Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Living in the snow wasn't all bad but it was times like these that Tommy wished for any company that wasn't the not so silent trees that whispered to each other as they loomed above the white ground. Tommy shook himself back into reality as he continued his trek through the snow towards his family's home, the blond puffing his cheeks out in one last attempt at getting the trees to be quiet. He dragged a sled behind him, on it laying tightly tied bundles of branches that would be dried and put in the wood shed for later. He had already been outside long enough, too much longer and hypothermia and frost bite would set in with near irreversible damage. Quickening his pace once he saw the light of the lanterns that swung on chains tied to posts in front of the door, Tommy sniffled and shivered at the biting wind.

Tommy sighed in relief at finally reaching the wood shed, removing the bundled sticks and branches with a practiced ease. Being the youngest came with both perks and a downside. He was always sent to do the non-dangerous jobs like feeding the chickens or collecting wood while his older brother's Wilbur and Techno fought mobs or went hunting. Every time he'd ask to go, his father would reply with a gentle tone and soothing words. He'd tell the blond that he was too young but once he turned sixteen that he'd be allowed to go. Tommy looked up from the now empty sled, watching as the already dark sky had stars start to pop up. He slipped in through the back door after leaning the sled against the exterior wall of the house, stomping the snow of his boots before leaning down to take them off.

Tommy left his boots there, deciding that after that, he'd rather not go outside again for a few days. Going outside meant going into the forest and in winter, that was never a good thing. The trees didn't whisper as often but when they did, nothing they said was positive. It sounded insane, the idea of the forest being filled with the whispers of all those chilled and left to rot by the Arctic wind, even to Tommy, so he never told anyone. The only person who knew was his best friend, Tubbo. Well, the only one alive that is. The two decided that they could bare the whispers and survive the winter as they always had, waiting for the sun to rise. The blond could barely remember a time where the sun didn't set and disappear for an entire three months. He had lived here ever since Phil took him in at age 10, the time before the winged man being fuzzy. Tommy sighed as he entered his room, thinking about the time before the Arctic winters made his head hurt.

Pulling of his coat with movements now weighed down by the warmth of the house, Tommy mulled over what to do until Phil inevitably came knocking on the door to tell him to sleep. He'd put away his coat later but for now it can stay on the back of his desk chair. Tommy looked at the small jukebox next to his desk, a couple music discs stacked next to it. He grabbed one of the discs, not stopping to see what it was, popping it into the slot with barely noticeable aggression. The melody flooded the room as the jukebox fired up, quiet at first but then steadily getting louder until it stabilized at a mezzo piano. It was a disc named chirp, a gift from Tubbo for his fifteenth birthday. He hummed along, trying to find something to do until the clock on the wall struck six o' clock. With a quick glance and a groan at it only being four in the afternoon, Tommy stopped his jukebox and set his disc back in it's place before leaving his messy but not too messy room.

He shouldn't have been too surprised, the sun hadn't risen in over three weeks after all. He sighed as his feet led him to a very familiar door. The music room. He had spaced out and didn't notice where he was going until he had stopped outside the dark oak door. He really needed to stop doing that. Tommy shook his head, gripping the -way too cold to be normal- door handle with a hiss. Great. Making his way to the grand piano, the blonde ignored the translucent yet very solid looking male in the opposite corner. He'd seen him multiple times, always in that exact same room. Sometimes he'd be playing the piano, others he'd be sitting and staring out one of the three windows on the far wall. With pumpkin orange hair and amber eyes that glistened like gemstones in the lantern light, the male in the corner was hard to miss. "Hello, Tommy." Said blonde turned around, staring at the male in the corner with a small smile that didn't look quite right. "Hey, Fundy." The ghosts eyes narrowed at the distressed undertone, seeming to look right through the fifteen year old. "Tommy. . ." The blonde sighed, moving to sit next to the ghost. Fundy didn't move, just sat in the corner and watched Tommy move from the door towards him. Fundy moved the fabric of his dress over so the teen could sit, even though it didn't make a difference. Fundy was still in the clothes he died in, looking quite the sight to those that could see him.

"What's going on, Toms?" It was silent for awhile. The younger of the two listened for footsteps out in the hall, a habit from before Phil took him in. "The trees' were whispering again and being all rude and shit." Fundy hummed, understanding how that could have been overwhelming. Despite being quite the explosive teen, Tommy's voice was quiet as if being loud would be the death of him. Fundy put his hand on Tommy's knee in a gesture of silent comfort, despite knowing that no one beside Tommy and Tubbo could hear him. The scrawny blonde chuckled, groaning as he stood up. Fundy stood as well, adjusting the skirt of the dress so it fell properly before moving to the arm chair near the piano.

Tommy grabbed a book of the self nearest the piano and riffled through it to find a very specific piece of music. It was calming and melodic, very whimsical in tone. The tune had a name, Fundy was sure of it but nothing came to his mind at the thought. Fundy smiled as the first notes rang in the air. It had been his favorite piece of music when he was alive, from what he could remember. He had been the one to tell Tommy where Phil had hidden the stuff that belonged to Fundy's family when they lived in the house. He didn't tell Tommy how he knew but in all honesty, he didn't think it was that important. The ghost turned his attention to the piano once more, chuckling at how Tommy played slowly but with an unusual grace for the teen. The piece was a sort of melodic circle in terms of melody, just under four minutes long if played at the correct tempo.

Fundy sighed, crossing his legs as he sat back. He had been lonely before Tommy and Tubbo. The two boys spent a lot of time in this room between their studies and chores so the male could actually talk to some for the first time in how ever long it's been. A silent brush of no existent air meant to be a sigh passed through the man's long dead lips, amber eyes swirled with yellow looked down at the fabric of the dress with a sort of mixed expression. He had hated it when he was alive. The finely woven cotton, though light was heavy with expectations he could never meet. Had it been she back then? He couldn't remember. It had been a very long time since his footsteps made sound or the sound of a child giggling echoed through the halls as he (she?) played.

A knock on the door startled Fundy out of his thoughts, Tommy letting out a clearly distracted "Yeah?" The door let out a small groan as it swept open, a blonde male in a green kimono standing on the other side of the door frame. "Toms?" Tommy turned to look back at the winged man with a silent 𝘺𝘦𝘴, 𝘋𝘢𝘥?, "Dinners done. Come done after you're put away, all right?" With that, Phil left and shut the door behind him with a quiet 𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘬.

Chapter Text

Tommy walked through the echoing halls of his family's home, feet following a seemingly nonsensical path through the winding maze. Dinner had played out as it always had. Phil sat at the head of the table while Wilbur and Techno sat side by side with backs facing the door, Tommy and Tubbo sitting next to each other with backs facing the windows that lined the far wall. The blonde sighed, grateful for the quiet stone that made up the floor. Unlike the forest, the walls didn’t whisper words that consistently flipped from venomous to cryptic at a moments notice. Blue eyes wandered as he moved before coming to an abrupt and panicked stop as he felt someone grab his arm.

He whipped around, panic receding as he locked eyes with the person - well. . . ghost- who grabbed him. “Jesus Christ, big man!” The ghost shrugs, letting go of the teen with a simple “You were about to run into the door.” Tommy looked around and sure enough, he was less than an arm's reach away. “Thanks, man.” The translucent male smiled, purple eyes gleaming as he followed Tommy into the library. Shutting the door, the blonde was suddenly very, very grateful he and Tubbo had walked in the same direction. He had no clue if he had been heard or not. His family is already concerned enough about him because he was young, they didn’t need to see him talking to the dead space that was the air.

Tommy collected himself and sat next to the window, the ghost sitting on the floor near the brown, Victorian armchair. “Hey purpled?” The boy on the floor looked up, humming in a silent 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘩? “How many winters has it been since you’ve read a book?” The blonde raised an eyebrow at the other blond on the floor as he reached over to grab the book on the window sill. “Probably somewhere around 23-ish?” was the answer Tommy got from the purple eyed boy. A hum was returned as Tommy got up and grabbed the lantern off the table, gesturing to the pale boy to follow.

The light was necessary, even with the other lanterns and candle lamps. It looked like it was midnight outside but it wasn’t even past what was considered evening by those down south. He stopped in front of a bookshelf. It didn’t look special, not in any capacity. It looked like the rest of the shelves in the massive library, made of the same dark oak wood as the rest. It was nothing short of impressive that Tommy had managed to find the shelf with it being so dark in the library. The ghost behind the blonde tilted his head with a confused expression on his translucent face.

“I think you might like this one.” With no explanation given, the fifteen year old moved away from the shelf with a well worn book. When did he grab that? Following after Tommy, Purpled shook his head with a chuckled sigh. Tommy sat back down on the chair, Purpled taking his usual position on the floor. The strawberry blonde stopped questioning it after awhile. Tommy opened the book, simply setting it on the floor in front of the other blonde. The book was nothing special at first glance, a simple green cover with gold ivy vines etched in and painted. It was so well read that it stayed flat on the floor, pages open for all to see. Purpled laid on his stomach, wincing as he suddenly felt a flash of phantom pain in his legs before it faded not a second later.

The book was interesting to say the least. It was a mythology book, recounting wondrous tales of gods and mages, necromancers and monstrous beasts. Tommy had always loved the book when he was younger, always imagining himself as the mighty prince on his way to smite the wretched warlock and his patron god. He had always told his brothers that one day, one day he’d be just like the mage in the third story. When his fourteenth birthday had rolled around, the book had become less of a possibility to the young strawberry blonde and more of a nice escape from his own struggles. Purpled turned the page, Tommy not batting an eye as to how insane it would look from an outside perspective. To the outside world, the book had moved on its own but to him and the other four supernatural beings in the manner, that didn’t matter.
Tommy grabbed his own book, moving the emerald green ribbon away from it’s nook between the worn pages. He settled into the chair, feet coming to rest on the cushion. He might as well read, it’s not like he had anything better to do.

Unsure of how long had passed, Tommy looked up at the approaching footsteps. A flash of pink was a he got before he was being pulled up to his feet with a gentle yet strong grip. “It’s time for bed, Toms.” Tommy went to shake his head but a yawn stopped his argument before it even happened. Techno’s expression didn’t change but Tommy could tell he was amused. Tommy pouted, setting his now closed book down before following the pink haired man out of the library. Tommy didn’t want to go to bed but knew that trying to argue with his older brother was futile. The strawberry blonde shivered, remembering the one time he decided that he didn’t want to go to bed. Techno was disturbingly strong, throwing the squirming thirteen year old over his shoulder with as little as a grunt.

Tommy turned back, watching as Purpled waved goodbye before the library door shut, leaving him and Techno alone. Not that Techno knew that they hadn’t been. “Tommy.” the teen startled, facing his brother with a quirked eyebrow. Techno stood in front of him, a barely noticeable concern lacing his periwinkle eyes. Tommy shook his head to ground himself, looking up at Techno with a confused expression. “What happened to your arm?” Blue eyes widened as he looked at the area his older brother had pointed to.

A giant, blue and purple bruise sat under his wrist. Tommy looked up, meeting with concerned eyes with a “What the fuck?!” Techno’s lips tightened, the rare expression of emotion going unmentioned by the confused and slightly panicked duo. “I-” Tommy was confused and about ready to collapse, unable to get any words out. The older of the two decided right then and there that he could not handle this alone.

“Come on, We’re getting dad.”

Chapter Text

To say Phil wasn’t expecting a concerned and borderline angry Techno to burst into his study, dragging a shaken and near crying Tommy behind him, was an understatement.

The blonde was immediately thrown off at the visible emotion on his son's face but he was truly thrown for a loop at the tears gathering in the baby blue eyes of his youngest. Phil got up out of his chair, moving towards the pair in his doorway. “What’s happened? Why are you two so disheveled?” Techno let go of Tommy, turning and crouching so he was in the strawberry blondes line of sight. The question was obvious, even to the confused and near panicking teen. 𝘋𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘯? Tommy gripped his wrist to his chest, nodding ever so slightly.

Letting out a breath, the pink haired male turned towards the winged male a little more than arm's reach away. “I went to get Tommy from the library, but when I got him out. . . I saw it.” Phil raised an eyebrow, moving to ask what he meant before he choked on the barely formed words. Techno held up the teen’s arm, Tommy looked away from them and instead at his socked feet. Phil wasn’t focused on that though, no. He was focused on the giant bruise. It was multicolored, taking up the space from just below his palm to around the middle of his forearm. It was red and purple with blue patches, a gross yellow around the edges as if framing the circle of tender, discolored skin.

Phil walked towards them, slow enough that Tommy could move away if he needed to. He gripped Tommy’s arm, touching it lightly enough to not hurt him. “Oh, Toms. . . What happened, kid?” Tommy looked at his dad before dropping his eyes back to the floor. “I- I-” Tommy shook his head, the usually loud teen reverting back to how he acted when Phil had first taken him in. Tommy reminded himself that Phil wouldn’t hurt him, pushing back the memories trying to claw their way to the surface. “I don’t know. . .”

Phil did not look very convinced, scanning the teen’s face for any hint of dishonesty. There was none. He sighed, cupping Tommy’s face with gentle hands. Tommy’s eyes widened, body tensing before relaxing as he recognized his father’s deep ocean blue eyes. The blonde was concerned. He hadn’t seen his son this panicked in over two years, despite the occasional flare up of ptsd induced flashbacks or a particularly awful day at the market about a half day's travel away.

Tommy wasn’t what one would describe as a social butterfly but he surely couldn’t be described as an introvert either. Phil sighed, letting out a chuckle before pulling Tommy into his arms. He backed up towards the chair in front of the fireplace, pulling the teen with him. Despite being nearly Phil’s height, the fifteen year old still climbed into his lap every so often. Phil smiled as Tommy nestled into his lap and decided he wasn’t moving for a while. Techno shifted awkwardly, clearly concerned but also not sure if he was intruding. The pink haired male was just about to turn and leave when the youngest called out for him in a soft, near inaudible whisper.

“Techno? Stay.”

Periwinkle eyes softened, Techno turning around with a nod. He sat next to the chair, leaning his head on the arm rest. Tommy didn’t move at his brother next to him, simply sighing in a sort of strained content. “Can you tell me a story, Tech?” The words were soft, a clear hesitance in his little brother's voice. Techno hummed, reaching to run his hands through Tommy’s curly hair. “Have one in mind, Toms?” Tommy thought for a moment, puffing his cheeks out before shaking his head with an uncharacteristically soft 𝘯𝘰. Techno felt his heart drop at how small his brother sounded. It felt wrong.

“Have I ever told you the story of Theseus, Tommy?”

Chapter Text

Tommy dragged his eyes open to his best friend at his bedside, shaking his shoulder with shouted whispers of 𝘛𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘺! The strawberry blond sat up, yawning as Tubbo sits back on his heels. When did he get in his room? Tubbo let out a small giggle, pulling his sleepy best friend out of bed by his hand. “What the fuck, Tubbo?” Said brunette turned to look at the younger, rolling his eyes in mock annoyance. “It’s already morning, Tommy! I thought we could go check on the animals!” “Fucking hell, big man. . . Alright, let me get dressed.” Tubbo giggled at the sour tone, knowing Tommy wasn’t upset but tired.

