Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Tommy knew this was a bad idea, of course it was, Dream would be so mad at him-

The days had been getting progressively colder, plains biomes didn't get snow or anything, but they didn't get many clouds either, which meant winter dropped below the point of freezing. Only certain biomes got snow, which he was thankful for, but that didn't make it any better as he sat in his thin tent in the ice-cold breeze. 

He looked at the glowing particles of the Nether portal, shivering with his arms wrapped around himself, sleeping one night in the Nether would be fine, right? He's not leaving exile or anything, hell just sleep on the bridge! 

His limbs were stiff and slow as he stood up, swaying slightly on his way to the Nether portal, he looked back to the tent, it´ll be fine, hell wake up early and go back through the portal, Dream would never know.

The nausea he got from going through the portal never went away, his stomach swirled uncomfortably as the heat flooded through his bones immediately. It was so warm, Prime it was amazing in comparison to the flimsy tent. He sat down in front of the portal, bringing his knees to his chest, and leaning back on the obsidian. Just for a few hours, that's all, a few hours of warmth. Tommy yawned, eyes shutting before he let sleep take him away.

-

Herobrine sighed, He'd been running out of potion supplies as of late, meaning he’d have to go to the overworld to restock on certain items. He hated the overworld, the people were cruel, ever since a certain admin made his way into the world everything had gotten worse; nevertheless, he still had to get the items, the neighboring piglin tribes needed potions and items to trade. 

Luckily he knew of a portal built a ways over, he refused to make any portals near his fortress, it was asking for players to come and invade his space. Stuffing some of his things into his inventory he made his way out of the portal, leaving the task of collecting Nether items to the Piglins in the fortress. 

He listened to the lava bubbling as he walked, he could fly if he so desired, but he often found himself more absorbed by the surroundings in which he got to appreciate more by walking. The Nether was a quiet but loud place in a way, the sounds of ghasts crying out, the lava dripping and bubbling, not to mention the sounds of endermen. And yet… it was quiet. There was no noise of other players, not in his sector of the Nether, no other gods that resided in the Nether alongside him, he liked it.

But of course, one can never get too comfortable within their own routines. He slowed his steps as he got to the thrown-together bridge across one part of the Nether to the other, the outline of a person drawing his attention. They were asleep from what he could tell, his ears flickered at the noise of their choppy and rough breathing, walking closer in curiosity.

They were no older than sixteen, if even that, they had what he could only assume was normally blonde hair, matted and filthy from years of neglect. Their face was sunken, body riddled with bruises cuts, and scars, horribly underweight. He could barely believe he was looking at a child, with all these wounds, alone in the Nether.

This is why he despised overworlders.

Looking at the boy, he was reminded of himself, young and left to fend for himself in the Nether. Herobrine grimaced, god how long had it been since then? No use dwelling on it now, not like Notch was around to do anything to look after the overworlders. It was totally a bad idea on his part, but he picked the boy up carefully, he was as light as a feather, like if he held him too hard he’d crumble.

It would only be until the child could get back up on his feet, maybe go thousands of blocks away from wherever was treating him so badly. He made his way back to the fortress much faster this time, shooing away any curious mobs that looked at the boy, bringing him to one of the spare furbished rooms he had.

He set the boy down gently on the bed, his clothes were torn and dirty, another thing to add to the list that Herobrine would have to do. He grabbed the blanket, setting it over the child carefully, picking up his arms to set them over the blanket; two of the boy's fingers had turned a dark purplish black from frostbite. 

Scowering one of his chests he found an enchanted golden apple, he never understood why they were such rarities above ground, Notch had tried to explain it but he tuned out most of his brother's tangents. He cut it up into slices, mashing it into a paste and slowly spooning it into the boy's mouth, a sigh of relief leaving him as the fingers healed and regained their original color. The apple could only do so much, as in situations like these it focuses on the worst injury to use its enchants on, leaving the rest as is.

With the fire resistance from the apple, he decided to tackle the boy's hair next, grabbing a bucket and filling it with lava before returning to the room. Without water in the Nether, you had to make do, and so to clean himself he would often bathe in the lava, it should work the same for players. Probably.

He shrugged, sitting behind the blonde, carefully lifting his head up to let his hair fall back into the bucket. The lava removed all the dirt and grime that had coated his hair, he gently ran his fingers through the boy's hair to untangle it; it had knotted and matted in places, some of which couldn't untangle, in which he took his time to cut off those parts.

Once his hair was taken care of he scrubbed off the dirt coating his arms, face, and shoulders. When the boy eventually wakes he´ll let him change into a different pair of clothes and finish cleaning himself off. It had taken a while but the boy looked much better than he had, his blonde hair actually blonde, and his arms looking normal instead of like he´d bathed in dirt.

A flicker of blue caught his attention out of the corner of his eye, looking back to see a butterfly landing on the boy's face, sitting on the top of his nose. He laughed, a full-hearted laugh, had the boy been that close to death that butterflies were already waiting to use him as nourishment? God, how disgustingly beautiful the insects were. 

He regained his composure as the boys eyes flickered awake, no doubt from the effects of the apple. It was concerning how fast the boy sat up in a panicked frenzy, repeating the same few phrases over again, mostly a mix of “He’s gonna kill me” and “I’m sorry”.

Carefully stepping towards the boy, he kept his hands up in a show of peace: “Calm down, I’m not gonna hurt you.” He spoke awkwardly. He hadn’t interacted with another human in years. Was he even still speaking the same language?

The boy's eyes darted up to him, seemingly calming down a little bit seeing that he wasn’t whomever the boy was expecting, although a new expression dawned on his face.”I have to get back- He’ll kill me-”

He raised his eyebrow, putting his hands down, “No one’s gonna kill you, at least not while you're in the fortress.”

“You don’t understand! Dream will find me, he always does.” The kid pulled his knees to his chest, arms wrapped around his legs.

Herobrine paused for a second, Dream? That son of a-

“He won’t get you. I’ll kill him.” 

“No! He’s my friend! That’s why I have to go back, I left exile! It’s my fault, I shouldn’t have even come to the Nether!”

God, this kid was annoying him. First, he was scared out of his mind, and now he’s saying he wants to go back to the person he was scared of. This is why he hated overworlders, they were way too confusing.

“Whatever, you need to recover, the fortress is the best for that so here,” he held out a gold bracelet for the boy, one of the extras he had, “piglins don’t take kindly to people without gold, and I’ve got a few working for me in the fortress.”

He watched the curiosity on the boy's face when he looked at Herobrine and actually took in his appearance, “Your eyes are white.”

“They are.”

The boy took the bracelet from him, cradling it to his chest as if it were some rare treasure. “You don’t have a lot of things, do you?”

A look of terror dawned across his face, “This was a test- I’m so sorry, I swear I don’t have anything in my inventory-”

“Oh Prime…” Herobrine ran a hand across his face, “I don’t want your things kid.”

The boy calmed back down, pouting, “I’m not a kid.”

“I’m not arguing about this, just-  What’s your name?” He crossed his arms, waiting for the boy to reply, who stared at him in suspicion, “Tommy. Tommy innit.”

“Herobrine.” He said in return, grabbing the lava bucket and filling it up again, leaving it at the bedside before tossing a fire resistance potion into the boys- Tommys, lap. “Drink the potion, use the lava to clean yourself off. Clothes are in the top drawer, find whatever fits.”

He turned to the door, “Feel free to roam the fortress when you're done, I’ll be in the room three halls down.” He shut the door behind him, a wave of exhaustion rolling over him as he went to his own room.

Children are exhausting.

Chapter Text

Herobrine's eyes flickered up to Tommy as he stood in the entrance to the room, dressed in more Nether fitting clothes, he put down the potions he was working on, raising an eyebrow. "You can enter the room, I don't care.''

Tommy cautiously took a few steps into the room, "What do you want in return for me staying here?"

Oh prime, it's this again.

"Listen, kid, I don't want anything from you other than you to recover. I've got piglins to tend to the crops here, and I can easily forage in the overworld. Everything's covered."

The boy just looked at him, it made Herobrine uncomfortable, what do you even do in a situation like this? He looked around the room as Tommy kept staring at him until he finally broke the silence, "Fine, I'll show you how to tend to the crops and what mobs can be eaten, will that be good?" Someone kill me already.

