Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

There was once a time when life in L’Manburg was normal. No hybrids lived amongst humans. No heroes fought with villains in the streets. No one feared for their lives with every passing day. No one had special powers. Everything was normal and predictable.

Well, everything was the same until a flaming meteoroid came hurdling down through the Earth’s atmosphere. Normally this would be no issue, it would fall, and the surrounding area would be evacuated if need be and all damages would be repaired. But of course, this was not your typical meteoroid.

This meteoroid crashed into an abandoned building undetected by satellites; catching the attention of everyone in the city. It took the building down on impact, glowing an unusual, burning yellow.

Even though the building was empty, almost the entire city screamed that day. Not only because of the boom the meteorite made but more of what happened after. A blinding golden wave of energy spread across the globe almost instantaneously.

At random, people grew horns, scales, antennae, and pointed ears. Those people usually acquired heightened senses or extraordinary powers. While most people stayed the same and others looked unchanged, power boiled and bubbled under the surface.

A mayor grew large, curling ram horns that his infant son also received. A kind baker earned himself a gleaming halo and glowing white eyes, and his best friend with a heart of gold grew diamond scales across his body. A young boy grew duck wings, and his friends found themselves creating fire or predicting the future.

But most importantly, a golden-haired baby with bright blue eyes blinked awake for the first time, laying delicately in a nest made of sunlight. The boy found himself able to see the smiling yellow sun above him. He smiled back and turned his attention to a family of three, staring at the glowing rock he fell with.

The father had just sprouted huge, black wings that shadowed his eight-year-old twins from the harsh light. Both sons got their own enhancements. One got vibrant pink hair and pointed ears and unimaginable strength. And although he didn’t get physical enhancements, the other boy got the most powerful thing of all; sound manipulation and enhanced voice and hearing. A dangerous combination that they were unaware of as they stared entranced at the yellow, solidified sunlight.

The golden-haired infant giggled and reached out towards the family, the small hand opening and closing in excitement. He was so close to gaining their attention before a dark figure stood directly above him, blocking out the comforting warmth of the sun. The baby’s laughter died off as piercing green eyes stared at him.

Dirty blonde hair peeked out from underneath the hood of a dark green cloak. The man smiled down at him, but it didn’t feel kind at all. Suddenly the man picked him up and cradled him, quickly walking away from his birthplace and the family that had long since turned their attention away to other people in the area.

~ ☀ ~

~ SIXTEEN YEARS LATER ~

Tommy woke up to a dark room and the blaring of his alarm. He groaned and fumbled for his phone on his bedside table. In his sloppy movements, he accidentally knocked his phone off onto the floor. He leaned over the side of the bed and reached for it, stretching his arm as far as he could before pushing himself closer to the edge of the bed. He was so close to picking it up as it rang out again, and he fell off the side of his bed, falling onto the floor face first with a thud.

“Fuck,” he grumbled, pushing himself up and snatching his phone off the floor. He tapped the screen to turn the alarm off and finally felt peace. He sighed and slumped against the side of his bed. He took a second to breathe, making sure to keep his eyes open so he didn’t fall asleep again. His peaceful moment was ruined by a loud yell.

“Tommy!” Dream’s voice rattled through his thin walls, annoyed and irritable. Today wasn’t going to be a good day.

“Coming!” He shouted back, rolling his eyes as he stood and blinked at the dark spots in his vision. He was just dehydrated is all, no big deal.

Dream only responded by pounding on his front door like he was the police. If he made that comparison out loud, however, he would get roughly smacked in the back of the head.

Tommy hurriedly threw open his closet, grabbing his backpack and ‘work suit’. Which was nothing special, just a black mask, cargo pants, hoodie, and of course, a bulletproof vest that has saved him more times than he’d like to admit. He also threw in one of his ‘day’ outfits which completely contrasted the dark color of the suit.

His light blue sweater with clouds and daisies on it along with worn, tan pants that used to be free of holes. They make his ‘work’ suit look intimidating and scary. Which is technically the point. Tommy hates it.

Sighing he added his white converse shoes into the mix and shoved it all into his brown backpack. He used a little bit of his power to illuminate the inside of the bag with his hand, checking if he missed anything. Dream slammed his fists into his front door again. Tommy just hoped he doesn’t accidentally break it down again.

He zipped the bag shut and threw it over his shoulder, running out of his room and into the hallway. Catching his reflection in the mirror he paused, taking in his appearance. His hair was shining and golden and his face pale reaching up to pointed ears. His eyes, an unnaturally bright blue color, swirling with golden flecks. Sighing, he shut his eyes and focused on his breathing, his power. His curse.

He opened his eyes to be met with dull blue ones. His hair was back to a blonde, still quite light but in contrast to his true hair color, it was dreary. Dark bruised circles decorated under his eyes, he couldn’t heal them as much as he tried. His skin was pale, almost the same color as it was when he was in his hybrid form. 

Immediately he felt a zap in his mood. A familiar emptiness that haunted him day and night. He wished he knew what kind of hybrid he was part of, so maybe he could heal the emotional damage that hiding it did to him. Dream knew. But he refused to tell him, saying no one could see him like that. That it was dangerous and he would be dragged away to some testing facility or a cell for the rest of his life.

Why wasn’t he transformed? What if someone broke in and saw? What if Dream saw? He shivered and pushed away the thoughts. He hated the thought of his powers being unstable. He knew what happens to people with unstable powers.

“Tommy, what the fuck could possibly be taking you so long?” Dream snapped, voice cutting louder through his thoughts as he was closer to the door than before. Tommy checked the mirror, his free hand tucking a lock of hair behind his now round ear. He sighed, remembering when he forgot that simple detail. Dream had flipped at the sight of his pointy ears.

“Sorry! Just… getting everything together,” he explained, rushing to the door and unlocking it, swinging it open in one fluid motion.

Dream looked him up and down and huffed. “Did you not wake up when your alarm went off? How did you not have time to change into your day clothes?”

Tommy glanced down at his outfit, he was still in his pajamas. “Sorry.”

Dream himself was wearing his usual green hoodie and black pants, his eerie smile mask was gone, however. Just like it usually was when he came to pick him up. “Whatever, change into your work suit in the van, we have things to do.”

“Of course,” he chuckled nervously, not liking the tenseness in Dream’s shoulders at the mention of work. He briefly wondered what they were going to do.

Tommy started out the door before Dream laughed at him, earning the man a confused look. Tommy made sure it was clear of any malice, with his current mood he could send Dream into one of his rants about how he should be grateful for all he’s done for him. He’s heard it all before.

“Shoes,” he said plainly, gesturing to the black combat boots sitting by the door. Tommy quickly swiped them up and turned to follow Dream to the van, who was already several feet away.

He held them by the laces and ran after the man who was swiftly making his way down the staircase of Tommy’s apartment. He had been living in the apartment by himself for a few months already. As much as he hated living with Dream, he hated being alone much more. Dream had just scoffed and told him it was for ‘the mission.’ And then told him how he needed to suck it up and get used to it. He never got more information than that until it was necessary. There was always a ‘mission’ like what he was off to do then. 

The van came into view and Dream unlocked it, walking around to the passenger door. Tommy ran up and opened the side door to the back, falling into it while the car rumbled as it was kicked into drive.

He quickly turned and slid the door shut, sending a glare to the brown eyes looking at him with an amused look from the rear view mirror. Tommy was sent flying backward as the man in the driver’s seat slammed his foot on the gas.

He recovered easily as the van was maneuvered through the small parking lot at a much slower pace. “Fuck you Sapnap,” he hissed, taking his backpack off and unzipping it.

The brunette only laughed in response, gloved hands sliding across the steering wheel as he turned harshly out of the parking lot.

“If you get hurt I’m not healing you, dickhead,” he seethed, holding onto the singular seat in the back. At his serious threat, Sapnap’s driving toned down considerably. He was the most accident-prone after Tommy, he knew better than to take any chances.

“Shut up and change already,” Sapnap said, pointedly looking away from the smirk on Tommy’s face. He slid down the black divider and dug out his black hoodie and pants.

As he changed he tried to listen in on the quiet conversation between the two men in the front. Maybe he would get some information this time instead of going in blind. “By the way Tommy, you’re going in late to the cafe today. This one’s going to take a little longer,” Dream said, raising his voice for him to hear from behind the divider.

After he adjusted his hoodie and scooted over, he pulled down the divider. “But I’ve been into work late three times in the past-”

“Tommy,” Dream warned, voice low and annoyed. A threat recognizable miles away.

He sighed and held his mask in his hand. It was a recently updated model that one of Dream’s ‘friends’ made. A simple circular black mask with a frown on it in white paint, much like Dream’s white smiling mask with black paint. “ That’s the point ” Dream had said when he mentioned it when he got his first mask. “ So the heroes know who they’re messing with. ”

Tommy had heard plenty about heroes to know what that meant. They were dangerous and didn’t mind killing a few ‘villains’ if it was for the ‘greater good.’ If Tommy- or Shadow as he was known as, was seen by a small-time hero they would back off, knowing better than to involve themselves with Dream.

Sometimes small-time heroes would make the mistake of trying to arrest him for the glory it would reap. They were always made an example of, sent back to the hero tower, limping and barely alive. Tommy doesn’t think he could ever get over the sick feeling he got every time he had to watch it happen. “ A necessary evil, ” Dream would say.

The aftermath of the injuries would be shown on the news the next morning and he’d have to turn it off. Knowing that he was the reason someone was in so much pain physically made his heart hurt. Dream just said he would get over it, get used to it. It was something that had to be done. They would fix the system one way or another.

He would nod and hold back the bile that would rise in his throat.

He sat quietly staring at his mask for a while, swaying with the twists and turns of the van. He occasionally caught Sapnap glancing at him through the corner of his eyes, eyebrows pinched in what he could mistake for worry. But Tommy knew Sapnap better than that, maybe he was mistaking it for a scowl, he couldn’t tell with the lower half of Sapnap’s face covered. 

But he for a second he really thought-

He was making things up. No one would ever look at him like mothers do when their child trips and falls at the park. No one will pick him up when he falls, they never have. No one will ever truly care about him enough to worry.

He really should get some water.

Or some sunlight. A voice cooed in his mind. He shook it off. He knew it was risky to do, he could only absorb sunlight in a controlled, safe environment. Which he didn’t have access to often.

Whenever he got too desperate and went into his hybrid form outside he always felt anxious and scared. Something he hated.

“Thinking about something Tommy?” Sapnap asked, a concern lilt to his voice that he covered with amusement. “That’s rare.”

“Nope,” he answered simply, turning his gaze from his mask to stare out the back window. The white frown lingered in his mind. He didn’t know he could relate so much to a shittily painted emoticon in his life.

They must’ve arrived at their destination because the van stopped, parking next to a couple more vans that looked identical to the one they were in. He stood up, craning his neck at the low ceiling of the van.

He could tell the sun was rising without even looking out the tinted windows. He could feel it in his very bones that yearned to let the sunlight in.

Tommy hopped out of the van as the door slid open and Dream stood outside with his mask and armor already on. “Details?” Tommy asked him simply.

“Hero officials have been here a few times over the past couple of days, I’m curious as to what could be so special about it. We are doing a full shakedown, steal some things and leave,” he explained obscurely, there was definitely more he wasn’t telling him. Tommy couldn’t find the energy to care.

Tommy vaguely registered Sapnap and Dream talking to the other hired people there. Something about guards. Something about… something. His focus was on the clouds in the sky, casting a gray shadow over everything.

“Tommy?” Sapnap’s voice broke through to him and he blinked, turning to face the man whose eyebrows were still furrowed. “Did you hear what I said?”

“Of course I did,” he snapped defensively, but the bite that was usually in his tone was gone almost completely. Sapnap raised an eyebrow at him. “But… can you repeat it?”

~ ☀ ~

Tommy scrambled down the blue, white, and yellow hallways, tripping over himself as he barely avoided the swipe of a guard. He found himself nearing a dead end in the hallway and he could hear the sneering taunts of the angry men chasing him get louder.

He was only on the second floor and was supposed to be higher, he couldn’t get caught now. So he thought over his options.

Tommy skidded to a halt and turned to face his opponents, holding his uncovered hands out in front of him. He watched as the men seemed to catch on and tried to stop, their feet slapping against the tile roughly in protest.

In one sudden burst, a bright white and yellow light emitted from his palms, blinding the men. Temporarily. Dream had him test it several times. It never blinded permanently, he wasn’t able to conjure enough power from the ceiling lights for that. Nor did he ever want to.

They all fell to the floor in varying order as their hands flew up to shield their eyes. Some screamed and cried out in pain while a few others were in shock, rubbing at their eyes which were tearing up involuntarily.

The guilt he felt was muted by adrenaline as he ran past them towards the stairs. He needed to get to the top floor, that was where he was supposed to be.

He quickly scaled the stairs, trying to consume some of the energy from the ceiling lights like Dream had taught him to. But it wasn’t the same. It was always short-term and felt uncomfortable using, but it was good for short bursts like he needed now. It was why he was called Shadow, after all, stealing the light from a room, casting a shadow over everything. 

Using the limited power from the ceiling lights he launched himself up the stairs five at a time, practically flying. He reached the eighth floor in no time, remembering Sapnap would be looking out on the roof if heroes came.

He ran down the halls, knocking paintings and vases over, unflinching at the loud crashing sounds from it. Tommy peered through open doors, finding nothing very interesting in particular. Just conference rooms and offices. That was until he made it to the end of the hall.

A sealed gray door with a code lock sat distinctly out of place surrounded by light blues and yellows. He tried the door but predictably, it was locked.

He went to call it in on his comm before he heard a strangled scream through the glass of a nearby window. It was coming from the roof.

Without thinking he slammed his fist into the glass, using some energy from a nearby light. The thick glass shattered after the second punch.

He grabbed along the side of the roof and pulled himself up, grimacing at the small glass pieces embedding themselves in his gloveless hands.

When he stood up he saw Sapnap or Hellstorm fighting the one and only Blade, netherite sword gleaming in the light of Sapnap’s flames. Tommy took in a shaky breath and assessed the scene, Sapnap was backed up near the edge of the building and the Blade seemed to be… taunting him. Maybe it was deserved but he had to step in.

Tommy took off in a sprint towards them, forming a weapon with his harnessed light. The Blade noticed him and turned just in time to block his incoming blow with his sword made of light. Tommy should’ve really paid more attention when Dream was drilling the team on big heroes’ weaknesses.

Sparks flew off their swords and they both broke away. Tommy made the mistake of turning to look at Sapnap, who was talking into his comm, running along the edge of the building away from them. His arm had a huge gash in it.

A sword came down and he barely missed getting his head cut in half, the tip of the sword scraping against his mask. Heart beating loudly in his ears, he almost didn’t hear the footsteps slapping on the roof behind him. 

He quickly jumped out of the way, turning and slashing his sword at the impending figure. He barely caught the end of the man’s heel with his sword, catching the hero off guard. Blare turned towards him with an angry and confused look on the part of his face Tommy can see.

His mask was like a black blindfold that wrapped around his eyes and covered most of his nose, the flared collar of his dark blue and black suit hid most of his jawline from view. His hair was covered by a black beanie, matching the dark-toned colors of his hero costume.

Blare was a relatively newer threat, rising in the unofficial ranks like crazy. Especially with his power being voice-dependent and not physical strength. He was a rare find in the hero club. He remembered Sapnap and George talking about him, voices slightly annoyed at the threat but also interested in his sudden advancement in the hero hierarchy.

Tommy steadied his stance, eyeing both heroes warily. “Shadow, surrender now and you’ll get a lighter sentence,” Blade announced boredly, sword swinging as he casually walked closer to Tommy. Blare was closing in on him in a similar manner, clenching his fists.

He held his ground, raising his glowing sword that was the same white color as the lights he stole from. Blare was doing a poor job at acting unsurprised by it, gaping at the sword behind the thin fabric of his mask over his eyes.

“Yeah, a lighter sentence off the death penalty is really worth it,” he hissed, grip tight around the hilt of his sword. He was thankful his mask had a built-in voice changer, or he would be screwed over by his ‘ obnoxiously recognizable voice ’ as Dream had said once. “Maybe they’ll give me a cookie before sending two thousand volts of electricity through my body.”

Blare grimaced but Blade didn’t falter, only pausing to consider him for a second. “Come on don’t make this harder on us, you’re outmatched,” he commented dryly, glancing at his partner as if to further prove his point.

“Not for long,” he rasped, feeling the aftereffects of his powers already. He spared a look down at his sword that was flickering in and out of existence. The heroes seemed to notice too and started approaching him quicker.

He took several steps back, nearing the edge of the rooftop. The heroes slowed their pace, eyeing the drop below.

“Fine then,” Blade grumbled, raising his sword to lunge at him. He braced for the impact as he held his sword steady. Netherite collided with condensed light and he strained to keep it together. If it blipped again the Blade’s weapon would cut him clean in half.

Suddenly, he was free of the pressure and he blinked to see Sapnap tackle the Blade, previously bleeding arm cauterized with his flames. He turned his attention back to Blare who was standing between both fights, conflicted.

Tommy’s sword completely disappeared and he felt a zap in his power, he really needed sunlight. He blearily looked up to the cloudy sky and cursed under his breath, barely registering the hero who was now opening his mouth in preparation for a scream.

He squeezed his eyes shut and a loud screech knocked him off his feet that was abruptly cut off. He heard a thud and then Dream’s voice. “Long time no see Blade!” He sneered, the greeting full of pure hatred.

The flap of wings sent him on high alert, he knew in his state he wouldn’t be able to fight against that hero. He stumbled to his feet, watching as Blare sat up from where he had been knocked several feet across the roof.

The Angel of Death stood between Blade and Blare, wings outstretched to their full intimidating span. “Enough,” his voice boomed. Everyone stood still. Sapnap glanced at him from where he was shakily regaining his footing a few feet from Dream.

Tommy blinked and he was a few more feet away from where he previously was and all hell had broken loose. Sapnap was fighting the Blade and Dream was fighting Death’s Angel and Blare was-

A body slammed into him and he fell to the ground, his face peering over the edge of the building. “Fuck,” he muttered under his breath, grabbing onto the ledge to push himself up. He was surprised when he didn’t feel another blow right after.

He turned and stood again to see Sapnap glowering at Blare, whose focus was now on him. Tommy was barely there as Sapnap shot out a row of flames, keeping Blare and the Blade back.

Tommy tried collecting some light but he couldn’t find any. His vision was blurry as he turned his head to look at the sky. 

Still cloudy.

Still cloudy.

Still cloudy.

Still-

He stood up and he blinked again, the Blade was somehow next to him and shoved him as hard as he could. Tommy felt his stomach drop before he saw he was falling. Everything went into slow motion as he shrieked and quickly shot his arm out, trying to grasp at something before he fell completely off the roof. His foot skidded against the side of the building.

His head was eye level with the ledge, hands scrambling for purchase. It was still far too dark for this. He was snapped back into reality when a strong hand slapped against his forearm, grabbing him and jolting him to a stop.

He risked a glance down and saw he was dangling over a hundred feet off the ground. Tommy’s breathing was quick and his heart hurt from the panic, practically jumping out of his chest.

Tommy looked up to meet eyes with his savior and a black blindfold stared back, brown eyes barely visible through the thin fabric. The lower half of Blare’s face was pulled into a grimace as he leaned over the side of the building, now putting a second hand down to get a better grip that was slipping down to his wrist.

Blare’s expression was strained as he began to pull Tommy back up onto the roof, leaving Tommy in shock. Finally, he was dragged back up onto the rooftop and gratefully so. Blare let go of him and caught his breath, sitting next to the edge Tommy just fell off of.

Tommy hunched over, trying to steady his breathing and his heart rate. Sweat beaded down his forehead as he looked up to see Dream and Sapnap retreating towards him, yelling something about more heroes.

He glanced over at Blare who was just staring at him with a wary and stunned look on his face, like he surprised himself by saving Tommy’s life.

Tommy didn’t have the mind or the breath to thank him. He only stood when Sapnap yelled his codename. He tiredly stumbled towards the fire escape on the opposite side of the building, catching Blade crouched by the Angel of Death in the corner of his eye.

He really wished the sky was clear.

Chapter Text

“What were you thinking Wilbur?” Techno shouted, throwing his free hand up and letting it fall with a slap to his leg. He was scowling at the brunette as he helped his father walk towards the medical wing of the Hero Tower.

“I- I couldn’t just-”

“Yes, you can! You could’ve just let him fall and it would be one pain out of our asses!” Techno scoffed, cutting him off. “If you weren’t preoccupied saving a villain- a murderer’s life maybe Nightmare wouldn’t have gotten the opportunity to stab Phil!”

Wilbur pursed his lips, looking down at the floor. A flare of anger rose in his chest. “I’m sorry I’m not as heartless as you are Techno,” he hissed, knowing full well he hit a weak spot at his brother’s expression change. “I’m not going to let that guy who- who is clearly being strung along by Nightmare die because you don’t think his life is worth saving!”

Techno said nothing and avoided Wilbur’s gaze as he kicked open the door to the medical wing with a little more force than necessary.

“Maybe you shouldn’t have shoved him off the edge in the first-”

“Maybe if you-”

“Boys,” Phil snapped, a warning in his tone as he held out his bloody, shaking hand to silence them. They fell quiet immediately, both with guilty looks on their faces. “Can’t you fight when I’m not dying?”

The two looked down, falling silent and nodding awkwardly. They would just have to have the argument another time, Wilbur supposed.

~ ☀ ~

Tommy stumbled out of the van, his injuries were still pulsing in protest as he didn’t have enough energy to heal them. Sapnap was looking at him in the rearview mirror with a strange look. “You good?” Sapnap asked noncommittally, nervously running a hand through his hair.

He just nodded in response before slamming the door shut. Slowly but surely he made it to the staircase and began climbing up the second floor. Hearing the rumbling of the van leaving he grabbed some energy from a nearby light, messing it up and hearing the pop of the lightbulb bursting.

Tommy sighed and leaned heavily on the door of his apartment, fumbling for his keys in his backpack. After finally finding them he raised his arm up to the keyhole, his shaky arm taking a few tries before the key clicked in. With much more effort than he’d like to admit, the door unlocked and he all but fell into his apartment.

He kicked the door shut and he made a beeline to his bed, collapsing on it in a heap. He took in a deep breath and was out like a light.

~ ☀ ~

Wilbur and Techno stepped out of the room as Phil finally fell asleep after getting stitched up and pumped full of pain medication and saline solution. As soon as the door shut behind them the silence was deafening. The tension crushing.

Wilbur was the first to break the silence. “I… I don’t think you’re heartless, I know you aren’t,” he started quietly, not making eye contact. “I’m sorry.”

Techno was silent for a moment before sighing. “I’m sorry too… I guess,” he said dryly, expression contorted awkwardly in discomfort. “It’s not your fault Phil’s hurt.”

They both started walking again towards the elevator to go to their floor. Techno breathed in another sigh before continuing.

“But, I do need you to understand something,” he hesitated, stopping and turning to look at his brother head-on. “This job is dangerous and I know how you are but you can’t save everyone. And… some people don’t deserve saving,” he paused again, letting the words sink in while he thought over his next words carefully. “You’re compassion is going to get you killed, Wil. People like Nightmare, people like Hellstorm and Shadow- they don’t have that, they don’t think like you do.”

“But-”

“No,” he cut him off sternly, a serious look on his face. “The next time you get the chance, the opportunity on one of those… villains… you go for the kill, you hear me?”

Wilbur only frowned before nodding slowly. He understood why Techno was so strict with him. He had resented his twin for it years ago, when they lived on the streets, only surviving off of pity donations and stealing. But now he gets it, he had to step up when there was no one else to take care of them. In times like these, his brother forgets that they do have other people to rely on. That Wilbur can take care of himself.

“I’d kill every criminal and villain on the streets myself before I let you die to your own kindness,” he muttered, starting to walk down the hall again while Wilbur just sighed, shaking his head slightly.

A part of his brain just tsked at him. Telling him that he was naive and his brother was correct. That he would only get hurt trying to preserve his morals. Maybe they were right.

~ ☀ ~

“How many times have I warned you about being late, Soot?” Wilbur’s boss mused from where he was sitting in his chair. Maybe being a secretary for a news company wasn’t the best choice for a day job.

“Sorry, I just got caught up with some… personal things,” he said, grimacing internally at his obvious lie.

“You’ve used that excuse several times before,” his boss noted dryly, eyebrows furrowed in annoyance.

“I-”

“I’m tired of your unreliability, Soot. Clean up your desk, you’re fired,” he snapped, dropping an empty cardboard box onto the front desk. “And hurry up, your replacement will be here soon.”

He said nothing and just sighed before putting his things into the box. Which didn’t really consist of much, only a picture of him, Niki, Techno, and Fundy at a pub and a few pens and a chocolate bar he got the day before and forgot to eat.

His boss walked away and he was left to think about what to do about his job. It was important that heroes had some sort of civilian identity. Not only did it help keep them sane but it also gave them some sense of normality. It also was more convenient to have something to tell people when they asked what he did for a living.

Wilbur picked up the framed picture and breathed in a sigh. Maybe Niki needed some more employees at her cafe.

~ ☀ ~

He woke up to his phone ringtone screaming at him. Tommy blinked away the sticky feeling in his eyes and grabbed his phone to see who was calling him. The caller ID was loud and in his face with the name ‘Niki Boss’ in big white text.

His eyes widened and he tapped the green button on the screen shakily. A beep and Niki’s voice came from the other side. “Tommy? Where are you?”

“Uh- oh… oh ! Oh my god, I’m so sorry, Niki, I forgot to tell you I was coming in late today-” he stuttered, sitting up and wincing at his aching muscles.

“Tommy- Tommy, are you okay?” She asked, a concerned tone in her voice.

“Uh- yeah I’m fine.”

A pause. “You sure? You don’t sound fine.”

“I’m fine, seriously,” he assured, standing up and stretching. “I’ll be there in a few.”

“Wait, you don’t have to-”

“Seeya soon!”

He ended the call. Without Dream to lean on financially he needed all the money he could get. He never got anything from his jobs with Dream recently anyway.

Tommy quickly fixed his clothes and properly tied his white converse which he had neglected to do in the van. After a quick check in the mirror, he was fine to leave.

As soon as he stepped outside he could swear his eyes dilated in excitement. The sky was still covered in clouds but he could see and feel the sun peeking through the smallest amount. He basked it in, absorbing as much energy as he could from it.

He walked down to the cafe with a skip in his step.

~ ☀ ~

“It’s fine ! I’m not even upset! I needed to be here anyway today for an interview,” Niki explained, concern leaking into her voice as she spotted the darker circles under his eyes. “Seriously I have it handled here.”

“Niki, I told you I’m coming in today. You would be the only one here, Ranboo doesn’t work today!” Tommy argued back, trying to reassure her but his persistence only seemed to make her sadder.

“Tommy-” She was cut off by a loud alarm from her phone which made her eyes widen as she fumbled for her phone. After retrieving it out of her apron pocket she looked at the notification and she gasped, looking up at Tommy hurriedly. “I need to go, like now. Emergency.”

He was stunned for a moment at her urgency before he found the will to speak. “Go, I’ve got this. Interview and closing shift right?”

She sighed before nodding, rushing to take off her apron and grab her bag which was a combination of pretty pastel yellow and white. She stopped at the door on her way out. “I-”

“It’s not a problem Niki, don’t worry about it.”

Her face softened and sent him a strained smile before taking off in a sprint out of the cafe. He blinked at the strangeness of it all, and just how fast she was running to whatever emergency she had to take care of. He didn’t think much about it after that.

~ ☀ ~

The next few hours were full of entitled middle-aged women and groups of teenage girls who ordered the most intricate and complicated things Tommy had ever heard of. He was tempted to say the coffee machine was broken at several points in time.

As much as he wanted to he didn’t and went along with other people’s orders. Baking up fresh pastries when someone called in to make an order. All the things he would usually do with some help. But for some reason, Ranboo had been coming in less often though Niki wasn’t phased at all and told him he was busy with personal things.

It was easy to say it was quite boring by himself at the cafe. Although Niki was there a lot to help he still didn’t like working all day alone. No one to banter with. No one to make fun of the Karens with him. No one to laugh at his jokes. No jokes to laugh at in return. 

To say the least he was a little excited to hear the cafe might be getting a new employee soon and he was going to be the main person judging if they were or not.

Although as the hours ticked by he was thinking the person just wasn’t going to show. Until they walked in at the most inconvenient time.

Tommy was dealing with another insufferable customer when the bell dinged alerting him to another person entering. He completely dismissed it as he continued to explain in the most emotionless, dead inside, ‘I work minimum wage’ tone he could muster, that she couldn’t get a discount on her big custom order because she was ‘important’.

“Where is your manager? I cannot believe the customer service here!” The woman huffed, crossing her arms and glaring at him. The toddler that was standing by her side just stared at him in the creepy way that only little kids can.

Tommy rolled his eyes as dramatically as he could, his exhaustion clear in every movement as he walked into the kitchen, behind the wall. He took a deep breath and entered the room again, arms outstretched condescendingly as he approached the register again.

“I’m the manager,” he deadpanned, watching as her face screwed up in annoyance. Technically this was true, when Niki was gone he was the one in charge. “Now, as I was saying. You have to pay full price like everyone el-”

“Excuse me!” She shouted, her face red with anger. “I- I can’t believe this! You- you’re losing an important customer here!”

“Ma’am I get paid by the hour, I couldn’t care less if your son didn’t get his five-layer birthday cake tonight. You have to pay full price, we don’t give out discounts on large custom orders.”

She stared at him as she tried to come up with something, eyes twitching.

“You could even order online and see or-”

“I don’t care! I’ll go to another place that’ll understand the importance of good customer service,” she sneered, grabbing her toddler by the hand and leading him out towards the exit, barely avoiding bumping into someone else.

Tommy sighed and buried his face in his hands, the sun was setting soon and the energy he got earlier only lasted so long.

“Uh, hello,” a man greeted sheepishly, causing Tommy to stop planning out the next day and how he was going to use his energy to get home. He looked up and then had to look up higher . A tall lanky looking man with curly brown hair and lensless glasses stood in front of him with his hands in his pockets, glancing behind Tommy.

“Whatcha want?” He mumbled, standing up straighter and resting his hands on the register for balance.

“Oh uh, I’m here for the interview? Is Niki here?”

Tommy whipped his head back up from where it had fallen to the register and squinted at the man. “She’s not here, I’m ‘sposed to interview you,” he stated simply, walking into the kitchen to grab the papers for it.

He had watched Niki interview a few people before, one person being Ranboo. So he was pretty much qualified enough to do it himself.

Once he returned from the kitchen he caught the man raising an eyebrow at him as he lead the man over to a booth. “Sit,” he said plainly, void of the warmth it probably should have.

The man obeyed with an odd look on his face, seemingly judging Tommy as he sat on the other side of the booth.

Tommy rifled through the papers and glanced back up at the man. “What’s your name?” He asked, sitting up straight so he didn’t get too comfortable.

“Doesn’t it say it-”

“What’s your name?”

The man sighed. “Wilbur Soot.”

Tommy nodded, already knowing that information as he read through the file. “How would you say you work with others?” He asked, looking up from the papers to stare at Wilbur blankly.

The man ran a hand through his curly brown hair and shrugged. “I would like to think I work well with others.”

Tommy squinted at him. “I see,” he commented, causing Wilbur to straighten his tense shoulders. “Do you have a criminal record?”

Wilbur scoffed out a laugh. “No,” he chuckled lightly as if he remembered an inside joke. 

He just stared at the man for a moment and it was effective in making him uncomfortable. “Okay,” he said after a minute of judging as the brunette squirmed awkwardly under the intense, blank stare. “Next question.”

“Actually I have a question,” Wilbur spoke up as Tommy was skimming over the files again. The blonde hummed in acknowledgment. “Why does Niki have a child managing her cafe?”

Tommy snapped his head up to glare at the man. “Ex cuse me! I am not a child! I am a big man,” he hissed, crossing his arms and scowling. “And I am her best employee that’s why! Prick.”

Wilbur huffed out a laugh, putting his hands out placatingly. “Okay, okay! I believe you,” he said, smirking.“...Big man,” he added with a smug smile.

“Oh okay !” Tommy started, cracking his knuckles and sitting up straighter. “Maybe I look like a child compared to you , you old fuck.”

Wilbur gasped, putting his hand over his heart in mock offense. “I am not old!? The fuck?”

“Yeah, you are. What was it like living with dinosaurs roaming the earth?”

“WHAT? You can not be talking you’re quite literally a fetus.”

“FUCK YOU! YOU PROBABLY EAT FETUSES!”

“THE FUCK? I DON’T EAT BABIES?”

“Yeah yeah whatever helps you sleep at night pal,” Tommy quipped, smirking at the man who was gaping at him in shock.

“You’re insufferable.”

“You’re fossilizing.”

“...”

“That’s what I thought old man, next question.”

Chapter Text

Tommy was in a pretty good mood even though the sun was far past set and the clouds in the sky seemed to be there just to anger him. Wilbur had left a few minutes before closing and he was feeling pretty good about the interview.

The man seemed genuine and bantered back with him, laughed at his jokes. None of it seemed faked or forced, he had a good eye for that. To say the least, he had fun. Which was not a very common occurrence for Tommy.

Some would call it bias, but he was going to put in a good word for Wilbur. Maybe he would have someone to talk to during his long, tiring shifts. 

As he locked the door to the cafe he smiled, liking the idea of making a friend. Ranboo was nice but he was hardly around anymore.

Before he could turn around fully a hand landed on his shoulder and he stilled, the smile slipping off his face.

He didn’t even have to look to know who it belonged to. “Creep,” he hissed, turning around to glare up at Sapnap, shoving off his hand.

“I at least waited for you to leave,” Sapnap argued, Tommy rolled his eyes.

“That’s even creepier, fucking weirdo,” he muttered, quickly rushing into an alleyway to avoid being seen. Sapnap was in his day clothes but anyone who looked close enough would easily see the similarities. He didn’t want to be seen with the man, Sapnap or Hellstorm. “Now what do you want?”

Sapnap’s expression changed to more sheepish. “Well,” he started, pulling up his sleeve. He revealed a large ugly burn down his arm that poorly covered the gash from the Blade’s sword. “I was hoping you could… fix it.”

Tommy dramatically tilted his head up towards the sky that was dark and filled with clouds. “Have you seen the weather? I’ve barely had enough energy to walk today,” he hissed, fists clenched by his sides.

Sapnap looked down at the floor before sighing. “I know but… it’s infected,” he added before turning his arm more to show him the bruised greenish color crusting over it. 

Tommy leveled him a glare before grabbing his arm and looking at it closer. A long moment passed before he spoke again. “You owe me for this,” he muttered before glancing at the streetlights nearby.

He breathed in and focused on the energy in them. They all flickered off, one by one until Tommy’s eyes were glowing a brighter blue.

He focused all the energy into his hands and guided them up Sapnap’s arm, ghosting over the burned gash.

The man hissed in a breath before he untensed. Tommy’s hands glowing the same yellow color as the streetlights. Sapnap stared in awe as his arm healed completely. The only thing left in its wake was a barely noticeable golden scar that outlined the gash.

He had never really gotten over how cool Tommy’s powers were. Even though he had been healed so many times he knew just how many days it took for the scar to fade. He also knew it took a lot out of Tommy.

The blonde’s hands stopped glowing and he collapsed but Sapnap caught him, having predicted it. Tommy’s eyes fluttered as he tried to fight unconsciousness.

“It’s okay, I’ll bring you home,” Sapnap assured, frowning as the boy just scowled before falling into a restless sleep. Sapnap wished the sky would clear, for Tommy’s sake.

~ ☀ ~

Tommy woke up sprawled out on his bed, he was close to just staying there before he caught sight of sunlight peeking in his windows. He grinned and jumped out of bed, ignoring the residual ache from the overuse of his powers last night.

He yanked open the window and leaned out, the metal of the fire escape greeting him. He climbed out his window and up the fire escape, the warmth hitting him immediately. He made it up to the roof, which was right above him anyway, and laid down on his back.

He glanced around before deeming it safe enough to shift. His eyes are always the first to change, everything is brighter, he can see more clearly in the dark and colors are more vibrant and much prettier. His ears are next, allowing him to hear more from farther away. Then finally his skin and hair shift. His hair was golden and shining while his skin took on a more pale color due to his lack of sunlight.

Tommy stared up at the sun, unblinking at the brightness of it. He basked in the energy, feeling the color return to his skin and the warmth running through his veins. He laid there for a while, savoring the feeling.

Reluctantly, he stood up, looking down at his hands and arms that were shimmering with power. His smile was the widest it had been in a while, relishing in the empty sky before he had to get on with his day. Sometimes he wished he could stay in the sunlight forever.

The feeling of sunlight on his skin in his… whatever… form was always his favorite. Afterward, he always felt like he could run a marathon without breaking a sweat. And sometimes he’s tempted to.

But he heard the sound of his alarm clock ringing and he sighed. All good things come to an end eventually.

~ ☀ ~

He walked in a little late to work. This wasn’t unusual for him but it didn’t help him look good seeing as Niki was there for the early shift.

She looked at him worriedly before smiling brightly. “You look actually well-rested today Tommy,” she commented, leaning down to grab a tray of cookies out of an oven.

At the mention of it, Tommy’s skin was buzzing underneath the surface with power. 

“Yep, all energized and shit,” he grinned, tying his apron on around his waist. “Oh, and I did the interview yesterday.”

“Oh? What do you think of him then?” She asked, her smile turning smug for a reason Tommy didn’t know.

“I thought he was pretty cool,” he shrugged, grinning. “Even though he called me a feral child.”

Niki barked out a surprised laugh. “I knew you two would get along,” she grinned, noticing the confused look on his face. “And that’s a good thing because I already hired him.”

Tommy paused. “What?”

“Well on paper I need to have an interview, but I’ve known Wil for a long time,” she explained. “I was planning on interviewing him myself but… something came up.”

Tommy was quick to pick up on her awkward change of tone. “It’s okay! I had it handled,” he reassured, smiling as he stepped out of the kitchen to clock in. He walked up to the register and began his job as per usual, except with much more energy as he looked up to the customer in front of him.

The day went on like that until a familiar brunette walked into the cafe, grinning. Tommy glanced up and smiled back at him, waving him over.

“Hey, Wilbur! I didn’t think you’d be here today,” he said, idly drying a dish.

“Yeah well I was around and thought I’d stop by,” he leaned on the counter, resting his chin on his hand.

“Well Niki left a bit ago, so it’s just me here.”

Wilbur raised an eyebrow. “And you’re sure your old enough to-“

“I AM NOT A CHILD!” He hissed lightheartedly, keeping his volume low at the other customers in the cafe.

“Sure,” Wilbur snarked, a smug look on his face as he leaned back off the counter.

Tommy rolled his eyes. “Unless you’re a paying customer I will have to kick you out, old man.”

Wilbur gasped in mock offense. “Excuse you, I work here!”

Tommy paused. “Are you on the clock?”

“Well-”

“Then it looks like you’ll have to order something big man,” he smirked, staring expectantly at the brunette. “Come on, you’re holding up the line.”

Wilbur whipped around with his arms outstretched dramatically. “What line!? There’s no one-”

“Hurry up pal, I don’t have all day.”

Wilbur rolled his eyes again before looking up at the menu. “One black coffee then.”

Tommy’s face scrunched up in disgust. “Ew, you really are old,” he muttered under his breath, leaning over to fetch a cup.

“What was that?” Wilbur asked, a knowing smirk on his face for a reason Tommy didn’t know.

“I said ‘you’re really cool’,” he lied easily, grinning up at the man whose smile only stuttered for a second before he laughed.

“Of course I am,” Wilbur snarked, he went to say something else before both their attention caught onto the TV in the corner of the room. Loud, urgent voices poured out into the room and Tommy tuned in.

“ VILLAIN ALERT. There appears to be some sort of turf battle between villain Nightmare and independent gang Las Nevadas, in fifth. Please stay inside and evacuate the area. ”

He knew Dream wasn’t stupid enough to get in a petty fight over territory, it had to be about something else. Tommy also knew they were on relatively good terms with Las Nevadas.

Tommy turned his attention away from the TV to see Wilbur scowling up at it, fists clenched.

The news station turned to live footage of the fight and there were several armed Las Nevadas goons nervously pointing their guns at Dream and Wildcard who were having a fight in the middle of the busy street. Cars swerved to avoid them and drive away while others were damaged from the fight.

A slime hybrid rose from Wildcard’s shoulder to deflect a rough blow that was aimed at the man’s neck.

Wildcard retaliated while Dream was recovering from the shock and kicked him into a wall, menacingly closing in on him. Wildcard raised a fist, grabbing the collar of Dream’s suit with his other hand.

Wildcard shouted muted threats at him until the wall Dream was against grew brittle and littered with mushrooms and other fungi.

“ It seems Nightmare’s associate Blight has joined in the fight! ”

Tommy watched George slam into Wildcard’s side, sending him flying away from Dream.

Tommy anxiously stared at the screen. He debated going in to help and decided he couldn’t. It’d be too suspicious. He turned to look back where Wilbur was and found an empty space.

He whipped his head around, searching the room, and found he was gone.

“ Another person has joined the fight! Hero Blare has shown up on the scene to intervene! ”

The audio of the fight footage was muted but Tommy could see the scream. All the villains raised their hands up to cover their ears before their shoulders fell in relief. The fight resumed with the addition of Blare.

He would be told if they wanted him to come help, so he stayed put. Sapnap ended up joining in as well, along with Blade before finally Wildcard retreated followed by Dream, Sapnap, and George promptly after ganging up on Blare while Blade was distracted with Wildcard and his lackeys.

Tommy sighed before work dragged on, he’d probably have to heal Sapnap again.

~ ☀ ~

After closing he walked home to see Dream sitting at his table, looking over papers and a laptop. George was hovering over his shoulder and Sapnap was lounging on his couch, drinking his coca-cola.

Tommy scowled at him as he shut the door and locked it behind him. The next thing he noticed was they were all still in their ‘work’ suits.

Dream had his smile mask lifted over his face to squint at the laptop screen, green hooded cloak loosely on his head.

George’s face was still covered by a red veil but his face was actually hidden by mushrooms he grew around his eyes. His light blue attire starkly contrasted the black bulletproof vest and tactical gear that he, Dream, and Sapnap also wore.

Sapnap himself had stripped his vest and mask that were thrown haphazardly on Tommy’s floor. Some of the blood on it was dangerously close to his carpet.

His suit was similar but had more red and orange to feed his unhealthy addiction to fire and burning things.

Sapnap smirked up at Tommy as he noticed his annoyance, adjusting the white bandana in his dark, almost black hair.

“The fuck are you doing in my house,” he hissed, directed mostly to Sapnap.

George looked up and sent him a strained smile. “Sorry,” he said with an awkward lilt to his voice, talking louder than normal.

“Oh don’t worry Gogy, you are a joy. I don’t care if you break into my house,” Tommy smiled, still in a good mood from the morning. “It’s these- this motherfucker I’m annoyed with,” he said, ignoring Dream’s cold presence and pointing at Sapnap. “You better not ask me to heal you after drinking my soda, prick.”

Sapnap rolled his eyes. “ Gogy needs healing this time,” he crossed his arms, looking as smug as he always does.

Tommy turned to look at George and noticed the stiffness in his posture, he was still covering his face with the veil.

“It’s fine,” he hissed, turning away, earning Dream’s attention who finally looked up from the laptop.

“Let Tommy heal you, George,” he frowned, clearly irritated. Addressing the brunette his voice was more gentle but there was a dark undertone to it. There always was.

George sighed before removing his veil and the mushrooms faded from his face. His nose was bleeding and his eyes looked close to bleeding as well. But his ears were the worst, irritated and crusted with dried blood.

It’s not the worst injury he’s seen but it’s pretty ugly. “How’d this happen?” He asked, confused as he cupped his hands over George’s ears.

“That fuckin’ hero Blare just lost his shit or something, made him deaf for like a whole hour,” Sapnap ranted, watching in fascination as golden light seeped from Tommy’s hands into George’s head.

“Why would he do that? I thought he was one of the more ‘let’s talk it out and be best friends and shit rainbows and puppies’,” he scoffed, feeling the beginning of a headache as he healed the complex brain-related injury.

Sapnap laughed. “I think we underestimated him,” he said, leaning back on the couch and kicking his feet up onto the coffee table.

“What do you mean by that?” George asked, rubbing his eyes and wiping the blood from his nose as Tommy removed his hands from his head.

“I mean I think he’s a little more fucked up than we originally thought,” he replied cryptically, resting his head on his hands behind him.

Tommy thought back to the day before. Blare saved his life when he could’ve let him die. He could’ve let him fall to his death and be out of his way, dismissed as an accident. But he didn’t. 

Tommy said nothing.

“That just means we can’t take any more chances,” Dream said darkly, eyes still fixed on the laptop. “No more fucking around,” he added, Sapnap winced. “If those heroes get in the way again…”

He didn’t have to finish his sentence for them to understand. After a long moment of tense silence, Tommy spoke up again. “What was the fight about today anyway?” He asked, walking into the kitchen to find something for his headache.

Dream stilled for a moment and at his tenseness, George and Sapnap seemed much more uncomfortable. Tommy thought Dream might yell or blow up at him but he surprisingly didn’t. He cleared his throat, looking anywhere but Tommy’s eyes.

“Just a small disagreement about some…something,” he huffed, voice devoid of emotion to indicate anything. George shot Dream a poorly hidden glare that only he could ever get away with.

Did it have something to do with him? Is that why he wasn’t called for backup?

It was quiet for another tense moment before Dream slammed the laptop shut and scooped up his things, standing up abruptly. “We should be going now,” he said, already walking to the door, leaving George and Sapnap scrambling to follow. Dream paused at the door and turned his head a little. “And Tommy, we have work to do tomorrow, don’t be late.”

There was no room for argument as he walked out the door, leaving Sapnap to close it behind him. Tommy was left in silence, giving the ringing in his ears space to fill. He huffed to overpower the noise in his head and trudged off to his room. He needed to be prepared.

~ ☀ ~

The sky was dull when he woke up. Thankfully, he woke up on time and got dressed for work. Sapnap had messaged him the details of their job and the timing didn’t interfere with his day job. So that was exactly where he was going to be.

He slipped into the cafe uniform, adjusting the belt which seemed a little looser on him than normal. When was the last time he ate something?

He couldn’t remember.

Tommy looked into the mirror as he always did after tying his shoes. He checked his skin tone, ears, and eyes. All human.

Most people who were able to transform into a human form did, so it wasn’t odd for him to as well. Even though his hybrid form was more… unusual… different from others.

He slung his backpack over his shoulder and made his way to work. The skip in his step was absent under the gray lighting of the clouds.

Tommy eventually made it to work after shoulder-checking someone accidentally who glared at him as he muttered an apology to them. He opened the door to the cafe and a familiar ding rang out above his head.

“Tommy!” A cheery voice greeted, earning his attention. He looked up to see Wilbur behind the counter, a giant in comparison to Niki who he was standing next to. A giant who was waving at him with a dumb grin on his face.

Tommy smiled. “Hey Wilbur,” he said, nodding to him as he stepped behind the counter. “Hello, Niki.”

“Hi Tommy,” she looked up at him, her hands occupied with the cash register that seemed to be jammed.

“I see training is going well,” Tommy commented smugly, setting his backpack down and grabbing his apron from where it was hung up.

Wilbur rolled his eyes. 

“This idiot somehow managed to jam the register the first try using it,” Niki scoffed, slapping the palm of her hand into the old machine. “Maybe I should get new ones…”

“That’s what I’ve been tellin’ you for weeks, boss,” Tommy smirked, tying the apron behind his back. He walked over to the register and gave it a good slam with his fist and it jolted back into place with a metallic click. “You’re welcome.”

Niki rolled her eyes and patted him on the shoulder. “My savior,” she said sarcastically. “Are you sure you’re not an angel that fell from the sky?”

Her tone was teasing but he still froze. Tommy knew that he was different. He did in fact fall from the sky. But no one else knew that but Dream. Not even Sapnap or George truly knew the extent of what he was.

“Of course not!” He blurted awkwardly, forcing an obviously fake laugh. Shit.

Niki’s expression faltered for a moment and Wilbur glanced at him oddly in the corner of his eyes where he was focused on counting the money in the tip jar. The moment felt painfully long before Niki punched his shoulder playfully, her smile bright again. “You’re funny.”

“Yep! That’s what they tell me,” he laughed, more genuinely now. The anxiety slowly seeped away as things calmed down.

Niki turned to Wilbur and started showing him how to properly use the register. Soon after she put up her apron and said the rest was on Tommy to teach. 

Tommy showed Wilbur around the kitchen and the front while taking customers’ orders. Tommy convinced Wilbur to try and take an order. He cracked jokes the whole time while the brunette tried to stay professional in front of the customers.

He finally got a repressed snort out of Wilbur at one of his less nice comments about a particularly rude customer. Tommy took it as a win.

After a while, the number of customers started dying down and it was just them in the cafe, cleaning up to close. He was excited he now had someone to talk to while cleaning tables and sweeping the floors. Making jokes and comments he normally would keep to himself.

He also found Wilbur to be pretty funny after they got past the old person jokes. So far it was a good day.

They closed up without any stragglers asking for a last-minute order. They went separate ways home and this time Tommy had a slight skip in his step.

Even though the sky was gray he was happy. It had been a fun day.

Chapter Text

When he got home he was painfully aware of the combat suit in his closet and the text on his phone.

He slipped into the black outfit, putting his mask on and sighing. He stood in front of the mirror and let his hybrid features peek through.

His ears stretched into a point and his eyes swirled into a bright, almost glowing blue. His skin shifted to be more of a reflective color of pale. The freckles on his face shimmered with gold as he covered them with his contrasting black mask.

Tommy carefully opened his window leading out to the alleyway and hopped out. He landed on the ground with a light thud and began making his way to the meeting point.

When he arrived Dream was waiting for him with instructions. It was another warehouse that seemingly housed the same thing that the other one did. They moved it, whatever it was, it was important.

Sapnap went with him, as he usually did. Their powers were close in similarity. Fire and light. He was mostly partnered with Sapnap because they were both reckless and found ways to make things work while Dream and George were more methodical. It was also because Dream seemed to like George more, wanting to spend more time with him.

Even though that was never the reason they were told, he and Sapnap liked to joke about it.

They climbed up the fire escape to the roof. Their job was the same as it was most of the time; the distraction.

He heard the signal as glass broke below them followed by a piercing alarm. Tommy readied himself, focusing on the energy in his body already rather than the dying light of day into night.

He and Sapnap waited there for a moment, it almost felt too long before two thuds came from behind them. Tommy smiled thinly as Blade and Blare readied their weapons in the offense.

“You’re late,” Sapnap sing-songed, swinging his flaming sword around lazily in mock boredom. “Shadow and I were just wondering how long it would take for you whiny kids to finally show.”

“Are you sure you’re not the kids?” Blade retorted, scowl landing on Tommy meaningfully before focusing back on Sapnap.

“Not a kid,” Tommy huffed out of habit, his voice modulator covering for him.

Blade rolled his eyes dramatically behind his boar skull mask, waving his netherite sword around. He leaned over and whispered something to Blare who nodded slowly.

Suddenly Blade launched forward towards Sapnap, taking the offense as their blades crashed together.

Tommy conjured his own sword of sunlight he had stored and turned to Blare who screamed, knocking him off balance. The waves of sound rang painfully through his skull as he stood up, spotting the hero coming closer with a large weapon that looked like a gun of some sort.

He made his sword reappear in his hand and charged at the man. A large circular gun barrel was in his face and it went off with a loud thunk.

Fear spiked in his chest as a net closed around him, sending him flying into the floor.

He wrestled with the net while the hero approached menacingly, standing over him.

It was closed around him like he was a caged animal. He was trapped. Why can’t he breathe? Breathe. Focus now, breakdown later.

