Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

In the end, Tommy did end up agreeing to join their team.

Don’t get him wrong, he had no idea what he’d just agreed to, but that was just another part of the Game. They invited him to something, to be on their team, and so he agreed. He resolved to just research it a bit more once he got home - he was sure Tubbo or Ranboo would know what it was.

Besides, Phil had lit up at his agreement. His wings had given a small but happy flap that had reminded him a little too much of XD and had made his shoulders twitch in a habitual want to mimic the happy movement, before he’d told him that they’d figure everything out tomorrow so that he didn’t have to stay much longer and accidentally worry his roommates.

It was considerate of him. While it was true that he wanted to go home soon, it wasn’t because his friends would kill him if he was late. No, they weren’t the clingy ones in this situation. After Doomsday, being away from them for too long was anxiety inducing, it made him want to open his other senses, it made him want to loosen up, to See, to Listen so that he could make sure that they were okay while he was gone. He wanted to hold them inside of Himself, to tuck them close to His center and leave none of them exposed so that they were always and forever safe-

But he couldn’t do any of that, nor could he tell Phil any of that. Thus, Tommy had just grinned and thanked Phil for letting him go, telling him he was excited for this - whatever ‘this’ was - before he headed home.

Slipping out of the tower, he just had one stop to make before he went home to his brothers.

He felt like a rubberband, all pulled taught and ready to snap. There was an energy inside him that hummed underneath his skin and in the air, the wind itself swaying with it as if heated. Christmas roses blossomed in his stomach and he knew he was overreacting, he knew Tubbo and Ranboo would be safe at the apartment once he got there, but he just couldn’t help it.

The last time he was at work and not with them, they’d nearly died! He felt that he was allowed to be worried about them.

Even knowing they were fine, waiting in line at Niki’s bakery to get a peace offering for Tubbo was like torture. He knew everyone else could feel his energy, even if he didn’t mean for them to, because everyone inside looked jittery and on edge.

It was only once he got the pastries he’d ordered - three powdered doughnuts and three glazed doughnuts - that everyone in the shop seemed to relax. He knew it was because his anxiety had calmed down, replaced with relief and happiness now that he could go home, but he ignored it as he thanked Niki, flipped off Jack, and then happily left the store.

He walked into an alleyway and then disappeared, leaving behind nothing to show he was ever there to begin with.

Reappearing in their apartment, Tommy perked up as he spotted both of his roommates in the living room. 

Tubbo was sitting on the floor, surrounded by mechanical parts and tools as he attempted to fix up their broken TV. It had broken a couple days ago and though - according to Tubbo - it had lasted years with just a few touch ups, it seemed like this might be the end for it. That didn’t mean the goat-hybrid was going to give up though, not yet. The blond was nearly as stubborn as XD used to be!

Meanwhile, Ranboo was sitting on the floor, the laptop on the coffee table in front of them and a cup of hot chocolate nearby. He could guess that they were working on something for one of their upcoming streams.

Grinning, he stepped obviously near the door and took off his shoes. “I’m back,” he announced happily.

It was amusing to see how both of his roommates startled by his sudden appearance, Ranboo even teleporting a few inches to the right, and he laughed at them.

Tubbo, once he got over his surprise, scowled. “You’re a bitch for that, you know.”

Tommy just laughed again and then grinned a bit wider, holding up the bag of doughnuts he’d bought for them. “I brought you doughnuts?” He said hopefully, watching Tubbo closely. He could see the usual spark of irritation in his eyes that had been very common since he found out who he really was but after a moment it disappeared as Tubbo grumbled. He only relaxed when Tubbo sighed and made grabby hands towards him from his spot on the floor.

“Hand ‘em over,” he demanded.

“What’s the magic word?” He shot back, raising a brow and walking over to stand before Tubbo’s mess. He didn’t hand them over… yet.

Tubbo glared at him. (Tommy noted that it was less angry than it had been the last few times he’d done it.) “Hand ‘em over,” he began slowly, pausing and building suspense with each second he waited. Then he pursed his lips like he was going to say ‘please’ and said- “before I steal your spleen.”

Tommy wheezed in surprise at the threat, not expecting it, before he scrunched up his nose as he began to sputter at his brother, unable to stop his snickering as he did. “You’re- you’re a real freak, you know that? Who just- who just threatens to take someone's spleen? You can’t take a man’s spleen, Tubbo, that’s just- that’s just not right!”

Tubbo, the bastard that he was, had the audacity to laugh at him! 

“Fuck you, man!” He spat with as much venom as he could muster - which, admittedly, wasn’t a lot. All of them knew he was too attached to them to be truly angry. He couldn’t think of a single thing that they could do that would make him hate them.

“You love me!” He taunted and then oofed as Tommy tossed the bag at him. He caught it before it could hit the ground and just snickered. He could clearly see Tommy’s slowly pinkening cheeks because yeah, he did love him.

At least he didn’t mention it. He just began digging into the bag of desserts and Tommy got to see how his tail began wagging behind him and his ears perked up. He hid his smile and didn’t acknowledge the show of happiness, just continuing their banter. 

“You’re actually the worst. I don’t know why I put up with you. This is why Ranboo is my favorite, he actually cares about me, unlike someone who only uses me for sweets!” He cried, just a bit dramatic, before he - not pout, because he was God and he didn’t pout - sulked as Tubbo just wheezed.

Tommy went over to the couch and sat down right behind Ranboo, laying his head on his shoulder and hugging him. “Right, Ranboo?” He asked the Enderian even though it was clear to him that they hadn’t been paying attention to them at all.

This was obvious in how Ranboo jumped a bit before leaning back into the hug, humming and clearly distracted. They didn’t stop their typing but they did slow down a bit. “Right what?”

“You actually care about me, don’t you? Tubbo’s being mean.”

Ranboo paused in his typing - finally! - and looked up at Tubbo. They blinked at seeing him happily eating one of the doughnuts before tilting their head up to look at Tommy. “And how is Tubbo being mean, Tommy?” 

Tommy perked up with a grin, glad he was humouring him, before he put on his sad face again (and no, it was not a pout). “He only keeps me around because I give him sweets! You actually care about me, don’t you, ‘Boo?” He fluttered his lashes at him as he leaned more of his weight against them.

He could feel the hum vibrate throughout the Enderian’s chest as they thought about it (not that it was something that should need to be thought about in Tommy’s opinion), not minding how the god leaned against him. If anything, they probably appreciated the pressure. They eyed Tubbo for a moment, both of the blonds waiting in suspense, before he said, “I don’t know… I mean, you didn’t get me any sweets…”

Tommy’s eyes widened and he gaped in offense but couldn’t say anything before Tubbo barked out a laugh. “Fuck yeah! It’s okay, ‘Boo, I’ll give you some of my sweets,” he cooed, pointedly ignoring Tommy’s glare as he fished out one of the glazed doughnuts for the enderman-hybrid.

“Awww, thanks, ‘Bo. Love you,” they cooed, reaching over and taking the offered doughnut as he let Tommy wallow in his misery.

He was most definitely pouting now as he squinted down at both of them. “I’m the one who bought those!” He complained, unable to believe that his friends would do this to him. And to think he thought of them as family-

“Well you weren’t the one who gave me one, Tubbo was. Sorry, Toms,” the Enderian warbled, not at all sounding all that sorry.

“...I hate it here.”

Tubbo just grinned, cheeks caked with powdered sugar, as he said, “no you don’t.”

Well, fuck. He couldn’t argue with that.

With dark pink carnations and lotuses blooming from his wrists and curling around his shoulders like a hug, he leaned into Ranboo some more and laid his head on theirs with a sigh. He didn’t think he could stop the grin that formed on his face if he wanted to, just sighing contently.

“Yeah, you’re right.”

As both of them chuckled at him and his misery he grumbled and just let out another sigh as he rolled his shoulders back. In a smooth movement his wings unfurled from his back and he stretched them with a small groan before folding them behind him politely.

Tubbo was watching him as he did this, clearly taking a break as he ate the doughnuts he’d gotten, and Tommy saw how his gaze lingered on his wings - he saw the silent jealousy swimming in his eyes. He didn’t acknowledge it.

The god smoothly moved on from their banter instead and tilted his head, still leaning against Ranboo and hugging them around their shoulders. “What’s MCC?”

There was an audible pause in the room.

“...What?”

“MCC? I think? Phil stopped me when I was leaving to talk about it. He invited me to join SBI’s team and I agreed,” he informed them casually.

The pause continued and he looked at Tubbo, seeing as he was leaning on Ranboo, and could see that he wasn’t really comprehending his words. He figured Ranboo was much the same.

“So, uh, do you know what it is or…? Cause Phil-”

-

“-mentioned it like it was common knowledge.”

Of course Tommy would just agree to be in MCC without actually knowing what it is. 

Tubbo stared at the god - he was getting a little better at thinking of him like that, of accepting that part of him - for a moment, memories of cheering on Quackity (once upon a time when the avian wasn’t scarred, once upon a time where he could smile and it looked genuine, once upon a time before Schlatt ruined everything for good) as he played in the tournament flashing in his mind, before he took in a slow breath. Okay. 

Yup, sure, yeah. That was fine. This was a completely Tommy Thing to do and he honestly should’ve expected it. Somehow.

He took a moment to collect his thoughts (he didn’t feel as angry at that flash of memory. It wasn’t corrupted with the bitterness that had come with him growing up and realizing what he and Quackity had been through. It was kind of nice to be able to think about the avian without feeling bitter hatred - anger-sadness-betrayal-regret - burn in his heart) and breathed out before looking at Tommy again.

“That’s because it is common knowledge, Tommy.”

The blond blinked before seeming sheepish before- pausing. That sheepishness disappeared in the blink of an eye and there was that spark of bitter anger, aimed at Tommy rather than his once-father. He had been about to lie to him. He was about to pretend to be embarrassed for not knowing like he always used to. He was going to pretend to be normal.

Tommy may call him a freak sometimes - and he didn’t let it get to him, he knew that if he asked the god would stop and maybe that was why he didn’t - but he was far more normal than the ancient, eldritch being that pretended to be human in front of him.

“Oh,” the god said in favour of anything else he had been about to say (to lie about). “Well what is it?”

And…

His anger dulled to a sizzle because Tommy was clearly trying.

“It’s a tournament,” Tubbo began. “Mostly for Gifted individuals but, uh, but sometimes non-powered people join. It’s really rare though. Usually it’s just heroes, villains or vigilantes that get invited. Forty people, split in ten teams, compete in different games to earn points. At the end, the top two teams have a bow duel and whoever wins three out of five wins the tournament.”

He was wracking his brain for any information he knew on it. He wasn’t a huge fan of watching it, though he had on occasion when he and Ranboo had time or when the workshop had it playing, so he didn’t know all that much. Just the base information.

“Oh-! Right,” he nodded to himself and mindlessly began going back to attempting to fix their TV. (He ignored the fact that it was likely to not work, no matter what he did. They didn’t have the money for a new TV and what good was he if he couldn’t fix it?). “Right, so, the winning team gets a coin, right? It’s supposed to be a sort of ‘token of the gods’ or whatever,” he could see Tommy roll his eyes and he snickered, “yeah! That’s exactly how I feel about it! It just means that you get a ‘get out of jail free’ card. Since most people who participate are villains, heroes, or vigilantes it’s supposed to give you a freebie. I think Quackity used his once to get out of a drug inspection at Las Nevadas,” and he laughed because there were better things he could have used his coin for and they all knew it. 

It had been when Las Nevadas was newer, when the neutral ground was still being integrated, and he’d used it as a show of good faith towards the heroes, he was pretty sure.

Tommy chuckled and his wings ruffled distractingly as he did, the brightly coloured feathers rippling and glimmering a bit in a way that was unnatural and really just showed off that he wasn’t all he presented himself as.

“That sounds,” he grinned, shoulders still shaking a bit with his laughter, “that sounds like the events we used to hold in the past.”

That was new.

Tubbo stopped where he’d been taking the back of the TV off to look at him, raising a brow.

Ranboo asked before he could, apparently paying attention even though Tubbo hadn’t seen him look up from the laptop since Tommy had settled against his back, “what kind of events?”

Tommy seemed surprised that they asked before he lit up - literally, his hair glowed - and grinned excitedly. Whatever it was, he seemed very excited to talk about it. “100 Player events!” He announced. “They- they were events me, Prime and XD would hold sometimes. I played one with a mortal this one time but- but he doesn’t really count,” the blond laughed and then continued, “but it’s where we take these Players, right? And we set them through specific challenges and if they survive then they get a prize!”

Oh.

Oh!

That’s- that’s great.

So they were death games. Great. Lovely. Perfect. 

(He pointedly ignored how sharp Tommy’s teeth looked when he grinned at him after announcing that, the way he looked Other and More and the way his mind screamed that he didn’t want to know more, the way he knew he didn’t really want to know more about it.

Even with that simple of an explanation, it made shivers run up and down his spine and so he didn’t ask any further.)

“I- I guess so but, uhm, but there’s no one dying in, uh, in MCC,” Ranboo tentatively spoke up, seeming to have paled and tensed.

Tubbo couldn’t blame him. He had Tommy laying against his back, his arms wrapped around his shoulders and probably too close to his neck for comfort, the god completely encasing his head. If he felt threatened and unsettled just by looking at Tommy’s grin and hearing how cheerfully he announced the death games he used to play, how terrifying was it for Ranboo to be underneath that same eldritch being?

Tommy looked down at Ranboo before furrowing his brows. “There isn’t?”

“No,” Tubbo responded, feeling a bit exasperated but also just slightly worried that Tommy just assumed that it was a death game.

“But you said there was a duel at the end. The last time I had a duel I died, Tubbo.”

And, to the goat-hybrid’s slowly growing - yet numb - understanding, Tommy laughed that worrying statement off.

“It’s- it’s with… They’re not real bows, Tommy,” he responded slowly. “They’re- they’re blunted. They hurt but they aren’t meant to kill. It just means if you get hit that- that you’re out of the round.”

“...Oh.” 

Tommy tilted his head slightly in thought, clearly confused but trying to understand. 

“Y-yeah, um, we don’t- duels aren’t like that anymore, Tommy. Games are- they’re just games. No one dies,” Ranboo added, still pale.

Tommy watched them for a moment, confusion still evident, before his confusion fell with his excitement to understanding.  “Oh,” he said, sitting up and letting go of Ranboo, “I forgot.” He saw Tommy’s wings ruffle in a way similar to how Quackity’s would when he was disturbed about something before he said, just a bit tentatively, “they were just games. They- no one actually died during the events. Everyone- everyone was allowed to respawn afterwards.”

Tubbo’s mind stalled, fear taking a backseat for a moment as he listened to his words.

“Respawn?”

Sure, Tommy had said that he was killed in his last duel but he’d assumed he was still here because he was a god. If people just respawned back then, as if they were in a video game, then it would make more sense.

“Yeah! It was- death was different back then. Dying wasn’t… It- it wasn’t like it is now. No one died for good.” It seemed almost like Tommy was desperate for them to believe him and it was then that Tubbo realized he probably knew they were afraid of him and he didn’t want that.

His shoulders relaxed a little at the thought, that he was explaining further so as to settle their fear. He wasn’t purposefully telling them about these ‘100 Player events’ to scare them. It was nice to know that he wasn’t doing it on purpose.

Ranboo had a similar reaction. The Enderian looked less pale and even glanced back at Tommy now that he wasn’t directly against his back. “People could just- they could just come back to life after dying?”

Tommy looked down at them and nodded, wings still shifting a bit but expression more relieved now that they weren’t visibly terrified of him anymore. “Yeah! Players used to have three canon lives. They’d only lose one if that death was important to them in some way, like- like a turning point for them, you know? Like, there was a famous adventurer back then and he had been on his last life for over a century without dying. It was a whole thing and he was always super careful, but one day he was caught off guard in a cave and mobs killed him. It took his life because it broke a really important streak and he’d spent his life protecting it. Made him super famous afterwards, we even gave him an extra life because of it.” 

Tommy laughed a bit, looking fond at the memory, and it surprised Tubbo because Tommy didn’t really… talk about others from his past, never mentioning anyone besides Prime and XD and even they were rare.

