My twt is @HadesTrades, I post updates on delays or reschedules there, follow to keep updated!
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Tommy and Dream sat beneath a large oak tree, as they watched Tubbo being lowered into grave dug out at the base of the L'mantree, the one remaining part from the previous destruction of L'manberg. The tree a symbolism for the resilience of their country and it only felt befitting that Tubbo be laid to rest there.
Nearly everyone showed up, all paying their respects, but most silently standing by with solemn expressions. None of them knew what to say. This had taken everyone by surprise and now the country was at a loss, leaderless, and afraid for what the future may hold.
Tommy sat in the grass, anxiously pulling at the blades and ripping them up from the earth small handfuls at a time. Dream sat beside him cross legged on the ground, while Techno checked in every now and then, but enough people were at the funeral that Phil's escape would be child's play.
Everyone had questions, but none appropriate to ask at the funeral.
What were they going to do next?
Why did this happen?
Who was responsible?
Was there going to be another war?
Instead they stayed in silence. The appropriate time would come but today was a day to mourn.
A slow drizzle began in small droplets that slowly grew more persistent.
How befitting. Quackity had thought, standing by the grave, he turned his palm up to feel the rain against his skin, eyes drifting up to the dark sky. He took a moment to appreciate the rain sprinkling against his face, before taking a slow deep breath and looking to his right. Quackity carefully grabbed one of the shovels that was planted in a mound of dirt they'd dug from the grave and took it firmly in both hands, spearing it down into the dirt again.
Using the shovel, he scooped the soil up and began tossing it down onto the casket below. Fundy walked from the front and joined beside him silently. The fox was then followed by Niki. Even Ranboo, who looked like the shell of someone he once was, managed to muster the strength and energy to help bury their dear friend.
"Let's go, Tommy," Dream whispered to the boy. Standing up, and dusting any residue from the ground off his pants.
Tommy stood slowly, not having noticed he was crying until he surprised himself with a sniffle, and rubbed the back of his hand across his face, feeling the tear that'd run down his cheek.
In the moment he'd killed Tubbo, Tommy had felt nothing, he only had one goal and that was to follow through on what Dream had told him to do. That's what he'd been taught. Listen to Dream and everything would be fine, that's how it was now, that's how it had been for long enough that he'd been sufficiently taught that lesson.
In the aftermath however, Tommy was still trying to cope with his actions, the only way he knew how to now was to rely on Dream to validate him. He needed the man to be his emotional crutch, and Dream was more than willing to support him as long as he needed. This wasn't exactly his intention when he told Tommy to kill Tubbo, but the result was more than ideal for the man.
In fact he'd honestly only told him to do so, to see if Tommy would.
As they walked away, Dream put his arm around Tommy's shoulders comfortingly, which the boy appreciated. Usually he'd flinch when Dream would reach toward him, expecting to be struck, but just as Tommy had reminded himself all along, Dream didn't strike him for no reason.
All Tommy had to do was listen, it was as simple as that.
"It was unavoidable," Dream told him gently. Tommy felt his breath get stuck in his throat, a sob he hadn't known he was holding in escaped, and he put his hand over his mouth to muffle it. They were far from the crowd of people still attending the funeral but he didn't want his voice to carry.
Tommy squeezed his eyes shut, tears running down his face as his shoulders shook with each hiccup and whimper, he couldn't keep it in any longer and it all started to pour out.
Dream watched the boy, his heartstrings pulled by Tommy's sorrow. More and more the man felt himself sincerely caring about Tommy, even so far as to feel guilt for the ways he'd treated him in exile, despite still feeling it was necessary.
He turned Tommy to face him, the boy trying to wipe away his tears on his sweater sleeves and cuffs that covered his palms, but he struggled to keep up as they streamed down his face. Dream took Tommy's shoulders and the boy looked up at him, his expression reflecting the pain he was feeling, and Dream wrapped him in a tight hug, pulling the boy close to his chest, comfortingly.
Tommy shook and his tears continued to escape him, now wetting Dream's hoodie, but Dream didn't mind, and he held Tommy close. Tommy had only ever allowed himself such vulnerability with Tubbo and Wilbur, and the affection was exactly what he needed, given he'd now lost both of them.
They stood for a while, Dream allowing the boy as much time as he needed to work through the overwhelming emotions he was feeling, or rather at least long enough that Tommy was able to make the journey home without another breakdown.
