Chapter Text
Tommy rolls his neck, shoulder aching from the stretch and pull where tusks had torn into him, the sides of his neck aching where gills had grown and rotted.
His fingers ghost up them, brushing at the bandages Techno had secured in place, mouth twisting behind the mask on his face as he lowers his hand down.
He stares out over the streets of the Pit, at the piglin hybrid’s side, something aching strangely inside of him as he peers up at the older.
Techno’s red eyes drift down to him, looking out from the pink mask of a hog, the raise of his brow barely visible.
Tommy’s brain is blank, emotionally exhausted, aching for nothing more than to close his eyes and take a long nap.
He knows that there’s no time for it.
“This place- it’s not quite what I expected it to be,” he hears himself saying, a note of wryness creeping into his voice to disguise the tiredness. “The way people speak about the Pit- I kinda envisioned-“ He waves a hand. “You know, there’s all this talk about the fighting rings and shit.”
Techno is tall, the red light above him catching in the shine of the jutting golden crown, and Tommy wonders if he’s imagining it or if the Villain has gotten even taller, even broader, the white shirt straining against heavy muscles as arms folds over a broad chest.
More piglin than human, so different from the charade he had put up when they met at Wilbur’s house, all slim limbs and delicate pink strands framing a sharp jaw.
And yet- it’s not so different at all, in the way he moves, easy familiar motions in another shape.
He remembers the warmth of Techno’s hand over his, the coarse pelt of Carl, the large creature shifting on heavy hooves, warm breath misting in the morning cold and-
Fuck.
He’s tired.
There’s too much happening, everything crumbling in his bare hands, slipping through his fingers like sand he struggles to hold onto and-
Dream.
Wilbur.
Sapnap.
Bad.
Fucking Gogy who decided to oh so conveniently disappear and-
“Would you like to see it?”
Tommy blinks, taking a moment to remember his question, brain scrambling tiredly and fucking hell.
“’s not exactly the time for it, is it?” he says when it clicks, voice dragging roughly, one hand raising to drag through his hair before he remembers the beanie on his head and presses his palm flat against his neck, grounding his palm into the tense muscles there. “Schlatt-“
“You’re swaying on your feet, Theseus.”
Again with the nickname, Tommy thinks, but- it doesn’t annoy him as much as it should and he huffs.
“I’m fin-“
“Schlatt won’t be making any hasty decisions, he’ll be calculating his next move carefully.” Techno rolls his shoulders, the heavy axe looking almost small where it rests on his back. “And Angel will let us know if anything happens at the tower and Eris has McChill. We might as well kill some time.”
The concept feels foreign.
Of course there’d been moments of levity, of jokes and long stretches of boredom during missions but- they’d never gone out of their way to just, do something to pass the time.
He shifts, gnawing on the inside of his cheek as he averts his eyes from Techno- staring down the long stretch of the emptied street.
In the distance he can see the ice from McChill melting slowly where it had spiraled up towards the sky in a clash of powers.
His eyes browses past windows with curtains pulled shut, the silence eerie around them.
It makes his fingers twitch, wariness clawing sharp enough that he’s feeling mildly paranoid.
“We shouldn’t-“
“That’s not what I’m asking.” Techno’s mouth curves sharp with the large sharp tusks and his red cloak rustles with the shift of his feet. “Do you want to see it?” Red eyes burns into his. “The true nature of the Pit.”
Tommy should say no.
There’s more important things to be done.
Eret is still back with McChill and rumours about a Siren-clad figure with Nemesis powers were sure to have reached the surface. If Schlatt truly knew about his powers it wouldn’t take the Number Two Hero to put one and two together and fucking do something about it.
But Techno’s lingers on him, the offering strange, and Tommy hesitates but-
He doesn’t want to go back to McChill, doesn’t want to see Eret who had revealed their identity so easily, a Hero and Villain alike, ensnared in their own complicated web.
“Because you need someone in your corner,” Eret had said, blue eyes steady on him. “And I want to be that person.”
Tommy doesn’t know if he can trust it and-
Tommy knows the cruelty Blood God is capable of, but he also sees the humanity in the soft tug of his hair, in the love for a brother taken away.
“They’re human, just like you and me,” Dream had remarked in the aftermath of their first run in with Blood God and Nemesis when Tommy had been leaning over him, frowning at the delicate stitches as he carefully smeared it down with gel that was supposed to help with the scarring.