Tommy's eyes beamed, "I promise to do a good job."

Herobrine started walking, motioning for the boy to follow him, he had a farm for Nether crops at the bottom of the fortress, it held all sorts of things from vines to nether warts and even mushrooms from the forests. It was too annoying to grow overworld crops in the Nether, so he made do with the abundance of Nether crops that others saw as gross or inedible.

He pressed the button on the wall, the doors opening with a cold breeze, the temperature a bit cooler in the farm than the rest of the fortress. 

"In the chest over in the corner there are garden shears and hand trowels, grab two of each.” Herobrine watched as Tommy quickly scurried over to the chest, doing exactly as told almost robotic-like, running back over and holding out the items like he'd just done some majestic task.

"Good, uh, good job?" Those must have been the right words because Tommy instantly preened at the phrase, waiting expectantly for his next instructions.

"First, we'll start off with the vines, they've gotten to the length where they need to be trimmed." He started with the weeping vines, positioning the shears three notches down from the top of the vine, "Count three notches on the vine down, and then use the shears to cut the excess off. Pile it up in the front."

Tommy nodded, doing as he was told, looking at Herobrine for confirmation before cutting the vine, "Try a little higher, even if you cut off too much the vine will still grow back." 

The vine was added to the pile and they went along with that for a while, count, chop, throw. Count, chop, throw. A simple rhythm was established as they dealt with the vines in silence, the sound of the shears and the bubbling of lava filled the silence.

He looked back at the pile of vines and at the amount in front of them, "That's enough, I'll use most for potions and the rest for tonight's dinner. We'll harvest the mushrooms and then I'll show you which mobs to eat."

For the most part, Herobrine was human, so the things he could eat would mostly be similar to the boys, but looking at him he was skin and bones. He'd make a simple meal tonight, vines, mushrooms, and meat.

"Use the trowel to dig up the roots of the mushroom to dislodge it and then pull. Get a mix between the red and blue mushrooms, the red holds more protein and starch, the blue holds more liquids and nutrients." He kneeled down to the mushrooms, carefully picking them from the ground.

"So uh, why were you sleeping in the Nether?" Herobrine spoke awkwardly, he might be a god, but he never claimed to be good at talking to other people.

Tommy's movements stilled, keeping his gaze focused on the ground, "I'm a big man! I was just a little cold is all, the mobs of the Nether fear me!" He had a grin plastered on his face, too big to be real. Herobrine smiled back, "Guess I'll have to watch out for my position as the strongest in the Nether, huh?"

The boy's smile became a smaller more genuine one, obviously appreciative of Herobrine dropping the subject. He looked back at the pile of mushrooms, "We have enough, more than enough actually, you're pretty good at this."

"I'm sorry if I picked too many-"

"No, it's fine. I have to go to the piglin's lower tribe soon to trade, I'll just save some of the excess for them." He waved his hand, standing up to brush off the dirt from his legs, waiting for Tommy to follow in suit.

"I'll take the vines, you take the mushrooms." I doubt the kid's body could handle anything heavier.

He slung the vines over his shoulder, watching in amusement as Tommy fumbled to balance all the mushrooms in his arms, "I can carry some as well."

Tommy shook his head, managing to precariously stack all the mushrooms, "Nope! I can do it all by myself!"

"Don't blame me if you trip." He shrugged, walking out to the kitchen, listening as the boy slowly trailed behind him, eventually arriving in the room. "Place the mushrooms on the soul sand there, it'll keep them fresh for at least another few days." 

The boy slowly moved over to the soul sand, marveling at the cold air coming off of the block, "How'd you do that?"

"Hm?" He looked over, laughing at the amazement from the boy, "Packed ice is put under the soul sand, the soul sand itself is cold so a mix of them acts as a cooler."

"Awesome.." Tommy put the mushrooms down, he'd never thought of doing something like that in the Nether, but then again he hadn't done much in the Nether in the first place. "What do you need me to do now?"

"Now, I'll show you the mobs you can catch and eat. For instance, did you know there are fish in the Nether?" Herobrine continued to drape the vines over hooks, thanks to the Nethers heat they dried much quicker. 

"What!? But wouldn't they just, y'know, burn?"

"Not all of them, these variants have evolved to withstand the heat. Come on, I'll show you and then we can cook them." He headed off, listening to Tommy run to catch up to him, "I have a lava pocket down here, I tend to the fish every few days. The mosshorn," He pointed to the large green fish, "The trumpet squid," He pointed to the long yellow squid, "And the crimson shell."

Tommy looked at all the fish in astonishment, he thought the only mobs in the Nether were skeletons, piglins, hoglins, and striders! Who knew the Nether had an entire ecosystem to it? His attention was brought to Herobrine as the other reached his hand into the lava, "What are you doing? Your gonna burn yourself!"

The only response he received was a trumpet squid being tossed to him, still hot from the lava but not hot enough to burn, he turned the squid over in his hands, examining it closely.

"I'm a god, specifically of the Nether, I don't burn." 

Oh, well that's awkward, he'd embarrassed himself in front of a literal god, oh now he's done it-

"We'll use a squid and a few crimson shells for the meal. I can take care of all the cooking, I have a system, I hate using crafting tables to cook; the food always ends up bland." Herobrine grabbed the crimson shells, four should be good for the two of them, right? How much did kids eat? 

He shrugged it off, grabbing an extra just in case, "Come on, I'll have food ready in a few minutes."

The kid followed behind him, retracing their steps back to the kitchen. Occasionally he slowed down to allow Tommy to catch up, humans could be amazingly slow, seriously did no one teach them to pace their movements?

Herobrine rolled his eyes, letting out a huff as they entered the kitchen, he tossed the shells to the counter, grabbing some of the vines, lifting an eyebrow at the one that moved. "Did you pick this one?"

Tommy looked over and nodded, jumping back in surprise when it moved, "What the fuck! I swear it wasn't on purpose-"

He put it on the counter and started cutting it into slices, "It's just a worm. I don't have any meat that's ready to eat yet so this is good for extra protein. Nice pick." He didn't get many worms mixing themselves in with the vines, most likely because of the artificial environment, so they weren't as comfortable. He'd have to fix that up at some point.

"You're not really going to eat that, right?" Tommy questioned, peering over at Herobrine chopping the vines and the worm, he had eaten questionable things during exile and Pogtopia, but worms were just gross. What if it somehow was a parasite and started living in him? 

"I'll cook them separately from the rest of the food, so if you want to eat them you can, I'm not going to force you to eat them." He shrugged, he'd been eating them for centuries now, so it didn't bother him. "It's completely safe, if you're worried about that, don't you humans sometimes eat rotten flesh from zombies? Cause that's more dangerous than a fully cooked worm-" 

The joke seemed simple to him but the boy's shoulders began to shake as he started crying. No noise was made; he just stood there.

"Hey- It was just a joke kid, I didn't mean anything by it." What had set him off? Was it the mention of eating something like that? Or was there something else? "Just- Just calm down, alright? You don't have to eat it, promise."

Tommy shook his head violently, rubbing his eyes as tears continued to flow, "I'll eat it! I will. I swear Dream-" Herobrine faltered, there he was again. Dream. As if realizing his mistake Tommy stopped, fidgeting with his hands, "Herobrine. I'll eat it, got it?"

He sighed, he wouldn't get any more information about the man if he pestered Tommy, no matter how much he wanted to. Instead, he shifted the subject, "You're all skin and bones, you need to bulk up and put some muscle on you." He poked the boy's cheek, grinning at the pout he received in return, awkward comforting avoided.

"I'm a big man! You watch your words, I'll get stronger than you!" 

Herobrine laughed, turning back to the half-sliced vines, "I'd like to see you try."

Finishing off the food he went through the steps as Tommy listed off random things, about his many girlfriends and how he was the strongest in the Dream SMP (Had Dream named the lands after himself? That son of a-) and the more he spoke the more Herobrine grew accustomed to the noise. The last time he'd had someone around him like this was Notch, he was reminded of him in Tommy.

With the food together he served Tommy a smaller portion, basing it on the fact he was severely underweight, he didn't want the boy to vomit up his first real meal since getting out of whatever situation he was in. He slid it across the table, watching Tommy's curious expression.

