TW: SWEARING, YELLING, FIRE, BLOOD, VIOLENCE, DEPRIVATION, MALNOURISHMENT
(Image from Pinterest. This is kind of how I picture Y/N's armour :O)
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The air is busy with the crackle of metal on metal and the sharp stench of smoke and gunpowder. I don't falter as another bomb blows in a building on my right. It was the last attempt of the Dark Army's forces to hold onto their territory. As soon as it's clear, our soldiers rush in and pull out the soldiers who lit the fuse. They're shackled like the others and led away.
Tommy and Niki had managed to get all the townspeople out before the battle got heated. I was glad that Tommy would be in a place without the fighting, but it didn't stop me from worrying about his reaction to all the noise.
He had been reluctant to come this morning, but his fears were outweighed by his desire to help the rebellion. He traded his blue sweater for Netherite armour in the basement, I helped him braid his hair so it was away from his face and Tubbo found him some earplugs. I had never noticed but Tubbo wore earplugs whenever he fought. I suppose it made sense since he is our demolitions man.
The Dark Army soldiers weren't expecting our attack. Dream and I have contemplated whether Schlatt even knows we're beating his soldiers. We've been incredibly thorough, we never leave a soldier behind although I'm not unaware that it wouldn't be hard for one to slip away. Schlatt's territory was so large now, his soldiers were spread to the thinnest. It would be hard to get a message back to him.
There's been so much death, losses heavier on Schlatt's side. A year ago, I would have been horrified at the thought of killing anybody but now I had few reservations. The Dark Army soldiers needed to fear us and we couldn't risk any of them getting lost. The prison is yet to be built and the small one in the SMP is not going to hold them all. We have no choice, this is war, there's nothing to be done about death.
I sweep every corner of the relatively large town that had been turned into a Dark Army outpost. Many of the buildings had been destroyed by the Dark Army before we arrived. I see some of our soldiers leading the last of the villagers to the transport. All of them bleed. I spot an elderly man holding a thick cloth over his eye, it's drenched in blood, the soldier with him is the only thing keeping him standing. Disgust settles heavily in my chest, how could Schlatt want this?
Once I'm sure the village is empty, I make my way to the evacuation spot. My armour clinks feeling heavy after long hours of fighting and shouting and lighting TNT. We would take the villagers to L'Manburg, it had become a hub for asylum seekers until we can find them a safer place to live where the Dark Army won't find them.
My next job was to make sure the others were doing theirs. I frown thinking about it, it's pretty boring being in charge. I had barely been able to fight too. I feel like I do nothing and put all the work on everybody else when I should be doing some of it. Dream said it was normal to feel like that and told me I was working hard. I wasn't convinced.
I start scanning the crowds and startle when Niki rushes out of them. I look at her worriedly as she puffs short of breath.
"Niki, what happened?" I grip her shoulder holding her up. I look over her for injuries but see none.
"During the fighting, an orphanage was destroyed," she wheezes out. I feel pale as stress takes over my body. How big was the orphanage? There could have been loads of people in a town this size.
"Did you get everybody out?" I demand and Niki nods starting to breathe more regularly.
"We got everybody out, but there are so many kids," Niki explains. I sigh quietly thanking the gods that all the children are alright. Equally, I feel the voices start squirming as thousands of scenarios run through my mind. Those kids would be terrified and we would need some help.
"I'm coming," I say and she walks back into the crowds and I start searching for Tubbo knowing he'd be able to help too. I look around for a second spotting Dream and Techno herding people to the carts that we would carry everybody to L'Manburg.
I finally find Tubbo on the other side of the crowd. I press my fingers to my lips and whistle instantly grabbing his attention and the attention of some townspeople he was surrounded by. I wave for him to follow me. He nods and I make my way through the thick crowd.
"What's going on?" Tubbo asks when he finds me.
"Tommy and Niki need help moving children from the orphanage," I summarise and he asks no questions. Like a soldier, I think but then shake myself remembering that we are soldiers.