Techno’s eyes burns into him, a strong steady force of violence, a man with his own complicated honour.
“I want you to work with me like you worked with Dream, to follow me like you followed him,” Techno rumbles, the words heady.
A leader.
Wilbur’s brother.
“Red Chaos was never meant to stand on his own, was he?” The words had flayed him bare where he’d stood in the Villain’s crowned shadow, red eyes burning into his. “Be honest with yourself, what do you have to lose? You’ve already lost everything, haven’t you?”
Tommy has choices to make and danger lurks in every decision he makes, he knows it.
And he doubts it’s without reason the offer is being made and Tommy’s breath whistles sharp with his inhalation before he lets the air out slowly from his lungs.
“Techno’s my brother. I trust him with my life and I trust him with yours.” Wilbur’s words rings through his head and- “Give him a chance. You’re both more alike than you think.”
“Sure,” he says, grinning tiredly behind his mask. “Show me the real Pit, Blade.”
A snorted huff at the nickname but approval burns hot as the Blood God, famous leader of the Syndicate, bares his teeth and tusks in a fearsome smile meant for him and him only.
-
“They tell us to smile. That it’s a reassurance.” Dream’s mask slots over his face perfectly, settling in place, his hand spanning across it before lowering down to reveal the smile. “The mask is the best I can do.”
Tommy covers his mouth completely with a metal contraption that opens into a snarl of bared teeth.
It's as much for him as it's for Dream.
Dream snarls more than he smiles and Tommy will wear it proudly on his own mask, ever the faithful dog.
Heroes.
There are no smiles in their ranks, only viciousness and champagne that tastes of rot and decay.
-
It’s a dark cave, winding staircases, torches that flickers on walls, fire burning.
He can feel his heart pounding and anticipation buzzing alongside the curiosity as Techno bends down in the middle of a corridor, hand sliding over the fine powdered stone dust before pausing and pushing down.
An invisible square lowers down, a low hiss following as Techno rose up, cloak rustling with his step back, a hand stretching out to stop his automatic step forward, curiosity flooding through him.
The ground opens with a rough scraping sound that makes him wince, one hand slapping over his ear in discomfort, but unwilling to look away as the Pit opens up.
The hatch locks in place with a sudden stretch of silence, leaving nothing but a dark chasm.
There’s nothing of significance on the walls, nothing that hints of the corridor hiding this secret, but there it is and Techno’s hand lowers down.
“I’ll go first,” Techno says before Tommy can open his mouth. “It can be tricky to brace yourself the first time.” A glance, a wry sort of dark amusement in those red eyes with the curl of his lips. “Wouldn’t want to cut off your legs this time.”
Before Tommy can muster a response to that the Villain drops down and there’s a distant thud of heavy boots.
Tommy takes a step forward, then another, peering down into the darkness.
“You sure about this?” he asks the empty air.
He stares down at Siren’s boot, the way it rests with just the tip over the open chasm to the Pit and slides it further, weighing it forward.
There’s no response. Not like he’d expected one.
He puts his weight forward, boots slipping over the edge, and he drops into the darkness below.
No going back.
There’s a swoosh of air, Siren’s coat flaring up around him, eyes widening as he falls for longer than he expects, knees already braced instinctively but-
Hands catches beneath his armpits and Tommy’s world rushes back to him, the Villain’s arms stretched to leave him dangling like a child in the dark as Siren’s coat settles behind him.
That fall would have killed me, Tommy thinks with a startled blink as he’s let down, sucking in a breath of air as he reaches out to grab onto the Villain’s cloak in the darkness, fingers clenching tight.
“That can’t be the only way in,” he bites out.
“It’s the quickest one.” The amusement in the Villain’s voice in thick enough to taste and Tommy huffs, stepping blindly after the other when he feels the tug of fabric.
“… This place really need to invest in some lights.”
-
The world that greets him is cramped, metal oddly patched in places making up the walls and roof the red light from the ground above soon staining the floors and walls and the stench of sweat and blood makes his nose twitch.
There’s red brick crowding in contrast to the dark metal, the air heavy with the noise that bounces strangely, voices crowding into a buzz that makes his ears ache.
Stale water that drips into puddles from the ceiling and they pass by an old grimy fountain with the water so dark and overgrown with algae that it’s impossible to see the bottom in the shallow depths of it as he glances at it.