"Have you never had noncrafting table food?"

Tommy shook his head, beginning to eat. He watched as the boy began to cry but continued to eat his food. "Do you like it?"

He nodded this time, finishing his food by the time Herobrine had grabbed his own plate.

Chapter Text

"I've never taken care of a child before! Why can't you just help me-" Herobrine turned back to the woman in frustration.

"You know exactly why I can't interfere."

He sighed, "Sorry, I know you want to help. I just- I'm not built for this, maybe a few thousand years ago but now?" 

"I know dear. Trust me, the moment I can I will help you take care of this boy; until then you need to keep him out of harms away, away from that man." She smiled, "My time is up, until we meet again."

Tommy felt his breathing quicken, what was Herobrine planning? Had he finally grown tired of him? Oh god-

Herobrine rounded the corner coming face to face with Tommy, the boy flinched back using his arms to shield himself. 

"I'm sorry! I really didn't mean to listen in- I can leave! I wouldn't want to overstay my welcome!" He laughed nervously, backing away. His eyes darted back and forth before he made a run for it, within seconds Herobrine had grabbed his arm and-

"Put your things in the hole Tommy."

"Fuck you! I don't have to listen to you-"

He screamed as Dream grabbed his arm, sword glistening in the sun, enchantments visible.

"I said put your things in the hole. Or, you can get in the hole."

Dream dropped a piece of lit tnt at Tommy's feet, holding him in place, "Fine! Holy shit, fine! Let me go!" He pulled himself free from his grip, getting away only seconds before the tnt exploded. He emptied his inventory into the hole, watching as Dream dropped the tnt into it-

"Tommy."

Herobrine's voice filtered through, bringing Tommy back to reality. He pulled the stolen knife from his pocket, pushing Herobrine to the ground before pressing it against his throat. 

"You won't take me back. I won't let you-" His eyes dilated, pupils engulfing the rest of his eye. "Never again. Never again. Never again-"

Herobrine pushed the knife to the side slowly, where had the kid even gotten it? 

"I'm not here to hurt you. I couldn't care less that you heard me talking." Tommy was in some sort of trance, his mind was obviously somewhere else, somewhere much worse then here. He scowled, how did you help someone in a situation like this? God this is exactly why he had that conversation earlier.

He very carefully sat up, trying not to startle the boy. 

"The person I was talking to earlier is an old friend." He explained, "The overworlders know her as Lady Death, she's been gone for a while and just now regained her strength to manifest again. I was asking her for help, not to get rid of you, but how to take care of you while you recover."

It was obvious his words got through to Tommy, as the boy's body relaxed and the knife clattered to the floor, "I'm sorry…"

"Don't be." He waved his hand, "I shouldn't have grabbed you, you were already upset."

Herobrine finally stood up, brushing himself off before offering a hand to Tommy, "Come on. I have some potions I need to make for the piglin tribes, why don't you help me with them and I'll tell you about piglin customs."

Tommy nodded, taking his hand, "I know about some of them… My brother is a piglin hybrid, so I know a little." He had a solemn smile on his face as he spoke about his brother if the other even thought of him as such anymore.

"I think I heard of someone like that a little while back, interesting." The older supplied, beginning to walk down the hall, listening to Tommy hurry alongside with him. "A great fighter, but he was outcast from his tribe."

"He was?" Tommy looked up at him, why had Techno never told him?

"Piglins are prideful creatures, I assume hybrids would be much the same." He shrugged, looking to the kid, "Most piglins speak the common language, but I'll teach you some piglish anyways. Ever had your ears pierced? With a little bit of regen, they'll be fine by this time tomorrow, I'll pierce them for you."

"Woah slow down!" Tommy waved his hands around, "How do I know you won't kill me?!"

Herobrine just stared for a second before he laughed, he actually laughed, "If I wanted to do that why would I have given you my resources?"

"Well, yeah, but still! What if you do something wrong?" He pouted, crossing his arms over his chest. Herobrine rolled his eyes, "Haven't you noticed all of mine? I did them myself, but if you really don't want me to I won't."

Tommy let out a huff, "Fine! But you have to tell me more about Techno!"

"Sure kid." They continued walking to the potions room, as Herobrine told Tommy stories from the piglins, some about the piglin hybrid called Technoblade and others simply about the tribes themselves. 

"Most piglins have their ears pierced, if a piglin wears a lot of gold it means they're strong, which is why most brutes have gold decorating their clothes." He said as he took the spider eyes from Tommy, crushing them into a paste before adding them to the bottles. 

"We can pick you up some better-fitting clothes while in the village, along with a pair of gold earrings and whatever other jewelry you want." Tommy looked up in shock, mouth slightly agape, "Surely you have better things to trade for! Seriously, I'm fine with these clothes-"

Herobrine shook his head, removing the potions from the heat, "I have plenty to trade, piglins can't use crafting tables so they value crafted items heavily. Something like a loaf of bread isn't crafted instantly like when overworlders make it, it takes them most of the day."

The boy perked up, curiosity filling his tone, "Really? I thought-"

"That everyone could use a crafting table? Most overworlders do." Herobrine scowled, "It took me years to figure it out, Notch was more human, I was more mob."

Tommy looked down, well now he felt bad! 

"If there's anything your still unsure about crafting you can count on me! I'm a big man so I can pick up the slack!" He half shouted, grinning at the shocked look on Herobrine's face.

"Well, if I do run into that problem, sure."

Tommy pumped his fists into the air, almost knocking the jars of ingredients over; Herobrine just shook his head. 

"Come here, I'll pierce your ears while waiting for these potions to finish brewing." He waved him over, shuffling through his chest for his needles as Tommy walked over.

"It won't hurt a lot, will it?" Tommy looked nervously between his hands and Herobrine. 

"It'll be a little pinch, and I have some placeholder earrings until tomorrow." He hummed, holding the needles over the fire to keep them sterile, turning over to put his hand under Tommy's ear.

"Just give me- Ow! " Tommy shouted as Herobrine pierced his ear, replacing the needle with an earring in seconds. "What the hell! You could've warned me-"

"Warning you would've made you worry too much. Come on, turn around and I'll do the other one then you can look." 

Tommy grumbled but did as he was told, turning himself around, wincing slightly when the other one was pierced. Herobrine was right, it didn't hurt any more than a pinch (if that), but it still hurt!

He looked up when a mirror was tossed into his lap. He used it to inspect the piercings, marveling at how they looked on him. Standing up abruptly, he threw himself at Herobrine, hugging him tightly.

"They're awesome!" He smiled, Herobrine just awkwardly patted him on the head in reply.

"Told you. Now chop chop, we have potions to finish." Tommy pulled away, eagerly going to grab the ingredients needed, he wondered just what tomorrow would hold as Herobrine continued to tell him about the customs of piglins. For once, he found himself listening to what he was being taught.

Chapter Text

Tommy shifted some of the items in the bag around a bit, trying to fit as many of the potions and items as he could. He could be of use to Herobrine, he really could! Herobrine had gone out of his way the previous night to explain piglin customs and the basics of piglish for when they went to the tribes so he could at the very least use common terms.

He beamed at the items he managed to stuff into the bag, pulling it over his shoulder to rest on his hip as he walked. Now where was Herobrine? Was he at the potions or-

" Hello!"

Tommy screamed, falling backward; his arms went up to protect his face. Herobrine must've heard that, right?

A mix of squeals and jumbled words made their way out from the person's mouth, looking up to be faced with one of the piglin helpers within the fortress. He swallowed the lump in his throat, standing on shaking legs, " H.. Hi?"

Oh go,d he probably sounded so stupid-

The piglin let out a joyous squeal, bumping their head against his lightly, " I've seen you around the fortress! Herobrine took you in, right? He did the same with me!" They smiled, tusks poking up from behind their lips. " My name is Nujija!"

"Mines- Mines Tommy." He held out his hand to the other, surprised when he was engulfed in a tight hug. Tommy hit their arm a few times to get them to let go, panicked breaths leaving him in rapid succession.