“What was the guy’s name?”

“Uh… I think people just called him the Angel of Death after he died, since he’d come back from his final life with wings.”

Ranboo ‘huh’d dumbly and Tubbo was inclined to agree. 

“He just- he just grew wings after dying?”

Tommy snorted. “He didn’t just grow wings after dying, XD gave them to him as a gift. A sort of ‘congrats for surviving this long’ thing. He was the first Elytrian, actually.”

Tubbo’s eyes widened a bit at that knowledge. That was genuinely kind of insane to know, that XD had just made Elytrian’s just like that. “Is it-” he hesitated for a moment here before continuing, “is it that easy to just give someone wings?”

“Well, I mean, it’s not hard. I gave you wings, y’know,” Tommy said teasingly and… yeah. That was true.

Tommy had given him wings, even before he knew him as Overworld. Before they were family, not too long after they knew each other, Tommy had given him the wings he’d always wanted and had never asked for anything in return.

He softened a bit and the last of his fear melted away. 

Yeah… maybe Tommy was a bit scary sometimes, but as he shared a look with Ranboo neither of them could really be upset with him for it. He wasn’t actively trying to scare them, after all, and he’d explained it more to them when they did get scared. That was all he could ask of him.

So he leaned back and bit into another doughnut, chewing for a bit and just taking a moment to think before his mind looped back to the conversation they were having before the whole ‘life system’ thing.

“Why did SBI invite you to their team? Don’t they think you’re powerless? And a human?”

Tommy was easily led into the new topic and tilted his head slightly, clearly thinking. “I’m not sure, actually. I think they’re gonna tell me more about it tomorrow, Phil didn’t really wanna keep me there too long ‘cause I mentioned wanting to get back to you guys.”

“Alright. Tell us why they want you when you get home tomorrow, okay? If they know you aren’t a human or that you’re Icarus then we’ll be in trouble. We’re already on thin ice with that training program thing.” He pointed out to the god, squinting at him accusingly, and only backed off when Tommy rolled his eyes but agreed.

“It’ll be fine, Tubso, but if you’re that worried then I’ll make sure they don’t find out. And I told you, I have the training thing taken care of! It’ll be fine!”

-

The actual reason that Tommy was invited to join their team, it turns out, was actually kind of insulting if he was being honest.

See, Tommy had gone through the first half of his day like he always did. His second day back had been just as calm as the first one - which, after everything that happened in January, was all he could ask for. Once lunchtime came around though he was asked to stick around so they could talk more about MCC and everything that surrounded it and he’d agreed, if only because Techno offered to make him a sandwich like he had on his first day and he’d be a fool to deny an opportunity like that, rare as it was.

Thus, he currently sat in the dining room and was casually eating some chips that he’d been given with his sandwich as the heroes all did their thing for their lunches. Techno was already sat down with a sandwich, having made a sandwich for himself at the same time as his, but Willis was still grumbling to himself from the kitchen - so clearly jealous of his and Techno’s lunches - as he made himself a bowl of cereal and Phil was sat down with a bowl of trail mix in front of him. (Techno had snorted when he saw it and called it his ‘birdseed’. Phil had flipped him off with a laugh.)

“We’re talking about MCC, right?” He started, just to make sure, and when the others gave some sign of affirmation he nodded to himself. “Right, then, I just have one question. Why did you invite me to join your team?”

Both of the heroes at the table seemed caught off guard by the question. He watched as Techno blinked before huffing and glancing at Phil, very clearly passing on the responsibility of who had to answer it to him, and Phil sighed heavily. He was about to answer, looking sheepish, but Willis beat him to it.

“I suggested you, actually.”

Tommy’s head snapped over as Willis spoke, seeing the man standing and leaning against the counter with his bowl of cereal and a seemingly easy grin on his face. Despite this, Tommy saw the wariness hidden in his eyes and the way they darted away so as to not meet his when he turned to him. He was very pointedly looking above his shoulder instead of at his face. 

“Smajor usually assigns us a random if we don’t have someone picked out by the time we get to the island and last time we got someone kinda ehh…” He trailed off and took a moment to eat some cereal before he walked over and finally sat down. “It was a whole issue and the guy threw off the whole team the entire time.”

Tommy figured that was fair, especially as he caught the other two cringing in what he correctly assumed was annoyance as they remembered the same guy. “Okay, makes sense. Why me though? I don’t have any powers.” He caught Willis' eyes as he said this and was amused by how the piglin-hybrid glanced away, that easy grin slipping off his face as he hesitated.

“That’s what I said, actually. It was just a joke but Phil said-”

“I said that it would be fine. You don’t need to have a power to participate, you just need to be able to keep up with others, and, from what I’ve seen on training days, you can.”

Tommy didn’t think he did that good on training days. Hell, the first time he’d joined them Willis had bodied him to the mat. But if they thought his messing around and wrestling with them was good enough then he’d take it! Fuck yeah!

“So I’m just a substitute so you don’t have to deal with anyone else?” He asked while shoving another chip in his mouth.

Techno’s ears flicked in what Tommy knew meant amusement and met his gaze. “Yup.”

He wheezed in response.

Sure, it was a bit insulting that the only reason they wanted him was because they didn’t want to deal with anyone else on their team but oh well. If nothing else, it would be fun. After the explanation from Tubbo he’d stolen the laptop from Ranboo (after he made sure that they were done with their current project, he wasn’t a complete dickhead) and had researched what kind of games they played and, well…

They looked great. Fun, even. He couldn’t wait to play them all once he got the chance and if that meant accepting SBI’s shitty reasoning for inviting him then so be it.

Regardless of the reasons they invited him, he would be accepting. He’d be more worried about going if he wasn’t out to Tubbo and Ranboo but because he was it meant he could just teleport to them anytime he wanted or needed to. It all worked out perfectly!

Thus, he’d agreed with an easy smile on his face and continued eating, laughing and teasing Willis with Techno until Phil made them knock it off, only to continue with teasing the old man for daring to interrupt them. Willis had even joined in on that, telling him that he could handle himself just fine and he didn’t need his dad to stick up for him.

Phil had pouted at that.

By the end of lunch, he was certain in his decision that he wanted to join. There was just one more thing that was mentioned in response to him joining.

“If we win, you can become our fourth member!”

Tommy had perked up at that, eyes widening, and then grinned. “I’d be a hero?” He asked immediately and he ignored how Willis' eyes flashed to him before he forced himself to look away.

“Ah-” Phil laughed, holding up a hand. “No, but you’d be our honorary fourth.”

Tommy wasn’t deterred by Phil’s quick correction. “I’ll take it!” He crowed, pumping a fist in the air. “I’ll lead us to victory, gentlemen, just you wait!”

And Tommy felt the bouvardia flowers bloom in his heart, spreading out much like a firework and making his blood pump faster, and he just grinned wider. Of course he was excited for this!

After all, when was the last time he’d gotten to play in a 100 Player event? Sure, it might not be exactly like one, but there were enough similarities to make him wish he could call out to Prime and XD to join him. They could’ve been their own team if they were still around, all three of them working together without any cheats or anything, just Playing together and winning…

…He’d just have to settle for these three for now, though.

Oh well.

-

The dock for the boat that would take them to the island was packed.

Now, don’t get Tommy wrong, he assumed that it would be busy because of course it would be, there were a total of forty players for MCC, many of which were famous or infamous heroes, villains and vigilantes - not to mention all the non-participants that had to come with to help out - but it was still a lot. He wasn’t used to being in the crowd at the beginning of a 100 Player game so it was odd to see it from their perspective.

Just waiting with his roommates off to the side, waiting to find the heroes he’d be going with, he spotted a ton of different people that he recognized - either because he read about them or because he’d seen them before.

Puffy was one of the first that he recognized. She was standing near the beginning of the line with two others, seemingly fussing over the both of them. One was a rather large totem-hybrid that he didn’t know and the other was… Dream. He watched, just a bit fascinated, as she pushed up Dream’s circular mask a bit and wiped over his cheek like a mother would their child, before he forced himself to look away.

He wasn’t in the mood to deal with the emotions he got just by looking at the villain. (He pointedly ignored the glance his roommates shared at his reaction to the man.)

As his eyes wandered, they caught onto two other familiar men. Karl Jacobs - Timeturner, he thought was his hero name, though he could be wrong. It had been a while since they’d last talked and he felt a bit bitter as he remembered the indirect warning about the Wither that he hadn’t understood at the time - and the villain Sapnap were standing near and talking to what looked like a black-haired avian. They were talking rather animatedly, laughing and grinning and shoving each other in obviously playful ways.

Timeturner, at one point, was practically hanging off the avian. He was hugging him and pressing their cheeks together, seemingly gloating at Sapnap about something, before the demon-hybrid seemed to have enough of it and stole the avian away. In doing so he also pulled him close and gave him a kiss, causing the avian’s wings to fluff up, before pulling away and grinning cheekily at the hero.

He was clearly gloating about kissing the avian where Timeturner couldn’t with his mask on.

Tommy looked away shortly after that, not really interested in watching the two fight over the man, and caught Tubbo watching the same group with longing in his eyes. He didn’t say anything about it but he did make a note that he might know one of the three - maybe the avian? EIther way, he looked away and let his eyes wander.

He glanced over a good handful of people he recognized - Bad, Skeppy, Sam, Manifold (surprisingly), Foxtrot… - but stopped as his eyes caught on his group of heroes.

Ah. He supposed that meant it was time for him to go…

Tommy looked at his roommates, nudging them with his elbows. “Oi,” he called in their VC, grateful that it cut out all the others around them so that they could talk in peace without having to yell. Prime and XD knew it would be impossible to get a word in with the crowds as they were if they didn’t have the VC. Even with most civilians being kept off the main dock by security unless they were with one of the participants it was still packed and still loud. “I see them, I should probably go and meet up with ‘em.”

Ranboo looked down at him and he knew just by seeing the furrow in his brows that he was frowning. “Already?”

Tommy heard the disappointment in his voice but nodded anyway. “Yeah. Boarding was supposed to start a couple ticks ago so I should probably meet up with them before then.” Not that he couldn’t meet up with them after they boarded but it would certainly make it easier to stick with them if they met up before everyone was packed on. (Not to mention there were a handful of people that he’d like to avoid while here and it just so happened that he could use them as a shield from those people.)

Grabbing his bag from where it had been resting near their feet, he moved to step away but was stopped by a pair of arms wrapping around him. Another pair was quick to join and he paused before softening, yellow roses curling in his hair and around the wrists of his brothers. “I’ll visit you guys every day,” he reminded them softly, laughing a bit as he was just held tighter by them. He dropped his bag and turned, hugging them in return.

Tubbo, the one to have started the hug (surprisingly), just huffed. “You better. And you better answer the VC when we call, got it?”

Huffing in amusement, he nodded and squeezed them in return. “I will.”

“And you’ll text us when you get there?” Ranboo chimed in and he rolled his eyes.

“Yes, I’ll text you when we get there.”

“And you’ll be good-?” Tubbo spoke up, very obviously teasing him now.

“Oh my Prime and XD!” He laughed and ripped himself away from the hug, all three of them wheezing now. “Yes! Okay? I’ll visit and I’ll text and I’ll ‘be good’,” he rolled his eyes at that one. “Gods, you’re acting like my mum and I don’t even have one of those!”

Ranboo snorted at his comment and looked down at him. “Someone has to keep you in line and since we’re older than you-”

“-you know for a fact that that is just- it’s just not true!-”

“-we get to be the ones to do it.”

Sighing heavily, Tommy shook his head in faux annoyance and disappointment. He was grinning, though, and the sky above them was clear and sunny, not to mention he had lilies of the valley and yellow roses growing from his hair, around his wrists and on his roommates.

Looking up at his brothers, he saw Ranboo petting one of the roses that had grown around his wrist and Tubbo was scuffing his foot on the ground, both of them clearly upset he was going to be gone for so long. He understood where they were coming from - he would be gone for just two weeks but ever since Doomsday he had barely left their side long enough for work - but it would be fine. He would visit them as often as he could and they had the VC if they needed to talk to each other. 

It would be fine.

Still, his expression softened and he pulled them both into another hug. 

“I’ll be back soon, okay? And I’ll win, just for you two!”

Tubbo looked up at him and scoffed at his words but still leaned into the second hug, giving him a squeeze. “It’ll be a miracle if you get anything other than last place,” he said with no real heat to it. He’d been calming down around him a lot more often, that tension and anger that had followed him since Doomsday lessening a bit when it came to casual interactions like this.

Tommy gasped in offense at his words, pulling away with a scowl as he picked up his bag from where he’d dropped it to hold the mortals. “First of all, fuck you! And second of all; miracles are my thing! So I’ll win. Just for boob boy though, you can go fuck yourself.” 

He jabbed a finger into Tubbo’s chest with his words and soon broke into another grin as Tubbo swatted him away. As they laughed and Tubbo sputtered he heard a horn blow from the boat and noticed everyone beginning to get in line to board. He perked up at this and then looked back at them, expression a bit wry. “See ya later, lads!” He crowed and as he turned away, waving as he went, he stayed in VC just long enough to hear them speak.

“Bye, Tommy! Love- love you!”

“Bye, bitch!” There was a pause there before a yelp came from Tubbo. He turned back for a moment and was amused to see him rubbing his head as if Ranboo had hit him. “Love you, too,” he grumbled afterwards.

Tommy beamed, practically glowing in that moment, and he was more than happy to reply, “love you both, too!”

With that, he finally ran off to catch up with the heroes. It didn’t take him long to find them in line, seeing as Techno’s pink hair stood out among all the others he used that to guide him through the crowd.

“Techno!” He called, not caring that he was cutting in line by meeting up with them. He simply stopped just next to them and stepped close, making space for himself where there hadn’t been before and snickering as Willis was pushed to the side a bit because of this. “I have arrived!” He announced, leaving the VC to do so and immediately being surrounded by the noise of everyone around him. He did his best to ignore how loud it really was after the silence from just moments before.

He snickered as Willis pouted in complaint and Phil sighed like a disappointed dad. Techno just grunted in acknowledgement but Tommy didn’t take it to heart - he knew that the other didn’t do good around a ton of people like this.

Willis addressed him first, looking down at him with a squint. “Glad to see you made it, gremlin child.”

Looking at Willis, Tommy had the thought that it was weird to see him in his hero costume when all he wore were civilian clothes.

Usually the hero would be in more relaxed clothes during the day, often keeping his hair pink and his eyes red, so seeing him with his trenchcoat and his mask outside of his own costume was a little jarring. It made a part of him, the one that was used to running away when spotting Siren on patrol, want to run simply on habit. He held back, though, because he knew he’d have to get used to seeing the heroes like this if he would be joining them at this tournament for two weeks.

Thus, he simply scoffed and shoved Willis away from him.

“I’m not a child! And- and, fuck you. I was talking to Techno. Bitch.” He crossed his arms and held back a wry grin at how offended the other looked. Though as Willis kicked him in the shin he yelped. “Wha- Phil!” He complained, immediately looking at the older hero (who looked like he’d much rather be anywhere but in line with them at the moment). “Phil, Willis kicked me!”

“Did you deserve it?” He asked, very much sounding his age.

“No-!”

“Yes-!”

Tommy turned to Willis and glared at him, “I did not! I just got here and I was going to talk to my good pal Techno, because he’s my favourite brother, and-”

Willis perked up at his words. “He’s your favourite brother? Meaning I’m your least favourite brother? Meaning I’m your brother? Aweee, Tommy!” He crooned, reaching out in an attempt to pull him into a hug.

Immediately his eyes widened and he rushed to hide behind Phil, glaring at Willis over his shoulder. “No, no, that’s just- that’s just not what I meant at all, I meant out of the two of you - because you’re brothers - he’s my favourite!”

“No, nope, you can’t take it back! We’re brothers, Tommy!” Willis cheered and rushed around Phil to pull him into a hug, holding him like a misbehaving cat until he gave up trying to escape.

Tommy groaned loudly and pouted. “I hate you.”

“No you don’t!” He chirped. “Now c’mon, say ‘we’re like brothers’! Please, Tommy?”