Tommy pulled away once his body started to relax, no longer shaking, and he'd run out of tears to cry for the time. Giving a loud sniffle and drying up his face, he looked up at Dream.
"W-we should probably get goin', big man," Tommy said, letting out a shaky breath at the end of his statement. Trying to compose himself again. Dream nodded in agreement, they didn't have much longer until the invisibility potions wore off now.
"You and Phil at your place?" Dream asked Techno over the communication lines, while he and Tommy headed toward the central Nether Portal. It'd be a faster transportation route.
"Yep, the mission was a success I'd say," Techno responded.
"Good, lets go over plans when we get back."
Dream and Tommy made their way through the Nether silently. Tommy feeling empty inside after his emotional purge earlier, he struggled to keep up with Dream and held the sleeve of the man's jacket to keep from falling behind.
Dream slowed his pace every now and then when he felt Tommy begin to tug significantly on him when he'd lag behind. It made the trip take a little longer but Dream was patient and wasn't in any rush knowing that all of L'manberg was in mourning right now and nowhere prepared to ambush them.
Once they reached Techno's home, Phil was stand-offish and distant with Tommy. Not sure how to feel after having watched the boy slay Tubbo right in front of his eyes. Tommy only looked at him briefly, offering no greeting either when he walked straight for the ladder to the basement. He felt emotionally exhausted and was just ready to rest.
Dream stopped in front of Phil and gave the man a nod in acknowledgement.
"Phil, nice to see you're okay," Dream told him with a friendly demeanor. He'd never exactly disliked the man, they simply didn't know each other that closely. Phil on the other hand wasn't exactly fond of Dream, knowing he wasn't treating Tommy the best in exile, and vaguely aware of his manipulation toward both Tubbo and Tommy.
"You too, I suppose," Phil replied, then looked at Techno. "You said you had a plan, Techno? Let's hear it then."
Techno nodded, his arms crossed over his chest as he flicked his head to the side, moving his bangs from his face with the movement. He leaned against the wall of his cabin.
"Withers," Techno said simply and Dream grinned darkly. He knew where this was going, and he approved greatly. "And a lot of them. Phil I want your help gathering the skulls, maybe Tommy too if he's up to it."
Referring to the boy's dejected demeanor, Dream gave Techno a reassuring nod.
"He'll help," Dream told them and Phil furrowed his brow at this. Who was Dream to speak for Tommy? It was certainly a red flag for Phil, even if Techno seemed completely oblivious to them. "He could use the distraction."
"We should ask first, I think," Phil suggested, looking pointedly at Dream, despite his words seeming neutral.
Dream looked back at Phil, an air of superiority to his demeanor as he stated again.
"He'll help."
Phil's brows furrowed further, the situation was definitely off.
"In the meantime, I'll gather some TNT, and we can go over some of my own plans for the attack. How does complete annihilation sound?" Dream said, grinning wide, Techno reflecting the expression.
"Sounds like me and you are thinkin' the same thing, Dream."
------
Quackity had managed to get the entire Butcher Army together again at their meeting base. Everyone except their fallen comrade of course. The atmosphere of the room was solemn and most were sitting at the table with their heads down.
Quackity cleared his throat, standing at the head of the table.
"I know we're all dealing with this loss," the man said, swallowing as he looked around the room. Ranboo looked empty, but present as he leaned back in his chair, back straight against the back of it. Fundy glanced up from the table where he sat leaned over on his elbows.
Niki had joined now as well, and she had her hands placed in her lap, one over another as she waited for Quackity to continue. Another comrade was greatly appreciated, and she seemed just as driven as the rest to enact revenge.
"I say, we find Tommy. And we kill him," Quackity proposed darkly, and paused before speaking again, "then we target Techno again." He looked around the table for input. Fundy was the first to speak,
"How- how do we expect to take out Techno!? After how last time went, there's no way we can get him again, that was a failure, Quackity!" Fundy rebutted, his paws gesturing exaggeratedly, before setting down against the table again.
"No, Fundy. We'll get him," Niki said, before Quackity had a chance to respond and they all looked at her. She may be soft spoken, and seemed like a gentle agreeable character, but she had a fire in her that most weren't acquainted with. She followed herself up sternly, "We can do this."
"She's right," Quackity reinforced, setting his hands hard against the table as he gave them all a firm look in the eyes. "We can't doubt our strength. That wasn't a fluke, brute force isn't all there is, we were smart. Smart enough to capture Techno, and we can do it again."