" Oh- Oh! I'm sorry! I didn't hurt you or anything-" They frantically looked over him, " Humans are more fragile than piglins, and you're just a runt! Oh, I'm in so much trouble-"

Tommy paled, "No, no, no! No one's getting hurt- I promise! You didn't hurt me, and I won't let Herobrine do anything-"

Nujija startled, carefully resting a hand on Tommy's shoulder, " He wouldn't hurt me, maybe just make me refill the lava buckets and get new soul soil, he's not like that." Contrasting their previous behavior, Nujija's tone was completely serious, which helped calm his nerves. He nodded, trying to stabilize his breathing.

" Wanna see something?" He nodded again, looking at Nujija in shock as they pulled off what he thought was a gold covering on their tusk, revealing the missing upper half. " My old sounder was really bad, they heard I wanted to leave and told me with my tusk like this no one would want me."

He frowned, " Why would they care about something like that? It's not your fault."

" You're right, and turns out, no one cared about it. Herobrine still took me in, and the neighboring tribes still welcome me when I'm given time off." They smiled at him, putting the covering back on, " So the question is, why would Herobrine hurt me over an accident?"

Oh, that actually.. Made a lot of sense. If it were Dream, he no doubt would've punished Tommy for even getting a speck of dirt on the man, but that wasn't fair was it? 

Nujija patted him on the back gently, " Trust me, runt, if Herobrine says you're safe here, you're safe. I'll even make you a promise, if he so much as lays a finger on you, I'll break his!" She grinned mischievously, holding a finger to her lips.

"Me too! Promise!" He spoke eagerly, smiling at the slightly surprised look on her face.

" Alright, alright, go catch up to Herobrine now, he's probably waiting for you by the stairs." 

"Oh shit!" Tommy waved goodbye hurrying off to go see Herobrine, he'd totally forgotten about that! He held onto the strap of the bag to keep it from moving around as he ran, coming to a halt when he almost ran straight into the other.

Herobrine raised an eyebrow, "Get distracted?" 

Tommy scowled, trying to catch his breath. Prime it had been a while since he'd run anywhere-

"I uh, ran into Nujija and got caught up talking with her." He admitted nervously, even after the reassurance from her that nothing would happen, he couldn't keep himself from worrying.

"As talkative as ever I assume." Herobrine.. Rolled his eyes? Maybe? How did someone without irises even do that?

"She was really nice! Just, scared me a little, cause she was really touchy and everything." Dream was never like that, neither was Wilbur, not after Pogtopia, and Ghostbur… he stopped visiting a while ago.

"Piglins are like that, in fact, to greet each other they'll normally butt heads. I can tell them not to if you don't want them to." He said as he began walking, starting slowly to allow Tommy the time to follow alongside him. 

Tommy took a second to think about it, and after a moment he found himself not minding the thought.

"I'm a big man! I can handle a little head butt!" He crossed his arms, puffing out his chest.

"Did Nujija refer to you as a runt?" Herobrine asked a smug tone in his voice.

"So?"

He looked to the other as he laughed, "Runt means an animal or person smaller than average. To piglins, you're like a baby."

"I am not!" Tommy scowled at Herobrine, he is- was, the right-hand man of a country! 

"Tell yourself that all you want, but you have absolutely no muscle on you, and height doesn't really mean anything to piglins."He shrugged, ignoring Tommy's pestering as they continued walking. The tribe wasn't too far, but it was well hidden behind walls of netherrack and rows of vines to avoid overworlders, he dreaded having to explain why he'd brought one along with him.

"When we get there let me introduce you, the smaller tribes can be more guarded when it comes to new visitors."Tommy nodded, fiddling with his hands.

"What if they don't like me? I don't want to mess up whatever understanding you have with them."He spoke nervously, things had never gone well when Tommy got involved, what if he just brought more problems to another civilization?

"It's not about you specifically, it's about past experiences they've had with overworlders, after a few minutes they'll welcome you. Hell, you'll probably enter with only a bit of jewelry and leave with a lot more."Herobrine snickered, the older piglins loved tending to the younger ones, covering them in as much jewelry as possible.

He brushed away the vines, guiding Tommy past the twists and turns, stopping outside blackstone walls. The small bits of gold glistened within the walls, it reminded him of the way Techno's crown would shine in the sun.

"Try to contain your reaction at least a little bit when the gates open." Herobrine's voice drew him out of his thoughts, the man had already talked to one of the piglin's in the guard tower; they looked at Tommy for longer than he'd prefer before stomping their hoof three times, drawing the gates open.

"Holy shit!" Tommy shouted, looking up to Herobrine who wore a small smile on his face, messing up Tommy's hair as they walked into the village that was brimming with life. For once in a long time, he felt like maybe, just maybe, he could live.

Chapter Text

The shops were filled with Nether crops and meat or fish overworlders hadn't even know existed, glowing blue fungus or dark red shroom lights hanging on display for decoration and purchase. Gold jewelry splayed out across shelves, along with small obsidian or quartz figures, piglin warriors from times long past.

Tommy laughed with excitement, looking back and forth between Herobrine and the shops, letting out a sudden gasp when a smaller piglin grabbed his hand.

" You look like Mr Herobrine!" They smiled, turning back to their parent, " Mama, look! Mr Herobrine brought someone else!"

The mother chuffed, stomping her hoof a few times till the kid ran back, waving goodbye to Tommy, who looked to Herobrine a slightly worried expression on his face. "Is that.. Is that like normal?" 

Herobrine shook his head, patting Tommy's shoulder gently, "The kids are like that, they'll pick up on it fast though. Notice how she ran back to her mother? She would've stayed, but she knew you were scared."

He nodded, putting his shaky hands into his pockets, "Well? Let's not waste our time. Show me around, we can get to trading." Tommy gave a small smile, ushering the older along.

"Yeah, yeah, afterward I'll let you pick out a few things. For your troubles, of course." He spared a knowing look to Tommy, whose eyes brightened, he'd obviously seen something that piqued his interest in one of the shops. 

Tommy followed along as Herobrine walked, sparing glances to the buildings and landscapes, the hoglins that were domesticated running around with the kids; the striders resting in the lava pools alongside the fish. His walking slowed a few times, having to run a bit to catch up to Herobrine who surely would've walked a bit further by now.

"Who are we going to first?" He broke the awkward silence, picking at the torn skin of his nails.

"An alchemist, all those potions we made will be given to him in exchange for gold, potions are in high demand and low in stock." Herobrine looked to the boy, snickering at how invested he seemed in the piglin society.

"I didn't know piglins did anything like that... That's so cool!" It was good to see the kid with some more energy, his cheeks were looking fuller and he didn't look so ragged. Something about him just felt off though, it was worrisome.

He shook his head. Nows not the time, perhaps later when he can speak with Lady Prime again. He shifted his own satchel of items, coming to a halt in front of the main hall. "Come on kid, the alchemist isn't so bad."

Herobrine motioned him to follow along, winding down the halls, they passed by many different workshops. They had all the jobs overworld villages had and even some new ones, why were they so outcast? They weren't any different than the overworlders when you thought about it.

He was drawn out of his thoughts at the sudden squeal, " Herobrine! What a surprise, it's been a while since you showed up a day late!" The piglin laughed, bumping heads with Herobrine as the other took unhooked his satchel, Tommy following along with the actions. 

" Nice to see you again too, Uralack. I brought all the potions you asked for, Tommy helped me make them so give him some thanks too." He nodded his head in the direction of Tommy, ignoring the shocked look he got in return.

"Prime above you've brought in a runt!" Uralack set down the potions, " Does he- did you- Oh damn it all." The piglin ran a hooved hand down his face, shaking his head fondly as Herobrine laughed.

" I'm looking after him for now," He lowered his voice, just enough so only Uralack could hear, " His old sounder was like Nujija's, and somehow he ended up in the hands of Dream."

Uralack's face dropped immediately, nodding. "Well, we welcome him with open arms!" He quickly put a grin on his face, shuffling over to Tommy with a hand in his pocket, "Here, kid, I've got a few extra golden rings and bracelets, Prime knows you've got barely any! Herobrine you need to look after the runt better! If-"

Tommy tuned out the conversation between the two, holding the bracelets and rings, gold was precious to piglins, why give it away to him so easily? It scared him in a way, to be treated gently, he knows the truth behind everything. What would they think of him if they knew he was exiled for treason?