“No, fuck you-!”

“C’mon! Say it!”

And it was said in that same joking tone. It was said like it wasn’t anything important, like the echo behind his words wasn’t forcing him to agree, even if it had no true power over him like it did others. It was said in a joking way but all Tommy could focus on was how Prime’s voice was just behind his, echoing his words, endorsing them in a way that Prime never would if she was actually there. He would have given in eventually if they kept the bit going, if Willis hadn’t used Prime’s voice against him. He would have laughed, he would have said it but not meant it, and they would’ve moved on because it was all part of the Game but now-

Now he had to say it. Now it wasn’t just an optional part of the Game but a requirement if he didn’t want to lose immediately, his hand forced in the worst possible way.

He had to keep up his image and he was angry at Willis because of it.

No… Angry wasn’t quite the right word for how he felt about this. Enraged or pissed would fit better.

Still, he grit out the words like the three around him expected him to.

“We’re like brothers,” he said, and it felt like venom in his mouth. 

He felt Willis' arms around him tense but he didn’t let that stop him, not caring about keeping up his act after Willis crossed a line like that - after he broke a rule. He just ripped himself out of Willis' grip and it wasn’t like when he’d ripped away from Tubbo and Ranboo, it wasn’t playful, it wasn’t with him laughing or putting on an act. He tore away from Willis and then immediately turned to glare at him, expression and eyes stormy in a silent threat to leave him alone until he calmed down before he did something he knew he wouldn’t regret.

He knew it was a joke, he knew, he knew it was, okay? But that didn’t change the fact that he wasn’t laughing and that the Game was no longer fun.

-

As Phil came over to scold him for his power usage, Willis had the realization that no one else was experiencing the way his senses dulled and zeroed in on Tommy, the way his instincts screamed at him that he messed up, that he needed to back off before he pushed Tommy too far. (That he needed to hope and pray that he was feeling merciful enough to ignore his slight.) He only realized this because Phil’s wings were relaxed and his feathers were flat while Techno began a slightly-one sided conversation with Tommy with seemingly no fear.

Neither of them seemed to be on edge like he now was and he hated it, going quiet as he tried to get the look of pure anger that had been on Tommy’s face out of his mind. (He already knew that look would be in his nightmares tonight, right next to the ones from Icarus and Overworld.)

He spent the rest of their time in line just staying in the back and keeping quiet as Tommy talked to Techno - rambling even if Techno didn’t often reply back - and was grateful that no one acknowledged his change in behaviour. If his twin or Phil noticed then they likely assumed he was pouting because of the scolding he got. He wasn’t going to correct them.

Especially not as, when they moved up in line, his foot nudged something that hadn’t been there before. A glance down showed it was a bunch of flowers growing from the wood. A bunch of familiar flowers, ones that hadn’t been there when they first lined up.

They were petunias and Willis only knew that because of the Icarus case. He also only knew what they meant because of that same case and he tried not to shudder as he connected the storm in Tommy’s eyes to the flowers that he associated with death and hatred growing just beneath him.

Letting out a shaky breath, he made a mental note to not force Tommy to say that again. 

Sure, they’d done something similar before and Tommy had gone along with it but he seemed angry when he’d done it this time. He was pissed and Willis didn’t know why. What was so different about this time?

Willis didn’t know but, as they boarded the boat and Tommy almost immediately went off to who knows where else, he resolved that he’d rather be safe than sorry and not bring it up again.

-

After Tommy broke away from the heroes after boarding the boat, he immediately went to find a different spot to hang out and just cool off because Prime and XD, he was so very close to going off on Willis there and he knew it. He didn’t want this to be what ended his first game back, especially when it hasn’t even been a full year since he started.

In the past, these kinds of Games could last decades, the longest even lasting over a century, and even the shorter ones were at least a few years. He knew this game would end eventually - one day he’d get bored of playing a vigilante with his friends, one day he’d get bored of humouring and acting like the Players around him and he’d move on, bringing nothing but the souvenirs he’d collected, the memories he made, and the family he’d found with him - but he didn’t want it to yet.

One day, but not yet.

(There was still something he had to do before the Game could end, there were still some win conditions he hadn’t met yet and it could take a while to meet them without cheating. He hated cheating in his game usually, especially against those who played fair, and so he would just endure it. 

He wasn’t going anywhere until he met those conditions to finish the Game and if that meant he was here for years, if that meant he had to reset a few times, then so be it.)

He just had to put some space between him and Willis before he did something that some - Tubbo and Ranboo - might consider ‘too harsh a punishment’ for the crime committed. 

He rolled his eyes at the thought. His brothers were really rubbing off on him with their morals and shit.

Tommy walked until he found himself at a semi-secluded place that he could sit down and relax in and have no one bother him the whole time. Said place happened to be a slightly hidden corner next to the railing with a few crates stacked in it.

He was more than happy to sit down and just look out into the ocean, breathing in the salty air and feeling the wind greet him after he settled. It blew through his curls and whistled a hello, one which he returned with a slight smile.

He didn’t know how long he sat there, away from all the crowds and noise and just staring out into the sea, but it was long enough that they’d departed from the docks and were already making their way to the main island that the games would be taking place on. At one point his phone had vibrated but he had ignored it, simply watching as the dolphins following the boat hopped through the water in waves and trilled up at him, recognizing him even if they didn’t know why.

He only snapped out of it when footsteps sounded nearby and were soon getting closer, causing him to turn with a blink while the wind blew away to give some semblance of privacy.

It seemed to know what he didn’t as a moment later Willis turned the corner and paused, seeming surprised to have found him there. He only hesitated for a moment but it was long enough for Tommy to frown and sit up from how he’d slumped against the railing.

“Willis,” he said, just the slightest bit of warning in his tone.

The piglin-hybrid swallowed before stepping closer, stopping a few feet away and leaning against that same railing. “We were looking for you,” was all he said.

“I wanted to watch the dolphins.”

His voice was bored sounding and it was an obvious lie, even with how he motioned to the water right as the mentioned dolphins did another wave of leaps out of the water.

Willis blinked in surprise before letting out a wry grin. “That’s fair.”

He didn’t call him out on his lie.

Tommy took a deep breath, held it, then let it out. “What did you want, Wil? I’m not really in that great of a mood-”

“I know,” he cut him off and he couldn’t help but scowl in renewed anger. He’d been simmering for a bit but that caused a bit of it to boil over. He turned, intending to snap at him, but faltered when he saw Willis twirling a petunia in between his fingers.

He stared at it for a moment, understanding dawning on him, before he met Willis' eyes with furrowed brows. “Then what do you want?” He finally allowed himself to snap.

There was a bit of fear in Willis' eyes but it was mostly overshadowed by resolve.

“I wanted to apologize.”

Pause.

“Apologize?” He repeated, anger being momentarily replaced by confusion.

He was apologizing?

“Yeah,” he chuckled lightly and shifted, putting the petunia behind his ear before reaching into his trenchcoat and digging around for a moment, pulling out what Tommy recognized as a lighter and a pack of cigarettes. He pulled one out but then stopped, looking back at him. “You mind if I smoke?”

Tommy didn’t know Willis smoked. He had smelled the occasional cigarette on him after lunch but he’d never really seen it in person.

He responded honestly, because he kind of wanted to get this over with. “I don’t care.” 

Willis ducked his head in a silent confirmation and then put the pack away, continuing on to light his cigarette and then take a short drag. He coughed a bit and then sighed in what he figured was relief, smoke billowing out from his nose.

“I wanted to apologize,” he repeated himself when he was done, “for pushing. I shouldn’t have- I shouldn’t have used my power on you like that. I’m used to just using it on Techno and he doesn’t care-” most of the time “-and I didn’t think about your feelings. I’m sorry.”

Tommy was… surprised at how genuine the apology was. 

His first instinct was to say ‘it’s okay’ but he stopped himself. It wasn’t okay, he’d genuinely gotten very upset because of it and that was rare when he was playing a character like this, so he simply said;

“...I accept your apology.” His words were slow as he thought them out. “I accept it, but you can’t do that again. Ever. I’m- I’m serious, Willis. You can’t use your power on me like that again, especially to say things like that.”

Willis ducked his head in shame, taking another drag of the cigarette and letting it out, and frowned. “‘Especially to say things like that?’ I just made you say that we were like brothers.” He was confused now, sounding a bit amused but still wary.

He didn’t blame him. He scoffed. “Yeah, and that’s the issue. Wil- I already have brothers, okay? It’s- it’s funny, right, when you make that joke and I go along, but that’s all it is. It’s a joke.”  

Tommy drew the line in the sand, looking at Willis seriously. He needed him to know that it was just a joke and that he couldn’t force it like he had been.

He stopped, though, when he saw how genuinely taken aback and hurt Willis was at his words.

“...Oh. I- Sorry,” he apologized again, standing up straighter and glancing away. His ears were pinned back and down and his mouth was pressed into a straight line. “I won’t do it again.”

That fear from before was gone and replaced with hurt that he clearly tried to hide and, deep down, Tommy realized that Willis… might have actually thought they were close enough to be brothers in some capacity. 

“...That’s- that’s good.” He said, a bit delayed, and he watched as Willis took another drag before letting it out and then just dropping his cigarette into the water below. 

“Yeah,” he said bitterly, “glad we got that cleared up. I’ll leave you to watching the dolphins.” He turned with a sweep of his trenchcoat and was off, back around the corner he’d come from with hunched shoulders and heavier steps than he’d come there with.

Tommy was left there, staring after him and taken aback by the genuinely upset reaction he had to their conversation.

“...Huh,” he muttered after a moment and finally looked away. The wind was back, curling around his shoulders and brushing the tips of his fingers, and as Tommy looked back out at the water and spotted the island in the distance he couldn’t help but feel just a tiny bit regretful for the way that had gone.

A purple hyacinth grew in his throat and he forcefully swallowed back the petals.

No, he wouldn’t feel guilty for setting a boundary. Willis needed to back off and that was final.

Chapter Text

Tommy only met up with his heroes after they docked at the island. 

While they weren’t getting off the boat quite yet he knew it would probably be best to meet up with them before they sent Willis to find him again. He was still unsure about their last conversation - he felt- not upset. He wasn’t upset. He just felt odd after realizing that Willis might have actually seen them as brothers - but he wouldn’t bring it up again unless Willis did first. He didn’t really want to give him the chance to, either.

Thus, he quietly slipped through the crowd of Players, grateful that they all drifted out of his way and their eyes slid off of him as he went, until he spotted his heroes. They were near the railing on the far side of the boat, away from where he’d been sitting, and he wondered if Willis purposefully kept them this far away from him or if it was just coincidence. Phil and Willis were standing slightly off to the side, the Elytrian seeming to be scolding the blond, while Techno was leaning against the railing and snacking on what he was willing to bet was a raw potato.

(That was just another thing Tommy noticed Techno and Prime had in common. Over his time as their assistant he’d seen Techno snack on potatoes in some form a good handful of times and it was more than common. He wondered if the voices in his head had influenced his taste for them.)

Unsurprisingly, Techno was the one to notice him first. Phil and Willis were too busy with whatever they were talking about - he thought he heard Phil mention something about Willis smelling like smoke and wondered if he was getting at him for smoking before - and so he decided to just go straight to the piglin-hybrid.

“Eyy! Techno! My man! My favourite twin!” He cheered as he leaned against the railing next to Techno and grinned at him with all the casualty that he could muster.

Techno squinted at him through his mask. “Where’ve you been? You disappeared when we boarded an’ Willis came back without you when he went t’find you.”

There was something slightly knowing in his eyes that he didn’t really like and therefore chose to ignore.

“I’ve never been on a boat like this, I wanted to explore,” he- not lied, it wasn’t a complete lie, but he did avoid the truth and upped his usual ‘annoying child’ persona in hopes that he wouldn’t notice. Or, at least, he wouldn’t call him out on it. “You're gonna blame a man for wanting to explore? Huh? That’s rather rude of you, Tech-no-blade.”

This time Tommy caught a spark of amusement in the Blade’s eye through his mask and he was happy to get a chuckle out of him.

“‘A man’,” he echoed and Tommy sputtered indignantly at the implication that he wasn’t a man but was - rudely - ignored. “And what did a man like you see on your exploration?”

The god huffed but at least he was humouring him. Even if he kept implying he wasn’t a man. “I- I saw dolphins, I’ll have you know, and I felt the wind through my hair, and- and- and I did so much cool stuff. All the ladies they just- they flocked to me while I explored. You just wouldn’t understand, Tech-no-blade, you’re just not man enough to understand.”

Techno snorted.

“Right. Of course, makes sense.” His mouth quirked up and Tommy felt a vine of lily of the valleys curl around his wrist and he discreetly hid that wrist behind him as he leaned back.

“It does, it does. It- it makes so much sense. Because you’re not a man. I’m a man, the biggest man, actually. Besides Philza Minecraft- he- Philza Minecraft is the biggest man. Ever.”

“I’m what?”

Tommy jumped a bit and turned his head to see Phil looking at them, his amused smile just barely visible through his veil, while Willis stood next to him with his shoulders slumped as he pouted. It appeared they were done with their talk.

He blinked before putting on a bright grin. “You’re the biggest man ever.”

“What- what does that mean?”

“It means you’re the biggest man ever. Obviously.”

Phil looked at Techno helplessly and Tommy looked at Techno with a wide grin.

“You know what I mean, don’t you, Tech-no-blade?”

Techno hummed, tilting his head and Tommy could just barely make out the whispers of the voices that swirled around his head. In the back of his mind, he wondered what they told him when he’d disappeared. He wondered how they reacted to seeing what Willis did earlier. He wished he could ask.

“‘S pretty obvious, ain’t it? He says you’re the biggest man ever. Sounds pretty self explanatory to me.” 

Tommy’s eyes lit up and he beamed, quickly leaning against Techno and standing on his tippy toes to rest his elbow on Techno’s shoulder. He may have immediately stepped to the side to make him stumble and fall, but he paid it no mind. If anything, he just laughed harder, even wheezing a bit. “See-! Ha! See? Techno understands me. We’re just that close like that, y’know?” As an afterthought, he added on, “I’d even go as far to say that we’re best friends, him and I-”

He was shoved lightly and Techno laughed. “I wouldn’t go that far-”

“I would! We’re- we’re like besties, Tech-no-blade-”

He was cut off as a horn blew and suddenly everyone was getting in line to get off. He perked up and began to drift over to the shoddy attempt at a line - you’d think a bunch of heroes and villains would know how to form a line better than kindergarteners but he guessed not - but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder.

Tommy blinked and turned to see Techno had been the one to stop him. He tilted his head in curiosity. “What’s up, big man?” 

“Here.”

Something was held in front of him suddenly and he looked down at it, holding his hand out just in time to catch it when Techno let go. He stared at what he’d been handed and then looked up at Techno, his brows furrowing.

“A mask?”

Techno grunted and nodded firmly, beginning to walk as he talked and making Tommy have to trot to keep up with him. “There ‘re gonna be cameras when we get off. Yer a civilian,” his ear flicked then and Tommy wondered if it was because he knew that wasn’t quite true, “don’t want yer identity t’get out. People can be crazy sometimes, ‘specially for events like this. If we’re not in whatever room they give us y’should keep that on, got it?”

Tommy was surprised but ended up smiling. He tied the mask around his head and fixed his hair briefly before grinning up at him. “Well? How do I look?”

Techno’s eyes flicked to him and he chuffed. “Y’look good, kid. Now c’mon, Wil’s gonna throw a fit if we’re late.”

They hurried off to get in line, behind the other heroes of their group but not seeming in any hurry to actually meet up with them. He figured if they had to then Techno would say something. He’d been through this before after all.

“Why would he throw a fit? Wil’s never on time for anything.”

The piglin-hybrid barked out a small laugh and there was that quirk of his lips, there was his amusement. “Yeah, but this is important,” he made air quotes with his fingers as he said that and Tommy’s interest was peaked. Seeing this,Techno continued, “he wants to go see his girlfriend.”

“Willis has a girlfriend!?”