With a flash of anger, Tommy summoned his sword in his hand again from where it had been knocked out of his hands and slashed wildly at the net.

He heard the distant sounds of Blade and Sapnap’s swords clashing together and the sizzling of fire. Rough hands on his shoulders brought him back to the problem at hand.

Blare’s determined glare was over him as he tried keeping him tied up.

Suddenly the weight was lifted from him with a scream from Blare that was warped only slightly with a little power.

More thuds and fighting, feet scuffling against the rooftop along with the sounds of gunshots. Tommy took the opportunity to cut through the net, freeing himself with a gasp.

He looked up to see Blare backed up near the edge of the building, holding a sword of his own now pointing at Dream who was still advancing towards the hero.

Blare was using his free hand to shakily clutch his stomach where dark red blood was starting to bleed through at a concerning rate.

Dream made some snide comments before lunging forward and swiping away Blare’s sword easily with the hero’s clear injury.

Tommy sat up, moving his hands to untangle his legs from the net. He glanced back up to see Blare standing with his feet on the very edge of the roof, one hand outstretched defensively towards Dream, the other on his wound.

Tommy gasped quietly as Dream kicked Blare off the roof with a bone-chilling laugh.

~ ☀ ~

Wilbur saw his life flash before his eyes.

He thought that was just something people said but he truly did. Every happy moment, every upsetting moment, his family, his friends. It all crossed his mind as his stomach flew to his heart.

Nightmare kicked him right where he had stabbed him like salt in the wound. He made a pathetic, shaky breath in as he fell backward.

He heard a heart-wrenching, enraged yell and knew it was Techno.

His heart seized in his chest, he failed him. Wilbur watched the roof of the building get farther and farther until-

~ ☀ ~

“Get out of here, Shadow!” Dream ordered, he sounded beyond pissed. Tommy knew he would be getting a lot of shit later.

Dream was currently in a standoff with Blade, he heard wings flapping overhead and Sapnap and George’s distant arguing.

Before he knew it he was inside the building, sliding down the elevator shaft.

~ ☀ ~

Wilbur’s back landed on a pile of trash bags with a crash, his spine cried out but he only managed a pitiful whine. It wouldn’t matter much longer, a part of him hoped the fall would kill him instantly but of course, he would have to bleed out.

He laid there in the garbage bin, limbs splayed out with one hand loosely laying his wound. The feeling was slowly leaving his body.

~ ☀ ~

Tommy ran out into the alley as flames curled out from the roof. He kept running until he heard a groan coming from the garbage bin.

He froze and turned towards it, recalling what had happened.

Tommy rushed up to it, peering inside to see the tall hero just laying there, staring up, eyes blinking slowly as consciousness was obviously starting to leave him.

“Blare!” He whisper-shouted, not wanting to attract the attention of the hero’s friends. The only reaction the man gave was opening his masked eyes a little more.

The hero’s shaking hand lifted slightly and he looked at it before muttering something under his breath.

Before he knew it Tommy leaned over the side and dragged Blare out to the best of his ability. The hero immediately tensed, slapping at Tommy’s arms fruitlessly.

He set the hero on the ground and hovered awkwardly. Blare scowled up at him before it morphed into a pained expression as he stared at Tommy nervously.

Tommy felt a pang of sympathy in his heart and before he could stop and think it through he was checking the man’s injuries. It was only because Blare had saved him the other day, no other reason. He wasn’t going soft.

His spine was broken and it would likely paralyze him for life without Tommy’s healing powers. Blare’s abdomen had an ugly slash across it which he was bleeding profusely from.

Tommy pulled back the fabric of the hero’s suit which earned him a distressed noise of panic. He winced as he saw the gash in it’s entirety and gently put his hands over it. Blare grabbed weakly at his wrists, trying to push him off but he ignored him.

Tommy squinted his eyes and breathed in and out, his sunlight sword disintegrated where it was sheathed at his hip as glowing yellow, orange, and white light poured out of his hands. 

He saw the moment it started flowing the hero’s blood back into the wound, stitching Blare’s skin back together as the hero untensed, rattled breathing evening out. Blare stared at his hands in awe, panic momentarily forgotten for delirious wonder.

Tommy felt his power getting dangerously low as he started dipping into the stores of his energy from the sun.

Blare’s spine snapped back into place and the hero stared up at him with wide eyes, his hands falling limp at his sides as he stopped trying to push him away.

The gash was still pretty deep cut so Tommy focused more. His head pounded with a headache and his stomach felt like it was fluttering between nervousness and fear. He felt like he could throw up at any moment.

Streetlights flickered violently around them as he used their light energy, putting it directly into the deep cut wound Dream had inflicted on the hero.

Tommy felt the wound completely healed and he fell backward, bloodied hands shaking as he scooted away from the hero regaining consciousness.

Blare sat up abruptly, patting himself down, hands lingering on his stomach where the wound was. The hero stared down at it in shock and then slowly looked up to see Tommy.

They stared at each other for an awkward moment, neither knowing what to say.

“You- you saved my life,” Blare said dumbly, completely shocked.

Tommy nodded slowly, tracking every little movement carefully. He might’ve saved Blare’s life but Tommy wasn’t sure Blare has the same values as him. He might still kill him, or take him in.

“Why?” Blare asked, voice quiet and hoarse.

Blare saved him, so he saved Blare. It’s just the honorable thing to do. Tommy didn’t want to think about any other possible reason.

~ ☀ ~

“Why- why did you save my life?” Wilbur asked again, dumbfounded. Shadow was a villain, he was evil and worked with Nightmare. He only saved him from falling because he didn’t want a death on his conscience. He was selfish. Shadow… Shadow saved him, revived him to full health. Even after he tried to capture him more than a few times.

Wilbur stared up into glowing blue eyes that slowly, eerily started to dull. Wilbur’s heart sank.

The villain was crouched near him, slowly scooting away as he realized Wilbur could move. His back hit the other side of the alley and the villain froze, nervous.

Techno’s order rang out in his mind.

“The next time you get the chance, the opportunity on one of those… villains… you go for the kill, you hear me?”

Wilbur was disgusted with himself over the fact the thought even crossed his mind. He momentarily wanted to think the villain saved him to take him captive to do much worse so he wouldn’t feel guilty about the thought. But he only saw Shadow shakily lean his head against the alley wall, staring at him warily behind the two holes in his mask.

Shadow was vulnerable. They both knew it.

The villain opened his mouth to speak before a booming, annoying voice sounded from the entrance of the alleyway.

“Shadow? Shadow they’re gone, we have to go,” Hellstorm’s voice called, his footsteps slapping painfully close. “They’ll be looking for Blare’s body, come on!”

Wilbur could see Shadow’s eyes widen even in the dark. Suddenly the villain lunged at him, shoving him in a huge pile of trash bags.

Wilbur momentarily was frightened, afraid it was an attack but then he could tell what he was doing. He buried himself further under them before he noticed the area around him get significantly darker. He couldn’t even see his hands in front of his face. Shadow was hiding him.

“I’m here,” Shadow’s voice whisper-shouted back, he sounded exhausted, voice cracking even behind the voice changer. When Wilbur was able to see Shadow again he noticed the villain was now sitting in the remaining puddle of Wilbur’s blood, staring down at his bloodied hands.

Hellstorm ran in and froze when he saw him. “Oh my- what the hell happened?” He demanded, rushing over and looking Shadow over. Shadow caught his eyes for a split second.

“I just got hit with a stray,” he huffed vaguely, wiping the blood on Hellstorm’s sleeve, earning him a disgusted look.

“You idiot, D- Nightmare’s going to kill me. I’m supposed to babysit you on the field-“

“It’s fine,” Shadow snapped, shakily standing up. “I healed it.”

“I thought it was harder for-“

“I. Healed. It.”

Shadow’s voice held no room for argument as he glared up at Hellstorm.

They both stood there for an uncomfortable amount of time in tense silence. “Let’s go before we both get in trouble,” Shadow said quietly, brushing past the other villain towards the entrance of the alley.

Hellstorm stayed there for a moment, staring at the puddle of blood. “Shadow?” He called out warily, turning his head. The villain in question paused, listening for him to continue. “I thought your blood was g-“

“It’s complicated,” Shadow said dismissively, walking away from Hellstorm at a much quicker pace. The other villain followed soon after.

Wilbur sat in the trash bags for a few moments longer, in case they came back. The smell was nauseatingly sour and it was starting to make his stomach churn unpleasantly.

He sat up, shrugging the trash bags off his body he saw the light flick back into the area, like it had never left.

Standing, he brushed off pieces of garbage, and then his hands darted to his abdomen where he was stabbed. He pulled at the hole in his bloodied suit and stared in shock. Where the stab wound had been was a small, almost unnoticeable golden scar.

He had noticed a similarly colored scar on Hellstorm’s arm which only concluded more to the fact that Shadow actually saved his life. Healed him.

He was brought out of his thoughts when the sound of boots pounding in the alleyway sounded. He tensed and before he knew it large arms wrapped around him.

“Oh my god Wi- Blare how are you- what happened to…” Techno’s words died in his throat as he checked for his injuries, poorly masking the concern in his voice.

“I’m fine, I’m alright,” he assured, grabbing his brother’s wrists. “Look I’m okay,” he said quieter, letting go of his wrists to show him the scar where his wound was.

Techno’s eyes widened under his mask as he stared at the scar and looked back up at Wilbur. “How?”

“I’ll tell you later, I just want to go home. Now,” he said in a hushed voice. Sensing the tension and panic in his voice, Techno reluctantly nodded.

“Okay Wil,” he whispered, holding onto his arm and guiding him through the group of paramedics and other heroes who had probably been looking for him.

Now Wilbur was in a difficult place. He could tell his brother Shadow healed him, saving his life. There was a chance Techno would be mad, but maybe it would be better if he knew.

His other option was to lie and say he didn’t know what happened.

Wilbur ducked his head as they passed by hero cars with bright yellow and blue lights. He felt eyes on him as his brother wrapped his cape around him, covering the gaping hole in his suit.

Wilbur’s thoughts ranged from confused to upset with himself. He had a chance to bring in Shadow. He had a chance to bring in Hellstorm. He was at full health, he could’ve taken them both.

But, something about Shadow stopped him, maybe it was the fearful look in his eyes after healing him. Maybe it was how he hid Wilbur without hesitation from someone who should be his ally, someone he should be able to trust.

Something was different about him, that was for sure. Any other villain would’ve kidnapped him or laughed at him as he bled out.

He only had one question on his mind that seemed to fit:

Why?

~ ☀ ~

Tommy was incredibly stupid and also completely and utterly fucked. Dream took one look at the red blood covering him and started interrogating him and Sapnap.

After Sapnap hurriedly explained Tommy’s fake story Dream’s eyes darted back to the red blood with a suspicious look.

“How is it red Tommy, that can’t be your blood,” Dream said, full of confidence and some annoyance in his voice.

“Well it is, I was just in my human form and got hit with a stray object!” Tommy said defensively, crossing his arms before uncrossing them and letting them fall to his sides. He didn’t want Dream to think he was going to fight him or anything.

George was sitting in the corner of the room, listening and not saying anything. He almost never argued with Dream.

Tommy still looked to the man for help, even though he knew he wouldn’t get any.

“Then let us test it to see,” Dream said, stepping closer.

Tommy took a step back. “That’s not necessary,” he snapped, looking up at Sapnap to see the man purposely avoiding his eyes. “I’m going home. They- they’ll get suspicious at work if I come in late or tired again.”

Dream stared at him behind his mask for a long moment, judging him. It made Tommy incredibly uncomfortable.

“Fine,” the man huffed, turning away with a dismissive hand. “Sapnap, drive him home.”

The man nodded and glanced at Tommy before walking to the door of the main base. It was located underneath an old warehouse. It served as a good meeting point as it was where Tommy used to- and still does train.

Sapnap walked away silently, Tommy following close behind. When the door shut behind them Sapnap whirled to look at him. “I don’t know what you think you’re doing Tommy, but that was really fucking stupid,” he hissed, letting his annoyance show now Dream couldn’t see.

“I just- I-“ Tommy stuttered, he didn’t really have words for what had happened. Let alone think up some story.

“Tommy, I know you lied,” Sapnap said coldly, Tommy froze, the man’s stare boring into his soul. “I don’t know why… but it better be a damn good reason if you’re going to fuck us both over.”

Tommy didn’t respond.

They spent the car ride to Tommy’s apartment in silence.

Chapter Text

As soon as they entered the threshold of their house, after a thorough check for injuries, Techno turned around and surprised him with another hug. “Don’t scare me like that again,” he murmured, his voice quiet and sheepish. Wilbur pretended not to notice the two fingers pressed to his neck, checking his pulse. Paranoid bastard.

“I’ll try,” Wilbur whispered back, laughing lightly.

Techno pulled away from the hug and held his wrists again as he did in the alley, one hand checking his pulse there as well. His brother just stared at him for a moment, searching his face for a hint of something before he sighed. “What happened?” He asked, voice uncharacteristically gentle, Wilbur briefly thought about brushing it off and teasing him for going soft. But something in Techno’s expression made him hesitate.

“I-” He cut himself off, gaze flicking to the floor. Techno frowned slightly.

“The truth please, Wilbur,” he added. Wilbur sighed, he knew he couldn’t lie to Techno.

“Don’t be mad-”

“Oh my- did you sell your soul or something?” Techno huffed, sounding exasperated and tired.

“Well- I don’t know if that’s worse or if-”

“Just tell me what happened, Wil. I won’t be mad.”

Another sigh and a beat of silence. “Shadow saved my life,” he blurted, feeling a weight lifted from his shoulders. Techno’s eyes widened and his mouth opened to say something before Wilbur continued. “He healed me- I saw it happen! My bones snapped back into place and-”

“Hold on, hold on,” Techno said, shaking his head and dropping his wrists to pinch the bridge of his nose. “Shadow… the villain , who has killed people-”

“We don’t know that for sure-”

“-healed you , the guy trying to put him in jail. Is that what I’m hearing?” Techno continued, crossing his arms and straightening his posture. “Are you sure he healed you?”

Wilbur stuttered. “Well- I don’t know why he did it! Okay? I just know he saved me and he- he scurried away from me all scared. And- and the streetlights, when he was healin’ me, they started- started flickering- ”

“Wilbur, Wil! Calm down, I’m not accusing you or anything!” Techno assured but it didn’t sound like the truth, grabbing the brunette’s shoulders and shaking him quiet. “I’m just confused.”

Wilbur glared at him. “Not when you make that face!” He pointed at Techno, pointer finger a few inches from his nose. “You’re not confused you just don’t believe me!”

Techno froze and his face fell, noticing the genuine hurt in his brother’s eyes. “Wil- I just-”

“No! I’m tired! I’m tired of your weird... weirdness ! You can’t act like you’re just protecting me and not listen to a word I say!” He shouted, taking a step back and throwing his mask off onto the kitchen counter. Techno opened his mouth to talk and promptly closed it, looking guilty as his hands hovered where Wilbur had pushed them away. “And- and you know what? Shadow could’ve killed me, but he saved my life! And I had a chance to kill him and I let him walk away!”

Techno’s face contorted into shock and worry which only made Wilbur more upset.

“You were wrong but you don’t want to admit it! And you’re so overbearing I-”

The front door swung open and Wilbur shut up immediately as Phil walked in, setting his sword on the kitchen counter before turning towards them. Noticing the tension in the room, he glanced between the two, noting Wilbur’s red-rimmed eyes, and sighed. “They all got away,” he stated reluctantly, not wanting to continue whatever was happening before he entered the room. “Wilbur, are-”

“I’m tired,” Wilbur announced abruptly, cutting off whatever worried interrogation Phil was about to start. “I’m going to sleep,” he grumbled, storming off towards his room.

Phil turned towards Techno for an explanation but he only pursed his lips and shook his head.

They both knew Wilbur could get very emotional when he got upset and often lashed out like that. Sometimes Phil joked Wilbur had the emotions for the both of them, now he couldn’t help but resonate with that fact.

Phil sighed again before he and Techno split off to their own rooms without another word. He knew he wouldn’t want to talk about it, especially not right away. 

~ ☀ ~

His relationship with the sun and its light reminded Tommy of laying near a small waterfall that never stopped flowing. In a meadow in his mind, the rushing sound of water and the crashing of it hitting the rocks was a constant humming in his brain, his heart, his soul.

Most of the time he would lay motionless, unable to even twitch a finger towards the waterfall. But when he could, he would plunge his hands into the cool liquid and for a moment the feeling would stop. The water would seize its violent thrashing and the meadow would hold its breath.

Then the water in his cupped hands would start to overflow and drip between the imperfections in his fingers. A dripping sound would resound in the meadow, and like it never stopped, the noise, the feeling was back.

A missing piece in his life. Something was empty where it shouldn’t be. Sunlight made him happy but he also depended on it so heavily. Like a drug .

It hurt him to acknowledge that maybe it wasn’t just the sun he was missing on rainy days. When the gray clouds swirled in the back of his mind and fogged up his vision, with rain of his own leaking from his eyes.

Maybe it was something. Or someone. Maybe he wanted to not be so alone. But he was surrounded by people all the time. At his job, day and night, and with Sapnap creeping over his shoulder. But it never felt right.

Maybe he wanted someone to look at him with pride and praise him over his small accomplishments. Maybe he wanted someone to shield him from harm like mothers did for their children when he passed by them on the street with a large sword strapped to his hip. Maybe he wanted to be lov-

A loud ringing sound pounded in his ears and he groaned. Work… right.

He didn’t look out the window, he knew what he would find.

Tommy floated through his morning routine and headed to work. Greeting Niki and promptly ignoring her look of concern at him, he got everything ready for him to start his shift. As the bell above the door rang he felt a smile creeping upon his face.

The sight of the tall brown-haired man made him perk up a bit, excited to bother him more.

“Tommy!” Wilbur greeted, walking up behind the counter and putting his apron on.

“Hey Wil,” he smiled, trying to put as much energy into his voice as he could. Clearly, it didn’t work because Wilbur paused and gave him a concerned look.

“Are you alright?” He asked after successfully tying the apron in a little bow behind his back.

“Yeah, just a little tired,” he answered quickly, the response engraved into his head like a motto. Wilbur stared at him for a moment longer before he turned around and clocked in.

They went on with the rest of their shift there with no problems, well that’s what he thought.

Half an hour before closing time the bell rang above the door and Tommy turned to greet them before the words caught in his throat.

Dream walked in without his mask, hands casually in the pockets of his day clothes.

He strolled up to the counter and he just hoped Wilbur would stay in the kitchen until Dream was gone.

“Hey,” he said weakly, wincing as Dream just smiled. Though it seemed like a normal expression to anyone else, Tommy recognized the danger in it. He had gotten plenty of that smile over the years.

“Hello, Tommy,” Dream greeted, leaning his elbows against the counter and perching his chin to sit on his palms. There were no customers in the shop to save him from this interaction.

“What- what would you like?” He asked awkwardly, putting on his best customer service voice again.

“I think I would like to know what you’re hiding from me,” he answered lowly, grinning still with the same nonchalant lilt to his voice.

“I don’t know what you’re on about… pal,” he insisted, glancing over his shoulder to see Wilbur humming and packing up trays of cookie dough for the next day, blissfully unaware of Tommy’s panic.

“I think you do.”

“Dream, I’m not hiding shit! Leave,” Tommy stressed, keeping his voice low. Wilbur moved around where he was in the kitchen, the song he was humming was covering up most of the argument.

“I know you did something yesterday, and you’re going to fess up,” Dream started, standing up straighter and peering over Tommy’s shoulder. “Or I meet your new little friend.”

Tommy glanced back at Wilbur who was preoccupied scraping off a stubborn splatter of cake batter on the floor he had dropped near the beginning of their shift.

He turned back to Dream with a scowl. “Don’t even think about it,” he hissed, grip tightening on the counter to keep him from leaning over and smacking the shit out of Dream.

“Already am,” Dream grinned and Tommy stood up straighter to block his view of the kitchen.

“ No .”

“Just tell me what really happened.”

“I told you what happened,” he grit his teeth, trying to be as quiet as he could. “ Leave .”

Unbeknownst to him, Wilbur’s humming abruptly cut off. He paused where he was wiping down the stove from when he dropped an egg on it. His power giving him better hearing than most was good for eavesdropping.

“Tommy, whatever it is you did. I will find out,” Dream promised darkly, letting his voice get lower and not as friendly as he was acting before. “When I do you’re going to wish you just told me. Because whatever lies you keep trying to pull is only going to dig you in a deeper hole.”

“Shut up,” he whispered weakly, voice strained and nervous.

“You know I can’t… hmm, get rid of you . You’re too valuable. But I can do much worse,” he pondered as if he were planning his day out loud.

“Dream,” Tommy warned, flicking his gaze to the security camera which had mushrooms growing around it.

“Oh come on now. You lied to us Tommy, you know what the consequences are. Especially if you don’t tell me what you did.”

“Shut up ,” he urged, slamming his hands on the counter. Tommy’s eyes glowed brighter with his anger.

“Maybe I-“

“Is there a problem here?” Wilbur snapped from over Tommy’s shoulder, glaring down at the man. Tommy suppressed a flinch at his sudden appearance, hoping he wasn’t standing there for very long.

Dream’s face morphed into a more casual smile, slipping off the sinister one just like he would his mask. “Oh, nothing of the sort! Just having a little chat with a friend.”

“I think he was just leaving,” Tommy said, glaring intensely at Dream for him to get the message.

“I suppose I was,” he agreed thoughtfully, taking a step back and putting his hands back into his pockets. “Buh-bye Tommy, see ya later,” he smirked, pushing the front door open and slinking out into the night.

Tommy breathed a sigh of relief as he disappeared from view. 

“Are you okay?” Wilbur asked, looking at him with a worried expression.

He nodded reluctantly, glancing back towards the camera where the mushrooms had already shrunk back into nothing but mildew in the ceiling.

“Do you know him? Because he definitely threatened you-“

“Nope! No clue!” He said quickly, eyes darting around the room for an excuse to exit the conversation. “I mean you know how it is! Crazy people, am I right?” Tommy laughed nervously.

Wilbur frowned. Before he could say anything Tommy turned away and began quickly wiping down the counters.

“Well, are you gonna help me close or just stand there?” Tommy teased, laughing lightly as he moved over to start on the tables.

The brunette sighed before grabbing a rag and heading towards the other side of the cafe.

After that, they closed up and Tommy just wanted to get away as quickly as he could. He waved goodbye to Wilbur before scurrying off towards his apartment.

As soon as Wilbur was out of sight he regarded the nearest alleyway with a scowl. The eyes on the back of his head seemed to blink at him.

He continued walking with the burning of someone staring holes into his skull before he stopped and strolled into an alleyway.

“Come out, I know you’re there,” he shouted, cupping his hands around his mouth, looking up at the fire escape of the nearest building.

A sigh resounded in the alley and a familiar man hopped down from the fire escape to land in front of him. 

“S- Hellstorm what did I say about stalking me?” He asked accusingly, noticing the man was in his suit.

“You were- well you were being sketchy!” Sapnap said defensively.

“And you… stalking a minor isn’t?” Tommy challenged, smirking and putting his hands on his hips.

“Wha- no! I- Listen-“

Tommy barked out a laugh at his sputtering. “You’re a real wrongen,” he chuckled, watching the man’s face contort in different levels of frustration and annoyance under his mask.

“Shut up! You know why I was following you!” He blurted.

Tommy stopped laughing. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said quietly after a long moment. It was obvious he did.

“Tommy, this is no joke,” Sapnap said, voice low and serious. “When he finds out… I won’t be able to pro- help you.”

Tommy nodded slowly, racing mind skipping over his slip-up. Whatever it was for. “There’s nothing I can do about it now,” he whispered, looking up to meet Sapnap’s eyes sheepishly.

“Tommy… what-“

“I can’t tell you. Even if you didn’t get mad at me for it he’d never let you keep it to yourself.”

Sapnap stared at him for a long moment, searching for something to say. He turned up empty.

“Just stay out of it,” he sighed, hiking his backpack higher up on his shoulder. “For your own sake.”

Tommy walked back home without the creeping feeling of eyes on the back of his head.

~ ☀ ~

Three weeks. That’s how long it had been since he healed Blare. He hadn’t had a night job with Dream, George, and Sapnap since.

Every day he would wake up and put on a different sweater that had cute designs on it in pretty colors. Then he would check his appearance in the mirror and leave for work.

He grew closer to Wilbur as they worked side by side during rush hour and eventually he was able to get the brunette and Ranboo to meet.

It was a fun day and the three of them took their lunch break at the same time to go over to a nearby diner Wilbur picked out. Hesitantly leaving Niki by herself to manage the cafe before she assured them she could handle it.

They cracked jokes and told stories (Tommy’s being mildly edited for civilian ears) and overall had a good time.

He tried convincing Ranboo to come in more often but he said he was busy. It was a futile attempt and he knew it but it was worth a shot.

Sapnap had started following him home some nights after close. He could feel the burn of his eyes just like the fire the man could control.

He tried confronting Sapnap about it but he ignored him and would scatter from his spot watching him from the roof. Tommy flipped him off every time he saw him and had been increasingly growing tired of his shit.

He got several sunny days over the weeks and was feeling pretty good when he got a knock at his door.

Tommy was sitting on his couch crocheting another sweater. The design had little flowers on it which he picked the colors for at random, sprucing it up a bit on the light green base he chose.

He kicked his feet off the coffee table and carefully put the half-made sweater down and stood up, walking over to the door.

Tommy put his eye up to the peephole only to find the person standing too close to be visible. He sighed and swung the door open, ready to beat the shit out of someone.

George was standing there awkwardly, hands in his pockets in his full suit. Under the red veil, his eyes were hidden by the shadows of mushrooms, but behind it, he could see his expression looked bored.

“Get your bag, we have shit to do,” he ordered, waving his hand in the direction of inside Tommy’s apartment. “And hurry, Nightmare’s being a whiny bitch.”

Tommy nodded and ran for his bedroom, grabbing his backpack that held his suit and shoes.

George walked him to the van in uncomfortable silence. He opened the side door just like last time and got changed in the back while Sapnap drove.

The tension in the van was so thick it was practically physical, suffocating them all.

They finally parked in a big car parking lot and Dream whispered to Sapnap who nodded.

They all got out of the car and Tommy adjusted his mask as he slammed the van door closed.

Sapnap’s hand was on his shoulder and he guided him away from the van towards the big supermarket they were parked at. Tommy gave Sapnap a questioning look before the van doors slammed behind them again.

The engine puttered as Dream backed out of the parking space and drove away.

“We’re the distraction again,” was all Sapnap said for him to understand.

~ ☀ ~

The two of them casually strolled into the supermarket, waving at people who screamed at the sight of them. All Tommy felt was mild disappointment as Sapnap lit a big stack of pop tart boxes on fire and started throwing them around.

After Sapnap started setting everything on fire the screaming became more prominent. Tommy watched Sapnap leisurely walk over and lock both sets of doors.

The fire alarms started going off, lights switching between red and yellow.

“Get rid of the lights will you, Shadow? I think I’d like to see the flames in the dark,” Sapnap said, smiling sadistically yet warningly at Tommy.

Hesitantly, he held his hands out and switched into his hybrid form. Slowly, he began collecting the light energy from the supermarket.

Tommy winced as he heard a scream and a slap against the tile floor over the crackling flames Sapnap was managing.

Sirens rang out down the street somewhere and he took in a deep breath, only to get a lungful of smoke. He coughed harshly and the lights flickered briefly.

Sapnap’s head snapped around to look at him worriedly and the fire seemed to lean away from him as he regained his hold on the lights.

He tried keeping his focus on the lights even as the backup generator kicked on and jolted him with more power to steal, flooding the room with light before it sunk back into darkness.

Tommy held it together, absorbing a mass amount of light from an artificial source. It was much harder than popping a couple streetlights or plunging a hallway into darkness. This was a big, open building.

His breath caught in his throat and the lights stuttered when he heard the piercing scream of a small child.

Tommy let go of his hold on the overhead light’s energy abruptly. Something above him crackled and small pops came from the lightbulbs overhead.

The store was cloaked in the dark, but he was no longer in control of it.

The front doors of the store were being pounded on by both sides, inside and out. The police sirens deafening in their vicinity.

Another scream came from the small child he heard earlier but this one was more choked. His head yelled at him to stay with Sapnap where he would be safe but his heart was louder.

Tommy broke off in a sprint in the direction of the child’s pleas for help. Sapnap must’ve noticed he was gone because he shouted his codename over and over again.

He ignored Sapnap, suddenly feeling a flare of anger at him for not going over this horrible plan with him before. Putting innocent children at risk. He felt ashamed he went along with it so quickly.

He rounded a corner and saw an aisle that was knocked over on fire. The screaming got louder from there.

Even though it didn’t really sound like words, he knew what it meant.

He ran along the edge of the fallen aisle and his heart shattered in his chest when he caught sight of the child.

Trapped under the aisle, face down on the floor with his arms outstretched in front of him, was a toddler. The boy had the pink hair and snout of a pig hybrid and was wearing a shirt with bees on it.

Tommy could barely see him under the light of the flames crackling far too close to the boy’s face.

He didn’t hesitate to drop to his knees and plunge his hands into the flames to lift the aisle off the toddler.

The boy scrambled out from under the aisle and Tommy dropped the aisle and hissed at his burnt hands. He ignored the pain as his power numbed it for him, glowing light was already crackling from his hands to heal it.

Tommy got back into focus when the toddler grabbed his waist in a tight hug, burying his head in his shoulder. He already saw red burns that were darkening on the boy’s skin.

He scooped the toddler up and held him close to his chest, settling a hand on his back to hold him upright and shielded from the flames licking at Tommy’s heels. Sapnap’s shouting got closer and Tommy glanced around for an escape to find he was surrounded by fire.

Tommy opened his mouth to yell back for Sapnap and choked on his words, coughing roughly as the heat took up space in his lungs.

After his hacking fit died down he whipped his head around, the flames closing in on him. “Hell- Hellstorm!” He yelled weakly, hating how pathetic his voice sounded. He would probably have to bribe Sapnap after to forget the whole thing ever happened.

Tommy wrapped his arms further around the trembling toddler in his arms and glanced at his blackened hands. They were glowing. He hoisted the child to one arm and lifted one of his hands in the air, sending his power in a beam towards the ceiling.

After a long moment, Sapnap’s shouting got further and he realized they were separated and Sapnap would likely only find his dead body. Tommy dropped his hand from the ceiling and aimed it towards the fire surrounding him.

Tommy stared at the fire, his hand getting nicked by the dancing flames. He breathed out and almost started coughing again but he was able to choke it down. He focused on the fire, much like he would a streetlight or lamp.

He hadn’t tried his power on fire before, it moved too much, unpredictable. But he had to now, not only did his life depend on it but the toddler’s life as well.

The light wasn’t like light from the sun but it was bright and furious much like it. Slowly, the fire in front of him withered and Tommy felt his fingertips pivoting between healing and burning again from the flames it was over.

The toddler sobbed in his ear and the depressing sound caused by his teammate only fueled his anger, which was the emotion Sapnap told him he associated with fire. He would beat the shit out of him later for putting him in this situation and finding something he said useful.

The fire in front of him formed a small gap and he took the chance, running through it and wincing as the flames burned him through his fireproof suit. Tommy ran through the makeshift path and found himself at one of the fire exits. How convenient.

He turned and slammed his back against it, gently holding the weeping child and whispering reassurances to him.

Tommy stumbled towards the front of the building, away from the singed walls and the smoke billowing out the door he just escaped out of. The cool wind hit his face and he sighed, closing his eyes before they shot open and he stared down at the child in his arms.

The pink-haired boy had tears streaming down his face that almost sizzled on his cheek where a circular burn from being face down on the floor was. Tommy set the toddler on the grass and checked his injuries, finding his legs were covered in welts from the aisle falling on him. His arms only had a couple of burns here and there that were swollen already.

Tommy willed all of his power to his hands and ghosted over the boy’s injuries, starting at his face and down to his legs and feet where the soles of his shoes had burned off. He used energy from the fire to hover his hand over where the boy’s lungs would be and he coughed a few times before his rattled breathing cleared. He was as good as new.

Tommy’s mind got a little fuzzier. The boy’s crying slowed down and he threw his arms around Tommy’s neck, thanking him quietly.

“Where are your parents?” Tommy managed, voice rough from inhaling so much smoke, his voice modulator was still working, thankfully.

The toddler’s eyes widened at the realization and tears slipped down his face again, the boy shrugged.

“Don’t worry, I’ll help you find them,” he assured, standing up and wincing at the pain flaring across his body. He hoisted the kid back up into his arms and rested him on his hip like he’d seen mothers do and started off towards the front of the building.

When he got around to the front he was hit with a lot of noise, screaming, crying, and the faint cry of ambulance sirens bringing people off to the hospital.

As Tommy approached he saw a boy near his age, maybe older, being held back by three firefighters. He looked like he wanted to go back inside the burning building. He got closer and his yelling was more clear. “MY SON IS IN THERE! LET ME GO, YOU BASTARDS! MICHAEL!”

The toddler in his arms perked up and that was all Tommy needed to stumble over to the boy.

“Papa!” The toddler squealed, the boy’s head snapped to him. The firefighters let the boy go and he ran over to them. Tommy set the child down and watched the teary-eyed reunion. Then the boy’s attention was on him after he searched for burns on the kid.

“Wha- what did you do?” He asked, utterly flabbergasted as recognition flashed across his face. That was Tommy’s cue. “How- why-”

“‘As good as new,” Tommy slurred, turning on his heel to run into a very tall person. He blearily looked up to see a masked man staring down at him in a mix of shock and confusion. He must’ve seen the whole interaction.

Then Tommy’s fuzzy mind caught up with him and he froze. Standing in front of him was Blare.

Chapter Text

Standing in front of Wilbur, swaying on his feet, was Shadow. His eyes looked glazed over as his head slowly turned up.

A feared look belatedly made it onto Shadow’s face and he wobbled backward a step.

They both stared at each other for a moment. Wilbur gaping at the sight of the villain who just returned a child to their parent completely healed with gold glittering on their cheeks where burns must’ve been. While looking like complete shit himself.

They both snapped back to reality when a loud, booming voice yelled from a few ambulances away.

“BLARE? BLARE WHERE ARE YOU?” Techno called, getting closer and closer with every call.

Wilbur looked over to see Shadow frozen with fear, bright blue eyes flashing to a duller shade.

Without thinking about it much more, Wilbur scooped Shadow up and threw him over his shoulder. From there he took off running.

He knew if his brother got his hands on him it wouldn’t be good for either of them.

Wilbur ran for an alleyway in between some nearby buildings, hearing his brother’s increasingly panicked shouts of his name getting farther. He felt slightly guilty at that fact, but he couldn’t dwell on it.

He carefully set the villain down on the ground and leaned him against the alleyway wall, glancing over his shoulder at the entrance to find it clear.

“Shadow!” Wilbur whisper-shouted, shaking the villain’s shoulders. Shadow blinked at him and swatted his hands away.

“St’ahp sha’kin’ me’,” he slurred, his expression morphing into one of pain behind his mask.

Wilbur let go of his shoulders and took in the villain’s state. His hands were blackened up to his wrists and his fingertips looked flakey and dry. Golden, sticky liquid was bubbled around in random clotted splotches up his hands and arms.

Wilbur realized with a gasp that the golden inky liquid was Shadow’s blood . He couldn’t think on it too much in the moment other than the fact he had never seen someone with gold blood before. The realization startled him before he got his priorities straight and snapped back into focus.

Shadow’s lungs rattled and his chest heaved with every breath. Shadow coughed and golden blood splattered on himself and partly on the front of Wilbur’s suit.

Wilbur winced as Shadow’s hands started glowing and he made a sad, choked noise. The smell of burnt flesh made Wilbur feel like gagging.

A horrible crackling sound echoed through the alleyway as Shadow’s hands healed and broke off dead skin in large, ugly charred flakes.

Shadow was obviously fighting his self-healing process as the glowing pulsed and stuttered.

The villain stubbornly sat up straighter and tried to stand by pushing himself up with his hands…

Shadow screamed and Wilbur grabbed his arms carefully where they weren’t as burnt and held them away from the villain.

“Shadow, calm down!” He stressed, looking behind him to see an empty alleyway.

Shadow slowed down in his fighting but his breathing didn’t calm down.

“There, okay. You’re okay. See?” Wilbur assured, loosely holding Shadow by his forearms, glittering golden blood dripping down them.

He seemed to calm down a little bit until he saw something over his shoulder and his eyes widened.

Wilbur turned around to be met with a harsh kick directly in his side. He rolled over and quickly sat up, recovering from the attack.

He tilted his head in confusion as he saw Hellstorm kneeling where he had just been crouching, hands hovering over Shadow with an extremely worried expression.

Shadow’s healing started up again and he mumbled an annoyed dismissal of Hellstorm, who seemed to ignore the gesture.

Wilbur stood up and Hellstorm whipped his head to look at him, his frown turning into an enraged glare under his mask.

“ You ,” Hellstorm seethed accusingly, fists clenched as he got to his feet. “What did you do ?”

“I didn’t do-“

He was cut off as Hellstorm lunged at him and punched him in the gut, knocking him into the opposing alley wall. The wind was knocked out of him and he gasped for air, pushing himself out of the way of Hellstorm’s next attack.

“Fuck- shit!” Wilbur hissed, turning and screaming at the villain, pushing enough power into it to knock him away.

Wilbur turned to run, he couldn’t take Hellstorm on his own like this. A hot hand clamped around his ankle and he fell down, barely avoiding smashing his face into the concrete by catching himself with his hands. The hand on his ankle burned and he kicked his leg out in pained panic.

“Come here you fucking-“ Hellstorm cut himself off as a harsh cough came from Shadow.

“Stop,” Shadow croaked, shakily standing, leaning heavily on a garbage bin. “S- Hellstorm-“

Another bone-chilling string of coughs echoed through the alleyway.

The hand on Wilbur’s ankle released him and Hellstorm rushed over to Shadow, his face softening immediately. The switch of his demeanor gave Wilbur whiplash.

Hellstorm threw one of Shadow’s bleeding arms around his shoulders and heaved him to his feet.

Shadow struggled to stay standing and Hellstorm just swept his feet out from under him and carried him like a big baby. The villain adjusted his hold on his carefully, avoiding the tender spots on his arms and legs as Shadow’s eyes fluttered shut.

Wilbur must’ve made a noise because Hellstorm whipped his head around to give him a nasty glare. “You’re lucky I don’t boil the blood under your skin right now,” he hissed, settling into a dangerously protective stance. Wilbur got the message.

He opened his mouth to say something, to explain himself. But his words were cut off by Techno calling for him. He and the villain made eye contact before they both split up, going separate directions out of the alley.

Wilbur took off running towards the sound of his brother’s voice. He was so fucked.

~ ☀ ~

Tommy woke up in the medical wing of the base, he could tell that much. There was an IV discarded to his side and in its place were several UV lamps. Splashing him sunlight substitute to help him heal.

He greedily absorbed the energy it offered to turn his head, looking around the room. His eyes caught on a figure leaning back in a chair by his side.

Without his mask on Tommy could see the tense look on Sapnap’s face, even though he was sleeping.

Tommy sat up and looked down at his hands to see glittering gold looking back at him. He hadn’t seen such a big scar in a while, he stared at it in awe. The golden scar tissue wrapped up his fingertips to his wrists where they curled around his arms in less frequent spirals.

Although it technically could be called a scar, his skin was in perfect shape, the only difference being the change of his skin tone where a scar should be. It would’ve been pretty if he hadn’t seen what they looked like before his power took over.

Tommy shifted in the hospital bed and Sapnap’s head snapped up, he blinked before gaping at Tommy.

“You’re awake!” He smiled before schooling his face into an impassive look. “I mean- well… fuck you, I can’t believe you would be so stupid!”

“What?!” Tommy scowled, noting Sapnap’s defensive change of tone.

“You- you almost got yourself killed and then almost caught by a hero!” Sapnap scolded, crossing his arms.

Tommy frowned at him. “None of that would’ve happened if you told me what was going on! There was- there was a baby in that fire Sapnap!”

The room went horribly silent. Sapnap turned and stared out the window. “I did what I had to do.”

“That’s bullshit and you know it,” he snapped, leveling the man a challenging glare.

“Tommy… I don’t know what you’re thinking,” he started, lowering his voice and leaning closer to Tommy. “But this sudden… disobedience from you won’t go unnoticed by him ,” he paused, letting the words sink in. “It won’t be good for anybody.”

Tommy scowled at the man. Ultimately he knew he was right, but things had been clicking for Tommy. The stuff he had been told about heroes had to be somewhat wrong or altered. Because why did Blare save him? Why didn’t he let him fall to his doom and go on with one less pain in his ass?

Why did Blare not arrest or kill him when he had the chance? When Tommy was vulnerable? Why did Blare toss him over his shoulder and carry him like a sack of potatoes to get him to safety?

A month ago, Tommy would’ve crossed his arms and huffed, relenting. Having been used to Sapnap and his lectures.

But now, all Tommy felt was annoyance. “I’m sorry I’m not a good lap dog like you , Sapnap,” he hissed, throwing his hands up as the man flinched at his words. “You would’ve let that baby die because you’re a coward .”

The room fell completely silent as Tommy’s words hit every crack in Sapnap’s heart. All the buttons Tommy had grown to avoid pushed all at once.

Sapnap was angry. His expression said it all, face red and burning. If he put his hand up to the man’s cheek he would probably be burned again.

Tommy only stared apathetically at him, a trick he learned and mastered from Dream. Sapnap’s eyes were almost glowing with a fire raging in them, dancing in his vision, begging to escape and burn Tommy to ashes.

Sapnap stood up abruptly, his chair scraping against the tile floor of the base’s hospital room. For a split second, Tommy thought Sapnap was going to hit him. He tilted his head, challenging, taunting him to. Dream would’ve backhanded him across the face for his sheer audacity.

But Sapnap was not Dream.

The man only huffed and Tommy saw tendrils of smoke billow out of his nose before he turned on his heel and left the room, slamming the door shut behind him.

Tommy sat in silence for a moment before he was overwhelmed with guilt. Why did he do that?

A sick feeling settled in his gut. Why did he feel guilty? Tommy thought on it for a long moment before stopping himself.

He pushed the thoughts away and kicked his feet over the side of the hospital bed. Tommy didn’t have time for guilt. He needed to think of another lie to tell Dream, a big, believable one.

~ ☀ ~

Wilbur would say that his and Techno’s interactions had been tense. But that was definitely an understatement. He had been avoiding his twin as much as he could but his brother was persistent, even turning up at his work to try and talk to him.

He would’ve taken the opportunity to pawn Techno off to Tommy the second his brother walked in, but the boy was nowhere to be seen for two days straight. To say the least, Wilbur was worried.

Normally, Wilbur wasn’t one to get attached to people so easily. Techno always told him it was the least his brain could do to combat his ‘overwhelming kindness’ and probably the only reason he wasn’t dead in a ditch somewhere.

But there was something about Tommy that lit up the room when he walked in and he was always fun to talk to. He always had something funny to say, even in the most awkward situations. He was a drastic clash from Techno’s blunt, disinterested commentary that he was so used to.

It would be hard not to like Tommy, to say the least. That’s what urged him to harass Niki about checking up on the boy. Only to find out he hadn’t called in or texted. And according to Niki, that almost never happened with Tommy.

So when the bell above the door rang on the third day he had turned to it with a hopeful smile, only for it to fall at the sight of his brother who was awkwardly looking around the cafe. Techno was wearing his usual civilian clothes, hair messy and put up accompanied by glasses that made him look like a total nerd.

Wilbur gave his brother a flat look as he walked up to the counter, hands in his pants pockets that- wait were those Wilbur’s pants he stole-

“Uhm hullo,” Techno said, looking up at Wilbur and then looking at the other customers who were mostly engrossed in their laptops and books. He looked nervous to be around them.

Wilbur then remembered that his brother’s normal job was sitting in a library all day and he probably didn’t interact with many civilians outside of that. He was most likely paranoid about being recognized.

“Welcome to Niki’s Cafe, what can I get you?” He asked in his customer service voice, littered with fake enthusiasm. He ignored how Techno’s eyebrows furrowed.

“I’d like my brother to stop avoiding me,” Techno snarked, leaning forward and crossing his arms. A couple customers glanced up towards the two before averting their eyes away in typical eavesdropping fashion.

“Don’t know how to help you with that one, buddy,” Wilbur smirked, gesturing towards the menu. “But you can get a cupcake… or…”

Techno’s frown deepened. “Wil-”

The bell above the door rang again and Wilbur jerked his head up, scanning for a familiar blonde head of hair. A smile stretched onto his face and Techno paused to turn and see what he was looking at.

Tommy, in all his glory, strolled into the cafe, hands in his pockets in another classic Tommy sweater. This one was a light purple sweater with small designs stitched into it. 

“Tommy!” Wilbur beamed, ignoring the looks he got at his volume.

The boy slowly lifted his head to give Wilbur a strained smile before nodding and swiftly making his way behind the counter. The brunette’s smile faltered for a second as he watched Tommy reluctantly pull his hands out of his pockets, pulling the plastic gloves on his hands further up his wrists. Wilbur frowned as Tommy pulled his sleeves down over it and tied his apron around his waist.

“You alright Tommy?” He asked quietly, wincing as Tommy flinched and then played it off like it was nothing.

“Yup! Just fine, big man,” he lied easily, pointedly looking away from his eyes and turning away towards the kitchen.

“Hey… where were you? You were gone for three days straight with no word. We were all pretty worried…” Wilbur added, wringing his hands together, noting how Tommy stiffened and looked back at him with a confused look.

“Oh… I didn’t know it was- sorry. I was busy,” Tommy stuttered, itching mindlessly at his hands and up to his forearms. He faced the kitchen door again. “Gonna go tell Niki…”

Wilbur frowned as the usually bright and bubbly boy slipped into the kitchen, in the direction of where Niki usually was found baking.

When Tommy was out of earshot Wilbur slowly turned back around to the cash register with a frown etched onto his face. He no longer felt in the mood to purposefully piss off his twin brother. Let alone talk to him.

“Kid’s bein’ abused,” Techno stated bluntly. Wilbur whipped his head up and glared at his brother who was leaning against the counter, gaze lingering where Tommy had left the room. He turned to see Wilbur’s withering scowl and at least had the decency to look a little guilty. “What I meant was- nah that kid is definitely being beatin’ there’s no easy way to say that.”

Wilbur grit his teeth and gripped the counter to keep him from vaulting over the cash register and beating the shit out of his brother. “Bold assumption,” he hissed, leaning forward to give Techno a challenging look. “What made you come to that conclusion, genius?”

Techno frowned and gestured lightly towards the kitchen door. “The gloves. Pulling down his sleeve suspiciously, itching his arm. He definitely had concealer covering something on his face-”

“Okay!” He huffed, glancing behind him to make sure Tommy wasn’t there and then looking at the customers. None of them looked interested in their conversation anymore. “I get it, you like to psychoanalyze and- and be the smart-”

Techno leveled him a flat look. “Don’t tell me you’re denyin’ the fact he could need help for your own sanity.”

Wilbur’s face dropped, he sputtered. “No! I just- I know how you are! And- he’s never like this! Probably just a bad day! He’s always pretty happy!”

Techno only raised an eyebrow at him but Wilbur didn’t falter. “Whatever Wil, now are we gonna-”

“This a friend of yours, Wilbur?” Tommy asked, a smug tone in his voice that made the brunette smile as he turned to look at him. He was adjusting his sweater sleeves and quickly put his hands in his pockets at Wilbur’s lingering glance.

“Nope!” He said cheerfully, turning towards his brother who couldn’t look more displeased. “Sadly, this is my brother. Kind of a forced friendship, you could say.”

Tommy looked between the two, a smile on his face that looked more genuine than before. “Really? I don’t think I’ve heard much about you…?”

Techno blinked at him before Wilbur laughed awkwardly. “Techno. His name’s Techno.”

Tommy snorted. “Nice name bro,” he giggled, rocking on his heels. “I’m Tommy, big man, biggest man actually, wife haver, lady killer-”

“Okay okay that’s enough from you,” Wilbur chuckled, putting his hand over Tommy’s mouth to shut him up. He got a muffled complaint from the boy before he felt him lick his hand. He quickly retracted his hand in disgust. “Ew what the hell-”

Tommy’s laughter shut him up pretty quick and he smiled as he turned to wash his hands in the nearby sink, only to pause. There was a glistening skin tone residue on his hand and when he turned the faucet on it rinsed away something that looked suspiciously like makeup.

Was Tommy really covering up something on his face? Like a bruise?

He continued washing his hands as Tommy made a comment about him to Techno, who surprisingly laughed. He looked up to meet the knowing eyes of his twin while drying his hands.

“Hey Tommy,” Wilbur started carefully, searching Tommy’s face for an underlying bruise. “What’s with the gloves? You don’t normally wear any,” he said, making it sound teasing and lighthearted.

Tommy’s response came quickly, too quickly. Like he had rehearsed the answer. “Oh! I just burned my hands cooking yesterday.”

“Oh, I know how to treat burns pretty well, can I take a look?” Techno asked, somehow managing to make his question sound casual. 

Although weird for him to know, it wasn’t a lie. He had to recently take care of the handprint-shaped burn on Wilbur’s ankle just a few days ago. Which was another topic Wilbur wanted to avoid explaining.

To Tommy, his nonchalance didn’t matter. The boy quickly snapped his hands to his chest protectively, taking a step back from Techno. “Nope!” He squeaked.

Techno and Wilbur were both taken aback by his rather dramatic reaction. “It’s okay Tommy, no one’s forcing you,” Wilbur assured softly. “Techno’s taken care of burns before-“

“No! It’s fine really!” He chuckled nervously. “Sorry I just uh… really don’t want them to get sunburned or…” he trailed off.

Wilbur glanced to the front of the cafe and turned back towards Tommy who was sheepishly looking down at his gloved hands. “Tommy… the sun isn’t even out.”

Tommy didn’t even look up or out the window before responding quietly. “I know.”

~ ☀ ~

“Shadow!” He yelled, his voice scratchy and hoarse. The flames around him flared in tune with his emotions. “Shadow!”

The building was overwhelmed with fire and Tommy had yet to get out.

Sapnap opened his mouth and his throat closed up. He choked down his guilt and self anguish. “Tommy!”

No one would be able to hear it anyways. Especially not over all of the other people screaming the names of their loved ones.

“Tommy!” Sapnap screamed, cupping his hands around his mouth again. He went to call for him again but his throat was too sore. It wouldn’t be loud enough for him to hear anyways.

Sapnap didn’t give up, retracting as much fire as he could, trying to look in the darkness for Tommy. He came to another dead end and it was getting much harder to control the flames with his growing emotions.

He turned again and caught a glimpse of a beam of light aimed towards the ceiling. Tommy.

It was there and then it was gone. He still ran in its direction.

Sapnap got to where he saw the beam of light and scanned the area, with no Tommy in sight. 

Something changed and he heard a pained cry. Suddenly the world was spinning around him and he couldn’t control his muscles. The fire was flaring around him blindingly, to extents he would never let it exceed.

Then, Sapnap noticed he was no longer in the burning supermarket, but a pitch-black void.

He took a shaky step forward, flames burning nothing in the empty void. He heard the cry again and turned towards it, blinking slowly.

Sapnap took in a sharp gasp as he caught sight of Tommy bleeding out on the floor in front of him. His mask had fallen off his face from being burnt off, and his hands were charred black where they were pressed against a wound in his heart.

He wanted to move, but his legs were like jelly where he stood. Tommy’s glowing bright blue eyes landed on him, glazed over and dazed. “Sapnap,” he croaked, golden blood spilling from his lips as he spiraled into a coughing fit.

Sapnap couldn’t find his voice, instead, he found a lump in the back of his throat.