We stop short when we finally spot them. Tommy and Niki are surrounded by fretting children all holding each other's hands tightly. Many of them were crying and filthy and, like many orphanages, most of them were hybrids. At least none of them looked to be badly injured, their luck was incredible.
"This looks like a cult," Tubbo says walking over to Tommy. Instantly, Tommy whips his head up causing his blond curls to bounce.
"Thank the gods! I was running out of ideas," he looks completely frazzled. I had to hide my amusement, Tommy's expressions had a way of making me laugh. But I frown myself frowning when I see something strange on his back.
"Tommy, what's on your back?" I say navigating through the sea of small children. As I go I look for injuries and try and work out who was the youngest so they could be cared for first.
"What? Oh! It's a kid," he turns around showing me the child. His body was completely black and his trousers and shirt were muddy and full of rips. It took me a moment to realise the six extra legs that protruded from his back. He was a spider hybrid.
"We should get these kids to the SMP orphanage," Tubbo says now holding a young girl in his arms wet face and dried blood by her ears which were covered by her filthy hands.
I could see that Tubbo's serious expression from the battle we had fought was long gone. He had been a menace in the field, lighting TNT left, right, and centre cleaning up buildings and pushing everybody into the main streets. He almost looked like he was enjoying it.
"Is there any more room?" I ask remembering the number of children we had been bringing in after every reconnaissance mission.
"If there isn't room, we'll keep them in the castle," I turn and see Dream holding an incredibly young boy with lamb ears in his arms, he must be about three years old. It was strange to see him wearing his mask and holding a young kid but Dream was stubborn about his anonymity. I smile at him gratefully and find myself in awe of the kindness that came out more with every passing day.
"Thank you, what's the situation?" I ask.
"The town doctors and our medics are treating as many people as we can. The mayor says they've been in contact with a neighbouring village that's protected by our forces. They plan to travel there tonight. Our only refugees are a family and an older couple," I feel a weight lift from my shoulders.
"Better than the last town," I recall how we had to move nearly three hundred townspeople to L'Manburg. To say that we are overcrowded is an understatement.
"We should get going," Techno's voice carries across the air. I sigh as I notice he's standing a good few feet away from the orphans. "If we don't leave soon we'll be out after dark and I don't know about you guys, but I don't want to fight demons and juggle people at the same time."
I look over to Tubbo, Niki and Tommy who are all busy with children. Techno was right.
"Techno, Dream, can you escort our refugees to the cart? I also need one of you to organise soldiers to stay posted here in the town and soldiers and medics to escort people to the next town. You also need to radio our forces in the next town to meet our soldiers and the townspeople halfway to keep them safe," despite the long list of demands, they nod strongly and get to work.
I turn back to the others. I whistle gently and one of Phil's crows lands cheekily on my shoulder. he squawks in my ear making me wince.
"Now that's just rude," he seems to laugh at me.
"Please tell Phil we've liberated the town and we need our guards in L'Manburg to come to protect it and build new iron golems," I whisper to him. He lets out another boistrous squawk and then flies off towards L'Manburg.
I turn back to the children. I guess that there's about thirty of them which meant Tubbo, Tommy, Niki and I needed to have either seven or eight each to look after for the time being.
"Niki, Tubbo, Tommy, seven or eight kids each," I call to them and we get to work. Niki gathers her group asking them all to hold hands so everybody stays together. Tommy and Tubbo follow suit and I gather all the kids who were left together.
"Where are we going?" one of them asks as they all hold hands. I smile at her reassuringly and make note of the small stubs of horns at the top of her head.
"We're going to a safe place where you will be looked after," I take the young girl's hand and feel a tug on my other hand. I look and see a human boy.
"A-are you a warrior?" he stutters letting me know that these kids hadn't been educated at all. I smirk at him playfully hoping to bring his spirits up.