Tommy couldn’t help but be shocked! Were they talking about the same Willis? Tall, kind of stupid and a little pushy Willis?? He, of all people, had a girlfriend?

Techno’s smile turned into a grin this time as they made their way down to the docks. “He wishes he had a girlfriend. He and this, uh, vigilante, I think, they’ve had this thing goin’ on for years at this point. Every year ‘e tries to impress her and-”

“Every year he fails?” Tommy finished and he wheezed when the hero confirmed it. 

“Yes! She’s a merling, uh- Sally, I think ‘er name is. The first year ‘e tried to impress her with his swimming ‘cause, y’know, merling.” He paused and Tommy could just feel the suspense building as he waiting to hear how he failed. 

“And?”

“And,” Techno snickered, “and he can’t swim! He- he tried to woo ‘er, right? And he can’t even swim!”

“Oi! What’re you telling Tommy?”

Tommy looked away from Techno to see Willis and Phil standing off to the side.

He laughed. “He’s just telling me about your girlfriend,” he informed him, taking on a mocking tone at the end.

Willis' cheeks visibly darkened and he sputtered, quickly turning to face Techno. “Techno, she is not my girlfriend-”

“But you definitely want her to be-”

The two twins began squabbling verbally as the group drifted towards the giant dome with a timer counting down. Almost everyone else was going over there - a few were off in groups to the side, chatting or getting snacks - and so Tommy figured that’s where they were meant to go.

Phil was trying to get the twins to stop fighting and Tommy ended up lagging behind a few steps as he decided to pull out his phone to text his roommates that he’d made it to the island safely. Almost immediately, Tubbo replied back with faux disappointment at the fact that he hadn’t died on the way.

He laughed at that and shook his head, only glancing up briefly to make sure he was still trailing behind his heroes as they got to the top of the bridge into more of a crowd. There was a constant ticking from the clock right above him, a countdown that he assumes marked the start of the tournament, and that, combined with all the people talking and cheering and the music that was playing made it easy for him to slip into the background.

Tommy was sure that the people shouting and talking over everyone else were directing them where they needed to go but he didn’t bother to listen. As long as he followed behind the heroes then he was sure he’d be fine.

His phone vibrated in his hand and he looked down, grinning and perking up as he read that they could see him on the TV. He looked around for which camera might be facing him and once he spotted it he gave a cheeky wave. Almost immediately he got another text, this time it was a crappy picture of their new TV that showed him mid-wave, along with Tubbo flipping him off.

He laughed out loud and flipped off the camera in return, not caring that he was currently on live TV and not just flipping off his roommates but everyone currently watching, before he turned. He glanced up to see if he was still following the heroes, expecting them to be right there, but stopped in surprise when he didn’t find any of them.

Ah.

Shit.

“Willis-?” He tried to call out but the sound was mostly lost in the noise of the crowd. He internally winced and sent another quick text to his roommates that he’d text them in a second and that he just needed to find Willis before shoving his phone in his pocket.

Tommy looked up once more and tried to make his way through the crowd of people. It was easier because they parted for him without a thought but that didn’t make it easy to actually find who he was looking for. He was getting a little desperate at this point, knowing they had to be starting soon, but he genuinely didn’t know where he was supposed to be going.

Eventually he decided it would be best to maybe get out of the crowd to try and see them from a vantage point so he went off to the side when he spotted some stairs and climbed them, letting out a breath of relief now that he was actually out of the crowd. He looked out of it, trying to see them, but all he saw were ten coloured waiting rooms around a large wheel of some kind that he knew was where they were supposed to be choosing what game they played. He saw some groups already waiting in theirs while others were filing into their own and so he, correctly, assumed they would be going there. 

His team was purple, he knew that much, so he could just go there and meet them!

With his plan made, Tommy started walking down the steps when he felt a shiver go up his spine. Someone was watching him. He looked up and around before he spotted who it was. There, near the entrance, was someone wearing a button-up, suspenders, and a pair of nice looking pants. That was all well and good, he wasn’t going to police what people wore, but…

That wasn’t a person.

That was a mob.

In the same way that he was shocked to see a full-fledged demon in the overworld after all this time, he was shocked to see a normal mob out and about, surrounded by Players without anyone second glancing at it. Even more so because it was standing and talking like a human. Once it noticed him watching it, it perked up and then said something to the people near it, each of them wearing similar outfits to it, before breaking away and beginning to walk over.

Well- walk was a generous way to describe how it moved.

Being a slime, it wasn’t exactly meant to walk, and so it was more like it bounced its way to him.

Tommy could only stare in a mix of shock and awe as it bounced right up to him, raised a goopy hand, and grinned as it spoke, “hello! Dap me up!”

He blinked once, twice, just to make sure he wasn’t dreaming, before slowly raising his hand and giving the mob a high five. He was unsure if that’s what it actually wanted from him, but the slime didn’t seem to care how unsure he was and just beamed at him.

Like most slimes, it appeared there wasn’t a single thought behind its eyes.

“Hello, fellow human!” It greeted him, rocking in place like it just couldn’t stand to stay still for even a moment. “It’s been so long since I’ve seen someone like- like- like you! Like me! We both have- we both have bones! So many bones!”

Tommy laughed a bit at the words and the corners of his mouth quirked up into an amused smile. “You’re a slime,” he mused, incredulous. “I’ve never- ha, I’ve never met a slime who could talk.”

The slime tilted its - his? Their? Did mobs even have a concept of gender or pronouns? - head at him and blinked. “I’m- I’m a person!” It said brightly.

He huffed and his eyes flicked up. There wasn’t an active nametag so it definitely wasn’t a Player, but when his eyes hovered over its head and looked a little deeper it flashed into existence.

ᓭꖎ╎ᒲᒷᓵ╎ᓵꖎᒷ, it said in Galactic.

A rough translation of that into Common would be something like Slimecicle.

A Player must’ve named it ages ago for its name to be written in Galactic.

“Sure.” He ended up saying in response to its - his? He’ll use he/him pronouns until specified otherwise - words. “So you know who I am?”

“You’re- you’re a human person! Like me!”

“Right,” he said slowly, “but you know what I am.” 

He was a mob, he had to know what he was. Who he was. Magic recognized magic, after all.

Slimecicle lit up at that. “Yes, yes! I do! But Quackity from- from Las Nevadas says I shouldn’t say people's names even if I’ve been watching them for- for- for a long time! Can I say your name?”

‘Quackity’ as a name rang a bell in his mind and he briefly remembered that that was Tubbo’s dad’s name. Huh… small world, he guessed. Where did Quackity get a slime?

“Sure, Big Man.”

“My name is Charlie,” the slime corrected mindlessly before beaming at him once more. “It’s nice to meet you, 𝙹⍊ᒷ∷∴𝙹∷ꖎ↸ from- from Everywhere!”

Tommy’s smile faltered a bit at that. He hadn’t expected the airy, light sound of Galactic to come from the Slime’s mouth but maybe he should’ve.

“You can just call me Tommy,” he corrected after a moment of awkward silence between them.

Charlie didn’t even blink at the correction and just bobbed his head up and down. “It’s nice to meet you, Tommy from Everywhere!”

Sighing a bit, he put on that smile again. The slime’s cheerful attitude was pretty contagious.

“I didn’t think I’d see a mob here. When did you spawn?” He asked curiously. 

Charlie tilted his head and gurgled a little. “I’m a human person! I didn’t spawn but- but if I did spawn then it definitely wasn’t hundreds of millions of years ago when- when Players were still Players! And- and it definitely wasn’t when the Admins were still around!”

Tommy’s smile didn’t just falter this time, it fell completely and he stared at the mob with wide eyes. 

“What?”

Charlie tilted his head just slightly too far to the left, smiling at him with not a single thought behind his eyes. “What?”

“Re- repeat what you just said.” He demanded incredulously, chest suddenly feeling tight, as if vines or roots had suddenly grown around his lungs and were squeezing all the air out of them angrily.

“I just said that I definitely didn’t spawn hundreds of millions of years ago!”

“No, no- the- the other thing!” 

Charlie gurgled at him curiously, seemingly not understanding what he was talking about. He tilted his head the other way. “I definitely didn’t spawn in when Players were still Players?”

“No!” He yelled, sounding just a little desperate as he tried to figure out if he was lying or being purposefully ignorant. A few of the stragglers still around and close enough to hear him glanced at the two but he pointedly ignored them. “No,” he repeated, softer. “You mentioned the Admins, did you-?”

“Tommy!”

The god jolted and looked past Charlie, spotting Phil standing at the bottom of the stairs and looking confused, concerned, and relieved based off of the way his wings were held and his ears were pinned back yet constantly flicked forward, like he was checking for some kind of threat even though he was consciously trying to relax himself.

Charlie turned as well, his head nearly doing a 360 that had Phil cringing a bit but Tommy didn’t even blink at, and then perked up. “Philza from L’manburg! Hello!”

“Hi, Slime,” the Elytrian greeted indulgently as he went up the few steps to meet them and stand by Tommy’s side. He was looking between them as if he’d aged twenty years just seeing the two together and Tommy felt inclined to say he felt the same way. 

What Charlie said had his heart hammering in his ribcage and the roots beneath his skin to tighten and grow thorns, as if to protect his heart from pain that he himself was the cause of. He hadn’t met anyone else who had been around when the Admins were. He didn’t even think Bad had met either of them before, he looked too young to have.

“Why didn’t you come with us to our waiting room? I thought you were following us, mate, the announcements are about to start.”

Tommy blinked and he had to remember that he wasn’t just roots and thorns and pain at the moment but a Player, an actual person. He had to remember how to be Less than himself and though it was hard he managed to plaster that casual grin that he always wore around his heroes onto his face and answer, “I lost you in the crowd and I was looking for you up here before Charlie started talking to me…”

Phil paused. “Charlie?”

He watched as Charlie’s eyes widened and then watched as he shushed him rather loudly, holding a hand up as if to block his mouth from being seen as he, rather poorly, whispered, “everyone here calls me Slimecicle! Only Quackity from Las Nevadas is supposed to call me Charlie.”

Ah. Right. Of course.

He shared a look with Phil before clearing his throat, “right. Slimecicle and I were talking and I got distracted.”

“Right…” 

The hero looked between them briefly before sighing, shaking his head in a fondly exasperated way. “Well, you two can keep talking after the introductions, they always give us some time to meet the other teams before the games start.”

“Right, yeah, let’s get going then.”

Tommy’s mind was still on what Charlie - Slimecicle? Which one was he supposed to be using? - said and so he resolved to bring it up again later. He started to walk with Phil down the stairs but was stopped once more, this time by a hand on his shoulder.

He turned and frowned at Charlie. “Shouldn’t you be going to your team?”

Charlie bounced a bit in place and nodded. “Yes! But- but I just wanted you to know that your secret is safe with me, 𝙹⍊ᒷ∷∴𝙹∷ꖎ↸ from- from Everywhere,” he whispered to him.

Tommy tensed and his frown deepened. “I told you to call me Tommy.”

He smiled. "Right! It was nice to meet you, Tommy from Everywhere!”

And then Charlie was bouncing right back to his team of yellow, meeting up with a totem-hybrid, a human and what Tommy could only assume was a shulker-hybrid with those plates on his skin.

When he looked away, Phil was once more looking at him with worry.

“What did he say?”

“...Nothing,” he muttered, realizing now that Charlie had actually whispered to him that time, not the stage-whisper he’d done when correcting them on his name. “He just kept talking about his bones.”

He hoped that would make Phil back off and it seemed to work. The man shook his head with an exasperated sigh. “Don’t mind him, Slime’s a bit… odd. It’s just how slime-hybrids are.”

Slime-hybrids, huh?

Tommy stole one more glance at the mob, who was looking at him with a wide, innocent but knowing smile, before turning away. 

-

“Welcome to the 29th MCC!”

Tommy could hear the announcer crow from above them somewhere, their accent standing out and marking him as someone from the Empires rather than an area in the Essempi like L’manburg, Manburg or Snowchester - not that he would know, he hasn’t had the chance to actually explore many of the new provinces and kingdoms or countries since he got here, having focused on Tubbo and Ranboo - and he peeked out the window of the room he stood in with his heroes. 

He could see him on a screen above in the center of the circle of chambers on a big, square screen. He was a rather colourful man, with what Tommy would almost say were stars dusting his cheeks, hair and hands if it wasn’t for the fact that the real stars made up some of his insides. He thought he might be a ‘starborne’, but he didn’t really know what that was in the context of Players besides some type of hybrid.

“I know it was a long boat ride here and you’re all very eager to get to your dorms and rest but, as we have some newcomers this year, I’d like to quickly go over the basic rules of the tournament before any team or game announcements-”

The announcer was met with cries of outrage from the surrounding teams and Tommy couldn’t help but snicker a bit as he glanced over them. There appeared to be ten teams, just like he had heard there would be, and he, Phil, Techno and Willis were in purple. 

There were a handful of people Tommy recognized in the surrounding rooms but there were even more that he didn’t. He caught the eye of a handful of them and flashed them each bright grins before turning his attention up to the screen above when he realized he hadn’t been paying attention to the - probably important - announcements.

It seemed they were going over basic rules right now.

“I understand that some of you might have some tension with others in this tournament,” that was an understatement and some noise from around him made that obvious. He figured that was just what happened when you got heroes, villains and vigilantes together in a single room. The announcer just laughed, waving a hand around as if to shoo off their complaints, “ah-! I know, I know, please put aside any of that for the games. Some rivalry and pettiness is allowed and definitely encouraged,” Tommy grinned at that and almost missed the side-eye Willis gave him for the action, “but any genuine attempts at hurting or killing anyone will get you arrested and banned from the tournament.”

There was some grumbling from many of the teams around him and Tommy couldn’t help but join in.

“Booo!” He crowed along with some of the other players and laughed when the noise slowly died down while Phil lightly hit him upside the head.

“Shush, you lil shit,” the old man scolded but he knew for a fact he heard Phil cackling when he did it.

Tommy snickered and rubbed the back of his head as if the hit actually hurt, looking away and back to the screen as the announcer moved on after that little interruption. It seemed they were onto introducing the changes of this year's tournament, but he didn’t really pay too much attention.

“-we’ve made some necessary changes to, y’know, help the older folk out there-”

There was a gasp of offense next to him and he turned to see Phil gaping at the screen while Willis, Techno and many others in the surrounding rooms began laughing.

“You’re fucking kidding me!” The Elytrian exclaimed in disbelief.

Tommy wheezed as well, especially when he caught the screen change out of the corner of his eyes to see a race track of some kind that led into a tunnel with a river going through it. The funny thing about the scene was the fact that Phil’s face - with his mask and hat, obviously - was plastered right above it with tens of arrows pointing down into the tunnel.

There was definitely a story there somewhere that he’d have to learn later.

“-Angel, please, you really had to do us like that?-”

“Oh fuck off! Everyone else saw it and got confused too! You had to do me like that!” He cried out in his defense, mouth gaping while everyone had a good laugh at him.

Oh yeah, there was definitely a story there and he definitely was getting it from one of them later.

While Phil grumbled in complaint and there were some more laughs, the announcer continued on as if he’d never heard them - and Tommy knew he’d heard them, because he was grinning slyly into the camera when it panned back to him - to talk about updates for other games.

There was a new platform for ‘Hole in the Wall’, ‘Survival Games’ consumables have upped in effectiveness but got worse in taste - that one got some genuine sounds of disgust and whines in complaint before they moved on and it made Tommy wonder just how bad these ‘consumables’ had to be before that they were acting like this. Willis looked about ready to hurl! - and there was a new rule for ‘Sands of Time’ where you now get back fifty percent of coins used on the timer - which caused some excitement around him.

Tommy internalized these announcements, not wanting to forget anything important, and leaned back as the team announcements started. It was then that he tuned out most of what the announcer said, only catching bits and pieces that his mind deemed important.

“-Red Rabbits, consisting of the Captain, Awesamdude-”

He purposefully tuned out the third name that came out of the announcer's mouth, his lips turning down after his smile from the mention of Puffy. The screens in the center changed to project a picture of each contestant announced on it, no doubt so that each person knew everyone’s names and aliases. He also noticed that there was also an affiliation - Villain, Vigilante, Hero, or Civilian - and (what he assumed was) a country or city name of where they were from.