He veers closer to Techno, avoiding a group of hooded figures with cloaks brushing their shins, slitted eyes meeting his briefly before they ducked to hurry their steps.
The air is heavy with smog that rise from factory like buildings, a haze that the steam rising from the metal grates that run down the streets, rusted from the water.
Behind the backdrop of iron and sweat and too many people there’s a strange cloying stench to the whole place- like a sort of wet muggy road.
He resists the urge to peer back, to crane his head around, to angle to catch every detail of the ragged industrial area Techno leads him through with easy comfortable steps, people spilling out of his path to make room in the sweltering heat.
It’s busy- far busier than it had been above in the dome shaped part of the Pit. Or perhaps it’s because it’s so cramped, narrow streets and air thick, but another person bumps into him, knocking him aside, foot landing hard on Techno’s boots and his cheeks flushes hot in embarrassment behind Siren’s mask as he yanks himself back.
“Sorry,” he grumbles, hunching his shoulders and levelling a dirty look back at the offender who has already disappeared into the throng of people.
A hand lands on his shoulder, hauling him closer to Techno, and Tommy just avoids slamming into a wall of a person who banes an easy path without bothering to look down.
When he glances up Techno the Villain still has a hand on his shoulder, a look he can’t be bothered to understand in those red eyes regarding him.
Even standing still people crowd together to make space for him, leaving a small circle around them.
“Thanks,” he forces out, feeling horribly out of his depth where he stands. “I’m-“
“Stay close,” the Villain interrupts, leaning down with a lowering of his voice. “This is not a place for little Heroes to get lost.”
Tommy grimaces, yanking his shoulder loose. “Yeah, yeah,” he mutters, skin prickling from lingering eyes. “Just- get us out of this.”
“You’re looking a bit anxious there.” Techno doesn’t move an inch, the asshole. “I thought being people person was part of the gig,” he drawls.
“I didn’t sign up to talk with them, just-“ A shoulder brushes his back and he flinches, swivelling around with a step back, colliding with the Villain. “Just get us the fuck out of here,” he grits out, heart pounding as he glowers with a curling clenching of his fists.
Techno doesn’t reply but his hand settles back on his shoulder, Tommy’s muscles knotting beneath the warm grip as he’s guided in front of the other, nudged into moving with a tense step.
He draws a breath, another, staring down at Siren’s boots on the dusty ground, barely avoiding an old dried patch of blood and-
He looks up and his eyes widens as he watches people spill out of his path, making room, hardly daring to look at him as the Blood God guides him forward.
His breath stutters at the look of fear in the eyes that meets his for just a moment before they duck out of his path.
Out of Blood God’s path.
Out of Siren’s path.
“Look less like a petrified cat,” Techno murmurs low enough for only him to hear. “They’re all watching you.”
You don’t fucking say, Tommy thinks half-hysterically even as he straightens his shoulders, aiming for the natural swag of Siren with the next step, falling into it like charade as he raises his chin, heart pounding in his chest.
-
It’s different from the looks he’d gained as Red Chaos.
A lost little sidekick, so easily discarded, just a faithful dog kicked to the curb.
Fear. Respect. Admiration.
His teeth sinks into the inside of his cheek, something strange in his chest, Techno’s hand warm on his shoulder, steady and grounding.
He aches for Wilbur.
He aches for Dream.
-
The headlines burnt on the inside of his retina’s, sweat dripping down his neck, fog filtered through Siren’s mask.
RED CHAOS: HERO OR VILLAIN?
-
Tommy nearly stops but Techno’s hand forces him forward even as Manifold looks up from a clipboard to catch on them both- the goggles over his eyes the familiar red and blue shaders that wrap back, connected to an ear piece with microphone, a small red dot glowing on it.
“He hates me,” Tommy hisses with faint panic. “Fucker can pick me out in a heartbeat, it’s eerie. He’ll suspect something!”
A high-collared blue jacket, loose pants tucked into heavy boots, brown hair shorn short and a mask with an electronic smile that warps down at the sight of them.
Manifold had always had a weird fucking vendetta against him- Tommy would rather not have anything to do with the fucker.
“You’re Siren right now, act like it.”
Tommy contemplates elbowing Techno who continues onward unconcerned, giving him no choice but to clench his teeth tight behind the mask and keep his shoulders in the charade of false arrogance.