When Tommy’s sickly gaze focused back on him he whispered one thing. One of the main consistencies he gets in the void. The thing he always says that will forever haunt him as the light dulled from his eyes.

“Why didn’t you save me?”

Sapnap woke up in an uncomfortable position, neck aching from how his head was leaned against the couch armrest. He sat up, wiping tears from his eyes. No matter how many times he had the nightmares, no matter how many variations there were. They always ended the same. And they always felt too real.

Sapnap checked the time on his phone and pocketed it quickly, Tommy would be closing the cafe soon. He put his mask back on and headed for the exit.

Even with the hurt in his heart from his argument with Tommy earlier, he couldn’t let his nightmares become reality. He had enough of those in his life.

Chapter Text

After Tommy’s mood rollercoaster, Wilbur focused on changing the topic to be more lighthearted. He still had his concerns about the boy’s wellbeing and safety, but he couldn’t be blunt and scare him away.

Techno had eventually ordered a black coffee and stayed talking with them for a while before waving goodbye and leaving. The rest of the night was calm and Tommy slowly started to relax more, trying to make Wilbur laugh while taking orders. He didn’t realize how much he had grown used to his antics until he was gone for three days.

If Niki hadn’t left before he got the chance, he would’ve asked her about Tommy and his mysterious disappearance. But he probably wouldn’t get much from her either.

They were about to close up and there was an anxious pit forming in his stomach. Tommy could leave tonight and not come back tomorrow.

Wilbur paused after putting away the broom and turned to Tommy, who was wiping down the last table. “Hey, Tommy?”

“Yeah?”

“It’s pretty dark out uh…” He paused, trying to think of a better excuse.

“I know,” Tommy said quietly, wringing out the rag he used to wipe the tables down in the sink.

“I just- I don’t… there’s lots of… I dunno… criminals and villains around these parts,” he started slowly, cursing himself for not planning out what he was gonna say before. “And you walk home alone…”

Tommy just looked up at him and smiled. “I’ll be fine Wil,” he assured. “If anyone tries to fuck with me I will simply beat the shit out of them.”

Wilbur snorted. “Right right.”

“I’m serious!” Tommy laughed, crossing his arms.

“Sure you are.”

“I can and will stab you, bitch.”

“You can try,” Wilbur mused, crossing his arms. “But it would make me feel better if I walked you home.”

Tommy just rolled his eyes. “Fine, whatever helps you sleep at night, old man.”

Wilbur smiled and they continued the last few chores around the cafe before closing. After locking the doors to the cafe he turned to Tommy expectantly, who just rolled his eyes again.

“Damn I hoped you would forget,” he huffed, shoving his hands in his pockets.

“Wha- I couldn’t forget about- whatever child, lead the way.”

Tommy laughed at his sputtering and started off in the direction of his apartment. The conversation turned from there and they talked about music and other small things they thought of while walking the dark streets.

For some reason, Wilbur kept getting the creeping feeling of someone watching them as they walked. He stayed close to Tommy, fists clenched while looking down alleyways.

He didn’t want to say anything and scare Tommy but he also wanted him to be aware. Eventually, he heard a sound rustling from a nearby alleyway that was too big to be a raccoon and he paused.

Tommy noticed and slowed his walking, his laughter dying down after making some joke Wilbur couldn’t focus on. “Did you hear that?” He asked, hand hovering near Tommy’s arm like he would be snatched up at any moment.

Tommy’s eyes widened a little before he laughed nervously. “Hear what?” 

“I heard something, in the alley,” he said quietly, straightening his posture as he honed in on his powers.

“I dunno what you’re talking about,” Tommy stuttered a little, scratching the back of his neck anxiously. “You’re probably just hearing things, Wilbur. Comes with old age.”

“No Tommy, I’m serious. I swear someone’s been watching us…”

This time, Tommy grabbed his arm and tugged him towards the direction of where they were headed, Wilbur didn’t budge. “Come on, you’re just bein’ paranoid or some shit. There’s no one there.”

“No, I know what I heard,” Wilbur said, eyebrows scrunching up as he squinted down the dark alleyway.

“Let’s just- let’s just go,” Tommy insisted, pulling his arm more forcefully.

Wilbur put his hand in front of Tommy as another sound rang out in the alleyway, keeping him behind him protectively.

Suddenly he heard a more recognizable sound- a grunt. Then there were the sounds of scuffling and ragged breathing.

A crash snapped Wilbur out of his shock and he pulled Tommy out of the way in time for two villains to barrel out the alleyway. He backed up, hand still in front of Tommy.

Tommy inhaled sharply while they both watched Hellstorm pin Mercenary to the ground, hands around his neck. From under his mask Hellstorm looked beyond pissed, face red with anger as he glared down at Mercenary.

The other villain simply smirked up at Hellstorm, hands gripping his wrists. Wilbur backed up more, conflicted as he glanced between Tommy and the two villains.

He looked back over just in time to catch Mercenary kick his leg over and flip over Hellstorm, turning the tables and grabbing the villain's neck as he did to him.

Tommy gasped and Hellstorm caught his eye, faltering for a moment before gathering all his strength and smashing his head with Mercenary’s.

Mercenary fell off him, clutching at his now bleeding forehead, cursing under his breath.

Hellstorm sat up, in a similar position. “ Snitch ,” Hellstorm hissed, utter disgust and venom dripping from his words.

Mercenary only chuckled before Hellstorm kicked him in the chest from where they were both sprawled on the sidewalk. The villain wheezed at the impact and spat blood out onto the concrete.

Wilbur blinked out of his stupor and looked at Tommy, whose hands were clenched in fists, face pinched in confusion and fear. He made his decision and grabbed Tommy’s wrist before taking off in a sprint, barely needing to drag the blonde along as he started to match the pace, wanting to get away from the fight just as desperately.

He ran and pretended not to hear the crackling of fire and a pained scream.

~ ☀ ~

By the time they were far enough away, Wilbur and Tommy sat down on the curb, out of breath.

“The next time you get the chance, the opportunity on one of those… villains… you go for the kill, you hear me ?”

Wilbur ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. He looked over at Tommy and caught the boy staring at his gloved hands with an intense stare.

“Are you okay, Tommy?” Wilbur asked softly, reaching over and slowly put his hand on the blonde’s shoulder.

Tommy just closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, dropping his hands to wrap around his knees. “As okay as I can be,” he answered quietly, tucking his knees under his chin as he stared out at the near-empty street. Only a few cars parked on the curb down the road, all vacant and silent.

They had gone the completely opposite direction from Tommy’s apartment. “Tommy… I don’t think it’d be a good idea to go back to your apartment,” he stated dumbly, racking his brain for the words.

Tommy snorted. “Yeah, no problem I’ll just find another place to sleep,” He huffed sarcastically, shaking his head before he met Wilbur’s serious gaze.

“You could stay the night at my house,” Wilbur offered, jabbing his thumb in the direction opposite they came. “It’s just that way. And we have a guest bedroom.”

Tommy gaped at him like he had three heads. “Huh?”

“You could stay in the guest bedroom?” Wilbur repeated, confused by his confusion.

“Guest… bedroom,” he said dumbly, eyebrows upturned as he searched Wilbur’s face for a joke.

“Yeah… like an extra bedroom that is for guests to stay in…” he explained plainly, defining things was never his forte. That was Techno’s favorite pastime, fitting right in with his need to be right.

“Oh,” Tommy whispered thoughtfully, sitting up straighter, Wilbur’s hand retreated from his shoulder.

Wilbur scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. “I was just thinking because- well- if you don’t want to sleep in there you could always sleep on the couch but I thought-“ He rambled only to be cut off by Tommy planting a hand on his arm.

Tommy opened his mouth to speak and closed it, turning to look back in the direction they came. Slowly, he faced Wilbur again with a sigh. “The ‘guest bedroom’ sounds fine to me,” he smiled softly, Wilbur could swear that his eyes were glowing. But he dismissed it as a reflection of the streetlights.

Wilbur’s face broke out into a grin. “Oh! Now I’ll have a chance to show you my guitar!”

Tommy laughed lightly and stood up, followed by Wilbur. He gestured dramatically down the street, glancing back in the other direction one last time before focusing ahead. “Lead the way, music man.”

~ ☀ ~

Walking alongside Wilbur, Tommy found himself in a wealthy area. He wasn’t terrible on money. His apartment complex was fairly nice, although small, but this was a different level.

Every building was one house and the streets got less and less littered as they continued down the sidewalk that had less frequent cracks in it. Each was painted tastefully and stuck to modern themes, with varying shapes and colors.

It was cool but also very confusing. Tommy looked at Wilbur and truly took in the expensive fabrics of his clothes and accessories.

The man had quite a few rings on his fingers and an emerald pendant connected by a golden-stained netherite chain. Most rich people who got netherite used them to hold together the most expensive or meaningful jewelry. It was much more durable than gold or silver.

He laughed and Wilbur raised an eyebrow at him, unaware of the stereotypes Tommy was comparing him to in his head, looking for a match or hint that he had somehow missed from before.

It was then Wilbur took his hands out of his pockets and turned up a driveway, leaving Tommy to catch up from where he had paused to admire the building. If he had to walk any farther he would’ve called Wilbur a pretentious prick.

Wilbur typed in a code into the keypad, uncaring or unnoticing of Tommy being able to see it before pausing as the door unlocked with a whir and a click.

“Oh I uh forgot to tell my family I was bringing you over,” he said, laughing awkwardly.

But before he knew it the door was being yanked open from the inside.

“WILBUR SOOT, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?” A loud, almost familiar voice, scolded.

Wilbur startled and a short man stormed out with his hands on his hips.

“You better have a good excuse for scaring me half to death you-“ the man cut himself off as he turned to look between Wilbur and Tommy, blonde hair covering his blue eyes briefly before his eyes widened. “Oh hello, who is this?”

“This is my friend Tommy,” Wilbur introduced, gesturing to the boy with a wave of his hand. “The way to his apartment was… blocked by a villain fight,” the two exchanged a glance that Tommy didn’t quite understand before they were both regarding him with kind eyes.

“Hi mate, I’m Phil, Wil’s father,” he smiled, holding a hand out to shake. Tommy took it and smiled back, nodding.

Phil had on some sort of dark green robe, and his blonde hair was slightly askew. He didn’t look a lot like Wilbur but one thing in common with the both of them was the emerald earring he wore to match Wilbur’s. It was identical in the way it was held up by netherite that was painted gold. Tommy pondered the significance for a moment before his thoughts were interrupted.

Phil had turned back to Wilbur, who was rolling his eyes dramatically. “Well come in,” he said, moving out of the way of the door, motioning them inside. “Wil, you can show him up to the guest room.”

Wilbur hummed in response, walking in the door past Phil, Tommy followed after.

He showed him up a winding set of staircases and down a hall or two before they apparently made it to their destination. He opened the door and Tommy held in a gasp. The room was massive, probably the size of his entire apartment, maybe bigger.

“Here it is,” Wilbur said, unbeknownst of the questions running through Tommy’s head. He flopped down on the bed before remembering that could be considered rude and sat up. Wilbur only continued to smile at him. “This okay?”

“Wha- of course?” Tommy stared at him and couldn’t help but gape at the room. “This room is bigger than my entire apartment!” He laughed, being mindful of where his shoes were, he remembered how strict Dream would be about small things like that.

“Oh,” was all Wilbur said, leaning against the doorway and studying Tommy’s reaction. “I had just realized this was one of our smaller rooms so I didn’t know if you wanted-”

“ This is one of your ‘smaller rooms’?” Tommy gasped, staring at him with wide eyes. “Is your dad like a drug dealer or something?! How- why do you even work a minimum wage job you’re-”

He was cut off by Wilbur bursting out into laughter. “What! He’s not a drug dealer, no,” he snorted, shaking his head.

“You are a pretentious prick, you know that Wilbur?” Tommy laughed, pointing accusingly at the brunette. 

“Am not!”

“Are too!”

“Am not!”

“Are too!”

“Am-”

“Shut up, both of you,” Techno’s voice huffed from behind Wilbur, who turned to glare halfheartedly at the other. “Phil made dinner.”

Techno walked away and Wilbur turned to see Tommy still sitting there. “Aren’t you coming?”

Tommy blinked and scrunched his eyebrows. “Oh, I- you guys don’t have to feed me. I’m just here ‘cause of the villains and shit,” he said, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly.

Wilbur frowned. “You’re our guest, of course we do! Phil usually makes too much food anyways.”

“Really? I don’t want to intrude-”

“Tommy,” Wilbur interrupted his rambling. “Come on, you’re not intruding at all.”

Tommy couldn’t help but smile as Wilbur walked further into the room to pull him by his sleeve. “Okay okay,” he sighed, shoulders slumping as he followed Wilbur out of the room.

~ ☀ ~

Tommy couldn’t remember the last time he had such good food, he tried to savor the soup as much as he could but before he knew it, his bowl was empty. “This is so good, what did you say it was called again?” He asked after mindfully chewing and swallowing the last of the food. He was almost thankful for Dream’s training, it was a good skill to learn proper manners, especially in front of people of such high caliber. All the meetings Dream would bring him along to over dinner.

Wilbur, however, didn’t reflect the same values for manners as Dream did. With a mouth full of food, he answered. “Chicken ‘n dumplings.”

“Oh, never heard of it,” he mumbled thoughtfully, hands still on his spoon even though his bowl was empty. There was a lot in the pot on the stove and his stomach urged him to get more. He realized how terrible his eating habits were, he couldn’t remember the last time he ate.

But, as much as he wanted more food he wasn’t sure if he could. Would he be considered rude or greedy? He couldn’t remember anything from Dream’s training about it.

Techno was sitting next to Phil, across from Wilbur and Tommy and he was minding his own business, scrolling on his phone before he stood up, pushing his chair back with a screech. Techno took one look at Tommy and his bowl, who tried not to make direct eye contact with the rather intimidating man.

Then Techno was grabbing Tommy’s bowl along with his own, Phil raised an eyebrow and Wilbur looked at his brother with suspicion. Tommy made a quiet noise of confusion but Techno ignored it, turning around and walking back into the kitchen.

He came back with both bowls filled again and he set Tommy’s back down in front of him with a smirk on his face.

“Oh you didn’t have to-”

“You’re welcome,” he said, cutting Tommy off and sitting down in his own seat. Phil looked between the two with a questioning look while Wilbur just had a one-sided stare down with Techno.

“Uh thank you,” he muttered awkwardly, picking his spoon back up to continue eating.

After a long moment of silence, Phil spoke up. “So how do you know Wilbur?” He asked conversationally.

“What he means to say is: Wilbur doesn’t have any friends, so what’s wrong with you?” Techno butted in, smiling smugly.

“Techno!” Phil gasped, smacking him in the arm.

“It’s a genuine question!” Techno said defensively, crossing his arms before relenting. “Okay, maybe I was joking!” He offered.

“Well your jokes tend to scare people off,” Phil hissed halfheartedly, sending an apologetic look to Tommy.

“Wilbur was bound to do that anyway!”

Wilbur’s chair screeched against the floor as he stood up. “Oh, you fuckin-”

Phil cleared his throat loudly and both of them paused. “Sorry, Tommy, sibling things… y’know?” He laughed awkwardly, Wilbur and Techno both backed down slowly.

“I don’t but uh… it’s okay,” he mumbled, wringing his hands nervously. He knew nothing about siblings, but fighting? He knew all about that. He heard the heated arguments Sapnap and Dream would get into. Not to mention all the times he and Sapnap fought, or Sapnap and George. “I’m used to it.”

It was pretty normal for him, but he never truly learned what to do when caught in the middle of one. He tended to freeze up and try and sneak away but he would eventually be pulled into it, forced to try and pick a side.

The table was tense and he saw Wilbur’s expression soften from his angered look into a concerned frown. Even Techno looked away guiltily, Phil had on a similar expression to Wilbur.

“Hey uh, Wilbur?” Tommy turned to look over at him, not in the eyes but somewhere near his shoulders. “You said you wanted to show me your guitar?”

Some tension slipped out of Wilbur’s posture and he stood up a little more slowly. “Yeah, follow me,” he murmured softly, leading him away from where Phil started scolding Techno quietly.

They walked back through the halls and took a different turn and then they were in a big room that matched Wilbur’s style perfectly. Wilbur grabbed a guitar out of the corner of his room and sat on his bed, patting the spot next to him.

Tommy’s mood lightened immediately as he started strumming absentmindedly and he plopped down beside him on the bed. “Really sorry about my brother, I upset him a little bit ago and he’s kind of a grudge holder,” he explained, playing a soft tune as background to the conversation.

“Is that what I walked in on at the cafe?” Tommy guessed in a teasing tone.

Wilbur laughed lightly. “Yeah, part of it anyway,” he admitted. “He thinks I can’t handle things on my own, so when I don’t tell him things he starts to pry.”

“Oh, I know someone like that,” he chuckled, clasping his hands in front of him and thumbing over the creases in the gloves. “It’s annoying most of the time.”

“Yep,” Wilbur agreed, the melody he was playing slowly coming to an end. “Song suggestions?”

Tommy’s smile widened. “Have you heard of this amazing game called Animal Crossing?”

~ ☀ ~

Techno stalked back to his room, social battery completely ran out after a long lecture from Phil. It was nothing he hadn’t heard before.

He was about to collapse on his bed before he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He scrunched his eyebrows in confusion before his eyes widened and he fumbled for his phone.

After taking it out he read the notification and his breath hitched in his throat.

Vulpine: Found the CCTV footage you were looking for. Be aware, it’s not pretty. [Video Attachment]

Techno nervously clicked on the video and watched the muted, grainy scene unfold. A black and blue blur fell at a terrifying speed into a big trash bin in the middle of the screen. 

Garbage flew out at the impact and Techno could barely catch sight of his brother convulse in pain.

His heart pounded loudly in his chest and he could hear it in his ears at the silent footage. A few minutes went by before something caught his eye in the corner of the screen. Movement in the dark.

The trash in the bin moved slightly as Wilbur put his trembling hand over his wound. A dark figure Techno recognized as Shadow. Glowing blue eyes peered into the bin and the villain stilled where he stood. He made a movement of his head that looked like speaking before he froze again.

Wilbur’s blood-covered hand raised in front of his face before it fell back down with a muted slap and shake of his head.

Techno took in a shaky gasp as Shadow plunged his hands into the bin and put an arm under Wilbur’s knees and the other around his shoulders. He lifted him out of the bin as blood dripped onto the ground.

He kneeled down and set him on the concrete of the alleyway ground. Wilbur tried swatting at the hands hovering near him before giving up.

Shadow’s hovering hands suddenly sprung into action as he was surveying the many injuries Wilbur had. Techno covered his mouth with his hand and held in a gag at the sight of bones peaking out of Wilbur’s suit.

Shadow then focused on where all the blood was coming from, Wilbur’s abdomen. The hero weakly grabbed at the villain’s wrists as he peeled away the fabric of the suit to reveal a nasty stab wound.

Techno felt anger and worry welling like a pit in his stomach, running through a million scenarios in his mind. Most of his anger was directed at himself. Where was he when Wilbur was bleeding out in an alley?

His thoughts were cut off as yellow light poured out of Shadow’s shaking hands, he could swear he saw some of Wilbur’s blood retreat back into his body. Wilbur stopped fighting against the hands near him and instead stared in awe at the light.

He watched as Wilbur’s spine snapped back into place with a sickening jolt. The hero’s expression morphed into a bleary calm as light washed over him.

Then suddenly the light was gone as quick as it came and Shadow stumbled backward. Techno barely caught the glowing blue fading from his eyes.

He didn’t pay much attention to the next part, Wilbur sitting up and talking to Shadow, who looked exhausted and afraid.

What he did focus on was when they both snapped their heads to the entrance of the alleyway and Shadow dove for Wilbur. Techno’s hold on his phone tightened as he watched Shadow hide Wilbur under a few trash bags and the light around them disappeared. Shadow then sat down in Wilbur’s blood, Techno made an audible sound of confusion.

Another villain, Hellstorm, rushed in and seemed to be scolding Shadow before dragging him up and leading him away on shaky legs.

Wilbur jumped out of his hiding place in the trash bags when the light returned to the area just as blue and red lights filled the alleyway.

Then the footage cut off as Techno already knew what happened after.

Blade: Delete all traces of this, no one can see this. Ever.

Chapter Text

After Wilbur and Tommy started getting tired Techno came in to apologize, wringing his hands awkwardly. Tommy told him it was fine and promptly went to bed.

Even though there were some rocky moments the night had overall been fairly nice. He decided he would figure out what happened with Sapnap and Punz later. There wasn’t much he could do about it anyway in Wilbur’s house.

Tommy would say his favorite moment was sitting next to Wilbur while he took his silly song requests. It almost was able to quiet the ever-running waterfall in the back of his mind.

The next day Wilbur and Tommy woke up around the same time to find Phil making breakfast in the kitchen. Techno was already sitting at the table intensely staring at something on his phone, with a plate with a half-eaten pancake in front of him.

“Good morning!” Phil said cheerily, slapping a pancake on a plate and handing it to Wilbur.

Tommy and Wilbur both muttered tired ‘morning’s and sat down with their pancakes. When Techno noticed them sitting down he quickly shut off his phone and pocketed it, focusing back on his pancake.

Phil eventually joined him and they had a peaceful breakfast without any snarky remarks. Tommy then said goodbye and that he would see Wilbur when their shifts started.

He was still in the clothes he wore the day before and he needed a shower.

For some reason, he wasn’t as bothered by the cloudy sky as much as he usually was.

~ ☀ ~

A knock at his window interrupted him from his staring contest with the wall. Tommy groaned and walked over to the window and swung it open without looking through it first. He blinked and his mood from a good day at work with Wilbur was swept away by George’s frown.

“Grab your stuff, we have a solo mission today,” George explained quietly, his eyebrows upturned as he stared at the bottom of the fire escape. Tommy didn’t even get a chance to ask why he didn’t go to the front door. Or why he was in his suit already.

“But I always work with Sapnap-”

“Circumstances have changed,” he snapped, cutting Tommy off. “After you get your stuff come through this window,” he ordered before jumping off the fire escape into the alleyway and storming off. He heard the echoed rev of the van pulling up to the alleyway and shrugged.

He thought back to the night before where Punz and Sapnap were fighting in the alleyway. Something Sapnap said had stuck in his mind; ‘snitch’. Tommy’s shoulders tensed and he turned back inside for his gear. He didn’t have enough time to dwell before George would get impatient. Whatever was going on, he was keen to find out.

~ ☀ ~

Tommy got into the back of the van with a huff, unzipping his backpack already. The sky was dark and the light pollution from the streetlamps gave everything a gray, hazy tint.

The frown on his mask stared back at him as he slipped into his suit. George was quiet in the driver’s seat as he drove to a secluded location for them to get out.

“Where’s Sapnap and Dream?”

“Doesn’t matter,” George muttered, his tone was unreadable to the outside eye but Tommy had known the man long enough to know he was upset. Which for George, wasn’t very often. He was never good at staying serious for long, so his stoic expression sent a chill down Tommy’s spine.

Something was wrong.

“George.”

The only way he knew he heard him was the deep sigh he let out.

“Where are they? What’s going on?” Tommy demanded, fingers tightening around the black, frowny face mask.

George said nothing.

“I’m tired of you guys leaving me in the dark all the time! It’s confusing as fuck!”

George’s knuckles went white around the steering wheel. “All you need to know is you’re here for backup, I need to do something.”

“Why isn’t Dream your backup? Did he even allow this at all?” Tommy hissed, throwing his hands up. He didn’t really know what was irking him so badly, but he hated being left in the dark. He was tired of guessing and not being in the loop.

George took a sharp turn down another street and Tommy looked out the back window to find them in a dark parking garage.

They came to an abrupt stop as George hit the breaks with more force than necessary. He stayed there with a tight grip on the steering wheel before eerily turning his head to give Tommy a serious stare. “Dream will not hear of this.”

Tommy understood immediately, his shoulders tensing as the mask in his hand felt a hundred times heavier. He was already in a ton of shit because of saving Blare, what could possibly be worse than that? Hesitantly, he nodded. He was stuck in this anyway. “Where are we anyway?” He asked quietly, hoping not to upset the man more.

To his relief, George’s shoulders untensed and his arms slackened and fell to his sides. “Near Las Nevadas,” he answered vaguely. “The less you know the better.”

“You know that won’t matter to Dream,” he countered, gripping the back of the seat to lean forward towards him, listening for his quiet answer.

George sighed. “I’m here to meet someone. For- well you will see,” he said, putting his veil on as mushrooms popped up around his eyes. “I lied about needing backup, but I do need you here.”

“Why?” He questioned dumbly, prompting the man further.

“Tommy, do you trust me?”

A silence filled the air, tension thicker than molasses. Tommy hadn’t really been close with George all that recently. The man spent more time planning and with Dream than him and Sapnap. But when he did he always seemed stressed and didn’t quite look him in the eyes.

Tommy remembered a time when they were closer, friends. Laughing with Sapnap as they made fun of him while training. When George seemed more human and smiled at the nicknames Tommy and Sapnap playfully gave him.

On a whim, Tommy made a decision. “I trust you.”

He hoped he wouldn’t come to regret it.

~ ☀ ~

They stalked out into the dark streets near Las Nevadas. He followed George with glowing eyes, a hand held out to be his flashlight. The city was quiet, and eerily so.

Their footsteps seemed to echo and Tommy could hear his heart drumming in his ears. As they got further away from the van Tommy actually took in the reality of what was happening. They were doing something Dream didn’t know about. They could be caught.

The consequences for betraying Dream were far worse than anything else Tommy had ever experienced. He had seen him send a man into hysterics in mere seconds by barely laying a finger on him. 

His heart jumped nervously as if to get use out of its beating while it still can.

Tommy’s stomach was swirling with emotions and he felt like he was about to throw up. With every step, he had the overwhelming feeling to go back. To go home and pretend George never climbed up to his window to retrieve him for some sketchy meeting.

But before he could act on his thoughts George stopped and he came to a screeching halt to avoid running into the man he had been walking so closely behind.

“Here,” George whispered, holding out his gloved hand. Tommy took it shakily, this time his wasn’t gloved. Gold shimmered in the dim light of the alley they were in. 

They seemed to be behind some big building, like a casino. Oh.

George lead him over to the door farthest from the entrance of the alleyway and knocked on the door in a specific pattern. The clinking sound of latches unlocking made a grating sound against the thick door.

The door opened a slime hybrid greeted George wordlessly and showed him inside, bringing Tommy with him.

The slime hybrid had a suit on and an earpiece in, which he spoke into after locking the door they came in with several deadbolts.

They were led to a hospital-like room that had a bed in the middle of it. A vital monitor beeped in tune with a heartbeat.

When George moved further in the room he caught sight of the man laying on the bed, pale and unconscious.

Tommy’s breath hitched as he saw Wildcard sitting next to the hospital bed, holding the unconscious man’s hand.

Wildcard looked up at George with a somber expression.

“How is he?” George asked, voice low and gentle.

“Not good,” Wildcard answered solemnly. ”What happened to…” He trailed off but George seemed to understand what he meant.

“He got himself in a load of trouble. He was… I don’t know where he is now.”

Wildcard nodded and blinked furiously at his glistening eyes. The room was tensely silent for a long moment. Then Wildcard noticed him hiding behind George and smiled. “Tommy, right?”

Tommy stiffened and his blood ran cold, his mask still stuck to his face. He whipped around to George who didn’t look very guilty. “You told him my name!?”

“You trust me right?” He asked again, the room went silent. The cold chill in the air gave him goosebumps. Or was that nagging, anxious fear?

Tommy wanted to scream. He wanted to hate George even after all they’ve been through. He wanted to say that he didn’t and walk away. He wanted to go to sleep and wake up to go to work and see Wilbur again. 

But Tommy looked around the room and saw the desperate look on Wildcard’s face and the sickly color of the man on the hospital bed. And despite himself, he nodded.

After a beat George reached up and took off his veil, the mushrooms fading from around his eyes. “Well, I trust him,” he said, gesturing to Wildcard who took off his mask too.

Slowly, Tommy found himself taking off his mask as well, the weight of it in his hand sent a shiver down his spine.

He heard Wildcard take in a sharp breath as he turned to George. “He’s just a kid! How is…” He trailed off.

Tommy bit back an impulsive ‘I’m not a kid’ and George spoke.

“I know,” he admitted, pointedly looking away. “Tommy could you please…” he motioned towards the unconscious man.

He stayed standing still, frozen as he processed things.

Wildcard seemed to notice his hesitance and offered him a reassuring smile before turning towards the man on the bed. “This is Karl,” he started, squeezing the man’s hand. “He’s the kindest person I’ve ever met and he stole the hearts of all of us,” he nodded to George who anxiously swayed on his feet. “Including Sapnap.”

Tommy’s eyes widened a little bit but it made sense. It seemed there was a lot more he was being kept in the dark about.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with him but George said you might be able to help,” he continued softly, he looked up at Tommy with a desperate look. “Please, I’ll do-“

“I’ll do it,” he interrupted, rushing up to the side of the bed. His heart ached at the clear care they all had for this man. Briefly, a thought of wanting someone to care about him like that crossed his mind. “You won’t owe me anything.”

Wildcard smiled brightly at him, red-rimmed eyes blinking at tears. “Thank you! Thank you so much!”

“Don’t thank me yet,” he muttered, hands hovering to look for a place to start. “Where do you think the problem originated?”

“His- his head I think,” Wildcard stammered, watching nervously as Tommy shifted and brought his hands to Karl’s forehead.

Carefully, he pressed his hands on either side of the man’s temples, noting the eerie darkness under his eyes along with almost black veins in his eyelids. Tommy sent a pulse of his power out as a cautionary test, brain injuries were a delicate matter.

Suddenly his power was bounced back at him with something nasty attached. Tommy recoiled, his hands retracting from Karl’s head as if he’d been burned. At the front of his eyes was flashing darkness and Wildcard and George were shaking him, calling his name.

A pit formed in his stomach and he swallowed down the urge to vomit. He wasn’t prepared for that .

“ -ommy! Tommy!” George’s voice got clearer as his vision began to clear, his head panged with the flare of something dark, void .

Tommy belatedly realized he was on the floor and sat up on his elbows, his vision swimming at the action. George and Wildcard had matching looks of horror on their faces and Tommy blinked at them.

“Tommy? Are you- what happened?” Wildcard asked, waving a hand in front of his face.

“How did he get that?” Tommy questioned, voice raised and borderline accusing as he completely ignored Wildcard’s question.

“What?” Both of them said at the same time.

“It’s dark,” he muttered vaguely, shakily getting to his feet. “Could’ve warned me first, bastards,” he huffed, stalking back over to Karl again. The darker tint to his veins making much more sense.

“Tommy? Can you tell us what just happened?!” George pushed, giving him a bewildered look.

“How did Dream get that in his head ?” He countered, gesturing to the man. They were still confused. “The pitch-black dark matter in his brain?” He tried, they still were not following. “Dream’s power, it usually only has to stick to skin to create the nightmares. Why is it in his brain ?”

George paled and Wildcard looked between the two frantically. “I don’t- I don’t know!”

“Can you get it out?” Wildcard asked desperately, a pleading look in his eyes.

Tommy looked down at his hands and caught the reflection of his bright, glowing blue eyes in the metal of the IV bag stand. “I think I have enough pure sunlight stored up for it…” Tommy whispered, his glittering hands looking back at him as they began to glow with accumulating light.

Wildcard made an almost excited sound and George looked like he was about to protest before holding his tongue.

“Cover your eyes,” Tommy instructed, the yellow sunlight building up to a flaring red and orange.

He heard movement and they were both turned around covering their eyes. Tommy took in a deep breath before bringing his hands down to Karl’s temples again.

Tommy felt an immediate sap in his strength as the void started to eat away at his efforts.

“What are your powers, Dream?” A young Tommy asked curiously as he aimed his light beams to the ground. He didn’t want to accidentally blind his mentor as he had done before. Big mistake.

The pitch-black curled around the bright sunlight, pain he hadn’t felt for a long while returned.

“Well, Tommy,” Dream started, a smile stretching on his face unnaturally. “I can create complete darkness. And with that… comes nightmares.”

Tommy’s eyes burned in his head even though his eyes were closed.

“Oh… I don’t like the dark. Or nightmares.”

Dream hadn’t used his powers like this in a while, therefore Tommy hadn’t had to remove any for a long time. Tommy knew what it felt like, it was almost like drowning. Except much, much more painful. Slow… He didn’t want anyone to suffer the same pain he had. And he was the only cure.

“I know.”

He pushed on, feeling something shift as he started to pull. 

“Tommy, did you know that sitting in front of a mirror in a dimly lit room could make you start to see things that aren’t there?”

It was stubborn that was for sure, he hadn’t had to remove one from completely inside someone’s body before. Not that Dream never did it. He usually was only able to get them out when they were peeking out onto the skin’s surface, easy to grab onto and rip out by the roots. Metaphorically.

“Like monsters?”

Tommy pulled and pushed and bit the inside of his cheek to keep from screaming.

“Yes,” a dark chuckle. “Like monsters.”

Tears burned on his cheeks and he heard the distressed sounds of George and Wildcard. To the outside, it probably looked like he had his hands in a fire pit over Karl’s head.

“What does that have to do with your powers?”

The dark void budged, then it moved again.

“Well, my powers are quite similar. Except…”

He had to keep pushing, pulling. He was the only cure. He was Karl’s only hope before the void overtook him completely.

“Except what?”

He pulled and pulled as the light started to trap it, growing weaker.

“Oh, you wouldn’t wanna know. You might get scared.”

It came loose like a string and he dragged it out. His light dimmed with exhaustion. His limbs felt heavy. A big flash of light told him his job was done.

“No, tell me tell me! I’m a big man! I won’t get scared!”

Tommy’s arms fell limp to his sides and Karl coughed and wheezed. 

“Alright, if you insist.”

He felt the world tilt on its axis and his back hit the cold floor.

“Its starts as an inky poison, seeping into your veins.”

Two shadowy figures were perched over him, sounds filtered through his ears and he dismissed them for the sounds of the meadow.

“It collects, stays together. Then it enters your brain, as most of your blood does.”

The lights in the room were flickering, Tommy flinched as a hand got too close to his face.

“After that… well,” a scoff mixed with a laugh. “After that, you’re in a nightmare. And you can’t escape until the poison is ripped out of your system… or else it kills you.”

Tommy fought against the dark but it was getting harder with every passing moment.

“You were right, that sounds scary,” young Tommy shuddered.

His vision faded and he vaguely registered being picked up off the floor.

“It is.”

Chapter Text

Tommy woke up with everything aching. That was the first thing he noticed. The second thing he realized was that he was laying in a hospital bed. Twice in less than a week, wonderful.

He sat up and found he was alone in a room that looked similar to the one he was in when… Karl. Right!

He hoped he actually got the poison out because if that were all for nothing he would probably stab someone.

Tommy stretched his legs and arms before deciding he wanted to get the fuck out of this place. He looked around and tried to clock how long it had been. There were UV lamps around him, which meant they had enough time to get some and bring them in there. And set them up…

He pushed the thoughts away for later and kicked his legs off the side of the bed. Groaning, he stood up and little black dots danced in the corners of his vision. After they faded he stumbled over to the door with stiff muscles before leaning heavily on the door.

Tommy braced himself before throwing the door open, which was surprisingly left unlocked. He wandered out into the hallway before he found himself in a familiar corridor.

He was at the back exit in seconds. He reached for the handle of the exit door before a hand landed on his shoulder.

“Hey! Q- Wildcard says you’re supposed to be in bed!” A cheery voice sounded from behind him. Tommy slumped in relief and turned around to face the same slime hybrid from before.

“He told me I could go,” Tommy lied easily, itching at his neck where his suit rubbed uncomfortably against his skin.

“Oh okay! Well in that case you should take this,” he grinned, holding his slightly translucent hand out to him. Tommy looked down to find his mask frowning up at him.

He looked back into the dark holes where his eyes went and shuddered. He took in a deep breath and swallowed down the nerves in his stomach. “Thanks,” he muttered, grabbing it out of the slime’s hand and turning away again.

“No problem!”

~ ☀ ~

Tommy had slipped on his mask as he walked outside, only to be greeted by the disappointment of the setting sky. It had been a full day at least then.

He walked the streets in a dizzy haze. He tried hard to stay in the shadows of the alleyways and rooftops but he found himself gravitating towards the streetlights. It felt safer there. And f he squinted and crossed his eyes up at a streetlight it almost looked like the sun.

Tommy swayed as he walked, the sound of his arms falling against his sides as he navigated the streets.

He saw a few people here and there but not many walked around outside past dark in fear of being jumped or being caught in a villain fight. It was a valid concern, one Tommy did not share. Because he himself was one of the things the people feared. A villain.

He laughed deliriously to himself as he stumbled into a building wall. The power he had acquired from the UV lamps already slipping from him. Clearly, it was not enough to get him home like he thought it would.

After pushing off the wall with one hand he got ahold of himself again and continued walking, streetlights flickering above him.

He was getting closer to his block when he felt the weight of someone watching him. He shrugged it off. Maybe it was Sapnap creeping on him again. Wait- that wouldn’t make sense-

Before he could linger on it more he felt a strong hand grab his arm and yank him into an alleyway. He didn’t even fully register what was happening until he was propped up against the alley wall, staring into unblinking red eyes.

“The hell are you doing?” Blade questioned, nudging his limp arm as his head lulled to the side against the wall behind him.

“Walkin’,” he slurred, swatting the hand that was coming too close to his face. He then stared at the Blade who was watching him with a bewildered look and he belatedly realized he should be fighting for his life.

Tommy straightened his posture and moved to get up but a firm hand landed on his shoulder and stopped him. “Are you high or something? What is- what is wrong with you?” Blade asked, pulling a flashlight out of nowhere and shining it in Tommy’s eyes. He didn’t react to the bright light in his face and instead relaxed at the familiar sight.

The light was gone and replaced by Blade’s masked face again as he gaped at Tommy. “Not high, I don’t do drugs,” he smiled, the fear of the cruel, heartless hero in front of him not quite registering. “Yet,” he added with a giggle.

“You… I can’t even put into words -” Blade cut himself off, tilting his head at Tommy. “How- and why are you the one who saved Blare’s life anyway? You didn’t even fight me when I dragged you over here!”

Tommy’s eyebrows scrunched up and he stared over Blade’s shoulder thoughtfully. “Blare,” he echoed quietly, Blade nodded encouragingly. “Nice… nice guy,” he mumbled. “Didn’t deserve to die,” he explained fuzzily. “‘Specially not like that,” he laughed lightly.

“You’re lying,” Blade barked after staring at him for another few moments.

“‘Bout what? I swear I don’ do drugs!”

“No, you idiot! Blare , there has to be another reason you healed him. Which is another thing I’m wanting to ask you about…” he huffed, Tommy noticed the netherite knife in his hand that he was precariously fidgeting with. “So why did you heal him?”

“I told ya,” Tommy blinked. “‘e’s a cool guy. Cool gu’s don’ des’rve dyin’ in a trash bin.”

Blade seemed to be more upset by that. “He- he wouldn’t have died! I would’ve- I would’ve found him and got him to safety and medical help!” He said defensively. “He would’ve been fine without you!”

Tommy shook his head. “He wouldn’t have been able to ever walk again,” he whispered, his mind gaining a little more blood as he was sat down for a while. “‘is spine w’s brok’n beyon’ repair.”

Blade seethed. “I don’t- I don’t believe-” He cut himself off with a huff. “Why would you even care if he couldn’t-?”

“He doesn’ des’rve that sufferin’,” Tommy explained, Blade stopped talking to listen. “He ‘as good intentions ‘nd a good heart,” he smiled lazily. “Any other… hero would’ve le’ me die in a heartbeat. ‘e saved me.”

Blade only stared at him with wide eyes. An expression that seemed so human Tommy couldn’t have imagined it on him before.

“I owed- s’ill owe him. For savin’ me. For op’nin’ my eyes,” he said before he felt a tickle up his throat and turned his head to cough into his elbow.

“I-” Blade went to continue but stopped himself and he stood up. “I think I’ll be going now… need to talk to someone…”

“Tell Blare I said ‘hi’!” He waved shakily, leaning back into the wall as Blade backed away.

He said nothing and sprinted off into the dark alleyways, leaving Tommy to stand on his own. Back with the trek to his apartment.

~ ☀ ~

A loud ringing woke him up from his slumber and he grumbled, leaning to reach for his phone on the bedside table only to find air.

A surge of panic ran through him as he remembered the previous night, eyes flying open.

Tommy scanned his surroundings and calmed down once he realized he was sprawled on his couch, his unfinished sweater still on the coffee table.

He sat up and blinked, his head hurting from using his strength on removing the poison from Karl’s head.

Tommy looked over and belatedly noticed his phone sitting on the floor and it rang again. He leaned forward and grabbed it, seeing several missed calls from Niki.

“Oh,” he mumbled to himself, standing up and wincing at his aching muscles. Tommy then looked down and saw he was still in his suit.

Frantically, he searched for his mask, hoping it hadn’t fallen off before he got home and his identity was revealed somewhere.

But he sighed in relief once he caught sight of it sticking out from between the couch cushions.

After he got his things together he took in a deep breath, closing his eyes.

His phone rang again, nearly sending him ten feet in the air. “Shit,” he muttered, fumbling for his phone and accepting the call. “Hello?”

“Tommy!” Niki’s voice sounded concerned and relieved at the same time. “Tommy, are you okay?”

“Uh, yeah?” he said, scrunching up his eyebrows and forcefully relaxing them at the spike of pain it sent through his head.

“You had us so worried! Do you know how long you’ve been gone?” She asked. Even though the way she said it was like a police officer asking someone speeding if they knew how fast they were going, he still stiffened up. He didn’t know.

Before he could think of a lie he blurted out the worst possible response. “How long was I gone?” Actual panic in his voice at the possibility of him being missing for more than a few days.

It went silent on the other end, except he could hear the nagging whispering of someone else. “You… don’t know how long you were gone?”

A beat of silence again as he racked his brain for a way out of this one. “Huh?” Was all he could come up with.

“Tommy, are you okay ?” She asked him again, more persistently.

“Y-yes! Great, won’erful even,” it was an obvious lie, with the way his mouth was working against him, slurring his words more than usual.

There was talking on the other end but it was muffled and short before he heard her clearly again. “Tommy, I’m sending Wilbur over to check on you okay?”

Tommy’s eyes widened as he looked down at himself, his mask in hand. Wilbur could not see him like this. “No! ‘m fine!”

Niki was quiet for another moment before sighing. “I’m sorry Tommy, but I don’t believe you. He’s gonna be there soon to make sure you’re okay. I know you live by yourself and that worries me.”

“Wha’?”

Niki sighed. “No one is there to take care of you,” she explained for him.

“No! I’m fine! Tell Wilbur to stay there!” He stumbled over his words, his mouth not forming the sounds quite correctly with his exhaustion.

Niki made a disapproving noise and he knew she heard it too. “Sorry, too late, he’s already on his way,” she tsked, not sounding all that apologetic.

Tommy only started to panic more as he realized how hard it was to move his muscles. He had made the mistake of sitting back down on the couch when Niki called. Now it was going to waste the rest of his energy to take off his gear and hide it before Wilbur gets there. Which shouldn’t be too long because he lives fairly close to the cafe.

“Tommy, you still there?” She asked, her voice softening from smug to concerned again.

“Mhm,” he hummed, setting the phone on the coffee table which caused him to lean to fair forwards. He folded over and slowly slipped on the couch and faceplanted into the carpet. “ Fuck .”

“What was that- are you okay?” Niki was saying. Right. He should’ve hung up first.

He groaned in response and rolled over onto his back, staring up at the ceiling.

He tuned the sound of Niki’s voice out and focused on getting up.

The lights flickered and he was suddenly sitting up, albeit swaying slightly. His elbows shook where he was leaning heavily against his arms.

Tommy hissed in a breath as he pulled himself to a standing position using the arm of the couch.

He clung to it tightly before he took in a deep breath and pushed himself in the direction of his room.

He caught himself from falling on the doorframe and swiftly made his way over to his closet, purposefully avoiding collapsing on his bed. He knew he wouldn’t be able to get up after flopping onto the soft mattress.

The lights flickered again as he furiously pulled himself out of his bulletproof vest and black clothing. His mask was loosely around his wrist by the elastic and he tossed it into the closet first, hiding it behind some boxes. Next were the black clothes, being tossed in after his mask, inside out and crumpled.

Tommy stood there swaying for a moment, leaning against the closet door, and briefly thought about skipping the part where he changed into regular clothes. But Niki’s worried shouts from his phone in the other room reminded him Wilbur would be barging into his apartment at any moment. That would be very embarrassing, he decided.

He scrambled for a comfortable sweater and shorts. Tommy was slowly putting them on when he heard a knock at his door. He froze before quickly pulling the clothes on, a chilling spike of adrenaline running through him.

The knocking sounded again and he barely pulled on his clothes before stumbling out of his bedroom.

“Tommy? Tommy!” Wilbur’s voice was muffled by the door. He made his way into the living room near his phone as he caught sight of the door. It was unlocked.

That… could’ve been bad. What if Niki didn’t call him and sent Wilbur over? What if he had fainted before he could get out of his work clothes?

“Tommy!” Wilbur called again and the blonde was snapped out of his stupor.

“I’s op’n!” He managed before his knees buckled. Tommy weakly put his arms out to catch himself before falling straight onto his palms and chest.

The noises of distress got louder and he heard the doorknob click open as the exhaustion dragging through his bones finally took over completely.

He barely heard the sound of someone rushing in and a gasp. Then he was out like a light.

~ ☀ ~

After processing the barely understandable words that came from the other side of the door, he heard a loud thud from inside. A spike of worry set in and he flung the door open. Laying on the floor, face down with his arms sprawled out, was Tommy.

Wilbur rushed over, barely remembering to close the door behind him as he panicked. He knelt down next to Tommy and nervously hovered. “Tommy?” He tried but the boy didn’t even twitch.

“Wilbur?” Niki’s voice crackled from Tommy’s phone on the coffee table, it made him jump a little.

“Yeah, I’m here,” he muttered, carefully grabbing Tommy by the shoulders and rolling him over onto his back.

“Oh my-“ she breathed in relief, calming herself down on the other end of the line.

He focused on the sound in the room and zeroed in on Tommy to hear the sound of his heart and his lungs functioning normally.

Wilbur let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding before looking over Tommy again. His hands no longer had gloves on them but were completely fine. There were no sunburns or signs of bruises there.

After deeming him clear of any injuries that were the cause of… whatever was going on with him, he scooped him up in his arms.

Standing up with the unconscious boy in hands he realized with a frown just how light he was. Wilbur had carried plenty of people before, being a hero and all, and he was way lighter than he anticipated. Wilbur walked over to the couch and deposited him gently onto it, adjusting him in a more comfortable position.

After he was done with that he put a hand on his forehead to check his temperature to find him unnaturally cold.

His eyes widened as he noticed Tommy start shivering. Wilbur grabbed a blanket off the side of the couch and tugged it over the blonde, tucking it around him like a burrito.

He stepped back to make sure he was fully covered, only to pause at the sight. Tommy looked so small and sickly pale, curled up on the couch.

Wilbur’s frown deepened and his concern grew as Tommy continued to shiver.

“Wil?” Niki’s voice made him jump again.

“Yeah?” 

“How is he? What happened?”

“I don’t know,” he answered honestly, an anxious pit forming in his stomach. “He doesn’t have a fever but he is cold . Like way too cold, I can’t get him to warm up.”

“That’s… weird.”

“I know… I just-“ he cut himself off as Tommy’s eyebrows furrowed in his sleep before his eyelids twitched. “I’m gonna hang up. I’ll make him something warm to eat when he wakes up,” he muttered, leaning over and ending the call before Niki could protest.

Wilbur sighed before going off to look for more blankets. His eyes lingered on the still form on the couch before he could no longer see him.

He ended up finding one more blanket, which was the one on Tommy’s bed. It was thin and light and he didn’t know how the blonde was able to keep warm with it at all. 

Wilbur checked Tommy’s temperature again to find it as cold as before. He sat down next to him to wrap the blanket around him and he gasped as two arms snaked around his shoulders.

Wilbur stayed frozen still as the blonde shifted in his slumber, a firm grip around him, keeping him close.

He internally ‘awed’ before realizing he was essentially stuck there now. He carefully wrapped an arm around Tommy and his shivering started to calm down. Then he found the remote to the TV in arm’s reach and decided to do something while he was stuck in place.

~ ☀ ~

Tommy blinked blearily and noticed he felt warm. He smiled because that was normally the feeling he got when the sun was out but for some strange reason, he still felt weak and couldn’t move his muscles much.

He tried moving his arms only for them to twitch in place where they were wrapped around something warm. At his movement, a part of the blanket that was on him slid down a little, exposing an arm to the cold.

Tommy frowned before he could pull himself together. As the chilly air gave him goosebumps on his skin he recognized the soft murmur of the TV and the pitter-patter of rain hitting the roof. He made a sad, disappointed noise which caused the warm pillow he was laying his head on to still.

He curled up closer to the source of warm energy that reminded him of the sun and his hands clung around soft fabric.

The blanket was pulled back up around him, trapping the heat back in and he untensed. Tommy vaguely felt a hand carding through his hair and the sound of someone humming before he fell back asleep.

~ ☀ ~

When he woke up again he was slightly more conscious. His eyes felt like they were glued shut as he tried to pry them open when he heard a knock on the door. Tommy panicked a little, if he didn’t get up and get his gear Dream would get upset.

To make things worse the warm pillow he was leaning on untangled his arms and disappeared. His eyes opened as a frown twitched on his face. Everything was still fuzzy and he tried to blink it away and focus on the two moving blobs by the door. Then the blur on the inside opened the door further and let the other one in.

The door shut and he tried to sit up, only to wedge himself up a little on his elbows. Tommy wiped at his eyes and squinted and he was cold again. His fingers curled into the thin fabric around him and he shuddered.

Then the warmth was back and he was adjusted to a more comfortable position. “-ommy? Tommy?” A soft voice whispered, warm hands tilted his head upwards and he blinked to try to focus.

He squinted and found himself looking up at Niki’s face that was twisted in concern.

“Tommy, can you hear me?”

He had enough energy to nod and she looked over to the warm pillow he was laying on and spoke again.

“Wil, can you sit him up?”

Tommy’s eyebrows furrowed as he processed the words and he was being pulled up to a sitting position. He hazily glanced over to see Wilbur frowning. “Do you know what’s wrong?” He asked, directed to Niki.

“I don’t know… Tommy, can you drink this?” A mug was hovering in front of his face and he nodded again.

He almost flinched as he took small sips of the hot soup, the temperature surprising him slightly. He shuddered at the sensation of the soup traveling down to his stomach.

Tommy stopped when he realized the mug was now empty and it was brought away from him. He sighed as he was hit with another wave of tiredness.

“Wait Tommy,” Niki said, hands on his cheeks to grab his attention. “Do you know what’s going on?”

Somehow, he found the strength to answer. “Overuse’ m’ powe’s,” he slurred, watching as Niki’s frown deepened.

“How did… never mind how can we help you?”  She asked instead. Everyone knew that powers were a touchy subject for most, it was rude to ask what someone’s power was or anything related to it.

Everyone also knew it took a lot to overuse their powers to get to the extent of Tommy’s state.

“Tommy?” Wilbur prompted softly, jostling him a little bit.

“Hm?”

“What can we do to help you?” He repeated, mindlessly adjusting the blankets.

Tommy stared off blankly. He didn’t know how to answer that question. There were not many hybrids that relied on the sun, especially not as heavily as he did. And there wasn’t much they could do while it was raining anyway.

His eyes drooped. “‘m cold,” he whispered, his voice strained but enunciated enough for them to understand.

Niki and Wilbur exchanged a look Tommy didn't quite catch as his eyes fluttered shut again. He hated these recoveries.