Tommy yawned, watching as Tubbo left to give him privacy. Well then. Tommy turned to the wardrobe in the left corner of the room. He opened the dark wooden chest, looking at the different shirts and other miscellaneous things like the two dresses he owned. He didn’t wear the dresses often but it was a gift from Eret, and They worked hard on the two garments. One was a gift for his fourteenth birthday and the other was a gift because they wanted to. Tommy looked at the dresses, humming in thought. One was really fancy while the other was a simple day dress.

It was a lot of work if he wanted to wear the dress properly, work he didn’t want to do. Maybe he’ll wear the dress when Eret and Niki come back. The fifteen year old grabbed a blue long sleeve, pulling out one of the drawers under the cavity of the wardrobe to pull out a pair of simple brown trousers. Quickly throwing off his shirt, Tommy looked out the window to see the darkness lightening ever so slightly, resembling twilight. It was most likely just about early morning down south. Tommy frowned, feeling a sinking feeling in his sternum. Eret and Niki were down south. He would never admit it but he missed the two.

He missed Niki’s giggle when he and Tubbo played outside during breaks between lessons. He missed Eret’s blank yet oh so kind eyes. Tommy stopped before he could cry, because big men such as himself don’t cry. He left his room, smiling at the sight of Tubbo standing barely an arms reach down the hall. “Alright bitch boy, lets go.” Tubbo whirled around, firing back with a quick 𝘚𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶! Tommy let his usual booming laugh, putting a hand to his chest in mock offense. The two made their way down the hallway, heading towards the parlor on the bottom floor, notably avoiding the far right hallway before they reached the staircase down to the bottom floor.

Tubbo and Tommy playfully argued about whether bees or cows were better, occasionally shoving each other lightly as they moved through the house. “All I’m saying is, if you got the chance to have one be sentient, a cow would be a lot cooler to talk to.” Tubbo scoffed, rolling his until his eyes resembled Eret’s. “Imagine being friends with a bee though. It would open so many possibilities!” Tommy hummed, looking at Tubbo before shaking his head with a laugh. “Fucking weirdo.” Tubbo made a face, smacking the younger on the back of the head with a smirk. “What the fuck, bitch?!”

As the two sat on the wooden bench in the entrance hall, lacing up their boots and pulling on gloves, they talked like they hadn’t spoken in years. The only silence was comfortable, the two focused on buttoning and clasping coats and cloaks as they prepared for the trek to the greenhouse a little ways away from the house. Tommy grabbed the royal blue cloak his father had made for him after his first couple days here. It wasn’t a color Tommy thought he would look good in but it fit the family’s aesthetic. Now that he thought about it, most of his family’s clothes -his and Tubbo’s included- were white, blue, purple and red. Well damn, that’s a bit on the nose. He wasn’t stupid, Tommy knew how those away from the arctic regarded his father and brothers.

He shook himself from his thoughts as Tubbo stood, finally done getting ready. “Jeez, you really took your sweet ass time big man.” Tubbo looked at him with a clearly unimpressed expression on his face. Tubbo wore a white coat, brown boots adorned with iron reaching his knees, leather gloves clinged to his fingers as his forest green cloak draped around him. Tommy laughed, grabbing the unlit lantern off the table by the double dark oak doors.

He turned to grab a flint and steel out of his pocket but stopped short at Tubbo’s sharp gasp. He turned, about to ask what was wrong but stopped at seeing the lit lantern in his hands. Tubbo and Tommy looked at each other dumbly, both shocked and confused at what had just transpired. “What. The. Fuck.” Tubbo looked at Tommy, chocolate eyes wide. With one prolonged eye contact, they promptly decided to ignore it and move on with the day.

Weirder things have happened.

Opening the door, Tommy and Tubbo left, nearly shoulder to shoulder as they walked towards the giant glass and wood building. The snow was shin deep at best, drifts leaving huge patches of shallow snow. Occasionally, the two would have to stop as the wind would kick up and cause a temporary white out as snow blew up and swirled in the air. Tubbo twitched as the voices on the wind decided to be as loud as the howling wind itself. He grabbed onto Tommy’s arm, silently urging him to move faster. Tommy was the one holding the lantern after all.

After however long it took to move through the snow, the greenhouse door was finally in sight. The green house was more of an entire indoor garden. It was split into three sections, made of spruce log frames, white stained glass filling the inbetween. The roof was a slow but steep arch, and overhang framing each main section of the segmented glass sheets. In the front, it had a small porch boxed in with glass akin to the one on the house and stables. It was large, towering even with the giant snow drifts and lack of natural light.

Tommy and Tubbo entered the porch, hanging the still burning lantern on the hooked chain hanging from the ceiling. Coats and gloves were discarded, coats going next as they planned to spend most if not all of the morning there. Tommy and Tubbo put their outerwear in two different piles, Tommy reaching up to put out the lantern, submerging them in darkness.

The two sat under one of the many giant oak trees dotted around the main garden, a comfortable silence dawning over the teens. They weren’t alone though. A dark haired male sat just across from them, back facing the pond in the center garden. “Hey big Q?” The translucent male turned his head towards the pair. “Yeah?” Tubbo looked towards the beehive under one of the trees across the pond. “Can bees, like you know, see you?” Quackity started laughing at the out of nowhere question, nearly throwing himself sideways as he did so. Tommy turned to look at Tubbo incredulously before laughing himself. Tubbo let out a defensive what? before joining in the laughter with his own.

“That was so fucking random, Tubbo. The hell?” Tubbo crossed his arms, tilting his head with a raised eyebrow. “It was a simple question.” Quackity tried to calm down, shaking his head by way of answering. “No Tubbo, the bees don’t know I’m here.” Tommy found himself near convulsing as he tried not to laugh at the ridiculous conversation happening in front of him. “Well that must suck for you then.” Quackity pulled a face, looking at the red face fifteen year old at the head of the triangle the three sat in. “Are you fucking high?”

The dam broke, Tommy laughing as he fell backward on the deep green grass and moss that covered the ground. Tubbo and Quackity turned to the youngest in the household, rolling their eyes. “Tommy, is Tubbo on drugs?” Tubbo rolled his eyes and lightly shoved the ghost in front of him with a bright smile. Tommy tried to get up, only to fall back down once the question rang into his ears. “Big Q! You're going to end up killing Tommy at this rate! We don’t need four ghosts in the house!” “Oh fuck off!” Tubbo put his hand to his chest, gasping in mock offence before kicking the dark haired male in his translucent stomach.

Tommy’s laughs dissolved into hacking coughs and wheezed breaths. Tubbo sighed, pulling his friend up into his sitting position by his wrists. Tubbo looked at Tommy with a mix of mirth and concern, silently asking if he was okay. It wouldn’t be the first time Tommy hid his illness until it was near fatal. Tommy coughed into his elbow, the last of his giggles dying down as he adjusted his position to be more comfortable. “I’m- I’m good.” Tubbo and Quackity shared a glance, deciding to take Tommy at his word.

The three slipped back into an easy conversation, Tommy’s mind drifting back to the lantern that lit all by itself. He must have imagined it. Maybe Techno or Wilbur had just used it and it still had the tiniest spark of life left. The lantern was cold, though. Maybe Phil had enchanted it sometime before they got to it. It didn’t glow. “-mmy? -ommy? Tommy!” The strawberry blonde in question shook his head, looking towards a very concerned Tubbo and Quackity with wide blue eyes. “What’s up?” Tubbo leaned forward and put his hand to Tommy’s forehead, letting out a small sigh at no signs of fever.

“You spaced out.” It was a statement, blunt and straight to the point as always. Quackity didn’t sugar coat things, never had in the five winters the teen had known him. “Sorry, I was thinking.” Tubbo tilted his head, eyes both focused and glossed over at the same time. Tommy couldn’t judge, he knew his eyes looked the same. Looking through the layers of reality would do that to you.

“Was it about the lantern?” Damn it. Tubbo always knew when he was hiding something, didn’t he? “Yeah, it was.” Quackity looked back and forth between the two mediums, a confused expression lighting up his face. “Are you two going to tell me what the fuck is happening or. . .?” Tommy sighed, gesturing to Tubbo with a clearly exhausted look that sent Quackity’s nonexistent heart into a frenzy. “You can explain this one, big man.” Tubbo turned to face the now very confused eighteen year -forever eighteen-, taking a deep breath before launching into his explanation. It filled the once peaceful but now suffocating atmosphere of the indoor garden.

Quackity’s face went from concerned confusion to thoughtful seriousness as the short story time concluded. It was unsettling to say the least. The two mediums looked at each other, not used to seeing their friend so serious. It had only happened once and the ghost was angry, not at the two -at the time thirteen year olds- but angry nonetheless. “Tommy?” Said teen looked up and quirked an eyebrow, “Do you know if your dad got rid of any of the books from when my family lived in the house?” Tommy thought back to when Phil was giving him the tour of the house on his first night there.

𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘺.” 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘵, 𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘢𝘬 𝘸𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘤𝘰𝘢 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘦. “𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥, 𝘛𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺, 𝘯𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵.” 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘺 𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦, 𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥.

Tommy looked at the ghost across from him, tilting his head before answering. “No, Techno wouldn’t let him. Why?” Quackity let out what sounded like a sigh, turning towards the confused fifteen year old. “I remember there being a book in the library that went into deep detail in all sorts of things. Potions, mobs, the stars, plants, hell it even had an entire section dedicated to portals and shit. If anything will have even the slightest clue of what’s going on, it’s that behemoth of a fucking book.” Tubbo and Tommy look at each other, both in sync as they look back at Quackity.

“Where is it?” It was a simple question but seemed near impossible to answer with how large the library was. “I know the general location and what the book looks like.” It wasn’t much but that was as good a place as any to start their search. “All right, big man. Shoot.” Taking a deep breath - It’s not like he can breathe- Quackity looked through the ceiling at the ever present stars that light up the deep purple sky. “From what I remember, it should be on the far left side at the very back. It was a deep blue, with silver lines? No they were vines! Silver vines on it and the title was in I think the same language as enchantments but the book itself wasn’t.”

Tommy looks up at the roof, gazing past to see that the darkness of the sky had lightened just enough to see the storm clouds rolling in. Fuck, it was almost midday. “Thanks big man but holy shit we’ve been here awhile.” Tubbo looked up, cursing under his breath at how long they had been in the greenhouse. “Sorry Big Q but we’ve gotta go.” Tubbo stood up quickly, turning to help Tommy get up with an extended hand. Pulling himself up, Tommy hoped that Phil wasn’t too worried at the empty beds he no doubt found this morning. “Let’s hope dad isn’t too mad.”

The two said their goodbyes to the eighteen year old, heading for the room where all their gear was. Thankfully it hadn’t gotten any worse outside, Tubbo wouldn’t be able to handle the trip back to the house. Tubbo sighed, buttoning his coat as Tommy grabbed the lantern off the chain. It should have gone out. It hadn’t. The flame was blazing, flicking back and forth with far more range than any flame should have after being left unattended for hours in the glass confines of the lantern.

Tommy handed the now prepared Tubbo the lantern, putting on his own coat and cloak. He slipped on his worn yet sturdy leather gloves, flexing his hand before grabbing the lantern once again. What might seem unnecessary to some could mean the difference between life and death in the harsh, arctic winds. The two teens looked at each other, looked at the door then back to each other, silently determining that after they would start their search tomorrow. But for now, they had to make their way back to the house before Phil went on a murder spree.

Tommy and Tubbo steadied themselves, opened the door and stepped out into the arctic snow

Chapter Text

Techno sat in the armchair near the lit fireplace in the library when Tommy and Tubbo opened the door. “Hey Tech.” Techno grunted at the two boys in greeting, turning the page in the book he was reading. The two boys moved farther into the library, moving in between shelves until they reached the farthest shelf in the last row on the left side of the bottom floor of the library. The shelf was no different than any of the other’s, tall and made of the same wood as the doors to the room they resided in. The two started scanning the bookcase, Tubbo gasping as he found the deep blue cover on one of the higher shelves.

Tommy had to steady himself on the shelf as he got on the tips of his feet to grab the book, nearly falling as the heavy object tilted into his grasp. Tubbo leaned to take a look at the -now that he looked at it- rather unsuspecting book, humming in thought. It looked almost exactly how Quackity had described it. A deep, lapis blue cover, silver vines crawling all over the cover, swirling around the title in the center, dug in and cemented into the leather. The title was in the center of the vines, the same unnatural silver that shined in the lantern light. Worn parchment filling the deep blue cover layer by layer, yellowed with age and deeped by dust.

The two teens moved to the desk against the window, lined on each side by the deep oak bookcases. Tubbo set the lantern down, just behind the now splayed open book, spilling light onto the ancient pages. Just as the younger of the two was to turn to the first page, Techno rounded the corner. “It’s time for dinner, nerds.” Tommy shut the book, softly shouting as he reached to put it back in its place. “Really, Tommy? Was that necessary?” The strawberry blonde looked at his brother with the mock imitation of Techno’s own expression. “Yes it was, bitch boy.”

“Alright that’s it. Prepare for your doom.” Tommy shrieked, just barely dodging his older brother as he lunged for him. He ran for the door, Tubbo doubling over in laughter at the scene. The pink haired male grabbed Tommy by his torso, throwing him over his shoulder with a monotone shout of victory. Techno paraded down the halls, holding his squirming baby brother in triumph even as the strawberry blond yelled in his ear. Tubbo followed after the two, breathless and giggling at his best friend being manhandled in such a way.

“Tubbo! Help me!” Tubbo shook his head, not even attempting to fake consideration. “Absolutely not.” Techno laughed, finding the situation quite hilarious. The fifteen year old on his shoulder gasped in mock horror, dramatically going limp. “Traitor! Traitors, I tell you!” Laughter spilt into the hall, echoing around the lantern lit space. “Techno. . . put your brother down.” “Dad! Help me!” Phil laughed as he made his way down the corridor, Techno sighing before putting his little brother down on his feet. Tommy ran towards his father, hiding behind him with a look of mock offence. “You betrayed me! How will I ever recover?” Everyone started laughing, Tommy joining them shortly after.

“All right, enough lollygagging you three. Go wash your hands and come down for dinner.”

The dining room was filled with the sound of chatter, everyone more focused on each other rather than cleaning up their, now finished, plates. “I swear, every time I walk into a room with either of you in it, something weird’s happenin’.” Tommy and Tubbo shouted out a synchronized “Hey!”, giggling shortly afterwards as they looked at each other. Wilbur shook his head, never quite used to how in sync the boys were. Tommy found Tubbo unconscious in the forest just after Wilbur and Techno’s seventeenth birthday. They planned on settling him at the nearby village but Tommy got so attached the brunette stuck around. That was four years ago now.

“It’s not my fault that you always walk in at the weirdest time’s, Tech.” Techno grunted, pulling at the sleeves of his sweater. “That implies you do normal shit and see, I just don’t believe that.” Wilbur burst out laughing, smacking the table before falling sideways. Phil laughed and shook his head, wings shaking slightly as his chuckle warmed the lantern lit dining room. Tommy and Tubbo looked at each other, chuckling like they knew something the rest didn’t. They probably did if the brunette was honest with himself. The two were always off exploring and -like his twin- had read through at least half of that goddamn library. Wilbur looked out the window, chocolate eyes sparkling in the warm orange glow that had shadows dancing on the walls.