“Well, well, well- look what the cat dragged in!” Manifold tucks the clipboard down at his side, one arm folding across his chest. “Blood God and the water wielding Siren!” The downward turned smile turns up as Manifold leans forward as they come to a halt in front of him. “You’re the new hot topic around here, you know? The gossip is on everybody’s tongue!” A deep scrutinizing look, finger tapping thoughtfully against the man’s bicep. “You look like Siren, you walk like Siren, but last time I checked Siren was on the chopping block for dear old Schlatt-“
“You’ll do better to keep your nose out my business,” Tommy interrupts, rolling his shoulders as Techno releases him, mentally cursing the man to hell and back as he slips a hand into the pocket of the coat, clenching it tight. “If you feel attached to it,” he adds as Manifold opens his mouth.
The man spreads his hands out, clipboard and all. “You look familiar, is all I’m saying, maybe we get our hair cut at the same place-“
“Information costs,” Techno cuts in, a rumble of warning in his voice. “Stop fishing for it.”
Manifold draws back with a nervous laugh, smile turning back down with a blip of blue pixels. “Alright, alright man- can’t blame a guy for trying. So-“ The clipboard gets spun up, given a false studious onceover. “Looking for someone? Here to watch the show? Place some bets-“
Manifold’s hand twists palm up as he talks and Techno reaches past Tommy, pressing down on top of it, Manifold’s fingers curling tight around it and slipping it down into his pocket.
“- There’s beverages being served inside, I think someone whipped up some hot dogs for selling if you’re hungry!” An exaggerated wink, Manifold stepping back with a sweep of his hand. “Blood God,” he nods, eyes finding Tommy’s with a furrow of his brow and flickering smile. “Siren.”
Tommy raises his hand, giving Siren’s iconic little two fingered salute, making sure to put as much mockery into it as humanly possible.
Techno gives him a shove with a snort as they step into the corridor, leaving Manifold to greet someone behind them.
“He’s annoying, but he’s surprisingly good at what he does,” Techno comments as Tommy falls at his side. “Knows when to keep his mouth shut too which is always healthy in this business.”
“I bet the money helps with that,” Tommy says in an undertone.
“Small fry Villain, doesn’t exactly pay well.”
Tommy makes a noncommittal noise.
“Doesn’t pay well to be a civilian being robbed of hard-earned income either.” He squints up ahead. “He has a weird habit of popping up here and there, always for dumb shit.”
Techno glances at him. “What did you do to catch his ire? He’s a pretty cowardly guy, not one to pick fights with top dogs.”
Tommy twitches.
“Hell if I know,” he bites out with a flat look that makes Techno’s mouth stretch in amusement which- of course the fucker was well aware of what he was doing. “You’d think I’d stabbed his favourite pet fish from the way he’s trying to kill me.”
Techno snorts. “Never said he was smart.”
There’s buzz building from ahead of them, voices cheering and crowding, and Tommy just gets a look on way too many fucking people when Techno tugs him right, climbing the stairs easily, winding a good bit up before stepping into a new floor where two bodyguards’ step aside to let them through.
A woman steps up, a mask hiding everything but her smile as she gives a dainty little curtsy.
“Your normal room is being set up-“
There’s cat ears twitching on top of her head, white ones that makes Tommy squint suspiciously as he takes in her ensemble of soft hoodie and-
“- Can I get you anything? Some champagne? A glass of martini-”
His eyes stops at the carrot clips, realisation hitting him fast.
“Quit the act, Kitten,” Techno drawls.
Tommy’s eyes widens, staring at the Vigilante who laughs, body language easing back into something more familiar with a bounce on the balls of her feet.
“I couldn’t resist,” she giggles, eyes bright as they settle on him. “Just thought I’d introduce myself to the new guy. Be polite and all that.” She flashes him a V with her fingers by her eyes and Tommy fights down the mortified heat behind his mask, praying she doesn’t recognise him. “I’m Kitten around these parts. I’ve got all the information you might need and want for the right price.”
A wink.
Tommy resists the urge to melt his entire body behind Techno as he returns it with a studious little nod.
“Silent guy, I can appreciate that. Most men don’t know when to be silent.” She slips both hands into the pockets of her hoodie, turning her full attention on Techno. “You’re drawing quite the bit of attention. We’ve been getting as much people out of the Pit as possible but, many won’t leave, you know that, so if there’s actually Heroes coming down here there’s some of us who’d appreciate a heads-up.”