He made a mental note that red team might be a bit try-hardy, and he felt nausea creep up on him as he acknowledge that he only thought this because that green bastard - he’d never done anything to him but a burning hatred and anger (grief) swelled in his gut at the thought of him - was on that team and XD had always been too stubborn for Their own good.

“-Orange Ocelots, consisting of Badboyhalo, Timeturner, Skeppy-”

Tommy had no bad feelings about this team, except maybe a bit of annoyance at the mention of Timeturner. Bastard, he grumbled under his breath - which made Willis glance at him curiously - as he recalled the vague way he’d warned him about the Wither.

“-Yellow Yaks, consisting of Purpled, Slimecicle, Punz-”

He did turn his attention to the screen curiously as this team was announced and eyed the slime’s profile. Villain, it said, and added onto it was his association as Joker’s right hand man.

Huh.

He caught the slime’s eye from across the ring of rooms and he waved excitedly at him. With a small huff, he returned that wave and then looked up as the next team was announced.

“-Lime Llamas, consisting of Nihachu, Manifold, Foxtrot-”

Tommy was surprised to see Niki show up on screen. Sure, she wore a mask, and sure, he probably wouldn’t be able to recognize her if he was anyone else, but he wasn’t anyone else. Even if someone changed their skin (or their clothes, because Players were boring now-a-days) he still recognized them with ease.

She was, apparently, a retired hero.

His surprise fell away into minor annoyance that he acknowledged was more out of playful habit than any actual distaste when Manifold came up on screen. 

“Bastard,” he grumbled again, and Willis snorted next to him. He elbowed him in the side and Phil chided them as if they were children, which only had him rolling his eyes and grumbling that he wasn’t a child.

“-Green Geckos, consisting of the Captain, PeteZaHut-”

Tommy looked up again in confusion at hearing that name again but blinked as he saw the picture. Rather than another picture of Puffy, there was a man with sunglasses and what he’d almost call dragon-like features.

He was a villain.

He could’ve sworn Tubbo had mentioned another Captain before. This must be him.

“-Aqua Axolotls, consisting of Sneegsnag, Sally Salmon-”

Sneegsnag, as it turned out, was tiny. Rather than a portrait picture, his entire body was captured. 

Tommy wondered how the guy was a hero if he was just over a foot tall.

Sally being announced next had him perking up, eager to get a look at this person that Willis was down bad for, but before he could Willis had already put his hands over his eyes.

He yelped. “Wil-!” He tried to pull them off but by the time he escaped the man’s grasp the picture had already changed.

Tommy scowled and glared at Willis, who just grinned innocently at him.

“I’ll find out what she looks like eventually,” he threatened.

Willis, instead of being intimidated like he felt he should be, just grinned wider. “Not if I can help it, gremlin.”

Tommy rolled his eyes but a part of him was soothed that Willis seemed to be acting normal around him again after their conversation on the ship. He smiled a small smile to himself as he looked back at the center.

“-Cyan Coyotes, consisting of yours truly; Smajor, Pearlecent Moon, GeminiTay-”

The announcer was playing in the games? That didn’t seem very fair if he already knew the rules before they were announced… not that he cared all too much about fairness. It was silly to him that this was once based off of the Games he would play with Prime and XD and they kept that little element.

“-Blue Bats, consisting of the Shadow Lady, SmallishBeans-”

The god hummed but didn’t have many thoughts for blue. They didn’t have anyone he recognized in it, which made sense as it seemed three out of the four members were from some place called the ‘Empires’. He didn’t recognize it besides the fact that that Smajor guy was also from there.

“-Purple Pandas, consisting of Angel, Siren, the Blade and newcomer Theseus!”

Finally!

Tommy stood up straight to get a look at their introductions.

Phil’s seemed pretty normal, him smiling at the camera with one hand on his bucket hat and his wings folded behind him far too tightly. It had to be an old picture, Tommy noted, because Phil’s wings hadn’t been folded like that for months. Not since he helped him fix them.

Willis' picture seemed fairly normal as well. He was grinning at the camera but his hair was shorter, with no white streak in it and no scar marking his face. He couldn’t help but compare it to the Willis next to him and felt something claw at him briefly at the way his expression was tightened, mouth pursed in a straight line and hand clenched by his side.

He looked away after a moment and swallowed back the purple hyacinth petals that bloomed in the back of his throat.

Techno’s picture was similar to Willis' in that it had to have been taken before Doomsday. There was no scar on his face, nor did he have a white streak in his hair, and his hair itself seemed to be up in a loose bun. His cape was much longer, without any of the recent gold-scale decorations on it, and it was then that Tommy finally figured out why Techno had changed his cloak recently. It had gotten destroyed during Doomsday.

He remembered how his back had been torn open and the cape on his back had been just as ripped up and destroyed. He’d healed his back but hadn’t even thought about fixing his cape.

A part of that made him sad, knowing how much Techno had liked that cape, but he quickly pushed it off as he was vaguely jumpscared by - what he assumed was - the alias he’d been given.

Theseus.

Gods dammit. 

He was willing to bet Techno had something to do with this. Or, on second thought, he was willing to bet Prime had something to do with this and had been the one to put the piglin-hybrid up to it.

The fact that he caught him looking at him subtly out of the corner of his eye, most likely seeing if he liked his alias, only solidified that thought. So, he sighed quietly, took a deep breath, and then put on an excited smile.

“Is that my alias? Fuck yeah! That’s fucking poggers, Techno!” He told him and was pleased to see it had the intended effect of making him relax.

“-and, finally, Pink Parrots, consisting of Watcher, Hot Guy-”

Tommy snorted at the second name that was said, looking at the screen for a moment to catch a glimpse of Watcher - a man with brightly coloured wings on his back - before it changed to a different man, this one with sunglasses on, a blue-orange-black colour scheme, and a plenty of scars covering him.

They were the last team announced but it didn’t seem to be the end of this little spectacle. 

A different man appeared on the screen this time, his accent different from Smajor’s, and there was a little name tag in the bottom corner that introduced this new announcer as ‘Noxite’.

“You’ll be free to go to your dorms shortly, but there is just one more thing that needs announcing,” he began, and an expectant energy filled the area. All the teams were whispering to each other and eyeing the other teams, even Phil, Techno and Willis seemed to be expecting something to happen and bracing themselves for it.

“What’s going on?” He asked Willis quietly.

The hero snorted and grinned, ducking his head slightly and speaking quietly, like he was trying to avoid drawing attention to them, as he answered, “someone’s going to get dunked.”

Tommy’s mind halted. 

“Dunked?”

Willis' grin widened but he didn’t answer, just pointing to the screen. He looked over to see someone rush up to the new person on screen and hand him a card. There was suspenseful music that began playing as he took his careful time opening the card, peeking at what was inside then playfully wincing.

“Ohhh… Now, as many contestants know, each time we’re in the decision dome one special player is picked from a group and given the opportunity to dunk a single other team. This can be used to sabotage the other team to keep them from voting for what they want, or it could be used as payback for previous rounds.” He began explaining, waving around the little note he’d been given but never quite giving the camera enough of a view to tell what it said.

“While there’s no voting on the first day, the first dunk of the game can help decide the winners. We all know that getting dunked first is bad luck. No one who’s been dunked first has ever won…”

He trailed off, the music building faster and more suspenseful, before, finally, he grinned cheekily.

“Will Aqua be able to break that curse?”

There were cheers and cries of outrage at the reveal as he spoke and turned the card around, showing Aqua’s name on it, along with a little ‘-from Yellow’ written underneath.

Tommy turned his attention to Aqua’s team just to see the floor beneath them open beneath them and let them fall into the pool of water that Tommy now noticed was below each and every team’s room in the dome.

There were laughs and cheers and the new announcer’s voice spoke out above them, “Aqua has been dunked by Yellow! What an unlucky start for them.” He laughed and then the scene cut back to Smajor, who looked a bit flustered while he quickly grabbed a mic from someone off screen.

The starborne began the closing words and Tommy couldn’t help but grin wider to himself as bouvardias bloomed in his hair and down his spine, sending a jolt of excitement through him as their roots dug in.

This was a lot more fun and exciting than he’d expected it to be, being a Game set up by just Players.

-

Leaving the room and going towards their dorms was less exciting than entering them.

Phil made sure this time that Tommy didn’t get lost and while he appreciated it, he’d much rather he chose literally any other way to do it besides holding his hand like he was five. It was embarrassing in his eyes and it didn’t help that Willis and Techno teased him the entire way to their dorms.

Only once they got there and were safely in the room did Phil let go of his hand, which had Tommy scowling at him.

“I hate you.”

Phil laughed, removing his veil and hanging it on a hook before he grabbed the cane that rested right underneath it. “Sure you do, mate,” he said indulgently, with that stupid smile on his face.

Tommy grumbled and walked further into the room, going straight to one of the beds in the room and flopping down on it. Without even looking up from where he’d face planted in the bed, he called out, “I claim this one.”

His voice was muffled by the bed sheets but his hearing wasn’t, so he could hear the way Willis chuckled and Techno snorted as they shuffled about the room. When he looked up he saw each of the heroes sitting on their own beds and he smiled to himself.

“What do we do until the games actually start?” He asked curiously.

“Well, tomorrow is a sort of ‘get ready’ day. We pick the first game, make sure all our team outfits fit, get fitted with a spectator, all that stuff…” Phil began explaining, “but until then we’re free to do whatever. Dinner ‘ll be announced later and we’ll get our team outfits then, but nothing else is happening tonight.”

Tommy thought about that, tilting his head, and he found he understood most of that. There was just one thing he didn’t. “...Spectator? What does that mean?”

Phil blinked and then chuckled. “Well, everyone can choose whose point of view that they watch during this. They do that by having a handful of people with similar powers broadcast what we see to different screens that they stream. They used to use cameras but, eh…”

Techno snorted off to the side and Tommy looked over at him to see he no longer had his mask or cape on. “They broke too often. ‘S just better to use a spectator. Plus, spectators can see whatever you see, so it’s a more authentic experience or whatever.”

That had him pausing.

“Whatever I see?”

Phil spoke up again. “Yeah. Like with Watcher, if you watch his point of view you’ll be able to see out of all of his eyes.”

“Or ‘ear the voices if ‘ey’re watching my view,” Techno added with a huff.

Tommy had a slowly dawning sense of shit hit him when he realized that whoever watched his point of view, if anyone as he was very new and unknown, would be able to see what he saw. He didn’t think a mortal could actually handle what he saw, even if it was just on a screen of some kind. He’d… definitely have to fix that.

“...Huh. I didn’t, uh, know that. I thought they just used cameras.”

Willis chuckled and he looked to see he had also taken off most of his hero get up, left in that ugly yellow sweater and his jeans, though his hair and eyes were still brown rather than the pink and red he was used to seeing when he was relaxed like this. “Keeping track of all of those cameras was a hassle. It was easier to just use someone’s power to sort it out. I’m pretty sure that's what that Dream guy does for his Manhunts, too.”

Tommy’s mood soured a bit at the mention of Dream but he didn’t show it obviously. He just nodded in understanding because that made sense.

It also confirmed to him that they’d likely see what he saw - and he wasn’t just worried about them knowing he could see Nametags. Players weren’t designed to see the Code and everything that made up the Universe like he was - and that he’d have to reel it in quite a bit before then.

“Alright, makes sense.” He put on a smile.

He’d figure it out and make it work. He always did.

-

That night, Tommy spent hours staring at the ceiling with nothing but the background noise of Tubbo and Ranboo snoring on the other side of the VC.

After the explanation about the spectators and a little more on how the games would go they had gone for dinner and then got their team outfits to take back to their room and try on later. They’d told stories after that, with Willis and Techno excitedly telling him about the reason Phil had been slandered earlier in the Decision Dome - he’d climbed the vines over the entrance to that tunnel as opposed to going beneath it, causing many other contestants to follow him, get lost, and end up in last place - and then moved on to different accomplishments they’d had during the other MCC’s that they’d played together.

He got an elaboration on the Sally Stories he’d heard earlier - which consisted of multiple times Willis had tried and failed to flirt with and impress Sally - and eventually Willis complained enough that he managed to change the subject.

The subject change happened to take them to him playing his guitar for them after Tommy realized Willis had brought it with him - because of course he did, the extra bastard - and then begged him to play some songs.

This went on for a little while, with requests being thrown in there, the occasional other story, but eventually they settled down and got ready for bed.

This wasn’t bad, not really, but Tommy found that he just couldn’t sleep. Even after Techno started snoring and Willis soon joined him, even after Phil said goodnight to him and told him to get some rest before settling in his makeshift nest- he just couldn’t fall asleep.

He knew why he couldn’t sleep, of course.

Sleeping alone reminded him too much of the time he’d spent in his very own Limbo, where he did nothing but sleep alone. He just couldn’t drift off without Tubbo and Ranboo there to act as his very own weighted blankets.

So, he joined the VC in hopes that they’d both be there. They were, but both were practically passed out by the time he joined. He got some sleepy curses and grumbles from Tubbo before he passed out while Ranboo was already out of it, just vwooping quietly in response.

He didn’t talk after he joined besides wishing them a goodnight, just sighing in relief. Even if they were fast asleep and there was technically no reason to be in the VC if they wouldn’t be talking, he couldn’t bring himself to leave.

So he stayed.

Tommy stayed in the VC the entire night, until the sun rose and morning came and Tubbo grumbled about the flowers - zinnias, yellow roses, dark pink carnations - he’d grown around them overnight, even with the space between them while Ranboo warbled in confusion.

He laughed quietly to himself and hummed. “Good morning,” he greeted them.

Tubbo yawned over the VC and he heard some shifting that he could only assume was him snuggling into Ranboo before he mumbled out what might’ve been a greeting in return.

Ranboo chuckled. “Morning, Tommy.”

The trio only got a few minutes to talk, just long enough for Tommy to promise that he’d join the VC earlier so that they could actually talk to him before they went to bed, before the heroes began waking up around him and he knew he’d have to go. None of them were happy about it, but he’d reminded them that if they ever really needed him, even if they just missed him, then they could just say so and he’d be there - even if it was only for a few moments in the middle of a game.

That, at least, got them to begrudgingly let him leave.

“Love you two,” he called into the VC before he left, waiting patiently even as Phil and Techno were stirring around him more and he saw Willis sit up in his bed while he rubbed at his eyes.

There was a yawn from Ranboo’s side before they replied, “love you, too, Tommy.”

“Mmhm… same,” Tubbo called.

He smiled to himself, because he knew how Tubbo was in the morning, and only caught the tail end of Ranboo offering to make breakfast and Tubbo telling the Enderian about how he wanted waffles before Tommy left the VC. He didn’t want to, not yet (not ever, his mind whispered), but he was already cutting it close by waiting that long.

When he looked up, he caught Willis looking at him with obvious confusion in his eyes and he just smiled at him.

“Morning!” He said as cheerfully as he could, knowing he was too energetic considering the fact that it couldn’t be any later than seven in the morning and Willis most definitely wasn’t a morning person.

It seemed to work to throw him off as Willis groaned and fell back into his bed. “‘S too fuckin’ early for this…”

-

Later that day, Tommy found himself wearing his team colours - complete with a white and purple hoodie with a panda design on it, a pair of purple sneakers, some black jeans, and a new mask that was shaped more like the black markings around a panda’s eyes - as he once more stood in the Decision Dome.

The first six games to be voted on had just been announced and he and the heroes were trying to decide which game they wanted to vote for. There was Battle Box, To Get To The Other Side, Sands of Time, Parkour Tag, Ace Race, and Hole in the Wall.

“I’m saying we get Ace Race out of the way, it’s our worst game-”

“No, Siren, it’s your worst game-”

“If we’re talking about worst games then let’s just go with Sands of Time. Theseus hasn’t played it before an’ we aren’t gonna be wanting it later when coins mean more. That’s just a bad idea-”

“Blade, no, they added that new rule where we get fifty percent of our coins back after Sands of Time, if it costs more then we could get a big leap in coins, we should save it and just make him the Time Keeper-”

“Siren-”

Tommy ignored their bickering and just aimed his slingshot at the target for T.G.T.T.O.S. - To Get To The Other Side - while they weren’t paying attention. He preferred a bow, but apparently only those in Dodgebolt got one. Unfortunate, but oh well. He squinted, took a deep breath, and then shot it. He grinned when it hit the bullseye and his vote was counted.