He couldn’t wait until the sun rose once again.

Chapter Text

That night saw Tommy and Tubbo back in the library, the only ones awake in the house. Normally Techno would still be awake and moving around but one peak inside his bedroom granted the fifteen year old with soft breathes and the sleeping face of his older brother. Now the two were back in the library, sitting at the same desk they were at earlier. The book was sitting closed in front of the two boys who looked at each other, unsure of whether to continue or not. “We didn’t come here in the middle of the night for nothing. Let’s do this.”

Tubbo opened the book, fingers gently flipping through the worn parchment until the first splashes of deep red ink showed itself. Instead of the typical table of contents, the entire page was blank except for a single line of text in the center.

⍑╎ᓭℸ ̣ 𝙹∷|| ╎ᓭ リ𝙹ℸ ̣ 𝙹⍊ᒷ∷ ||ᒷℸ ̣

The two looked at each other, eyes alight with both confusion and a sort of determination. “My enchantment is very rusty but I think I can translate this later.” Tommy nodded at his best friend, an unspoken agreement to keep this secret floating between the two as they flipped to the next page. The first thing that caught the boys attention was the drawings lined in the same striking red as the rest of the page. The book had multiple paragraphs, hand written in loopy yet clearly readable sentences. Tubbo looked down at the page, glimpsing at the illustrations in an attempt at deciphering the contents of the page.

Tommy flipped through page after page, skimming each time to get the gist before moving on. Tubbo stopped Tommy from flipping the page, a simple sketch of an enchantment table catching his attention. Tubbo pointed at it, drawing the strawberry blond’s eyes to it. It spanned both pages, the sketch being on the bottom of the right page. “Well, This seems like a good place to start.” Tommy nodded, moving to bring the lantern the tiniest smidge closer. The blue eyed boy took a deep breath, prepared to read out loud to make this a bit easier on them both.

“The enchantment table for centuries has been labeled a mystery, a gift from whatever gods one believed in. The table, despite being used by nearly every intelligent being in this realm, is shrouded in a veil of myths and lies. The exact origins are unknown but the most common theory among magic users is the idea of it being forged from the very material as the veil between dimensions, the portal between that of this world and not.”

Tubbo looked at his friend, head turning to where the enchantment table in the house was located. Down in the basement under the main hall. It was warm in the basement. Tubbo turned back to Tommy to see him waiting patiently for the brunette to stop zoning out so he could continue. Once seeing Tubbo was paying attention Tommy starts again, voice unnaturally loud in the silent library.

“Composed of an obsidian base with diamond latches and a magic infused book, the enchantment table uses runes to etch and infuse magic into an object, be it weapons, tools or armor. The key is the natural magic already infused in the very materials used to make one. Everything has a natural magic to it and, if harnessed properly, can be used to heal, damage, wither or even completely disintegrate. The enchantment table harnesses the magic in the obsidian and diamonds and when the runes from the pages are etched into the item, it carries over the residual energy and gives said item what is referred to as an enchantment.”

Tubbo let out an incredulous chuckle. Never before had he seen something that explained so much yet so little at the same time. Tommy was in the same boat, confused beyond recognition as he tried to sort through the information that had just been dumped on the pair. The two mediums turned to each other, sharing similar expressions. “Maybe we should go check out the enchantment table downstairs.” Tommy nodded, standing up and grabbing the book. Tubbo grabbed the lantern, slowly moving to the door as quietly as possible. Just before they reached the door Tommy stopped him, holding a hand up in a silent shushing motion. Tubbo waits, about to tell Tommy there's nothing there before he hears what the younger had. Footsteps.

“Wilbur.” Tommy clutched the book to his chest with his uninjured arm, using the other to pull Tubbo away from the door. The footsteps weren’t panicked by any means but they weren’t what one would associate with sleep filled wakefulness. A muffled curse made known to the boys that Wilbur was just outside the doors. Tommy and Tubbo retreated further into the now dark library, the brunette blowing out the lantern in hopes of it concealing them in the shadows that swam around the pair. They watched, uncharacteristically quiet as Wilbur -clearly having just woken up- walked in with a lantern and a cloak wrapped around his shoulders.

“Tommy? Tubbo? Are you in here?” At no response to his whispered calls, Wilbur adjusted his circular glasses and moved further inside the library. Now he was starting to get worried. Tommy and Tubbo saw the worried look on his face and decided to come out. At least the worst Wilbur would do is scold them. Tommy set the book on the shelf nearest him, hoping that Techno wouldn’t find it before he had a chance to get it once again. Tubbo gripped Tommy’s hand in his, slowly coming out from behind the bookcase they had hidden against. “Boys? Is that you?”

Wilbur quickly made his way towards them, pulling them both in a tight hug, words of relief dying out as his younger brother tensed. “Ow-” The lanky brunette pulled back, eyes alight with concern at the call of pain. Tommy held his injured arm to his chest, lapis blue eyes burning with tears at the wound being irritated. Chocolate eyes were drawn to the bandaged arm, immediately reaching out to gently inspect it. Even in the dim lighting, the brunette could tell that Tommy had bandaged himself. It wasn’t messy but it was clear as day that it wasn’t Phil or Techno that had done the bandages. “Tommy-”

Tommy looked down at his feet, shaking his head as his older brother kept his hold on the injured arm. “Don’t wanna talk about it, Wil.” Wilbur pushed a breath through his nose, trying to contain himself. Maybe it wasn’t what it looked like but after what Techno had told him, it seemed more than likely. “Let’s get you guys to bed, it’s quite late.” Tubbo swore he heard a mutter of ‘fucking gremlins.’

When Tommy next opened his eyes and joined the land of wakefulness, it was dark out. Not unusual by any means but judging by the amount of stars still present, it couldn’t have been much later than when he went to bed. Tommy yawned, moving towards the window. The strawberry blond gasped, leaning towards the window in shock, blue eyes practically glowing.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦.

Chapter Text

Tommy ran down the staircase, dressed in a red sweater and brown trousers, clearly excited about the sun rise. He could tell as he made his way through the halls that he was the only one awake at the moment, a novelty in the household. He tugged on his boots, tying them tight enough to lock out any moisture from the snow outside. He clasped his royal blue cloak around his shoulders, movements hurried yet graceful in his excitement. Leather clad hands opened the front door, Tommy practically flying as he crossed the porch and went down the stairs into the snow.

He started out towards the greenhouse, turning left about sixty steps from the house instead of going the entire way to the glass enclosed garden. The area he walked towards consisted of very few trees and mounds of sparkling white as far as the eye could see. The perfect place to watch the sunrise. He trudged through the snowy filled land, eventually coming to a stop at the crest of a hill where a single snowy bench sat. Tommy brushed away the snow with gloved hands, sitting on the carved birch wood. Tommy looked around, smiling as he looked at the brilliant pinks, oranges and reds that dashed across the pale blue sky. He wasn’t sure even Phil knew the bench was there.

That was alright with him. It was a secret between him and Tubbo, a little safe haven amongst the crystal snow that covered the landscape. Tommy looked at the rising sun, humming the tune to one of his discs, mellohi. Tommy always found the names a bit weird but he didn’t question it too much. Mellohi was one of his first, a gift from Niki for his eleventh birthday. Niki and Eret introduced themselves to the then ten year old when they came back after Tommy’s first polar night, shocking the child half to death. It took him until the end of midnight sun to trust them enough to touch him.

In his haste to see the sun for the first time in forever, he completely forgot that his father would be worried about his whereabouts. Tommy sat on the bench a tiny bit longer, the sun further up in the light blue sky until a shout broke the silence. It was never truly silent but Tommy had gotten good at tuning out the whispers on the wind. The strawberry blond recognized his dad's voice even from the large distance, cursing under his breath at the clear worry in the shouts. It was echoing and not very loud but the words were clear. “Tommy!”

Tommy got up, quickly starting to move towards the house. He cursed his stupidity, worry taking a hold of his throat and squeezing. He didn’t even bring a lantern. The fifteen year old was so distracted he didn’t even notice the sudden dip on the ground causing him to trip with a yelp. Tommy got back up, making it back to the main path soon enough to see his father turn the corner, wings puffed up in a mix of frustration and concern. “Dad?” Phil whipped around, blue eyes immediately latching on to the hunched over form of his son.

Phil grabbed Tommy by his shoulders, checking him over quickly before pulling him into a hug at the lack of visible injuries. “Christ, mate. I’m so glad you’re okay.” Phil pulled back, looking into his son’s blue eyes with concern and relief obvious on his face. “What were you thinking?” Tommy shook his head, pointing towards the now visible sun. “I wanted to watch the sun rise, dad. I didn’t get hurt or anything.” Phil sighed, letting out a tired laugh. “Let’s head back inside, Niki and Eret are coming tomorrow and we need to prepare.” Tommy scoffed, following after Phil with a booming laugh. “Why? It’s not like they haven’t seen our rooms a bit messy!” The front door opened and closed. “Because Tommy, Eret and Niki are guests and pseudo family our not, we will not have the house be messy when they get here!” Coats and cloaks were taken off and hung up. “Whatever you say, big man.” Phil rolled his eyes, softly shoving Tommy in the direction of the staircase. “Yeah, yeah Toms. Go wake up your brothers.” Tommy disappeared up the staircase, throwing a middle finger over his shoulder as he did.

“I saw that!”

Tommy found himself unable to sleep that night, sitting in bed as he looked towards his window. The moon was high over the sea of white that made his home, the crystals sparkling proudly under the moon's attention. The forest that surrounded two-thirds of the house loomed over the ground, the large spruce trees dancing along with the shadows in the bitter arctic winds. Tommy got up, shivering as his bare feet hit the cold wooden floor of his bedroom. The teen moved towards his wardrobe, pulling a sweater over his sleep shirt.

Tommy sighed, grabbing the candle on the desk below his window, going to root through the drawer to grab a lighter. He stopped at the sudden heat that licked at his hands, head turning fast enough to give him whiplash. The candle was lit, flame swaying in the still air of his room. Tommy knew he couldn’t ignore this for much longer. That was the second time that had happened. Tommy set the candle down, stumbling backward as the shock set in. Tommy’s wrist twitched, arms wrapping around his sides as he pushed a breath through his nose. He tapped his sides, eyes closing as he counted each tap. 𝟏, 𝟐, 𝟑, 𝟒, 𝟓, 𝟔, 𝟕, 𝟖, 𝟗, 𝟏𝟎. He started over once he reached ten, slowly breathing in and out as the taps kept him grounded.

Eventually, Tommy’s shaking had been quelled and he was able to breathe somewhat normally once again. He got up, stumbling for the first few steps as his legs shook and threatened collapse. He grabbed the candle, steeling his resolve as he left his bedroom. Tommy moved down the halls, subconsciously avoiding the creaky bits of wood on the upper hallways and the fifth step on the staircase. Old habits die hard, after all.

Tommy reached the door to the library after navigating the dark hallways that always seemed so maze like. He creaked open the door just enough to slip through without burning himself on the candle. He walked further into the room, carefully avoiding the fireplace as he slipped further in. He didn’t want Purpled seeing him do this because then he would tell Tubbo. He didn't want to worry him. He reached where he had last put the book, letting out a breath he didn’t even know he was holding as he saw that it was still there. The candle light made the pink tint in his curly hair shine ten fold, bringing out the normally muted color.

Tommy grabbed the book, leaving the library as fast as he could while still being quiet. Fucking hell the floor was cold. The only place in the house that had rugs were the bedrooms and the sitting room down stairs. With the candle providing just enough light for him to be able to make out what was in front of him and the book clutched to his chest, the fifteen year old moved through the house with one place in mind. The basement. Tommy didn’t go into the basement often, not by any definition of the word. It wasn’t as if Phil had barred him from doing so, not at all but the teen never had a need to go into the area below the house.

Tommy came to a stop in front of a door, hesitating. The door was rather normal looking, nothing particularly special about it. It was made of spruce, an iron handle on the right side. The door; however, seemed ever so slightly off, not in a way that screamed of danger or twisted one's stomach in unease but in a way that seemed so similar to the feeling of looking into the ocean. Tommy sighed, carefully shifting the book to where he could open the door. Tommy took a deep breath, the candle pathetically pushing against the darkness that filled the stairway down.

Well, no time like the present. Tommy took a step inside and shut the door, turning back to the staircase that seemed almost oppressive in the orange glow of the candle’s dancing flame. He was about to turn back but stopped himself, mentally slapping himself. He couldn’t turn back now, that was a pussy move. He wouldn’t turn back, not now. Tommy sighed, making his way down the set of birch wood stairs, thankful for railings. Tommy finally set both his feet on the black stone floor, wincing at the cold that assaulted his feet.

The basement might have been the warmest place in the house but not even it could escape the floors being cold enough to burn one's feet. Tommy moved into the center of the room, carefully avoiding any furniture or chests. Blue eyes traced the darkness, trying to remember which direction the enchantment room was. He wracked his brain, tracing mental maps of the basement he had created from the few times he had been down under the floor. He eventually decided to take a breath and went left. He slowly but surely made his way towards the wall, the candle doing almost nothing against the darkness that swirled around him.

He finally found the black stone archway, a long and dark hallway looming just beyond the threshold. Tommy cursed himself, the inaudible muttering sounding like an explosion in the thick, silent air of the basement. He would not turn around, not now. He had come too far to be a pussy and turn around. The next time Tommy tuned back into reality, he had passed through the passage and had reached the room that housed the enchantment table. The fifteen year old moved into the room, moving with care as he set the book down to grab one of the many lanterns that hung from the ceiling.

He half expected the lantern to light itself as he moved to grab his flint and steel in his pocket, hand shaking as he lit the lantern. He blew out his candle, the lantern lighting up the room. Tommy set the lantern down next to his feet, dropping to sit on the floor. He let the book rest on his thigh, looking around in a wonder tainted by fatigue. Blue eyes closed as Tommy yawned, opening the book with hands scarred from burns and other incidents. Honestly more of his hand was spotted pink than the alabaster tone the rest of his skin carried. Tommy flipped through the pages, eyes barely focusing on the blood red ink. Sighing, Tommy realized he wouldn’t get anything done that night and dragged himself up with shaky limbs and exhausted movements. When did he get so tired? The fifteen year old dragged himself up the stairs, book clutched to his chest as he did. He trudged through the hallway, the windows showing that the sun was starting to rise. Tommy didn’t even realize that he had put the book down on the window seal, eyes slowly blinking shut in fatigue. “Tommy?” The teen looked up, panting as a blurry figure made its way towards him. “Tommy? What’s wrong?” The words were garbled and sounded like they were underwater, barely recognizable as his dad’s.

He didn’t even realize when he hit the ground, eyes closing as the world faded away with a faint shout of his name.

Chapter Text

It was midday when Tommy trudged through the sludge that covered his mind, his arms feeling as heavy as his brother’s netherite armor. The blanket was really warm but seemed far too heavy for it to just be his red wool blankets. He didn’t want to open his eyes, content to just go back to sleep. The sound of his door open kept him from slipping into the warm embrace of his dreamless sleep. Voices floated through the air, warbling as they came closer to his still form. “Do you have an idea as to what this is?”

