"Go to sleep, Tommy."
My body grew heavy, my arms turned to lead. Techno was right, I should go to sleep. The pain should cease as soon as I fall asleep, right?
***
Ghostbur shook me awake. I awoke with a gasp, my nightmare ending. I was on Carl, Technoblade's horse. I could hear Ghostbur asking if I was OK, but I couldn't answer.
***
The cold air nipped at my nose as I was pulled down from the saddle and carried into the house. The smell of freshly baked bread, dusty books, red apples stored in crates, and a smokey fire wafted into my nostrils. Just like Philza’s old house.
***
Stairs.
***
Bed.
***
A soft kiss on the head.
***
Sunlight slanted through the window as Tommy stirred. He was covered in a soft yellow quilt, and wore a sleeveless pajama shirt and a pair of woolen pants. He shivered in the cold morning air. Where was he?
The boy tried to sit up, but fell back onto the mattress. Extreme pain shot up his arm, and Tommy looked over. A bandage was wrapped neatly over his left limb.
Then Tommy remembered. Dream, his wings, Technoblade and Phil, everything.
Tommy put all his weight into his right arm and pushed himself up. He looked out the window at the beautiful snow, almost blinding in the sun. The glass was frosted, creating icy curves and patterns. The Avian smiled, tracing his finger across a certain swirl.
The boy swung his legs out of bed, wrapping the yellow quilt around him. His feet touched smooth wood floor. Tommy giggled in delight. It had been a while since that feeling. He stood up and walked down the stairs.
The sound of something fizzling on a pan met Tommy’s ears. Philza smiled at him from the stove, flipping a pancake over. "Hi Toms. Like your new house?"
Tommy looked around in awe. The cabin was a beautiful rustic aesthetic. Vines wrapped around support beams, and wide windows let sunbeams onto the floor. Tommy smiled, nodding vigorously. He made his way to a table set for two and sat down. Phil crossed the room and slid a plate of pancakes under his son's nose. Tommy inhaled the scent and proceeded to shove the first one into his mouth. Phil burst into a fit of laughter. "Wha?" Tommy looked at the man in confusion, mouth stuffed with pancake.
The door slammed open and Techno appeared, covered in his signature red cloak and a mismatched knitted scarf. He stomped the snow off of his boots on the floormat and pulled down his scarf, sighing in relief. He crossed the room to a chair and pulled it over to the table, plopping down. He picked up a fork and stabbed one of Tommy’s pancakes, taking a bite out of it. "You owe me," he muttered through chewing.
The pigging hybrid looked down at Tommy, examining the scar that ran across his face. Tommy saw him looking and tried to cover it with his hand.
Techno felt a tugging at his heart. Poor kid. What had Dream done to him before they had rescued him?
"Techno?" Said man snapped out of his trance. Tommy smiled kindly, sliding his plate over. "Want some more?"
Techno leaned over, wrapping Tommy in a bear hug. The Avain sqirmed, shouting, "ACK! I MEANT PANCAKES, NOT HUGS!"
Techno squeezed him tighter.
Eventually Tommy stopped resisting and his body relaxed, his arms moving up to wrap around Technoblade's cloak.
Eventually, Techno pulled away from his friend. "Tommy, would you like to go mining with me? I'm sure it would be good if you got some armour."
Tommy nodded. "Do you have a cloak I can borrow? Dream took Wilbur's, and it's cold out."
Techno tilted his head toward the stairs. "Actually, you've got a new outfit. Your old one is practically falling apart."
Tommy smiled. "Is it upstairs?"
"Go check your closet."
Tommy jumped from the table and ran up the stairs. Technoblade and Phil heard a gasp from the second floor. After a minute, Tommy ran down and lunged at the both of them, creating a group hug. He wore a light blue tunic with gold trim, grey pants, and a beautiful wolf-fur cape. The boy looked princely in his outfit. The only thing that mismatched was his signature green bandana, tied loosely around his neck. "Techno, where did you get this?"
Technoblade laughed. "That, my friend, is an Antarctic Kingdom uniform. The outfit is created by one of the best seamstresses on SMP Earth."
Tommy smiled, fingering the edge of the cape. "I love it."
Phil grinned mischievously. "Just one more thing," he said, and grabbed Technoblade's crown from his head. He placed it on Tommy’s golden hair, and the crown immediately fell past his ears and landed on his neck. The trio died of laughter.
After the laughter died down, Philza noticed something that he hadn't noticed before. Tommy wore a necklace around his neck, tied to a compass. The kid noticed him looking and grabbed it anxiously. Phil examined it closer, and saw two words etched into it. "Your Tu-" The rest was scratched off.
"Tommy," Techno said, his face growing serious. "We want answers. Why were you in the tundra, and why were you chased by Dream? What happened to your face and clothes?"
Tommy stuttered. "W-well, I had accidentally burnt down George's house while robbing it, and Dream got angry at me and L'Manburg. He threatened to enslave the entire country if Tubbo didn't hand me over to him. At the last second, Tubbo decreed that I would be exiled from the entire SMP-" Tommy stopped there, choking. Phil placed a hand on his son's shoulder, urging him to go on.
"Then Dream took me to exile territory and gave me supplies. He visited me every day, torturing me, ruining all my hard work. His feelings were so mixed, they would change rapidly, first he would be cheerful and then horrible. He would punish me for the slightest things. He didn't care how much I hurt, how much my health declined... then one day he found a vault full of gifts from friends. He gave me the scar as punishment for keeping secrets, and then he blew up the vault. The next morning I found my wings on my back."
His audience was silent, thinking about Tommy's story.
"The day he found the vault, we were in the Nether. I brought up you, Phil. He wants to take your wings, and mine. He thinks that it corrupts our feelings, makes us uncontrollable- now I realize what he's trying to do. He wants to make the members of the SMP into puppets. He knew I'm Avian, like you, Philza. I think that's why he wanted to exile me. Because when I grow my wings, he would be there to just chop them off."
Techno gasped. "I'm so sorry, Tommy-"
The Avian laughed. "It's fine. I escaped, didn't I? And it's thanks to you guys, and Ranboo and Ghostbur."
Ranboo burst through the door, his multicolored eyes wide and scared. "It's Dream! He's coming here! Tubbo and an army is going to go with him. Dream told Tubbo that we had captured Tommy. I barely escaped."
Tommy gasped, removing his hand from the compass. The compass was spinning. Someone was moving.
"They're coming, guys. What so we do?"
Phil sighed. "Thomas-"
"Don't call me that, Phil."
"Tommy, now is the time to decide. Tubbo and L'Manburg, or us?"
Tommy blanched. What was his decision? His best friend, or his family?
The Avain gulped. "P-Phil, I-"