“Angel will let you know.” Techno reaches into his pocket, pulling out a small headpiece and offering it out.
He traps it when she reaches for it.
“For a price of course.”
Kitten rocks back on her heel and Tommy shifts uncomfortable at the very naked desperation that flashes in her eyes. “Favour for a favour,” she hurries out, glancing anxiously at the earpiece and then to him for a lingering moment before focusing back on Techno. “You know I wouldn’t make that offer easily.”
Techno rolls the earpiece thoughtfully before flicking it over, the thing hurriedly caught to be stuffed down a pocket, the Vigilante already turning to hurry past the bodyguards.
“You won’t get disturbed!” A hand gets raises in a wave over her shoulder. “Drinks on me!”
Tommy waits until she’s safely out of hearing before shooting Techno an unimpressed look.
“We’re Villains,” the man shrugs easily.
“Oh fuck off, Blade.”
-
The room Techno takes him to is small, a single couch with side-tables for drinks and Tommy steps to the railing as the door is locked behind him, peering through the window down at the people crowding below them.
Behind him Techno opens something up, pouring it and-
The fighting ring is a bloody cage in the middle, the roar muffled behind the glass, the violence a pounding thing that rises with a roar of the crowd as one of the people inside it slams hard against the metal webbing.
They’re both bare chested, hybrid features on full display, almost flaunted, and there’s a grin of enjoyment on the man who steps forward, tail swishing from side to side behind him as the one of the ground pushes weakly up.
The anticipation burns thick in the crowd, muffled here, above and removed.
His stomach twists uncomfortably.
“Hybrids spend their lives hiding their features, cowering into the pretence of humanity on the surface.” Techno steps up beside him, two glasses held in one broad palm, one offered out. “They have no need to hide here.”
Tommy stares at the familiar amber liquid.
“Does it look vicious to you?” Techno asks with a rumble, tail swinging behind him as Tommy slowly reaches out to take it. “The Pit is about taking pride in what we are.” The man raises the glass up, studiously considering it with a swirl. “To embrace it. To show it off. To prove that we’re more than the world would pretend us to be.”
“You talk as if you used to be in them,” Tommy manages to get out, the glass cold in his hand.
“Needed to unlearn some habits, it was as good a place as any,” Techno says with a baring of his tusks.
Tommy stares up at him, at the piglin features that seem all the more intense here, the pink skin and tusks born proud where his civilian form had almost erased them completely.
He looks down again, his own tail curling tighter around his midriff, studying the roar of the crowd, the way the winner has both hands over his head, egging it on, giving his opponent a chance to finally push to his feet, wiping blood from his face with a snap of his own long scaled tail behind him, the spines along his spine flaring up sharp.
“Are powers forbidden?” he wonders, unable to help the curiosity.
“To a degree.” Techno steps back, dropping down on the couch and throwing the heel of his foot up to rest on his knee as he leant back. “Some, like me, can’t exactly deactivate them.”
He somehow makes the couch look small, easily taking up more than one cushion.
Tommy observes him take a sip of the whisky with a wrinkle of his nose.
“Should you really be drinking that now?”
“My powers burns right through them.”
Tommy gives his own drink a dubious look.
“There’s no word from the Angel yet, it’ll be at least another hour before anything happens. The drugs they shot you up as a Hero should burn through that before then.”
“I’d rather not take any chances.” He places it down on the closest table, turning and dropping down on the couch, slumping back on it.
“Suit yourself,” Techno shrugs with a hum.
The muted buzz of the crowd below falls into pleasant background noise and when he glances aside it’s to see Techno flip open a book, resting it in one palm.
The picture he makes reminds him eerily of Dream and Tommy’s heart twists sharply.
Minutes passes by, the flip of a page caught at the corner of his eyes.
“One hour?” Tommy asks finally, the lethargic feeling creeping back on him with the fading buzz of adrenaline and he blinks slowly, staring up at the ceiling.
“One hour,” Techno agrees.
Tommy raises a hand, grinding the heel of his palm into his eyes, staring at the window, feeling the sweet coolness of the air, slowly sliding further and further down the couch and unwinding his tail.
He folds his arms across his chest.
“Not the most comfortable spot to nap, Blade,” he mumbles, eyes already slipping shut. “Wake me up if anything exciting happens. Or if you decide to be a wrong'un.”
The words are slurred out, sleep taking him before he can catch a response to them.