At least this time around he felt safe with his friend’s arm wrapped around him.

Chapter Text

Wilbur had overused his powers many times before. It was basically in the job description. Usually, his throat got all scratchy and he couldn’t talk for a few days. Or he had an avalanche of flaring headaches. But he never got completely emptied out of all his energy before.

His concern only grew as Tommy fell back asleep and Niki reluctantly left, leaving the soup she made on the stove to keep warm and a promise to bring blankets back the next day.

He bundled the sleeping boy up in the blankets he had access to and kept close to him. Wilbur had texted his family already and was not planning to leave until Tommy was okay.

In the time he was asleep Wilbur constantly checked his temperature. Hybrids of all different kinds had different average temperatures that were still being determined. So he didn’t know whether or not Tommy would die of hypothermia or a heat stroke without him knowing. The thought made him extremely worried. He kept checking it anyway.

Wilbur had no idea what was going on with Tommy or how to help him specifically. The only semblance of a clue he had was Tommy’s very delirious ‘I’m cold.’

Normally someone with a fever should be kept cold to cool them down but Tommy’s forehead felt cold . It sent a shudder down his spine.

So Wilbur took what little information he had and did what he knew best… stress the fuck out.

He had Tommy leaned up against him, an arm around him and all the blankets he could find wrapped around them, trapping in as much heat as possible. Wilbur felt like he could melt but he would tilt his head ever so slightly and his cheek would be rested against Tommy’s cold forehead.

The soup had helped but Tommy needed to be awake to actually drink it properly and he was still fast asleep. Curled up in the blankets, face pale from his low temperature, and how small he looked made him look… dead. Wilbur hated the comparison. But he had seen so much of it in his life he couldn’t help but see the subtle similarities in his appearance.

Wilbur found himself focusing a lot more on the sound of Tommy’s heart beating.

With every passing second, Wilbur thought about scooping up the sickly-looking boy and bringing him to the hospital, or even his home. It would calm his nerves at least a little bit.

But he resisted the urge and simply hugged him tighter, the blank, still look on Tommy’s face making him frown. It was unnatural and he didn’t like the implications of it. Then Wilbur took a second to register what was happening.

Wilbur had been known for his kindness, not growing attached to people so quickly, that was Phil’s forte. But here he was, arms wrapped protectively around the pale and cold boy, a worried frown on his face.

Wilbur thought about what this could mean. He was a hero and heroes did dangerous work. If anyone ever found out about his care for-

A loud knock made Wilbur jump out of his thoughts. “Tommy! Get up!” A loud, vaguely familiar voice of a man yelled.

Wilbur scowled. It was late at night, there was no reason for someone to be shouting for Tommy to ‘get up.’

“Tommy, I will break down this door,” he threatened seriously, his tone annoyed.

It didn’t sound like he would just go away. Wilbur looked down at the blonde in his arms and saw his face now pinched in anxious fear, even in unconsciousness.

“Look, I know it’s raining but you still have plenty of energy,” the man continued, banging on the door again.

Wilbur gently lifted Tommy and set him on the couch, adjusting the blanket.

“That’s it, Tommy! I’m coming in!” He heard the knocking stop for a second.

Wilbur made it to the door in a few strides and swung it open, catching a fist that was a few inches from his chest.

The man in front of him poorly masked a surprised expression and yanked his fist out of Wilbur’s hand.

The man was wearing an ugly lime green hoodie and black jeans, his blonde hair slightly askew.

Wilbur looked the man up and down with the most disgusted look he could muster, turning his nose up at him. Growing up around rich people came in handy sometimes.

The man seemed to recognize him just as Wilbur did him. The man who threatened Tommy at the cafe.

“What could you possibly want at this hour?” He inquired, narrowing his eyes as he looked down at the man. Surprisingly, he didn’t falter as much as he thought he would.

“I came here to retrieve Tommy,” the man said, standing up straighter. The man almost made the mistake of crossing his arms, to anyone who knew body language, it was an obvious defensive position. Unfortunately for the man, Wilbur had been trained to recognize subtle things like that.

He smirked, he had the upper hand. “Well that’s a shame because he is not going anywhere,” he stated dully, looking down at his hands and inspecting his fingernails boredly.

“You aren’t in a position to make that decision,” the man scoffed, shifting his weight on his feet. Another defensive stance.

“It seems I already have,” Wilbur chuckled dryly. “You should leave.”

The man clenched his fists at his sides. Clearly, Wilbur was winning the argument of witts. “I suggest you tell Tommy that Dream’s waiting for him,” he smirked, putting his hands on his pockets. “Unless you want to… have a problem.”

“Looks like we have a problem then,” Wilbur hissed, standing up straighter and putting his feet in a better fighting position.

Now, Wilbur was normally the kind of person to de-escalate, to resolve things with words and rationality. But this ‘Dream’ guy threatened Tommy and was now at his door asking for him while he was passed out on the couch from overuse of his powers. Wilbur didn’t like what it could mean.

Dream seemed to catch onto his offensive stance and his casual demeanor changed to anger surprisingly fast.

Wilbur smirked and immediately he felt a fist connect with his face. He kept his head turned in the direction he had been punched and flexed his jaw, feeling the inside of his mouth bleeding.

He laughed and turned to Dream, closing Tommy’s apartment door behind him. Without warning, he planted a harsh blow into Dream’s gut and the man bent with the punch. Immediately after, Wilbur sent his other fist in an uppercut, making contact with Dream’s jaw with a click.

Dream recovered easily and shoved him back into Tommy’s door with a thud.

Wilbur threw a lazily aimed punch as he tried to regain his footing before hands wrapped around his neck and squeezed .

“Bastard,” Wilbur rasped, kicking outwards while punching Dream’s arms. The man had a sick smile on his face as Wilbur gasped for air.

“It’s amusing,” Dream started, relieving pressure from Wilbur’s neck just enough for him to get a breath in and stay conscious before continuing. “How quickly you would stick your pretty little neck out for some… creature .”

Wilbur’s expression quickly darkened as he glared back at the piercing green eyes. His fingernails dug into Dream’s wrists but the man didn’t pay it any notice. He only continued to keep him gasping for air before tightening his grip again.

“You don’t even know what he can do. What he is ,” Dream chuckled, and he only squatted down when Wilbur’s knees buckled and he slid to the floor. “Coming out here, acting like some hero.”

Wilbur only continued to scowl, kicking at Dream’s legs.

“Why would some rich little Daddy’s boy like yourself be defending some stupid kid?” Dream questioned, mostly rhetorically, his voice rising in manic disbelief. “Not very chatty now are you, smart ass?”

It was beginning to get a lot more tiring, but he kept on kicking, punching, and twisting around. Dream laughed. Suddenly he was released, gasping in heaving breaths. The corners of his vision threatened to darken.

“I’ll keep you alive so I can use you later. Bait maybe… or blackmail,” Dream hummed, Wilbur’s head lulled against the door behind him as his fingers ghosted over his neck. “Oh I’ll come up with something another time,” he sighed. “Whatever, I’m bored. I need to get going anyway, you can have him. But I’ll be back,” Dream smiled and it sent shivers down Wilbur’s spine. “And I’ll be watching.”

Wilbur let himself relax as Dream’s footsteps disappeared down the hall. He felt like an utter failure. Completely embarrassed. If Techno had seen that fight, he would surely be disappointed.

How could Wilbur be a hero when he could barely protect his friend from some asinine civilian? Well, civilian as a loose term because the guy was obviously shady, perhaps a gang member of some kind-

Whatever he was getting off track.

Wilbur stood shakily, leaning against the door heavily. His lungs and throat burned with every breath and his jaw was sore.

Pathetic.

It rang out like a taunt in his head. Wilbur braced himself and opened the door, swaying slightly as he closed and locked it behind him.

He walked over to the couch and looked down at the sleeping figure. Tommy was shivering again and his lips were a bit paler than before.

Wilbur quickly slotted himself on the couch and pulled the boy close, the feeling of his cold skin making him shudder.

Tommy was shaking and he opened his eyes, blinking up at Wilbur tiredly. He hazily looked around and up at Wilbur’s face before his eyes widened belatedly.

“W-what happened?” He asked, teeth chattering even though Wilbur had made sure the temperature in the apartment was set as high as it could go.

“Don’t worry about it, you’re safe,” he whispered in hopes to cover up his hoarse voice.

Tommy frowned and a cold hand ghosted over his neck where there were surely bruises. “It’s raining,” he commented, his hand dropping as his frown deepened.

Wilbur gave him a confused look, he didn’t understand the relevance. Nor did he know how Tommy knew that it was raining, it had quieted down and he was faced away from the nearest window. “It is.”

“Does it hurt?” Tommy asked slowly, eyes already drooping again.

“No,” he lied, swallowing down the lump forming in his throat. “Don’t worry about me, Tommy.”

Tommy continued to frown at him.

“Tommy, how… how did you overuse your powers to this degree?” Wilbur questioned quietly, nudging his arm encouragingly.

“Jus’ helped a frien’,” he mumbled, the exhaustion already coming back. “Not really my frien’ but he’s someone’s frien’ an’ I helped ‘im.”

“What do you mean… by ‘helped’?” Wilbur asked, running through his conversation with Dream to connect any dots.

“He was dyin’, I got the dark outta ‘im,” he blinked up at Wilbur. He was starting to sound ridiculously delirious.

Wilbur stared at him worriedly. “Tommy… do you need to go to the hospital…?”

At that, Tommy’s attention spiked. “No!” He snapped, trying to get out of Wilbur’s hold to sit up. “No no no!”

“Tommy, it's okay! It’s okay! I’m not taking you there if you don’t want to,” he assured, relaxing as Tommy slowly stopped freaking out.

“Pr’mise?”

He sounded so small and sad. Wilbur pursed his lips and his eyebrows upturned in concern. “Promise.”

Tommy’s expression melted back to a calm smile and his eyes fluttered closed.

“Just… please get better soon,” he whispered, not expecting Tommy to hear it. Silence stretched out in the room for a long moment.

Tommy stopped shivering but he was still cold to the touch.

Wilbur sighed and turned on the TV, not knowing what else to do.

“ -one needs to evacuate the area surrounding the hero tower as it seems to be under attack. Villains Nightmare, Blight, and Mercenary have been spotted on the scene and have been causing chaos. Currently, their motive is unknown as law enforcement is still investigating the situation. We have yet to see many heroes other than Vulpine and- “

Wilbur turned the TV off and buried his head in his hands. There was no way he could leave Tommy now to help.

Wilbur sighed again deeply and closed his eyes. They would understand. Hopefully.

~ ☀ ~

Tommy woke up much more aware of his surroundings. He looked up, noticing the warm feeling around him he blinked and looked up. The soft murmur of voices filtered into words.

“-don’t think he was all there but I was able to get him to drink more soup,” a familiar, low voice said.

“That’s good. I’m just so worried. I don’t know how someone can overuse their powers to this extent… and we don’t even know what his is ,” another familiar voice replied, soft and higher-pitched, though it sound crackly like it was coming from a speaker. “I just can’t believe he’s been like this almost a week now-?”

That caught Tommy’s attention, his focus peaked and he shot up, ignoring the spots rushing in his vision at it. “A week?” He croaked, trying to wiggle his pinned arms out of the blanket.

Both people gasped and Tommy felt strong arms wrap around his torso, preventing him from rolling off the couch.

“Tommy!?” Wilbur’s voice cut through to him again and he paused, turning to see Wilbur gaping at him, phone in his free hand.

Tommy blinked harshly as his muscles tingled painfully, he groaned in response.

“Oh my god, Tommy are you actually there?” Wilbur breathed, holding his shoulders to help him stay sitting up.

“I- yeah?” He furrowed his eyebrows before remembering the reason he had a sudden burst of energy. “You said a week?”

Niki was silent on the other end before she whispered a startled reply. “Uh- I- yeah?”

“Shit- fuck,” he hissed as he stood up on shaky legs, Wilbur stood as well, his hands hovering near Tommy.

“What- what are you doing?!” Wilbur gasped as Tommy began to stumble to the window. The action sent painful pins and needles up Tommy’s legs.

“Has it been raining for that long?” Tommy whined, ignoring the man’s distressed question. Wilbur ended the call and set the phone down to chase after him.

“Huh? Wha- Tommy?” He asked, bewildered. Wilbur must’ve caught on to where he was going because he scrambled to chase after him.

Tommy threw open the window and climbed out onto the fire escape. He felt a hand barely catch his ankle but he easily kicked Wilbur away, jumping up towards the roof.

He landed on the roof and immediately collapsed, flipping himself over to stare at the sky. There were gray clouds there still, and there would likely be more, but he could see the sun peeking through. He smiled, feeling energy seeping back into his bones.

“Tommy? Tommy!” Wilbur dropped to his knees beside him and looked down at him. Tommy lightly pushed the man out of the way and laughed, grinning up at the sky. “Are you okay!?”

He sat up and stretched, giggling at the look on Wilbur’s face and the explaining he was about to have to do. More like lying. A traitorous voice whispered. Tommy almost let it sour his expression.

“Yep. Sorry, big man. The sun’s out!” He exclaimed as if it was supposed to answer all of Wilbur’s questions. Tommy was about to start explaining himself better before he caught sight of the big purple ring of hand-shaped bruises around Wilbur’s neck and the matching one on his jaw. Tommy’s smile dropped instantly. “What the fuck!?”

Wilbur’s face switched from confused to embarrassed as he realized what Tommy was looking at. But before he could protest Tommy was leaning forward, gently prodding at his neck.

“Who the fuck- who did this to you?” He demanded. Tommy couldn’t think of anyone who would intentionally hurt Wilbur. He was the kindest and most caring person he knew, right next to Niki. 

“I- uh,” he stuttered, looking away with a sudden nervousness. Tommy frowned sympathetically as Wilbur winced when he touched the bruises. “No one.”

Tommy’s frown deepened as he tilted Wilbur’s chin up to get a better look at his neck in the sunlight. “Don’t lie to me, prick. I can’t think of anyone who would…” he cut himself off as he noticed Wilbur glaring at the ground. Well, he could think of one person but… “Tell me the truth, please .”

Wilbur looked up at him. “It’s really fine, it doesn’t matter. Doesn’t even hurt I-”

“Wilbur.”

He sighed dramatically in defeat. “Do you know a guy named Dream?”

Tommy recoiled as if he had been slapped. Dream did that? A sick feeling swelled in his gut and he felt like he could throw up. Wilbur was looking at him knowingly. “Why… why would he do that?” He asked slowly.

“I made him mad,” Wilbur shrugged, looking out into the distance of the city, avoiding Tommy’s eyes.

“How- why ?” Tommy pleaded, shaking Wilbur by the shoulders for him to focus his attention back on him.

“He was the creepy guy who threatened you at the cafe, and he turned up asking for you while you were unconscious and I…”

Tommy nudged his arm and nodded encouragingly, trying not to freak out. If Dream did… that to Wilbur and left him alive… it didn’t mean anything good.

“I might’ve antagonized him a bit,” Wilbur admitted, and when Tommy’s eyes widened he was quick to continue. “He was being weird and pushy!”

Tommy just pinched the bridge of his nose and stared at him, dumbfounded. “Oh my- you idiot !” He stressed, the insult wasn’t serious in the slightest but his panic was as he ran his hands through his hair. “Why the hell would you do that!?”

Wilbur frowned at him before his expression softened slightly. “It was either that or let you get kidnapped by the creep who threatened you,” he teased, trying to lighten the mood. But Tommy didn’t laugh, he only continued to stare at him with wide eyes.

“You should’ve!” Tommy blurted, the statement making Wilbur flinch back in shock. “You have no idea what you just-” he cut himself off and looked around frantically before standing up and dragging Wilbur to his feet.

“Tommy- what?” He asked, but Tommy just continued leading him back to the fire escape.

“Shh!” He hissed, pushing him into his apartment window again. He dragged him into the living room to a better-lit area and began patting him down. “Arms out,” Tommy said in a hushed yet urgent voice, Wilbur lifted his arms and Tommy continued to pat him down, ignoring the looks the brunette was sending him.

“Tommy, what the fuck are you doing?” He asked as Tommy focused his attention on the collar and sleeves of Wilbur’s sweater.

“Looking for a bug,” he answered plainly, keeping his voice down to an almost inaudible level.

“What!?” Wilbur exclaimed, his arms falling down to his sides with a slap. “What is going on with you?”

Tommy sighed and stopped fretting over searching for a bug and instead grabbed fistfuls of his hair and paced the living room. “He didn’t kill you! Which means…” He trailed off, turning to Wilbur with a look of horror.

“Which means…?”

“Which means he has much worse plans for you! You don’t just- just fight him and get away with it!” He explained, stuttering as Wilbur’s face morphed into recognition. Like he remembered something. “What did he say to you?”

Wilbur quickly schooled his expression. “Nothing too memorable,” he lied, scratching the back of his neck, trying to calm Tommy down from his panicking. “I promise it was nothing. And if it was I am fine, perfectly safe actually. And I can handle myself.”

Tommy shook his head. “No! You idiot, I know what you’re doing!”

“I’m not doing anything Tommy, I just want you to know I’ll be fine, even if he tries to do anything,” he reassured, slowly putting his hands on either of Tommy’s shoulders. “He didn’t even get a chance to put a bug on me.”

A beat of silence went between them. “You’re too kind for your own good,” Tommy muttered as his breathing calmed down. He forced himself to relax. “Don’t do that again.”

Wilbur just chuckled lightly, the unease from Tommy’s freak out seeping away.

Tommy’s head whipped up to look at him again with a look Wilbur couldn’t decipher. “Wait- I was out almost a week… did you stay with me the whole time?”

At that, Wilbur just nodded sheepishly. “I was worried… you scared the shit out of us.”

Before he knew it, Tommy threw his arms around him and pulled him into a hug. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you guys…”

“Don’t worry, Tommy, we’re just happy you’re okay now,” Wilbur assured, smiling. “Even with your sketchy stalker.”

Tommy laughed, the anxiety still pitting a hole in his gut. “I won’t let him get to you,” he muttered under his breath.

He didn’t know if Wilbur heard it or not, but after finally pulling away from the hug Wilbur said they should probably call Niki back.

The tension left the room as they sat on the couch, arms around each other’s shoulders as Niki screamed at Wilbur for hanging up on her.

And while Tommy on the outside was smiling and talking like normal again, on the inside he was planning. He knew Dream, and he wasn’t going to let anything happen to Wilbur.

He was far too attached to let Dream do whatever it was he was thinking. He couldn’t let it happen.

Chapter Text

After a long talk, Tommy convinced Wilbur he was fine.

Tommy was also able to think about what Dream would want with Wilbur and came to the conclusion that Dream wouldn’t kill him. Dream obviously found some use in him and for that, Tommy was grateful.

Even though the fear of him doing much worse to his friend constantly was on his mind, it only grew his commitment to protecting him. Just like Wilbur did for him.

Wilbur truly had no idea just how much he saved Tommy that day. Standing up to Dream and refusing to let him see Tommy while not giving away he was unconscious.

Because if Dream found out he was, he would want to know what took so much energy out of him. And the honest answer would get him in very big trouble while killing George, Wildcard, and Karl.

So sitting next to Wilbur on the couch, he looked at the man who unknowingly saved his and several others’ lives and smiled.

The guilt he felt was immeasurable, the bruises on Wilbur’s face and neck he avoided looking at was an attest to that. But he can’t help the relief that washed over him when he realized George and his friends would be safe. Dream would never find out what happened.

Wilbur caught his look and raised an eyebrow at him, where his attention had been previously locked onto the news broadcasting on the TV. “Whatcha thinkin’ about?” He asked, a teasing tone to his voice and a lift to his smile.

Tommy’s eyes caught onto the dark bruises again and his smile faltered. What was he thinking? He was on Dream’s radar now… because of him. He had no right to smile and banter like Wilbur’s life isn’t in danger.

Wilbur seemed to also notice his staring and frowned slightly his eyebrows upturning. “Hey, I chose to fight him. It’s not your fault,” he assured, tilting his head. Wilbur was obviously not as worried about him dying horribly as Tommy was apparently.

“It is though, I shouldn’t have even picked up Niki’s call…” he muttered, forcing his head to look away. The purple and black lingered in his mind. You could heal it . A familiar, taunting voice whispered. He wished it was that easy, but what if Wilbur drew the similarities? It was too risky.

Wilbur shook his head. “Well, I’m glad you did because you were on the brink of hypothermia,” he said quietly, not sure whether to make a lighthearted joke or not. He decided against it. “And I wouldn’t have been able to stop that creepy Dream guy from taking you,” he added, ducking his head a little to look Tommy in the eyes.

“Why…?” Tommy asked, and even though he didn’t clarify, they both knew what he was asking.

“Because, honestly I- well,” Wilbur stuttered, searching for the right words. “Because I care about you,” he said after a moment, fidgeting with the hem of his sleeves.

Tommy’s shocked expression made Wilbur’s heart break into a million pieces before Tommy sniffled and pulled him into a hug. “I care about you too,” he whispered, muffled by Wilbur’s sweater.

Wilbur smiled softly into Tommy’s shoulder and pretended he didn’t feel the collar of his shirt grow damp with the boy’s tears.

~ ☀ ~

After a long conversation, Wilbur had stayed another night at Tommy’s apartment before they both were to go back to work in the morning.

So when morning came Tommy had taken a shower the first thing in the morning. After that he yawned and walked out to where Wilbur was sprawled out on the couch. He jumped as he had momentarily forgotten he was there, being so used to being alone. Damn, that was unnecessarily sad.

Tommy’s head turned sluggishly to the window and frowned, that was why. The clouds were back to covering the sky in a lingering rainstorm.

Wilbur stirred and Tommy trudged into the kitchen after remembering that normal people eat food on a regular basis. He opened his cabinets to be met with one sad square of ramen. He closed it and sighed, Wilbur was sitting up on the couch, rubbing his eyes.

“Goodmorning,” Tommy said, laughing lightly at Wilbur’s appearance. With the bruises, dark circles under his eyes, and his messy hair; he looked unhinged.

“Morning- what’s so funny?” Wilbur paused, looking up and scowling lightheartedly.

“Nothin’,” he smirked, walking over to the coat closet.

“ Sure ,” Wilbur chuckled sarcastically, standing up and stretching.

In the dark closet, Tommy finally found what he was looking for. “There it is,” he muttered to himself, grabbing the handle of the umbrella and turning it over in his hands.

Normally when it rained and Tommy had somewhere to be, he simply sulked in it, letting it run down his face and drench his hair and clothes. But for the first time on a rainy day, he didn’t feel like moping.

“We’re heading out already?” Wilbur asked, suddenly standing right next to him.

Tommy dramatically looked Wilbur up and down. “Hate to break it you Wil… but you stink.”

Wilbur gasped in mock offense, putting his hand to his heart.

“And I also don’t have… warm water or… clothes that’ll fit your lanky ass,” he laughed, skimming over the fact he’s neglected to pay his water bill for months. He didn’t really need it when the sun and its energy kept him plenty warm.

Wilbur raised an eyebrow at him and rolled his eyes after realizing Tommy would not be open to another serious conversation for a while. They both had enough to worry about already.

They both put on their shoes in silence and Wilbur gave him an odd look when he walked out without a coat but decided against mentioning it.

Tommy felt better about finally getting out of his apartment that’s for sure. He readied the umbrella and looked over to see Wilbur frowning. He followed his gaze and saw him looking at a puddle of rain growing in front of the door to the apartment complex.

Wilbur turned his head up to see Tommy looking at him and laughed awkwardly. “I don’t like the rain,” he explained with a shrug.

Tommy opened the umbrella, pointing it at the ground as he rested a hand on the door. “Me neither.”

~ ☀ ~

Wilbur stepped up to the door and hesitated. He pulled his turtleneck sweater up higher, just able to cover the bruises, and ducked his head. He sighed and typed in the code, yet again uncaring of Tommy being able to see it.

“I’m back!” He announced loudly, glancing at Tommy and ushering him in.

Tommy heard a faint voice call back but couldn’t really make out the words. Wilbur had no problem hearing it and shook his head with a slight smile. “We’ve got company!”

Another muffled response and Wilbur huffed out a laugh and hung up his coat, closing the front door in forethought.

Tommy looked up as Phil appeared at the top of the stairs, waving at them. “Hey mate,” he smiled, walking down the stairs to meet them in the foyer, where Wilbur had already set down his phone on a table. “How are ya feelin’?”

“Much better,” he replied, turning to where Wilbur was clambering around in the kitchen.

Phil followed his gaze and clicked his tongue in amused disapproval. “Wil, you need to take a shower before touching anything in here,” he said with a teasing lilt to his voice.

“I was just gonna get some-“

“Nope nope!” Phil laughed, lightly grabbing his forearm and bringing him away from the cabinet. “I’ll get it for you mate.”

Even though Wilbur hadn’t finished his sentence Phil knew exactly what he wanted and took out a mug and turned the coffee machine on. Tommy felt guilty that his heart clenched in jealousy at the sight.

“You want any coffee, Tommy?” Phil asked, regarding him with a kind look.

“Oh, no thank you,” he chuckled lightly.

“Right, I forgot you work at a cafe. Probably sick of coffee,” he said, elbowing Wilbur lightly in the arm which earned the man a halfhearted scowl. “Wilbur could never get sick of coffee.”

“He’s a real addict,” Tommy agreed, smiling when Phil laughed. Wilbur just scowled at them lightheartedly and his head turned to face the staircase.

Though Tommy didn’t hear a single floorboard creak to announce his arrival, Techno appeared at the bottom of the stairs and walked into the kitchen. He paused to consider Tommy and nodded at him before screwing his nose up at Wilbur. “You reek.”

“Shut up, you’re literally a pig,” Wilbur retorted, pretending to look offended when Techno rolled his eyes and made a beeline for the fridge.

“We need to talk by the way,” he dropped casually, grabbing a carton of milk from the fridge and setting it on the counter.

Wilbur’s shoulders tensed a little and Phil shifted on his feet. Tommy felt like he was intruding.

Wilbur let out an awkward laugh. “What? Are you gonna tell me you ran over my dog?” He joked, trying to lighten the mood.

Techno grabbed a bowl out of a cabinet and leveled him an unimpressed look. “I would never run over a dog,” he stated with a dead stare. “An orphan, however…” He not so subtly turned his gaze to Tommy.

“WHA- I’m not-! Well- technically - no fuck you!” Tommy sputtered, crossing his arms and glaring at the man. Dream never told him what happened to his parents. He only told him that he didn’t have any. Which was obviously a complete lie because everyone had parents. Not that they were all good, just that they had to have them to be born. Simple as that.

Techno laughed with him and Phil just gave him a semi-concerned look before chuckling lightly with him. Wilbur however, was having a silent conversation that looked more like an argument with Techno before relenting.

Then Techno took out a box of cereal and unscrewed the cap of the milk carton. He casually poured the milk in his cereal bowl first and everyone in the room stopped.

“What… the actual fuck is wrong with you?!” Tommy gasped, taking a dramatic step back. Techno smiled and put the cap back on and unceremoniously dumped some cereal into the mix.

Wilbur just rolled his eyes, clearly, this was normal for Techno. Phil barked out a laugh at Tommy’s shocked outburst.

“Your brother is insane , Wil,” Tommy stressed, pointing to the man who was staring at them menacingly, eating a spoonful of cereal.

Wilbur smiled and started backing out of the kitchen. “Yeah… I’m gonna go shower now…”

“Wait! Wilbur, please! Don’t leave me with this mad man!” He said dramatically, grabbing Wilbur’s forearm and shaking him.

“Have fun!” Wilbur grinned before scurrying out of the room, his footsteps resounding up the stairs. Tommy turned around to Phil laughing and Techno staring at him still, eating his cereal the wrong way .

“So… Techno… whatcha do in your free time? Sacrifice babies?” He asked, a teasing lilt to his voice. Phil shook his head in amusement. Techno only continued to stare. Tommy was beginning to realize what a mistake he made. He didn’t really think about what would happen while Wilbur was in the shower, leaving Tommy to talk to his crazy family without his help.

Techno put the spoon down in the bowl that was suddenly empty and tilted his head in serious consideration. “Sometimes,” he mused, standing up straighter. “Though they aren’t worth as much as an adult.”

“Techno!” Phil scolded, leaning back against the counter and crossing his arms. “Stop trying to scare him!”

Tommy only shook his head, laughing. “Clearly you’re goin’ to the wrong place. Babies are obviously worth more,” he said between chuckles, Phil only sighed.

Techno smirked at Phil and gestured to Tommy. “It’s obviously not workin’. Kid’s just as weird.”

“Hey! I am not a kid. And I am simply just on another level, big picture guy I am,” Tommy declared, smiling wider as Phil facepalmed and took a long sip of his coffee.

“There’s fuckin’ three of you now,” he muttered before walking out of the kitchen. “I am going to get started on work,” he announced, waving lazily as he started up the stairs.

Tommy turned to Techno with a grin on his face. “Do you like committing crimes, Techno?”

Techno raised an eyebrow at him while rinsing his bowl off into the sink. “‘Course I do. What are you thinkin’?”

His grin only widened. “I say we start small. Like we rob a-”

“Sorry guys I forgot my-” Wilbur paused, looking between Techno and Tommy with a suspicious look. “-coffee…” he continued, reaching over and taking the mug Phil had prepared for him. He turned to leave before stopping. “And no plotting crimes…” Techno and Tommy groaned. “...Without me!” Wilbur added, cackling as he sprinted back up the stairs.

Tommy shook his head fondly and turned to find Techno with a faint smile on his face, peering after where Wilbur had been with a reminiscent look. Techno then caught himself and cleared his throat, going back to cleaning up his mess.

“So I heard you were… sick,” Techno said conversationally.

“...Yeah,” he nodded slowly, not knowing whether or not he should tell Techno it was because of an overuse of his powers or not. Then a thought crossed his mind that Wilbur could’ve already told him.

“You aren’t contagious or anything are you?” Techno asked with a teasing tone to his voice, raising a cautious eyebrow at him.

Tommy laughed lightly. “No… I- it wasn’t anything contagious.”

“Hmm, weird,” he hummed, grabbing the cereal box and putting it back in the pantry.

“Yeah… super weird. Um,” he looked around the room desperately for something to change the topic. Then he saw it. “What the fuck? Is that a sword ?”

Techno turned his head to look at what he was talking about and he nodded. “Yep.”

“Oo, can I touch it?” He asked excitedly, bounding over to where it was hanging on the wall.

“Sure, but don’t get it-” Tommy took it off the wall. “-down…”

He ignored the man’s mutterings of ‘Phil’s gonna kill me and then Wilbur will kill me’ and turned it over in his hands with practiced grace. Techno’s eyes widened as Tommy tilted the sword and admired the hilt. “Where’d you get it?” He inquired, staring down at it in awe.

It surely wasn’t as cool as his sword, nothing could beat the sword he conjured from pure sunlight. But it was a really cool fucking sword. The last time he saw one as well made as the one in his hands was when he fought Blade. Though he wasn’t able to get a good look at it, he surely felt the quality as it sliced through his skin. “Uh… I uh…” Techno struggled for an answer.

Tommy was about to make a joke about how suspicious that was before they were interrupted. “TECHNO!” Wilbur screeched, rushing forward and snatching the sword out of Tommy’s hands. “WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU LET HIM HAVE THAT?”

Techno just put his hands up in surrender. “I didn’t let him have it he just misunderstood what I said!”

Wilbur carefully put the sword back up onto its mount before putting his hands on his hips. “He could’ve stabbed himself! Or you!” He lectured, his wet hair falling into his face.

Tommy crossed his arms. “I’m not that incompetent,” he frowned, scowling up at Wilbur.

“Shush child, the adults are talking,” Wilbur turned his attention back to Techno. “I can’t believe you would even let him close to such a dangerous weapon! Imagine if-”

“Wilbur!” Tommy interrupted, scowling at him. “I knew what I was doing! I’m not a fuckin’ toddler.”

Wilbur was tense for a moment before he relented, sighing. “Sorry, I just…” he glanced up at Techno before looking away quickly. The pink-haired man also avoided Wilbur’s gaze, both of them seemingly remembering something that made them both look guilty. Wilbur looked at the clock and sighed again. “We should get going Tommy,” he said quietly, walking off without another word.

Tommy took a step to go after him and turned to Techno who was frowning intensely at the floor. “I’m sorry, I didn’t think he would get that upset,” he muttered sheepishly, remembering all the times he got Sapnap in trouble for similar things.

Techno just looked up at him and shook his head slightly. “Don’t worry about it, kid. It’s not your fault, it’s a Wilbur thing,” he explained. He went silent and brooding again and Tommy took that as his cue to leave, trailing after where Wilbur went.

It seemed like there was a lot more to Wilbur than he originally thought.

~ ☀ ~

“Hi, Tommy! Hi, Wilbur!” Ranboo greeted cheerily, completely clashing with the tense silence that had fallen between the two on their way to the cafe.

“Hey Ranboob,” he said with a faint smile tugging at his lips as the boy scowled at him.

“How many times do I-”

“Boo, Michael wants more- oh whose this?” Tommy felt his world stop spinning, his stomach plummeting. He slowly turned to the origin of the familiar voice, knowing what he would find.

“Oh! These are my friends and coworkers, Tommy and Wilbur,” Ranboo introduced, but Tommy was trying hard not to stare at the brown-haired boy who had protective bandages on his face and down his neck. Tommy’s eyes slowly tracked over to the table the boy came from to find a small pink head of hair peeking over the booth.

“Hi! I’m Tubbo!” The boy smiled, holding his hand out to shake Wilbur’s hand. Wilbur, who had gone oddly stiff blinked back to reality and shook it with a polite nod. Tubbo turned to him and Tommy looked down at the hand approaching him. It also was partially wrapped in bandages, special ones to help heal burn scars. A sick feeling settled in his stomach.

But Tommy was used to the terrible feeling and the acting he had to do to cover it up. He smiled kindly and shook the boy’s hand, being careful not to squeeze too hard. “Hello,” he said quietly after clearing his throat, making sure that his voice wouldn’t crack.

Everything felt like it was happening slowly. Far too slowly for his liking. Tommy let go of Tubbo’s hand and stuffed his hands into his pockets, trying to avert his gaze from anywhere but Tubbo’s bandages. He did that . Not directly, but he let it happen .

“Why don’t we all take a lunch break?” Ranboo suggested, gesturing to Tubbo’s table. “Not many customers to worry about at the moment, and Niki is here,” he stated, seemingly knowing that Tommy would’ve objected otherwise.

“But we haven’t even started our shifts yet,” Wilbur laughed nervously, sounding just as uncomfortable as Tommy was feeling. He didn’t know what Wilbur’s reason for being so tense was, but he found himself shifting to stand closer to him for a little bit of comfort.

“Oh pff,” Ranboo waved his hand dismissively. “Niki will understand, you guys have been out for almost a whole week. She wouldn’t force you back to work right away.”

Tommy looked up at Wilbur for help and the man met his eyes with a light shrug. His face was an unnatural pale color that Tommy probably also was.

Ranboo caught their small nods and ushered them over to the booth, having them sit together on one side with Tubbo, Michael, and himself on the other side. Tommy had the misfortune of sitting right across from the toddler, who stared at him with a knowing look.

“Michael, this is my friends Wilbur and Tommy,” Ranboo introduced again, gesturing to them both accordingly. Michael nodded and waved at them, his gaze never leaving Tommy’s eyes. Ranboo looked up at them with a smile and Wilbur and Tommy waved back at the toddler sheepishly. “He doesn’t talk much, but when he does it’s always something you’ll wanna hear,” he said with a proud smile.

Wilbur nodded, recovering from whatever had upset him. His eyes trailed over the glittering golden scars on the toddler’s face and arms. Scars that Tommy was trying to avoid looking at.

From what he saw they at least looked to be healing correctly, most likely would disappear for good after a few more weeks. “If it’s not too rude to ask… what uhm, what happened?” Wilbur asked awkwardly.

Tubbo seemed to catch on to what he meant right away and nodded understandingly. “We were caught up in a villain-caused fire,” he explained. “Hellstorm,” he clarified, looking down at the toddler that was tugging on his sleeve with a fond smile.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Wilbur frowned, a real settlement of sorrow in his tone.

Tubbo nodded. “It’s quite alright, it’s not your fault,” he teased, the joke only made Wilbur only tense a little more. “I’m just grateful for Michael’s savior, my boy got out scot-free. His scars are already almost gone.”

“Savior?” Wilbur echoed softly, as if asking for him to go into more detail.

Tubbo smiled. “Yeah, Shadow rescued him from the fire, something I couldn’t even do, and returned him to me in perfect health. He healed every burn he got, replaced with these golden scars that are almost fully gone.”

Wilbur nodded, fidgeting with his hands. “I thought Shadow was a villain?” He said, though it sounded more like a question. His voice was unusually vulnerable.

Tubbo nodded in understanding again. “Most would say that, but Shadow is my hero. He saved Michael, my everything. For that, I owe him.”

Tommy’s resolve broke. His heart swelled in his chest yet ached at the guilt knotting in his throat.

Ranboo said something in agreement with Tubbo, leaning against his shoulder. Wilbur said something back, low and questioning. The pair in front of them laughed and teased each other.

Tommy couldn’t hear any of it. His eyes were stuck on the bandages wrapping Tubbo’s body. The boy who just called him his hero.

Tommy couldn’t hear anything being said.

His charred hands.

The cracks in his palms and the ugly, yellowish pus that seeped from them.

Flashing red and blue lights.

Screaming. So much of it.

“MY SON IS IN THERE! LET ME GO, YOU BASTARDS! MICHAEL!”

“BLARE? BLARE WHERE ARE YOU?”

“SHADOW!”

Sapnap yelling his name over and over and over and-

“Shadow!”

Blare shaking his shoulders, whispering his name desperately.

“Tommy!”

Sapnap. Someone tell Sapnap to shut up!

“-ommy?” Not Sapnap. “Tommy?” A hand was waving in front of his face. The hand moved to his shoulder, gentle yet grounding.

“Huh?” He mumbled, swiveling his head to meet Wilbur’s concerned gaze.

“Tommy, I asked if you were okay… you look a little pale,” he explained quietly. Tubbo and Ranboo were talking amongst themselves across from them still, to be polite obviously. He still felt their eyes land on him every few seconds.

Tommy swallowed the lump in his throat and nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine. Sorry, I was just spaced out,” he said lamely, grasping at the sleeves of his sweater to hide his hands shaking.

Wilbur pursed his lips like he wanted to say more but Tommy stopped him by standing up. 

“I’m gonna go get some water,” he heard himself say. Wilbur got up out of the booth for him to get out, frowning at him.

“Are you sure you’re okay? I can-”

“I’m fine, Wil,” he reassured with a strained smile. He caught a glimpse of Michael giggling from on Tubbo’s lap and Tommy’s knees trembled, threatening to buckle. “Be right back.”

Tommy walked perfectly fine, feeling Wilbur watching him as he made his way to the kitchen that felt so far away. When he was finally out of sight he hurriedly stumbled to the bathroom.

He ran up to the sink and turned the facet to the coldest temperature. The running of the water filled his head and he splashed water on his face.

Tommy felt a pain in his head that went down to his nose and he sniffled. Drying his face with cardboard-like paper towels he took a shuddering breath. It has been a while since something like that happened.

He looked down at the brown paper towel and he gasped. Glittering gold stared back at him.

Tommy violently rubbed his wrist across his nose and looked down at it.

Gold. His blood .

Chapter Text

“Tommy? Tommy, are you in there?” Wilbur’s voice sounded out from behind the door. Thankfully, even after seeing his golden blood streaming from his nose he still had half the mind to remember to lock the door.

“Y- yeah,” he responded, his voice cracking slightly.

“Are you okay?” Wilbur asked, much softer.

Tommy stared at himself in the mirror and hastily wiped away more of his blood. He snorted and it stopped flowing. “Yup, great,” he lied. “Just needed to take a piss.”

“Alright,” Wilbur sighed, relenting. It was obvious he didn’t believe him. Tommy just hoped he would drop it once he got out.

He heard Wilbur’s footsteps retreat and he washed the blood off his hands, cringing as it swirled down the drain.

Tommy dried his hands with the cardboard-like paper towels and snorted deeply one last time. He felt the blood and snot retreat further up into his sinuses and winced. Fucking gross .

He opened the door and casually made his way over to where his apron was hanging up.

“There you are!” Niki’s voice made him jump and almost drop his apron. “Oh, sorry,” she said sheepishly, ducking her head as she walked up to him. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m feeling just fine,” he assured with a slight smile, hoping it would be enough and she would walk away. It wasn’t.

“Are you sure? I mean you were out for like a week and power zaps are no joke,” Niki questioned, tilting her head at him.

“I’m all good, boss. Nothing I’m not used to.”

Uh oh. He saw the moment it clicked in her head and she frowned deeply. “Tommy, do you overuse your powers like that… often?” She asked, bewildered and concerned.

Tommy internally groaned. A mistake on his part, a slip-up. He got the feeling his nose was running and sniffed in again. Niki could not see his nosebleed. Especially with his unnaturally golden blood. “…No.”

Niki leveled him a flat look, crossing her arms. “This is serious, Tommy.”

“I know, I don’t overuse them often, it's just happened before is all,” he shrugged, the lies easily slipping off his tongue like second nature.

Niki opened her mouth to push more and closed it as Wilbur called his name.

“He probably jammed the cash register again,” he grumbled, feigning annoyance though he was more than happy to get away from the awkward conversation.

Niki narrowed her eyes at him and turned away, heading back to the kitchen. Tommy slumped in relief and walked towards the front where Wilbur was punching the cash register.

Tommy laughed and Wilbur looked up at him with a silent plea on his face. The customer standing on the other side of the counter to Wilbur was pursing her lips, tapping on the counter impatiently. “Sorry ‘bout that ma’am, sometimes it gets stuck,” he said, reaching over and slamming his fist into the drawer. It easily bounced back open, fixed.

Wilbur gaped at him and shook his head, grabbing some of the bills. “How do you do that?” He asked, handing the woman her change. “I tried that and it never works for me.”

“Magic,” he smiled as Wilbur rolled his eyes. “And having young, able hands helps too, old man,” he smirked, barely catching the glare he caught from the customer. Maybe he should’ve waited for the woman clearly going through a midlife crisis to be out of earshot.

“Shut up, child,” Wilbur huffed fondly, watching the woman warily as she walked away deliberately slowly.

Tommy grinned but there was still an underlying anxiety thrumming under the surface.

He felt his nose running again and turned to face away from Wilbur. He picked up a napkin and blew his nose.

He immediately regretted it as his nostrils screamed in pain and the outside of his nose tingled. Tommy looked down at the napkin and found even more blood and he quickly balled it up and threw it away. He at least felt his nose get a little clearer.

“Tommy, can you grab the pickup order for Karl?” Wilbur’s voice made him jolt and the name made him freeze. Karl was a common name, it’s not the Karl he knows. He reasoned.

“Yeah,” he responded quietly, far away. He found himself walking over to the rack and picking up a full white paper bag.

Tommy turned around and braced himself. An old man with graying hair blinked at him. It wasn’t him . The man slowly reached out and took the bag, giving him an odd look.

Tommy forced a smile on his face and nodded to the man who quickly exited with his order. He breathed a sigh of relief and nearly shit himself when Wilbur patted him on the shoulder.

“Tubbo and Michael are leaving,” he informed him, jerking his head in their direction. The two waved and Tommy and Wilbur waved back. The door opened and closed. They were gone. Tommy’s shoulders slumped. “Stressful first day back, huh?”

Tommy shook his head lightly, not thinking he could muster the words.

Wilbur’s teasing demeanor softened. “Well, let me know when you take your actual lunch break. ‘Cause there’s a new diner down the road I wanna try.”

Despite the anxiety pooling in his gut, Tommy smiled and nodded. Wilbur grinned and let go of his shoulder and walked back over to the cash register, putting on his customer service voice as he greeted someone.

Sighing, Tommy went over to join him. He shouldn’t have agreed to lunch, but he couldn’t say no to the giant smile on Wilbur’s face. Tommy also added excuses to the list of reasons to go, like how he’d be able to keep a good watch over him while Dream was most definitely after him.

Tommy didn’t know exactly what would happen if it ever came down to it. But he knew he wouldn’t let Dream do anything to Wilbur.

~ ☀ ~

Eventually, their lunch break rolled around and Wilbur excitedly came up to Tommy, tugging him on the arm. “Give me a second Wilbur, I have to box these pastries up,” he grumbled, folding the white cardboard into a box.

“Hurry up!” Wilbur complained, already having taken off his apron.

“Yeah yeah,” he said, putting the assorted pastries in the box with a gloved hand.

“Come on , I’ve seen you box shit quicker than that .”

Tommy rolled his eyes but he internally grimaced. Maybe he was stalling but it’s not like he wanted to be stuck in one place for half an hour sitting across from Wilbur while trying to hide his bloody nose.

Now, if Tommy had normal, red blood like most other people. That would be no issue and Wilbur would understand. But Tommy’s blood was unlike any others, which he knew because he’s seen so much of it in his life. So if anyone saw his golden blood associated with the villain Shadow as Tommy, he would be fucked.

So Tommy boxed the rest of the pastries up a little faster, taking his apron off he felt a pang and his nose twitched.

Tommy quickly excused himself to the bathroom and blew his nose, despite the horrible burning it caused. Then he sniffled and sighed. It felt like his brain was clogged up. That was obviously not the case but it sure felt as if he just sent all the loose blood back up into his head.

After checking his face in the mirror and finding no leaks, he washed his hands and went out to meet Wilbur.

The man was leaning on the counter, talking to Ranboo who had come back after his own break. “Hey boob boy,” he greeted, smirking as the boy squawked in offense.

“Ready Tommy?” Wilbur asked, standing up straighter as he approached.

Tommy swallowed down the lump in his throat. “Yeah,” he said, nodding to Ranboo. “So what is this diner anyway?“

“Oh, it’s run by one of my…” Wilbur paused, searching for the right word. “ Acquaintances .”

“Damn, cold.”

“He opened it up recently for fun,” Wilbur continued, completely ignoring his comment.

Tommy turned and gawked at him. “He opened a diner for fun ?”

Wilbur laughed lightly and nodded.

“Almost forgot you were a rich bastard with rich friends,” Tommy teased, elbowing him as they slowed to a stop.

“He’s not my friend,” Wilbur huffed, suddenly defensive. He noticed and shook it off quickly with a wince. “Anyway, he’s supposed to be here today so I thought we’d make his life a living hell.”

“Sounds good to me,” Tommy grinned, deciding not to address Wilbur not wanting to associate with this mysterious rich man.

Wilbur opened the door to the building they stood in front of and motioned for him to go first with a flourish.

Rolling his eyes, Tommy walked in and was greeted with the smell of food. It was a complete contrast to the smell of coffee and sweets in Niki’s cafe.

“Hello, welcome to- oh hey Wilbur!” A boisterous voice greeted. Tommy turned to see a short man walking over to them, arms outstretched with a grin on his face. The man had black hair that was pulled into a beanie messily, his nice dress shirt and pants looked unnatural under the dirty apron he was wearing. When Tommy saw his face, his heart dropped into his stomach.

“Hey Big Q,” Wilbur said with a slight nervous strain to his smile. 

“Finally stopping by, hm?” Wildcard asked conversationally in a teasing manner.

“Yeah, thought I’d grace you with my presence,” Wilbur quipped, his smile seeming more genuine. The easy banter made Tommy confused, Wilbur had defensively denied being friends with ‘Big Q’ though they acted like they were. Though it made sense if Wilbur knew who he was.

“And who is this?” Wildcard hummed, tilting his head to look at Tommy. After the man got a good look at him his face dropped, Tommy watched the color drain from his face.

Wilbur shifted on his feet, facing Tommy and completely unaware of the man’s gaping. “This is my friend and co-worker, Tommy.”

Wildcard’s eyes only widened at the confirmation of his name. Tommy and Wildcard’s staring contest ended when Wilbur turned to the man. He easily put on a casual grin and clapped his hands. 

“Well, hello… Tommy,” Wildcard said, a strained and nervous smile on his face.

“Hi,” Tommy nodded, his voice low and quiet.

“Uh- right! Just you two?” Wildcard asked after an awkward moment, grabbing two menus from the small stand next to him.

Wilbur smiled and Tommy just knew whatever was going on in that circus of a brain he had was not going to be good for him or Wildcard. “I was thinking you could join us actually.”

Wildcard’s eye twitched and he glanced between Wilbur and Tommy apprehensively.

“C’mon Big Q, I haven’t seen you in a bit, we could use some catching up,” Wilbur whined childishly, pouting his lip at him.

“I really wish I could, but the diner-“

“Don’t worry, boss! I’ve got the diner handled!” A familiar, cheery voice exclaimed from behind Wildcard. Wildcard didn’t jump at the loud voice practically in his ear, seemingly used to it. Tommy stiffened as the slime hybrid made eye contact with him. He opened his mouth. “Oh hello-“

Wildcard slapped his hand over the slime hybrid’s mouth. “I changed my mind!” He exclaimed, effectively making the slime hybrid shut up.

Wilbur smiled at him with a hopeful expression and Wildcard’s shoulders slumped in defeat.

“I’ll join you for lunch…”

“Great!” Wilbur cheered, following behind Wildcard as he led them to a table. Tommy sat down in the booth Wildcard brought them to and immediately regretted it when Wilbur scooted in next to him. He was fucking trapped.

Wildcard sat across from them and anxiously fidgeted with his ring, something Tommy had seen him do when he was asking him to heal Karl.

“So… how’s Niki doing?” Wildcard asked after a moment of awkward silence.

“She’s doing well, overworking herself as always,” Wilbur said, flipping through the menu.

“Ah, I see,” he nodded, not so subtly glancing at Tommy every few seconds.

“How’s Karl?” Wilbur asked absentmindedly, looking down at the menu. Tommy and Wildcard both tensed, eyes widening. Wilbur looked up from the menu and Wildcard had already masked his expression. “Last I heard, he was sick?”

Wildcard glanced at Tommy out of the corner of his eye before awkwardly responding. “He’s doing good now, all better.”

Tommy internally sighed in relief. He had been worried the extraction didn’t work, but if he seemed all better than he was. The effects of Dream’s powers were obvious to those with working eyes. Unlike Tommy’s, which was mostly things you had to squint and know a lot about how his power worked.

“Wow, I thought you said there wasn’t a doctor who knew what was wrong.”

Tommy turned away to stare at the wall. Wildcard took in a deep breath. “Well, we finally found one who did. He saved Karl’s life.”

“That’s crazy,” Wilbur commented, folding his menu back up. “Good thing he’s alright now.”

The conversation went on from there and Tommy found it hard to focus on it. He was far too busy thinking.

Does Wilbur know ‘Big Q’ is Wildcard? If so, how? Why does Wilbur not want to associate with ‘Big Q’ as a friend? Is it because he knows he’s Wildcard, the villain, or because-

“Tommy,” Wilbur said, cutting through his thoughts.

“Hm?”

“You looked pretty zoned out there are you doin’ alright? I know that overuse-” he cut himself off, glancing at Wildcard. “I know what you had doesn’t just get better right away, let me know if you want to go home at any point so I can help you.”

Tommy didn’t miss the guilty look on Wildcard’s face. Tommy avoided looking at him when he next spoke. “I’m fine, just zoned out. It happens.”

Wilbur pursed his lips like he wanted to protest, looking over at Wildcard once more before sighing. “Alright,” he relented. It was quiet for another moment before Wilbur’s phone started ringing, the sudden noise made Tommy jump and embarrassingly so. The brunette scrambled for it in his pockets and frowned at the caller ID. “Sorry, I have to take this.”

He quickly got up and answered, walking around to the back of the diner, leaving Tommy alone with Wildcard.

The tension rose immediately and Tommy slowly turned to make eye contact with the man. Wildcard was the first to break their silence. “You ran.”