Herobrine brought his attention back the the current situation, "Here, I'll help you put on the bracelets, the clasps can always be a pain." He carefully took the bracelets out of Tommy's hands, brushing aside the pained look of which he would definitely inform Lady Prime about. The gold hung on his wrist slightly, not enough to fall off, but enough to be comfortable.

" There! See? Now he looks much more like part of your sounder!" Uralack grinned as Herobrine rolled his eyes, taking the outstretched bag of gold nuggets, " Threw in some extra, so get that kid a few things he wants!"  

The two of them waved goodbye to Uralack, walking back the way they came in comfortable silence. It was nice, to walk without speaking, a silent understanding to just enjoy the company of another after being lonely for so long.

Herobrine glanced at the boy, he seemed a little out of it earlier, and he always got jumpy when given gifts. It seemed there was always a price to pay for an item when it came to Tommy's past, a situation Herobrine was all too familiar with. The most he could do was take care of him until Lady Prime was strong enough to come and fill in the blanks.

An explosion caught their gaze only a bit further up the path, a dust cloud forming across the rubble of the broken wall. Herobrine stepped in front of Tommy as the horns sounded throughout the village, hooves stomping against the paths as someone emerged from the dust. The sight that greeted him made his blood run cold, a man who wore a green hoodie with a smiling mask.

Chapter Text

"Tommy, stay behind me." Herobrine spoke fast, an enchanted netherite sword materializing in his hand. "Don't intervene, I can handle this."

Tommy nodded, tears welling up in his eyes, why had this happened? Was it his fault? The village was in danger all because of him!

"Is that any way to greet an old friend?" He jumped at the sound of Dream's voice, who'd stepped out of the rubble, tilting his head to the side. "Why don't we go back to exile, no one has to get hurt again due to your actions!" 

In an instant Herobrine moved in front of Dream, swords clashing together in an intricate dance. It was fast, faster then anything he'd seen before, faster then Technoblade fighting. 

"Herobrine! It's been a while!" Dream grinned as he parried the attacks, armor glistening with it's enchantments, potions sat on his side ready to grab. "I haven't seen you since Lady Prime-"

"Don't you dare speak her name!" The flash of anger shocked Tommy, Herobrine had stayed composed aside from the one conversation he'd heard between him and his colleague. Wait, Dream knows Herobrine? He knows Lady Prime?

"Come on! It wasn't like she had much of a chance in the first place!" He laughed, Herobrine's strikes held killing intent as his sword came down and cut Dream's mask down the middle. 

"There was nothing fair about that fight, and you know it." He pointed the tip of his sword at Dream's throat, eyes glowing more then usual. The piglin brutes had arrived, surrounding the fight, keeping Tommy close.

"Your skills are weak, pathetic, you need the borrowed power of a God to even compare. Disgusting." The sound of a crossbow manifested in Dream's hand, a grin on his face as his throat was slit, and the whoosh of an arrow flew through the air. 

Dream was slain by Herobrine.

Herobrine turned to see where the arrow had struck, his face falling. Stuck threw Tommy's throat was the arrow, blood seeping from the injury. 

"Tommy, don't move. Don't speak, okay?" He dropped his sword, moving towards the boy, fear was written across his features. He turned to one of the brutes, " Run and get Uralack now, tell him to bring regeneration and healing."

The brute took off running, Herobrine very slowly help Tommy sit down, making sure not to jostle the arrow. Every breath he took a whistling sound followed with, blood bubbling up in his mouth, he grabbed the fabric of Herobrine's shirt. 

"I know, your scared. Uralack's going to bring potions, you'll be okay." He tried his best to reassure the boy, the brutes had set off to the medical hut, retrieving supplies for bandaging the wound and stopping the bleeding while the potions took effect. 

He could hear the clinking of glass bottles in the distance as Uralack ran, faster then he'd ever heard the piglin was in front of the two in a second. "You heal this boy, he's just a runt-"

Herobrine nodded, taking the potions from his hands, uncorking it before gently pressing it against Tommy's lips. He held one hand over the wound, trying to stop the bleeding each time his throat bobbed with the fluid. It should've taken effect immediately, why wasn't it-

His eyes moved down to the arrow, it wasn't ordinary, it held the energy of a God- It was one he'd only saw back.. Back when Lady Prime was killed by Dream.

It wouldn't.. It wasn't going to work. No amount of potion could bypass the magic already intertwined with the blood running through his body. He grabbed Tommy's hand, squeezing it gently to try and reassure him, " Tommy, do you want to know the truth?" 

The boy nodded as best he could, tears trailing down his face, the reality had already settled on him. 

" Dream used the magic of a god, one called XD. He used it years ago to kill Lady Prime, it's a magic that shuns any other forms of magic." 

His face contorted into silent sobs, blood gurgling in the back of his throat began to spill past his lips down his chin. Tommy held Herobrine's hand tightly, " I'm so'ry."

Herobrine shook his head, " There's nothing to apologize for. Nothing at all." He stopped, looking to the arrow and back at his face, " Do you want… Do you want me to pull the arrow out? It'll be quick, you'll bleed out within seconds."

Tommy nodded, squeezing his hand again, it would be quick. He wouldn't have to suffer, not like before. Herobrine grabbed the arrow, taking a deep breath before removing it swiftly. Blood gushed and spilled out of the wound, seeping into the paths underneath, staining his golden hair a deep red.

He held his hand through it, Tommy's own relaxing until it went limp, glossy eyes staring up at the netherack. The piglins stomped their hooves in recognition of the life lost. 

Tommyinnit was-

Tommy gasped, grabbing at his throat, feeling the hole still there. He looked around, he was sitting in a field of purple flowers, a figure standing in the distance with water rippling around their ankles. 

He stood up, blood pulsed down his throat, coating the clothes Herobrine had given him. His footsteps were shaky as he walked, moving closer to the figure. Two large black wings portruded from her back, feathers rustling in the breeze, accompanied by dark black hair put up extravagently in layers of loops with gold jewlery spread throughout. 

The water splashed against his ankles, her purple layered robes floated on the surface of the water, water lilies and lotuses decorated the water. It stretched out endlessly to the distance.

Tommy stepped forward, tripping over a vine, the water washing away the blood leaving no evidence of his injury except a small divet where the arrow had pierced him. He looked up, greeted by two kind black eyes and a hand reaching out for him. He accepted the help, standing up alongside her, a wing rested atop his shoulder blanketing him in a soothing cool.

"Where…" His voice rasped, she just looked at him, waiting for him to continue, "Where are we?"

She smiled, picking up one of the lotus pods from the water, offering the seeds to him, "The realm of death, not limbo or the after life, but the realm itself between the two worlds." He took the offered seeds, scowling at the bitter taste.

"You have to remove the sprout first darling, like this." She peeled the outer green part, giving him the now white seed. It was slightly sweet, comforting. Tommy looked back up to her, "I'm dead, aren't I?"

Her smile became a smaller understanding one, "Not quite. Your body is still alive, I'm keeping it so. Your soul is here, to protect you from the pain of being put back together."

A shiver ran through him, put back together? His body was literally being remade?

"Everything will be the same, every birthmark or scar will still exist, I'm just taking away the magic of XD." She frowned for a moment before her face landed on a neutral expression. "Years ago, I was responsible for all lives wether they be in the overworld or nether, but Dream wanted that control."

Oh, this was Lady Death. This was his Lady Prime.

"He collaborated with XD, and borrowed his power to shun my own magic from me before killing my physical body. A god can't die, but we can dissappear to a far corner of our realms, and only with the help of prayers may we regain our power." 

"Oh, you mean… My prayers in exile helped you?" Her smile returned, a hand coming up to cradle his face, an action so pure filled with nothing by adoration. It made his teeth hurt and his stomach flip, such a gentle action unknown to him.

"You built me a shrine, a church, you did so much for me while I could barely do anything for you. And yet… your faith never faltered. I could feel it, all that pain, all that loneliness, and through it all you believed." She pressed her forehead to his, sharing his breaths with him, her magic swirling around them. 

She pulled away, putting her hands out in front of her, two paper lanterns manifested with purple particles. Her magic. Not the magic of the overworld, or the nether like Herobrine's, just hers. It was so different but it felt familiar, it felt like home.

She placed one of the lanterns in his hands, it lit up in his palms, almost floating away prematurely. She let out a small laugh as he grabbed it, marveling at the soft thread thin paper. 