“I voted for To Get To The Other Side!” He announced to his team, cutting off their arguing to give him varying looks of surprise and confusion.

“What?”

He grinned at them, “I voted for To Get To The Other Side.” He said, pointing. There were already a handful of votes on the target - marked by where others had hit it with their own colour to see who voted for what - but his stuck out as perfectly in the middle.

They each shared a surprised look with each other, clearly hesitating, before Phil snickered.

“I guess we’re voting To Get To The Other Side first.” He stepped forward and raised his own slingshot, aiming and then hitting the target. His vote was surprisingly close to Tommy’s and he grinned at the man, high fiving him.

“Fuck yeah, Phil-”

“Angel,” the hero reminded him.

“Fuck yeah, Angel!” He crowed without pause.

Techno snorted in amusement and then stepped forward as well, raising his own shot and voting, with Willis huffing and copying them.

It was just in time, too, as shortly after a timer chimed and the votes began to be counted, the wheel in the center spinning until it slowly stopped underneath T.G.T.T.O.S., the votes were tallied up slowly until it showed just over a fourth of the players had voted for it.

It won, of course, with the other votes mostly spread out among the other five games, and Noxite wasted no time in cheerfully announcing the first game of the 29th MCC as To Get To The Other Side. 

Starting tomorrow, the games would begin. 

Chapter Text

Tubbo didn’t expect to get a call on the vc in the middle of the day, especially because Tommy had told them that while he’d try and call he would be busy unless they wanted or needed him, but he accepted it anyway.

He popped out of work, telling his boss that he was taking his break and ignoring her loud, obnoxious complaining, and stood in the alleyway outside so that they could talk without someone looking at him weird. He used to avoid the alleyway, just in case he got mugged or something, but after he became a vigilante he began caring less and less. Why would he be worried about being mugged when he actively went out to stop muggers each night? 

He could take care of himself. (Besides, a cynical part of his brain whispered, the one that remembered his injuries closing up with golden scars after leaking ichor instead of blood, what does it matter if he gets hurt when he’d just heal up in seconds?)

“-mmy?”

The first thing he heard when he joined the VC, twisting his ring as he should, was Ranboo’s confused voice. He relaxed minutely when he realized he was there too. This wasn’t some random VC of just the two of them out of nowhere, all three of them were here.

Tommy could be heard chuckling a bit awkwardly on the other side of the VC as Tubbo made himself comfortable, sitting on a box before he spoke up to announce his own presence, “hello?”

“Hey! So, Tubso, you know spectators, right?”

“Right-?”

“Right! Perfect. So, you know that every participant needs one, right?”

Tubbo hesitated, blinking dumbly to himself as he leaned back. “Yes…? That’s- that’s how they broadcast the games, Tommy. Do you have your spectator yet?”

“Ah haha, no… I, uh, snuck away before we went there.”

“You snuck away-?” Ranboo cut in, sounding just as confused as Tubbo was feeling.

“Yes? But- but that’s not the important bit!”

“Tommy, that sounds pretty important-” Ranboo tried to speak again, sounding mildly scolding, but Tommy wasn’t having it.

“No, no, it’s not important. What is important is that means they’ll see what I see, right?”

Tubbo paused for a second, having a creeping realization that he knew where this might be going now. “Yes…?”

“Pog, pog, pog, that’s so pog, actually. But, uh, I need your help then.”

And Tommy sounded nervous about this. It struck Tubbo that he actually was nervous about this, that he might actually need their help, and he didn’t know why. One thing he learned about Tommy was that he didn’t get nervous easily, always having a witty response or faux confidence that he was learning wasn’t as faux as he thought it was. What could he possibly need from them that they could help with? 

“What do you need our help with?”

Tommy could be heard taking a breath on the other end before answering, “making it look normal? I’ve never- I’ve never had to do this before, no one’s ever spectated me like this when I was Playing a Game. In the past, only Admins and Mods had access to that, you know? I just- hah, I don’t know what I’m really doing.”

Tubbo blinked. Then blinked again.

“You want us to… what, then? How can we help with that?”

Ranboo made a noise in agreement, sounding just as confused, and Tubbo felt that they were maybe feeling the same way. No matter how he looked at this, he couldn’t figure out how they would help. But this did bring up an odd thought.

What did Tommy see, if he needed to change it to see what a normal person does? What a Player does?

“Well, I was hoping you would spectate me and I change what I see until you guys say it’s normal? Hopefully?”

“We… can’t spectate you?” Ranboo spoke up, sounding lost now. He could imagine the dumbfounded look on his face and he held back a giggle.

“No, no, you can- I’d let you, and then you’d help me. Players can’t really see what I see and, like, keep going on normally, y’know? They’re not meant to see it.” There was a pause there, as they digested what he just said, and then Tommy suddenly continued, laughing awkwardly again. “But- but you’d both be fine!”

And Tubbo wanted, so badly, to ask what that meant. If Players couldn’t see what Tommy does but they could, were they even still Players? His mind flashed to the ichor that now filled his veins and scarred his body and the doubt he had on if this was even worth it… but he pushed it away. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know the answer, he wasn’t sure if he could handle the answer without blowing up at Tommy again.

So, he didn’t ask. 

He swallowed thickly, pushed away those thoughts, and leaned back against the bricks behind him, ignoring how they dirtied his jacket some. “...Okay, bossman. Show us what you got, and we’ll do our best to help. Just try and make it quick, my break’s only twenty minutes and you know how the bosslady gets if I’m late.” He drawled.

His boss had been getting worse and worse towards him, being snarky and aggressive and sarcastic and all in all horrible, belittling him as if he didn’t do that to himself enough. It was getting to be a lot. He almost wanted to quit because of it but he wouldn’t, because if he didn’t work then who would? Tommy may have his job at the hero agency but that didn’t pay enough for them to support all three of them, and though Ranboo tried he knew that they couldn’t hold down a job for long and their streaming, despite bringing in some income, was not enough to live off of.

He couldn’t quit. He’d just tough it out and remind himself that it really wasn’t that bad if he put it into perspective with what he was used to dealing with. (What he’d dealt with in the past.)

He didn’t mention his issues to his roommates besides some general complaining. They didn’t deserve the stress of it all, even if he did get a bit irritated at Tommy sometimes, and he knew they’d insist he quit or take less shifts.

Soon after he said that and Ranboo agreed, there was a flicker in his vision before, suddenly, he was somewhere else. (Someone else.)

Rather than the dingy alleyway he’d been in before, he was now sitting on the MCC Island, beneath a little tree and a little ways away from everyone else. It looked normal at first and, despite his bleating in surprise and Ranboo’s startled warble, he was going to ask why he needed help before he saw It.

It wasn’t just one thing. Rather, it was a multitude of things that shocked him to his core, that made him breathless in a way that he couldn’t determine was good or bad, and that suddenly put things into a perspective he’d never even thought about.

Tubbo knew Tommy was a God. It was a fact and despite accepting it, he hadn’t thought how Tommy saw them would be so different to how they saw him. 

The Players - because they were not people, even if they looked like them in every way, because they were off, they were less, they were not people - almost blended into the world around them. The only thing that made them stand out was the fact that there were Nametags over each of them… or at least those close enough. Some further away he could only barely make out against everything else and even then they weren’t very distinguishable. He couldn’t tell you who was who if he wanted to, not with the way his eyes slid off of their bodies, unable to really catch any potential markers to tell who was who.

The world itself was much brighter as well, some things having a little glow that he’d never noticed before while others had colours he’d never seen before. He wouldn’t be able to describe them if he tried, he felt he might get a headache if he did, but he could see them.

Not to mention the sky-

“-Guys?”

Tubbo snapped to attention, blinking rapidly and forcing himself to not focus on the sky. (Was that really the sky he just saw? Or was it something else? Was it someone else?) 

“Um- what?”

Ranboo made a muffled noise as well but he was the only one able to reply out of the two of them. That made sense, though. He was more used to speaking under stress.

“What do I need to change?” Tommy asked, sounding far too casual for the fact that what Tubbo was seeing was not normal.

“I- um, I-...” He stumbled over himself, still trying to get the sight of the sky out of his mind, before he swallowed and leaned back. It was so weird to feel what he felt despite not mentally being where he was right now. He could still feel the bricks behind him and the box he sat on despite not being able to see them. He was blind, in some way, despite being able to now see more than he ever has before.

He hated it.

Tubbo swallowed again and then finally managed to blurt out the first thing he needed Tommy to change, “the- the sky. Plea- you need to change the sky. That’s not normal.” He couldn’t help but sound a bit desperate as he asked this.

Ranboo joined in, somehow sounding even more unsettled and choked up than he was. He was pretty sure that was because eyes and Enderians didn’t mix well. “Yeah, um- that’s- you should- just- please, change the sky.”

Tommy paused, and Tubbo could see it because they all paused, and then he huffed. “Alright, I’ll change the sky. You guys just see the sun, right?”

“Yeah- yeah, um, we just- we just see the sun,” he confirmed, even though he felt that wasn’t something that should need confirming normally.

Tommy nodded and then he opened up something. It looked similar to when Tubbo had been with Prime and XD, text on the screen - because what else could he call it? - though most of it was rapidly scrambling through Galactic and another odd language that he didn’t recognize, therefore making it impossible for either him or Ranboo to read. 

He tapped on a few things, going through different menus, and everything froze before the world around them refreshed, flashing before clearing up. This time, when Tommy’s vision was clear and the text interface was gone, the sky looked normal. Despite this normality, Tubbo couldn’t get the sight of it out of his mind. How could Tommy just live with seeing that constantly?

“Does that look normal?”

“Um, yeah…” Tubbo answered, just a bit distracted, before he cleared his throat. “Yeah, it looks fine.” He repeated it, voice stronger this time, and then took the initiative to speed this up a bit. He kind of wanted to get this over with now. “The- uh, the glowing? And colours. We can’t see those.” He hoped that was enough of an explanation for Tommy because he had no idea how to describe what else he was seeing.

How was he supposed to explain brand new colours? And how was he supposed to explain the glowing that plenty of things seemed to have, the pure saturation and liveliness most things around him seemed to have yet wasn’t normal?

Tommy did seem to get it as he groaned. “That would make everything look so boring though…”

And Tubbo was going to tell him to shut it and just accept it, because he asked for their help and so they were giving it, but couldn’t before he was opening that same interface and then there was another flash as the world seemed to refresh and then he was closing it. His words caught in his throat as he understood what Tommy was complaining about.

The world was so dull. He’d never noticed it before - having nothing to compare it to - but it was flat. There was no saturation or glow or colours that still flashed in his mind every time he blinked and suddenly he was angry at Tommy for even showing that to them only to take it away. Why could he see all of that all the time when they were stuck with something so drab? (It wasn’t Tommy’s fault, not really, but Tubbo dreaded going back to work after seeing what he just had. His mind had latched onto those colours and lights and the general feel of how Tommy saw the world and he didn’t know how he’d handle the stress of work when his mind would already be taken up with those thoughts. He might just need to go home for the day, to be honest.)

Tommy grumbled before sitting up more and stretching. “There, does that look right?”

Ranboo hummed distractedly. “Yeah, yeah, looks pretty normal…”

Tubbo was going to agree but stopped himself. The Players were still Players. They didn’t look like people.

“Um, almost, actually,” he corrected. “The- the, the people don’t look right.”

That made Tommy pause for longer than a second this time while Ranboo made a noise of surprise and then agreement, having clearly forgotten about them. The god turned to look at the Players, which were still glowing with their Nametags and while he could see them, vaguely, making them and their individual bodies or features out was impossible. 

“What do you mean?”

“I mean- we don’t… I- I don’t know how to explain this, gimme a sec.” He furrowed his brows and ran a hand through his hair, briefly moving it out of his eyes - not that it mattered much - before letting it fall back down. He had a stray, wondering thought about what he looked like when he was looking through Tommy’s eyes. Ignoring it, he tried to focus on how to explain this. 

“People are- they’re more… solid? And- and we can’t see whatever that thing is above their heads.”

“The Nametags?”

“Yeah, those.” If that’s what he called them then yeah, that was what he was talking about. 

Tommy furrowed his brows. “Then how do you tell them apart?”

And this time it was Tubbo’s turn to freeze. His breath caught in his throat and he couldn’t help but be dumbstruck by that question. How do you tell them apart? He asked, sounding so genuinely confused, as if this was something he’d never thought of before, as if he couldn’t do it without the help of Nametags. As if he was talking about animals or something.

“You… you look at them.” He said slowly. Ranboo was quiet, now, and he tried to make up for that. “How do you tell us apart?” He asked, and yet he felt a hysteric giggle bubble up from his chest. Could Tommy tell them apart without their Nametags? Looking at the Players he saw now, he wasn’t sure he would be able to.

“I… can recognize you? I’m around you enough that I know what you look like, Tubbo,” he chided jokingly, rolling his eyes. “But you guys aren’t normal Players, I don’t know how I’d tell them apart like I do you guys. They all look the same.”

And that was the issue, wasn’t it?

Because Tubbo had noticed that Tommy seemed kind of standoffish when it came to other people, not seeming to really care if he hurt them. He remembered how easily he’d killed those who hurt Ranboo and at the time he assumed he just had skewed morals like he did but this was so clearly more than that. It wasn’t that Tommy was willing to kill someone else to protect his family or friends - though he’d clearly do that anyway - it was that Tommy didn’t see it as killing someone else. He didn’t see them as people.

The way he referred to others as Players now, rather than people, the way he brushed off his murder-

He didn’t see people as people.

Literally.

He’s never seen Players as people and if it wasn’t for MCC it’s likely he never would’ve.

They were both quiet for long enough after that that Tommy spoke up again, sounding a bit less sure of himself. “‘Boo? Tubs? You still there?”

“...Yeah,” Tubbo answered after a moment of hesitation. “Yeah, yeah- sorry, it’s just- they… they don’t all look the same, usually.”

Tommy made a confused noise. “What do you see them as then?”

“Not that.” He groaned and then huffed. “Why don’t you just- just spectate someone else? So you’ll see what they see when they look at people?” Tommy clearly had the power to spectate someone, considering he’d made them spectate him.

“I… never thought of that.” He admitted. “Usually I’d just spectate Prime or XD if we were Playing a Game together.”

Tubbo was about to offer to maybe let him just spectate him, he could just go look out of the alleyway for a second to show him, but he stopped. Prime and XD… They weren’t Players. “Could you tell Prime and- and XD apart?” It was surreal to ask God about what were considered the other gods.

Tommy immediately scoffed at that. “Of course I could. Nametags weren’t a thing until after XD was made.”

“So- so you could see them as themselves?”

“Yes?”

It said something about Tommy’s mentality towards Players that he wasn’t connecting the dots here.

“So just- so just look at them like they’re Prime and XD?”

Almost immediately Tommy’s eyes narrowed. “Tubso, they’re not Admins.”

“I’m not asking you to make them admins!” He growled in frustration. He had to take a deep breath to not snap at him again. “Just look at them like they’re admins.”

It was Tommy’s turn to be quiet this time. Despite spectating him, Tubbo couldn’t parse out what he was feeling or doing. All he knew was what he was looking at and it left him with frustratingly little information on what he felt about anything.

Tubbo didn’t know what to say to him after that, he didn’t know how he’d explain to the god how to look at people like they were people, like they had individuality and personalities, like they were living beings with thoughts and feelings.

Then, Tommy opened that same interface again and pressed something else, still silent. The world reloaded, the interface disappeared, and this time, when he looked up, Tubbo could see people.

Not Players, not Nametags, but people.

He could make out Charlie and the Captain and Watcher and many others and he let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. He didn’t know how Tommy could go forever - literally - not seeing people as people. Just those few minutes made him feel… detached. It made him feel a disconnect from them and what he would consider a person and he hated how that made things make more sense.