Tommy raised an eyebrow at him and threw a glance over his shoulder. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he mused, furrowing his eyebrows. At his plain, flat statement Wildcard’s eyes widened minutely in shock. Perhaps at Tommy’s audacity, or possibly at the ease he lied with.

“Tommy- you’re a villain and you-”

Tommy let out a loud, seemingly genuine laugh. Tommy saw Wilbur smile at him from where he was over at the back of the diner, still talking on the phone. “You’re funny.”

Wildcard scowled in frustration. “This place doesn’t have any cameras or bugs Tommy you don’t need to-”

“I would hope your diner doesn’t have any bugs, not very sanitary,” Tommy commented dryly, anxiously looking out the big window at the front of the diner. He could never be too careful. Ever.

“Shadow, quit the shit. I’m trying to-”

“You’ve got the wrong guy pal, I’m no ‘Shadow’ ‘specially not the villain,” he interrupted, crossing his arms and leaning back against the booth.

Wildcard frowned and he paused, like he was considering he did have the wrong person before he scowled. “Shadow, don’t you try and-”

“Keep your voice down, big man,” Tommy said through gritted teeth, widening his eyes with a fake smile.

Wildcard pursed his lips and crossed his arms, glancing back at Wilbur who was talking and gesturing wildly with his hands. The tension in his shoulders told Tommy the conversation was stressing him more with every pause. As he stood and listened to the person on the other side of the phone.

“Tommy, please I need to talk to you,” Wildcard whispered, leaning in closer for him to hear.

“Not here,” he said simply, covering his mouth with his hand as he spoke. From an outside perspective, it just looked like he was biting his nails.

“Why?” The man pleaded, looking back and seeing Wilbur still arguing with the person on his phone.

“ He’ll see.”

Wildcard scoffed. “Wilbur’s clueless as fuck you don’t have to worry about-”

“ No, you idiot,” he hissed, his eyes darting to the front window. Wildcard raised an eyebrow and turned his head to look. “Don’t look.”

Wildcard nodded and picked up the water cup in front of him, Tommy hadn’t even noticed when they ordered drinks. Because he also had a cup of ice water in front of him, the condensation trickling down the side of the glass.

“He can read lips,” Tommy informed in a hushed voice, hiding behind the cup of water before taking a sip.

Wildcard nodded again in understanding, but not without letting a little horrified expression widen his eyes.

“Don’t worry,” Tommy mumbled, looking over at Wilbur who pulled his phone away from his ear and huffed. “ He’s not here to stalk me .”

Wildcard furrowed his eyebrows in confusion and followed his gaze to Wilbur. The brunette jogged over to them, easily putting on a smile. Tommy and Wildcard met eyes and he saw the moment it clicked in the man’s head. “Sorry guys,” Wilbur started apologetically, sliding into the booth to sit next to Tommy again. “Family dispute.”

Wildcard was too in shock, staring at Wilbur with wide eyes to respond. So Tommy took the responsibility of acting like everything was fine. “It’s okay, Wilbur. Nothing too interesting happened while you were gone anyway,” he smiled, but it was strained. He couldn’t fake a genuine one as easily, especially after noticing the possible presence of someone watching them. Watching Wilbur.

“You alright Quackity? You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Wilbur chuckled naively, the irony of his words hit Wildcard- Quackity like a slap to the face and he blinked.

“Oh, I’m quite alright,” he assured, his laugh sounding slightly off. 

Wilbur didn’t pay the odd interaction any notice and took a sip of his tea.

“Hey guys!” The slime hybrid’s cheery voice exclaimed excitedly. “Are you guys ready to order?”

Wilbur nodded and Tommy was thankful for the interruption.

He zoned out after they all said their orders and Quackity awkwardly started a conversation with Wilbur who prompted Tommy to chime in every now and then. 

After a little bit, their food came and Tommy ate it without a thought. Suddenly a piercing pain struck him again like it had earlier in the day. He squeezed his eyes shut and the pain dissolved after a little bit.

He straightened his posture and stared down at his empty plate. Quackity cleared his throat and Tommy slowly looked up at him. The man’s eyes were wide, glancing at him and Wilbur.

Tommy gave him a confused look as Wilbur went into details about some extravagant story he was telling. Quackity picked up his napkin and brushed it over his upper lip, right under his nose.

Belatedly, Tommy understood what happened and quickly picked up his own napkin, wiping away the blood that was coming from his nose again. He stood up and Wilbur stopped his rambling to give him a confused look.

Tommy held up his phone, stuttering for an excuse. “I uh- I forgot I have to do something,” he lied.

Wilbur nodded after a moment, standing up and letting him out of the booth.

He turned around to give them a sheepish look. “Sorry, I uh- sorry. See you tomorrow Wilbur.”

Tommy left before he could hear a response.

Chapter Text

“Hey Niki, I’m calling in sick again for the rest of my shift. Hope you understand,” he sniffled and winced at the pain it caused. “I’m sorry.”

A beep sounded as his voicemail was sent. Niki had probably been busy working when he tried to call. Tommy found himself thankful she didn’t pick up. Yet he felt guilty at leaving her and Wilbur to pick up his slack.

He sighed and tossed his phone and backpack behind a dumpster, cringing at the sound it made as it hit the cement. He could afford a crack in the screen. However, he couldn’t afford to be tracked or followed from his phone.

Tommy continued walking, one hand in his pocket, the other covering his nose. He didn’t look up as he turned and opened the door of an old warehouse. The familiar smell of mildew hit him and he scrunched his nose up at the memories that accompanied it. There was another door that was much more heavy-duty and had a padlock on it. He typed in the code and the door opened with a click and a hiss.

He went down a staircase and then down a creepy hallway. The lights flickered slightly as he walked to the staircase at the other end.

Tommy bounded down the stairs and stopped once he reached a heavy metal door.

His hand twitched as he took it out of his pocket to reach out to the doorknob. Tommy braced himself and was hit with a wave of cold air and a dark hallway.

His shoulders were tense as he crept past the doors to rooms with varying names. It had been a while since he actually sought any of them out of his own volition, but he supposed this was the only choice he had.

Tommy made it to a familiar door and paused, quietly settling his hand around the doorknob. He got a wave of nostalgia and anxiety at the sight of the old, beaten-up door.

He knocked with his other hand and waited for a groan or an annoyed mutter. He got nothing.

Tommy looked up to make sure it was the right door, sure enough, it was. In messy letters ‘SAPNAP’ was written on the old tape on the door. There was a little flame sticker on it next to his name, courtesy of a much younger Tommy. It was worn down and there was a piece of clear tape over it that kept it together. It was from Sapnap after the childish sticker had started to fall apart, insisting he didn’t like it but it had always been there so it should stay there.

“Sapnap?” He called quietly, not wanting to attract the attention of anyone else in the base.

Tommy pursed his lips, a sour feeling settling in his gut.

“I’m opening this door,” he warned, hoping to hear a relented protest. He heard nothing.

Tommy scowled and opened the door. His breath caught in his throat. The room was completely trashed.

Normally Sapnap’s room was a bit of a shit show, but this ? This wasn’t his doing in the slightest.

Sapnap’s desk was flipped on its side, all of the trinkets and other things that were on it were now scattered on the floor. His mattress was ripped off his bed and the frame of it was moved from where it normally stayed. The potted cactus Tommy had gotten him was out of its pot in a sad clump of dirt on the floor. Soil was splattered everywhere as well as broken pieces from the pot. Tommy remembered giving Sapnap the plant, saying the man and the cactus were alike in the way they were both prickly and dry.

Tommy didn’t think he would’ve kept it for so long, yet it was there along with all the other broken things in Sapnap’s room.

He took a step in further and his shoes crunched on pieces of the broken pot. Tommy winced and his eyes widened at the sight of his desk. There was a huge crater in the middle of it in the shape of a person.

Tommy frowned seeing Sapnap’s mini-fridge knocked over on its side, the plug ripped from the wall as it was seemingly tossed across the small room. No- thrown , not tossed.

As he looked around the room more he noticed a lot more evidence of a fight. A struggle.

Sapnap wasn’t gone. He was missing.

Tommy’s heart dropped to his stomach at the realization. He didn’t even know how long he had been gone. The thought made him feel terrible and guilty. Was he the only one to have noticed?

His mind raced as he looked around the room in a newfound panic, searching for clues. Tommy rummaged through the spilled trinkets, trying to find anything that told him who took Sapnap.

He paused and knelt down next to the dirt where there was a booted footprint. It looked like one of the ones Dream issued for everyone when on the job because Tommy had a matching pair.

Tommy caught something shining in the light in the corner of his eye and turned to see where it came from. His eyes landed on something golden under Sapnap’s bed.

Slowly, he scooted over and grabbed it, dusting the soil off of it. It was a gold chain with a small pendant at the end. Tommy’s breathing hitched as he looked into the eye of ender that was encased in the gold pendant. His hands shook with anger and he scowled down at it.

He knew exactly who it belonged to.

~ ☀ ~

The door rang as he entered the old pawnshop, the floorboards creaked underneath him in a familiar pattern and he tightened his fist around the gold chain. “One second!” A voice called from the back.

Tommy walked up to the counter, his head ducked to avoid the camera in the corner of the room. There wasn’t much reason for him to hide from it other than if he did something that could get him arrested right in front of it.

“How can I- oh hi Tommy,” Punz greeted, drying his hands on a dirty towel, an easy smile gracing his face.

Tommy glared at the man and slammed his fist against the cold, glass counter. It didn’t shatter but there was definitely a crackling sound under the pressure. “Don’t ‘hi Tommy’ me,” he hissed, opening his palm. Punz’s eyes followed his down to the chain in his hand, there was still dirt connected to it in some places. “Missing something?”

Punz let out a chuckle and reached for it. “Yeah, I was…”

Tommy jerked his hand back, keeping it out of reach from the man. Punz caught on and his smile faltered, a slight nervous line creasing above his eyebrows.

He stared at Punz until the man was wise enough to make up an excuse. “I think I lost that in Sapnap’s room… never went to find it in there now that I think about it.”

Tommy shook his head in disappointment. Another thing he had learned from Dream that had the intended reaction as Punz swallowed anxiously. “I know what you did, Punz,” he seethed, dangling the chain in front of the man almost tauntingly.

“I know what you did, Tommy.”

He shook his head again, this time to dismiss the memory. It was different, it wasn’t the same as what he was asking. “Where is he?”

Punz shrugged, his shoulders staying tensely raised as his eyes darted from Tommy to the pendant.

“Tell me where he is,” he demanded, his hand tightening around the eye’s compartment.

“Tell me what you did,” the sound of someone choking was cut off by a thud from them hitting the floor. “Or this innocent person never sees the light of day again.”

Punz’s eyes widened and he shook his head frantically. “I can’t tell you that,” he said quietly, and Tommy understood. Dream.

Tommy’s jaw dropped and his eyebrows raised. “Why?” He knew, logically, Punz wouldn’t be able to tell him that either. But the man surprised him with an answer.

“He’s in trouble,” was all he said in response, eyeing the camera in the corner of the room. “But he’s alive.”

Tommy slumped in relief. “Does George know?”

Punz paused and nodded. Tommy’s arm went limp where he had previously been threatening Punz’s most prized possession. Suddenly it felt heavy in his hand.

Tommy tossed the pendant on the counter and turned around without another glance, walking toward the door. He heard Punz pick it up and went out the door. An odd feeling of guilt overtook him along with the helplessness.

Was he really better than Dream at all?

~ ☀ ~

It was raining. Tommy couldn’t tell when it started, maybe it was sometime when he was walking home. But he was far too busy thinking, trying to put the pieces together.

His hair was wet and he didn’t bother wiping the water off his face. Tommy let it run down his forehead and off his chin. It felt refreshing in the same way it felt suffocating. The streetlights flickered overhead and he belatedly realized it was because of him and not because of the district’s shitty electrical grid.

There was a wave of thrumming anger under the surface of his skin that begged to be let out, that needed to be put to use. But there was another, stronger feeling of numbness that sat over it.

Lightning flashed out of the corner of his eye and he found himself counting down.

One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six-

A boom of thunder rang out. Tommy had done plenty of research on the weather to know that he should get under something. Find shelter. But he couldn’t will his legs to stray from the straight line he was walking in.

Another flicker of lightning.

One. Two. Three. Four. Five-

A loud crash of thunder. He knew what it meant. There was lightning cracking down in a mile of where he was. Something in him almost challenged the lightning to strike him.

Tommy got tired of walking and sat down, leaning against a building, not even bothering to take off his now-soaked backpack. He pointedly looked down at the water running past his shoes rather than at the dark sky, he only knew it’d make him more upset.

He sat there for a while as the rain pelting his skin felt harsher every time, slowly hurting more and more. Tommy didn’t know how long it was until the rain suddenly stopped hitting him, along with a shadow falling over him.

Tommy blinked but he noticed the rain was still running around his shoes, collecting oil and other trash from the streets in a swirling array of color on the gray concrete. He looked up slowly and his breath stuttered in his throat.

“Hey, mate. It’s not very safe out here, you’ll catch a cold or worse… the lightning,” the Angel of Death said, tilting his head down at Tommy like a bird would. One of his dark wings was fanned out over him like an umbrella while the other was over the hero’s head.

Tommy couldn’t move, frozen out of shock and dread. The man in front of him had struck down more villains than he could count, he sent fear in even the most vicious of people. He was the only man that made Dream nervous.

In turn, the hero made Tommy very nervous. The Angel didn’t seem to notice this right away, though, as he got out his phone and started typing away, several loud notifications pinging and echoing through the alleyway. He then pocketed it and saw Tommy’s wide-eyed stare and chuckled.

“It’s alright, you’re not in trouble,” he smiled, holding a hand out toward him. Tommy’s face morphed into a skeptical scowl and scooted impossibly closer to the wall behind him, pressing his back against it.

The Angel only patiently held his hand out for him to take, smiling kindly at him. Tommy remembered the way that smile had been easily darkened in battle. How he effortlessly took down Tommy’s allies like they were nothing but annoying flies in his way and not the most feared villains in L’Manburg.

He also remembered that the Angel had a soft spot for civilian children, and without his suit on, that’s exactly what Tommy was.

Shoving his pride down, he reluctantly took the hero’s hand, who smiled and helped him up easily. “There ya go. Now, where are your parents?” The Angel asked, peering at him through his mask and the dark shadow his wing cast over his face.

A sick feeling swirled in his gut at the question. Normally it didn’t bother him that he didn’t have parents or any family. But the fact the most powerful hero asked so carelessly, like it was just nothing because everyone had parents. It hurt a lot more.

So Tommy stilled, his hand tightening around his backpack strap. He knew he couldn’t run, he was far too low on energy to outrun The Angel of Death but the action made him feel a little better.

“I don’t have any,” he shrugged, kicking at a puddle of water, watching as it splashed against the sidewalk and his shoes.

The Angel paused and turned to look at him, really look at him. “You don’t have anyone looking after you?” He questioned dumbly, his eyebrows upturned in something like pity. Or sympathy. Whatever it was, Tommy hated it on the Angel’s face.

“I take care of myself,” he snapped, already storming off in the direction of his apartment. The Angel caught up with him after a moment of shock.

“Wait! I didn’t mean to- I’m sorry,” he said, his wing going back in place of an umbrella over Tommy’s head. Tommy paused and crossed his arms, shivering from the cold wind hitting his soaked clothes. “I know you probably can take care of yourself, it’s just… you shouldn’t have to.”

That made Tommy pause. That was something he had never thought about it like that. Technically, he did have Dream, but he only helped Tommy financially when he was going to be evicted. On paper, he’s emancipated so Dream can’t legally be tied to him if anything happened. He doesn’t know whether that’s a good thing or not.

The Angel noticed his sudden hesitation to respond and patted him on the shoulder reassuringly. “Hey, it’s okay. We can figure that out later, for now, let’s get you out of the rain. Where do you live?”

Tommy was able to find himself again and raised an eyebrow at the man with a mischievous grin. “That is quite an invasive question to ask a minor , Mr. Angel of Death.”

Surprisingly, the hero didn’t react how he was expecting and instead burst out laughing. “Right right,” he chuckled, following as Tommy lead the way.

He didn’t want to bring the hero straight to his apartment, that would be stupid. Tommy could think of several ways that could go wrong and inevitably end in his demise. So instead he made a plan to shoo the Angel away when he got a block from his apartment complex.

“Do you really kick puppies in your free time, big man?” Tommy blurted out, attempting to find a conversation starter.

The hero raised an eyebrow at him and chuckled lightly. “No, I don’t. Who even told you that?”

Tommy tensed a little bit before he forcibly relaxed himself. “A- uh… an anonymous source…”

The Angel just laughed.

“What do you do in your free time then?”

“Well,” the hero started, looking up thoughtfully. “I spend most of my free time with my sons.”

Tommy’s eyes widened in surprise. “You have sons?!”

“Yep,” he smiled. Tommy was reminded that he would not be telling him this information if he knew who he was. What he’s done. Having children in the hero and villain business is already a risk. But telling someone you have them is like handing someone the key to your vulnerability. He must not take Tommy as a threat then.

Instead of voicing all of that to him he only let out a small giggle. “It’s Blare and Blade isn’t it?”

The Angel grinned and nodded a little, a prideful look on his face at the mention of them. Tommy almost let the jealous feeling settle in his gut again but was quick to shove it away.

“Knew it.”

The hero laughed again and Tommy found himself eased by it, almost proud to make such a feared guy laugh so genuinely. “What do you do in your free time?”

“Well,” I fight you and your sons to the death in horrible acts of terrorism in the name of a man who I can’t even trust. “I like to crochet.”

“Really? That’s so cool!” The Angel exclaimed, looking actually interested. The number of times he had tried to talk to Sapnap or George or even Dream about his hobbies and got dismissed started to show as he grinned, a slightly embarrassed flush to his already cold cheeks. “What do you like to crochet?”

“Oh, mostly sweaters,” he belatedly realized the fact he was parentless and made his own clothes might be a little too sad. “But one time I made my boss a plushie for her birthday,” he added on, still beaming.

He looked up and saw the hero smiling brightly at him, an almost fond look on the visible part of his face. “That’s so sweet! What kind of plushie was it?”

Tommy’s grin widened. “ Well, I made her a butterfly because it just made sense for her but I personally like moths much better,” he announced, straightening up a little bit.

“Why’s that?” The Angel inquired, tilting his head. This time it didn’t seem as intimidating as the first time Tommy saw him do it.

Tommy smirked, this hero had no idea what he just signed himself up for. Tommy then began to rant about the difference between the insects and why moths were superior. The hero stayed quiet and calmly listened to his rambling as they trekked on.

Tommy felt himself getting more comfortable talking to the hero as the minutes went on and he found he didn’t mind. He also found himself distracted from the crashing of lightning as it got farther and farther away.

~ ☀ ~

“Wilbur,” Techno greeted, sitting on the couch with his mask in hand. Wilbur nodded to him and dropped his mask on the counter, flopping down next to him on the couch. “Phil found him?”

Wilbur nodded again, this time in confirmation, and sighed, lulling his head against the cushion of the couch in relief. “I’m worried about him,” he admitted quietly, fidgeting with his hands idly.

Techno’s demeanor softened and he pocketed the lecture he had been saving up about the video he’d seen. “I think he’ll be fine with Phil there.”

Wilbur ran his hands down his face, wiping away the water dripping down his forehead from his hair. “I know that,” he huffed. “I’m worried about him in general. He’s got some weird guy showing up to his apartment and ugh…” he trailed off, knowing Techno understood where he was going.

“Well, if anyone can help him it’s you, Wil,” Techno said earnestly, tilting his head to look his brother in the eyes. “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, you’re the most compassionate person I know. I’m sure you’ll find a way to talk to him and help him with whatever he’s got goin’ on.”

Wilbur smiled and dropped his hands from his face, turning to say something about Techno going soft before the taunt died in his throat. Instead, he just leaned his head on his twin’s shoulder. “Thank you, Techno.”

Chapter Text

Tommy sat on the couch, crocheting while thinking about the day’s events. Rain was still pounding on his windows but he had a light feeling in his chest from his interaction with the surprisingly kind hero. He had been put in such a good mood in fact, that he was able to take a shower.

The only thing was… his head hurt again. Well, it had been hurting the whole time but now he didn’t have a distraction, it was much more noticeable. Tommy was hoping that his bloody nose problem had gone away, but it clearly had not. It almost felt like it was getting worse.

Tommy stood and his head spun, making the floor seem closer and then farther than it actually was. He wiped his wrist against his nose and it came back with much more blood than before.

He gasped at the sight and feeling of more blood running out of his nose. Tommy rushed to the bathroom, wadding up toilet paper and holding it against his nose. He had never really gotten a bloody nose before because of his healing so he never had to deal with one. He was completely fucked if it were to never stop.

Tommy felt dizzy as he walked back over to his couch, head in his hands. He didn’t know what to do. It was definitely because of the void that he extracted out of Karl’s brain which was put there by Dream. So he couldn’t go to him unless he wanted to get everyone involved killed or worse.

Panicking, his breathing spiked and he began to have trouble catching his breath. He was going to die . He was going to die. Tommy was going to die.

Suddenly, a loud burst of energy and light exploded a few feet in front of him in an array of purple and green. Tommy flinched back and momentarily forgot about his brain bleeding out of his head as the colors formed into a figure.

He squinted and a face came into focus, his eyes widened and his jaw dropped. Karl stood in front of him, waving the smoke and glittery colors out of his face.

“What the fuck,” Tommy gasped, hands tightening in the cushions of the couch. Karl looked pretty similar to how he had last seen him, except he looked… older, more tired. Though the bright smile he flashed him didn’t reflect that.

Karl adjusted the colorful jacket he was wearing and pulled a long syringe out of his pocket. Tommy tensed even further, his power bubbling at the surface. “Okay, uh hello, Tommy,” Karl started awkwardly, poorly hiding the syringe behind his back. “I wanted to say… thank you for saving my life…”

“What the fuck is that giant needle for!?” Tommy yelled, pointing behind his back and completely ignoring his attempt at conversation.

Karl sighed and held it out in front of him, inside the syringe was a golden liquid that looked suspiciously like his blood but much brighter. “Uh, there’s not really a good way to say this… you’re dying.”

“WHAT!?”

“I know! I know! Wait! Calm down!” He placated, eyes darting to Tommy’s increasingly glowing hands. “My power is- is time travel! Okay? So- ugh I have a lot to explain I think.”

“Yeah, you fucking do! You can’t just tell me I’m dying and to be calm about it!” Tommy stressed, his eyes glowing his unnatural blue for a second before pulsing back to its human, dull color.

“Alright- well you are dying and that might be my fault… a little bit. So sorry about that-”

“WHAT!? EX-FUCKING-SCUSE ME?”

“Shhh! Shh! It’s okay! I have the cure right here so I came to save you before…you died,” Karl said, wincing at his own wording. “Think of it as a thank you… because you hero-” he glanced up at Tommy again and cleared his throat rather obnoxiously. “- villains don’t take anything for free…” he muttered, starting to prepare the syringe.

“So… you’re Karl from the future? Like the Karl I saved is somewhere in this time still?” Tommy asked after a moment, eyeing the man warily.

“Yes. I am probably…” he looked up at nothing thoughtfully for a second. “I’m probably at Quackity’s place, resting still,” Karl continued, shaking his head.

“Okay… so what time are you from?” Tommy questioned, staring at the needle the man was handling.

“Can’t really tell you that,” he admitted, turning to look at Tommy. “But… not anytime soon.”

“I have another question,” Tommy started, Karl tilted his head considerately. “If you’re here to save me from dying… does that mean that the me from your time is dead?”

Karl stilled where his hands were unwrapping alcohol wipes and he avoided Tommy’s gaze. “Not necessarily.”

“What’s that supposed to mean!?”

“Well, you weren’t supposed to die today, but I made a mistake,” he huffed, his eyes looking much more tired and the wrinkles on his face more prominent than Tommy had noticed before. “You weren’t supposed to save my life that day, I went to the wrong time for help, and-” he cut himself off, shaking his head. “What I’m saying is, your death caused a tidal wave of consequences that lead to the apoc- that I am here to fix.”

“What do you mean consequences…?”

Karl sighed, exasperated. “I can’t tell you that.”

Tommy was about to push more when his phone vibrated on the table.

“Don’t look at that yet,” Karl instructed, not even glancing at the phone.

Scowling, he crossed his arms and leaned back as Karl turned to him with the prepared needle. Then, he just stood there, hovering. “What are you doing?”

“Giving myself enough time to stop me if this won’t work,” he explained with a shrug.

“You’re telling me you don’t know if that will even work !?”

Karl frowned and shrugged again. “That’s why I’m giving myself enough time to intervene.”

After a long moment of awkward silence, Karl leaned closer and grabbed his jaw with one hand with the syringe in the other.

“Okay, this is going to have to go up your nose, so… sorry ‘bout that.”

“WHAT- NO!” Tommy kicked his feet out, shoving the man away.

“It’ll only hurt for a second! I need it to get close to your brain,” he said through gritted teeth, wrestling the blonde and holding him down like a toddler getting their vaccines. “You seriously would rather die than get this up your nose!?”

“Yes!” Tommy hissed, his hands folding awkwardly over one another as he was held down. Tommy turned his head quickly to avoid the needle getting near his nose.

Another explosion like what had happened before rang out in the small apartment and they both paused. Karl retracted his hand and Tommy sat up, still pushing the man away as he turned to look at the purple and green smoke again.

Karl sighed and stood up, walking over to the smoke cloud and waving his hand around as he had done before. “I gave you plenty of time to-” he cut himself off at the sight of the other him.

Karl two, to say the least, looked disheveled. His hair was a mess and there were a couple of graying streaks in along with the brown. There was stubble on his face and the circles under his eyes were dark purple bags.

Instead of the colorful outfit, Karl one was wearing, he was in a dirty lab coat, holding a box to his chest protectively. The man was trembling and when he turned to look at Tommy, the blonde himself froze.

There was a black, inky residue that was blooming in bruise-like marks around his neck as it stretched down underneath his lab coat. Tommy was tense, stiff as a board, similar to Karl one who was gaping at the sight of himself.

Tommy knew what Dream’s power looked like, and it was that .

Karl two’s eyes were terrifying to look at, the veins in them had long since turned from a healthy red to black like the void attached to his neck. Normally his condition would not be as serious as when it was in his head but it was close enough to speed up the process.

Karl two coughed into a handkerchief that was dirty with dried blood and new, red blood, mixed in with it was more black liquid. Poison .

“I have the- the cure,” he rasped, stumbling over to Tommy. He watched with wide eyes as Karl one snapped out of his horrified trance and helped Karl two open the cardboard box. It was unspoken that the one Karl one was about to give him was not going to work.

Tommy weakly was able to lift his arm and point at the bruising black swirling under the skin of Karl two’s neck. “Dream,” he said, Karl two flinched. “He- when did- did he do that?”

Karl two coughed again and ignored his questions this time. Instead, he was focused on quietly instructing Karl one how to prepare the new cure.

After a moment, Karl one had a small vial of glowing black liquid held in his hand. He took out a small golden rock and held it up to the light. It shined brightly as light reflected off it unnaturally. It seemed to glimmer even brighter than the cure before.

At Karl two’s nod, Karl one took the rock and put it in the vial, sending the gold into the void. The differing liquids churned and bubbled in the vial like oil and water until the rock dissolved, making the black liquid silver. He picked up another needle that was in the box, this one was much smaller and less terrifying.

He extracted the mixed cure from the vial and turned to Karl two expectantly. “This one just needs to enter his bloodstream,” Karl two explained, voice scratchy as he was sent into another coughing fit. 

Karl one winced and got closer to Tommy, grabbing his arm. “Ready?” He asked softly, wiping the inside of his arm with a small alcohol wipe. Tommy nodded and squeezed his eyes shut, looking away as he felt the needle break skin.

All of a sudden lights began to burn through to his vision, even with his eyes closed. He opened them to see everything was much brighter than before. Every corner and crevice he could see in, even the darkness of the rain outside was easy to see straight through.

After the boost, he felt the pain. He bit his tongue as the cure entered his bloodstream and traveled from limb to limb. He could feel exactly where it was at all times as it sped through his veins. It reached his heart and he hissed in a sharp breath. Tommy looked down and noticed Karl one had long since stepped away from him, staring as all the veins in his body glowed from under his skin.

It all stopped and Tommy slumped against the couch, gasping in pained, shaky breaths. “Now, I know that was a lot, but don’t collapse yet. That text message is important,” Karl one said, sharing a look with the other Karl who was clutching his side.

Tommy looked over at where his phone was sitting innocently on the coffee table and scoffed. Then he glanced back up at the two Karl’s and his eyes widened as he realized they were fading away.

“Wait! What’s happening?” He gasped in another breath, watching as Karl two closed his eyes peacefully and straightened his posture, holding his arms out victoriously as he disappeared.

“Our timeline is fixed, so we are going back to where we belong,” Karl one explained, smiling kindly. “Thank you, Tommy.”

Then he faded off into nothing. Tommy blinked and wiped glittering tears from his eyes. He wiped his wrist against his nose again to find his nose was no longer bleeding.

He stood up and wobbled a little bit before he regained his balance. Tommy reached over and grabbed his phone and read the notification.

Dream: Come to the base and bring your suit. Now.

After he read it the message disappeared and his fingers tightened around his phone. Whatever happened in the future where he died, Dream was there. And he killed Karl from the future. Both of them.

Tommy didn’t exactly know what all of it meant but he knew it couldn’t be good. Especially because Dream was involved.

It almost seemed like every time he tried to focus on what happened only seconds prior, it got blurrier and his head hurt. He shook it off and went to find his backpack. He would have to dig deeper another time.

The dreadful feeling in his gut returned as he got ready to meet Dream.

Chapter Text

“Hey, Wilbur,” Techno started nervously, knocking on the open doorframe to Wilbur’s room.

Wilbur looked up at him from where he was sitting at his desk, pen and paper in hand. “Hi, what’s up?”

“I need to talk to you about something it’s uh… bad. Very bad,” he cringed at his wording, regretting not planning what he was going to say. Wilbur raised an eyebrow at him, turning in his chair to face him and gesturing to sit on his bed.

Techno walked in further and closed the door, sitting down, he sighed. “What’s this ‘very bad’ thing you need to talk to me about?” Wilbur inquired, amused, a teasing lilt to his voice. Techno already felt bad that what he had to say would likely wipe the smile off Wilbur’s face.

Instead of speaking, he took his phone out of his pocket and pulled up a video he had watched probably a hundred times already. Techno started playing the security footage and turned his phone around to show Wilbur, watching his expression drop.

Wilbur had a guilty look on his face when he lifted his head, opening his mouth and closing it while he looked for the words. For once, Wilbur was speechless.

“I-” he started, Wilbur’s head snapping up to meet his before he looked away. “I don’t even know what to say, Wilbur,” Techno continued, sighing deeply and pinching the bridge of his nose. “First, I should probably start with an apology,” he muttered, sighing again, this time in exasperation. Wilbur lifted his head with a confused and surprised look on his face. “Wilbur, I’m really sorry about how I treated you. It wasn’t right of me to dismiss you because of my own worries. I trust you and your judgment but I can’t help bein’ anxious or paranoid when it comes to your safety.”

Wilbur gaped at him, completely caught off guard. He was totally expecting a lecture that ended in shouts and tears. Then he felt guilty at thinking the worst of his brother.

“I should’ve believed you when you told me but I… I was just scared of the idea of a villain havin’ something over you like that. And you bein’ so vulnerable next to one- I felt- still feel like I failed you. And… without that villain, you would’ve died and-” he cut himself off, taking in a deep breath, though he didn’t need to finish the sentence for Wilbur to understand. 

“It’s okay,” Wilbur breathed, sighing in relief. “I understand.”

Techno frowned and leaned back, searching Wilbur’s face thoughtfully. “Wilbur, you know you can trust me right?”

A terrible, heavy tension fell over the two of them almost immediately. Wilbur felt a bad feeling settle in his gut. He nodded curtly, fidgeting with his hands nervously. “Of course I know.”

Techno’s frown deepened and he inhaled slowly. “If you trust me, why are you hidin’ the ring of bruises around your neck?”

Wilbur’s heart dropped to his stomach, his face surely doing the same. His brother only looked sadder at the confirmation he was purposefully hiding them and got caught. Wilbur said nothing and only looked away guiltily.

“Who did that to you, Wil?” He pleaded, moving closer to the end of the bed to reach over and pull the collar of his turtleneck down a little. He prodded at the bruises gently with his hands before slowly bringing his hands back to his sides.“I know that’s not from any of our recent hero fights.”

“It was nothing,” Wilbur mumbled, pulling the turtleneck up higher to cover the bruises again.

“No, it was,” Techno said sternly, bobbing his head to look him in the eyes. “What other things like that are you keeping from me? From Phil?”

Wilbur pursed his lips, his eyes burning as he blinked to clear them. It was silent for another long moment before Techno sighed and dropped that topic for the moment.

“Tell me who did it, Wilbur. I want names, now.”

“I just got in a fight, no big deal,” Wilbur huffed, crossing his arms and looking away.

Techno leveled him a flat look. “You? Gettin’ into a fight? No, not possible.”

“It’s true, though,” he said firmly, the sureness in his tone made Techno raise an eyebrow at him.

“Wait- really? You let a fight escalate to that level?”

Wilbur’s expression morphed into a scowl and Techno was surprised by the genuinely angered look on his face as he thought back. “He deserved it.”

Techno’s eyes widened. “Woah, pacifist Wilbur fought someone willin’ly?”

“He was stalking Tommy,” he said plainly, shrugging his shoulders.

That seemed to make his brother drop his teasing manner and he leaned forward, eyebrows upturned in concern. “This guy was stalking a child ?” At Wilbur’s nod, Techno continued. “I hope you gave him hell. Was Tommy okay?”

“Yeah… he was kind of unconscious for the whole fight, though,” he muttered, not wanting to think about the time when he thought Tommy would die if he so much as set him down and walked away for a minute. “When he was… y’know… sick.”

Techno nodded and they sat in silence for another long moment before their phones buzzed with a text from Phil, telling them he made dinner. They both shared a look before wordlessly agreeing to continue the conversation later.

~ ☀ ~

“Nightmare?” Tommy whispered, walking up to where Dream was standing on top of the building the base was located in. His back was to Tommy and he slowly turned to look at him, the eyes of his mask boring into his.

“Hello, Shadow,” he nodded, putting his hands in his pockets. Dream took a step forward and Tommy couldn’t help but feel like something was very wrong. “So glad you showed up late .”

Tommy frowned under his mask, tilting his head thoughtfully. “Sorry,” he said lamely, shrugging his shoulders.

“You know, Tommy,” Dream started, Tommy flinched at the name drop, glancing around nervously. Dream noticed but didn’t say anything about it. “I really thought you were better than this,” he tsked.

“I uh- sorry? I’ll show up earlier next-”

“No, you idiot!” He spat, throwing his hands up and letting them fall back to his sides with a slap. “You thought I wouldn’t find out!”

Dream all but yanked his phone out of his pocket and stormed up to him. Tommy flinched when he shoved his phone in his face. The video playing made Tommy’s heart sink.

It was security footage of Tommy healing Blare in the alleyway. He slowly looked back up and Dream put his phone in his pocket again, pacing. “What the fuck were you thinking?”

Tommy just stared at the ground, not saying anything.

“What am I to do with you?” He mused out loud, tapping his chin. “What did you think you were doing? Betraying me like that?”

Tommy said nothing.

Dream shoved him and he stumbled back a few steps. “You’re a traitor.”

“He was going to die!” Tommy retorted, throwing his hands up, similarly to how Dream had before.

“Good.”

Tommy stilled.

“That’s good for us. That would’ve made my fucking day Tommy, you know that. You know I don’t give a damn how many of those pests die,” Dream hissed, dragging his hands down his mask like it was his real face. “I killed Blare and you brought him back to life. You know I don’t give a fuck how many people die for our cause.”

Tommy shook his head slowly. “I don’t think your ‘cause’ is right anymore, Dream.”

Dream whipped his head around to face him, dark energy swirled around him and Tommy felt drained just looking at it. “I don’t care what you ‘think’ Tommy, but now your opinions are getting in the way of the greater good.”

“Killing people is getting you nowhere,” Tommy snapped, his own eyes glowing a bright blue with his determination. “And it’s definitely not the greater good.”

“You just don’t see it. You don’t get it, Shadow . I should kill you right now for your audacity.”

“Do it then,” he challenged, taking a step closer to the man. He was forcing a confident front but inside he was scared shitless. He clenched his fists to hide their shaking. “Kill me.”

Dream looked momentarily stunned by his blatant defiance, Tommy had never stood up to Dream before. Not really.

“Unless you can’t,” Tommy smirked, Dream summoned his sword of pitch-black void. One he didn’t use very often. “You lied to me all these years. I’m not fucking stupid, Dream.”

Tommy conjured his own sword of pure sunlight, it glowed brightly even in the pouring rain. Small silver speckles were scattered along the sword, almost unnoticeable.

“You think I wouldn’t notice the similarities- differences ? I’m your foil, Dream. You’re scared of me.”

Dream barked out a laugh. “That’s ridiculous. I’m not scared of anything or anyone. Especially not you.”

“Then kill me, Dream. What’s stopping you?”

Dream stared at him and Tommy stared right back. Thunder roared far behind them, rain pounding down on the rooftop they were standing on.

“What’s stopping-” Dream lunged at him, arms outstretched, and shoved him off his feet. Tommy fell on his back, too close to the edge of the roof for comfort with the air knocked out of his lungs.

Tommy’s sword fell out of his hand and he summoned it quickly back to him just in time to block the blow of Dream’s sword.

“You’re a coward, Dream!” He hissed, his hands shaking with the pressure of holding Dream back. “Tell me what you did to Sapnap!”

At that, Dream ceased the pressure on him and struck his sword down at him, catching him off guard. Tommy rolled over to the side and caught sight of the pure red, rage in Dream’s stance. Obviously, Sapnap was a sore spot.

Lamps flickered on the streets below and all the lights in the building they were standing on the ones nearby went out. Unbeknownst to them, someone saw them and started broadcasting their fight.

~ ☀ ~

“Niki’s crazy friend just went live, Techno,” Wilbur mentioned, frowning at the screen.

“You mean Jack Manifold? That guy?” Techno huffed, studying Wilbur’s expression. Wilbur nodded slowly, seemingly reading something. “Who cares if he went live, dude’s insane.”

“I know,” he muttered. Phil clicked his tongue from the other couch. They had finished eating a while ago and were now all on their phones, sitting around.

“I thought Jack was very nice,” Phil said, pursing his lips.

“You think everyone’s nice,” Wilbur commented dryly, sending his father a flat look.

“I do not!” He murmured defensively, crossing his arms. “I don’t think Nightmare is nice at all.”

Techno scoffed. “No one thinks that guy is nice. He’s probably not even a real person behind that mask, therefore he doesn’t count.”

Phil opened his mouth to reply but Wilbur quickly shushed him, his father made an offended noise before he saw the look of confusion on the brunette’s face as he stared at his phone. “Wha- oh no,” Wilbur cursed, standing and running a hand through his hair as he clicked on the livestream. It took painfully long to load, and when it did, Wilbur audibly gasped.

Phil and Techno were up in an instance, crowding around him to look at his phone.

“-ere we are at the scene, boys! Nightmare and his sidekick- Shadow ! Right his name’s Shadow! -are fighting on a rooftop! WOAH! DID I CATCH THAT?” Jack Manifold shouted over the wind and rain, shakily pointing his phone camera at the fight. Nightmare and Shadow were seen clearly in view, their swords crashing together. “THIS IS BETTER THAN ANY STAR WARS MOVIE!” Jack declared, giggling.

The chat on his livestream was going quick, more and more people were joining, their messages flying by. Wilbur stared in horror as the buildings around them flickered from on and off before shutting down, casting the scene in darkness. Only two blurry figures could be seen, a few rooftops away from wherever Jack was streaming from.

Wilbur was even more startled to realize Jack wasn’t lying, Nightmare and Shadow… were fighting . And it didn’t look pretty. He could even see the obvious glow of Shadow’s sword made of… light? He didn’t know.

Before anything else happened Wilbur ran to his room, throwing open his closet where he had taken it off only a few hours earlier. He practically jumped into it, his phone still playing the stream as he heard Phil and Techno getting into their suits as well.

They were out the door in a couple minutes. Phil carried Wilbur as he flew, the brunette guiding him based on landmarks alone.

Eventually, they found a grouping of over a dozen buildings, all the lights in them completely cut off. They flickered occasionally and Wilbur scoured the rooftops for a fight. Then, he saw them.

The sight of the glowing, bright power that was undoubtedly Shadow’s clashing with the terrifying void that was Nightmare’s powers made him extremely nervous. Shadow had saved his life and proved himself to be a good person, here he was fighting the man who was basically his mentor.

“Over there!” Wilbur shouted, pointing in their direction. Phil turned and headed there while Techno jumped from rooftop to rooftop, following them. It was always much easier for Phil to fly with Wilbur because Techno’s enhanced endurance kept up with Phil’s flying in a way Wilbur couldn’t.

They landed on a nearby rooftop, they were now able to hear the faint sound of the villains shouting at each other along with the grating sound of their swords crashing together.

Wilbur takes off in a sprint, jumping to the next rooftop to get closer. Hiding under the ledge of the building, perched on the fire escape.  They either haven’t noticed him or they don’t care he’s nearby because he’s close enough to hear their shouts more clearly now.

“- useless ! I raised you to what you are now and you just decide you know better than me? I thought I taught you wiser,” Nightmare hissed, striking down at Shadow with his sword again, the movement filled with more emotion than Wilbur was expecting. Wilbur looked back to see Phil and Techno hiding behind a big air conditioning unit a building down, sending him confused looks. He made a hand motion that meant to stay put, they reluctantly nodded and hid better.

Shadow made a hurt noise like he had been slapped in the face. Wilbur had fought him enough to know that wasn’t because of a physical pain. It made something like regret and sympathy build up in Wilbur’s chest. “All you ever did was lie to me! You raised me to be a soldier! To fight for you like a pawn!” Shadow yelled back, his voice cracking even under the work of the voice modulator. The emotion in his voice made Wilbur’s heart break even more.

“You are a pawn! You’d be nothing without me!”

“ I would be nothing without you? Everything I’ve ever done was for you! I could’ve had a life! A childhood !” Swords clashed against each other again. And again. “You manipulated me to go along with your own sick plan to kill all the heroes!”

Wilbur’s blood ran cold. What?

“You’ve done nothing but disappoint me,” Nightmare spat, menacingly following Shadow who was clutching at his arm that was glittering with what Wilbur remembered to be his golden blood. Distantly, Wilbur noticed an inky black something filling the air around them. Like a cloud but pitch black, empty void.

“Good,” Shadow laughed, but it sounded something bordering on manic. “I’m happy to know that all I’ve ever done was not only horrible and wrong but that you don’t even care about what I’ve sacrificed.”

“What you sacrificed ?” Nightmare echoed, before bursting out into grating cackles and wheezes like it was the funniest shit he’d ever heard. “You had nothing, were nothing. I built you from the ground up. I sacrificed more for you than you’ve ever done for me.”

“Really? Haven’t I?” He challenged, his eyes glowing a terrifyingly bright blue, even brighter than he’d seen them in the alley when he was bleeding out. “I could’ve had a family, a life, parents !” Shadow paused and let the words sink in, Nightmare didn’t seem to care either way. “You take and take and take and I’m running out of things to give.” Another, horribly long pause where Shadow groaned at the pain in his arm and the awkward position he was in, backed up near the edge of the roof. “I might be a pawn, but at least I’m not a selfish monster .”

Nightmare was fuming , his hands curled tightly around the hilt of his sword. The dark cloud-like void cast a shadow over the already dark city. Every light in the surrounding area dimmed all at once, Wilbur saw the effect of Nightmare’s power go on for miles. Nightmare opened his mouth and words seemed to spill out in a blind rage. “You have no parents! You never have! You came from a rock , Shadow. You fell from that meteorite all those years ago! You caused this and if anything, I should’ve let you fucking die that day.”

Suddenly the air went cold and everything seemed to stop. Everything went dead silent .

Nightmare must’ve realized the weight of his words and something in his stance shifted, almost nervous. Almost .

Shadow’s eyes dulled from that bright, blinding blue to a sickeningly dull gray. His head hung low and his limbs slackened. His sword disintegrated into thin air while his knees buckled and he dropped down on them, staring at nothing blankly.

Nightmare seemed conflicted, standing before Shadow with his sword held to his side.

Wilbur watched with bated breath as Shadow just sat there in a haze, his dark eyes far away. Nightmare made a move toward Shadow.

That was the breaking point. Wilbur jumped from his hiding spot and charged at Nightmare with an earsplitting scream that made the man stumble backward. He heard somewhere behind him Phil and Techno scuffling and shouting about something, he couldn’t make out the words in his haste and anger.

Wilbur reared his arm back and punched the villain right in the nose, knocking him off balance even more. He then grabbed him by the shoulders and slapped the sword right out of his hands. It dissolved in the air almost immediately but he paid it no attention as he stomped on the back of the villain’s knees.

Nightmare fell and belatedly threw his palms out to catch himself where they had previously been holding his nose. The shock of being ambushed wore off and he tackled Wilbur’s legs, slamming his fist down on the hero’s gut.

“Fucking heroes,” the villain hissed, pulling his arm up and summoning his sword. Wilbur regretted not waiting for Phil and Techno to catch up to him before running in blindly. He grabbed the man’s wrist and held it away from him as he wrestled for the upper hand.

Wilbur heard a shout and he turned to see a rooftop away, Phil and Techno were busy getting attacked by a bunch of what looked like Nightmare’s lackeys. It seemed he had prepared for a fight. With who, Wilbur didn’t know but he had a guess.

In the split second, he was distracted, Nightmare flipped him on his back, harshly hitting the roof under him and simultaneously knocking the wind out of his lungs. Wilbur wheezed as the villain dropped down and kneeled on his abdomen, making it impossible to breathe.

Nightmare’s piercing green eyes were dark and bright at the same time, the whites of his eyes were grayed horrifically as they stared into Wilbur’s soul. He raised his arm and summoned his sword of pitch-black void, holding it tauntingly above him.

Everything seemed to slow down as the sword was angled down at him, crackling and hissing with dark energy. His heart pounded loudly in his ears like it wanted to spring out of his chest.

Wilbur opened his mouth to scream and launch Nightmare off of him, but his lungs wouldn’t cooperate. He only managed a pathetic whine mixed with a gasp as he recoiled away from the sword, hitting his head against the concrete beneath him in the process.

Distantly, thunder boomed and out of the corner of his eyes, he caught Shadow’s head snap toward him, eyes widening as he came back to reality. The last thing Wilbur saw was Shadow’s eyes bursting from the dull gray back to the bright blue, only it didn’t stop there. The light shot out like a shockwave and everything was so bright. Too bright.

His eyes were assaulted with a bright light and he flinched at its brightness even under the protective layer of his blindfold-like mask, crying out in pain as a searing hell flared through his head. He heard a similar noise of pain above him and he vaguely felt a weight being lifted off of him.

Wilbur heaved in shaky breaths and felt the concrete under his hands as he pushed himself up. The white faded away from his eyes and everything became blurry and dark. He could barely see his hands in front of him.

He vaguely heard people shouting and screaming. It sounded like it was a lot of people from far away all around him. His head swam as he stood, only to trip and fall again.

Everything grew distant and he felt himself get farther from himself, watching as he collapsed onto the floor in pain, red filling his vision with the darkness. He heard more screaming and suddenly gunfire. Normally, that would snap him out of his stupor to go back into action. But he found he couldn’t do anything, his head screaming in agony with every passing second.

It felt like his eyes were on fire.

More yells and the sound of a sword contacting skin made him flinch back. He realized vaguely that he was probably leaning over the edge of the building now. One of his arms was off of the ground he was laying on. A chilly breeze brushed against his face along with the rain still pouring down, mixing with the tears that filled his eyes against his will.

Then there was an annoyed mutter and then someone’s breathing hitch as they neared him. He tried opening his eyes, or were they already open ? He groaned in pain, his vision pulsing along with his heartbeat.

Someone kneeled down next to him with a stuttered breath. Hesitant hands shook his shoulders and he batted them away, rolling over and regretting it when he felt the wind on his back. The person gasped and quickly yanked him up into a sitting position away from the ledge, mumbling something he couldn’t hear over the roaring in his ears.

The next thing he knew was that he was being picked up and moved. He didn’t have half the mind to be scared of the person. Wilbur found himself putting blind trust in them - also in the literal sense - as they carried him.

He decided the torture his eyes and brain were putting him through would be much worse than anything the person kidnapping him could do. Eventually, he passed out from the pain, happily accepting unconsciousness over his suffering.

Chapter Text

Dream never thought himself to be a monster. He did what he had to do to survive for a long time. Then he was given the gift of something wonderful. Something dark and powerful. The void called like whispers and he listened intently, though they spoke no words he understood. He followed them to a dark place- and he can’t recall much after that.

He had woken up feeling something… other.

Dream found out later about his gift and he cherished it. The void gave him freedom and strength. The emptiness gave him immortality. Something unfathomable by the people of the time. He was given the power of the void. Darkness. The unknown.

For years he loved using it to his advantage. Brandishing his power to his friends and family thought it quickly turned sour when they grew old and he didn’t. It was too long ago for him to remember their names. Their faces. He only remembered what he thinks to be his younger sister, her eyes a softer green than his.

Dream only remembered the pain of losing them one by one as he passed them by. But the rush was too sweet to give up for a normal life. So he let it take over. He let the numb feeling seep into his bones and cloud his mind.

Apathy. He realized.

Dream grew violent over the years. Uncaring of the pain he caused.

Then the whispers of the void grew louder and formed words, trying to warn him. When he listened, he heard of his prophecy.

What he learned only made him angry. There was going to be another. Someone like him. His opposite.

His opposite was supposed to contrast him in every way. Where Dream was immortal, his opposite was vulnerable. Where Dream thrived in the dark, his opposite flourished in the light. Where Dream poisoned and killed, his opposite loved and healed.  His opposite was the only thing that could kill him, keep him in check.

To say the least, Dream especially didn’t like hearing he wouldn’t be the only one. That his opposite would bring impossible power to the people. But in the beginning, he dismissed it, uncaring.

He was indifferent about his opposite’s arrival. Though he would be lying if he said he hadn’t been intrigued. So at the time he shrugged it off and went about his day.

But as he lived and lived and lived, watching, waiting. He realized how… disappointing humanity was. How unfair their systems were. When it was close to the time his opposite was supposed to be born. He was already fed up.

He made a plan, he would rid the Earth of its problem, its parasite forever. Make it a world where he could live in peace. Do whatever he wanted without people to stop him.

Then, he remembered. There was one small issue with his plan. His opposite would arrive soon, to combat his efforts in destruction. To give power, life, whereas he would take.

He stressed. He plotted. He screamed. He killed. Then, one day, walking downtown he saw it. A child. A small toddler crying, so very loudly. He had winced then, ducking further under his umbrella. He didn’t understand what mortals’ obsession was with the parasitic creatures they created. He personally was disgusted by them.

Then he recalled the prophecy. His opposite would be birthed . His opposite, his nemesis had to start as a small, weak, impressionable baby . The thought was laughable. And laugh he did.

He laughed as he calculated the time and location the baby would land. He laughed as he learned how to raise a child. He laughed as he scouted the area. He laughed as he heard the sound of the impact. His laughing stopped when he saw him.

The baby’s eyes were glowing a bright blue and he was carefully wrapped up in golden silk. The baby looked disappointed by the sight of him, almost like he knew.

Then Dream grabbed the baby out of the sun rock he landed with and smiled. Oh, the plans he had. He would raise the boy to think like him, understand him. There he could keep him around, for balance and for the power he also served. Because make no mistake, the baby had power. His opposite could do everything he couldn’t. And that made him valuable.