"Make a wish, infuse the lantern with your energy, and when it goes up it'll release the energy into the world." She let her own lantern up into the sky, taking place alongside all the others. He took a second to think, he wants… To feel normal again. To get to live. To not have to bear his teeth and snarl at every sound. He wants. And he wants. He wants so much it's beginning to eat him. 

When he lets the lantern go, it's like a weight is lifted from his soul, all his want and all his desire, every bad part of those are gone. It leaves him feeling just as light as the lanterns, a small smile on his face. 

He turns to face her, but he finds particles of himself beginning to dissipate. He was leaving already? 

"Don't fret, you'll see me again sooner then you know. That village, they're praying for you. They want you home, healthy, happy." She took beckoned him over, "One little thing before you go."

"My name is Kristin."

Tommy dissipated leaving only particles behind in his place, a solemn smile on her face. Her boy would be happy soon, no one would lay a hand on him again.

Chapter Text

"Wake up."

Tommy groaned as he woke up, bright lights hurting his eyes after having been in the dark for a while, his throat spasming at the movement of the rebuilt vessels. He stretched his hand out, moving it about in the air for a moment before someone elses grabbed it.

"Welcome back to the land of the living." Herobrine's voice filtered through the silence, a small smile worked its way onto Tommy's face, it was weird using muscles knowing they'd been rebuilt anew. Did Herobrine know that? Did he see it happen?

Tommy coughed, "Can I… Can I have some water?" He finally opened his eyes entirely, the light from the lanterns becoming just a backdrop once again. Herobrine nodded, shuffling around in his bag for one of the bottles of water, handing it to him carefully.

He uncorked the bottle, gulping down the water with haste, his throat still felt weird. It's like his brain knew something should be there, like there was no reason he was still here, but his body had forgotten.

Herobrine took the empty bottle, tossing it back into the bag. It looked like he had more to say but kept quiet, it irked him, he wasn't weak-

"I met your friend."

The god looked up, a sad look in his eyes, "Yeah, you did." 

It was awkward to say the least, there was so much to say and yet they both said nothing at all. Tommy scowled, he was never like this before. Before exile, he was strong during L'manburg, he won their independence! It was all wrong, none of this is what it's supposed to be. 

He gasped when Herobrine stood up suddenly, sending a glare his way. 

"Come on, let's go for a walk." Tommy rolled his eyes, pushing the sheets off his legs. He took a deep breath in before he started moving, his legs regaining feeling as he continued to take steps forward. Eventually, he fell back into the normal rhythm, trailing behind Herobrine, it was a way they hadn't gone in the village yet. 

Vines and plants were overgrown, hiding broken stone paths, and undiscovered flowers of purple and gold bloomed from the underbrush. What used to reside here? 

"Where are we going? Not gonna try to finish the job, eh big man?" He laughed nervously, it was darker here. The lanterns and shroom light had lost their glow ages ago, only providing small specks of light occasionally.

Herobrine held a finger to his lips as a building was seen in the distance. It was a dark purple, a mix of logs, blackstone, and ancient debris with crying obsidian scattered around. A temple of sorts, soul lanterns hung down from the corners, illuminating the carvings in the stones. 

Tommy's face fell as he saw a wither looming around the temple, almost like it was… guarding it?

"This is the first temple of Lady Death, or as you overworlders call her, Prime." Herobrine smirked, patting Tommy's head to draw him out of his trance. "The wither was the protection I gave to the village, the temple is its sanctuary."

He let out a breath, feeling his heart pounding. Of course, Herobrine would never bring him to a wither with bad intentions, he wouldn't spawn a wither to harm the village. Of course.

"The village… we all prayed for you. You were out for a week as your body accepted it's recreation." He paused, running a hand across the carvings, "Coming back from death is no small feat, and now that the village knows Lady Death's powers are returning, the temple will be renovated." 

"So it's like, a home for her? When her.. Ah what did she say-" Tommy jerked, looking at his hands he’d moved, which had pads and long sharp nails. His breathing quickened, what had she done to him? He looked to Herobrine, panicked, “Why didn’t you-”

“I wanted to wait, just, come on.” Herobrine brought him into the temple, moving past a kitchen into a room, the echos overwhelming his ears as he finally noticed them.

He blinked and looked around when he was sat down in a plush bed, filled with soft blankets and pillows, with trinkets decorating every inch of the room. Bracelets, necklaces, all types of jewelry and beads, and bookshelves lined the walls. His thoughts were all muddled, on one hand, he liked being surrounded by the jewelry and blankets, but on the other, it just wasn’t his. 

A chair scraped against the ground, bringing his attention to Herobrine who’d sat down outside the bed. “When Lady Death was rebuilding your body, she noticed an issue with your genetic pattern.”

…What? What the hell was Herobrine talking about?

“By all means, your genes are that of a hybrids-”

“No! I’m human, I’ve always been human- The other hybrid’s of the server would’ve known something was different!” Tommy gasped, covering his mouth with his hands, surprised at his own outburst. “Tubbo would make jokes about it, Techno would- he wouldn’t train with me like the others because I was human! And Dream-”

“Before your first growth spurt, someone locked your physical attributes behind a wall of magic, making it impossible for you to ever develop as a hybrid. You’re a raccoon hybrid, and you have all the personality traits of one.”

Tommy’s eyes began to water, the fuzzy feeling in his canines building more, “No- No, I’m just a human. I’m annoying, I’m just Tommy, and Tommy is annoying, and rude, and human!”

“Raccoons steal because they're curious, and like to explore. You are intelligent, but people don’t like feeling inferior so they dislike you. You can adapt and survive in harsh environments. They feel things loudly, and therefore express them loudly, you like company, but have gone into solitude because of the reactions of others-”

“Shut up! Just shut up, shut up-” Tommy threw a pillow at him, tears rolling down his cheeks, “That doesn’t mean anything! I’m not some stupid hybrid, I’m just Tommy.” 

The boy sobbed, wrapping his arms around himself. Herobrine placed the pillow down beside him, in the process of sitting down next to him when the door to the room was thrown open. He was about to yell at the person, when he realized it was Uralack standing in the doorway in a frenzy. He opened his mouth to speak-

“ Technoblade has returned!”

Tommy froze.

Chapter Text

“ Techno’s here?” Tommy sobbed, stumbling forward out of the bed. He took off out the doors of the temple, ignoring the shouts from Herobrine and Uralack, if Techno was here-

“ Techno!” He called out, running past the tribe members, into the center of the tribe. Technoblade was being surrounded by the brutes. Tommy pushed past them, running into Technoblade at full speed knocking both of them to the ground.

“Heh?!” Technoblade looked at the boy, he was a stark contrast to the bright golden boy he was before, covered in scars from cuts and tnt. His hair was long now, and he had… raccoon ears?

“ I’m sorry! I’m so sorry- I should’ve listened-” Tommy cried, he missed his brother so much, he wished he could take it all back. Back to Pogtopia where they laughed and joked around, back to before he chose Tubbo, back to when they were kids-

He could hear Herobrine making his way through the brutes as well, standing behind Tommy, a sharp glare being sent Techno’s way. 

Technoblade slowly found himself wrapping his arms around the younger, holding him tightly, as if he’d disappear. Three and a half years, three and a half years his baby brother had been gone, and half a year where Dream convinced everyone he was dead.

“Forget it, it doesn’t matter anymore.” 

Tommy laughed, hugging him back just as tightly, leave it to Techno to decide what matters and what doesn’t. He was so sure when he saw him again that the other would hate him, it was all Dream told him when he asked why no one visited.

“What happened to you, runt?” Technoblade whispered, this wasn’t the boy he knew before. 

Herobrine stepped forward, “ You don’t need that information right now. Why are you here? Why did you come back? ”

The piglins of the tribe chuffed in agreement, he had been outcast all those years ago, why return after all this time?

“Dream told everyone-” He stopped, right, he was back in the village now. “ Dream told everyone Tommy had killed himself. We all thought he was dead, when I saw the message-” No one aside from Phil saw him pack his bags, how he searched the Nether to find his way to the tribe, it had all but disappeared from where it once was. 

“ He’s my sow, I never would’ve let him stay in exile that long if I had known.” 