“...There, does that look right?” Tommy's voice was subdued, his eyes locked onto the heroes and villains and vigilantes that were now visible, no longer blending in and now human, and Tubbo wished he knew what he was thinking as he stared.

“Yeah,” Ranboo spoke up before Tubbo could. “That- that looks right, Tommy.”

“It looks perfect,” Tubbo said, and then let out a shaky breath. “I need to get back to work, is that all you needed help with?”

Tommy blinked and then huffed. “Yeah- yeah, that’s- that’s all I needed. Thanks. I need to go meet up with Wil and the others anyway so I’m gonna get going.”

“Right. Bye, Tommy-”

And neither he nor Ranboo got the chance to say goodbye before they were snapped back to their own bodies and Tommy was gone from the VC. He was once more sitting in that alleyway and he just stared for a moment at the wall opposite to him as he tried to register the fact that he could move, he wasn’t just watching the world through a screen, he wasn’t looking through a kaleidoscope that made everything more vibrant and colourful and better, he wasn’t seeing people as less than him, as inhuman, as nothing.

He was just… Tubbo, in his own body, able to move and see and breathe and he let out a shaky sigh. “I- I think I’m gonna see if I can get off work early. ‘Boo, are you at the house?”

Ranboo made a vague Enderian noise before clearing their throat. “Y-... Yeah, yeah, I’m at the house, ‘bo. I- I’ll see you soon.”

They sounded as shaky as he felt and he blinked back some spots that still lingered in his vision from what he’d seen. “Alright, just stay there. I’ll be home soon.”

He hopped off the crate he’d sat on and almost lost his balance, disoriented, but caught himself as Ranboo spoke up. “Do- do you want a teleport back? I can come get you.”

“No. I’m gonna, I think I’m gonna walk back, y’know? I’ll see you soon.”

Tubbo left the VC.

-

Tommy left the VC quickly, not even staying long enough to say goodbye. He couldn’t help but rush, just staring at what would be his new normal until MCC was over and trying to adjust to it. He didn’t want to take any chances until the end of the games with a spectator or someone else seeing what he usually saw, so he was stuck like this - he was stuck seeing a plain sky and a flat world and people - until the entire tournament was over.

Everything was so dull and less and yet more at the same time and he hated it. 

He hated the part with Players the most - the people the most - because it just didn’t make sense to him. There was a disconnect from the Players he knew and was used to and what he was seeing right now. They were so much more than what he was used to seeing and he hated it.

Because he was seeing them, like he would have Prime and XD, and he’d never done that before. Sure, he knew Players each looked different - he could see those differences - but he never saw them. He knew Willis sometimes had pink hair but usually stuck to blond, he knew Techno always had red eyes and pink hair even though it was possible for him to change to like Willis did, and he knew that Phil was blond with blue eyes just like he was, but that was background knowledge, something he picked up passively over months with them. If you asked him what someone else looked like, though… He wouldn’t be able to tell you.

He couldn’t tell you what Foxtrot looked like, despite having spent a bit of time around him because he was Willis' apprentice. If you asked him what Kristin looked like he’d only be able to give a vague answer about her having dark hair. If you asked what Niki looked like after he visited her cafe so often he’d only be able to tell you that she had pink hair and was a merling. If you asked about literally anyone besides his heroes or Tubbo and Ranboo, he wouldn’t be able to answer.

But now it was all he could focus on as he stared at the people ahead of him, all chatting or doing their own thing as they’d already gotten their spectators.

Tommy didn’t know how long he spent there, just watching and observing all the differences between all of them, before he heard a familiar voice and he managed to finally tear his eyes away. He recognized the voice as Willis' and, yet, when he looked over, he almost didn’t recognize him.

It was Willis! He had blond hair with a singular white streak, a gold scar across his cheek, and blue eyes like he always knew he did. And yet… There was no ‘WillisCod’ above his head, there were no eyes trained on him at all times, there was no echo of Prime that followed him, tinting his blue purple.

Suddenly, Tommy stared at Willis and he was seeing him for the first time. He didn’t just see the blond and blue and gold and Nametag and Prime. He was seeing Willis.

He could see calluses on his fingers from playing the guitar, he could see the scales painted onto his cheeks expertly that he had never really paid attention to before, he could see the tiny tusks sticking out of his mouth each time his mouth opened or curled into a smile and he could see everything that made Willis Willis despite seeing nothing at all.

-

Willis was a little exasperated by the time he found Tommy. 

They needed to go get fitted with their spectator but after breakfast the little gremlin had just disappeared without a trace. He didn’t understand why he ran off, but they had split up to find him, each taking a different part of the island. He was in the middle of the Island, near the Dome, when he spotted him sitting beneath a tree and seeming to have zoned out.

It made him frown a bit but he shook it off with a sigh. 

“Theseus!” He called, reminding himself to use the name Techno had picked out. He was glad to see him look over, smiling, but it faltered when he caught a look at his face. Maybe it was the lighting from the clouds - clouds? - that had suddenly filled the sky to grey but he looked pale. His eyes looked dull, completely grey with not a hint of colour or life in them, and the human looked at him like it was his first time ever seeing him clearly.

“Theseus?” He asked, slowing to a stop next to him. “We’ve been all over the island looking for you,” he couldn’t help but scold, “why the hell did you just leave after breakfast?”

Tommy, still staring at him like he was seeing him in a new light, blinked before swallowing. “I- I… had to go call my roommates,” he answered.

Willis couldn’t help but be doubtful. Why did he just leave then?

“Tommy, we’ve been all over the island looking for you,” he repeated. “You could’ve at least told Phil or Tech or I that you were taking a call, we would’ve given you some privacy.” They were close enough together and far enough away from anyone else that he didn’t worry about using his real name.

Tommy rolled his eyes at him. “I just needed to talk to my roommates real quick. I didn’t think you’d all go looking for me.” 

He sighed as the human stood up and just shook his head, not about to start an argument with him. “Is everything okay, then?” He started walking and was glad to see Tommy follow him. He did his best to ignore how he stared at him with those strangely grey eyes as he did.

“Yeah, Tubs is at work and ‘Boo’s at home I’m pretty sure, I just needed to ask them something.”

“What did you need to ask them?” He raised a brow at the other, even if it wasn’t visible because of his mask.

Tommy eyed him for a moment before just shaking his head and putting on his usual obnoxious grin. “They were just helping me see things differently. Y’know, had a bit of pre-game anxiety, as all big men do. It’s completely normal, really, and there’s nothing shameful about talking to someone close to you if you need it- I’m here for you, too, Wil,” his expression softened into something that might be sincere if it wasn’t for the way his mouth quirked up on the corners.

(His eyes didn’t change. They didn’t flash with amusement or light up or show any kind of emotion. It was weird and unnerving, and he partially wished that he’d glare at him with those glowing eyes he still saw in his dreams so that they actually had some light in them rather than look at him so dully, like a corpse instead of a human.)

Willis sighed heavily and just shook his head, his ears flicking dismissively. He looked away from him while he pulled out his phone to message the other two that he’d found Tommy and that they were on their way there. “I’m sure you are, you little gremlin. Now come on, we’re gonna be late. You’re lucky we don’t do spectators on the day of anymore.”

-

Tommy stood next to his team at the first of four starting lines the next day.

The first game was going to start within the next few minutes, after they went over the rules, and though he was still adjusting to his new vision it was… fine. Really! The worst part was trying to figure out who was who without being able to peek at their Nametags.

Tubbo had said that he could just look at them to tell the difference between them and while that worked, because they all looked different in their own way, it was impossible for him to know who was who. How was he supposed to know their name now? How was he supposed to recognize people he’d already met when he couldn’t see their Nametags and he didn’t know what they looked like?

(Those he did recognize were the worst, though. He was being forced to see them in a new light, to look at them like they were Admins, like they were his brothers when they weren’t-)

But besides that, it was fine.

The sky was grey, but he assumed that was just what it looked like to Players- that it was just what it looked like for people and he had to deal with that. He was Playing as a normal person and if that meant that he had to look at things like they would then so be it. Everything was more vibrant with His eyes than without, he figured that the sky was just another thing that dulled without them.

Tommy stopped staring at Phil - he hadn’t even noticed he’d been doing it. He found himself staring at his teammates often, observing all the little things he never saw before now, like the little feathers on Phil’s cheeks, or the awful way Techno’s hair was cut, or the scales meticulously painted onto Siren’s cheeks - when the announcements started, snapping out of it and looked up at the speaker that hung above the starting line.

“The aim of To Get to the Other Side is obvious… You and your team need to get to the other side of each course presented to you.”

“Wow, I couldn’t have guessed,” Tommy drawled sarcastically and laughed when Phil lightly hit him across the back of the head. 

“Pay attention,” the Elytrian scolded. Tommy grinned and rolled his shoulders, just looking back at the speaker as they continued. Over the noise of the crowd, he heard Willis and Techno snort next to him.

“The game plays out in four rounds across four different courses. All players start on one end of the course and are given various trails to get through to get to the other side - it is up to the player to pick whichever one will work best for them. Once they’ve made it across, they must push their teams button to complete their goal!”

“And since sabotage is part of this game, expect plenty of chaos!”

Tommy felt bouvardias grow in his hair and was grateful that they were kept out of his point of view. He didn’t want proof of his flowers to just be out there, especially when he knew so many people were watching him. He knew he was being spectated, he knew who was spectating him originally, but he also knew everyone else who was watching him. He knew there were hundreds, thousands, all watching every move he made.

At least spectators couldn’t feel what he did or make him move in any way that he didn’t want to. Small mercies, he guessed. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to change everything he felt the same way he could with what he saw. 

(He was already missing one of his main senses, feeling blind even though he could see just like a normal Player. He didn’t want to lose the way he breathed with the Overworld, the way he could feel the water flow through his veins, the way the wind brushed through his hair and flowers and guided him along, blind as he currently was.

He didn’t want to be human.)

He was just excited for the games to finally start, to have a taste of what the past once was with his Admins (and wasn’t it just perfect that he saw everyone as Admins, now?) 

“As said, sabotage is allowed and very much encouraged, but genuine attempts on another’s life are very discouraged. Each of you have been given specific rules on what you can and cannot do with your powers and physical advantages in private, so I won’t bore the audience with any of that.”

Tommy raised a brow. He didn’t get any special or specific rules… Though, to be fair, they didn’t know he was anything more than a human. He supposed that was fair. He knew that Willis and Phil had been taken aside on the way here briefly but they had waved off his questions about where they’d gone. It made sense that they were given special rules - Willis could command anyone to do anything with just his voice and Phil could fly. He was sure that a parkour course would be nothing to him if he was allowed to use his wings. 

“Is that why you got pulled aside earlier?” He asked Phil curiously, leaning close and stage-whispering. It’s not like anyone else was really being quiet anyway, seeing as most of the teams were clumped together and talking, so he couldn’t be chastised for it.

Phil looked down at him and sighed, ruffling his wings. “Yeah, but they give me the same rules each year. No flying, but gliding and using them to boost myself once in a while is fine.” He could see his mouth turn up in a smile underneath his veil despite his words. “That’s not gonna stop me from kicking everyone’s ass though.”

Tommy laughed, even if he mentally thought that that was a bit unfair. What was the point of having wings if you couldn’t use them? Phil seemed okay with it though so he wouldn’t say anything.

“Once you’ve finished the course and pressed the button, sabotage is prohibited. So keep in mind when you press it if you’re trying to keep someone else from finishing. You’re out of the game the second your hand touches the button. No exceptions.”

Tommy hummed, but kept that in mind. So if he wanted to fight someone from finishing at the end then he had to sabotage his own spot, no matter how early he finished? That was fair. He was glad no one could mess with him if they’d already finished, it lessened his chance to get sabotaged.

“You have fifteen minutes to make it across each course. If you don’t press your teams button within that time, your coins are forfeit. If it’s too hard or you get injured before the end, you can forfeit the round, and any coins you’d get from that round. The first four teams to make it to the end and press the button get bonus coins, and the first ten people to press the button get bonus coins as well.”

Tommy was paying close attention to the announcements, making a mental note to try and get to the end first to hopefully get his team both of those bonuses, so he was surprised when an elbow was set on his shoulder. He looked up at whoever was touching him only to find Willis looking down at him.

“What, bitchboy?”

“You ready, gremlin?”

Tommy blinked before grinning, letting his excitement show. “Fuck yeah I am. I’m gonna get first every single time.”

Willis snorted and leaned against him. “I’m sure you will,” he cooed. 

The god squinted at him. “Is that sarcasm? Do you not believe in me, Siren?” He asked in mock offense, putting a hand on his chest. He had to mentally remind himself to not use Willis' real name when thousands of people were watching from both of their eyes.

“No, no! Of course I do, Theseus,” he drew out once more, laughing under his breath before fighting his laughs back to put on a serious expression. “I just wanted to come and make sure you were ready, the first game is always the most nerve wracking. You think you can keep up?”

Tommy paused for a moment, catching the serious look in his eyes, the genuine worry, however slight, and then softened a bit. He felt warm inside and couldn’t help but smile, even if his eyes and the sky stayed that same dull grey-blue. The only difference to the weather around them was that the wind blew a bit warmer than it had been a minute ago.

Hydrangeas and yellow lilies and lady’s mantle curled around his wrists and up his arms, lightly wrapping around his chest, and he subtly pushed the ones on his wrists further into his sleeves.

He almost replied genuinely until he remembered they were on live TV and blinked, forcing a scoff. “Of- of fucking course I can, who do you think I am? I’ll- I’ll come first every time. I’ll kick your ass!” He pushed Willis' arm off his shoulder and squared his shoulders, posturing as if he had his wings on him.

Willis snorted again and grinned, not mentioning the posturing if he noticed it. He just held his hands up innocently. “I’m sure you will,” he cooed.

Tommy squinted at him once more. “I will. I’m gonna be- I’m gonna be so good and I’m gonna kick your ass hard enough that- that- that I’m gonna impress Sally and she’ll fall in love with me instead of you, especially because you can’t swim and- and-”

The piglin-hybrid barked out a laugh and then shoved him. “Oh, you little shit, I’ll show you-”

They were about to start wrestling, Tommy shoving him in return, but were stopped by a sudden timer counting down from above that snapped them both out of it.

Willis laughed and then ruffed his hair before he could move away. When he pulled his hand back, he had a handful of bouvardia blooms in his hold. He just brushed them off, letting them fall to the ground as if he’d never seen them, and Tommy felt something relax in him when he so easily brushed them off. 

“Good luck, gremlin child.”

Tommy grumbled and shoved at his hand, but he even then he was grinning.

“Yeah, yeah. You too, you lanky fuck.”

-

Tommy readied himself, crouching for a moment and taking a small breath before letting it out as the countdown continued. He could hear a click as the earpieces he’d been given to wear were turned on, muting most of the sound around him besides his teammates' voices and the countdown. 

“Are you ready, Theseus?”

He turned to see Angel looking at him from behind his veil and he lit up, showing off his clear excitement.

“Fuck yeah I am. We’re gonna get first, Angel, I can feel it,” he proclaimed proudly.

Angel laughed and he could hear Blade chuckle as he turned back to the start, just as the countdown got to three, two, one…

The countdown finished and everyone was off.

Tommy ran, initially tied with most of them, but that soon changed once people started shoving each other out of the way and the first obstacle appeared on the path. 

He managed to avoid most of the shoving for now, instead focusing on climbing and jumping over the beginning obstacles. Most of them were small rocks, only about a block or a block and a half tall max, and so he managed to get himself over them with no issue or pause. It was especially easy once he was on top of one and realized that the rocks led into a maze with walls close enough for him to jump on.

Doing so was certainly faster than finding his way through the maze like most others below him were and so he ended up jumping from rock to rock. His arms were held out to his sides and his tongue was sticking out as he focused on making each of the jumps. Occasionally someone would get shoved into one of the walls and cause it to shake a bit, almost making him slip, but he did his best. It looked like most of the contestants didn’t know they could just climb on top and avoid the maze altogether.