A few months after that, crime began to rise as people started taking advantage of their new powers. The city decided to step up and one man brought it all together, starting the show. He went by Anonymous at the time, working behind the scenes to create a movement, forming the group labeled as ‘heroes’.

Later Anonymous earned a new name once he stepped out onto the field, gained by the intimidating aura he emitted. His large black wings and ominously masked face reminded some of the Angel of Death, dubbing him his official name.

The heroes would prove to be an issue. Dream had to change his plans. Those plans included his opposite, Tommy, to stay alive. To train him to fight and use his power. To get rid of the hero system so he could be free. He would change the prophecy to his advantage.

~ ☀ ~

Tommy was panicking. He doesn’t know what happened. All he knew is he saw Blare was about to die at the hands of Dream and he saw red. Well, technically he saw bright white as light burst from him in every direction, even in the darkness of the storm.

The next thing he knew was that Dream was stumbling away, clutching his abdomen and yelling at someone to help him. Tommy watched in silent fury as some goons came over and helped carry him away, blindly limping anywhere but near Tommy.

But he couldn’t leave Blare. His teammates were nowhere to be seen and from what Tommy remembered from his chat with the Angel, he wouldn’t leave his son out to die like that. Judging by the amount of shouting from lackeys, Dream had prepared for a big fight. Tommy wouldn’t be surprised if they were fighting off dozens of them.

So at this point, Tommy was on the ground floor, running with Blare in tow. The hero had yet to open his eyes under his blindfold-like mask and had only been able to mutter slurred curses and other concerning things. Tommy had felt his heart stutter when Blare had said something about his brain melting.

To say the least, he was scared. So he ran, carrying the hero like a big baby, tears streaming down his face as he contemplated the things Dream had said.

He quickly choked down a sob and decided he would think about that later. His first priority was escaping and fixing whatever was wrong with Blare.

The rain was still slamming down on him, running down his back and collecting in his hair. But he didn’t feel the usual drag that came with it. For some reason, that unsettled him more than comforted him. 

Tommy felt his anxiety grow as he ran along the open streets down the sidewalk, shooting warning glances at passerbys who would shriek or gasp at the sight of the villain carrying a hero. Most of them just ran in fear of being caught in the crossfire of a fight. Tommy couldn’t say he blamed them.

He kept running, looking for a safe place to stop. Then he saw it.

Tommy rushed down the alleyway and adjusted Blare in his arms to knock on the door. The hero only groaned and mumbled something unintelligible, completely unaware of his surroundings.

Tommy frowned down at him, racking his brain for an answer. What did he do to him? The man who has protected him more than once was now writhing in pain in his arms because he couldn’t control himself. Because of his curse.

The door opened and the cheery greeting on the slime hybrid’s tongue stuttered uncertainly, eyebrows furrowing at the two in front of him.

“Is Quackity here?”

The slime hybrid paused for a second, considering before his eyes landed on the hero again and he nodded jerkily, waving him inside.

Following him down the vaguely familiar hallways, Tommy was able to calm down a little and focus solely on the hero he had technically just kidnapped.

They eventually made it to a room that reminded him of when he healed Karl and he winced at the reminder. Thinking of the two Karls he had seen barely an hour or two before, watching them disintegrate into thin air.

Shaking off the memory, he assessed the room quickly and found the only furniture to be an old desk and chair along with the leather couch Tommy was setting Blare down on.

The hero’s hands reluctantly moved from gripping his shoulders to clamping them over his eyes. Something seized in Tommy’s heart as he kneeled next to the couch, gently nudging his hands away.

Tommy looked around and found that the slime hybrid had left and closed the door, with that confirmation, he turned to Blare with an awkward look even though the hero couldn’t see it. “I’m gonna have to take your mask off to heal your eyes,” Tommy informed him, hands hovering nearby.

Tommy was surprised when Blare said something slightly discernable. “Jus’ ma’e it stop,” he breathed painfully, chest heaving in pained gasps.

Tommy nodded and realized with his eyes squeezed shut, Blare couldn’t see the gesture. “Okay,” he said, his heart rate spiking at the thought of actually seeing Blare’s face.

He hesitantly put his hands on either side of Blare’s mask, waiting for the hero to protest or move his hands away. He didn’t do either.

In one quick motion, Tommy pulled the mask off the man’s face and recoiled with a gasp at his face.

His eyes were mostly squeezed shut and his face was twisted in a pained grimace but it was him. Blare was Wilbur.

Wilbur was Blare.

His breath stuttered as he fell back slightly, Wilbur only squirmed on the couch without thought, unaware or uncaring of Tommy’s reaction. “Wilbur?” Tommy breathed in disbelief, shuffling back over to cup his face in his hand.

How couldn’t he have seen it sooner? How careless Wilbur was about upsetting Dream. How Wilbur was more concerned with Tommy’s safety than his own. The selfless acts matched up with the Blare he knew almost perfectly.

“Techno?” Wilbur mumbled questioningly, as he opened his eyes more Tommy noticed the grayish glaze over them and he couldn’t hold in the gasp that clawed its way out.

He pushed down the connections about Techno and Phil obviously being the Angel and Blade for another time along with all his conflicted thoughts about Wilbur’s identity.

The man was squinting at the ceiling light and Tommy quickly moved his other hand to shield his eyes from the light.

Then he caught better sight of his eyes. There was barely any warm brown left, replaced by a sickly, glossed-over, gray color. The veins in his eyes were a more prominent red and there was some blood in his eyes that was watered down by the tears rolling down his cheeks.

Looking at the blank, unfocused look in Wilbur’s eyes told Tommy he blinded him. And the effects could be permanent.

Tommy had been forced to use his powers to try and permanently blind on more than one occasion, he’s just… never been able to do it. Wilbur’s brain is barely processing the immense amount of sudden pain that probably did burn his cornea. Something he didn’t think he was even capable of doing. He hurt Wilbur and he might not even be able to fix it with his power. That scared him even more.

So instead of correcting Wilbur’s delirious mumblings of his brother’s name, Tommy just hummed and closed the man’s eyelids, placing his hands over them gently.

Breathing in steady breaths, he focused his power. This time Tommy was much more aware of the lengths of his powers and was much more careful with how much he let out. His hands glowing a warm orange-yellow over the man’s eyes.

Tommy’s eyes started to sting and he squinted as they teared up a little but other than that, he didn’t pay the pain any mind.

He noticed Wilbur’s breathing even out and he stopped squirming, slumping on the couch.

Tommy pulled his hands away slowly and the man’s eyes didn’t open. Feeling slightly nervous he checked his pulse, only to find him simply unconscious, leaving Tommy alone with his thoughts.

Before he could sink into them too much, the door to the room slammed open and Tommy shot up into a protective stance, hiding Wilbur’s face from the person who entered the room. He only paused when he realized it was just Quackity, who was quietly closing the door behind him with a sheepish look on his face.

“Is he okay?” Quackity asked, trying to peek around Tommy to get a better look at him. He only stilled when he saw Blare’s mask on the floor next to them. They met eyes and Quackity had a knowing look on his face that looked somewhat guilty. “You… did you uh-”

“He’s fine,” Tommy said, far too quickly and sharply that it made Quackity stop, furrowing his eyebrows. After a moment of Quackity’s eyes flickering between Wilbur’s almost still body and the mask on the floor, Tommy rolled his eyes under his own mask. “I had to, he was in pain.”

Quackity nodded and took a step closer, only for Tommy to hover further over the unconscious man nervously. Quackity seemed to notice his apprehension and sighed. “I know he’s Wilbur, Tommy,” he explained, smiling a little as Tommy’s shoulders slumped in relief.

“ You knew?” Tommy sputtered, a little hurt seeping into his voice. Quackity frowned sympathetically, walking over to stand by the couch. “He told you?”

“I figured it out,” he corrected, frown deepening at the sight of Wilbur’s state. “He’s not a very good liar.”

Tommy pursed his lips, grimacing at the reminder that he should’ve seen it sooner. He turned his head to look at the unmasked hero before him, the man’s expression undisturbed and calm now that he wasn’t in pain. He was in pain because of you, his mind supplied unhelpfully.

After a long moment of silence, Quackity reached over and swept some of the curly brown hair out of Wilbur’s face. “Who hurt him?” He asked, his voice laced with a threat. Based on Wilbur’s reluctance to call him and Quackity friends and the fact they are on opposite sides of the morality scale, Quackity seemed to care a lot more about Wilbur than he originally thought. Maybe Wilbur just attracted bad people.

“I did,” Tommy admitted, pursing his lips and taking one of Wilbur’s hands in his own. He was still cold from the rain and his hair was still wet, drenching his clothes. But the air conditioning in the room permitted him to stave off the need to change into dry clothes.

Quackity whirled around to face him, something conflicted between anger and betrayal, his body tense. “What did you do to him? You-“

Before Quackity could say something he would regret, Tommy interrupted him. “Not on purpose,” he said quietly, squeezing Wilbur’s limp hand. “I didn’t even know it was possible…”

Quackity studied him for a moment before his posture relaxed a little. “The bright light- that was you?”

Tommy met the man’s eyes, finding a look he couldn’t decipher, and turned away, nodding. “Dream was going to kill him,” Tommy whispered, his voice more vulnerable than he had let it be in a long time.

Quackity’s demeanor softened as he crouched next to him, putting a hand on his shoulder reassuringly. If the man noticed his use of Dream’s real name rather than his villain name, he didn’t say anything. The considerate silence prompted him to continue.

“I didn’t even think I just- he was going to die because he came to save me,” he paused, swallowing down the lump in his throat. “Something switched in my head and suddenly everything was bright and- and Wilbur was blind and Dream was-“ he cut himself off, the weight of the situation crashing down on him. “I betrayed Dream.”

Quackity seemed to realize his inner turmoil and shook his head slowly. “Dream betrayed you first, Tommy. All those years ago when he took in you with the intention of using you as a tool, he betrayed you . It’s about time he gets what he deserves,” he said firmly, making sure to hold eye contact for Tommy to see his seriousness. “You owe him nothing.”

Tommy choked down a sob and instead tore off the frowning mask that weighed him down, letting it fall into his lap. He looked up at Quackity and the man’s expression softened even more seeing his young face, something like guilt and pity entering his gaze. “Quackity, he- he knows everything about me,” he stuttered, hands gripping the mask tightly like he could crush it between his palms if he tried hard enough. “He’s going to use something against me- he knows my weaknesses-” he stopped himself before he broke out into a fit of tears.

“What do you mean ‘weaknesses’, Tommy?” Quackity asked softly, tilting his head to look him in his eyes better.

Tommy’s eyes flitted over to Wilbur and he grabbed the man’s hand again, flitting his eyes between him and Quackity. “This- this idiot,” he huffed fondly, sniffling a little. “Dream knows that I- oh no,” he stilled bringing his hands up to drag down his face.

“What? What’s wrong?” Quackity questioned, looking concerned now.

“Sapnap,” he said, the man’s eyes widened in realization. “He’s going to- he’s gonna-”

“Tommy, calm down,” he placated, grabbing Tommy’s wrists and exaggerating his breathing for him to follow. “Listen, we’ve been trying to-”

“Where is he?!” Tommy demanded, jumping to his feet. At Quackity’s hesitance, his anger and panic only grew. “Dream’s going to kill him, Quackity!”

Flinching, the man nodded vigorously. “I know that! It’s just- we don’t know where he is! We’ve been trying to look for him for a while, Tommy.”

“You don’t know where he is?”

Quackity pursed his lips and shook his head. Tommy paced the room, grabbing fistfuls of his hair with both hands on his head. “We need to find him!”

“What do you think we’ve been doing this whole time, Tommy!?” Quackity snapped, throwing his hands up in the air in irritation.

Tommy said nothing and only collapsed back onto the floor next to the couch, taking in shaky breaths.

Quackity frowned, the fight dying in him. “I- I’m sorry,” he muttered. “It’s just- we care about Sapnap too.”

“It’s fine,” Tommy mumbled, resting his head against the cushion of the couch. “I’m just tired of being left in the dark.”

The words made Quackity’s frown deepen and he sighed. “We’ll catch you up as best as we can but first,” he paused, waiting for Tommy to look up at him. “You said you injured Dream right? You should run by your apartment and get some of your stuff so you’ll have your essentials here.”

Tommy nodded, standing up slowly. He didn’t have anywhere else safe to stay and didn’t feel like being stubborn. He looked over at Wilbur, who was still passed out on the couch, and hesitated. He turned to see Quackity give him a sympathetic look and sat at the end of the couch by Wilbur’s legs.

“Don’t worry, I’ll watch him.”

Tommy let a small smile form on his face, one of assurance and relief before nodding his head again. “Thank you,” he said quietly, grabbing his mask again with a wave of reluctance. The two beady holes where his eyes peeked out of stared back at him like it had so many times before. This time, Tommy dropped it to the floor and stomped on it. The mask shattered under his heel and Quackity smiled approvingly, waving at him as he strode out the door.

This time, Tommy wouldn’t give in.

This time, Tommy had people to fight for.

~ ☀ ~

Techno paced the living room, dragging his bloodied hands down his face and screaming into his hands. It barely muffled the sound but Phil didn’t care where he was slumped over his laptop, scouring camera footage around the area.

“I failed him,” Techno muttered, he had repeated it over and over like it would change anything. Like it would bring his brother back to him in one piece. “I failed him.”

If only he had been stronger. If only he had just sliced through the ambush and killed them all without mercy, reputation be damned, and saved him.

He had heard his brother’s screams of agony while he himself was cornered by highly trained goons. But, once they had gotten rid of most of the lackeys, leaving the rest to run in fear at the sight of the blood of their allies stained on Techno’s sword and suit, Wilbur was nowhere to be seen.

Techno knew Wilbur was smart and very capable of defending himself, but in that moment and the moments forward, all he could feel was that he was vulnerable and it was his fault. That he should’ve been right next to him the whole time, protecting Wilbur from himself and his own recklessness.

He almost went back to muttering his nonsense when the news said his brother’s hero name, catching his attention. Techno whipped around to face the TV that had been playing idly for the last thirty minutes or longer, he couldn’t remember.

“-Blare was seen fighting Nightmare on the roof of an abandoned building downtown. As you can see in this clip from a live video taken a few buildings away, there is another silhouette sitting there. Then- boom! A bright light bursts out from the third figure, illuminating the sky over the expanse of several miles in the storm. Some have already dubbed the mysterious figure ‘Lightbringer’ from an old religious story of the devil. Though others believe the third figure is Nightmare’s right-hand man, Shadow. Though the public seems to think ‘Lightbringer’ fits more. Back to you!” The woman said, poorly transitioning to another man with a microphone, sitting at a desk.

Techno stared at the screen, as another clip pulled up, ready to play as the man nodded at the camera, a typical news reporter smile on his face.

“We just got in another clip of the third figure and it does seem like the people have identified him correctly. In this next clip, I’m going to show you is footage of ‘Lightbringer’ kidnapping Blare and running from the scene of the crime with the hero in his arms.”

The video played and Phil walked over after noticing what caught his attention. Lo and behold, a familiar black mask with a crude frown drawn on it in white sat on the face of the man carrying Wilbur away. He seemed conscious, twitching and moving a little, but Techno could tell he was in pain.

His blood boiled at the sight.

Techno grabbed his sword and put on his mask, Phil followed suit without another word.

He wasn’t going to fail his brother again.

Chapter Text

Wilbur is Blare.

Blare is Wilbur.

Wilbur is Blare.

Blare is Wilbur.

Wilbur is Blare.

Wilbur is Blare.

Wilbur-

“It’s the Lightbringer!” A loud, terrible shriek pierced his thoughts. Tommy immediately covered his ears with his hands, walking past the group of people who were cowering at the sight of him. He didn’t know what ‘the Lightbringer’ was, but all he did know was that Wilbur is Blare. Blare was Wilbur. And Tommy was a complete idiot.

He should have seen it sooner. Tommy let his hands fall to his sides, nothing is covering his face. But by the way people are shielding their eyes from the light coming from his, he doesn’t think he needs to.

“-gonna kill us! Get out of his way!”

Tommy just continued to walk, not minding the people gathering on the streets at the ruckus, staring at him.

Did Wilbur know he was Shadow all this time? Was he stringing him along to betray him in the end? Was he even Tommy’s friend? If he doesn’t already know, would Wilbur still care about him if he found out? Or did he ever really care at all?

Tommy snapped himself out of his thoughts, hands going up to clutch his head. He stared down at the ground, counting the cracks in the pavement as he passed them. Water was still pouring down, running through the streets into the gutters.

The air was cold and Tommy shivered as a gust of wind hit him and his drenched clothes. The dark sky loomed above him, laughing at him as he trembled.

Tears slid down his cheeks and it mixed with the rain soaking his hair and dripping down his face and back.

He has no parents. He never even had parents, a family. Tommy has no one. He has nothing. He is no-

Something slammed into Tommy’s side, causing him to go flying into the street. His vision goes blurry for a moment when his head hits the concrete. He barely has time to register what’s happening before there’s a hand fisted in the collar of his shirt, pulling him to his feet.

“WHERE IS HE?” Blade- Techno snapped, shaking him roughly at the collar with his free hand raised in a fist, knuckles white. He opened his eyes to see Techno squinting at him, his face illuminated in bright, white light. “ANSWER ME!”

Tommy wanted to respond, he really did. But, his brain was swimming and his mouth didn’t form the words.

A fist connected with his face and Tommy’s head whipped to the side with it, spitting golden blood out of his mouth. “Where is Blare, Lightbringer ?” He hissed, the name said with such venom and mockery.

He just stayed there, in a shocked, lucid state. Techno dropped him and his back slammed painfully against the concrete again. Cars were honking and the sounds of tires cutting through water and splashing against the pavement barely registered in his head. They were in the middle of the road.

A kick landed in his side, making him double over in pain, hands instinctually going down to clutch his abdomen. “I said,” Techno started again, his voice distorted slightly by the voice changer, but it was so obviously him. How did he not see it soo- “Where. Is. He?” He punctuated every word with a kick and Tommy vaguely felt something healing near his stomach.

Tommy tried to force something out of his mouth, laying on the ground while his blood glittered from the light coming from his eyes. The thing he ended up saying was probably the worst thing he could’ve said. “Techno?”

Techno immediately stilled and everything seemed to stop. The Angel- Phil landed next to Techno, putting a hand on his shoulder and asking him something, a concerned edge to his voice. Techno said nothing in response and just stared at him. “How do you know my name?” He demanded, voice quieter than before. He had to have recognized Tommy’s voice but was leaning forward, trying to look through the light anyway.

Phil was confused but followed Techno’s lead, crouching down to get a closer look. Something nervous bubbled up in Tommy’s throat and he sprung up to a sitting position, hissing in pain. “Stop,” he breathed, his vision darkening at the quick movement. “Lemme go, he- I only have so much time.”

Both of them seemed to tense even further, reaching out to him. Tommy recoiled, scooting backward to get away from them. “Who?” Phil asked, exchanging a look with Techno.

“Dream he-” Tommy cut himself off, eyes widening. He just told the heroes Dream’s name, Dream’s gonna kill him. A part of him argued that Dream was going to kill him anyway.

“Dream?” Phil prompted, his voice much softer than Techno’s, who was looking away from him now with a stoic stare.

“I don’t have time for this!” Tommy shouted, throwing himself to his feet. He summoned his sword with a jerk of his hand, trembling as he held it up to threaten Phil. He knew he could never do it if he actually had to stab him, it was Phil, Wilbur’s father, who treated him so kindly. But it was the thought that he would that counted.

Phil held his hands up in surrender, backing up a few steps. Techno looked to Phil for a second before backing up as well, letting Tommy stumble off the busy road and back onto the sidewalk.

Tommy kept his eyes on them as they slowly followed, hands still up. “I can fuckin’ see you, dumbasses!” He spat, throwing his hands up in the air in a show of annoyance.

“Let us help you.”

“You still didn’t tell us where Blare is,” Techno said at the same time Phil spoke. They both turned to each other with a similar glare before returning to look back at the subject at hand.

Tommy stood there, debating. After a long moment, his shoulders slumped and his sword disappeared. They want to know where their family member is. Tommy withheld the urge to think jealously, and instead sighed. “He’s fine and safe.”

That didn’t deter them in the slightest, still tense as they both took another daring step closer to him. “Where?” Techno asked, eyes darting between him and Phil.

“I can’t tell you,” Tommy admitted, taking a nervous step back. Mistake. He tripped over something, sending him falling back down, anxiously scrambling away from the heroes who were taking advantage of his fall, closing in on him.

“I’m serious, kid,” Techno huffed, reaching forward to grab him. Did he not recognize Tommy’s voice?

With a last leap of energy, Tommy jumped up, narrowly avoiding Techno’s hand before taking off running down an alleyway. 

“Hey!” One of them shouted, Tommy couldn’t tell who. He just kept running, pushing himself off of the alleyway walls to propel himself further.

Eventually, Tommy began to get tired and the weight of his healing injuries made his muscles ache with stiffness.

Tommy faltered for a second and someone jumped at him from above, knocking him down. “Where is my son?!” Phil snapped, his nice demeanor gone. Tommy shuddered as he propped himself up on shaky elbows. Phil loomed above him, wings out to their full span, probably to intimidate him. It was working. “Tell me where-”

Tommy opened his mouth and his resolve broke, his eyes flickered as he tried to hold himself together. “Phil,” he croaked, voice breaking pitifully.

Phil instantly froze, wings curling into themselves as he took a hesitant step closer. Tommy recoiled back and hit his head against the ground, letting out a pained whine. “Tommy?” Phil whispered, disbelieving as the light faded and all that was left was Tommy’s hybrid features and too-blue eyes.

For a second, something like betrayal and anger flashed in Phil’s gaze, then it disappeared like it was never there. “Phil,” he pleaded, clutching his stomach where he was kicked. Something was broken but he felt it snap back into place. Phil must’ve heard it too because he flinched, eyes wide.

Phil fell to his knees next to him with his hands hovering. “Tommy,” he gasped, watching as Tommy turned to the side and spat out gold blood. “Tommy, I’m so sorry I-“

“Phil?!” Techno shouted, approaching them with his sword at his side. “Phil, what are you-“ his breath caught in his throat once his eyes landed on Tommy’s face.

“I don’t have time,” Tommy choked out again, pulling himself to his feet with a hand on the wall. “He’s gonna- he- I-“

“Tommy, it’s okay. Explain slowly, we’re gonna help you,” Phil said, ignoring Techno whose face had dropped and his sword clattered on the ground.

“Dream, he- I hurt him bad. He’s gonna recover soon and he’ll be after me,” Tommy stuttered, getting angry at himself for his blubbering. “And Wilbur,” he added quietly, hand curling into a fist.

Phil’s eyes widened and nodded. “Okay, what do you need right now?”

Something about the pity in Phil’s voice and the pain racking his body sent something petty and vicious up his throat. “I need you to get- get the fuck away from me!” Tommy said, kicking his feet out at them for them to keep their distance. Phil jumped back in surprise, Techno putting a hand on his arm.

“Tommy, I promise if I had known…” Phil trailed off, the rest of his sentence obvious. “We just want to help you and Wilbur.”

“You’ve done quite enough,” Tommy hissed, catching Phil, Techno, and even himself off guard with the bitterness in his voice.

He stumbled to his feet and summoned his sword again, feeling himself drain even more from it, he didn’t care. Tommy pointed it at them again, his hand trembling while his other clutched his side. “Tommy, please let us help you.”

Tommy shot Phil a nasty glare. “The only thing you can do for me is not tell Wilbur who I am.”

Phil raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

Tommy exhaled sharply, turning to give Phil a serious look. “Because he’ll do something stupid and that’ll get more people killed. Don’t.”

The heroes seemed like they wanted to say more, ask more, but Tommy was already gone, limping to his apartment with a burning fury that kept him going.

~ ☀ ~

Wilbur woke up feeling refreshed. Every bone in his body felt light and his eyes somehow saw brighter. 

He sat up and stretched his limbs, sighing. Then his eyes shot open wider and he glanced around in a panic, realizing he had no clue where he was.

The room was empty except for a desk and chair along with the couch he was laying on. His hands flew up to his face and his horror doubled when he noticed his mask was no longer on.

Wilbur spotted it on the floor in front of the couch and he reached out to grab it before the door opened.

He scrambled to pick his mask up and paused at the person entering. “Hey, Wilbur,” Quackity sighed, closing the door behind him with one hand while the other was holding a tray of food. “Glad to see you’re awake.”

“Where…?”

“My casino,” he answered, understanding the question as he sat down in the chair that was pulled up next to the couch.

Wilbur furrowed his eyebrows. “What happened?”

Quackity frowned. “You don’t remember?”

Frowning, Wilbur concentrated, only getting fuzzy memories of Shadow’s mask and immense pain. “Only a little bit.”

“Probably for the best,” Quackity muttered, setting the tray down on his lap and looking over it carefully.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means exactly what I said,” he shrugged, a snappish tone to his voice. “It’s better you don’t remember, wasn’t very fun for you.”

Wilbur’s expression turned into a bitter scowl. “Quackity, you know I hate your games, tell me what happened.”

Quackity smirked and picked up a cup off the tray, probably filled with something alcoholic, and took a long sip. “Shadow- or Lightbringer as the news is calling him now, saved your sorry ass.”

Wilbur pursed his lips. “I was dying.”

Quackity scoffed and rolled his eyes. “You’re so dramatic, you were just in lots of pain. You’re lucky Lightbringer healed you. I think you would’ve gone permanently blind if he hadn’t but I doubt you would’ve died . Not that Light would’ve let you.”

At that, Wilbur raised an eyebrow, tilting his head at him with a confused look. “Shadow saved me?”

Quackity rolled his eyes dramatically. “I thought that was obvious. Why are you surprised? You guys have been saving each other back and forth, I think it was his turn anyway.”

“Well,” he paused, confused as he tried to remember. “I don’t know.”

Quackity pursed his lips but didn’t say anything else about it, taking to drink more of whatever was in his cup. “Wonderful,” he said, sighing in exasperation. Quackity looked up at Wilbur and held up his hand, putting down three fingers. “How many fingers am I holding up?

Wilbur’s face contorted into a confused scowl. “Two?”

“You sound unsure,” Quackity commented, ignoring his annoyed tone completely. Wilbur sputtered but Quackity effectively cut him off by holding up his hand again, this time, putting down one finger. “How many now?”

“Four,” Wilbur deadpanned, crossing his arms before throwing his hands up in the air. “What is this? This is stupid, I can see just fine.”

“Just making sure,” he said with a slight smirk, leaning forward a bit and taking out a small flashlight seemingly out of nowhere, though it must’ve come off the tray. Without warning, Quackity flashed the light in his eyes and he didn’t even flinch. Wilbur only squinted out of habit and slowly relaxed his eyes, confused when it didn’t hurt to stare into the light. “What the fuck.”

“What?”

“I was- well, I was checking if you had brain damage but this- oh my god. Your eyes are kind of like his!” He laughed, an almost manic edge to his curiosity.

Wilbur ignored the comment about the state of his brain and instead gaped at the man. “Who? What?”

“Lightbringer,” he said simply. “When he healed your eyes his power must’ve affected them somehow. Woah.”

“What do you mean?!” Wilbur questioned anxiously, moving his legs to prepare to stand.

“Here,” Quackity handed him his phone with the camera app open and flipped it to face him. Wilbur gasped when he caught sight of his eyes. “Isn’t that cool?”

Wilbur said nothing, speechless as eyes that were once a murky brown were now glittered in gold, swirling in his irises, constantly glimmering. He almost didn’t recognize himself.

“Wilbur? You there man? You look kinda pale.”

“WHAT THE FUCK!”

“Well, that was a lot more dramatic than I was expecting.”

“What the fuck happened to me!?”

“I literally just-”

“Shut up! I don’t want to hear your shit right now!” Wilbur stressed, putting his hands in his hair and pulling. He paused, remembering something very vital. Phil and Techno.

Wilbur shot up out of his seat, ignoring Quackity and grabbing his mask while bolting for the door. He secured his mask on his head while running down random hallways, looking for an exit.

“Wilbur! Wilbur wait!”

Wilbur ignored him and found an emergency exit door, deeming it an emergency enough, he shoved through, unbothered by the sirens that started going off.

He knew by the sounds of distant screaming and cars honking that something was going on. But, his first stop had to be his home, where his family would be able to find him.

~ ☀ ~

Tommy got back to the casino with two backpacks filled with his clothes and some of his crocheting things. It had been a few hours since he had left initially and Tommy had changed into his civilian clothes at his home, part of his mind scared that Dream was going to slam his fists on the door at any moment. But he couldn’t go around in his villain attire without getting exposed, so he endured the anxiety.

Tommy approached the back door to the casino hesitantly, if Wilbur was awake, he was going to have a lot of explaining to do. He knocked on the door and it opened to a nervous Quackity.

“What happened?” Tommy questioned, noticing Quackity’s apprehension.

“He escaped.”

“Are you kidding me?”

“No.”

“ Fuck ,” he breathed, storming in past Quackity to find a room to put his stuff in. After setting his bags down he ran his hands through his hair. “Did he leave in his mask?”

“Yes, he did. But, I think he’s going to go find his father and brother.”

“Damnit!” Tommy hissed. “I gave you one job,” he muttered, pacing the room.

“What was I supposed to do!? He ran after seeing what you did to his eyes and there was no stopping him after that.”

“After what ?” Tommy asked slowly, turning to face Quackity.

“His eyes… when you healed them they enhanced them or something. Made them all glittery.”

Tommy slapped a hand to his face and let out a heavy sigh. “This couldn’t get any worse.”

Chapter Text

The burner phone was heavy in his hand as he huddled on his bed, shaking from the cold of the rain. He had dug it out of his dresser, unable to locate his primary phone. He probably dropped it somewhere during the fight.

The burner rang and rang and rang, he had dialed Phil’s number what seemed like hours ago. That was obviously not the case though.

The house was eerily quiet without them in it. He never noticed it until now because he was rarely alone. Techno or Phil was always over his shoulder and if they weren’t he had friends he couldn’t stay away from.

He hated the feeling of being alone. It left room for his thoughts that grew and festered in his heart until they bubbled to the surface.

“ Wilbur? ” Phil’s voice snapped him out of it.

“Yes, yeah it’s me.”

A sigh of relief. “Where are you?”

“Home.”

“Okay,” there was a rusting sound and muffled talking. “We’re on the way, alright? Are you hurt?”

“No, I’m… I’m in perfect condition,” Wilbur pursed his lips and stretched his muscles, feeling better than ever before.

“Are you sure? Don’t lie to me, Wil,” Phil pleaded, the sound of wings flapping resounding in the background.

“I’m sure. Sh- I’ll tell you when you get here.”

“Okay.”

Wilbur stared at the floor while the phone was pressed against his ear, hesitant.

He eventually just hung up, hating the staticky sound from the old burner phone. Phil would probably be confused or worried, but he would explain when they arrived.

He dropped his hand into his lap, loosely holding the burner phone. He had to explain what happened.

He had to tell them that he had saved Shadow more than once, and in turn, Shadow saved him. He had to tell them that he was friends with Quackity- or Wildcard. Would he have to tell them his identity?

A door slammed open downstairs and he tensed, only to relax a little when it was just Phil and Techno. One of them started up the stairs, taking two at a time, calling his name.

Noticing he was still in his hero gear and mask, he paused, then stood up.

Wilbur’s door opened and Phil barged in, eyes landing on him. “Wilbur,” he breathed, rushing forward and pulling him into a hug.

Wilbur snaked his hands around his father’s shoulders and squeezed back, resting his chin on the man’s head from the height difference.

Once they pulled away from the hug, Wilbur just stood there awkwardly, unknowing of how to start. Phil sighed. “Let’s go downstairs with your brother, he’s worried to death.”

Wilbur nodded and fidgeted with his hands, trailing after his father anxiously.

They walked into the living room to see Techno pacing, rubbing at his temples. At their entrance his head snapped up, chest lowering with a relieved sigh.

Techno rushed up to him, hands cupping his cheeks as he looked him over. Wilbur scoffed out a laugh and grabbed his brother’s wrists. “I’m fine, I’m okay.”

Techno nodded and Wilbur dragged him into a hug, swaying on his feet a little. “You have some explaining to do,” Techno muttered, arms tight around his shoulders.

“I know,” he exhaled, taking a step back and sitting down on the couch. Techno and Phil sat on the couch opposite him, leaning forward expectantly. “I don’t know where to start,” he admitted, looking at them nervously.

“How about you start by- wait, why do you still have your mask on? It’s safe-“

Wilbur cut Techno off with a jerky wave of his hand. “I know. I just… I saved Shadow’s life.”

Techno nodded, albeit a little confused by his deflection. Phil exchanged a glance with Techno that Wilbur couldn’t quite decipher.

“More than just the one time,” he winced, looking away from them as they sat up straighter.

“Why?!” Phil asked, giving the two brothers confused looks.

“Well, the only reason I’m alive is because he healed me after I fell off the building.”

Phil frowned and nodded, quietly urging him to continue.

“Anyway, after that I saw how- who he truly was; a good person. He could’ve left me to die and he didn’t.”

A beat passed and he continued.

“I saw him return a child to their father after healing them from burns that Hellstorm had inflicted. He was exhausted from healing and from his own wounds so I helped him escape.”

Phil took in a sharp breath, though he tried to hide it. Techno didn’t hide his disapproval in the slightest, scowling at the floor instead of Wilbur.

“So when I heard what was happening on the roof and I saw Nightmare was going to kill him. I jumped in. Nightmare almost killed me and then… I don’t know. I think Shadow let out some big wave of light, it blinded me in the process of saving me and it hurt like hell.”

“Then… then Shadow took you?”

“I guess so,” Wilbur said, nodding at Phil’s question. “I woke up and came here as soon as I could.”

“Where did he take you exactly?” Techno asked, his voice devoid of any emotion Wilbur could pick out.

“Uh, I- that doesn’t matter,” he dismissed, crossing his arms. Techno pursed his lips but wasn’t able to say more as Wilbur continued. “What I’m saying is, I think Shadow is innocent and is someone we need to save.”

Phil and Techno exchanged another glanced and nodded at him. “Okay,” Phil said, sighing. “Okay.”

There was a long beat of silence that seemed to stretch on awkwardly as the tension was still clear in the room. “Wilbur, you said the light blinded you… can you take off your mask?” Techno prodded, ignoring Phil’s scowl.

Wilbur took a step back, laughing nervously. “Yeah, right. I’ll just go… do that.”

Techno furrowed his eyebrows and stood up, taking a few steps to stand in front of his brother, tilting his head up to look at where his eyes were behind the mask. “What are you hidin’?” He muttered, bringing his hands up to Wilbur’s face as he sputtered, trying to come up with an excuse.

Wilbur’s mask came off and Techno gasped, causing Phil to rise where he was on the couch.

“Wha- what happened to your eyes?” Techno asked, grabbing his chin and moving his head to look at his eyes in different angles like it was just a trick of the light.

“I don’t know,” Wilbur lied, avoiding any eye contact with them as Phil got a better look and inhaled sharply.

“It was… Lightbringer?” Phil prompted, his voice light and confused.

“Is that what they’re calling him now?” Wilbur mumbled, crossing his arms.

“Why?”

“Apparently, I would’ve been permanently blind. This is just the effect of his healing powers. Just like how a wound he heals would scar golden on skin.”

“Oh, that makes sense,” Phil said, nodding as he stepped back out of Wilbur’s personal space. Techno reluctantly did as well.

“Are you gonna tell him or…?”

“No!” Phil snapped, throwing his hands up. “I thought we talked about this.”

“No, you talked, I listened, and I disagree. He should know.”

“I know he should but you heard what… he said! I’m not taking any risks.”

Wilbur just stared at them eyebrows downturning. “What should I know?”

“Nothing, Wilbur. Doesn’t matter,” Phil dismissed, waving his hand.

“No, I think it does,” Wilbur argued, looking at Techno for help. “I just told you everything, why can’t you tell me?”

“I’m not talking about this right now. It’s not my secret to spill anyway.”

“Oh so now it’s a secret? Why does Techno get to know?”

They fell into a tense silence and Techno shrugged and looked at Phil. “It’s your problem if you don’t want to tell him,” he said, walking away with his hands in his pockets.

Phil turned and gave Wilbur a hesitant look. “I can’t tell you, I’m sorry.”

Wilbur stared at him for a moment, pursing his lips. “Fine, then,” he huffed, turning away to head to his room. “I’m going to work tomorrow, so don’t shit yourself when I’m not here.”

“WHAT!? You are not-”

Wilbur was already all the way up the stairs and his bedroom door slammed shut.

~ ☀ ~

“This place is pretty low on the radar, he won’t find you here,” Quackity promised, gesturing to the nice apartment they stood in. It was very close to the man’s casino and diner, which was probably on purpose. “I also live nearby enough so you can call me whenever you need me.”

Tommy nodded, knowing very well he would probably never do that. “Okay, and who do I pay rent to?”

Quackity looked at him and frowned. “No one. You’re a child, you should still be living with your parents, not out working. I told you that you could stay with me but you refused, so here we are. Compromising.”

Tommy pursed his lips and nodded slowly. “Whose name is this under then? My old apartment is under Dream’s name because I couldn’t…” he trailed off, looking at the pattern in the carpet sheepishly.

“It’s alright, Tommy, you don’t have to explain yourself to me,” Quackity said softly, carefully putting a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “And it’s under Karl’s name.”

Tommy’s eyes widened and he looked up to meet Quackity’s eyes, seeing he was serious. “Wha- the last time I- why?”

“Mine is too suspicious and Karl offered,” he shrugged, smiling at him as he began to walk around the apartment with him. “If the landlord asks, uh just say he’s your uncle and he’s at the store or something.”

Tommy nodded again, chuckling a little. “Right.”

“Well? Anything else you need to do to get settled in?”

Furrowing his eyebrows he fidgeted with the sleeves of his light tan sweater, making eye contact with his dirtied white shoes. The bottoms of his blue jeans also had some sort of grimy look to them, he can’t recall what from. “I do, but uh not here. I have to go do something,” he said sheepishly, feeling oddly vulnerable.

Quackity softened, giving him a slight smile. “If you’re doing what I think you are, you should be extra careful,” he warned, looking around the room for a moment before shrugging off his jacket. Tommy watched in confusion as Quackity handed him his black bomber jacket with royal blue hem, a small emblem of a cute duck on it.

He was about to comment about how the black clashed with the soft colors of his outfit until Quackity also placed his baseball cap on his head, matching the jacket and effectively shadowing Tommy’s facial features. Especially his most notable one; his eyes.

“There,” Quackity said, taking a step back with a grin. “Now you’ll be less recognizable and look much cooler.”

“Wha- I- I can’t take your jacket,” Tommy protested, holding the jacket back out towards the man.

Quackity just shook his head and smiled. “No, really. Keep it, I’ve got plenty at home. You need cover anyway, Dream knows what you look like and your style. It’s not like you can go out to the store and go clothes shopping right now.”

Tommy considered his words and reluctantly nodded, slipping into the jacket. It was a bit big on him, the arms baggier on his thin frame. “Thanks, Big Q.”

Quackity’s smile widened at the nickname and patted Tommy’s shoulder, walking them back over to the door. “It’s no problem, Tommy.”

They exchanged their goodbyes and Tommy unpacked some of his things onto his bed, making them easily accessible. Then, he headed out with something dreadful and nervous sweltering in his stomach.

~ ☀ ~

Wilbur was able to get his thoughts off of his twin and father easily by focusing on work. He offered extra help to Niki throughout the day, who only raised an eyebrow at his insistence to do more before giving him another chore to do.

He was manning the front counter, typing out orders, and making drinks as usual, only with a certain lack of Tommy near him. Ranboo was there, but he was baking in the back with Niki, trying to avoid as much social interaction past friends as much as possible. Wilbur understood, having his fair share of terrible experiences standing behind the very same counter.

But, work felt odd. Empty, without Tommy, boisterous and laughing next to him. Always able to get a chuckle out of Wilbur on even the worst days. It reminded him of the last time Tommy was absent from work, dying on his couch at home without anyone to take care of him. With everyone unaware of his condition.

He shook off the thought with a practiced smile as he handed a woman her drink, taking her card and processing the payment. He gave it back and she went on with her day, as did he.

Eventually, it got to the point where Wilbur would stop perking up at the sound of the bell over the door ringing, hoping it was Tommy. He hadn’t called in, but he also hadn’t arrived yet. Wilbur worried he was… sick… again.

With his chin resting on his fist, Wilbur stared out the side window, watching people pass as they laughed and chatted on their walk. Where they were going, Wilbur had no idea, but it seemed it wasn’t their top priority either, careless in their saunter. Content around the company of friends or family.

Water was still falling from the sky, people covering their heads with multi-colored umbrellas or running through with a bag over their head, ducking under cover at every chance they could. Still, the people were mostly unbothered by the storm picking up, happy.

In moments like these, Wilbur was reminded why he hated the rain. Long ago, before he had met Phil. Before he received a gift that forever changed the course of his life. He and Techno had been homeless. Abandoned by their parents with no explanation.

Life was hard for them, every day they aimed to survive, not live. The rain was only salt in the wound. Curled up, shivering under a damp cardboard box that had mysterious stains all over it, he and Techno survived. Not without struggle, because that’s what every day was like for them.

When the nights got cold and the water lingered in the alleyways, dripping from noses numb from the freezing air. One or both of them would fall sick.

When this would happen, they would be forced to clean themselves up as well as possible. Then, they would enter a convenience store, Techno going in first, taking to idly stare at the candy they could never afford.

Next, Wilbur would walk in a minute later, most likely sniffling (he always had the worst immune system out of the two of them), and he would smile at the employee sitting behind the counter. From there he would talk, tell them a made-up story about something he and his parents did, or about a toy he wanted to get. He purposefully would avoid their light questions about his parent’s whereabouts.

While Wilbur would sweet-talk the employee, Techno would discreetly shove medicine and granola bars into his small backpack, a flashy character from a cartoon on the front of it they had never gotten the opportunity to watch.

Then, Techno would leave the store, seemingly empty-handed. Wilbur would continue to chatter on with the employee, them looking down at him with a small adoring smile at the young boy who was far too smart for his age.

After that, he would bid his goodbyes with the rare occasion of the employee offering him a candy bar. He would always accept, going back to meet up with his brother to split in half and ration Techno’s findings.

Later, the employee would realize they had been scammed, calling the police to look for the young brunette boy and his mysterious accomplice they never paid much attention to. They would have to move alleyways and stake out another convenience store to start their process again. The rain, ever-present and constant. A staple in his pitiful life.

Things change, life passes by but some things stay the same. Phil adopted them, Techno continued to be broody and protective. Wilbur, reckless and wild.

The sky gray and the grass yellow. Dead. Oil glistened a colorful rainbow in the road as it swirled down into sewer drains accompanied by the water. The wind smells of smoke and the sides of buildings are blackened with smog.

Loneliness is empty and quiet but emptiness leaves room for loud, ugly thoughts. They coat the mind in a sticky residue and they never truly leave. The rain and the ringing in his ears are familiar in the sense of twisted nostalgia that leaves him feeling vacant.

The mind is sick in that way. It brings him physical pain in the way his throat closes up, his anxiety clawing at the surface.

His brother had begged him to go to therapy, Wilbur refused unless Techno got help as well.

He never went to therapy. Some things never change.

The stubborn stay stubborn. The lonely stay lonely.

The rain, still pounded on the glass, begging to be let back in and wash his strength away. Distantly, Wilbur recognized his mind wandering, he chose to let it keep going. Something reassuring in the way his worries and stresses stay loyal and predictable.

Wilbur hates the rain. And in turn, the rain hates Wilbur.

He tore his eyes away from the window in time to see the door open and the familiar chime ring. With a polite look plastered on his face, he looked up only for his face to light up genuinely.

“Tommy!” He greeted cheerily, his voice filled with so much relief and excitement.

The boy completely contrasted him in his mood, hands in the pockets of a black bomber jacket with his head ducked. He only recognized him from his familiar stature and color palette of his clothes, only to pause at the clash of black and bold blue.

Tommy seemed surprised to see him and only nodded to him minutely, shrinking in on himself as he went behind the counter, but not heading in the direction of where his apron hung.

“Hey Tommy,” Wilbur started, the boy turned around to face him, purposefully avoiding looking into his eyes. Though the golden glimmer had thankfully died down to an almost unnoticeable amount, anyone who was looking hard enough would catch it. “Are you alright? When you didn’t call or anything we got a bit worried.”

Tommy stared down at the tile floor, shoulders tense. When Tommy looked up and met his gaze there was something guilty that flashed for a moment, a purple tint under his tired eyes. Tommy turned his head quickly and shrugged.

Wilbur opened his mouth to speak and was interrupted by a voice behind the boy. “Oh, there you are, Tommy!” Niki said, her expression faltering a bit at his appearance, though it remained bright. “How are you? You seem-”

“I quit,” Tommy said abruptly, cutting her off and shocking the two of them into baffled silence. Something about his tone and inflection said that it was more than quitting his job. Niki had obviously known the boy longer than Wilbur and picked up on this fact quickly. “Thought I should tell you in person.”

“What?” Niki whispered, eyes darting between him and Wilbur. “Why? Are you okay? Did something happen? If you need anything at all I am right here, you know,” she rambled, concerned as she took a step closer to Tommy.

“I quit, Niki.”

Niki was speechless, lips moving in muted words that didn’t come out. Her worry over Tommy all coming to the surface at once.

Tommy turned around and started walking out from behind the counter. Wilbur reached his hand out, to do what, he didn’t know.

“Tommy, wait!” Wilbur shouted as the boy had taken a step closer to the exit. Tommy turned his head enough to catch his eyes. “Is this about that man? If you’re scared- I- we can protect you I promise. I can help you.”

Niki seemed a little more than confused as she looked at Wilbur, not having known about Dream and their fight while Tommy was sick. Somehow, Tommy’s shoulders tensed more than he thought possible. “I- I don’t need help,” he said shortly, voice wavering for a moment.

“Are you sure?” He asked softly, cautiously. Tommy’s eyes darted around the empty bakery. Slowly, he turned to face Wilbur.

“I’m-” he cut himself off, whatever he had planned to tell him must’ve been a lie, seeing as his face scrunched up at the thought of saying it.

It was then, in the silence where they all stood nervously racking their brains for something to say, when Wilbur noticed it. The duck logo embroidered into the breast of the bomber jacket so unlike Tommy to wear, swamping him. His face twisted into something like betrayal, from who, he didn’t know. All he knew was that Tommy was wrapped up with Quackity in some way, and he didn’t like that at all.

Tommy is smart, but Quackity is a mastermind, Wilbur might technically be friends with him, but he’s still a villain and not a moral person. It scared him that Tommy was wearing something of Quackity’s in the state he was in. 

“Tommy, if you’ve gotten yourself into trouble, I can help you,” Wilbur said, his eyes darting from Tommy’s own to the jacket and hat he was wearing. He must’ve noticed his staring because Tommy’s expression changed again. Something undecipherable. 

Tommy pursed his lips, looking down at the tile floor, Quackity’s hat shadowing the boy’s eyes from Wilbur’s view. “You can’t.”

“I assure you, I can.”

“No, Wilbur! The last time you helped me you got hurt! I’m fine on my own.”

Wilbur furrowed his eyebrows. “Oh, Tommy, that was my fault, not yours. I told you, I provoked him-”

Tommy’s head snapped up to look at him with something conflicted, eyes glistening. Searching his face for a moment, Tommy’s face fell more and he shook his head. He opened his mouth like he was going to say something and promptly closed it, glancing at him under the rim of his hat for a split second.

Then, Tommy took off running, shoving into the door and booking it down the sidewalk. Wilbur was shocked for a moment before going after him, shouting his name.

Tommy took a sharp turn past a corner store and by the time Wilbur turned, there was no one there. He called Tommy’s name again, peering down alleyways as he walked. He found nothing as his clothes grew wet and his hair a mess. Tommy was gone.

Wilbur hates the rain.

Chapter Text

It’s been a week and three days since he quit. Tommy’s been sitting in his new apartment, sifting through the news, looking for any sign of Dream. Untraceable.

He’s been going out every night to scour the rooftops in case he runs into Dream. He doesn’t.

Tommy’s been stressing. The past few days the sky had been pouring rain nonstop, it made Tommy feel terribly unmotivated, depressed. But the fact Wilbur and his family were still out there, oblivious to Dream’s plotting, kept him searching.

With every dragging day that passed, he felt himself grow more anxious, waiting for the pin to drop. Dream was planning something, he could tell.

Quackity and Karl still hadn’t found a clue on where Sapnap was being held, the trail had gone cold. Punz was no use, he seemingly had disappeared off the face of the earth with his pawnshop left under the care of some mouthy teenager.

~ ☀ ~

Tommy is starting to get antsy. He can’t remember the last time he saw the sun.

He’s beginning to analyze his last interaction with Wilbur and Niki over and over, guilt filling his gut. They were trying to help him.

Tommy has never asked for help, he’s always figured things out on his own or learned the hard way. He hated the way the thought of getting help made him feel weak, pathetic. Because that’s what Dream drilled into his head.

All Tommy could think was how he should’ve told them, he should’ve put some trust into them, even though it was blind. He should’ve taken the risk, he should’ve let himself be selfish for once.

But, Tommy can only sit and regret, wishing Wilbur doesn’t hate him. With no way he can go back and fix it.

Or is there?

Tommy sat up, his hair a mess and his clothes sticking to him in odd places. After a moment, he got up and went to take a shower for the first time in a week.

As he planned it out in his head, a hopeful plea jumped around in his lungs.

Tommy changed into something warm along with Quackity’s hat and jacket. Giving one last look at himself in the mirror he had stood before months ago, feeling empty all the same but a different empty. This empty could be filled.

~ ☀ ~

When he got to the cafe, the lights were off and Ranboo was locking the doors. With furrowed brows, Tommy rushed up to him, formalities lost in his confusion.

“Ranboo, why’s the cafe closing early? Where are Wilbur and Niki?”

Ranboo spun around to face him with a jump, relaxing a little as he realized it was him. “Oh, Wilbur hasn’t been at work and Niki had an emergency to attend to and she said to close and go home if I get a villain warning,” he explained, holding up his phone to show an alarm blaring on it.

“Villain?”

“Yeah, some building nearby is on fire a couple blocks from here, they’re thinking it’s Hellstorm.”

Tommy’s blood ran cold. Sapnap was out? “Where?” He demanded, his voice forceful in a way that startled Ranboo. 

“Uh, that way,” he said awkwardly, pointing over his shoulder. Tommy’s eyes widened as he saw it, a big plume of smoke erupting from a tall building. He was sprinting toward it before anything else could be said.

~ ☀ ~

His eyes glowed as he looked over the building, searching for where Sapnap could be so he can confront the source. Tommy wasn’t very concerned about the fire itself spreading, the rain took care of most of it and he could hear firefighters nearby with a giant hose.

Tommy spotted a particular floor that had the most fire seeping out of the windows, screams sounding from the same area.

He counted the floors and ran inside, ignoring the shouts of people behind him.

Tommy leaped up the stairs until the screams were much closer than before, close enough he could make out the words. “-elp! Please- I can’t- I can’t use my power or- HELP!”

The voice was startlingly familiar.

A boost of adrenaline had him bounding up another floor until a wave of hot air wooshed in his face, making him flinch. “HELP! I’m over here! Hel- Tommy ?!”

His name was said with such fear Tommy did a double-take, squinting as he searched the room for the owner of the voice- then he found it.

Niki was sitting, tied to a chair with a perfect circle of fire around her, inching closer. Her hair was askew and her eyes were blown wide as she stared at him, her gasp sent her into a fit of coughs and Tommy was by her side in an instant.

Flames licked at his heels as he grabbed at the rope around her. It was nylon rope. Strong and fireproof.