Herobrine sighed, nodding to the brutes to lower their weapons, “ Come, Tommy was supposed to be getting used to staying in a den while his instincts regulated.” He motioned for them to follow along, watching Technoblade’s every move as he picked up the younger, much to Tommy’s dismay.

They went through the previous actions again, returning to the den quickly. Technoblade set Tommy down into the bed, standing awkwardly beside it. Tommy wasn’t a hybrid; there was no need for a den for his instincts, but here he was. How had he missed it? How hadn’t he questioned it?

“ You left him in exile.”

Tommy scowled at Herobrine, “No-”

“ I did.” Technoblade stared back at Herobrine. He’s here now, and he’s not going anywhere. “ I visited him once, and instead of acting like an adult when he got upset at me, I didn’t visit again. I was angry about his choice, so I looked past the scrapes and bruises, the tattered clothes and obvious signs.” 

He was weak. Petty. Never again, never again will he let Tommy down.

“ He died, because of Dream. Because of those people. Because of you.”

This wasn’t fair- This wasn’t Techno’s fault-

“ I know.”

“I’m here now! I’m alive, see? Just stop it-” Tommy shouted at the two, ignoring the shocked look from Techno, “It’s all in the past! So can we focus on dealing with the bigger issues, please!?”

Herobrine sighed, going forward to ruffle his hair, “Fine. Our bigger issue as of now is dealing with Dream.” He looked at Technoblade, “You allied with him, did you notice anything strange?”

“Him? His entire presence is strange.” He crossed his arms over his chest, tilting his head to the side in thought, “There was a book, though. He was always focused on it, like it was something special.”

He’d always see him obsessing over it, no matter the situation he seemed more worried on getting his hands on it and keeping it rather then the current matter. Whatever he said had obviously piqued Herobrine’s interest, “What? It has to be something special for a weirdo like him to be interested in.”

“That’s how he met XD-” Herobrine moved to the shelves of books, looking through them as fast as he could until he saw what he was looking for, “Lady Death wrote about it.”

He flipped through the pages, journal entries and sketches decorated the pages, “XD’s power is different then other gods, he can’t physically interact with things himself. He was a selfish god who disrupted the balance of things, his magic messes with the natural code of the world.”

Tommy looked at the book in Herobrine’s hands, “Like my hybrid traits?”

“Exactly like that.” He showed the sketches in the book to Technoblade, “This. Did you ever see this book?”

He nodded, “Yeah. He always carried it with him, wouldn’t even let me see it for a second.”

“Dream is using the book to rewrite the codes of players on the server, he’s using it to keep control of the server.” Herobrine looked through more of the books, trying to get any bit of information he could.

“ That selfish, green bastard- ” He squeezed his hands into fists, “ He killed her using that stupid fake god’s powers and tried to do the same with Tommy-”

“Getting mad isn’t gonna do you any good. We know what he’s doing now, he might be using a god’s power but he’s still human.” Techno put his hand on Tommy’s shoulder, squeezing it gently, “He won’t get away with this. We’ll repay him tenfold for the damage he’s done.”

If it weren’t for his need for control, Wilbur wouldn’t have gone insane. If it weren’t for his need for control, Tommy wouldn’t have died, hell he could’ve learned how to be a hybrid from Techno! 

Tommy nodded, “Yeah.”

Chapter Text

The next few days blurred together in a mix of Techno teaching him how to get accustomed with his newfound hybrid traits, coupled with Herobrine helping train the both of them. It was the best time to learn, Tommy was built anew, and Techno had been revived using a totem during his execution, which was still absolutely insane of Tubbo-

Tommy yelped as he felt his ankles get swiped at, falling back onto his ass, “Hey dick head! That was so uncalled for!” He scowled.

Herobrine laughed, extending a hand to help him up, “If we want to beat XD and his little lap dog, you’ll need to be focused, have time to react.” 

He rolled his eyes, dusting off the back of his pants, “It’s just crazy- We promised not to become the next Schlatt and Wilbur but Tubbo’s-” Tubbo broke his side of the promise, he exiled Tommy, held an execution.

Tommy scowled as Herobrine ruffled his hair, “I get it, kid. I do, but you need to push it out of your mind for now.” He steadied himself, holding out the wooden training sword they’d been using, much to Tommy’s chagrin.

The hybrid mirrored his stance, rushing forward to try and strike his side, quickly blocked by Herobrine. They continued like that for hours, exchanging blows, and yet in the end Tommy had only won a few times. He fell back, sprawling himself out on the nether floor, sweat dripped from his face. 

“This is no fair!” He whined, “We’ve been doing this for days and I’ve barely improved!” 

Herobrine held a bottle of water to him, grinning in amusement as he continued to complain while drinking it. He took the empty bottle back, putting it with the rest of them in his inventory. 

“You have to remember I’ve had much more practice than you. You can’t expect to be a master at it just because you’ve trained a bit.” He sighed, picking up the wooden swords and putting them back on the stands. He looked over Tommy, leaning against the edge of the stand, “You told me not to hold back, so I’m giving it all I’ve got. Minus the powers, kinda puts me at an unfair advantage.” Herobrine chuckled.

Tommy stuck his tongue out at him, sitting up, grimacing at the red stain on his shirt, “Oops.”

The older shook his head, motioning for Tommy to follow alongside him, “Come on, you’ve got to be hungry after all that. If we start now we can avoid eating potatoes again for dinner.”

He got up quickly, “Fuck yeah! Technoblade’s always going on and on about potatoes, like come on! He thinks…” Herobrine listened as the boy went on about Technoblade, he’d never truly understand how Tommy still held Technoblade in his heart after everything that happened. He shrugged, pushing open the temple doors. The piglins of the tribe had been coming by to drop off different produce and meat, along with hundreds of other things.

It was tradition, whenever a member of the tribe was injured they all came together to help in the recovery process. Gifts ranged from produce and jewelry, to clothes and family recipes. In Tommy’s case the members of the tribe were trying their best to figure out what could give him the most nutrients to feed his new system.

Herobrine had to come up with a handful of different meals to account for the food, but any excess was simply given to the hoglins or used in potionmaking. He flipped through one of the recipe books that Uralack had given him, coming across a simple meal titled “Crimsonleaf rolls”.

“Tommy,” He started, getting the boys attention, “Would you mind getting the crimsonleaf, emberroot, and the waterknot?” 

“This is child laborrr-” Tommy fake pouted, grabbing the ingredients from the cooler. He’d grown used to the names the Nether had for their produce, the overworld didn’t really have a wide variety of things, simply sticking to the basics. The Nether on the otherhand, was filled to the brim with agriculture. It was just hidden because the closer to portals you got, the more it had already been ransacked.

He gave the ingredients to Herobrine, watching as he cut them up into strips, getting out the sheets of cinder grain paper, wetting it with a piece of cloth wrapped around ice. It turned the paper into a chewy bouncy texture that Tommy liked. 

Herobrine had already cooked the cinder grain noodles as well, making room for Tommy to come through and put together his rolls. He look over at Herobrine who’d made four, “Jeez! Big appetite much?”

He joked, receiving a flick on the forehead from him in return, “I have more muscle, which means I have to eat enough to keep up with the physical activity I do.”

Oh, that actually made a lot of sense. He’d always thought it was just about eating whatever amount felt right, and just getting nutrients. Wilbur and him had never had the.. healthiest eating habits persay, during Pogtopia they were pretty busy and didn’t factor in the times to eat. All though, Wilbur never had been the best at self care in the first place.

“Also, you sweat like, a lot in the Nether. Why do you think I wear such open loose fitting clothes?”

“Gross!” Tommy fake scowled, nudging the other in the shoulder, “Keep your bodily fluids to yourself!” He laughed.

Herobrine rolled his eyes, grabbing the sauce for the rolls before sitting down at the table just as Technoblade walked in. He gave a quick nod of acknowledgement, turning back to Tommy who was adding pepper flakes to the sauce. He raised an eyebrow.

“You made it way too bland, if Uralack saw this he’d be disgraced!” Tommy mixed the pepper flakes into the sauce, taking a bite of his roll with it, smiling contently at the flavor.