The voices started filtering through the honey that surrounded his mind, becoming clearer as the footsteps drew near. “No, but I have an idea. I just hope that it isn’t what I think it is. . .” The voice was familiar, why did it sound far away? Why did the blanket seem so heavy? Why did the room seem so cold despite the wool layered on top of him? He shuffled under the blanket, the voices going silent at the sudden movement. “Tommy?” There it was again, the soft accented lit that seemed to fill the entire room despite it’s quietness. It was so familiar yet nothing came to his foggy mind.

“Tommy, can you open your eyes for me?” There was the other voice. It was deeper but not gravelly in tone. Tommy slowly pried his eyes open, immediately closing them again at the brightness of the light coming in through his window. Why was it so bright? The sun couldn’t have come up yet. Tired blue eyes travelled across the room, delirious with fever and shining with a distinct lack of recognition, even as they met with another set of -clearly worried- blue eyes. “Tommy?” Said teen recognized the voice, recognized the familiar green kimono and robe, recognized the sandy blonde hair and deep blue eyes that shined like the sea. “D-dad?”

He was going to say more, ask him what happened, why he was in bed, why the room was so cold, 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 but a coughing fit was all he got in return. The owner of the second voice helped him sit up, carefully setting him back down as if he was made of glass and the slightest rough touch would break him. The coughs died down, allowing him to relax against his pillows. He looks back at the two, a glass of water being held to his lips as his mind tried to reconnect to reality. “Dad-” A hand cupped Tommy’s cheek, the strawberry blond leaning into the contact. “Shh, shh. You’re okay, Toms. I’m here. You’re safe at home, in bed and your brothers’ are just downstairs.”

Tommy’s throat was less tight after the water, making it easier to talk. His mind decided to finally reconnect to reality, connecting the dots in his mind as to who the second voice belonged to. Niki. “N-n-niki?” Why were his words so disjointed? “Hey Toms.” Why did she sound so worried? Tommy felt frustrated, confused and upset as his body refused to cooperate. He was trying to get the words out, breath heavy. A hand settled itself into the strawberry blonde curls, tossing them around and gently scratching at his scalp. He settled down, the hand in his hair making him sleepy.

Tommy’s head lolled to the side, eyes just about to close until they started up. Blue eyes snapped open, looking around for the voices that had started whispering, hitting him like a minecart. Hands subconsciously made their way to his hair, tugging as the voices kicked up a whirl pool of pain and static that surrounded him and separated him from Niki and Phil. A weight settled itself on his hands, breaking through the static. Tommy’s breaths were labored and short, dissolving into another coughing fit. “-my? -mmy?” The whispers lashed out, as if it would make the teen’s father go away. Tommy couldn’t bite back the whimper that tore itself from his throat, hands scrambling to cover his ears even if deep down he knew it wouldn’t stop the voices that only existed between the layers of reality.

“Tommy! It’s me, Niki. Can you hear me?” Niki? Oh, right. Niki was here. Tommy nodded, the voices going silent as the nineteen year old gently pulled his hands away from his ears. “What happened Tommy?” In his feverish state, his mind seemed to forget all about how Tommy kept his ability to see the dead to himself. “They're so loud. . .” Niki and Phil looked at each other, concern lacing both of their faces. No one was talking. “Who’s loud Tommy?” Tommy looked out the window, shadows dancing on the glass despite it being the middle of the day. “The things outside. They’re always so loud.”

Whether it was the fever or some sort of mental break to blame for telling them his secret, Tommy couldn’t tell you. Phil and Niki made eye contact, concern and distress visible. They lived in the arctic, who was Tommy talking about? Niki looped her arm around Tommy’s shoulder, gently laying him down. Phil turned, grabbing the rag that had been soaking in the wooden bowl full of water on the side table. He carefully wiped down Tommy’s face, wincing in sympathy as the fifteen year old whined and tried to move away.

“I know, I know it doesn’t feel good.” Niki gently ran her hands through the teen’s hair, hoping that the repeated action soothed him even the slightest. In all her years studying medicine, she had never seen illness this bad. The blue eyed women could handle almost anything but nothing in her textbooks mentioned this. The fever was normal but the air in the room seemed to swirl in the same fashion the air around enchantment tables did. Illness wasn’t uncommon, especially in the arctic or even farther south where she and Eret lived for some of the year.

Tommy and Tubbo always loved listening to the two tell stories of the south. The giant cities and huge kingdoms, that seemed so fantastical to the teens that knew nothing but the snow and ice. She smiled at the memory of them all in the parlor, sipping warm drinks as the moon shined through the window, Eret telling a story of a large town with gardens that lined the square. When she tuned back into reality, Tommy was asleep and his breaths had calmed significantly.

“Niki?” Said woman turned, looking at the winged man on the other side of Tommy, “I know you’ve only just gotten your sigil but is- is he going to be okay?” Niki turned her attention to the ill teen on the bed. “Phil, I- . . . I don’t know. All we can do is wait.”

Chapter Text

The sun was set by the time Niki deemed Tommy stable enough to be moved to his bedroom. He went from being under Niki’s purple blankets to being under his own crimson ones. Niki had done as much as she could, just barely breaking Tommy’s fever by sun down. She entered the sitting room, hair pulled up messily with her white sleeves bunched above her elbows with her sigil on display. Every eye in the room was on her as she stood in the archway, disheveled and sore after being with Tommy all day. “He’s stable.”

The tension in the room seemed to deflate like bread dough. “C-can we see him?” NIki turned towards the sixteen year old brunette, a soft smile on her face. “Yes, but we need to be careful.” Tubbo smiled at her, jumping up from his seat in his excitement to see his best friend. Niki led the entire group of six to Tommy’s room, hand clutching her sigil in an attempt to calm herself. She opened the door, heart squeezing at the sight of Tommy asleep with a bowl of water on his desk, a white rag soaked in water on his forehead.

Tubbo immediately rushed past Niki to Tommy’s bedside, sitting in the same seat she had been sitting in just moments before. The brunette grabbed his friend's hand, carefully running his thumb along the fifteen year old’s knuckles. Despite the reassurance from Niki, he felt worry clutch his stomach in an iron grip at seeing his tall, rambunctious friend so subdued. He actually looked fifteen when he was asleep, Tubbo noticed. He felt a warm hand on his shoulder, looking up to see Eret’s blank eyes focused on him with a kind, soft smile on their face. “He’ll be okay, bumble bee.”

“I hope so”

Sunlight streamed through the white curtains that covered the windows, dancing around the room as the sixteen year old on the bed groaned and fluttered his eyes open. When did he get there? He was in Niki’s bedroom, wasn’t he? Tommy slowly pushed himself up, groaning as his arms protested. Setting his feet on the floor, the strawberry blond could faintly pick out the smell of cinnamon and vanilla. That wasn’t unusual, Niki always carried that smell around her. He pushed himself up, feeling a slight wave of dizziness from standing too fast.

He faintly recognized that he was in clothes that distinctly belonged to Eret. If Eret and Niki were here did that mean? It had to. . . Tommy smiled, heading towards the dark oak wardrobe. He looked inside for an outfit to wear when he remembered something. He promised Eret that he’d wear a dress on his birthday. They looked so happy when he said that. He cursed his past self, going to grab his petticoat from the top shelf. He may not want to do it, but he wouldn’t go back on his word.

Tommy grabbed the dress off it’s hanger, setting it on his desk chair as he sighed and slipped the shirt he was wearing off. The dress was a deep burgundy, knee length with long sleeves. It had ruffled cuffs and a ruffled hem, a white peter pan collar and six, black buttons going down to the end of his sternum. Tommy stepped in front of the mirror, smoothing down the skirt as he checked to make sure he put it on properly. He made his way through the halls, cursing as the cold floor hit his feet. He reached the bottom of stairs, carefully steadying himself as another wave of dizziness hit him.

Tommy listened for the voices of his family, trying to figure out where everyone was in the house. It was very faint but he could make out the voices of what sounded like Eret and Phil. They were in the parlor by the direction the voices came from. Tommy moved down the hall, trying to listen to what they were saying. He had lots of questions and he wanted them answered. Stopping once the archway to the parlor was in sight, Tommy scrunched his nose in thought. Why didn’t anyone wake him up?

Tommy stood in the archway, yawning as he rubbed his eye. “Tommy?” Said sixteen year old looked up, seeing his father looking towards him with concern visible. Phil gave him a soft smile, opening his arms to him. He took a seat next to his father, leaning into his side with another yawn. “How are you feeling, Toms?” Tommy looked up, smiling as his eyes met Eret’s white ones. “In all honesty, big man. I just woke up and have no idea what the fuck is happening.” Eret let out a laugh, relaxing against the chaise lounge he sat on.

“Well, happy birthday Toms. You look very handsome in your dress.”

The dining room was full of laughter and playful scoldings by Niki as everyone sat down for breakfast. Tubbo sat next to Tommy, gently gripping his friend's hand with a smile. Tommy sighed, knowing Tubbo was concerned, everyone was for some reason. Tommy leaned over and pulled Tubbo into a hug with a muttered, “You’re so clingy, Tubbo.” The brunette hugged back, clutching onto the back of the other sixteen year old’s dress. “We all know the truth, Tommy. We just didn’t want to say anything.” Tommy pulled back and made a face at the brunette clinging to his burgundy dress.

“The fuck, Tubbo? Have you four been talking behind my back or some shit?” Tubbo burst out laughing, finally pulling back from the hug. The boys settled down, turning back towards the rest of the table. Dishes were passed around, plates being filled with toast, eggs, bits of sausage and pastries. Tommy took a drink of the juice Eret had made from the left over apples in the kitchen, wincing as it went down his dry throat. The sound of chatter became sporadic, more focused on eating than anything.

Tommy looked up at the sound of someone clearing their throat to get everyone's attention. “Hey, Toms?” He looked towards the winged man at the head of the table, “I think we need to talk.” Tommy felt his brows furrow in a mix of concern and confusion, a vocalization of said confusion passing through his lips. “When you woke up yesterday, you said something a bit concerning.” Tommy tried to remember what he might have said but all he remembered was waking up and feeling cold and heavy. “I don’t really remember what happened, dad.”

Niki hummed, her accented speech filling the now silent dining room. “Tommy, no one was talking but you kept mumbling about ‘the thing’s outside’ being loud.” The strawberry blond froze, the implications of what the two had just said hitting him with the force of a minecart. He looked to his side, Tubbo staring back at him with equally wide eyes. It was silent for a while as the two had a conversation without actually speaking.Tommy and Tubbo looked back at the group, moving to get up after coming up with a plan. “You were going to find out eventually.” Tubbo cut in, helping Tommy up. “Follow us.”

The entire group scrambled up, following over the two boys that held hands as they headed towards the left wing on the bottom floor. “Where are we going?” Tubbo looked back at Wilbur, letting out a small smile. “You’ll see.” The group made their way through the halls in a sort of suspenseful silence. The group of seven came to a stop just before the music room door, the two sixteen year olds looked at each other then back at the door. “Is he in here, Tommy?” the other five looked at each other in a faint horror as Tommy hummed. “Mhm.”

Tommy opened the door, ocean blue eyes scanning the room for the amber eyed ghost that was always so excited to see the teens. “Fundy? We have some people for you to meet.” Eret took off the tinted glasses they always wore in high lighting situations, an incredulous expression on their face. No one except the seven were in the room. “Toms, who are you talking to?” The strawberry blond turned towards his older brother, pointing at the chair next to the piano with the hand that wasn’t clutched in his best friend’s. “Fundy. He’s sitting right there, big man.”

Tubbo dragged Tommy over to the piano, not wanting to let go as the skin contact kept his nerves in check. Tubbo reluctantly let go as he realized that he needed both hands to shuffle through the sheet music. “Hey, Fundy? I know playing in front of people can be kinda scary but could you play for us?” Wilbur stepped forward, a frown on his face. “What is going on? If you're pulling a prank on us, it’s not very funny-”,His sentence got cut off by the sound of piano music ringing through the room.

Five eyes widened in shock as Tommy and Tubbo sat down on the floor near the
piano. No one was there so where was the music coming from? The piece ended, the two teens applauding. “Are you two going to tell us what is happening?” Tubbo and Tommy looked at each other, back to the piano and then turned to face the group. “I’m gonna be blunt big, man.” Tommy sighed, letting Tubbo hold his hand as they sat on the deep oak floors of the music room.

“Fundy’s a ghost.”

“What?!”

Chapter Text

Tommy and Tubbo sat in the library, Purpled sitting next to them with the book in the center of the three. Now that the family knew about the whole seeing ghost thing, the two didn’t have to hide the conversations with the three. The three teens sat in front of the fireplace, orange flames roaring being the iron grate. Tubbo and Tommy had picked up the habit of sitting on the floor with Purpled instead of on the seats that were littered around the black stone fireplace. It made the ghostly seventeen year old feel better.

“So the main thing is that weird things are happening and Quackity said this book was a good start?” Tubbo nodded, none of the boys touching the book in the center of them. It was splayed out, opened to a drawing of nine pillars with glowing crystals atop them. The three had been going through the book most of the evening, trying to find anything on what had been happening to the strawberry blond teen. Tommy stared at the book, half wishing it to magically turn to what page they needed before squealing. The pages started flipping by themselves, coming to stop at a page with no images and the crimson ink now a striking indigo.

“Is that what you were referring to?” Purpled’s question was ignored as Tubbo turned to Tommy to see him frozen, staring at the book. “Tommy, breathe.” The sixteen year old let out a shuddering breath, looking at the two in shock. “Am- did i do that?” Purpled nodded with an incredulous expression mixed with a smile. “I certainly didn’t do that and I don’t think Tubbo did, either.” Tommy couldn’t even crack a joke, baby blue eyes full of fear looking up at the two.

Tubbo gently pulled Tommy into his side, running his hands through the pinkish curls. The brunette could understand why he was so shocked and scared. Tommy- from his understanding- did not have a very good life before Phil had found him. There were little hints that always seemed so obvious in retrospect. Tommy always seemed to flinch and short circuit if touched without warning, he always seemed to hide things despite reassurance that no one was going to be mad at him. His hands and arms were covered in scars and Tommy always assumed that he was at fault no matter the situation. Tubbo knew that at one point in his friend’s life, being different or being better than anyone else would have been his death.

Tubbo shushed his friend, the hand that wasn’t in the strawberry blonde curls gently running along the teen’s spine. Purpled floated a tiny bit closer, gently brushing a cold, spectral hand over Tommy’s cheek as a small comfort. The strawberry blond groaned as a headache started hitting his skull like a blacksmith, palm coming up to press against his eye. Tubbo shushed him, carefully removing the blue eyed teen’s hand with as little fanfare as possible. Every action was gentle and reassuring, Purpled and Tubbo trying to convey that even if he was different, they still loved him.