Ignoring her questioning gaze, Tommy didn’t hesitate to conjure his sword and start slicing through the ropes, coughing as the fire grew closer. “You- you’re-” Niki struggled to get out any words, let alone get across what she was trying to say.

Tommy avoided her burning gaze for the burning in his knees and feet where he was kneeling on the floor that was heating up from the fire. He carefully cut away the rope that was tightly tied around her, making sure not to accidentally cut her in the process.

Niki was shaking, from fear or the racking movements of her coughs, he didn’t know. But, when the final rope was cut, she dove forward, getting away from the chair as quickly as possible, and subsequently him as well.

Tommy’s eyes glowed even brighter as he saw her hands land flat on the ground where a vicious flame was rising and she hissed in pain, only flinching slightly. Tommy’s eyes widened in concern when she didn’t move and he hurried over to her, pulling her away from the fire.

Niki recoiled and fell backward, staring directly into his eyes. It was then, Tommy realized, she was scared of him .

He held his hands out placatingly, shoving down the hurt for worry as she propped herself up on her elbows, eyes darting around for an escape. “Niki, stop! You’re hurting yourself,” Tommy said, noticing the fire getting closer to her head that could easily set her hair on fire.

She hesitated where she was backing up and Tommy used that moment to reach forward and grab her ankle, yanking her away just in time as a burst of sparks and fire exploded right where her head had been.

Niki shrieked, kicking her other leg out which Tommy also grabbed, hating that to save her life he had to scare the shit out of her. Niki probably thought he had something to do with her capture. He probably did.

Tommy didn’t even have the breath to tell her to calm down or stop, he was only able to keep her from hitting him as he hauled her up, ducking his head to try and avoid the smoke. It was too bad it was already filling his lungs.

Niki kicked at him again and this time landed a hit on his knee, making him stumble a bit before he pursed his lips and threw her over his shoulder. He was surprised with his weakness he was able to carry her, but he couldn’t think much more about it. Instead, wobbling over to the window where a fire escape was.

He was being punched in the back and kicked in the front, a head knocking into his occasionally. But, Tommy ignored it as best as he could, holding his hand out at the fire blocking the window and doing what he did last time. He absorbed.

The fire flickered and died down as it transferred the energy into his body, giving him a boost. He didn’t waste any time smashing the window with just his fist. He covered Niki’s neck with one hand, feeling her entire being tense as she stopped her fighting, nervous as Tommy exited the window. The hand protecting Niki’s neck got sliced open, he felt blood dripping from his fingers but he didn’t pay it any mind.

He simply began climbing down the fire escape, stopping when he got level with the building nearby. Niki coughed and hacked over his shoulder, her fighting devolved into weak slaps and jerks.

Tommy was thankful she was faced the opposite way he was, looking down at the long drop below, he remembered how she told him once she was afraid of heights. He bent his knees and prepared himself, one arm outstretched toward the edge of the building while the other was keeping his friend from falling off his shoulder.

He heard the yells and sounds of people below him, he couldn’t make out anything specific other than the honks of cars and sirens from the firetrucks.

Tommy took in a breath of the more breathable air and jumped .

His feet hit the very ledge of the building’s rooftop with a slap of his shoes and Niki screamed, fully aware again.

Her understandably terrified outburst is interrupted by her taking in ragged breaths of fresh air. Tommy gently set her down on the rooftop, sitting her up while she clutched a hand at her neck, trying to take in as much air as possible.

“Niki,” he breathed, his lungs trying to heal themselves. He stopped it in favor of saving his energy for someone else. “Niki, move your hands. You know that isn’t helping.”

She shot him a wary glare, taking a defiant scoot backward away from him. He sighed, leaning forward and moving her hands away from her neck, only to find her palms red and swelling with second and third-degree burns. Tommy gasped and it sent him into a coughing fit but he kept a firm grip on her wrists to keep her from damaging them further.

Niki tried to wiggle her hands away, only to stop at the glare he sent her. “Stop moving,” he rasped, focusing his power into his own hands and carefully moving his hands from her wrists to her palms.

The effect was almost instant as their hands started glowing and she paused, confused as he grew aching pains that ran up and down his nervous system.

When he let go, her hands were in perfect condition and he sighed in relief at still feeling some energy left. Niki stared at him as he shifted his weight, sitting down, back hunched.

He blinked slowly and Niki didn’t flinch back when he pressed a hand on her collarbone, directing the power into her lungs.

Just like with Michael, she turned and doubled over with coughs, black smoke coming out. Then, she was perfectly fine. Good as new .

“Tommy? What- what’s going on? I’m so confused. I thought-”

“‘M sorry, Niki,” he mumbled before his exhaustion took over and his adrenaline crashed, he briefly flicked his eyes up at the overcast sky and cursed himself. Then, his eyes fluttered closed to the sound of Niki’s concerned shouts, hands shaking his shoulders.

He hoped she knew how to get down from the roof.

~ ☀ ~

He woke up to the heavy feeling of eyes on him. His body felt delayed as he sluggishly blinked his eyes open, taking in his surroundings warily.

The first thing Tommy saw was walls painted in soft colors, decorated tastefully with art and shelves with trinkets and miscellaneous items.

He shifted and realized he was laying on a comfortable couch, his head on the armrest. Tommy turned his head to see the person staring at him, finding Niki’s eyes as she sat across from him with puffy red eyes.

She was still wearing the same outfit as she was when he got her out of the ablaze building. The ends of her sweater sleeves were frayed from when she burned her hands and there were also random patches where sparks had popped and landed on her clothes.

The next thing he noticed was the knife sitting next to her on a side table, angled in a way she could easily access it. She didn’t move her gaze from him when he was clearly staring at it, only searching his face for something. Neither of them truly knew what it was she was looking for.

The silence lasted longer than Tommy was comfortable with, feeling too tired to say anything but too antsy to wait for her to make up her mind. She must have come up with something because she sighed and broke the tense quiet in the room. “I used to be a hero, you know.”

Tommy’s eyebrows furrowed and he blinked in acknowledgment, urging her to continue.

“I quit… recently too. It was just… too much. We were given a list of villains to kill on sight, told who to make sure stays alive. I hated having no control over how I used my power or who I saved. So I quit.

“I never encountered you on the field, but I had heard enough from the other heroes that I thought I knew you. I thought I was confident in Shadow’s- your ability to kill and maim without mercy. To kidnap and steal and ransom without a care for anyone but yourself and Nightmare.”

Tommy winced at his name, tearing his gaze away from Niki to stare at the blankets he was covered in. He belatedly noticed he was shaking.

“But, I also thought I knew Tommy. Smart, kind, selfless … I don’t know who you are anymore.”

Tommy frowned, something warm slipping down his cold face from his left eye.

“Who are you really, Tommy?”

“I- I don’t know,” he admitted, his voice scratchy from smoke inhalation. He coughed and Niki frowned, shifting in her seat.

It was silent for another moment before Tommy strained his muscles to sit up, only for his wrists to scream in protest. His eyes widened as he looked down and spotted the handcuffs surrounding keeping his hands strictly together and connected to something hidden under the blankets. There were bandages wrapped around the one hand sliced from the glass.

Tommy looked up again to meet Niki’s guilty gaze.

“I don’t trust you,” she explained quietly, watching as he tested the slack and eventually just slumped his shoulders in exhaustion. “I hope you can understand that… because your teammate lured me out of the cafe to kidnap me for whatever reason. It’s suspicious that you would come to my rescue.”

Tommy pursed his lips, sighing. “I thought Hellstorm was locked up.”

Niki’s eyebrows furrowed. “It would be public if he was in prison.”

“No, not prison . I thought he was still locked up in Dream’s basement somewhere.”

Tommy and Niki’s eyes both widened. “I’m assuming Nightmare’s name is Dream?”

“No!” He said, far too quickly. “No! I- Uh,” he glanced around frantically and his eyes landed on a window. The sky was still gray.

“It’s okay, I won’t tell,” she said, though it sounded like a lie to him. Niki stared at him with increasingly growing pity and Tommy looked away from her, a sour feeling festering in his gut. “So you thought Nightmare had Hellstorm locked away? Why? I thought you all were teammates.”

Tommy debated staying quiet and not telling her, but there was little chance she would let him leave without explanation and an even bigger chance she would rat him out to the heroes. “All I know is he did something that got him in trouble.”

“In trouble? Is Nightmare like your father or something?”

Tommy recoiled, a disgusted pinch of his face. “Don’t call him that,” he snapped, willing away the memories of asking Dream what they were and if he had parents. If Dream was his parent. It never ended well. Dream hated the idea of being related to him. “I told you I don’t know what he did. Just that Dr- Nightmare didn’t like it,” he explained, frowning and looking down at his bound hands. “And I’m next,” he added quietly, defeat coating his words.

At that, Niki’s eyes widened further and she tried making eye contact with him. “What? What do you mean you’re next?”

“I saved Blare. More than once and he knows . He knows and he’s going to kill me, or something worse.”

Niki just gaped at him, something unreadable in her expression. “Wait- you saved Blare?”

“Yeah?”

“Why?”

“He was going to die,” Tommy shrugged, hating the disbelief in her voice.

“But, you’re a villain- Shadow . You all don’t care about- about hero’s lives .”

Pursing his lips, Tommy nodded in understanding. “Well, I’m not Shadow. Not anymore.”

“Then who are you?”

He paused for a moment, considerate as he lifted his head a little. “I’m just Tommy.”

~ ☀ ~

Tommy hurriedly approached his apartment door, the eerie silence of the complex weaseling anxious thoughts into his brain. His hand landed on the doorknob and he paused. It was unlocked.

He pushed the door open and took a step inside, slowly peering into the bathroom and his bedroom as he passed them. He made it into the living room and his jaw dropped.

His living room was a mess, an array of his furniture and things were thrown all over the floor. His couch was flipped over, the countertops were cracked, his recent crocheting project and his laptop he was using to find Dream were missing. Tommy gasped as he caught sight of the writing burned into his walls, strategic and tidy. It didn’t seem like Sapnap at all, but it was clear it was his power.

Time’s up, Tommy. Come see me or the next time I get my hands on one of your little attachments, they won’t ever see the sun again.

47 Exhyle street, the old Lost and Found law firm building.

But it was clear what it was; a threat. A threat against his friends. Wilbur and his family’s life.

Even though Tommy knew Wilbur, Techno, and Phil were very capable of defending themselves, being heroes and all. The message still made his skin crawl and a nervous pit formed in his stomach. They weren’t safe and it was all Tommy’s fault.

At the end of the message was a simple address, one that he didn’t recognize.

Tommy was out the door again before he could think it through.

~ ☀ ~

It was darker out and the sun had no chance of being out. Tommy was practically powerless as he strode up to the address that had been seared into the walls of his apartment.

It was a small, almost unnoticeable building out of the way of everything. Barely anyone was out on the streets, especially so late at night.

The building seemed to be only one story, but it still felt impending as he approached. It seemed to be some sort of abandoned office building, and as he took a step in, he could see why. The walls were an ugly shade of orange and the carpet was brown, though it looked like it was once beige.

Tommy turned when he heard something down the long hallway he had been avoiding. Of course, he would be in the creepiest fucking place .

He walked down the hallway slowly, hearing the creaking of the floorboards beneath him with every step.

A door hinge groaned and he whipped his head around to look at it, the door was barely cracked, almost as if inviting him in.

Looking around warily, he took a cautious step closer, holding his hand out and nudging the door open further. The room was completely dark and it was hard to see, even with his enhanced vision.

His eyes glowed as he searched the wall for a light switch. Upon finding it, he turned it on and winced at the buzzing sound from the fluorescent overhead light that flickered every once in a while.

Tommy glanced around the room and when he didn’t see Dream he thought about turning around, only to pause when something caught his eye.

He walked up closer to it, finding the corner of a corkboard covered by an old bedsheet. Tommy pursed his lips and yanked the bedsheet down, crumpling it up and tossing it aside.

Tommy turned back to face the corkboard and his heart sunk as he realized what he was looking at. The wall was filled with printed pictures, each one annotated with red ink. Every single picture connected to each other with lime green thread, wrapped around the tacks that held them up on the corkboard. Every single picture was of none other than Wilbur Soot.

He couldn’t contain the gasp that escaped him as he searched over every picture. It stayed consistent, every picture was taken from afar, Wilbur completely oblivious to his stalker.

He tracked the green string for a pattern, though it didn’t make sense, weaving randomly through the pictures of Wilbur walking down the street, working at the bakery behind the counter, sitting in his bedroom in his home with his guitar on his lap. 

There were also several pictures that Tommy was in, the red ink in a crude frown marked over his form. The red ink felt differently about Wilbur, messily circling his face with ‘x’s scattered over his body and tapering off into the surroundings.

Dispersed in the pictures were also ripped pages of notebooks and notepad papers, all of them saying something disturbingly personal about the man.

Wilbur Soot, age 24, 6’6, brown hair, brown eyes.

Adopted by Phil Craft at age 7, twin brother Technoblade Soot.

His criminal record is completely clean.

His medical history, however, is beyond extensive. In-

“You’re here earlier than I expected,” Dream’s voice made him jump, turning around to face where the man was casually leaning against the doorframe. His only exit; blocked. “Though I’m glad you’ve learned from your mistakes.”

Tommy shifted uncomfortably, speechless. He didn’t come prepared, he had no idea what he was running into and he was paying the price.

“I see you’ve found my planning room,” he commented, ignoring his obvious tenseness like it was just a normal everyday conversation. “I thought I taught you better than to snoop.”

Tommy stilled, hand resting on the corkboard where he had been reading all of Dream’s notes. “You’ve been stalking him.”

Dream laughed, low and scratchy, it sent a chill down Tommy’s spine. “Just doing some research, is all,” he shrugged casually, deciding to add a sarcastic prod. “He is quite an interesting man.”

“You’re a fuckin’ creep, Dream. Leave Wilbur out of this.”

“But it’s more fun that way!” Dream countered childishly, throwing his arms up. “And I was curious why you cared so much about some average Joe.”

Tommy pursed his lips, narrowing his eyes at Dream. There was nothing normal about Wilbur, that much was clear, but Dream didn’t know that. Even though Dream had been stalking Wilbur, he still had no idea that Wilbur is Blare. The thought made Tommy burst out into laughter, something manic he probably picked up from Dream himself.

Dream was confused for a second, that was obvious as he shifted and crossed his arms, leaning forward slightly. “What’s so funny about that, Tommy?”

Tommy shook his head, giggling to himself. “You’re jealous,” he taunted, pointing at the man accusingly and wheezing. It wasn’t the only thing he thought was funny, but he wasn’t about to let it slip that Wilbur was more than just some random guy. Because from an outside perspective, he did seem like some ‘average Joe’.

Maybe it was the normalcy Wilbur gave him that drew Tommy to him.

Dream scoffed. “Jealousy is petty, I don’t have time for it.”

“Right, because you set this whole thing up for shits and giggles? Let Sapnap out to kidnap my boss and put her in a burning building for fun ? Do you really think I’m that stupid? Honestly, I’m offended, Dream.”

“I have reasons for everything I do,” he said vaguely, looking around the room boredly.

“Whatever you say, Dream. ‘Cause when Gogy -”

“Shut up, Tommy,” he snapped, inhaling and exhaling sharply. “Stop stalling, you’re here for a reason . And the reason is this; I’m offering you to come home and we forget this ever happened. Or…” he paused, turning to look at the corkboard. “I kill everyone you know and care about one by one. Slowly and painfully while you watch and then you’ll have to come home anyway. Your choice.”

Tommy pressed his lips into a thin line, clenching his fists at his sides. “No.”

“No?”

“No, Dream. I’m not going back with you. You’re a monster and a fuckin’ weirdo, I’m tired of being your puppet .”

“But, Tommy,” Dream groaned, exasperated as he dragged his hands down his masked face. “In my shadow is where you belong . Listen to me and I’ll lighten your punishment.”

“I’m not listening to shit,” Tommy huffed, crossing his arms defiantly. “I don’t want to live in the dark ! In the shadow of a monster, encouraging every fucked up thing you do!”

“I do what I need to do,” he dismissed, disinterested.

“No, you don’t! You do what you want without regard for anyone else.”

Dream tilted his head, humming in acknowledgment.

They stood there for a moment before Tommy took a daring step closer. “I’m leaving. Whether I leave with your head skewered on my sword is your choice.”

Dream seemed intrigued by the threat, standing up a bit straighter. “Alright then, I see how it’s going to be,” he mused, summoning his sword of the void, Tommy flicking his wrist to conjure his own.

“Then come at me, bitch!”

~ ☀ ~

Tommy escaped into an alleyway, a small cut he got already healing as he ran. Dream wasn’t chasing him, he had lost him a few blocks down, but he still was cautious nonetheless.

When he made it to a place he thought was safe enough to stop, he collapsed against a wall, tears streaming down his face. How could he save his friends when he could barely save himself?

Dream had obviously let him go, or he wouldn’t have gotten away. He was weak, especially from the rain and Dream knew that. He was just toying with him.

Tommy pulled his knees to his chest as dirty water ran off the roof of the building and behind him and onto his head. He hastily wiped the water out of his eyes, his body shaking. From the cold or his sobs, he didn’t know.

He felt useless and pathetic. He had used an abundance of his power that he didn’t even know he had and blinded Wilbur, but Dream bounced back like it was nothing .

Wilbur.

Not only is Wilbur going to be Dream’s first target, but he’s also Tommy’s only hope. Tommy mulled it over for a few minutes, dreading the idea. He needed help. Tommy needed help and he’d been too scared to ask.

All this time he had been trying to protect Wilbur, now he was the one who needed protection. He needed someone to run to. Someone to pull him out of the dark abyss and lead him to the sunlight.

Tommy allowed himself this once to be selfish and patted his pockets down, his panic grew a little then he stood and realized; he didn’t have his phone. He never noticed because he had it on silent after Wilbur wouldn’t stop calling and texting him. The reminder only made him feel more guilty.

Where could it be? Tommy didn’t want to think about where he could’ve left it, though it ran through his mind anxiously. It seemed he needed to walk to find help, and while he got up, he knew he couldn’t do this alone.

He decided he would tell Wilbur everything .

Chapter Text

~ ONE WEEK AGO ~

“Quackity, I think I have a lead.”

“Really? Where do you think he’s being kept then?”

“No- not on Sapnap, I mean on Dream.”

“I thought the priority was Sapnap, George…”

“He is but- I was thinking I didn’t want to just not investigate this lead because we wanted to find Sapnap first-”

“No! We need to find Sapnap! We can not do this without him!”

“You mean you can’t do this without Sapnap.”

The line went silent.

“I’m looking for Dream, and I’m going to kill him,” George hissed, glancing around his surroundings. He was standing in an old parking garage nearby where he thought Dream was located. He had called Quackity for backup, but it seemed he was going to be alone anyway. “Because I can separate my emotions from the job.”

“Oh can you, George?” Quackity challenged, a quick static sound coming from his end as he moved. “Because I think you’re doing this all for yourself . You don’t care about Sapnap. You don’t care about Tommy . You just want to liberate yourself from Dream and you don’t care what it does to the people around you.”

“Do you really want to do this right now, Quackity?” George started with a disbelieving scoff. “You were never close enough to Dream to truly know what he was doing. Sapnap doesn’t even know what was going on in full. What he did to Tommy… I want to stop him no matter what it takes. Sapnap would understand that.”

“You don’t know what Sapnap would want!”

“If I don’t know, then you definitely don’t.”

George hung up on Quackity with a frustrated huff. He didn’t need anyone’s help, he could do just fine on his own.

~ ☀ ~

George approached the small building with his fists clenched at his sides. It was dark out and he hadn’t seen anyone for a few blocks.

He sighed and stared up at the sign; ‘Lost and Found’. It was almost ironic, like Dream was taunting him, asking to be caught.

George ignored the uneasy feeling in his stomach and opened the door, a rush of cold, stale air hit him.

He walked further in, eyes latching onto anything that told him Dream was there. He found nothing.

After a few more minutes of scouting, he found himself standing at the threshold of a long hallway, one door on the wall to his right and one at the end of the hallway. The other doors dotted around were barricaded off with wood, and eerily so.

He tried the door to his right and realized it was locked with several deadbolts, he retracted his hand and stared at the handle for a moment.

George frowned and took a step back before slamming himself into the wooden door. It crackled under the pressure a little but didn’t make a dent. He reared back to slam into it again when the door at the end of the hallway creaked open.

He froze and kept his eyes trained on the abyss of the dark room behind the door, then he heard an echo of a pained cry. He knew that whiny voice from anywhere. Sapnap was here.

He debated calling Quackity for backup, telling him he found Sapnap, but he also wanted to prove him wrong. He wanted to show he wasn’t selfish, he wanted to show he was not like Dream. Cold and disconnected.

George pursed his lips, he cared about more than himself, he would prove it.

With a newfound confidence and spite thrumming through his veins he strode over to the door and opened it further. He searched the wall for a light switch, only to find concrete wall. He blinked as his eyes adjusted to the darkness and realized he was looking down a flight of stairs. 

They weren’t natural in the type of building it was, and it was dark and chilly. It had Dream written all over it.

George started bounding down the stairs as quietly as he could before he could think on it more.

Once he made it to the bottom he immediately noticed the oxygen level change, like a vacuum had taken to his lungs. He squinted and his eyes landed on a big couch that seemed out of place.

As he got closer, he was able to see a figure, limp on the couch with both hands bound purposely apart.

“Sapnap?” He whispered, a gasp ripped through him and he felt faint at the slow rate his lungs filled with air.

Sapnap lifted his head and George stilled, his eyes were sunken in, a fading yellow bruise on his brow. His cheeks were gaunt and his resting playful expression was turned into something hollow as he focused on George.

Sapnap’s eyes widened and he strained to sit up, George quickly rushed to his side, propping him up. He reached for the handcuffs on Sapnap’s wrists and the man jolted, bringing his hands as close to his chest as possible. They stared at each other for a moment, Sapnap’s gaze searching his face.

“George?” He croaked, putting a blind hand out to touch his forearm. “What are you doing here?”

“I- I came to save you,” George said, biting his tongue at the slight lie. It was true but he didn’t know Sapnap would be here, he didn’t have the heart to tell him the truth.

Sapnap shook his head, squeezing his eyes shut as he did. “You can’t. He’ll- Dream will take it out on Tommy and- I just need to serve my sentence.”

“No Sapnap, he and Tommy fought, a really big one- lots happened. I can't explain it all now,” he told him, glancing around the room warily, noting the kitchen-like area across the room. “We need you.”

Sapnap pursed his dry lips, considerate. “I-“

“Oh, so he’ll talk to you and not me?” A voice behind him made them both freeze, George’s blood ran cold. A hand landed on his shoulder and he flinched, Dream paid it no mind. “Why don’t you take a seat, George.”

A vicious chill ran down his spine and made his breath catch in his throat, it was then he was reminded why he never went against Dream in the first place.

George sat down next to Sapnap without a word.

It seemed he wasn’t as strong as he thought.

~ ☀ ~

“You think he just ran off?” Karl asked, watching Quackity pace the room, rubbing at his temples. 

“I do,” he said, sighing. “Maybe I was too hard on him.”

“I think you got out what you wanted to say, things he wasn’t going to like to hear anyway,” Karl assured, resting his chin on his hands, hearing the distant sound of coin machines and cards shuffling, people talking. “It might be good to give him some space.”

Quackity paused, turning to look at him with furrowed brows. “Didn’t he say he found a lead on Dream? Do you think he would go after him by himself?”

Karl pursed his lips, shrugging.

Quackity huffed and crossed his arms. “Come on, Karl! You have to know what’s going on! I hate being so lost- what if we’re- what if I’m wrong and we leave George to run into a trap?”

Karl said nothing, he only adjusted how he was sitting on the couch, tucking his legs under him.

“Karl, please. Tell me what you know.”

Frowning, Karl sighed and shook his head. “You know I can’t. I’ve already caused enough damage. All I can say is; don’t worry about him.”

“Who?”

“Take it as whoever you think I’m talking about,” he shrugged again, this time dismissively.

Quackity clenched his fists and released them, sighing. He knew Karl couldn’t tell him, it’d mess up the timeline and something catastrophic could happen. But it still made him annoyed that the truth was in Karl’s head and he kept it to himself. The key to Sapnap, George, and Tommy’s safety, just sitting next to him the whole time he stresses.

In the end, Quackity left George alone, knowing the man would come back when he felt like it.

~ ☀ ~

“What have you done to him?” George asked quietly after Dream had stared at him expectantly for several, uncomfortable minutes. He gestured loosely to Sapnap who frowned, looking at the concrete floor.

“I didn’t do anything,” Dream said, hands casually in his pockets. The room was still terribly dark and George could barely see the white of the man’s mask peering down at them. “He’s been refusing to eat.”

Sapnap scoffed and crossed his arms, Dream tilted his head at him but didn’t say anything. “You’ve been keeping him down here with as little oxygen as possible to keep him from using his power… and it’s way too dark for him. You know that…”

George felt stupid, he had gone from hating Dream to pathetically trying to reason with him, trying to find humanity in someone who hasn’t been human in a long time. “He knew the consequences,” Dream shrugged as if it wasn’t kidnapping and torturing his friend he was defending. Were they friends?

“Dream, this- this isn’t right. You’re… a monster.”

“Shut up, George. What happened to you being the smartest out of the three of you?” Dream snapped, scoffing and shaking his head in disbelief. Sapnap shrunk in on himself, glancing up at George occasionally like a child in the middle of a fight between parents. “Now you’re sitting here calling me a monster. Just like Tommy did.”

George frowned, fidgeting nervously with his hands. “Let us leave, Dream.”

It was silent for a moment before Dream laughed , running a gloved hand down his face. “No,” he said simply, George’s heart fell into his boots. “No, what’s going to happen right now is that you two are going to apologize to me, and then we are going to prepare for my next move.”

“What?” George stared at him with wide eyes, the man was clearly all over the place. Insane. “Are you kidding me?”

Dream snapped his head towards him, even in the dark George could pick out the anger in his stance. He had come to know it well. “After everything I’ve done for you two. My friends . I can’t believe it,” he shook his head, a bit more vigorously. “Maybe I’ve been too kind…”

“What?” The word came out as detached and far away from George as his stomach flipped nervously.

Dream scoffed again and glanced over at Sapnap who was frowning, avoiding George’s eyes with a guilty look. “Fine then,” he huffed, crouching down next to him. George watched in horror as Dream took his gloves off in one smooth motion and grabbed his wrists tightly, making him jolt in a belated flinch.

Immediately, his hands grew cold as dark void wrapped around his wrists, making him gasp. Sapnap sat up shakily, lunging forward to try and pull Dream’s hands away, only to be stopped by the restraints on his own wrists, yanking him back harshly. “Dream stop!” George heard Sapnap hiss, his mind only focused on the graying of his hands and the black seeping into his veins.

George distantly heard himself scream as he struggled to pull his hands back, only to be held in place firmly.

Then came the pain. The dark poison entering his bloodstream through his skin was pure hot agony, feeling immensely cold like a burn, but the burning never came. The cold only got more intense, cutting the circulation off from his hands.

He opened his eyes again to find his vision blurry with tears, Dream was no longer holding onto his wrists but it still felt like he had plunged them into ice water, only though that would be a massive understatement.

George could barely hear Dream’s smug voice where he was face to face with Sapnap, barely out of punching range from the man who was snarling at him. “-don’t have Tommy yet, but George will do just fine. Now that I have some leverage, you two will have to help me or he’ll die.”

“I thought you cared about him,” Sapnap seethed, trying to make sense of what Dream had just done.

The man only clicked his tongue and turned his head at George who was trembling, staring at his now purple and black hands. He watched as the black poison ever-so-slowly crept up, begging to crawl the length of his arms and infiltrate his bloodstream completely. “That’s the difference between me and you, Sapnap. I don’t allow myself exploitable weaknesses.”

Sapnap’s glare somehow got harsher, he strained against the restraints to get in Dream’s face as much as he could. “We are nothing alike.”

Dream tilted his head and George could imagine the smile on his face, even in the dark, even with his mask on. Clearly, he’s won. “We’re more alike than you think, and you’re going to prove it. Starting with a message involving Tommy’s little friend…”

~ ☀ ~

Only a few hours after Quackity helped get Tommy settled into his new apartment, he got a new visitor. One he was only slightly expecting, but with an unbridled anger that confused him.

“Quackity, what the fuck did you do?” Wilbur hissed, slamming the man’s office door harshly, causing it to make a thud in the soundproof wall behind it. Quackity looked up at him and pursed his lips at the sight.

“I don’t appreciate you destroying my wall again ,” Quackity huffed, setting his pen down with a sigh, folding his hands together.

Wilbur clenched his fists at his sides, glaring at him under his mask. “What did you do to Tommy?” He repeated, enunciating every syllable for emphasis.

Quackity’s smug expression faltered for a second and he dragged his hands down his face before looking back up at him. “Close the door.”

Wilbur stared at him for a moment before he huffed and turned, closing the door behind him. After the click of the door mechanics sounded in the room Quackity let out a long sigh. 

“I didn’t do anything to him,” he eventually said, shaking his head, disappointed that Wilbur thought so low of him. “I just got him a safer place to live, that’s it .”

“Then why was he dolled up in your merch, scared as all hell when he quit Niki’s today?” Wilbur accused, throwing his hands up and letting them fall to his sides.

Quackity looked up quickly, surprised with his eyebrows furrowed. “He quit?”

“Yes, he quit! Then he ran off and I sent everyone out looking for him. We couldn’t find him, Quackity.”

Shaking his head again, Quackity shrugged. “I didn’t know he was going to quit… I thought-” he cut himself off, glancing up at Wilbur. Quackity was under the impression that Tommy was going to tell Wilbur who he truly was, maybe then he would be open to accepting his own help if he got a good reaction from Wilbur. But he wasn’t expecting the boy to quit his job and run away from the man, someone Quackity thought he was very close to.

“You thought what ?” Wilbur prompted sharply, pacing. In any other situation, Quackity would’ve cracked a joke about him wearing down his expensive carpet, but he knew it would not land.

“I thought he was finally going to let himself get help,” he admitted, the words thick with disappointment, not at Tommy, but at himself. He thought maybe his and Karl’s help would’ve shown that people care, to be an olive branch for the boy. It seemed it did the opposite.

Wilbur went quiet, his shoulders slumping and his fists unrolling, showing they were shaking nervously. “What’s going on with him, Quackity? I’m worried about him and you seem to know more than I do, which is weird considering he’s only met you once…”

Quackity pursed his his lips, there was another accusation in his words, one that he chose to ignore. “I don’t know,” the lie was like acid on his tongue, he pressed his lips together in a thin line to avoid it showing. Tommy’s secret was detrimental to his friendships, and as far as he was concerned, he was safe in his new apartment. He wouldn’t expose the boy’s horrible secret simply because Wilbur was worried . “What I do know is he is safe right now, I can promise you that.”

Wilbur stared at him for another moment, before he ducked his head and sighed.

“Go home, Wilbur,” Quackity said quietly, an order, though not unkind. “When he wants your help he’ll go to you.”

He peeked back up at Quackity with resigned noise, turning toward the door. He paused, like he wanted to say something more, before shaking his head and leaving.

~ ☀ ~

~ PRESENT DAY ~

Wilbur stared at his guitar from across the room, his legs folded under him where he was sat on his bed. The last time he had picked it up was playing for Tommy.

Maybe he was just being dramatic, overreacting. Maybe Tommy wasn’t in as much danger as he thought. Maybe he just wanted space for some unknown reason that was unrelated to all the warning signs Wilbur had caught onto.

The flinching, the distancing, the creepy man who showed up at his work and then his apartment, demanding his presence.

Wilbur sighed. He should’ve said something sooner, asked why he lived alone, asked why he overused his power so badly it left him in a comatose state for a week. Wilbur chose to stay quiet because he wanted Tommy to trust him, he didn’t want to force answers out of him.

Wilbur’s phone sat in front of him, angled in his direction. He didn’t know what he was waiting for, all he could feel was helplessness. How could he help Tommy when he didn’t want any? How could he call himself a hero if Tommy were to be in real danger while he sat around waiting for him to come to him?

Wilbur leaned back onto his pillows, stretching his legs out in front of him.

He stared at the ceiling, looking at nothing in particular, swimming in guilt and regret.

Then, a sound cut through the air. The sound was jarring and familiar in the way it made his heart leap in his throat and his stomach sink at the same time. A notification from his phone.

He threw himself into a sitting position, his vision faltering at the speed as he lunged for the device.

Wilbur’s hands trembled pathetically as he turned it on, eyes scanning the screen. Tommy. Tommy messaged him.

He couldn’t hold in the gasp that escaped him as he shakily typed in his passcode, fumbling for the messages app. He had no idea what Tommy could’ve texted him since he had ignored all his messages, all sent in fear and an overwhelming urge to protect .

He pressed onto Tommy’s messages which he had previously been spamming, asking if the boy was okay, asking him if he did something wrong, asking if he was safe.

The text he received was scarier than anything he could ever imagine.

Tommy: help

His response was immediate, and sloppy. Wilbur had felt fear before. But this was different.

Wilbur: where?? r tou oaky??

Wilbur was already up and putting on his hero suit, eyes locked on the screen all the while. A minute passed and three dots appeared, jumping in a little line like Wilbur wasn’t mortified, scenarios running through his mind rapidly.

Tommy: wilbur im so scared

Wilbur: wheer r uo tommy?

At this point, he was fully dressed, mask pulled over his eyes and weapons strapped to his belt. Normally, he chose not to carry as many, but every second Tommy didn’t respond he tacked another one on.

Tommy: 47 exhyle street, the old lost and found law firm building

Wilbur was jumping down the stairs before he even finished reading it. He was stopped before he could reach the front door.

“Where are you going in such a rush?” Techno asked, standing in front of him, effectively blocking his path to the door. His tone was teasing, a slight grin on his face at the fact Wilbur had actually left his room. In this context, it infuriated Wilbur. Techno noticed this immediately, eyeing his hero suit with a bit of confusion.

An enraged flare of emotion bolted up his throat and he couldn’t control the outburst that came with it. “Get the fuck out of my way Techno! Tommy’s in danger!” He snapped, watching the smug smile slip off Techno’s face. In the heat of the moment, he couldn’t find it in him to care. Especially not as Techno raised his hands in mock surrender and backed out of his way like he was a wild animal.

Wilbur stormed out without another word.

Chapter Text

Wilbur found the place and arrived in record time, having sprinted across the rooftops to avoid traffic of all kinds.

The dingy old building gave him the creeps as he got closer, the old sign unlit and caked with what he thought to be dirt.

Once his hand made contact with the door handle he frowned, needing to put a little more force into it to make it budge. He found the culprit of the stubborn door under his feet; an ugly brown stain protruding from the carpet.

Immediately, he tensed up, staring down at the stain as his adrenaline kicked in. It was blood. Dried blood. He wasn’t too late, was he?

Wilbur tore his eyes away from the big bloodstain and followed the smaller ones to a long hallway. The door at the end was wide open while the others were boarded up.

He clenched his fists and cleared his throat, preparing to use his power at any given moment.

Wilbur crept down the hallway and peered down the dark stairwell.

Pursing his lips, he made his way down, hand trailing against the concrete wall.

When he made it to the bottom he found the air felt very different, his breaths drawing longer to get in air.

He blinked as his heightened eye senses adjusted even more for the pitch black of the basement, scanning the area for anything that could suggest where Tommy was.

Wilbur took a few steps farther in and noticed an old couch with something on it that glinted in his eyes.

He paused when he heard something a few paces behind him.

Wilbur turned and raised his arm just in time to block a surprisingly weak attempt at a tackle. He shoved his attacker back and threw a punch in the general direction of their face. He heard a nasty crunch as his fist hit their nose, a force behind him that was fueled by his need to save Tommy.

Wilbur continued to go back and forth with the person, barely able to make out their features in the dark lighting and their quick movements.

Suddenly, an orange glow lit up the room and both he and his attacker turned to look at it, finding Hellstorm holding a flickering flame and clutching his chest with the other.

Eyebrows furrowing, he turned back to meet eyes with Blight, his eyes unnaturally dull and the veins in and around his eyes an inky black.

He gasped at the sight, watching in horror as the man tiredly reeled back his grayed hand into a fist.

When he threw the punch Wilbur easily grabbed onto it, twisting and using the man’s own momentum to toss him onto the ground.

Hellstorm blinked out of his stupor and rushed to Blight’s side.

Wilbur just watched Hellstorm light up the man’s face with a weak fire in his left hand while he wiped blood from Blight’s face with the other.

He wanted to ask what was going on, where Tommy was, why they took him. But no words came out.

He only squinted as a headache racked his brain, he spun around, searching. He was looking for Tommy.

He heard something in the direction of the stairwell and caught Blight gaped at him, ignoring Hellstorm’s quiet questioning.

Wilbur brought his head back up to meet the eyes of an eerily familiar dark figure. His eyes widened as Nightmare raised his hand and a quick thwip sound echoed into the concrete basement.

Something landed in his neck with a wet thud and he gasped, throwing a hand up to grab at it. It was stupid, he knew it was futile. But he tore the projectile out anyway and stared at the now-empty tranquilizer dart, he swayed on his feet as Nightmare came closer, clicking his tongue in interest.

The last thing he heard was the villain’s laugh accompanied by a snide comment he barely caught.

“What a pleasant surprise.”

~ ☀ ~

Tommy was soaking wet. He had taken several breaks and pitstops on his way to Wilbur’s, trying to convince himself not to do it. But in the end, his hope always won, remembering warm hands in his hair and a soft voice alongside a strumming guitar. So here he was, standing outside the man’s house in the pouring rain.

Things haven’t been going well for him, he could change that by asking for help. So he will try.

Tommy was apprehensive as he approached Wilbur’s home, the lights were on and it eased him a little bit. The last thing he wanted was to wake Wilbur up and bother him.

He stood at the door and eyed the keypad, he knew the combination, Wilbur made no effort to hide it from him. It was a show of trust. The realization made Tommy frown.

He raised his fist and hesitated, taking in a deep breath before knocking on the door three times.

He waited and waited until footsteps resounded on the other side of the door and his heart pounded loudly in his chest.

The door opened and Tommy met eyes with Techno, whose eyes widened as he took in his appearance. He knew he looked like shit, his hair and clothes were wet and his eyes were dark with exhaustion.

Tommy and Techno asked the same thing at the same time:

“Where’s Wilbur?”

They stared at each other for a moment, both trying to grasp what was going on. Techno found his voice again first.

“Where’s Wilbur? He left an hour ago to go help you,” Techno said, a suspicious glint in his eyes as he shifted on his feet.

“He did what? Why?” Tommy asked dumbly, frowning.

“All he said was ‘Tommy’s in danger’ and left. He had his phone in his hand though, did you call or text him?”

Tommy’s heart fell to the floor and he gasped, throwing his hands up to fist them in his hair. His phone. That’s why it had been so easy to get away from Dream, he wasn’t after him yet. He wanted his phone.

That explained the mess in his apartment, which explained why Dream let him run.

Techno had no clue what was running through his head and shook his forearms in an attempt to stop him from pulling on his hair. “What? What’s wrong?”

“I don’t have my phone, Techno,” he said, breathing harshly as he sunk down onto the ground.

Techno’s eyebrows furrowed and he shook his head. “Hey it’s fine, I have mine. I’ll just call him,” he assured, holding up his phone and pressing it a few times on the screen.

“No Techno, you don’t get it,” he stressed, throwing his hands up and hitting the man lightly in the process. “Dream has my phone.”

Techno stilled where he had been glancing between Tommy and his phone, unmoving, unbreathing. “Why? How?”

“He took it after he-“ he cut himself off, pulling his legs up to his chest. 

“After what, Tommy?”

“After he trashed my apartment and kidnapped Niki.”

Techno’s eyes were impossibly wide, then he snapped out of it and started scrolling through his phone quickly. Then, he started calling someone, putting it on speaker for Tommy to hear the ringing.

The phone rang and rang and then finally, Wilbur picked up. They both breathed a sigh of relief.

“Oh my- Wilbur, where are you?” Techno asked, running a hand through his long hair.

Silence.

“Wil? Look I’m sorry I got in your way I didn’t-“

A very familiar laugh rang out on the other side of the call, causing Techno’s words to die in his throat. “Not Wilbur.”

Tommy could hear Dream’s grin as he spoke, smug.

“Is Tommy there?” It wasn’t a question but more of a confirmation, and with it, came a demand. He needed to make himself known.

“Dream if you even think of hurting him- I swear blinding you will be low on the list of things I’ll do,” Tommy hissed, standing up straight and shifting on his feet.

“Don’t worry, Tommy. Wilbur’s just fine, he’s having a grand old time with Hellstorm and Blight right now.”

Blight? Tommy thought George was safe with Quackity… “What?”

Dream laughed again and Techno glared at the phone, a white-knuckled grip on the device. “I’m willing to negotiate his life. You know where to find me.”

Dream hung up and Tommy and Techno were left in a terrible silence.

Without another word, Techno dragged Tommy inside and deposited him on the couch before running up the stairs.

A minute later Techno came down dressed in his hero attire with Phil not far behind him, putting his veiled hat on that covered his face.

They both came up and stood in front of him and Tommy stood, fidgeting anxiously with his hands.

“He said you know where to find him?” Techno questioned, antsy on his feet. And Tommy understood because every minute they stood there was a minute Wilbur was with Dream.

“Yes, it’s- it’s the old ‘Lost and Found’ law firm on exhyle street,” he explained hurriedly, tripping over his words as they all clambered toward the door.

“Wait,” Phil said, stopping them both in their tracks. “Tommy, do you have something to… hide your identity? To protect yourself?”

Tommy pursed his lips, glancing at Techno before shaking his head no.

Phil sighed before booking it upstairs again, when he came back down, he had something held in his hands. He walked up to Tommy and held out a piece of fabric and Tommy recognized the shade of black, eyes burning. “He always keeps extras in his closet,” he muttered quietly, turning away as Techno opened the door, already on his way out.

Tommy nodded slowly anyway, swallowing the lump forming in his throat as he tied Blare’s blindfold mask around his eyes. It was Tommy’s turn to save him.

~ ☀ ~

Wilbur woke up with his head aching and his throat scratchy. The first thing he did was resort to his training and examined the area around him, finding it incredibly dark. Without Shadow healing his eyes and making them better, he probably wouldn’t be able to see in it at all.

He looked around and yanked his hands up, pursing his lips as they stayed still with a burning in his wrists, tied to a sturdy chair. There was an assortment of tools and weapons laid on the far side of the room to him, meant to be intimidating. Wilbur only saw a way out.

He straightened his back and jerked his body toward them, the chair barely scooted an inch. Wilbur bit his lip and winced when it stung, the distinct taste of blood on his tongue.

Wilbur glared down at the concrete floor below him, catching sight of his ankles tied to the legs of the chair. He cursed under his breath and looked up at the walls. Also concrete. He couldn’t use his power unless he wanted them to bounce off the walls and screw himself over too.

For a moment, he was alone, and he decided it would be best to continue scooting over to the pile of weapons. Until he wasn’t alone.

Dim lights flicker on in the corners of the room and he looked up to see a door he hadn’t noticed earlier open. A dark figure walked in, a familiar ratty cloak draped over him as he closed the door behind him.

“Well hello, Wilbur,” he said, walking up and crouching down in front of him, the lack of his voice changer made Wilbur clench his jaw and jolt against the restraints. He reeled at the absence of his own mask on his face.

He found himself at a loss for words as Nightmare leaned down close, far too close for comfort. 

“What a funny coincidence, wouldn’t you say?” He hummed, stepping back and holding his blindfold mask, examining it. “I’ll be honest. You did go down a little slower than I thought you would. But that makes sense for a hero, doesn’t it Blare ?”

Wilbur scowled at him and ignored the jab. “Where’s Tommy?” He demanded, his voice hoarse and quiet.

Nightmare tilted his head up with a laugh. “Not here,” he said, reaching into his back pocket to retrieve two phones, one of which being Wilbur’s, the other…

“You tricked me,” he blurted, realization hitting him like a splash of ice water.

“Yes, it was quite easy as well,” he giggled, putting Tommy’s phone away, twisting Wilbur’s around in his hands idly. “Tommy never asks for help, I trained him well. But, you’re clearly too naive to have seen the signs.”

Wilbur glared at the man but felt something guilty in his gut at the comment because; it was true.

“I suppose since we have some extra time until your savior gets here, we could get to know each other!” Nightmare said with another bone-chilling laugh, one that echoed off the walls and resounded in his brain.

Wilbur pursed his lips, some pieces of the story not clicking. “Savior?”

Nightmare tilted his head at him, much like a predator would their prey, but it was gone quickly when he pulled his head back with a rather dramatic cackle. “You really don’t know? Lightbringer of course. Can’t believe he was so eager to change his name… anyway, he’s coming here to save you, obviously.”

“What? Why? I thought…” he trailed off as he scanned the man’s masked face, searching for an answer in it he would never find.

“That’s a first,” Nightmare commented smugly, pacing in front of him. “He betrayed me the moment he dragged you up from the pits of hell, kicking and screaming. He’s always been soft, weak .”

Wilbur couldn’t find his words, breathing ruggedly as he considered everything he knew. Still, something was missing.

Nightmare stared at him blankly for a moment before leaning down again, this time with a hand on the edge of his mask. “Since you still seem so very confused, I’ll grant you with some answers considering…” he cut himself off with a chuckle.

Wilbur didn’t object and the man pulled off his mask, glazed eyes burning holes into his skull. Wilbur went impossibly still, jaw dropping in shock.

“Recognize me?” Dream taunted, taking a step back and holding his arms out wide. Wilbur was focused on two very big revelations. This was the man that stalked Tommy. And Dream’s eyes were much duller than before, grayish when they were once a piercing green.

Wilbur felt a smirk form on his face, one that overtook the surprise. “He blinded you, didn’t he?”

The observation made Dream flinch back a little and he reclasped his mask back on his face. “I can see just fine in the dark.”

Wilbur laughed at him, leaning forward as much as he could against the restraints. Techno did always say he was reckless. “Funny thing, I was blinded too. But he healed me .”

His head jerked to the side before he felt the burning in his cheek. Dream slapped him. Dream had slapped him. The thought made him laugh at the villain again .

“Did you just bitch-slap me?” Wilbur huffed, shaking his head a little bit like it would shake off the hit. “Pussy move, I say.”

That earned him a fist to the nose and that time, it hurt . He scrunched his face up and hissed in a sharp breath, hearing the crackling of Dream popping his knuckles. “No wonder he likes you so much,” he muttered, another punch landing in his gut. “You’re just as stupid as he is.”

“Maybe you’re just a prick,” Wilbur wheezed, pursing his lips as blood dripped from his nose. He was in too much pain to consider how the context of Dream’s words didn’t add up.

“Maybe you’ll have learned your lesson when I fucking kill you,” the threat- promise sliced through the atmosphere, and Wilbur scoffed. “I’ll kill you, and you’ll be dead. Just like you should’ve on that rooftop.”

“If you’re just gonna kill me, why keep me alive now?” Wilbur prompted, keeping his expression unreadable.

“I told you, I’m waiting for Lightbringer to get here to negotiate your life,” he said, putting emphasis on the word ‘negotiate’ because he was planning to kill him. There was going to be no negotiation. He just didn’t understand why .

Sure, he lured Wilbur here with Tommy’s phone, how he got it? Wilbur guessed he probably made Tommy give it to him. Especially with how Tommy was upset he didn’t just comply with the man previously, he wouldn’t be that surprised. 

But how Shadow- or Lightbringer had anything to do with the whole thing, he didn’t know.

“Why would he care?” Wilbur asked, eyebrows furrowed with a dull pang in his head to accompany his thoughts. “We’ve only helped each other a couple times, I don’t think you’re going to get what you want out of this.”

Dream laughed again, the maniacal sound of it was starting to get old. “Oh, you’d be surprised.”

~ ☀ ~

The sky was dark and thundering once they finally made it to the law firm building. They had taken Phil’s car and the man had definitely run several red lights. Tommy and Techno didn’t mention it.

Tommy was beginning to think the weather had something against him, he needed all the energy he could get and it only mocked him with a flash of lightning.

As soon as he got out of the car, he ran toward the building, only to be roughly yanked back by Techno. “We need to wait for reinforcements, this is risky,” he explained, pocketing his phone as Phil rounded the car.

“The fuck you mean ‘wait for reinforcements’? That’s adding more people that I have to avoid anyway,” Tommy huffed, throwing his hands up in frustration. “Still a classified villain, remember?”

Techno crossed his arms uncomfortably and Phil put a hand on his shoulder, having some wordless conversation.

“I’m going in, with or without you,” he warned, turning on his heel as he headed to the door. If they wanted to follow, they could. A second later he heard their presence behind him.

Tommy shoved the door open and walked inside, summoning his sword of sunlight that was already feeling a little dimmer than usual.

All the doors that had previously just been closed were now boarded up, unexplainable scratches all over them. All except the door at the end of the hallway, which was wide open, inviting them in.

He began running down the hall and quickly realized Phil and Techno were no longer following. “If you guys are gonna-” Tommy turned and gasped.

Vines among many other types of plants were wrapped around Phil and Techno, their faces red from suffocation as some greenery was snaked around their necks. Giant trees sprouted from the damp carpet and began encasing them at a faster rate than he’d ever seen George do.

The roof collapsed under the pressure where the trees had made an effective wall around them where they were fighting weakly against the snaking plants.

“George!” Tommy snapped, swiveling his head around the room, looking for the man responsible. “Get the fuck out here right now or-”

“Or what, Tommy?” George’s hoarse voice came from the center of the room, where he was casually walking over to the growing mess of a garden. When he made eye contact with the man, a shiver went down his spine.

All the veins in his eyes spindling out to his cheeks were an inky black, making his brown eyes look like a dark gray. His hands looked like they were covered in ash, but upon further inspection, it looked more like they had been burned, the color of his wrists fading off into a sickly purple-blue. His cheeks were sunken in and his hair was more of a mess than usual. To say the least, he looked terrible.

George just stared at him as he sat down at the base of the giant tree that was still growing, sighing in exhaustion.

“George… did he…?”

The man rolled his eyes and crossed his legs while fungi and greenery alike continued to sprout behind him. “Yeah.”

“Listen, if you let them down, I can save you,” Tommy said, taking a tentative step closer.

George just looked away.

“ Please , George. You know I can help you,” he insisted. “Help me help you.”

“I don’t need help.”

“Yes, you do.”

George pursed his lips and shook his head, squeezing his eyes shut. “I don’t need help.”

“Just let them go and we can fix all of this.”

Shaking his head again, George put his hands up to his head and grabbed handfuls of his hair, pulling hard. “No. I can’t, no. No. I don’t need help.”

“George-”

“Go Tommy,” George jerked his head up to stare at him, hands dropping to his sides, trembling. “They’re not dead. Just go talk to him.”

Tommy pursed his lips and trailed his eyes up the tree before returning his gaze to the ground. It looked like he would have to face him alone anyway. So much for growth.

He turned and stormed toward the door, mockingly swung open in invitation. Tommy walked to it without any more hesitation.

~ ☀ ~

Wilbur didn’t know how long he was sitting there, ignoring Dream’s further insults and offhand comments. Until there was a noise, a loud one, followed by yelling. It came from somewhere above them.

Dream chuckled and conjured a large sword made of void, one he had seen before. Then, he walked out of the room without another word, replaced by Hellstorm who simply sat across the room to him, next to the weapons. He said nothing, not even sparing a glance at him, so Wilbur didn’t say anything either.

A little time passed and there was shouting, much closer than before. It went quiet and Wilbur thought for a moment that something had happened, he would either die or be saved. But, the door opened and the light was so bright , even with his newly enhanced vision.

Someone else walked in the room first, his stature eerily familiar. His hands were raised at his sides and Dream was behind him with the void sword directed at the back of his neck. Though he didn’t seem too bothered by its presence.