Technoblade served himself up, four rolls just like Herobrine, Traitor, Tommy thought to himself. He sat down across from Tommy, grabbing the sauce and trying it, coughing suddenly, “Lady Death above, how much did you put in there Theseus-”

The three laughed and talked about their day, how Techno spent it getting resources and the two trained, never seeing the two butterflies resting on the counter.

Chapter Text

Tommy felt a hand run through his hair, the sound of water moving back and forth a comforting noise. His eyes blinked open, greeted by the warm smile of Lady Prime, he smiled back.

“The fight draws ever closer, it’s almost over.” She looked out over the water at the lotuses, an almost mournful look on her face. It was like she was looking for something, something that was only getting further away.

He hummed, turning to press his face against her hand, he could feel the blanketing presence of her wings. Like a shield against the rest of the world.

“Will you still be here?” He muttered.

Kristin sighed, pressing her forehead against his, “Of course I will.” She pulled up, “But it’s time you wake up.”

Tommy groaned as he felt Technoblade shake him awake, swatting his hand away. “Leave me alone.” He whined, turning his head to send a weak glare at Technoblade, he didn’t want to have to leave the warmth of his bed. It didn’t seem to bother anyone else but by the grace of the gods he’d been cold the past few days.

“No can do kiddo, we’ve gotta get going.” Techno tossed a chestplate his way, landing next to him on the bed, “We’re going to L’manburg, remember?”

He took the chestplate and put it on, standing up and grabbing the rest of the armor from the stand, “Yes, yes. I haven’t forgotten, my memory isn’t as bad as that old crow Phil!”

That received a laugh in return, which was a win in Tommy’s book. He felt the weight of the netherite holding down his shoulders, pressing against his legs and forearms. It had been a while since he’d worn any type of armor, he was glad Herobrine and Techno tried to make it light to allow free range of movement.

“We’re really doing this.” He muttered under his breath, they were going to kill Dream. 

Techno set his hand on top of Tommy’s head, “Yeah, we are.”

The two made their way down the halls, Herobrine joining them eventually as they came to stand in front of the nether portal. L’manburg waited for them on the other side, and yet, Tommy had never felt more afraid.

His grip on his sword tightened, stepping through. 

The first thing he noticed, was that it was cold. The Nether was warm, comfortable, but it left the overworld feeling frozen over. 

He looked around, “Where is everyone?”

And suddenly, Tommy was alone. Alone on the path, with no one else in sight as he shivered. The weight of the armor was gone, his clothes were torn and ratty, and once again, he was sixteen years old, by himself on the beach as candles flickered on a cake.

He started walking, L’manburg looked different, it was still the same, but it wasn’t. 

“Techno?” The boy called out, walking ever so slowly, “Herobrine?”

His pace quickened, had they left him? Had he just not noticed them walking a different direction? Tears pricked at his eyes, threatening to spill over as he panicked. 

No, they had a plan, Dream was going to die. They were going to kill him, and fix this whole mess of a server-

“Toms?” 

He turned his head around, seeing Ghostbur floating behind him. 

“Ghostbur! I don’t know what’s going on, I was with Techno a second ago and-” He walked over, face twisted in confusion. 

“Oh! I saw Technoblade, there was a big commotion or something, everyone was there!” Ghostbur took his hand, leading him down the rotted wooden paths, “They all looked quite upset, I can’t remember why though.”

Tommy scoffed, yeah, that was pretty on par for the ghost. Everything felt… weird. It looked like L’manburg, but something was missing. It no longer held the livelihood it had during his time now, a once bright country had turned to a dark land. It’s walls seeped with sadness and mourning, for what, he couldn’t tell.

“ I’m sorry.” 

He whipped his head around, pulling his hand out of Ghostburs hold, trying to find the source of the voice. It was a voice he’d heard before, his head was splitting at the seams as he tried to piece together what was going on.

“Toms?” Ghostbur moved closer, peering at his face, “Do you not want to go?”

Tommy shook his head, holding his wrist to his chest as if he’d been burned. 

“No, I want to. I just… thought I heard something is all.” He looked to the ground, the bandages wrapped around his legs had begun to unravel, bunching up around his ankles.

“I do all the time! Technoblade says I’m crazy.” Ghostbur laughed as the two continued walking, the sun hung low in the sky, casting it’s dim light onto L’manburg. His balled up his fists, the sound of voices shouting echoing across the land. 

Around the corner, his face fell. His old house sat overgrown, butterflies fluttering around in the air, flowers reaching high in the grass. 

What caught his attention the most, was the grave that sat in front of the entrance. Tommy ran his hand across the cobblestone fixture, they must’ve built him a grave when he went missing from exile. 

“I forgot you died! Should we call you Phantommy?” Ghostbur giggled, walking around the tombstone.

Tommy scowled, turning away from the grave, “Piss off. Just.. just take me to everyone else, I don’t want to-” He gestured to the things around them, “I don’t care about this. I’m here to kill Dream, this doesn’t matter.”

“Be at rest.”

His hands came to cover his ears, a growl leaving his throat, “Prime, just shut up!” 

Ghostbur frowned, taking Tommy’s wrist once more to keep them moving, “I don’t like graves either.”

Their pace was slow as they continued on, as more voices came into earshot.

“It’s your fault! He’s dead because of you!”

“As if you have any right to speak, you were only a forest away!”

Tommy didn’t.. didn’t like the way that sounded. He moved his hand to squeeze Ghostbur’s, receiving a small comforting smile from him. It almost reminded him of a time when they were younger, when they had never come to this server. They turned the corner and.. Everyone was there.

The difference was, Dream was dead. His body laid off to the side long forgotten as Technoblade argued with Tubbo.

“Don’t look.”

Tommy squeezed his eyes shut, tightening his hold on Ghostburs hand. 

Technoblade’s voice broke through the cacophony of others, “You left him there! He died, alone! Not like Schlatt my ass, you're just as bad as him!”

Ghostbur brought Tommy closer, holding him close to his chest, covering his ear with his free hand. 

“I couldn’t- I tried, okay?! This isn’t my fault! Dream-”

“Shut up!” Tommy shouted, eyes wide in shock as everyone turned to him. 

Tubbo’s face twisted in anguish as he fell to his knees in sobs, hands digging into the dirt. Technoblade took a step forward, tossing his axe to the side as he ran forward. Tommy felt a hand on his shoulder, pulling him backwards. 

He looked up, greeted by Lady Death’s ever comforting presence. 

“ His memory will not be tainted by the likes of your mourning.”

She turned away, eyes squeezed shut, a pained expression on her graceful features. He let Lady Death guide him, ignoring the shouts from behind him, and then… they were back in her realm.

Tommy sat next to her, legs dangling off the pier in the water, he picked at the bandages on his arms. The extravagant clean clothes he’d had previously far away in a land that wasn’t his truth. 

“Why? Why.. why lie to me? For so long?” His eyes watered as he hung his head in shame, he should’ve known, should’ve figured it out the second Technoblade was kind to him. The softness in his eyes that he’d long forgotten before the voices sent him away.

“I couldn’t let you turn into a ghost, not the way Wilbur did.” She sighed, resting a hand on his head, ridding it of the dirt and grime within seconds, “That ghost… it’s not him. To be truly you, you must accept and live with your faults, no matter how horrid. It’s a dishonor to your memory.” 

Silent tears fell from his face, onto his hands that gripped the ends of his shirt with vigor, “You lied to me.”

She cast a sad look across the waters, lotuses wilting with her, accepting her sadness as their own. 

“I won’t let another child of mines soul be torn apart.” Kristin took his hands in hers, “I cannot interfere with the living, and for that, I’m sorry. This,” She motioned to the realm, “I can do this. I can guide your soul, so it’s last moments are at peace. I cannot stop the rain, but I can shield you from it’s down pour.”

Tommy threw himself at her, arms wrapped tightly around her waist as he sobbed.

“Rest now, for when you awake, I will still be here.”

The two of them sat like that for what felt like hours, as his sobs tapered off into snivels. He looked up at her, “Can I stay with you?”

She smiled, “As long as your willing to have me.”

And that… that was okay. 

Tommy never reconciled with Technoblade, never got the chance to kill Dream, never learned to fight under his brothers guidance, because Tommy was never there. 

Tommy was back in Logstedshire, where his corpse had been long since taken back by the earth.