Chapter Text
Tommy laid on the bed, arms folded onto his chest. Just staring at the rocky, cold, and damp ceiling above. It was the day before the festival, October 16th, and Tommy was scared.
He wouldn't admit it of course, he’s a big man - - and big men dont get scared. I mean, look at Technoblade, he’s strong, and amazing and—
Tommy shivered slightly, the cold getting at him, he was all alone in the ravine.
Tommy noticed something, a bright red coat and a golden crown sitting on the desk beside their beds — still not having their own rooms.
Though they rarely ever saw each other, Wilbur elected to spend most of his time in that tiny room of his, words being scrapped into the walls with the rocks - the sharp, pointy rocks Wilbur keeps finding on the ground, or he’s gathering resources from the woods around them.
Techno did whatever he wanted, Tommy didn't really know what that was, but it wasn't with them that was for sure.
Tommy could faintly remember Techno going into the nether this morning, why wasn't he wearing his crown? Tommy asked himself, slowly getting up from his position on the bed.
Tommy made his way over to the desk, picking the crown up and fiddling with it for a few moments, slowly raising it to eye level. Tommy blinked in realization, I could go bring it to him .
Tommy quickly got changed, fixing his favourite shirt on, alongside a backpack filled with food, water bottles, and gold, he was pretty sure he had some iron and extra golden armour on him — not wanting piglins to attack him.
“They’re very nice if you don't anger them.” He reassured himself, I mean look at Techno. Sure , Tommy reasoned, he was a hybrid and hybrids aren't alike to their full counterparts, but they sure as hell acted like them sometimes .
Tommy remembered how Techno was territorial over what he claimed as his, his win streaks were just him trying to place those urges into something incorporeal, or as he put it, into something he could use later in life.
Tommy knew how he felt, the disks he owned were his, and his alone . The feeling of anger when he gave them away, “for something much more important.” Wilbur would say to him, or used too, now, Tommy doesn't know what he'd do.
The Nether was a scary place for most, only hybrids ever went in there without fear, like Techno.
But Tommy wasn't a hybrid like his brother, Tommy was human (and if he wasn't then no one could tell.) and like most humans, the thoight of a hellscape filled with lava and fire — and Skeletons.
Tommy was more scared of the skeletons than anything else there to be honest. Tommy shook his head, placing the crown onto his head, alongside his netherite boots and chestplate.
The crown easily counted as golden armour to the piglins, and it was easier to wear than most helmets — and as a bonus Tommy couldn't ever remember the last time it had gotten ruined, and to him that obviously means it never did break, ever.
Going through the portal was easier than Tommy would have thought, he had been in here before alone. But, as he looked around at the unfamiliar terrain Tommy couldn't help but feel anxious.
Tommy refused to turn back, “no, no.” He insisted, walked forwards and slowly climbed down the mountain their portal spawned itself onto.
Tommy let out a sign of relief when the ghast, which had been stalking the portal for the past five minutes left, leaving him alone once again.
He quickly started running from the portal, making sure to place down a few blocks for his path back.
Quickly his stack of blocks ran out, as he used them all up very quickly near the portal. He shrugged it off, quickly getting excited when he noticed a familiar pink haired man fighting up on the fortress walls ahead of him. Tommy wanted to yell, but Techno seemed to be in a very important fight so he kept quiet, making sure he didnt distract him.
Tommys eyes landing on a portal based on the fortress, he blinked, maybe Techno connected a portal so it’d be safer getting to the fortress to grind, soon the withers Techno was fighting were dead and just as he was about the shout towards Techno a giant magma cube jumped towards him cutting him off.
Quickly he bolted to a small cave, where the magma cube couldnt fit in, he scrambled to the back of it, the lava slowly dropping down from the creature before him. It took a while, Tommys eyes closing not long after the cubed creature left.
OoO
Slowly he woke up, scorching heat surrounding him Tommys eyes bolted open.
He laid awake in the nether, unable to move, just staring towards the ceiling. “...Wilbur? Techno?” His voice was hoarse, and small.
He slowly pushed himself up, realizing what had happened the day before. Tommy slowly made his way back to the front of the cave, no magma cube in sight, but as Tommy looked down to the floor he could obviously recognize his bright red communicator no matter how damaged it looked.
He wasn't going to even attempt to pick it up, the lava that covered part of the device was still searing hot, and it was still melting in front of him. Tommy frowned, “hey, that was a gift from Tubbo.” He spoke quietly, much unlike himself, but instead of the anger he wanted to voice he kept quiet, not wanting any monsters to come and kill him.
Tommy hated respawning, especially in the nether.
Tommy could faintly remember his first and only time dying in the nether and respawning. He knew of the fault with the nether, you die in the nether and respawn in the overworld, you could get lucky and spawn close to your home, or you could get unlucky, and spawn thousands to hundreds of thousands of blocks away. Tommy knew that for sure.
He could faintly remember his mother and father, and his uncles and cousins. They travelled a lot, especially through the nether when he was younger, before piglins were known wildly throughout the world, when they stayed hidden, before the piglins’ rose up against the zombie pigmen.
He remembers the zombie pigmen quite clearly, eyes bright green, golden sword in hand as they swung down at him, only seven years old at the time, and he remembers waking up. Meeting philza and Wilbur and Techno for the first time. Tommy always wondered what happened to his family, but he never got his answer.
He quickly made his way out of the cave, not wanting to sit in silence any longer, he looked up at the fortress, hoping to see Techno but he was gone, alongside the active portal.
Now all that was left was a broken portal and a teenage boy with no way home.
OoO
Tommy slowly pushed himself up the mountain, if this was the right way he didn't know. Had he not been worrying about the fact he’s stuck in the nether he would lie to himself and call himself a directional genius. He loomed to the left of himself where a bright red forest stood, a crimson forest he recognized it easily. To the right, a bright blue forest had emerged, a warped forest.
“Warped forests are filled with Endermen so be careful when traversing the nether.” He remembered Tubbo telling him, saying he had gotten the information from the creeper man “AweSamdude” Tommy hoped that was his name, not wanting to accidentally mistake him for someone else.
The moment he got up the mountain, the outlines of the portal stood tall.
Tommy stuttered back, his eyes widened in horror, a shocked cry escaping his mouth when he realized with dawning horror—
— the portal was broken, inactivated, from the other side.
…….The side of Pogtopia.
OoO
The crown on his head weighed heavily as he quickly made his way away from the broken portal, not wanting a ghast to come in and destroy it.
The sound of rushing lava from the giant ocean beside him was much to loud for him as he quickly walked further and further away from the valley of Lava.
He tightened his backpack, fixed the crown which had slanted slightly to the left, and slowly made his way through the warped forest, not wanting to have to deal with the hoglins that lived in the crimson forest.
He had heard horror stories from many of the players of the server, going into the nether to gather resources, getting trapped by hoglins and dying a painful death as they slowly respawned, some experiencing the same curse as him, being transported away— far away, many finding there way home, others like him— not as lucky.
Endermen were - thankfully - easier to deal with, all he had to do was either not look them in the eyes or attack them and if he did, all he needed to do was find a small cavern, much like he did with the magma cube and hide. But hoglins, he shivered slightly at the thought, they terrified him.
Tommy ducked his head the moment he realized and enderman was near him, keeping his eyes peeled to the floor in front of him, making himself look smaller than he was.
“Techno?” He finally called out—
—And only his echo replied.
OoO