“On the ground,” Dream ordered, he obeyed without complaint, kneeling a few feet away, in front of Wilbur. 

Wilbur looked up to meet glowing blue eyes staring back at him from under thin black fabric, his entire focus on him. Wilbur quickly noticed the lack of the villain’s usual mask in place of one of his own, which was stored… in his room.

Hellstorm squirmed awkwardly with Shadow now in the room, eyes trained on the ground.

“Let him go,” Shadow said quietly, voice horrifyingly familiar without the modulator. Dream didn’t move. Hellstorm didn’t move. “Let him go, Dream. You told me you’d let him go.”

“I said no such thing,” Dream hummed, sword scraping on the ground as he walked over to Wilbur, who glared daggers up at him.

“What!?” Shadow said, standing up abruptly, only for the sword to be turned on him again.

“I’m going to kill him anyway, I just wanted you to watch.”

“No! You can’t-”

“How does it feel?” Dream mocked, waving the sword a little. “To be lied to?”

“Dream you lied to me my entire life! How does your own medicine taste?!”

“Maybe this can be a lesson for you, Tommy.”

The world stopped spinning. Wilbur stilled and everyone noticed it. He had recognized his voice, he just dismissed it as being similar it couldn’t be him.

But here Tommy was, and there was no denying it. The same jawline and nose, same height. Everything added up at once and Wilbur recoiled, causing his chair to go off balance a little.

Standing in front of him was his best friend, his eyes glowing brighter than he’d only ever seen in his enemy. Ears morphed into points and hair a golden shade so shimmering, even in the darkness of the room.

Dream was still talking, going on and on about this ‘lesson’ and ‘teaching’ Tommy. But Wilbur couldn’t comprehend any of the words, only that his best friend was the same villain he had fought on many occasions.

But now, he could only see the same villain who had saved him more than once, but most importantly, he saw Tommy. The endearingly insufferable child who worked alongside him, making his part-time job bearable. His best friend who intently listened as he played songs on his guitar and tried his best to get along with his twin brother. He saw Tommy .

So to say Wilbur didn’t see the sword coming would be very accurate.

What he did see, however, was how Tommy lunged for Dream, tackling him before the sword was able to give him more than a little cut. But, the cut definitely was arguably one of the most painful experiences he had ever felt, runner up to being blinded.

He squeezed his eyes shut as they flared angrily with the clashing forces of the dark void substance on the slice across his chest

Wilbur immediately began struggling against the restraints as he watched Dream and Tommy’s fight out of the corner of his eye.

Hellstorm stood conflicted in the middle of it. Wilbur and Hellstorm made eye contact and it was eerily similar to when they saw each other in that alleyway. This time, Hellstorm had the upperhand.

The villain rushed toward him and Wilbur flinched, leaning away from him as he came to a stop next to him. Instead of killing him like he thought, Hellstorm grabbed at the rope and began untying him. And when that got tedious, he pinched his fingers and burned a split in them, freeing his limbs.

“Thanks,” Wilbur heard himself say before standing and turning to where Dream and Tommy were still fighting, their opposing swords clashing against one another with sparks.

Very quickly, he found it hard to stand with the pain lacing down his torso and spreading throughout his entire body. His previously thought ‘little cut’ was a giant slash down his chest, oozing blood and loose poison. His knees buckled and he recovered with a stumble, making his way toward the fight. A hand grabbed his wrist and it was Hellstorm who pulled him back. “You can’t,” was all he said.

Wilbur pursed his lips and yanked his hand away with a huff. “What’s stopping me?” He challenged, noticing the way Hellstorm’s eyes widened in realization.

Hellstorm didn’t stop him when he turned and continued toward them. He focused back on the fight and saw Dream had Tommy backed into a corner, fending off the blows with the dimming light of his sword.

Wilbur took in a heavy breath and let out a scream, watching as it knocked the both of them away from each other.

Now he caught Dream’s attention, who was fuming, his shoulders rising and lowering in exaggerated breaths, sword held at his side.

Wilbur took a few steps over to the pile of weapons and picked up a large sledgehammer, the weight of it felt unnatural in his hand.

Dream scoffed as he took a limping step closer and focused back on Tommy, the boy launched himself at the villain with a yell, swords colliding in a flurry of gold and black.

Dream’s first mistake was bitch-slapping him, his second mistake was getting a hit on Tommy, causing the boy to fall backward. Dream’s third mistake was having his back to Wilbur in an underestimated idea of his determination.

Wilbur raised his right hand to the side of him, his left hand loosely pressed against the slash in his chest. He pulled back as far as he could go and swung .

The sledgehammer connected with the side of Dream’s head with a sickening thud, the man fell unconscious upon impact and the sword disappeared from his hand as he fell.

Wilbur dropped the hammer and swayed on his feet, feeling oddly nauseous now his adrenaline was crashing. A strange stinging behind his eyes, a burning sensation spiking up his nervous system.

He barely registered his body hitting the floor, a pulsing venomously from the gash in his chest.

Tommy was over him in an instant, pulling him up into a semi-sitting position. “-bur? Wilbur! C’mon please ! Look I’m- I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”

Wilbur weakly put his arms under him and helped push himself to sit upright against the wall, blinking heavily. “I’m fine, I’m all- everything's all good,” he mumbled, swatting away Tommy’s hands.

“Clearly, you aren’t,” Tommy retorted, eyes scanning over him until they landed on his chest. A gasp tore from Tommy’s throat. “No no no no no.”

A black ink-like substance covered Tommy’s hands when he pulled them away from Wilbur’s torso, and he stared down at them in disbelief.

“He’s poisoned, just like me,” someone said over Tommy’s shoulder. They turned to see Blight standing maskless, withering vines snaking up his legs and down his arms. “You can’t heal us both, Tommy,” his voice was soft and resigned. “Save him.”

Tommy shook his head. “No there has to be another- I’ll kill him,” Tommy said abruptly, jumping to his feet and summoning his sword. It flickered weakly.

“No, Tommy. That’ll kill you too.”

“No, it- it won’t. I’ll just…” Tommy staggered over to Dream’s unconscious body and dropped to his knees beside him. Blight followed after him and Wilbur found himself crawling a few feet over as well.

“Tommy, don’t. I’m serious. I’ve spent a long time analyzing yours and Dream’s powers- trust me,” Blight insisted, hesitantly holding his hands out as Tommy leveled his sword above Dream.

“I’m the only one who can kill him, George. Don’t you know? I have to! It’ll get rid of the poison and you guys will live.”

Wilbur didn’t want to believe or trust Blight- or George in the slightest. But he found himself opening his mouth to protest anyway. “Tommy, stop. Don’t kill him.”

Tommy looked up at him with tear-ridden cheeks and shook his head. “I can’t- both of you will- I’m too weak !”

“Tommy, please. Just- you can’t kill him, you heard Blight. You can just- it’ll be okay. Everything will be fine.”

“But I can’t!” He said, shaking his head in reckless determination. Recklessness that Wilbur had seen in himself.

“There has to be another way, Tommy,” Wilbur urged, scooting closer, feeling the poison slithering through his veins.

“Look,” Tommy started, tightening his grip on his sword and shaking his head again. “The sky’s overcast- and I’m sorry.”

He plunged the sword into Dream’s chest with a blast of light. The glow faded from Tommy’s eyes as they slipped shut, and Wilbur failed.

Chapter Text

He failed.

Sirens were loud in his ears and Wilbur vaguely recognized Phil’s hand on his back and Techno detaining Hellstorm, who was uncharacteristically compliant.

Wilbur was still in shock, horrible retches racking his body as he coughed up black poison. He was hunched over, grabbing at his chest and throat, pain seizing his entire body.

George was in a similar state as him, except he was shaking and the inky poison was spilling from his eyes and nose as well as his mouth.

Techno hesitated while standing above the sickly man, eyes flitting over to-

Tommy. Tommy wasn’t moving.

Laying next to Dream’s body was Tommy. And he was completely still.

Failure.

When his body stopped heaving he threw a lazy hand up to wipe the blood from his lips and crawled over to Tommy.

Phil was saying something concerned and low, hands curling into the fabric of his suit. Wilbur yanked away from him and pulled Tommy away from Dream’s body which was twitching, closed eyelids glowing an eerie gray as they died out completely.

Wilbur only realized he was crying when a tear fell from his face and landed on Tommy’s pale cheek. He was cold to the touch. Wilbur wiped it away and held a hand on the boy’s neck, his pulse was absent.

He failed him.

Wilbur felt hands on his shoulders when he started to shake Tommy, calling his name.

He couldn’t focus on the voices around him, only the blood rushing in his ears and his own too loud breathing, he needed it quiet to hear Tommy’s pulse.

Tommy was dead.

He died to save Wilbur and George. He died so everyone would be safe from Dream. He couldn’t just leave Tommy.

So when someone pulled him forcefully away, he fought. When they called for an ambulance, he struggled. When they strapped him to a gurney, he thrashed. When they sedated him, he writhed until he eventually was dragged into unconsciousness.

~ ☀ ~

When Wilbur woke up it was to the sound of a heart monitor beeping and an annoying pinch in his arm. His entire body was sore and his mind screamed at him to move.

Opening his eyes, his suspicions were confirmed and he found himself in a hospital bed. His head ached so he moved his hand toward his head to run at his temples, only to be stopped with a jerking motion.

His eyes widened as he caught sight of the restraints on his wrists and legs, tying him to the guardrails of the hospital bed.

Before he could really panic, a sad voice took him out of his thoughts.

“Wilbur, hey- Wilbur look at me,” Techno said, leaning into his vision. He was sitting in a chair, pulled up to his side, hands resting on the guardrail.

Techno looked tired, his hair a mess, pulled into a low bun, dark semi-circles under his eyes.

“There,” he said, a slight smile on his face.

“Where-“ Wilbur cut himself off with a frown, clearing his throat. “Where’s Tommy?”

Techno’s smile fell and he tore his eyes away from Wilbur’s, staring at the ground. “He- I don’t know how to put this lightly, Wil,” Techno admitted thickly, pursing his lips. “He’s… he’s gone.”

“Gone?” Wilbur prompted, voice sounding childishly distraught and hopeful at the same time.

“Dead.”

Wilbur gasped in a breath, tensing and pulling against the medical restraints. “No no no no, he can’t he- I was supposed to-“

“Wilbur, breathe hey- breathe, Wil.”

“No! He d- to save-“

“Nurse! Nurse!” Techno yelled, grabbing Wilbur’s wrists.

Several people flooded into the room and soon after, Wilbur was knocked out again.

~ ☀ ~

When he woke up, he was much more aware of his surroundings and spotted Phil asleep in the chair at his side. Techno was nowhere to be seen. He wasted no time making his consciousness known.

“Phil,” he rasped, pointedly not looking at his wrists. Phil barely reacted, eyes glued closed. “ Phil ,” Wilbur repeated, louder this time.

The man shot up, wide blue eyes landing on him. “I’m up,” Phil said, wiping his eyes and sitting up straighter. “You alright, Wil?”

“I’m fine,” Wilbur said, slightly snappy. Phil raised an eyebrow at him. “But I want these off,” he gestured to the restraints on his wrists, legs, and waist. 

Phil frowned. “Those are on for a reason, mate. You were fighting nurses earlier.”

Wilbur scowled and jerked his hands against the restraints painfully, watching Phil wince at the action. “Let me out.”

“I can’t do that. I can’t trust you won’t hurt yourself trying to…” he trailed off, they both knew what he was saying.

Wilbur decided he was going to do and say whatever it took to find Tommy. He couldn’t be dead. He could just- yeah! Wilbur could just put him out in the sun and he’d heal! That’s how he worked before, surely the sun can help him again. “You don’t trust me?”

Phil’s face somehow fell more at his betrayed words, rushing to explain himself. “Oh no no no, Wil. I just-“

“Save it. I’m hungry,” Wilbur said suddenly, catching the man off guard again.

Phil frowned. “Techno went out to get food a few minutes ago.”

“That could take forever, he drives like an old man. I’m starving, dad.”

Phil’s expression softened and Wilbur knew his manipulation tactic worked as he hesitated before standing up. “I- I’ll go get you something from the cafeteria.”

Wilbur watched as he walked to the door, his hand wavering as he turned to look at him. Wilbur purposely avoided his eyes, staring at his hands instead. Phil left the room.

As soon as the door shut, Wilbur leaned forward, grabbing at the restraints on his wrists, trying to find how they unlocked.

He struggled for a few more minutes until the door opened again and Wilbur groaned, wondering how Phil got back so quickly.

He halted his complaining when he looked up at the person entering.

Quackity closed the door behind him smoothly, glancing down at the watch on his wrist as he swiftly made it to Wilbur’s bedside.

“Quackity?” He said dumbly, eyes catching on the man’s suspicious-looking outfit. He was in expensive pants but was clearly trying to hide it, a big black bomber jacket over a plain blue t-shirt. His face was shadowed by a baseball hat,  his black hair just long enough to be tucked behind his ears.

“Hey Wilbur,” Quackity greeted tensely, shifting on his feet as he looked him over. He stopped when he saw the restraints. “They really have you locked up in here?”

“Yeah,” Wilbur huffed, attempting to cross his arms and failing when he couldn’t move them that far against the medical restraints. Then Wilbur’s mind lit up with an idea. “Can you help me get them off?”

Quackity considered him for a moment, before sighing. “I can if you help me.”

Wilbur raised an eyebrow warily, his head hurting too much to guess what he was planning. “What do you want?”

Quackity pursed his lips, looking over his shoulder at the door before making eye contact again. “I need you to help me break Hellstorm and Blight out of prison.”

Wilbur flinched out of pure disbelief, staring agape at Quackity. “Fuck no!”

“Wait- hear me out.”

“Are you kidding me? You’re just going to come in here and-“

“ Wilbur , listen to me,” Quackity urged, grabbing him by the shoulders. “Your dad is going to be back here any moment, so give me a chance to explain!”

Wilbur pursed his lips but didn’t protest further.

“Okay, George- Blight said he knows how to save Tommy.”

Wilbur’s interest peaked and he sprung forward, making Quackity jump at his eagerness. “Really? How? How does he even know?”

“He was closest to Dream and he learned some things from him- look I don’t know all the details. We didn’t exactly have much time to talk and neither do we. So Wilbur, make up your mind and quickly please.”

He was conflicted. His brain urged him to decline, but his heart screamed at him to take the chance to save Tommy.

If he agreed and broke the villains out of prison, there would surely be big consequences. Wilbur would be risking his entire career as a hero, everything he’s worked for, all down the drain. Let alone freeing two unpredictable villains who could cause irreparable damage.

But, Tommy risked more for him, he’s the reason Wilbur’s still alive and breathing to be a hero in the first place. For Tommy, it’s worth it.

“I’ll do it.”

A grin stretched on Quackity’s face and he hurriedly whipped out a pocket knife, ignoring how Wilbur flinched and just reached for the restraints. He grabbed the thick blue nylon material, sawing through them one at a time.

The one on his right wrist was the first to go, the buckles falling apart after being severed. Wilbur tried to help Quackity by holding the restraints at a better angle.

Once both his hands were free they got the waist one off just as fast, the heart monitor beeping quicker with Wilbur’s rising anxiety. Phil was going to be back very soon.

The second his waist was free he was able to wiggle his legs out with little problems and Quackity helped him sit up.

“Okay Wilbur, three things are going to happen,” Quackity started grabbing the arm that had the IV on it. “I am going to take this out,” he warned, pulling up the tape a little. “Then, I am going to rip the monitoring tags off you, which will cause your heart monitor here to flatline.”

“Yeah?” He prompted impatiently, antsy to move.

“It’s going to trigger alarms- because you’re top priority as a hero- and we need to run. You’re going to follow me no matter what, okay?”

Wilbur nodded vigorously, adrenaline gathering already. “Okay.”

“One,” Quackity began, pulling the IV out with a pained hiss from Wilbur. “Two,” he took both hands and ripped the tags off Wilbur’s neck and chest. “Three!” He shouted over the wailing heart monitor.

He yanked Wilbur off the bed by his arm and ran to the door, throwing it open as alarms started going off, just as he had predicted. 

Wilbur stumbled over his heavy feet, holding Quackity’s hand with a pointed look of disgust the man ignored, dragging Wilbur down the hall. Wilbur felt strangely bare and realized he had been changed into a patient gown which was undone at the top where the tags for the heart rate monitor had gone. He cursed his luck.

They were about to round the corner when Wilbur looked back and saw people in scrubs rushing into his room, looking around for him, confused. He caught sight of Phil running up to the commotion, hands tightly holding a tray of food.

The guilt was amplified when they briefly met eyes and he saw Phil’s shock and utter terror. Quackity tugged him around the corner as soon as Phil shouted and pointed in their direction.

After rounding a few hallways they slowed down near the stairwell and elevator area. Wilbur was already dead set on the stairs but Quackity stopped him, slamming the fist that wasn’t holding onto Wilbur on the button for the elevator. Wilbur still took the chance to curl into himself, hands gliding over the bandages on his chest and stomach.

“What are you doing? That’s much slower!” Wilbur stressed, nervously peering down the hallway, not seeing anyone who caught up with them yet. They weren’t experts at fieldwork like Wilbur and Quackity, not having experienced the amount of chasing and running they had.

“They won’t expect us to use the elevator,” Quackity countered, shooting him a glare as he shrugged off the backpack Wilbur hadn’t even noticed he was carrying. “Plus you need to get out of those clothes, it’ll give us away.”

Before he could question what he meant the elevator opened with a ding and they were face to face with the last person Wilbur wanted to see.

“Wilbur?!” Techno gasped, eyes darting to Quackity. He seemed to also be carrying a to-go box of food, one hand stretched out to keep the elevator doors from closing.

Wilbur didn’t know what to say, he hadn’t prepared to run into his brother. Not that he had much time to prepare at all. Quackity, however, was a different story.

The pocket knife that had freed him from the medical restraints was suddenly at his neck, Quackity’s hands roughly grabbed his shoulders and pulled him back away from Techno.

His brother’s eyes widened and he dropped the box with a clatter and he put his hands up in surrender. “Let him go,” Techno demanded desperately, looking between Wilbur and the knife at his throat. Wilbur was impossibly still, arms still wrapped around his middle, the pain flaring back to the surface without adrenaline to numb it.

“No, he’s coming with me. Move or I kill him,” Quackity commanded, pressing the knife closer to Wilbur’s neck in an obvious threat. “Out of the elevator.”

He knew Quackity wouldn’t kill him, but Techno did not. He didn’t say anything when the tension grew and a group rounded a corner at the far end of the hall, Phil leading them.

Techno carefully got out of the way, hands shaking where they were raised above his head. Wilbur’s heart burst into a million pieces and he almost gave in, almost told Techno it was a ruse. That he was okay and he didn’t have to worry. But Quackity was dragging him into the elevator before he could even open his mouth.

“Press the star,” Quackity whispered, arm still keeping Wilbur in front of him like a human shield. Wilbur’s trembling hand rose from his stomach and pressed the first-floor button. He stared with a stuttered breath as the doors slowly closed and Techno watched helplessly, mouth agape and eyebrows upturned.

As soon as the doors closed, Quackity dropped him and Wilbur’s knees buckled, causing him to fall to the ground. He hissed in pain and grabbed at his stomach again. “You fuckin’ bitch,” he snapped, turning to scowl up at Quackity.

He noticed how Quackity didn’t respond and instead flicked his eyes up in an exaggerated way up at the camera in the corner.

“Fucking hell,” he cursed, getting the message.

Quackity set his backpack down and ripped it open, pulling clothes out of the bag and setting them in front of Wilbur.

“Put these on.”

He frowned up at Quackity who rolled his eyes and jumped, yanking the camera down from the corner and slamming his foot into it. After that, he pointedly looked away, covering his eyes like a child counting for a hide and seek game.

Wilbur huffed and pulled himself to his feet using the railing. He eyed the top of the elevator and noted they were still fairly high up, giving him enough time to change.

He quickly slipped into the black pants and beige sweater, scoffing a laugh out at the almost identical bomber jacket and hat for him. Wilbur put them on with some struggle, using the wall and railing for support.

He adjusted the hat on his head just as the elevator dinged and the lobby opened up to them. Thankfully no one was there waiting for them.

Quackity was behind him again, knife idly at his side in case he had to use it for show again, pushing Wilbur along to the front doors.

They made it through the doors with only a couple of odd looks. The second they were hit with a rush of cold air, Quackity somehow increased his pace.

Wilbur followed, only tripping over his own feet a couple times as Quackity brought them to the street. A black SUV with tinted windows pulled up perfectly on time and Quackity opened the back seat door first, unceremoniously shoving him in.

Wilbur cursed under his breath and he pulled his limbs in the safety of the vehicle right before Quackity slammed the door shut. He got in the passenger seat and the car took off, speeding down the street as sirens started to blare nearby.

“You failed to mention you were kidnapping me,” Wilbur grumbled, lifting up his shirt to find blood peeking through the bandages. “You tore my stitches, asshole.”

“Karl, take the shortcut through here,” Quackity said, pointing up the road. He turned and looked to the seat next to him where a familiar slime hybrid rose from the seats. “Slime, fix his stitches, will ya?”

“Prick,” Wilbur huffed, helping ‘Slime’ take off the bandages.

“Sorry, Wilbur. Didn’t think you’d be on board if I told you we might have to traumatize your family,” Quackity said unapologetically, settling his backpack by his feet.

Wilbur said nothing and stared out the window, wincing as he felt a needle rethreading his stitches.

It was going to be worth it, he wouldn’t fail a second time.

~ ☀ ~

When Wilbur drifted back to consciousness it was to the feeling of the car stopping. He didn’t know when he fell asleep, but he was awake now and they were likely at their destination.

“Wilbur,” Quackity said, shaking him by the shoulders. “Get up.”

He blinked and realized the door was open and Quackity was looking down at him, everyone else had already gotten out. He quickly leaned forward and stood, swaying on his feet a little.

“Woah woah, not that fast. Slow down or you’ll rip your stitches again.”

Groaning, he let Quackity grab his forearm and took in his surroundings. He noticed they were in a secluded parking lot underground, the lack of natural lighting being an attest to that.

He was guided somewhere between a few similar-looking cars and then his eyes were assaulted with bright lights. His mood quickly dropped when his eyes only squinted out of habit, but the burning sensation never came. He would never forget why.

Quackity sat him down on a nice couch and Slime came around with a cup of water and a bottle of pain medication for him which he gratefully took without question.

Karl came back and sat on a couch across from him, next to Quackity who was on his phone.

“What now?” Wilbur asked, sipping on the water while mindlessly bringing a hand up to his neck where Quackity had held a knife up to not that long ago. He found a couple light scratches but nothing bad.

“Well, we wait for you to… calm down and you can ask your questions. Then, we look at the blueprints for the prison-“ Wilbur glared at him “-that they’re being held in. We have a basic plan but obviously, we were going to run it by you first since you’re the… key.”

Wilbur nodded, sighing. “How about you just tell me now. Because you left out some giant details in the plan earlier and I don’t want to be surprised again.”

Quackity huffed out a chuckle. “To be fair I didn’t expect Technoblade to be back so quickly.”

Wilbur frowned at the reminder and looked down at his lap, guilt overwhelming him. The other two seemed to notice and Quackity’s laughter died off with him clearing his throat.

“But sure, we can run through the plan real quick.”

Wilbur nodded again, this time more tired than the last. He could worry about Techno and Phil later.

He had to save his best friend first.

Chapter Text

Techno paced the room, hands tugging on his hair. His heart hadn’t stopped racing since he let Wilbur get taken again right in front of him. Although they were twins, Wilbur had always been his little brother, someone he protected.

But he had let him down again. He had been so anxious, scared to leave Wilbur’s side as he recovered in the hospital. Techno only left to get them all food when Phil said he would stay with him.

Oh, how he wanted so badly to be mad at Phil. But he couldn’t because he knew deep down it wasn’t Phil’s fault, but his. Techno had let Wilbur slip through his fingers and all they had to show for it was grainy security camera footage, an empty hospital bed, and a group of witnesses that barely saw any more than he did.

Phil himself was taking it pretty hard. His eyebrows hadn’t unfurrowed since, trying to keep himself together as best as possible for Techno’s sake. He led the investigation, sending people out searching in every direction the SUV had gone. Trying to patch together the face of the man who kidnapped Wilbur. Rerunning the facial recognition program over and over and over again.

Techno was pouring himself over the footage, analyzing every frame of it. There were three angles he worked with; the camera from in the corner of the room by the elevators and the camera in the corner of the hallway Wilbur and his abductor went down toward them, and the elevator footage itself.

They had a very vague description of the person who had kidnapped Wilbur, following him through the hospital as the man kept his head down, making it all the way up to his room with a casualness of knowing exactly where he was going. He had seen as far as the man purposely hiding his face from the camera in the small elevator, throwing Wilbur roughly on the floor as soon as the doors closed. He had handed Wilbur clothes who spotted the camera, eyes still wide, then, the camera was grabbed and ripped out of the socket.

The last they saw of Wilbur and his abductor was the camera in front of the hospital when an unmarked, black SUV pulled up and shoved Wilbur in the back, speeding away with nothing but a shadow in the driver’s seat.

Now, Techno was going back over the part they had the most footage of; when Wilbur and his kidnapper were in front of the elevators. He watched the man drag Wilbur into frame, tossing a glance over his shoulder as he punched the elevator button.

Wilbur was hunched over, swaying on his feet with his arms wrapped around his torso where Techno and Phil had concluded his stitches had ripped open. The thought only made them more nervous.

One of the abductor’s hands was gripping Wilbur’s forearm, never leaving it even as he started to take off his backpack. Techno was still confused why Wilbur didn’t do more to fight or yell or even use his powers.

Techno stopped the recording when he saw the elevators open and Wilbur’s face drop, not wanting to watch his failure again.

Instead, he breathed in and exhaled slowly, pulling up the footage of the hallway again.

He watched Phil leave the room and walk farther away toward the other, closer elevators. Techno saw the man round the corner as soon as Phil was out of sight. He paused the footage.

“Phil?” Techno called, voice gravelly from yelling so much over the past fifteen hours.

The man appeared in his doorway a second later, a cup of coffee in hand. “Find something?” He asked hopefully, walking further in to look over his shoulder.

“Kind of,” he frowned, rewinding the footage. “Look,” he said, letting it play out again, Phil leaving, abductor appearing, pause.

“What am I looking at, mate?”

“He comes around the corner the second you are out of sight, he wasn’t even waiting he just is there as soon as you leave.”

Phil winced at the reminder and squinted at the screen. “You don’t think it’s a coincidence? There were no hidden cameras in Wilbur’s room and the curtains were shut, there’s no way he would know.”

“Isn’t there?”

The blonde stared at him for a moment before he pursed his lips. “You don’t think…”
“Oh, I do. I mean look at him, he’s the same height and build as Wildcard! It’s not that crazy to assume that he had help from this mysterious ‘time-traveler’ he has in his cabinet.”

Phil looked back at the footage for a moment, considerate, before he nodded. “Okay, what do you say we do?”

Techno smiled and it was something vengeful. “I say we start with Wildcard and find where he’s keeping my brother.”

~ ☀ ~

“So, first things first, how are we going to enter the prison building?” Wilbur asked, leaning over the schematics, noticing none of the cells were labeled.

Quackity turned his head up at him, a mischievous grin on his face. “Straight through the front door.”

Wilbur stared at him with a look of exasperation. “What? I thought-“

“No you didn’t, clearly you know that only heroes have access to all the cell locks and the front door. Which we will be going in. Consider it a storm.”

He pursed his lips, trying to think of another option to pose. None came to mind. “Then why do we have the schematics if we are just going through the front door anyway. No sneaking in?”

Quackity laughed, glancing at Karl who had mostly been silent the entire time, scribbling occasionally in a thick book Wilbur had seen him carrying around. “For the escape, obviously. Your friends will likely be notified as soon as you scan in, they’ll be all over the place like flies the second we do. We have approximately three minutes to break them out without complications.”

“And after three minutes?”

“Well, I’ll just threaten your life again,” Quackity shrugged like it was the simplest thing ever. “I doubt your friends would risk that.”

Wilbur huffed, slouching in his chair. He didn’t like the idea of lying to his fellow heroes in the slightest, or being used against them. But he had no other choice, Phil and Techno would never budge on letting two supervillains out on the word of an unreliable man.

But Wilbur had to have hope, and he wouldn’t give up on Tommy. Especially because Tommy never gave up on him. If there was a way to fix everything, he was going to do everything in his power to try to bring his friend back.

~ ☀ ~

Wilbur absentmindedly held his hand against the new bandages wrapped around his torso. It was covered by a clean sweater since the last had gotten a little messy when Slime was sewing him back up.

He ran through the plan in his head again, staring out the car window with a glazed look.

They gave him an option the day before, though his answer was quite obvious, they gave him a choice about how he would appear in the prison. Either as a hostage or a traitor.

Wilbur hated being abducted by Quackity the first time, but the last thing he wanted was his family and co-workers to think he betrayed them.

Quackity had laughed at him complaining, teasing him about being weak and whiny. He had stopped when he noticed Wilbur only glared at him, not finding his jokes amusing in the slightest.

So there he was, handcuffs loosely around his wrists, covering his eyes was an extra one of his own mask the man had somehow ‘found’ and gave to him to wear to at least try to keep his identity hidden.

Now for Wilbur’s power, Quackity had done nothing in making it so he couldn’t talk or use his scream. But he was working under the pretense that he had overused his power and lost his voice, which actually happened more often than Wilbur would like to admit.

The SUV came to a stop and Quackity got out of the passenger seat, clad in his villain attire. He idly flipped the gun around in his hand and waited for the other cars to pull up.

When the parking lot was essentially packed with black SUVs ready to pick them, Hellstorm, and Blight up. Most of them were for diversion when Wilbur’s co-workers eventually caught on and found him.

His door opened and Quackity yanked him out with more force than necessary, snickering when Wilbur cursed at him under his breath.

Quackity pulled him to the front door of the building, throwing a taunting arm around his shoulders. Wilbur hunched in himself in genuine embarrassment, wishing he could just twist around and punch him in the face. The only things preventing him were the physical restrictions placed on him and the fact that this would eventually lead him to Tommy.

So he shrugged off Quackity’s mocking arm and shot him a scowl from under his mask, a real bitterness in the movement that was more than his weak hostage act. Quackity didn’t appear phased by it in the slightest and almost seemed to be enjoying his suffering.

With an encouraging shove from Quackity, Wilbur stumbled to be right in front of the door. He pressed a button on the lock and red light emitted from it. He turned and glared at Quackity before leaning forward and pulling down his mask a little to scan his eye.

After a second the scanner dinged and a click came from the door before the sound of metal sliding against metal. Then, he stood up straight and Quackity was quick to open the door and drag him inside.

The interior of the prison was nothing special, mostly white, gold, and blue colors adorned the walls and main desk. Which, surprisingly had a secretary sitting at it. 

The secretary was a young woman, probably around Wilbur’s age, and she didn’t notice them come in until Quackity walked all the way up to the desk and slammed his fists down on it. She flinched back and yanked out her earbuds which were blasting loud music, some sort of paperwork sat in front of her. It seemed to be homework. Wilbur didn’t understand for a moment until he was sourly reminded that people his age were in college.

“Where are Blight and Hellstorm’s cells?” Quackity asked, armed men flooding in through the door behind them.

The girl just stared at him, wide eyes darting to Wilbur, who bowed his head in shame. “I- I don’t know!” She said, shaking in her chair.

“Oh come on!” Quackity scoffed, throwing his hands up. “You work here, knowing where the dangerous people are kept is your job .”

“I- is that Blare?” The woman asked, trying to make eye contact with the hero under his mask.

Quackity turned and looked at Wilbur for a moment. “Yeah? Obviously. Tell me where they are-” he took a gun out of his pocket and started waving it around, “-or someone here is getting shot.”

The girl was tense as she stared at them both, and Wilbur could only think of the clock ticking in the back of his head. They didn’t have much time left until there was bound to be a swarm of heroes surrounding the building.

Quackity must’ve noticed this on his face because he turned back fully to the girl and held the gun up at her. Wilbur gasped and raised his hands, shoving Quackity’s down. “She won’t tell us- me until I threaten her! She was hired to not budge and I intend to make her.”

Wilbur shook his head violently, eyes wide under his mask. He was not about to stand by and let Quackity threaten some poor girl’s life.

Quackity rolled his eyes and looked down at the papers the girl had clearly been working on and paused, uncaring or unaware of her trembling, taking a lot of effort to keep her breathing steady. “You seem like a smart woman,” he commented, nodding at the papers. “You have your whole life ahead of you. You don’t wanna throw that away do you?”

The girl considered him for a moment and the gun made a click which encouraged her to nod her head. Sheepishly, she wrung her hands together. “Blight is in hallway 1B, Hellstorm is in 3C.”

“Thank you!” Quackity said condescendingly, lowering the gun from her face. He turned to the other men waiting patiently around the room, guns in hand. “Get her out of here.”

All at once, they nodded, and two came forward, grabbing her arms. She tried yanking herself away from them, only for them to tug her over to the door to escort her out.

Quackity was already dragging Wilbur in the direction of Blight’s cell. He had him scan his eye again when they came to a heavy door labeled ’1B’.

He rushed in, Wilbur trying to keep up with Quackity holding onto his wrist.

After a few moments of sprinting down the hall, looking left and right into the cells, they came to a halt.

Quackity rushed up to the reinforced glass, pounding his fists on it. Blight was inside, unmasked, sitting on his cot with his legs crossed neatly in front of him. His arms were clasped in front of him in his lap and his head was ducked, eyes seemingly closed. Tiny little mushroom caps were dusting around his eyes in an attempt to probably hide his identity, but the bureau had ways to reduce the strength of powered individuals, so they didn’t help hide much.

This time, it was truly Wildcard that whipped around to him, something desperate in his eyes. It only grew when Blight didn’t react to the ruckus he was making, Wilbur didn’t care enough to tell him it was because the cell was soundproof.

“Well, what are you waiting for?! Open it!” He demanded, throwing his hands up and shoving Wilbur toward the door.

Wilbur knew that Quackity would feel bad about his behavior later, so he just obeyed without complaint and leaned down again to scan his eye on the retina identifier.

A similar click and metallic scraping to the sound they heard earlier broke the silence, and it was open.

Quackity flung the door farther open, unbothered when a few of his gunmen had to take his place keeping Wilbur hostage. He rushed to Blight who jumped when he entered, a grin stretching on his face. Quackity and Blight reunited with a hand pulling the other up and… and Wilbur had just betrayed everything he once stood for.

Keeping the city safe and being a good hero, he just tossed it away.

Once the two had gotten out of the cell, Quackity started leading them in the direction of Hellstorm’s cell, holding Blight up with an arm thrown around his shoulders. 

Wilbur just kept his mind on Tommy, that way, he couldn’t think about the crimes he was committing.

~ ☀ ~

Techno peered into the casino through the glass doors, hands cupped around his eyes to see better in the dark. Phil was somewhere nearby, scouting out the area for anything suspicious that would give them reasonable doubt to break in.

It was well known that Wildcard owned the casino, or at least funded it, providing the perfect place for a villain to hideout. Although it could be far-fetched, he had to consider every possibility, and the casino was the most likely one.

He was about to just break in anyway until he heard the sound of Phil’s panicked voice. He turned and Phil flew and landed sloppily next to him, staring at his phone.

“What? Did they-”

“Yes. They found him,” Phil said, but he didn’t sound relieved in the slightest.

“What’s wrong, Phil?”

“He’s at the prison.”

“Why? That doesn’t even make sense, why would he be-” he cut himself off when Phil turned the phone around toward him.

The video was security camera footage, something he had been becoming very familiar with. It was obviously in the lobby of the prison, where heroes would bring in powered criminals for registration to be processed.

And standing there at the front desk, hunched over in a pained manner with his wrists bound together, was Wilbur.

Right next to him, was a familiar man that made his blood boil , Wildcard. 

Techno didn’t even have to say anything before he took off running and Phil followed, flapping his wings and grabbing Techno under the armpits to travel faster.

He wasn’t going to let his brother slip through his fingers that easily again.

~ ☀ ~

A young woman with pale skin and dark hair folded her hands in front of her, pursing her lips as she looked around the room. There was a camera pointed at her, though she knew it wasn’t broadcasting yet.

There was someone behind it, adjusting the angle and lighting as another person readied the sound and prepared the script on a screen above the camera.

Sitting next to her was a man around the same age, tan skin and curly brown hair. He was peering over her shoulder, looking at the notes. Silently assessing the seriousness of the situation they were about to report on.

A quiet murmur of talk began in the room and the woman glanced over at her coworker and friend, nervous. “Wildcard is using Blare to break villains out of prison, so far he already has Blight. You know they don’t like the press very much.”

The man nodded understandingly, knowing what she was meaning. He went to reassure her, tell her that they would be safe in the building. But she was quick to remind him she didn’t like to take things very seriously for too long.

“If they break in, I’m using you as a human shield.”

He scoffed out a laugh, feigning offense. “Are you kidding me? You’d make a much better human shield, you cow.”

Her jaw dropped and she couldn’t help the slight smile that crept up her face. “I’m the cow? Tell me who ate my yogurt yesterday then?”

The man just shook his head, a smug look on his face. “I didn’t see your name on it.”

“I wrote my name on there three times ! Blind bitch.”

“Oh yeah, when?”

“What do you mean ‘when’?! I literally-“

“No, when did I ask ?”

“Oh, you mother-“ she was about to lunge for his neck when the person behind the camera clapped their hands, gaining their attention.

“We’re on in thirty seconds!”

The two shared a look and adjusted themselves accordingly, sitting more professionally in the stools.

They both turned on their earpieces and put on their best attempt at an easy smile, preparing to read the script.

The red light flicked on and the person behind the camera held up three fingers, counting down until start.

Three, two, one, and we’re live!

“Good even people of L’Manburg! There have obviously been some scary things going on so we’ll just jump right into it, shall we?” She looked to her friend, and he sighed, ready for his lines.

“As you have all heard we have been informed that Blare has actually been taken hostage and there have been no attempts to negotiate a ransom. With that information, our sources were suspicious when Blare scanned in to the L’Manburg Prison for Powered Villains.”

The woman glanced over at him and took over to her part. “It has been said that villain Wildcard has used him to enter the prison and has so far released Blight from incarceration. We personally think that their next target is going to be Blight’s ally and partner, Hellstorm. But it’s unclear why Wildcard would want these dangerous villains out of prison, considering their rocky history. Though some are inferring that the problem may not have been with them at all, but with their leader, Nightmare, who has since been uncharacteristically off the radar.”

Nodding, the man gave her a strained encouraging smile before she continued.

“Some are speculating that Nightmare’s disappearance is because he was killed . By who? Well, we just might have an answer for you. Stick around as we update live on Blare’s hostage situation and Nightmare’s possible death. You’re watching L’Manburg Five News.”

The red light turned off and the person behind the camera gave them both a thumbs up. They heard ads begin to play and the woman grabbed her water bottle from below the table and took a sip, jittery in her movements.

She fidgeted as the screen with the script on it changed and showed footage inside the prison, watching as Blare was dragged around toward the chambers where Hellstorm was being kept, confirming their suspicions.

They find Hellstorm’s cell and the man emerges from his cell, following them as they take off running again. This time, they’re headed for the nearest exit.

The producer was about to cut the footage and report on that part but the woman held her hand up, causing them to pause. She watched as all of them skidded to a stop at the door as Vulpine leaped out from around a corner, right in front of the exit doors.

Everyone in the room let out a surprised gasp at his appearance. Vulpine had been off-duty ever since his partner died in a tragic accident, one Vulpine blamed himself for. Blare’s kidnapping must’ve been bad enough he needed to step in.

The hero was standing fairly tensely with his knife-like claws drawn, using his forcefield power to keep the door inaccessible.

Wildcard seemed to roll his eyes, waving his gun around again, gesturing to Blare who was now looking down at his hands that were on his stomach. Everyone knew that Blare had suffered a big gash on his abdomen when his confrontation with Nightmare happened. The people in the room seemed to pause when Blare raised his hand up to the light, red reflecting off of it.

Wildcard whipped his head toward Vulpine, arguing mutely while his arms gestured wildly. Eventually, he just held the gun back to Blare’s head again and there was a still moment that followed.

The people in the newsroom watched in bated breath as Vulpine let down his forcefield and moved out of the way, defeat sagging his shoulders.

The villain’s crew plowed by and Blare was swept up with them, washed out the door.

The woman turned to her partner, mouth agape before she looked back to the camera. The people behind the camera looked just as shocked as she did, but still held up three fingers. The show goes on.

Three.

Two.

~ ☀ ~

“One more second and we would’ve been fucked,” Quackity said with an exasperated sigh, dragging his hands down his now unmasked face. “I hear Blade and Angel were right around the corner. We still need to watch out for them.”

“The decoys were a smart idea,” Hellstorm grinned, pointedly avoiding looking at Wilbur who was watching Slime rethread his stitches again . “Must’ve been a lot to buy so many of the same car though.”

Quackity nodded absentmindedly, obviously trying not to stress Karl out, who was driving. Wilbur realized it was probably something to do with Karl’s power with time and seeing the future or whatever it was exactly, but he didn’t know enough to make a solid guess.

“Why isn’t Blight riding with us?” Wilbur asked, wincing as Slime tightened his stitches and tied it in a knot.

Quackity inhaled and exhaled deeply, as if preventing himself from yelling. “I told you already, it’s so we don’t put all our cards in one hand.”

Wilbur scoffed, the action sending a flare up his abdomen. “Bullshit.”

Quackity rolled his eyes and threw his hands up. “Fine, you caught me. I put him in a separate car so he can rest without you nagging him yet.”

“Are you kidding me? Of course I’m going to ‘nag’ him! He knows how to bring Tommy back! So I’m sorry I put Blight’s comfort below my friend’s life ,” he hissed, shooting Quackity a glare from the back seat.

“You can ask him when we get back to the safe house, alright? You’re not the only one who wants Tommy back, Wilbur.”

At that, Wilbur relented, choosing to not to start a fight. He just needed to be patient, he would be able to save Tommy soon.

~ ☀ ~

He blinked his eyes open, staring up into an array of dead leaves, the dull blue sky peeking out from behind them. A brown, shriveled leaf fluttered down and it fell next to his head without the wind to send it flying.

Conjuring up the energy to move, he turned his head and his face dropped. Next to him where a lively stream once gushed crystal clear water, was nothing but a dried up creek.

His eyes scanned the area and he froze when they landed on a familiar figure, strung up in brown vines that held a certain golden sheen to them.

Dream lifted his head, arms bound to the tree behind him with his legs outstretched in front. There was golden light spilling out of his chest, right where his heart might’ve laid. The tree itself was dead, all the leaves were withered up at the base. He could tell it was Dream’s presence that killed it.

“I go down, I’ll always drag you along with me,” Dream smirked, voice weak yet somehow still prideful.

Tommy managed a scoff, shaking his head.

“Forever in my shadow.”

At that, Tommy snorted, annoyance burning at the thought that he would be stuck here with Dream for eternity. That the cost of saving his friends was living infinitely with his abuser. “I’m not in your shadow, Dream,” he said instead, trying to urge anything to move . “Not anymore.”

“You’re stuck here with me.”

“Not for long,” Tommy stated confidently, looking up at the unusually shaded sky again.

There was a moment of silence before Dream responded, smug. “What? You think you’ll be getting out of here anytime soon? No one knows how our powers work, let alone how we’re connected.”

Tommy smiled, eyes locked on the sky. “You underestimate them, and you ignore your own weaknesses.”

Dream scoffed out a laugh, tilting his head back against the tree. “My weaknesses? What could possibly be-“

“George.”

One name shut Dream up faster than anything, his mouth closing with a click.

“He never did like to talk much, but he was always listening.”

The silence that came after made Tommy chuckle, feeling a sort of giddiness that came with being right.

“You didn’t register him as someone with a mind of their own because of his quietness, and… you do love to talk about yourself. To a fault, some might say. I’d say.”

“You don’t know me,” Dream scoffed, though he didn’t sound so sure of himself now. “You only know what I let you see.”

“Oh you’d be surprised.”

Dream didn’t say anything more on the topic and they both were left in a terribly tense silence. Tommy was surprised when Dream started a completely different conversation after a while. “I have to admit, your little place here is much nicer than mine.”

Tommy’s eyebrows furrowed, turning to give Dream a suspicious stare. The man didn’t look at him at all as he glanced around, seemingly just admiring the scenery. “Yeah well, this isn’t even the best of it. There’s usually a creek and the water is always loud, trees are always flourishing and it’s pretty.”

Dream nodded, a look on his face that Tommy couldn’t quite decipher. “I bet.”

Tommy narrowed his eyes at the man, wary. “What are you doing?”

Tilting his head up, Dream regarded him with a shrug. “Talking. We’re gonna be stuck here together for a while, might as well get along.”

Tommy scoffed, leaning back and looking at the sky again. “I won’t be here much longer. You’ll be stuck here alone forever,” he hissed, his hands curling into fists in the grass.

Dream said nothing, he only sighed and followed Tommy’s gaze up to the clouds. Silent.

Chapter Text

“Where is he?!” Wilbur demanded, looking around the garage building was mostly empty, save for a couple similar black cars.

Wilbur hadn’t been paying much attention to where they were going, he was just trying to keep track of the SUV he saw Blight enter. He had lost his car somewhere along the way and was looking around the parking garage, trying to see if Blight’s ride pulled up.

Quackity was somewhere behind him, and so were Hellstorm, Karl, and Slime, but he didn’t care. He was promised Blight’s information, and it was time the man repaid his debt and told him what he wanted to know.

“Wilbur, calm down, his driver is taking a few extra turns to make sure the heroes are off their tail,” Quackity called out, nodding to Slime who walked over and grabbed Wilbur’s arm, urging him in the direction of the elevator.

“Quackity I’m not fucking going anywhere until Blight gets here and tells me how to save Tommy,” Wilbur huffed, crossing his arms defiantly.

He and Quackity had a staredown before Quackity sighed and nodded to Slime who grabbed both his arms and tried to drag him along. Wilbur’s eyes narrowed and he yanked his arms away, pulling his fist back and swinging straight for Slime’s face. The man only continued to smile at him as Wilbur’s fist connected with green sludge, driving right through his head.

Wilbur stared down at his now slimy hand in disgust and confusion as Slime’s head reformed and shaped back into a human face, reverting into a more human skin color.

Before Wilbur knew it, his arms were being restrained more forcefully by Slime’s hands which had formed into big globs of goo. Wilbur pursed his lips and kicked out at Slime’s knees, only to stop when a flare of a pain spike off from his wound.

He doubled over and Slime frowned at him while Wilbur looked up and glared at him and Quackity. Quackity just smirked and turned away, Karl and Hellstorm following closely behind as Slime wrangled Wilbur into walking toward the elevator.

Wilbur eventually gave up his fighting, he needed all the energy he could get anyway.

~ ☀ ~

Wilbur was sitting on a couch sipping room temperature water from an unlabeled bottle of water Quackity had tossed him. He had been wary to drink it, sniffing it to ensure it wasn’t a trick the whole time and he was going to poison him with water that tasted like plastic.

Once Quackity noticed he had rolled his eyes and scoffed, grabbing it and taking a swig before handing it back, throwing his arms out in a dramatic gesture. “No poison,” he said with a slight smile, dropping his arms to his sides after a moment.

“You could be immune and-”

“Oh my fucking- christ Wilbur no one’s trying to kill you! Drink the water or don’t, I’m just trying to get you hydrated before Blight gets here. Because I know you won’t stop moving after that and you’ll be drained before we even get to Tommy.”

So Wilbur decided to go ahead and drink it.

It had seemed like hours had passed by, even though he knew it was less than that, waiting for Blight to get there. Wilbur had taken to pacing the room, limping a little when his pain medication wore off. Quackity had tried to get him to take more but ultimately gave up and sat back down, quietly talking with Karl and Hellstorm.

Then, a door opened up down the hall and Wilbur tensed, turning to the sound of voices. He was about to bolt toward it before a hand caught his arm and stopped him. He turned to see Hellstorm giving him a sad smile.

He opened his mouth like he wanted to say something, but was cut off by Blight bursting into the room, giddiness radiating off of him.

Everyone was confused as Blight flipped through an ancient-looking book, bound with leather and several locks that were simply dangling off of it, unlocked. “Yes! I’m not crazy, it’s real!”

Wilbur moved closer, trying to figure out what the book was.

“George, what’s that?” Hellstorm asked nervously, eyes latched onto the book.

“We stopped by Dream’s old place and I found it! It’s his notebook, the one he was keeping his notes in that we weren’t allowed to see!’

Wilbur looked around and crossed his arms. “Is this going to help us bring Tommy back?” He said, a slightly snappish tone to his voice.

Blight looked up at him for the first time since that day, his smile turning a little more strained before he nodded excitedly. He flipped through the pages until he stopped on something, muttering to himself before he turned the notebook around to face them.

Wilbur squinted at the image taped in the notebook, it was of some kind of strange, giant rock. It was glowing a golden hue, a little divet in the center of it.

When he recognized it, Wilbur’s face dropped.

“This- this is the meteorite Tommy came from! Along with the sun, it’s a source for his power, even a few pieces of it should be enough bring him back to life!”

The room was quiet, completely and utterly in shock. Hellstorm seemed to be the only one who wasn’t as lost as the rest of them. “Where can we find it? Do you know?”

“Meteorite he came from?” Wilbur repeated, holding his hands up to halt the conversation. “What- what do you mean by that?”

All eyes turned to him and Blight and Hellstorm exchanged a look before Blight answered. “Dream and Tommy, well, they’re polar opposites in the most literal way. Light and dark, except Dream had the advantage with being here for longer and when Tommy came along, he took him in and- well, here we are.”

“ Here we are ?” Wilbur sputtered, trying to prompt more answers out of him. “That’s it?”

“I don’t have the time or preparation to explain everything right now. Just that this rock will heal Tommy.”

“How do you know it will heal him?” Wilbur asked, trying not to sound as doubtful as he was.

Blight pursed his lips, looking at the floor. “I know because Dream was so determined to get to it. He wanted to destroy it, saying it would weaken Tommy enough to kill him.”

The silence that followed was deafening.

“And the whole time Tommy didn’t know he was helping Dream look for the last source of his power that they could reach to…” he trailed off and everyone was quiet. “My only concern is we might bring Dream back as well, but, we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.”

Everyone muttered in agreement and stood up straighter, looking around at each other. “Well, where can we find this rock?” Quackity finally asked, keeping the group all focused on the present.

Blight paused and shrugged, closing the notebook. “I don’t know, Dream’s been trying to find it for years.”

There was another silence that fell over the room as everyone tried to think of a possible place where it could be. Wilbur was the one to speak up, anxious and uneasy.

“I think I know where we can find the meteorite.”

~ ☀ ~

“I just don’t get it, Phil! What does Wildcard want and why is Wilbur too weak to fight against him? I mean Fundy was right there, he could’ve found a way to stall until we got there,” Techno said, pacing the room with his hands on his head. “I feel so lost and confused, it’s really pissing me off! Is this how Wilbur feels all the time?”

Phil just sat and stared at him from the couch, laptop in hand. He was considering just forcing Techno into sitting down and eating something, his patience for the boy was thinning with every minute that passed. He wasn’t taking care of himself, his hair was up in a messy bun, unwashed and greasy. Phil didn’t think he had seen Techno with his hero suit off since that day at the hospital.

“ I always need to be ready, Phil, ” Techno had said when he confronted him about it, the statement only made him sadder. He didn’t know how to make him feel better, because Phil couldn’t even make himself feel better. If anything, he was a hypocrite for trying to get Techno to take care of himself, because he wasn’t much better off.

They had failed at saving Wilbur yet again, so they were back to where they were before. Which was nowhere.