Tommy pushed his face into Tubbo’s chest, not wanting to look at the book that sat on the floor in front of the three teens. “Do you want me to go get Phil?” The sixteen year old seemed to take a while to process the question, eventually nodding on response. Tubbo let Tommy pull away, only getting up once he was sure his friend could handle it. Purpled shut the book and slid it under the chair he sat near, a sort of phantom dizziness setting in from the action. Purpled might not like his friend's habit of keeping secrets but was not going to reveal things to Tommy’s dad when said teen was so unstable. Purpled did his best to keep Tommy distracted, knowing that if he left the sixteen year old to his thoughts, nothing good would happen. “Hey Tommy? Could you tell me a bit more about the story you were reading?” Tommy was hunched over, knees drawn to his chest with his face resting on his arms, subconsciously trying to protect himself despite the distinct lack of apparent danger. Old habit was the spirit’s guess.

The library door opened before Tommy got the chance to talk, ringing out into the silent room like a creeper explosion. Two sets of footsteps thundered through the space, the sixteen year old tensing and curling in on himself further. “It’s just your dad and Tubbo, Tommy. They won’t hurt you.” Purpled let out his version of a sigh of relief, glad to see the blue eyed boy relax ever so slightly at the identity of the steps being revealed. “Oh, Toms. . .”

Tommy didn’t bother to look up, back pressed against one of the plush lounge seats that made a wide half circle around the black stone hearth. The fabric of his father’s kimono was in front of him, obscuring his vision in a sea of muted forest green. “Can I touch you or is that not okay right now?” The room was still for a painful moment before the teen let out a tiny nod, Phil immediately pulling the lanky boy into his arms. Phil wrapped his wings around him, instincts screaming at the sight of his son curled up and shaking like a tree branch in a storm.

Tommy relaxed, shifting a tiny bit to wrap his arms around his dad as much as the giant feathered wings would let him. Sometimes it was hard to remember that he was safe. That here in the arctic with no one but his family and the spirits that haunted the wind, no one would hurt him. “Tommy?” Said teen hummed, leaning into his dad’s embrace as he listened for Purpled’s voice to ring into his ears once again. “Are you okay now?” Tommy pulled back slightly, a genuine smile on his face despite the fact that Purpled couldn’t see it because of the wings around him. “I’m fine, big man.” Phil pulled back, wings retreating and folding behind his back, eyes alight with confusion.

“Who-? Oh my god. How many ghosts are in this house?!” Tommy let out his usual gasping laugh, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. “Well. . . There’s Fundy and Purpled and Quackity-” Phil held his hand up, a certain incredulous mirth in his eyes betraying his expression. “Actually, I don’t wanna know mate.” Tommy laughed, gasping breaths interrupting the booming sound in irregular intervals. “Who’s the one that you were responding to?” Tommy pointed towards the fireplace, clearly trying not to laugh as he responded. “Purpled.”

Chapter Text

Phil sat in the sitting room, the fire roaring behind the gate as the moon shined high above the snowy ground. His youngest son was curled up in his lap, head against his shoulder. The fire roared behind the grate, orange flames eating away at the very wood that gave it life. How ironic. Tommy was asleep, eyes having fluttered shut ages ago. Phil sighed, one hand buried in the strawberry blond curls of his youngest son while the other held a book. The winged man was always a bit confused as to how his hair was a slight pink colour despite it being as blonde as his own when he found the boy.

His usual green kimono was swapped out for an icy blue one, having gotten it dirty earlier that day. The wing man sighed, looking into the fire with a tired look in his ocean blue eyes. He would have to go to the market soon but he was reluctant to leave his youngest, especially after the past few weeks. He had been worried beyond belief when Tommy had collapsed in front of him, burning with fever and coughing his lungs out. He had seen Tommy sick -of course he had- but he had never been so sick that he stood on the dock before the boat to the after life. Except once. . .

Phil’s eyes wandered from the window to the sleeping face of his youngest, sighing in a mix of repressed frustration and concern at the memories that decided to mock him. He shook his head, refusing to think about that painful -oh so painful- time. “Hey Phil.” The blond man turned his head towards the archway, eyes meeting with Niki’s soft, amber ones. “Hey Niki, have trouble sleeping?” Niki moved towards one of the many chairs in the room, plopping down in the armchair closest to the fire.

It reminded Phil of when he had first met her. Niki and Eret knocked on the door in the middle of a storm, covered in snow and blood and clearly exhausted, the tall brunette leaning onto Niki quite heavily. He wore the glasses that almost everyone but the six never saw him without, barely conscious as Phil let the two -at the time- teenagers inside. To this day he couldn’t help but be glad that the two had knocked when they did, not wanting to imagine what would have happened if they hadn’t. Coincidently, that was a year before he brought Tommy home.

Phil had insisted they stay until the storm ended, setting them up in the rooms that to this very day the two still slept in. According to what Niki had told him several years later -in that exact seat, funnily enough- that night was what spurred her to become a cleric and study medicine. Eret was extremely injured, Phil patching him up into the early hours of the morning as Niki watched from the doorway. The first time Eret opened their eyes, the winged man was almost certain that the curly haired being was blind. That was not the case but for the first couple moments it certainly seemed that way.

To think that back then it had only been him and the twins was insane, in all honesty. Niki and Eret might not have been officially his kids like Wilbur, Techno and Tommy but they felt every bit family as the other residents in the mansion. Despite not staying all year round, the two always knew that the door was open and their beds were always ready for them. It was a small comfort in the harsh climate they settled in, nestled between snowy forests and arctic tundras with no other place they’d rather be.

“Was it hard?” Phil turned his attention to the blond cleric by the fireplace, hand stealing in Tommy’s hair as he quirked an eyebrow. (It kept the teen calm enough to sleep after stressful days.) “To take all of us in, I mean.” Phil let out a quiet laugh, hand starting to move again at Tommy’s shuffling. “Well, of course it was hard at first, even with just the twins. Techno and Wilbur weren’t easy to deal with and when I found Tommy, it got a little harder. Tommy took a long time to open up and once he did, it got a tiny bit easier but also got so much worse. I’m sure you remember how skittish ten year old Toms was.”

Niki giggled, nodding her head sleepily as she snuggled into the blanket that was folded over the seat of the chair before she sat down. The walls may have been insulated and extremely thick but not even that could keep out the cold that never seemed to leave. “Of course I do. Tommy wouldn’t be in the same room with any of us for more than a few moments.” Phil brushed the curls from his youngest’s face, smiling at Niki with a quiet laugh. “You should have seen the look on our faces when Tommy ran in babbling about someone unconscious in the forest.”

The two chuckled at the story, all of the houses residents had fun retelling the story of Tommy finding Tubbo. It was ridiculous and oh so Tommy and Tubbo. Phil sighed, looking towards the other blonde with a small, proud smile on his face. Wilbur and Techno had only been a couple years older than Niki when the pair showed up on his doorstep, Eret being a year younger than the twins. Having four teenagers in the house was not easy in most circumstances but add two preteens to the mix in an environment where being the slightest bit unprepared would be your downfall and it was bound to be chaotic.

“I think you need to head to bed, Niki. It’s late and tomorrow is going to be a bit busy.” The cleric groaned, standing up and wrapping the blanket around herself as she shuffled out of the sitting room with a muttered good night. Phil gently shifted his son to the cushion next to him, stretching as he stood, bones popping from him being in one spot too long. He turned, glad that Tommy had changed into lounge clothes earlier. He picked up his lanky son, always the tiniest bit thrown off at how light he was despite his height. He always seemed way too light despite being relatively healthy. Phil wasn't weak by any definition of the word, not even close to it. He had been an adventurer and fighter for years before he became a father and still carried the strength needed to pick any one of his kids, no matter their age.Phil sighed looking down at his son as he carried him up the stairs.

Looks like Tommy’s staying in his room tonight.

Chapter Text

It was dark. That wasn’t particularly shocking, not at all but it seemed way too dark despite the lantern in his hand. Blackstone pushed against his feet, unnaturally warm and seeming . . . wet despite no moisture being in the air. The orange flames of the lantern seemed far too small, dying and gasping for air. He was running, bare feet pounding against the heated stone. Why was he running? The tunnels seemed endless, winding and nonsensical as they snaked through the earth.

Flashes of scratches on the narrow tunnel walls, heavy breathing rattling through the tunnels -whether it was someone else or his own. What was he running from? Was he running from something at all? The smell of iron was heavy in the air, hanging over his head and invading every inch of space around it. (Was he the reason?) The air shifted and spun, the tunnels falling dark with the sound of clanging metal and shattering glass as the lantern hit the ground. A scream rang out -was it him?- echoing through the tunnels before cutting out.

Find us. . .

Tommy shot up in his bed, hands shaking as they clawed at his skin. What in the actual fuck was that? He looked around his dark room wildly, trying to pick out any familiar silhouettes that hid in the shadows. What in the actual fuck? Where was that? What was that? Tommy’s blunt nails pushed against his palms as he curled his hands tight. The darkness that swirled and danced around the room only served to remind him of the nightmare. Was it truly a nightmare? It felt so real. The smell of iron hit the air as red dripped from his palms and fell onto his once pristine bedding.

He gagged at the smell, his mind forcing itself back into that stupid tunnel. Tommy scrambled to get out of his bed, falling to the floor with a muffled thump. He pressed his back against the wall, hands coming to muffle his sobbing. Why was he crying again? With his blood spattered hands over his mouth the boy could practically taste the iron in the air. Why? Why couldn’t he just be normal?! Tommy knew what he was doing was unhealthy, of course he did. His hands gripped at strawberry blond curls, burning with pain at the action. Tommy tugged at his hair, feeling an unnatural numbness set in.

He pulled harder, trying so hard to feel anything when his door opened. A blurry figure moved towards him, movements looking choppy yet easily traceable even in the darkness. Tommy tensed, eyes wildly following the shadowed figure that moved with an inhuman, dance like grace. No one in the house moved like that. Tommy went to scream, voice dying out pathetically before it reached above a whisper. The strawberry blonde teen cowered as the figure moved closer, looming over him in one giant mass of swirling, dancing shadows. Whimper ripped itself from the boy's throat, loud as a village bell.

Find us. . .

What? The shadows continued their dance, swirling and laughing among themselves as they taunted the boy. The darkness seemed impenetrable, the moonlight that usual filled the room nowhere to be seen. The white curtains that swayed with the ever present breeze and stood strong despite the shadows that swiped at them seemed a gross, dull shade of grey. Tommy pulled at his hair, the shadows seeming to lash out at him in anger at the boy hurting himself. The shadows were never kind per say but they were never cruel exactly. They loved to taunt the boy, whispering rude words and screaming faintly in his ears but they had never done that before.

Find us. . .

In between the whispered words and manic laughs, was a simple phrase. What did they mean find us? Even if he knew what they meant by that, where would he start? Nothing the bitches said made sense. The shadows never made sense in all honesty. Tubbo could never decipher them either. All the thinking and noise sent Tommy into sensory overload. It felt like he was drowning in the mix of giggles, rude words and the phrase find us. His bloody hands pulled at his hair and scratched at his face hard enough to burn, breath stumbling and stuttered as he curled away from the shadows. Why was he so numb?

Tommy felt nothing but a mind numbing desperation grip his throat as he pulled harder, hands moving to scratch at his face and wrists when he felt nothing except the bone deep chill that seemed endless. He just barely registered the sound of his door being thrown open through the cotton in his ears, a figure so similar yet so, oh so different then the shadows that still shouted the words 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘴 at him. Tears fell down his face, falling down and hitting his blood covered arms. Someone was calling out his name, sounding like they were shouting across a field rather than in the room.

His eyes fluttered closed, a sudden wave of cold, nauseated exhaustion filling the void left by his breakdown. When did he get so tired? Why was he so tired? The voice calling out to him got more and more frantic as it got quieter, slipping into oblivion along with the strawberry blondes sense of self. Why were they so panicked? It was so cold . . . when did it get so cold? Had it always been that way? No. . . He had felt warm that morning. . . right? He must have. . . He was tired . . . oh so tired. A nap wouldn’t hurt. . . right? Surely. . . He let his body relax, slipping off into oblivion with a shaky exhale.

A nap never hurt anyone. . . right?

Right?

Chapter Text

Eret and Techno were panicked. They had been in Techno’s room, discussing books and projects they could start when summer came around. The two had heard the crash, Techno setting the book Eret had brought down on the bed. The sight that greeted them will forever haunt the brunette. The teen was huddled in the corner, cowering with heart clutching whimpers pouring from his throat as he sobbed. That wasn’t what caught Techno’s attention, though. It was the smell of blood and the room being trashed.

The two had rushed towards him, the smell of blood hitting them full force. The brunette’s white eyes were drawn to the bloody hands that tore at equally bloody wrists. Eret scrambled to pull Tommy’s hands away, gentle yet firm as they did so. Techno started to call the teen’s name, trying to get a response. Nothing. The two looked at each other, eyes alight with concern. This wasn’t good. The two froze when Tommy went limp, eyes closed and face covered in dry tears and spots of blood. Eret pulled the teen into their arms, Techno immediately shooting up to grab the med kit from just down the hall.

It took several painful moments of Eret listening intently to Tommy breathe for the pink haired male to return with med kit and lantern in hand. It was dark in the room so the lantern made sense. The light made the scene worse. There was blood on the bed sheets and on the floor, shredded bandages scattered around -also bloody, though less so. Tommy’s wound looked even worse in the orange lantern light, the implications of said wounds making Eret’s heart ache. They knew what caused wounds like that and the thought of a child just barely sixteen doing that to himself made them want to cry.

Techno opened the med kit, slipping into what Eret called ‘work mode’ as he pulled out potions and bandages. Eret’s job at the moment was to keep Tommy still and assist where he could. It was the same dynamic he had with Niki down south. “Check him for injuries.” Eret nodded, hands carefully moving fabric and eyes scanning for any blood spots. “Only his wrists and a neck.” Techno nodded, a mix between a hum and a ‘bap’ leaving his throat. He could work with that. He could definitely work with that. He took out rolls of bandages and little glass vials of bright pink liquid out of the red metal container, setting them on the floor with a tiny clink.

Techno leaned back, pulling out of a bottle of disinfected water and a rag to clean his brother’s wounds. The water itself had been boiled then put into an air tight bottle, keeping it safe to clean wounds with incase shit like this happened. Eret looked at their pink haired friend, knowing despite the male’s experience he was nervous. Cleaning and possibly stitching your little brother’s wounds would do that to you. “Techno, you should go get Phil and Niki. I’ll take care of Tommy, Tech, I promise.” Techno looked up, periwinkle eyes wide and concerned as he looked at his friend. His instincts screamed at him to protect his little brother but this was Eret, he could trust him. Techno nodded, handing the brunette the bottle and rag before standing up and running down the hall to his Dad’s room.

He threw his dad’s dark oak door open, only hesitating a moment before moving to the bed to wake up the winged man. Techno shook Phil with urgency, instincts screaming that he needed to be with Tommy. Phil groaned at the shaking, sitting up with an irritated humph. “Techno?” The pink haired male grabbed Phil’s arm, breath quick in his panic. “Dad- Dad, Tommy. Tommy’s hurt, badly.” Phil startled, throwing the blankets off and jumping to his feet. “What? What happened?” Throwing his outer robe on, the winged man followed after his oldest son, glad that he was such a light sleeper. “Don’t know.” Phil nodded, rushing off into his youngest’s bedroom, leaving Techno alone. Niki, he needed to get Niki.

