wanted to stand up for himself.
"Tommy don't be so irratio-" Tommy threw a punch, hitting Dream square in the face, a cracked forming in his smiley mask. Phil ran up behind Tommy grabbing his arms.
"You took everything from me! You took my items, my home, my country, my discs, my best fucking friend!" He screamed at Dream, breaking into tears after. Dream and Phil grabbed his arms and out him back into the cage. "Tommy, he wasn't even a friend, he exiled you! Remember?" Tommy shook his head, wiping away his tears after. "He was one.. the best fucking one."
As the fire grew small, Tubbo took back most control of his body, though Schlatt still protected him from feeling pain. Tubbo stood up from the fire pit and walked out, completely fine, and unscuffed. Tommy's mouth fell open in shock, a smile forming on his face, "Tubbo.." Phil and Dream turned, their faces also turning to shock. "How'd you survive?"
"Follow me, I'll show you." Dream and Phil grudgingly followed Tubbo/Schlatt. They walked into the lab, to which nothing special was in there.
"Look in the corner of the cell, there is a potion bottle." Phil took the keys from his pocket, and opened the door to the cell, Phil leaned slightly in, Dream standing close behind, and Tubbo pushed them in, closing and locking the door behind them. "Adios!"
"They'll still believe us over you!" Dream shouted. "I can't believe you fucking fell for that."
"Me?! You fell for it too!" They bickered, no stopping. Tubbo/Schlatt left the lab back to where Tommy was, keys sitting right by the cell, they unlocked the door and Tommy hopped out, immediately squeezing Tubbo in a tight hug.
"You're okay!" Tommy smiled, and Tubbo gave a slight chuckle
"I wouldn't be if it wasn't for Schlatt."
"Where is he?"
"He's still possessing me, he's scared to come out." Schlatt possessing Tubbo was as if there was just another voice in his head, but one that he genuinely could not control, Schlatt was scared to come out as he worried he'd faze out of existence, and he panicked at that thought.
"Schlatt please." Tubbo spoke to himself, to which the reply he got was a slight sigh, and a saddened I'll come out. Tubbo let out a shiver as Schlatt unpossessed him, Schlatt was mostly gone, though bits and pieces of him still remained, his eyes black with tears falling from them, and any parts of him that weren't gone seemed to have burn marks on them, but.. how?
"Schlatt!" Tubbo smiled seeing him. Schlatt hugged himself, cold and in pain, he gave a slight smile, he was happy Tubbo was okay.
"Tubbo." Schlatt responded.
"Are you okay?"
"I'll be fine, just, go ahead of me if you guys start walking."
"We'll chill here for a bit." And they did just that, they sat down on the ground and spoke, catching up and finally feeling a second to breath. Smiles lit every one of their faces, and for once, they were all proud and happy with themselves. "Tommy, did you get any form of evidence we're the good guys?" Tommy nodded
"While Dream and Phil ran out to grab you and tie you to the tree, Dream left his phone an inch too close to me."
"Does that mean..?" Tommy raised the phone from his pocket.
"Video evidence."
"We have to go prove our innocence!" They nodded in agreement and started walking, Schlatt following but a slower pace. As they arrived by other people, they nervously spoke. "Before you kill, report, claim us to be the bad guys, we have something to show you all." They showed everyone the video, their faces contorting into disgusts as they realized their friends were the enemies all along. They all discussed what to do with Dream and Phil, and decided the prison was the smartest, the real prison. After they were all locked up, everyone asked Tubbo,
"Do you wish to be president again Tubbo?"
"Thank you, but no. I'm terrible at making decisions, let alone decisions for a country!" Everyone gave a laugh.
"While you all try and think of who you want your president to be, I want to go talk to Tommy and Schlatt alone." Everyone nodded, letting them walk off to go speak.
They walked to the bench, by Tommy's home. Tommy and Tubbo sat on the bench, Schlatt standing next to Tubbo's side. "Tommy do you have a disc?"
"Yeah heres.." He reached into the chest looking for a specific disc, and finally pulled it out. "Heres chirp. I listened to it a lot in exile."
"My favorite." As chirp played in the background, they all watched the sunset. Tubbo rested his head on Tommy's shoulder, completely tired and dazed from the day. Tubbo spoke after a few minutes of silence,
"I'm lucky to call you both Family."