"How?" Fundy pressed, doubt evident in his voice.
"We could use Tommy," Ranboo finally spoke up, his voice soft as he suggested the method. "Capture Tommy, and lure him out."
"Yes!" Quackity's eyes lit up. That was a perfect idea! Techno's one weakness above all else was his connections with his friends, if they could get him to surrender by using just his horse, then a close ally would be even better. "They must be close, if Tommy showed up to rescue him, right?"
"Tommy is the easier of the two to capture," Niki followed up with, looking between everyone, feeling a strong confidence in the plan herself. "He seems trained. But there's no way-"
She was cut off by an overeager Fundy,
"There's no way he can win against the four of us!" Fundy leapt from his chair, a grin on his face.
"That's it then. We get Tommy, then we get Techno," Quackity stood upright again. "Good job, Ranboo."
Ranboo gave a gentle nod in response to the praise.
------
"Tommy."
Tommy looked behind himself, having struck his sword through the ribcage of the wither skeleton he had been fighting. He gave a sigh when the skull shattered against the ground, crumbling before him. Damn things were so hard to slay yet so fragile once deceased.
"What's up, big man?" Tommy asked the man that had addressed him. Philza was at his side, knocking down the foes with him, working on gathering the amount of skulls they'd need for their future endeavors. Tommy hadn't been told why they were in need of wither skulls, nor why so many, but he'd been told it wasn't any of his concern yet so he didn't press, as he'd been trained not to. If Dream said to do something, then it was his responsibility to say yes and not ask questions when told not to.
"What- uh- what happened in exile?" Phil asked, careful when bringing the subject up, as he was sure Tommy would be sensitive to it.
"What do you mean, Phil? I was fucking exiled," Tommy snapped, turning to redirect his anger on another wither skeleton, catching it's sword with his shield and bringing his weapon down on the undead creature, carefully not to hit the skull. "Wasn't exactly a fuckin' vacation."
"Yeah, yeah. Of course," Phil replied while he took on his own walking skeletons, "I'm sorry I didn't visit you more."
Tommy flinched when he heard the apology come from Phil, and in his distraction he caught a hit from his assailant. Feeling the wound pulse angrily with pain, he fell back wincing and gritting his teeth, "Fuck!"
Phil struck down the one he'd been working on and stepped in between Tommy and his attacker, finishing the job for the boy and offering him a golden apple that Tommy took gratefully.
Two more skulls. Good, they were that much closer to getting out of this hellscape.
"Whatever," Tommy sneered, not looking at the man as he walked around him, taking a big bite of the apple he'd been given. He spoke again around the mouthful of food, "No one else did either. Doesn't matter anyway, Dream was there."
Phil began to put together some of the dots as more of the picture was beginning to reveal itself to him.
"You and Dream seem a lot closer," Philza observed, glancing at Tommy to catch his facial expression, while engaging in combat again.
"We're friends," Tommy answered simply. Holding what remained of the apple between his teeth as he struck at a skeleton whose attention he'd grabbed.
"When did that happen? Two seemed to hate each other last I knew," Philza chuckled, pressing the subject as he tried to explore more into the nature of their new relationship.
"When he was the only fuckin' person to visit me in exile. And trained me to fight, and protected me from my shit goddamn friends that exiled me, and taught me... taught me everything," Tommy had tossed the core of his apple aside after having finished it to respond to Phil's incessant questioning.
"Protect you from your friends?" Phil stalled, catching an attack with his shield as he looked over at Tommy. "Tommy wh- Dream was the reason you were ex-"
"Shut up!" Tommy bit out at him, glaring at Phil. His own shield in front of him, protecting himself. "I don't want to fuckin' talk about it anymore. Just shut up, you weren't there, no one was. Dream was. So shut the fuck up," Tommy grit his teeth.
Phil was silent, turning back to his foe and continuing on with his own actions, Tommy doing the same as no words were shared between the two.
"I'm sorry, Tommy," Phil finally said, and Tommy sneered at the apology.
"Just shut up, man."
The only words exchanged after that were the ones that were necessary. Warning one another when an attacker was coming in from behind, and tossing food between the two when there was a lull between fights. 'Thank you's and 'You're welcome's, and nothing more than that, anything else was responded to with a grumbled sound of acknowledgement from Tommy, or curt answers that stopped any real conversation.
Once they were satisfied, and quite frankly, exhausted, Tommy gave all the skulls to Phil to carry on home. Tommy wanted to take a scenic route, but most importantly, he didn't want to travel with Phil at the moment, and they went their separate ways on the way back home.