Techno took off running, feet making just barely noticeable thumps as he made his way to Niki’s room. Down the hall, take a left, down that hall, take a right, down that hall, right next to Eret’s. Her door had flowers carved into it, a soft dry brushing of gold shimmering in the light of the torches that lined the walls. He pounded on the door, opening it not a second later. He’d apologies about this later but for now Tommy was more important. He was met with Niki standing on the other side, rubbing her eye as she looked at him questioningly. “Tommy’s hurt.”

Niki’s eyes widened, looking much more awake now that she knew why Techno was pounding on her door in the middle of the night. The two ran back to Tommy’s room, hearts wrenching at the sight that greeted them. Tommy was limp in Phil’s arms, head leaned against the blond’s shoulder as Eret carefully cleaned the teen’s wounds. The rag was soaked in watered down blood. Niki rushed past him, immediately going into cleric mode after she got over her initial shock at seeing the usually loud and independent teen incapacitated in his father’s arms. Techno felt numb, leaning on the door frame as he watched the three start to bandage and treat his little brother’s wounds.

It felt like ages yet no time at all as the three worked, Tommy remaining limp in Phil’s arms. Potions were passed over his unconscious little brother, glass clinking as they hit both the floor and each other. Techno didn’t even notice when Eret got up and walked towards him, hand gently cupping his freckled face. The pink haired male tensed, only relaxing upon his eyes meeting Eret’s. “He’ll be okay, Techno. It’s Tommy we’re talking about.” Techno swallowed, nodding and subconsciously leaning into his friend’s hand. Techno walked towards the three on the floor, crouching down next to his family with barely noticeable concern in his eyes.

Phil carefully passed Tommy to Techno, nodding gratefully at Eret when they started fixing the teen’s bed. Niki put away the unused bandages and potions, putting the empty bottles away to be washed and reused. Techno sighed, setting his brother down on the bed with great reluctance. A hand settled itself on his shoulder, a grounding weight despite his dislike of physical contact. “Can you stay with him tonight, Techno? I don’t want to leave him alone.” Techno nodded, eyes never leaving his sleeping little brother. His dad simply smiled at the two, knowing that Techno didn’t want to leave but wouldn’t have said it.

Techno sighed, moving into the chair next to the bed. He set the lantern down on the desk as Tommy’s soft breathing filled the now quiet room. The pink haired male sighed, looking out the now open curtains. His periwinkle eyes shined with concern, gazing out at the dancing lights through frost covered glass. Frost danced up the ice cold glass, tinted green at the lights dancing across the sky and lighting up the world. Techno’s head snapped towards the bed at the sound of shuffling, instincts on overdrive. Tommy was moving in his sleep. Techno clenched and unclenched his hands, trying his hardest to calm himself yet unable to relax his tense shoulders. Tommy was fine, he was asleep and he was safe in bed. He was safe. Tommy was safe.

“Oh Theseus, what have you done?”

Chapter Text

Tommy let out a shaky exhale, Tubbo standing next to him as they faced the basement door. The two looked at each other, a determined yet uneasy expression on their faces. Tubbo had a key in his hand, chocolate eyes dancing with concern. Tommy wrists were covered in bandages, temples bruised from hitting himself. The brunette never judged his friend for what he did when he was manic and alone and he would not start now. He had to restrain himself from pulling Tommy into a hug and not letting go. He was worried at the sight of new bandages but somehow knew that the strawberry blond hadn't done intentionally.

The two had met up at the bottom of the stairs after everyone had gone to bed, both of them being unnaturally quiet as they moved through the house. That brought them to now, where the two stood at the top of the basement steps in the middle of the night. “It’s now or never, Big T. You ready?” Tubbo looked at his friend, raising his eyebrow with a playful scoff. “Shouldn’t I be asking you that? You’re the one with possibly life changing information down there.” Tommy let out a clearly fake chuckle, grimacing as his bandaged hands curled. “I’m quite the big man, Tubbs. You don’t need to worry about me.” Tubbo shook his head with a quiet giggle, deciding to not comment on the grimace. Tommy was grateful for that.

Tubbo opened the door, making Tommy realize exactly which key that was. It was the key to the trapdoor. The two had bags filled with anything they could think to bring incase they were gone longer than expected. The two sixteen year olds planned to be back by sun down but they were going through the trapdoor in the basement into an area unknown to them and -most likely- the entire house. They also had day clothes on, coats were clasped over their sweaters with golden hooks glinting in the lantern light. Tommy went down first, ear twitching as the door shut behind them with a quiet click.

The two reached the bottom, the soles of their boots clucking against the polished black stone floor. The boots were always a bit odd to Tommy. A mix between moccasins and armor, the boots were light enough to not be a hindrance but still able to take a beating. The toes were capped in iron, waterproof leather lined in fur making the body with strong, black laces criss crossing against the tongue of said boots. The two reached a heavy oak door, a tree about the height of a pen was carved into the oak. It had vines crawling on it, a dry brushing of gold and red dusting the carved wood. The handle was gold and had no lock.

Tommy turned the handle, hand coming up to adjust the cross body strap attached to the bag on his hip as it pressed against his shoulder. Tubbo grabbed Tommy’s hand, sending a smile his way. Despite the way Tommy acted like he was invincible, Tubbo could tell he was scared. The two started making their way through the basement, footsteps light despite the iron plates on the boots. He pushed open the door, letting it swing as they moved into the room. The two carefully shut the door behind them, looking around the room.

Wrought Iron lanterns hung from the ceiling, bright blue flames dancing inside. The room was circular and made of black stone, ceiling curving up with crimson wood supports before ending at a point. The trapdoor was in the center of the floor, painted to blend in with the rest of the crimson wood floor. The two had been twelve when they had found it, exploring on one of the days that Eret wasn’t tutoring them. It was summer and despite the two normally playing outside, the mediums had been drawn to the basement. Just like that night.

Tubbo kneeled on the dark red floor, Tommy sitting next to him. Thin fingers traced the wood, trying to find the keyhole. “Surely . . .“ Tommy could barely hear the muttering of his friend, not even caring at this point. He was used to it. A clicking sound filled the room as Tubbo found the lock and slotted the key into it, twisting his wrist with a satisfied smirk. He looked to the strawberry blond at his side, silently motioning to the trap door. Tommy and Tubbo each gripped one of the two handles that laid flat against the wood until pulled, heaving upwards as a creak filled the air.

Tommy panted ever so slightly, leaning over to take a peek inside. It was dark but the lantern the boys had brought with them illuminated just enough to see the top rung of a ladder going down. The two looked at each other, unease dancing across the two’s faces. “Well. . . It’s now or never, Tubbs.” Tubbo nodded, slipping the key into his bag. “Are you going first or am I?” Tommy grabbed the lantern, gesturing to Tubbo to go ahead. The brunette positioned himself with little flourish, carefully making his way down until he was steady enough to reach up for the lantern. Tommy handed it to him, watching the orange glow get smaller and smaller as his friend went down. “All clear!” Tommy started heading down, reaching to grip the handle on the underside of the trapdoor.

The strawberry blond grunted as he pulled down, closing the trap door behind him with a 𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘬.

Chapter Text

Tommy was hit with goosebumps as he turned around and looked around. It was a tunnel, unlit torches lining the grey walls. He held up the lantern, fingers interlocked with Tubbo’s. The brunette stepped forward, chocolate eyes filled with a calculative wonder as they scanned the tunnel. It was way too dark for them to move through safely but it would be extremely hard to light all those torches. “Hey, Tommy?” Said teen turned towards his friend, face slightly scrunched in confusion, “I know we’ve never tested it but maybe you could light those torches?” Tommy’s baby blue eyes widened, head shaking in disagreement.

“How? I never did any of that shit on purpose!” The sound of water faintly echoed through the tunnel. “Tommy, every time it happened was because you wanted it to! You wanted to light the candle and lantern so the wick caught fire! You wanted the book to give us the info we needed so it flipped to that page!” Tommy shook his head, Tubbo calm despite his best friend’s stupidity. “Do. . . Do you really think I could?” Tubbo nodded, squeezing Tommy’s hand in a silent gesture of support. “Surely. We won’t know what you can do until we try.” Tommy sighed, focus on the torches, feeling kinda dumb for it.

He had no idea what he was doing but that was fine. He’d figure it out. “Maybe if you imagine the torches being on fire?” He turned towards Tubbo, biting back his instinctual sass. Tommy turned back towards the nearest torch, imagining it crackling with fire. Nothing. He had been in contact with the candle and lantern when it happened. His hand reached out and touched the dark, charcoal tip of the torch; reeling back when fresh flames licked at his hand. Tubbo started clapping as Tommy stared at the torch in shock. He did it. He actually did it. Tubbo pulled him into a hug, giggling. “That was weird, innit?”

The two had been walking for a while, Tommy excitedly lighting the torches as they went -even if it made him dizzy the first few times. He was getting the hang of it now. He’d wish for fire and then touch the torch. His fingertips would get all hot and the second he touched something flammable, it caught on fire. The two came to a stop, the tunnel they had been walking down suddenly becoming four. “Well shit. Where do we go now?” Tubbo looked just as clueless as Tommy before ultimately looking to his left. “That way?” Tommy shrugged, hand coming to grab a bottle of water from his bag.

“Eh, why the fuck not?” The two turned left, the tunnel dark with cold torches -that clearly hadn’t been lit since Fundy was alive- lining the walls. How long had it been since any living thing had walked where they stood? Their breath fogged the air as they moved down the tunnel, Tommy lighting the torches as they went. He tried to look further down the tunnel, eyes straining against the darkness. He really didn’t want to light those torches one by one. Maybe? He focused on the darkness, imagining it filled with bouncy, orange light and wishing for flame.

The sound of roaring flames echoed around the tunnel as orange light filled the tunnel. The torches as far as the eye could see were dancing with flame that bounced in a non existent breeze. Tommy felt dizzy, stumbling slightly before Tubbo caught him. “Tommy!” Tubbo lowered his skinny friend to the cold ground, carefully holding him upright with an arm around his bony shoulders. “I’m- I’m okay, Tubbs.” Tubbo rummaged through his bag with his free hand, pulling out a small vial of a deep purple liquid. He figured this would happen. “Drink this for me, Toms.” Tommy huffed but accepted the vial, downing it in one go before grimacing at the taste. Tubbo took the empty vial, putting it back in his bag before starting to count aloud to himself and the strawberry blond in his arms.

“1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20.” Tommy shook his head with a deep exhale, Tubbo finally allowing him to sit up properly. Tubbo stood, brushing the dirt and dust off his royal blue trousers. Tommy grabs the hand extended to him, only slightly off balance as he pulls himself up. “Be honest with me, Tommy. Do we need to go back?” Tommy shook his head and laughed slightly. “I’m fine, big man. We don’t need to go back home just yet, big T.” Tubbo joined their hands together, rolling his eyes fondly at the mutter of ‘you’re so clingy, Tubbo’.

The two were on edge, unused to hearing nothing but themselves. The tunnel suddenly had two different directions they could go. They could continue going forward or go left. Tommy felt a pull towards the left tunnel, tugging Tubbo towards it. The two went down the left tunnel, coming to an abrupt stop a few moments later. A ladder stood in front of them, leading up into the dark ceiling. It was still for a moment, the two mediums looking at each other before looking back at the ladder. “Do we go up?” Tommy tilted his head before nodding. “Why not? It’s not like we don’t know which way we came from.”

Tubbo paused at that, thinking back to the torches that they had lit. They would know what they had come from. The brunette nodded, starting to climb the ladder with little hesitation. Tommy could barely see his friend by the time the brunette had stopped climbing. He heard a couple of thuds and the sound of clinking metal before Tubbo started coming back down. Tubbo jumped down from the third rung, crouching slightly to distribute the shock from landing. Tubbo ambled over, brushing his hands against his thighs. “It’s locked.” Tommy hummed, “Well, where do we go from here?”

Tubbo turned back to the tunnel opening, pointing to it with a shrug. “We could always head the other way?” Tommy, never one to turn down an adventure, shrugged and started heading that way with Tubbo at his side like always. The two followed the torches back to the main tunnel, holding hands as they walked through the winding, grey pathway. The teens stood back at the ladder, halfway between climbing back up the ladder and going back to bed before Phil found them out of bed or continuing on to the right tunnel. “I dunno, Tubbo. I’ve got a bad feeling about being down here for much longer.”

Tubbo had long since learned to listen to Tommy when he had a bad feeling. “All right.” Tommy was glad that Tubbo listened to him instead of brushing him off, turning towards the ladder in relief. Tommy looped the lantern onto his bag, starting to climb up with Tubbo at his heels. He pushed the trap door open, keeping one hand the ladder to steady himself. He popped up, hauling himself up onto the crimson wood floor. He offered his hand to Tubbo, helping him up before shutting the red-purple trapdoor. Tubbo pulled the key out of his bag, locking the trapdoor back up to cover their tracks. They immediately left the room, Tommy blowing out the lantern after he took it off his bag.

Tubbo held the strawberry blond’s hand, sweater bunched around his wrist as he had taken off his coat when they had gotten out of the basement. The two crept up the stairs, parting ways at their respective bedrooms. Tommy shut the door behind him quietly before turning around with a sigh. A throat clearing caught his attention. Tommy’s eyes flew open, landing on the figure on the chair by his window. Phil sat in the armchair in the corner, eyebrow quirked as his deep blue eyes seemed to stare straight through his youngest son.

“Theseus Minecraft, where the hell have you been?”

Chapter Text

“Theseus Innit-Minecraft, where the hell have been?!” 

Tommy tensed, mind deadpanning a simple thought. Fuck . “Hey, dad.” Tommy dragged out the first word as he tried to think of a good enough excuse. Phil stood up, eyebrow raised and arms crossed against his chest. Goddamn it and here he thought he could avoid this very thing. “Do you have any clue how worried I was when I got up and found both your beds empty?” Tommy grimaced, flinching at the tone of his father’s voice. Phil sighed, softening his tone. “I was worried, Toms. This is the second time you’ve up and disappeared at night! You need to tell me what’s going on, kiddo.” What was once a worried tirade was now soft, chiding yet gentle. 

Tommy wrapped his arms around himself, suddenly very glad he had put the lantern away. A hand was placed on his shoulder, the strawberry blond being pulled into a hug. He relaxed, wrapping his arms around his dad with a huff. Tommy chuckled, Phil clutching on to his son like he would disappear if he let go. “Can I take my coat off, big man?” Phil let go, Tommy immediately shrugging his bag off, coat going next. Tommy sat on his bed, Phil reclaiming his seat on the armchair. Phil waited patiently for his son to start, knowing it was hard for him to talk about things like this. 

“Did you know about the trapdoor in the basement?” Phil's eyes widened, the blond shaking his head but motioned for the sixteen year old to continue. “We went down it and apparently there’s a giant fucking tunnel system under the house!” Phil choked, looking at his son in shock. How the hell had he not known about that? Tommy continued, half oblivious to his father’s crisis. “We went down and it was super fucking dark! We went left and found another ladder up! It was locked though, so we couldn’t get through.”