"Yes I am," for the rest of the walk to the carts, I'm bombarded with sweetly innocent questions. Can you beat an iron golem? Can you fight with a sword? Have you killed somebody before? I was careful with my answers.
Lorelei waves to me as I reach the cart she's driving. I notice Tubbo and Tommy lifting kids onto the cart Myles is driving ahead of us. Lorelei and Myles eventually concluded they'd held with the war effort as long as they never saw battle. Ranboo and I were more than happy to agree.
Niki comes over and we fit as many kids as we can onto the cart but eventually, we have to stop.
"We can't fit them all, Angus is strong but he's tired from the journey," I look over at the great grey bull. I could see what Lorelei meant, his aura was dimmer than usual.
"We'll have to carry some of them on our horses if they don't fit," I resolve and Lorelei shouts the message to Myles.
In the end, there were nine children who didn't fit. We each take a child or two and hoist them onto our horses. I smile as Percy watches me confused about why I had come back with two extra people. I find myself glad for his massive body as I sit the two girls on the front. They seemed to be best friends, and I was too soft to separate them. A young bat hybrid with fiberous wings on her arms and a human girl.
"Sit still you two," I tell them. They nod excitedly. I pull myself into the saddle and Niki comes up beside me with the tiny kitten hybrid she had been carrying all morning.
I spot Tommy and Tubbo ahead of us. Tommy still had the quiet spider hybrid on his back as well as a boy in front of him. Tubbo had a mushroom hybrid boy. I chuckle as I spot Techno with a pig hybrid like him and Dream with a human boy and girl who looked to be twins.
I signal to Lorelei and Myles and the young girl driving the other cart with the small family and elderly couple.
When we made it the to SMP orphanage, the morning sun had long turned golden with the afternoon. But we had a complication when it came to Tommy's spider friend.
"Y/N, he's not budging," Tommy frowns as the boy clings on tighter. A lovely woman from the orphanage has been with us trying to pry the kid away from Tommy, but he was stubborn.
"Don't worry child, we've got some warm supper waiting for you inside," the woman tries again her voice sounding as caring as she looked. She was a rounder lady and wore a thick floral skirt and pink shirt. The kind of lady you would want as a joyful aunt.
"It's no use," Tommy sighs peering over his shoulder. Anxiously he pinches the bridge of his nose, the white tip of his hair brushing his fingers.
"It's fine, I can look after him for the night. He's probably just scared from the raid," Tommy says quickly. Tubbo and I share a questioning look.
"Are you sure, Tommy?"
"Yeah yeah, it's fine!" Tommy drags out his words raspily trying to keep things light. "Besides, I'm in the house with Y/N and Dream so it's fine," Tommy exaggerates "fine" again.
I remain unconvinced, Tommy had no idea what he was getting into. The kid could be from any background and he was clearly traumatised to some extent. We agree and then ride back to the house. We go faster than before to get back before sundown but that doesn't seem to bother the boy. As we put the horses away butterflies land all over Tommy and the boy despite Tommy's grumpy attempts to keep them off.
"So who's making dinner?" Tommy asks loudly kicking off his boots at the front door. We take off our armour too, Tommy grumbles a string of curses when he realises he can't take off his chestplate.
"I can," I offer and Dream smiles gratefully as he takes off his mask. I knew he had work to do after all the progress we'd made today. Our socks make no sounds on the wooden floors and Dream kisses my cheek before heading into the basement. I feel the familiar pang of longing in my stomach once he disappears but choose to ignore it in favour of looking after the child.
I start pulling things out of the cupboard trying to decide what to make. Tommy heaves himself onto a stool at the kitchen island bench with a sigh.
"What's wrong?" I ask looking back at him. He sighs again.
"I like the kid but he's very clingy," Tommy whispers making me laugh. I pull out some vegetables.
"What are we eating?" I ask looking at the kid.
"No clue," Tommy replies with a shrug weighed down by his armour and the boy.