Tommy decided to take the portal to his old place of exile, Phil taking the one directly to Techno's home.
Tommy stepped out onto the beach, feeling the breeze against his sweaty skin was a relief, and the sun was setting in the distance, leaving a golden glow across the sand and ocean. It wasn't the most pleasant place for him to be, at least not mentally, but he didn't mind much.
His eyes drifted to the little bits that remained of Logstedshire. Reduced now to a giant crater in the ground. And his destroyed tent. To think he used to live here, it seemed so long ago, and the memories were hazy. He remembered the party he'd thrown, no one showed up except for Dream.
Despite the sorrow he'd felt at the moment, and following- he now thought of how Dream had let him play with his trident and how much fun they'd had, bouncing around the ocean in the rain, and flying through the air.
He smiled at the memory, and gave a little chuckle.
The amount of stupid stuff he'd gotten into on this beach, the games he and Dream would play, and fun jokes with even Ghostbur who was around a lot for that. Thinking of which, he hadn't seen that whimsical ghost anywhere recently. He hoped the specter was okay, wherever he was.
Tommy was heading out to the plains, lost in his thoughts, but he knew the general idea of where he was headed, he'd stumbled across Techno's place before, so he knew a bit about the area.
Lifting up a low hanging branch of a tree, he squinted past the leaves, and when his eyes opened all the way again, adjusting to the darkness of the night, he was met with the point of a sword directly in his face.
He damn near walked straight into it, and flinched back, looking to his left he saw Fundy, then to his right, he saw Niki. Quackity was the one in front of his face, and the boy gave a nervous chuckle, not sure how to respond to the sudden ambush.
"Big Q," Tommy swallowed, raising his hands slowly. Any resistance, he was sure would be met by a swift death. Then again, why hadn't they slain him already?
"What a stroke of luck we've had," Quackity grinned bleakly at the boy. "Didn't think you'd really be out at your place of exile, Tommy."
"What do you want?" Tommy glared at the man, getting his wits about him again as he grounded himself. "Mad I killed Tubbo, right? Revenge then, that's it?"
Quackity growled angrily, kicking Tommy's legs out from under him, his sword pierced down into Tommy's upper arm and the boy choked on a cry of pain. Not wanting to give Quackity the pleasure of hearing him scream, but the pain was burning through him, sharp and agonizing.
"I've felt worse," Tommy bit out, voice strained as he antagonized the man standing over him. Quackity stared down at him, murder in his eyes.
"I'm only getting started," Quackity assured, drawing the blade from Tommy and leaving a gaping wound in its wake. He positioned to stab down into the boy again, but a tight grip wrapped around his upper arm.
Quackity flinched at the touch, pulling him out of his rage, as he looked up to see it was Niki.
"Not yet. We need to use him," Niki told him firmly, and Quackity took a deep breath, looking from the woman to Fundy.
"Tie him up. Bandage his arm so he doesn't bleed out," Quackity told him, turning around and walking back to their horses. If he looked at Tommy again, he was afraid the temptation to take the boy's life would be too great to ignore.
Fundy pulled Tommy up from the ground. Niki now pointed a crossbow at him, aimed directly at his head to remind that if he attempted to run, he'd be immediately killed.
"Drop your weapons, and armour," Niki told him, her soft voice having a bite behind it that Tommy wasn't familiar with. It was so much different from the Niki he thought he knew.
Tommy did as he was told, wincing with every rush of pain that came from his wounded arm. He dropped everything to the ground, Fundy picking it all up so as to not leave any trace of the boy behind. Plus a full set of enchanted netherite would always come in handy.
The fox bandaged his arm too tightly for Tommy and it hurt badly, but the tightness was for good reason. Fundy making sure he wouldn't bleed out on their journey home, it was a far trek afterall.
He then tied the boy's arms tightly behind his back, and the three got on their horses, making Tommy walk behind them.
"We'll keep him in the base," Quackity told Fundy and Niki as they walked along. The four were hidden under the brush of the nearby forest, the moon peeking out between branches and casting a silver glow against them. "We'll need to add on some kind of cell."
"I can travel ahead and get started on that," Fundy offered and Quackity gave him a nod.
"Good idea, Fundy."
A/N big thanks to my beta reader for this chap! and beating my writer block's butt to get this one out, lets goooo!
hope y'all enjoyed <3