“How did you light the tunnels? I know a single lantern wouldn’t be enough.” Tommy fell silent at that, clearly hiding what truly happened down in those tunnels. “Tommy. . .” Tommy looked down at his hands, knowing his dad had caught him in a corner. “I-” Tommy shut his mouth, hands rapidly tilting left to right in his lap. “Toms. . . You need to tell me what happened in those tunnels.” Tommy tilted his head, hands pausing before starting right back up again. “I- I-” The bed dipped as the winged male sat next to him, hand coming up to cup his face gently. 

Phil smiled at him gently, running his thumb under Tommy’s teary eyes with a smile. “I won’t be mad, Tommy.” Tommy kept his head down, blue eyes trained on his crimson red blankets. “Theseus, look at me.” Deep blue eyes met cloudy ones as Tommy finally looked up. “I swear on my wings that I won’t be mad at you for what happened down there. I just want you safe and I can’t do that when you won’t tell me what’s going on.” Tommy sighed, breath stuttering as he leaned into his father’s hand. “P-promise?” Phil smiled, letting out a sad chuckle. “Promise.” 

“I- I lit the torches.” Phil tilted his head, confusion dancing on his features. “That's not bad, Toms.” Tommy shook his head, reaching past his dad to grab the candle from his bedside table. He held it out to Phil, hands shaking as the blond took the green candle. Tommy was shaky but took a deep breath and let it out slowly, counting to ten before letting his fingers grow hot with his wish for fire. He reached out and touched the wick of the candle, hand moving back when the cotton thread caught fire. 

Phil startled, eyes wide and mouth agape. Tommy looked down, not wanting to see his father’s face. Phil set the candle down, the flames illuminating his son's downcast face. What the fuck just happened? Tommy lit the candle with his bare hands. Phil gently pulled Tommy into a hug, knowing that the teen was freaking out more and more with every second that passed. “Oh, Toms. . . “ Tommy all but collapsed into his father’s arms, glad that his dad didn’t seem to hate him. “That’s incredible Toms!” The strawberry blond let out a relieved sob, burrowing further into his father’s kimono. 

Phil carded his hand through Tommy’s hair, pressing a kiss to it. Tommy let out a tiny giggle, tired both from crying and all the energy he used down in the tunnels. Phil nudged Tommy, pulling away slightly. “You need to change, kiddo. You can’t sleep in your adventure clothes can you?” Normally, Tommy would scowl at the coddling, grumble about being a big man and not a baby but right now? He felt grateful for it. Tommy begrudgingly got up and pulled out a sleep shirt and pants. Phil chuckled, looking away as Tommy started to get into his pajamas. 

Tommy trudged back to bed, crashing down on the blankets with no move to get under the crimson wool. Phil chuckled, moving Tommy under the blankets. Tommy let his eyes close, snuggling further into the warmth as Phil blew out the candle. Phil smiled gently as he left the room, heading down the hall. The blond sighed, coming to a stop just outside his study. He opened the door, lanterns and candles lighting up the room. He opened a drawer in his desk, pulling out a small brass key.

He could only hope he didn’t regret this.

Chapter Text

Tommy felt. . . off. Not in a danger! way but in a way close to how taking a nap in the middle of summer felt. He was curled up into Eret’s side, still sluggish from exerting all his energy yesterday night. Eret was fiddling with something, a small bottle in their gloved hands. Tubbo and Niki sat on one of the other couches, discussing. . . something. Tommy was too tired to deal to figure that out. It was a lazy day. No lessons, no chores, no responsibilities. Tommy and Tubbo had planned to experiment more that night but the brunette to one look at him before saying no. 

Tommy was halfway through trying to convince Tubbo before Eret and Niki had opened the door, sitting next to the two sixteen year olds. Eret didn’t even comment when Tommy got too tired to sit up properly. Eret sighed, taking off their shaded glasses and setting them on the table off to the side of the couch. Eret held up the bottle to the light, clearly trying to pick out any flaws within the clear solution. The white eyed being sighed, clearly dissatisfied and thinking of different ingredients to add or take away. Eret picked up a quill, jotting down several little notes before going back to inspecting the vial. 

Niki had several papers spread out on the coffee table, a clipboard in her lap. Patient files, she had said. Tommy and Tubbo heard that and immediately decided it would be rude to look at others’ private files, so they didn’t. The sound of quills scratching against paper and the fire crackling behind the grate filled the room, Tommy growing even sleepier due to his exhaustion. Tubbo was reading a book, slowly reading the scarlet ink to himself so quietly that Tommy couldn’t pick out the words. The strawberry blond stifled a yawn, hands fidgeting with the cushion in his hand. 

Eret pulled something out of their dress pocket, handing it to the fidgety teen. Tommy smiled at the older, starting to play with the plush stim toy. Niki had explained the term to him two years ago, sitting him and Tubbo down and gently going through their symptoms and conditions and how it had recently gotten a name. Neurodivergant. Tommy yawned, hands slowing as his exhaustion got the better of him. Eret said nothing, just pulled the blanket down from behind them and covered the tired teen with it. 

He didn’t even notice when his eyes closed.

Eret sighed and put down the bottle, going back to their notes. Niki looked at her older sibling, head tilting as her quill stilled mid-letter. “You’ve been sighing since Tommy fell asleep, emerald for your thoughts?” Eret sighed, throwing their head backwards with a groan. Tubbo politely ignored the two, continuing to read the book. “I’m fine, Niki. I’m just a bit worried about Tommy.” Niki nodded, quill moving to finish the sentence before the nineteen year old cleaned the quill and set it down. “He must have done something to get that exhausted and I’m not sure what it could have been.” 

Tubbo looked up, clearing his throat to get the two’s attention. Niki and Eret looked at the tiny boy, waiting for him to speak. “Tommy will tell you eventually but until then, just know he didn’t do anything that’ll kill him.” The unspoken yet was what set Niki into panic mode. Tommy shuffled, Eret forcing themselves to relax as to not wake the teen. “Do you know what happened, Tubbo?” The sixteen year old nodded, red stained leather still in his hands. “He’ll tell you when he’s ready.” The two siblings looked at each other, a simple question dancing between them. 

What else were the two not telling them? 

It was evening, the sun already dipped behind the rolling hills of snow. The moon was just above the tundra, stars popping up -scattered in groups amongst the indigo sky-. The household had eaten dinner -Techno and Niki cooked that night- before settling down and doing their own things. Techno headed to the library, Eret tagging along. Niki and Will headed up to the second floor sitting room. Phil let each and every single one of them know that he was leaving and would be back by sunrise the next morning. Purpled watched from the second floor window in the library as the winged man disappeared into the forest. 

The house was quiet, the sound of a piano faintly echoing throughout the halls of the first floor -silent giggles of a small child long dead accompanying it. Purpled sat next to the now empty fireplace, phantom images of roaring flames and collapsed bookshelves floating in his mind. The panic and pain he had felt in his final moments felt dull now, as if they weren’t his emotions. Maybe they weren’t. The library had long since been repaired but sometimes - sometimes, Purpled could still see what it looked like before. He had been so excited when another boy his age moved in but that excitement had turned to dread when he realized that the boy couldn’t see him.

He remembered the joy he had felt when -for the first time since the accident - someone had said hello. Purpled remembered those cobalt eyes, the freckles and bright blonde curls. He remembered the boy introducing himself as Theseus but telling him he preferred the name Tommy. He felt joy at finally being heard. He didn’t know how or why the boy could talk to him but the purple eyed boy truly didn’t care. He remembered the day another boy joined the family. The brunette was tiny, big eyes the colour of chocolate and round face dusted with blush. Tubbo, he had said his name was. 

The library got a lot brighter after that. The two always updated him on what was happening in the kingdom, roping him into their mischief with a grin and twin giggles. He remembered the day the two had burst into the library, telling him that since he couldn’t remember his birthday they would give him one. They had settled on the middle of winter, in between the two boys' birthdays. He remembered the shock when the two had spoke of the dark haired boy from all those years ago, claiming him dead. 

Purpled didn’t know how long it had been but ever since the two had started living here, the library no longer seemed so empty.  The seasons always seemed more distinct now. The fire roared for the first time in ages. The portraits on the wall changed into paintings of scenery, the music box in the corner was replaced, the firewood no longer covered in dust from disuse. It no longer felt so cold in the room full of towering shelves and hanging lanterns. Purpled moved away from the window, a small smile on his face at the thought of the two energetic mediums. 

Maybe this wasn’t so bad after all.

Chapter Text

Tommy sat across from Tubbo, a map scrawled between them. It was old, worn parchment yellowed with age and torn at the edges. It had been left on his bed, rolled up with a deep purple ribbon. Tubbo was playing with the ribbon, Tommy looking at the faded grey ink. He was sure at one point it had been black but the ink had faded in the years since it was used. It was a map of the tunnels. The two know exactly who left on the younger's bed. Tommy looked at his friend, making a vague gesture, quiet in an attempt to not get caught. 

They couldn’t afford to get caught, not now. Not when everything was out in the open. Tubbo met his eyes, nodding and holding up the key to the trapdoor. Tommy rolled up the map, tying the rich purple ribbon around it with steady hands. The two got up, hands joining together as they listened for any sign of someone being awake. Tommy and Tubbo opened the door, facing the dark hallway with calculative eyes. The two had successfully snuck down the stairs, having to hide from Niki halfway to the basement. The two had finally made it to the trap door, bags and adventure gear already waiting for them. 

Tommy pulled on leather gloves, arm and shin pieces tied around his gangly limbs. Tubbo was dressed similarly, armour glinting in the candle light. The two had axes and daggers, potion belts and bags crisscrossing against their bodies. The two were just about to open the trap door when footsteps quickly pounded down the basement halls towards them. Tommy tensed, Tubbo following not a moment later. The steps weren’t heavy like Wilbur’s or near silent like Techno’s, no. Those footsteps were his Dad’s. The door flung open, Phil standing in the doorway. “Boys!”

Tommy pushed Tubbo behind him, temporarily forgetting that Tubbo could protect himself.  Phil moved closer, slow and steady as he kept his hands up. “I’m-” Phil sighed, “I’m not going to stop you.” Tommy and Tubbo looked at each other, confused and tense. “I’m not going to stop you. I’m not going to make you stay here when you so clearly want to go.” Tubbo stepped out from behind Tommy, not as tense now that they knew Phil wouldn’t stop them. “Dad-” Phil pulled the two into his arms, wings wrapping around the teens. “Don’t. I know what it's like to want to explore and find out who you are.” 

Phil pulled back, pulling out a small brass key from a pocket on the inside of his kimono. Tommy took the key once it was held out to him, holding the cold metal in shaky hands. Tubbo tilted his head, looking at the man who had taken him in and gave him a home. He looked so different, yet the exact same. “I won’t stop you but I need you to promise me one thing.” The winged man cradled his two youngest sons to his chest, wings covering them as if to protect them from invisible threats. 

“Promise me you’ll come home alive.”

Chapter Text

Tommy and Tubbo stood at the base of a ladder, peering up into the inky abyss that surrounded the top of the ladder- or what they thought was the top. The blue eyed boy looked to his friend, lantern illuminating his uncertainty. Tubbo hummed, holding the lantern out to Tommy. The small brunette moved to the ladder, taking a deep breath before starting the climb into the swirling darkness above. The strawberry blonde held his breath as Tubbo disappeared from view, eyes stuck to where he had last seen the sixteen year old. Tommy heard a few bangs before a pause fell through the echoey tunnel.

After a few painful moments, the ironclad boots of his best friends came into view. Tommy let out the breath he held, Tubbo jumping down from the second ring of the wooden ladder. “It’s locked.” Tommy sighed. “Of fucking course.” Tubbo grabbed Tommy’s hand, clearly nervous. Tommy looked back in the direction they had come from, orange bouncing around the grey stone. “I think we should go back to the cross, keep going ya know?” Tubbo nodded, suddenly very glad that their adventure gear was as warm as every other piece of clothing they had. A breeze rippled through the tunnel, coming from upper section of the intersecting tunnels,

Tommy shivered despite being layered in woolen clothes and iron armour. The two mediums stood at an intersection of the tunnels, trying to decide whether to go back and head right or to continue going through tunnel they were already in. Tommy left a tug left, the tunnel covered in a swirling darkness as they had yet to explore down it. Tommy started walking down that tunnel, stopping about halfway in. It was quiet in the tunnels, an uncanny silence that made the hair on his arms stand up. Tommy reached his hand out to stop Tubbo from going further, the shadows suddenly picking up in intensity.

Tommy tried to tune the voices out, blood going cold as he heard it. The tell tale rattle of a moving skeleton. Tubbo had heard it to, though to faint to make it out. The strawberry blonde, turned and sprinted, Tubbo realizing that something was very wrong. The two ran down the tunnel, the sound of their steps almost completely drowning out the sound of a bow string being drawn. Almost. Tommy -being the ever selfless idiot- threw Tubbo in front of him, the sound of a whistle coming closer before he cried out in pain. Tommy fell to the ground, left hand coming to feel the arrow stuck in his upper arm.

Tubbo dropped the lantern, pulling his bow from his hip to shoot the fucker down. He dropped to the floor, rolling forward before shooting to avoid an arrow. The arrow hit the mark, the skeleton’s skull crashing to the stone as the bones collapsed into a pile. Tommy whimpered in pain, Tubbo rushing over to him with a very concerned expression. “Hey, hey, hey-” Tubbo’s hand flitted and hovered around Tommy’s bloody wound. Tubbo winced, knowing that he had to yank the arrow out. Tommy let out a small cry at the burning pain in his upper arm, knowing just as well that this was going to hurt like a bitch.

“Just do it, Tubbs.” Tubbo was about to disagree before sighing and digging into his bag, pulling out a regeneration potion. The glimmering pink potion swirled as Tubbo sat it down, Tommy grimacing at how dark it was. He just hoped he had enough energy left. Tommy had gotten good at controlling his magic, just barely needing to do anything to create fire or move things. He had never tried to heal wounds before, never finding a need. Was it even possible? It had to be. Regeneration and healing potions existed so why wouldn’t he be able to do it the same way he created fire? Tommy felt himself tense as Tubbo gripped the arrow, counting down from five before yanking the arrow out as hard as he could. Tommy cried out in pain, tears running down his face as Tubbo’s gloves were splattered with blood.

Tommy focused on the wound, the feeling of pins and needles covering his hand. Well, here goes nothing. Tubbo had just uncapped the potion when he noticed Tommy going to touch the wound. “Tommy, what are you doing?!” The brunette reached out to stop the strawberry blond, swearing as didn’t move fast enough. Tommy felt his eyes close as the tingling feeling transferred from his hand to the bloody wound on his arm. The blue eyed boy whimpered at the cold flash that traveled through his arm fast enough to be almost ignorable. Tommy pulled his hand back, Tubbo gasping in shock.