"Quackity told me about something his mother made him when he was a kid. Maybe our spider friend will like it?" I look around at the boy, but he makes no move to respond to my question. His face was firmly buried in Tommy's back and I wondered if he'd moved all day.
"Go for it, all Phil made us as kids were potatoes or stew with Techno," I can't stop my laughter imagining the scene in my mind perfectly. Sounds like the Craft family, I think to myself.
I pull out a fat block of cheese remembering how Quackity described quesadillas. I dig around and find some tortillas that Sapnap and I had made earlier in the week. I check they're still good and then keep cooking. As I work I keep my eyes on the boy on Tommy's back.
"Should I try talking to him?" I ask Tommy. Tommy looks at the boy, with some emotion behind his eyes I couldn't place, and then says "Alright."
I put the chopping knife down and pull out the seat next to Tommy.
"Hey buddy, I'm Y/N and I'm a good friend of Tommy's. What's your name?" I ask him softly. It takes a moment before he hesitantly shakes his head keeping his face in Tommy's back all the while. I look up at Tommy and we share a hopeful but also confused look.
"Do you have a name?" I ask gently, Tommy scoffs as if to say "Of course he does," but the kid shakes his head again. I see Tommy look at him in surprise.
"You don't talk much, do you," I note and the kid turns his head away from me.
"Are you scared of us?" he makes no move.
"Well, I wouldn't worry about Tommy, he's a big softie-"
"I am not!" Tommy scowls and a butterfly that had found its way inside lands on his head.
"And the other guy, Dream, is one of the kindest people you will meet. We don't want to hurt you, I promise you're safe here," the boy stays silent but I see him hug Tommy a little tighter. I look up at Tommy for help, he sighs and his eyes gloss thoughtfully.
"Bad people have hurt us too, kid, which is why we're trying to stop bad people from hurting anybody else," Tommy's expression was cloudy. I knew a thousand memories were going through his mind. My kidnapping - both of them - all the betrayals we had faced, the fighting, the people we've lost in the midst of it, the permanent marks on our skin and in our minds that had been left as evidence of it.
The yellow butterfly that was in Tommy's hair flutters down to his shoulder. He spots it, but instead of brushing it away, he puts it onto his finger and then sets it down on the boy's arm by his face. I notice the boy's head move to watch it.
"What did they call you in the orphanage?" I ask quietly. There's a beat of silence.
"Fifteen," his small voice says. I immediately look to Tommy. Fifteen. A number for a boy as precious as this? I could tell we both agreed it was some unspoken crime. From his voice, I knew he was young, younger than most of those other kids.
"Ok," I mutter. "Would you like to help me cook? You can just watch if you like," I offer gently but the boy grips tightly onto Tommy.
"Hey, kid, I promise she won't hurt you. She's pretty fun to cook with too, she'll let you choose the food you want," Tommy adds on cheekily and I pull a face at him that makes him chuckle.
Finally, the kid looks at me with his big eyes. He had two big red eyes and then four smaller ones around them. One small eye above and below his bigger eye. I felt myself melt at his sweet face. I shuffle in closer letting the boy climb onto my back. He hugs me tightly and I see why Tommy wasn't opposed to having him holding on, he fit as snugly as a jacket.
As I cook and chat to the boy, often getting no replies other than the occasional nod or shake of his head, Tommy takes off his chestplate and finds his favourite blue cardigan. Tommy also pulls out his stubby ponytail and braids letting his longish hair brush his shoulders scruffily.
The kitchen fills with delicious smells and holds onto its warmth from the sunny day we had. Tommy watches us for a while and then excuses himself to check on Dream. I watch him go down the stairs worriedly. I know Tommy still isn't totally comfortable with Dream.
I also know Dream doesn't need to be checked on.
~~~~ Tommy's P.O.V ~~~~
I didn't want to leave the hearty kitchen upstairs but I need to see Dream. I battle with my inner thoughts.