The wound was no longer bleeding and was actively stitching itself together, the two boys in shock. Tommy let himself relax, going limp in Tubbo’s lap as exhaustion set in. The sixteen year old’s eyes snapped open when he felt the feeling of a gloved hand on his cheek. Tubbo wiped his tears away, letting out a tiny laugh at Tommy’s reaction. “It’s okay, Tommy. You can go to sleep. I’ll take first watch.” Tommy nodded, letting his eyes slip closed. He felt himself drifting off, Tubbo’s humming just barely registering as his breath evened out.

A nap wouldn’t hurt.

Chapter Text

Tommy had no clue how long it had been since the two had left the house, getting further and further into the tunnel system. They had decided to generally stick to going one direction, taking a different route to the one the two had taken just days earlier. The two mediums were currently following an extremely long tunnel, so long you couldn’t see the end of it. You could throw an ender pearl and it would hit the floor before it hit the back wall of the winding, hollow stone. Tommy stopped, the whispering becoming harsh and frantic as the tunnel suddenly had a separate, smaller tunnel split off to the right. The shadows had done the exact same thing before the skeleton had shown up. 

The two boys continued on, the whispers had quieted as the entrance had disappeared from sight. Tubbo hummed, gloved hands wrapping tightly around the handle of his axe. He had a very bad feeling about that tunnel entrance, especially with how even though they had a lantern -the tunnel seemed way too dark to just be stone. Tommy felt similarly, though drawn to the darkness the same way he was drawn to the void of the night sky and the sparkling stars that dotted it. He ignored it. 

Tubbo was cautious, instincts running high after the skeleton incident. He didn’t know if it was a good idea but the shadows seemed to be on their side, warning them of presumed danger. Tubbo would tentatively trust them. It’s a horrible idea but- The lantern sputtered, flame flickering despite no draft or breeze to move it in such a way. Tubbo felt himself tense as the lantern went out, drowning the two in darkness. The shadows started up again, constantly whispering about ‘him’ coming to get them. Tommy had reached out for Tubbo’s hand, just wanting to get out of the darkness. He didn’t know who ‘he’ was but the teen most certainly didn’t plan to find the fuck out. 

Tommy felt his hand grow warm, heat sizzling just under the surface of his skin. Tommy yanked his glove off, hand catching fire and providing enough light to see their immediate vicinity. The shadows toned themselves down, the words ‘him’, ‘darkness’, ‘watch out’ and ‘he’ll find you’ still ringing into the two’s ears. Tubbo held the lantern up, opening the latch in the front, allowing Tommy to put his hand inside to light the candle inside. Tommy let the heat under his skin go, clenching his hand to smother the flames on his palm. Tubbo closed the latched, nervously watching Tommy slip his gloves back on. 

The two continued on, not wanting to stay anywhere close to that damned crack in the wall. Far off down the tunnel, the strawberry blond could hear the oh so faint sound of water. The rhythmic drip drip drop of water leaking from the tunnel roof. It was clearly quite far down the tunnel from how much it echoed and how quiet it was, leaving Tommy wondering what could be down there. Did he even want to know? Tubbo and Tommy walked hand in hand, the brunette holding the lantern as they made their way further and further from the house they had been raised in for the past five years. 

Tommy wondered why he was truly down there -in the large labyrinth beneath the manor- best friend by his side with an injured arm and a mystical book in his satchel. Tubbo was in a similar state of wonder, confused and on edge at how strong the gut feeling to follow those tunnels wherever they may lead was. Tubbo felt odd, in the tunnels. Not the type of odd that screamed ‘you need to leave’ but the type of odd that seemed . . . familiar. The kind of familiar that one would get looking at a picture of a deceased loved one, a sort of melancholy nostalgia. The kind that stuck itself in your bones and weighed you down as you looked at a sight that seemed too familiar to just be a vague recounting of a story you once heard as a child. 

He could almost hear faint laughter of a vague figure buzz in his ears. The darkness of the tunnels seemed to ring with the feeling, the vague face and light blue sweater that always smelled like honey and vanilla. Tubbo shook his head, focusing back on the present. Tubbo glanced at his friend, the monotony of the tunnel making way-finding almost impossible. Tommy started to hum a small tune, clearly trying to fill the silence. Silence never did well for the two. It was something the two had never dealt with and were very unprepared for. 

The shadows had always been mischievous, dancing around the two -giggling and taunting in whispered tone. They were silent, just as tense as the boys that heard their every word. Further and further, closer and closer -the boys moved through the tunnel. The tunnel had no torches, the further down you went the more slick the floor got. Tommy stopped, motioning for Tubbo to pass him the lantern. The strawberry blond held the lantern to the ceiling, humming as he looked at the amount of dark water spots. “I think we’re under a lake of some kind. Unless we’ve made it to the coast already.”  Tubbo made a face, tilting his head as he tried to mentally figure out how long they had been in the tunnels. 

“With how long we’ve been here, we’re probably under the ocean right now.” Tommy shrugged, unable to argue with his friend's assessment. Well he could but- Tubbo squeezed his hand, drawing him out of his thoughts before he could spiral. It was common, Tubbo stopping him from falling victim to his own head. Tommy squeezed back, Tubbo relaxing his shoulders at the silent reassurance that he was okay. The two continued, the small brunette letting out a sneeze at a particularly bad bit of dust. 

Tommy could finally see the darkness lightening, legs starting to cramp a tiny bit. He was too stubborn to admit that his legs hurt, wincing when his leg started to weaken. He found himself on the floor, cursing as Tubbo whipped around. Tubbo dropped to the floor next to him, carefully helping his friend straighten out his legs. The brunette quirked an eyebrow, brown eyes looking almost orange in the lantern light. It was very clear as to what the brunette was asking. “I know, Tubbo. I should have told you I needed a break.” Tubbo nodded, motioning to continue. Tommy flushed a bright red, arms crossed across his chest. “And I won’t continue until my leg no longer hurts.” 

Tubbo giggled, patting Tommy’s head. The strawberry blonde’s cheeks got even redder, embarrassment lacing his every move. The two sat for a while, Tommy occasionally stretching his leg so it didn’t cramp further. Tubbo pulled out the map of the tunnels the two had brought, laying it out across Tommy’s iron clad shins. Tubbo had marked their route every time they took a rest, multiple pins marking dead ends and such. A steady line of blue pins marked the route the two had taken. Tubbo pulled the container of pins out of his bag, updating the route.

Tommy stood up, dusting off his pants now that his leg no longer hurt like a bitch. Tubbo followed, map rolled up and back in his bag. The lantern was back in his hand, the two setting off to finally reach the end of the tunnel. “What do you think is at the end?” Tubbo hummed, shrugging as the chatter helped fill the dead atmosphere of the winding stone hollow. “I dunno. Maybe it’s another ladder? There’s a lot of those . . .” Tommy groaned, kicking a pebble -watching it skipped down the uneven stone floor. “I fuckin hope not. I’ve seen enough ladders to last me a damn lifetime! A lifetime, big T!” 

Tubbo let a laugh, barely refraining from doubling over and dropping the lantern. It was soothing almost, despite walking for hours and making what seemed the little to no progress in a near endless tunnel. The darkness seemed to almost recede as they moved closer, shallow and less swirled. They were getting close. Tommy was just about to make the comment when he stopped midstep. Tubbo was about to ask what was wrong before stopping just the same. It was a door.

The door was arched, round at the top but straight at the sides. It was made of . . . prismarine? Tommy couldn’t tell from how dark it was. The door frame was made of a sort of white wood, looking odd yet not out of place. The door seemed to have no handle, only a small -almost unnoticeable- hole in it. The two stepped closer, caution lacing every slow movement forward. Tommy dug into his bag, hoping that it would work. He pulled out the small key Phil had given him, taking a deep breath before moving closer to the aquatic stone. 

Tubbo gripped Tommy’s free hand, watching with bated breath as the strawberry blonde inserted the key into the slot. He turned the key, pulling it out and stepping back quickly. The tunnel started to rumble, the teens nearly falling over from the quick shifts in the stone. The rumbling had stopped just as suddenly as it had started, several clicks following before the door swung open. The two shared a slightly scared look, slowly moving up to the door. It was dark inside, the grey stone from the tunnel turning into black stone bricks. Tommy didn’t know if there were torches but he was about to find out. Tommy felt out with his magic, letting the air grow hot before the torches that hid in the darkness ignited and danced with a light blue flame. Once the torches illuminated the tunnel, the two mediums stopped dead in their tracks. 

There, just beyond the door was a staircase down into the deep, dark depths.

Chapter Text

Tommy and Tubbo exchanged glances, eyes coming back to focus on the staircase down. The two gripped each other’s hands, Tommy slowly stepping forward with his free hand hovering near the dagger that hung from his waist. Tubbo was in a similar state of caution, tense and glancing around as if the very floor would attack them. It was stupid what they were doing, Tommy realized that but it was too late to turn back now -hundreds, maybe thousands of blocks from home. One dark green stone step at a time, the two descended the staircase. The walls started shifting, turning into a light green as they moved further and further into the depths. 

The small brunette spared a glance behind him, the air seeming to vibrate and swirl as they kept descending -further and further down. The door was fading away, seeming to disappear as if it never existed in the first place. Tubbo stopped, Tommy looking up in confusion when his friend tugged on his hand. Tubbo pointed at the door, mouth dropped open at the door that no longer existed. Tommy looked confused for a split second before he caught on and his expression mirrored Tubbo’s. “What the fuck?” Tubbo nodded -unable to put it better himself, jaw clacking shut as he continued to stare back at where the prismarine door had just been. 

Tommy gasped, a shout of confusion from Tubbo quickly following it. The entranced had disappeared, replaced by smooth, dark grey stone. “Fucking hell-” The two rushed back up the stairs, pressing gloved hands to taunting stone. Tommy and Tubbo turned back to the staircase, neither voicing aloud what they had to do. 

The only way out was down -

The staircase was long, descending deeper and deeper. The two mediums could finally reach the bottom, lantern and torch dying long ago. The feeling upon ironclad boots hit deep green bricks was not one of victory or splendor but a sort of cautionary sadness. The dark green stone seemed almost . . . alive, seeming to breathe just the same as the two boys that walked on it. Tubbo felt his hands start to shake as a corridor stood in front of them, darkness swirling and taunting, beckoning them closer. The brunette wanted nothing more than to turn and run but they had no choice. They had to continue. 

Tommy and Tubbo reluctantly stepped forward, tightly clasping netherite daggers and swords as they crept ever closer to the corridor. Tommy pulled off his glove, stuffing it into his bag before holding it out palm up. The strawberry blond’s hand caught fire, illuminating the teens’ immediate surroundings. He hadn’t heard about ‘him’ from the shadows yet but the teen didn’t want to meet the thing either. Neither one of the teens wanted to know who ‘he’ was. Tommy and Tubbo stopped right before the entrance corridor, taking a deep breath before starting off down the hall.

The hall was dark but Tommy could pick out some details from his position, blue flames dancing on his palm casting a ghastly light on the blue-green brick walls. The ceiling was tall, arching with white rafters holding it above the quartz floor. The walls were made of prismarine bricks with a strip of quartz spaced out every so often, glowing a ghostly blue in the light of Tommy's flame. Tubbo felt somewhat amazed by the grandeur of a random corridor underground but it did beg the question- What was on the other end of this hall?

Tommy stopped as the silent hall was suddenly filled with a very faint sound, loud as an explosion in the ghostly quiet of the corridor. Tubbo grabbed Tommy’s wrist, the hand that was holding the lantern ever since the beginning now holding a custom dagger made of gleaming, purple metal. The hilt was wrapped in ice blue leather, a white sun emblazoned on it. Tommy let out a hum, trying to find where the water was coming from. He could hear it, the sound resembling a waterfall in the summer rather than the dripping that led them to the door. 

It was way too quiet to be too close but still within ear shot, leaving the two quite concerned as to where it could be coming from. Tommy swallowed, caution lacing his footsteps as he slowly crept forward. Tubbo followed, footsteps seeming so loud in the dead silence that hung in the air. As much as he wanted to turn and run, sprint as fast as he could and pop back up through the basement floor- the brunette knew he couldn’t. He knew the risks that came with going into the tunnels, he knew what was going to happen. The shadows had never lied to them despite Tubbo desperately wishing what they said was as untrue as one saying that the sixteen year old was blonde. 

Every painstaking step forward, the sound of rushing water came closer and closer. Louder and Louder. Tommy and Tubbo glanced at each other, not quite sure as to how to feel about the sound. On the one hand, the silence had been deafening and even their breath had seemed nonexistent. But on the other, the sound was that of an opportunity. An opportunity the two were unsure they wanted to take. The two soldiered on, Tommy’s ghostly blue flame leading the way -dancing hypnotically against the prismarine walls. Tubbo would have been bored, they both would have, had it not been for the anxiety and dread that filled their chests at the unknown that lay just beyond the reach of the younger’s flame. 

The water seemed to sing as they drew near, seeming almost deafening by the time they first showed up. The two stopped to marvel at the sight, feeling mist spray their faces and hair as water cascades down -creating a wall of liquid. Arched windows lined the walls, glassless shapes cut into the prismarine that seemed so endless just moments earlier. The water created a backdrop of noise, it would have been overwhelming had it not been the utter relief that laced the air at something familiar. It was the same feeling the two had upon Quackity leading them to the book. But just the same as that day, an undertone laced in fear tainted the atmosphere.  

The voices that always seemed so loud said nothing, leaving two scared sixteen year olds in their wake. Tommy felt an inexplicable feeling in his chest, laced into his very soul the same as the laces on Techno’s corset. He felt . . . sad looking at the rushing water and slick stones that seemed to shine in the ghostly blue light of his flame. His feet faltered as he looked around him, faint laughter rang in his ears. The laughter belonged to a child but everything in that corridor was covered in dust, left to stand still in the sands of time like a morbid portrait. Tommy shook his head, Tubbo standing in front of him calling his name with a worried expression. “I’m fine, Tubbo.” Tubbo didn’t seem wholly convinced but let it go, settling for grabbing Tommy’s hand in his own. 

The two continued on, vines with golden flowers wrapping around the ornate, prismarine window sills, moss wedging itself in between cracks in the chilzed bricks of sea-green stone. Tubbo stopped, pointing just beyond one of the curtains of ever flowing water. A display like none other greeting them from just beyond the threshold. A huge coral reef lay just a bit away, little glowing sticks of green lighting up the colourful rocks. Tommy could feel the magic that laced the very stone he and Tubbo walked on, feeling what he assumed was a barrier to keep the water at bay. 

 Eventually the two stopped staring and continued on, the corridor seeming gigantic now that the same little green sticks that had lit the coral lit up the hall from their clear glass jars of water. If Tommy hadn’t known any better he would have called them candles. The feeling of wonder had joined the fray, stitching itself to the nostalgia filled sadness. Tubbo suddenly came to a stop, eyes glued to something further ahead. It was another staircase, leading to a door made of dark oak wood. Quartz banisters lined either side, simple yet elegant in design. Tommy and Tubbo glanced around before locking eyes, the strawberry blonde put on a brave face and put his ironclad boots on the first step. The two ascended the stairs, Tommy gripping the golden handle of the dark oak door. 

If only the two knew what would await them on the other side . . .