He'll drag you back to exile. He's going to hurt you. Don't be fucking stupid you prick. He's your enemy.
I try my best to push them aside, I'm doing this for Y/N. She promised Dream wouldn't take me back there but months of hard-wired trauma are hard to reorganise.
I don't need to see Dream about anything. Well, I do need to see him, just not for a particular reason. I know it would make Y/N so happy to see us getting along and I hate being afraid all the time. It's fucking exhausting. I still think he's a prick but Puffy said I should try to get more comfortable around him.
I don't remember when Puffy had become my therapist, but I don't mind. She's nice, I guess.
I reach the basement and feel my muscles freeze as I stare at the office door at the end of the hall. I take a deep breath and separate my thoughts from my emotions as Puffy told me to do. Logically; I should go in there. Should I go in there? Do I really have to?
Yes.
I can't be afraid forever and Y/N says he's changed. I trust Y/N, she wouldn't lead me astray. She revived me for fucks sake.
I force my feet to march to the end of the hall and curse when I hesitate before knocking. I hear a mumble from inside and take it as a cue to open the door. I push it open before my nerves make me run in the other direction.
Dream sits hunched over a letter which he scribbles furiously at. On his right, a stack of papers sat waiting to be inked and on his left a smaller stack with complete documents. He looks up at me expectantly. I'm never going to get used to actually looking Dream in the eye. And freckles! How the fuck could the guy who tortured me in exile have freckles?!
"Oh hey," I cough awkwardly. Dream must sense my nervousness.
"So, how did you find the kid?" I'm silently grateful for an actual conversation topic.
"Well, we were kicking Dark Army ass in the orphanage when some idiot set off a bomb," I look at the ground forcing away the tremble I felt at my fingers. "There was a fire and we were running through the rooms when we found him."
Niki had been the one to find him. The explosion sent me to the ground, but not from the impact. My ears were ringing like the world was ending. It felt like it was. He was hiding in a blanket, she had carried it back out since the kid refused to let go of it. When I checked it out after I got out of the building, the kid looked at me for a second and then latched onto my back. Niki said he was so shrouded by the blanket she nearly missed him completely.
"Has he told you guys his name?" Dream asks. I feel my blood boil.
"He says that they called him 'Fifteen'," I growl and Dream's face contorts into a frown.
"They shouldn't be giving kids numbers," he fumbles under his breath. I'm surprised by his response although I know I shouldn't be.
"Was the orphanage run by the town?" I question, Dream shakes his head in a way that suggests he doesn't know.
"It's likely that the Dark Army has been taking orphans to train them to be soldiers. That's why they have so many troops and yet we hear nothing about recruitments. I'm assuming soldiers were in charge of the orphanage," Dream explains.
"That's shit," I blurt out angrily.
"That's why we're doing this." We sit in silence for a moment, both steaming in our anger.
"Where's the kid now?" Dream cranes his neck noticing how he wasn't on my back anymore.
"Oh, he's watching Y/N cook," as soon as I say her name I see Dream's face soften and his lips curl a little at the corners with the hint of a smile. I force away the face I wanted to pull out of spite.
I don't understand it. He's like a marshmallow for her and when Y/N isn't here he's like gravel. Horrible, gritty and he falls. He falls far enough to torture another person, he falls far enough to join the Dark Army and be manipulated. I don't understand how Y/N loves him, he was sick and twisted.
I shake my head trying to shake my spiralling thoughts.
"Do you need any help?" I grumble reluctantly. Dream smirks.
"Can you update the map?" I nod and he smiles his thanks. I shut the door behind me and shiver. He smiled.
That's fucking weird.
~~~~~
HELOOOOOOOOO
I am stuck with covid at home :( so there could potentially be a lot fo chapters coming out next week as I procrastinate all the stuff I should be doing XD
I HOPE YOU HAVE A WONDERFUL MORNING/DAY/EVENING/NIGHT <3 <3 <3
So hyped to make Shroud content XD