It was only at the end of the maze, when he missed the four block jump that would’ve let him skip this next bit that he landed on the ground again. He could see that the wall was around five blocks tall. It wouldn’t be impossible to climb, though it would be hard. He jogged to the side a bit and looked for any other way up.

“Is there a way around the wall?” He asked into his earpiece, brows furrowed.

“No. You just have to climb it, mate,” Angel answered, sounding a little out of breath already.

He cursed himself mentally. Gods damn it. He had a feeling that Angel was already past the wall, considering he’d have his wings to help boost him over, but that left him having to do this the long way. 

Just as Tommy was about to start the climb he saw two others - both wearing pink - working together to get over. One, with scars littering his body and a ridiculous pink outfit on, was crouched down and had put his hands together while the other, this one with colourful wings, a similarly ridiculous outfit on, and eyes around him, stepped on his hand and used it, as well as his wings, to boost him over the wall. Seconds later, the avian held his hand down for his teammate and pulled him over.

He perked up at that. That would safe time. He just had to find either Blade or Siren to help him so that they could work together. He perked up as Siren came running out of the maze, barking an order at someone that had them falling on their face, and spotted him.

“Siren!” He called cheerfully, waving his hands and grinning at him when he came over. “Help me up, it’ll be faster than climbing,” he told him.

Siren was breathing a bit heavily, probably from all the orders he’d been using on the others, and looked at him warily. “Are you going to be able to help me up, too?”

Tommy couldn’t help but roll his eyes. “Yes, I’ll be able to help you. Now come on, help me up, we’re wasting time!”

The hero groaned at his demanding tone but did as told, crouching down and holding his hands out for him to step on. “I’m gonna boost you up, okay? Do not leave me when you get up there or I swear to Prime-”

Laughing, Tommy stepped on his hand and let himself be boosted up, grabbing the ledge of the cliff and pulling himself up before leaning over the edge and holding his hand down for Siren to grab. “I wouldn’t leave you, even if you are a bitchboy.”

As Siren scoffed in offense and then ran on, he hesitated, looking back over the maze. He couldn’t see Blade, and he was sure Angel was already ahead, but he asked into the earpiece anyway. “Blade, are you past the cliff?” He assumed he was but he didn’t want to be wrong and then leave him behind without help. A handful of others were already at the bottom of the cliff and struggling to climb up the mostly-smooth wall with no teammates around to help.

“I’m good, Thes, Angel carried me up before you got there.” Sighing in relief, Tommy began running again, ducking under some low branches. “When you keep goin’, head to the right. The other doors up ahead don’t open,” Blade added on after. Though Tommy didn’t know what that meant, he angled himself to the right of the course anyway. He could see Siren just up ahead following Blade’s words.

Tommy verbally cursed Siren for having long legs and getting ahead of him easily, but all he got in return from the bastard was a laugh. He didn’t even thank him for helping him up the wall!

The next section was similar to the rocks, though only in that he had to jump from platform to platform. He got little time to pause and evaluate his jumps, no time to second guess himself, as projectiles that went too fast for him to see clearly were being shot at them.

One poor guy, the one with the scars, he realized, unfortunately got hit mid jump and therefore missed the platform. He couldn’t help but laugh a bit at his misery as he passed him.

It was only when he spotted some doors up ahead and had to realign himself with the right that he realized what Blade had been talking about. There were three doors, two of them already closed and one of them just closing behind someone else, with pressure plates just in front of them. He didn’t waste any time in running to the right door.

“I’m throu-” He began to call, but was cut off when he got a face full of feathers. The feathers caused him to stumble back a few steps and hit the - now closed - door behind him with a yelp.

When he could see again, he cursed the man - it was the avian he saw earlier, who was teamed with the scarred man. He was pretty sure he went by Watcher, but only because Angel had mentioned something about him having eyes - that had startled him. He scowled and raced after him, giving him a shove just as they got to the pit ahead. It caused him to trip over the jump they’d need to take, his wings flaring, and he fell straight into the sand pit below. He couldn’t help but grin ferally at him as he ran past.

“That’s what you get, bitch!” He crowed as he went, surely loud enough to be heard over his earpieces.

It was only after that and a little more running that he spotted the end up ahead. There were ten buttons, each evenly spread out, with different coloured banners over each one. Each banner was decorated with its respective team’s animal and that made it so that Tommy could spot where he had to go with ease. It was especially easy because he could see his teammates up ahead and already standing by their button. 

“Oi! Move outta the way!” He demanded, causing them to turn towards him and then light up. They barely had enough time to do as he said before he ran into them and slammed his hand down on the button with a satisfying slap and a ding sound.

“Fuck yeah!” He cheered, then wheezed when Siren wrapped an arm over his shoulders. He leaned into him and grinned up at the other two. “Are- are we the first team to finish?” He asked, recalling how empty the ending had seemed when he was running over.

A look at the other teams’ buttons proved him right, as most of the other buttons were empty - though quickly filling up - and he couldn’t help but cheer again. More bouvardias grew in his hair and he didn’t even care. “Fuck yeah! We’re the first team to finish! Just like I said we would!” 

His cheering faltered when he felt Blade’s hand ruffling his hair and it quickly turned into snickers, pushing at his hand. “Stop that,” he complained.

“Nah,” he drawled. “‘M surprised you kept up with us so well. You do that in all the games ‘nd we’ll win for sure.”

Tommy’s cheeks tinted pink at the praise and even though he grumbled he stopped pushing his hand away, even leaning into it. “Of- of course we’ll win, didn’t I say that? I’m just built different. And- and I’ll be carrying all of you to victory! Obviously.”

“Obviously,” Angel cooed, sounding much like he was consoling and agreeing with a child, and Tommy easily fell into their usual squabbling as they waited for the round to finish.

-

Tommy found that rushing through the next course was easier than rushing through the first. The premise was similar, with parkour and right and wrong ways to go, but the differences was that it was in a forest. That meant the entire course was canopied by a thick blanket of leaves, trees lined the sides of the trail, and it was partially obscured by low hanging branches and vines and the deep shadows caused by them.

The main obstacle this time around seemed to be the terrain itself. The entire thing was built around the uneven ground, broken up by roots and rocks and steep uphill climbs that were near impossible because of dirt so loose that it easily caked onto anything it touched.

Blade and Siren had little trouble with this terrain, both of them clearly relying heavily on their instincts to dodge roots and rocks that might trip them up. Watching them move across the course with ease reminded him of how rough and hard-to-travel the terrain in then Nether was. It was no wonder that they had little issues here, even if they were more used to the flat, traightfoward landscape of the city.

Angel, however…

Well. Angel was struggling.

He fell behind quite a few of the contestants, Tommy included, and a glance back showed exactly why. Where he and the piglin twins were used to running on this kind of uneven landscape, Angel wasn’t. He couldn’t use his wings to give him any kind of boosts or extra balance either as the trees closed in on them too much for it to do anything but hinder him more, especially as other contestants tried shoving past him.

Tommy would have stopped to try and help him, but there was nothing he could realistically do. When he did initially try and fall back, Angel had waved him off. He’d been told to keep going, to at least get a good place when he couldn’t, and so he did.

Or, well, he would’ve… If it wasn’t for the fact that, when crossing a small stream about twenty blocks away from the end, he was shoved. He could see the end, he could see Siren and Blade waiting there for him to join them, but because of the shove he slipped and fell right into the muddy bank of the stream. This made his already caked-with-mud pants get even more muddy, and when he looked up he locked eyes with probably the one other person he recognized without Nametags.

Jack Manifold. That bald bastard!

“Bitch!”

Laughter could vaguely be heard through his earpiece, and he just caught the man’s mouth moving to words he couldn’t hear yet understood anyway.

“Sorry, kid,” he apologized, but based on the cackle he heard and the wide grin on his face as he continued running he very clearly didn’t mean it.

And, listen. Tommy would’ve just let it go. He would’ve just given the man a shove in return and then called it a day, running to the finish line to meet with Siren and Blade. But then Manifold called him a kid and- well. He wouldn’t stand for this kind of slander.

“I’m not a kid!” He yelled after him, standing up and briefly brushing off his jeans before running after him. He shoved him and grinned ferally when it caused him to stumble and trip. 

Manifold made a noise of surprise when he went down before he scrambled up and around, giving him a return shove. “You look like a kid-”

“Oh, fuck you, Manifold-!”

Did either of them care that they were mere blocks from the finish line? No. This was a battle for honour and neither of them would back down until the other was defeated.

Unfortunately, their battle for honour was interrupted before either of them could win. Angel had finally made it to the end and out of the forest but he paused at the sight that greeted him. He was clearly shocked, a laugh forcing its way out of him.

Tommy had Manifold on the ground, one hand gripping his shirt and twisting while the other was pulled back in a fist and very clearly about to hit him - again, considering he already had a mark on his face from the first hit - while Manifold was shoving at Tommy’s face with one hand while the other was gripping his wrist to try and make him let go of his shirt.

In the background, Siren and Blade were cheering him on.

“Mate, what the fuck are you two doing?”

Both of them froze, staring up at the hero with wide eyes, before Manifold took the chance to punch him again. He yelped and fall back with a groan, leaving him stunned just long enough for him to run off with a muffled laugh and a middle finger being thrown in their vague direction.

“I’ll get you, Manifold! And it’ll look like an accident!” He cried dramatically when he snapped out of it. He stood up and rubbed at his bruised cheek with a whine. It didn’t hurt, not really, and the injuries were superficial at worst, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t pout about them.

Angel shook his head, grinning despite his clear exasperation, and gave him a nudge in the direction of the button. “Alright, you little shit. We can still get one of those team bonuses if we hurry up.”

Tommy snickered, unable to help but be amused by the situation, and jogged the last few blocks with him.

In the end, Angel was right. They managed to get one of the team bonuses, with their team finishing third, but that didn’t mean he didn’t complain and pout about him interrupting his and Manifold’s fight. It was only fair that if anyone got to beat him up, then it would be him! He deserved it, to make up for what happened the first time they met. Mentioning the first time they met was exactly what he needed to make them understand, as Angel barked out a laugh of understanding and Siren and Blade joined in.

They all recalled the first interaction he had with Manifold, even if Blade hadn’t been there himself, and Tommy spent the rest of the round detailing and elaborate and ridiculous plan on how he’d definitely get him back. Siren had nudged him and told him to wait for Battle Box or something if he wanted to beat on him.

By the end of it, Tommy had geraniums growing from his ribs and spreading with each laugh he got from his teammates.

-

They were given a little break after that round. 

Their spectators were suspended for now, and they were given time to go clean up and get changed out of their muddy clothes and into something more appropriate for the next match. As much as Tommy liked mud, he had to admit that he appreciated the opportunity to get cleaned and changed. Especially when he heard that the next course would be mostly underwater.

It definitely explained the lighter outfits they were given, as well as the opportunity to change their masks to something better suited to an underwater environment.

He hadn’t changed his, declining when he’d been offered because his mask worked perfectly find underwater, but Phil had opted to change his to a more conservative one with lenses to help him see underwater. He wouldn’t be able to wear his veil comfortably underwater so it made sense why he had switched his out. Techno and Willis seemed fine without changing theirs, though. They just added something just inside their masks. When he asked about them, they explained that they were lenses to block the water from their eyes and turn their masks into make-shift goggles.

He had remarked that Willis would definitely need those, since he wouldn’t be able to stay above the water long enough to see clearly without them. Willis had given him a shove and told him to go change. He had laughed, more geranium growing around his shoulders, and then did as told.

The first thing he did when in the changing room was take off his hoodie and shirt, then begin to pluck the flowers that had grown on him during and between the first two rounds. There were so many that it was like he had a bush growing off of him! It was a good thing that his hoodie had been loose so that they could all fit.

When he left the changing room, he was wearing a new pair of swim shorts and a purple tank top with his team’s mascot on it. He wasn’t looking up, too busy with the mass of flowers in his hand and not expecting the others to be finished yet, and so he went straight to the trash to throw them away. Right as he turned around to do so, though, he paused.

A sharp inhale sounded behind him and he spun around only to come face to face with Willis. Because neither of them wore their masks at the moment, they made direct eye contact and it left Willis' face exposed so that he could see the shock and horror on it.

Shit.

“Wil,” he began, eyes wide and arms still holding some evidence of his being, but stopped when Willis stepped closer to him. 

“Tommy, what the Hell happened?”

“...What?” He asked, dumbfounded. He didn’t even blink at his flowers, and only then did he realize he hadn’t even been looking at them. Of course he wasn’t. Willis had ignored his flowers multiple times before, even outright staring at them or brushing them off without a comment, so it wasn’t surprising that he wouldn’t care now.

But that did leave him even more confused. If he wasn’t looking at the flowers then what was he looking at-?

Oh.

Tommy followed his gaze down to his shoulders and he blinked. Scars traced over them, curling like vines down his bicep and stopping just before his elbows. He knew that the scars also carved lines all around his chest and back, curling around his ribs and digging into the area just above his heart. He usually just forgot they were there - not even Tubbo or Ranboo knew they were there - but that didn’t mean he forgot where they came from.

After all, while the scar across his face was the most noticeable example of him accidentally scarring his body by pulling out too many flowers at once, digging out the root system that had grown for centuries beneath his skin, it wasn’t the only one.

He had been covered in flowers and roots and vines when he woke up less than a year ago. A lot of them had centered around his face, yes, but that wasn’t the only place they usually grew. They often grew around his chest and lungs and shoulders, too. And when he was grieving or crying, oftentimes they were bursting from his heart. The scars on his body were a map to all the places he usually grew flowers.

“Who did this to you?” 

“No one did this to me,” Tommy said, but it didn’t look like Willis believed him. He didn’t blame him for not believing him, he probably wouldn’t believe Tubbo or Ranboo if he saw scars like this on them, but it was the truth. It was no one's fault but his own that these scars were here.

Even if they spiralled over his shoulders and around his biceps and out from his chest like vines, reminiscent of Willis' and Techno’s scars from the Wither, actually, they were his own fault. They were his body’s way of dealing with his emotional turmoil without tearing apart the world - it was because of these scars and the flowers he’d grown all around him at his home that he hadn’t caused anything more disastrous than some flooding because of all the rain he’d cried.

He sighed and frowned at Willis at his clear disbelief. “I’m serious, Wil, no one did this to me. It’s fine.”

“Tom-”

Before Willis could say anything, Tommy could hear Phil and Techno on their way to them from their changing rooms and he tensed. He quickly deposited the rest of his flowers into the trash and then spun around with a grin, as fake as the scars that caused their faces to drop into similar looks of horror.

“Are you two ready to go? Me and Willis have been waiting ages,” he complained like he always did, as if nothing was wrong - and nothing was.

“Mate-” Phil tried, but Tommy wasn’t having it. He was fine.

“The faster we get out there the faster I can watch Willis suck ass at swimming and then laugh at him for it, so chop chop!” He clapped his hands and could see the three heroes exchange looks before Willis subtly flicked one of his ears in what he knew to be a dismissal. The other two dropped it.

For now, he knew they were thinking, but what they thought didn’t matter. He wasn’t going to give them a chance to ask him about it later, either. How would he even explain his scars to them? He barely remembered them on a day to day basis, he didn’t have any kind of cover up for why they were there! No one had seemed to care about the scar on his face, how was he supposed to know they would care about the ones on his shoulders?

As the four of them put their masks on and left their assigned changing area, Tommy forced himself to ignore the stares he got from the other contestants. Even as they were ushered onto a boat to take them to the course, he paid them no mind. (Even if they made him feel strangely exposed. He just hoped that once the round was over and he could change back they all forgot about them.)

-

“Oh, fuck me,” Siren whined from next to him once he saw the course. Angel joined in, crooning mournfully and ruffling his wings in a show of irritation. Tommy felt bad for them, but not bad enough that he didn’t laugh at their dread.

Willis can’t swim, Tommy remembered, and he knew just how hard it was to swim when your wings got soaked when they weren’t meant for water. 

“Looks like me and the Blade are gonna be carrying this round, boys!” He announced, which earned him a smack in the back of the head from Siren. “Angel! Siren hit me!” He immediately complained and turned to the older hero.

“Of course you run straight to Angel-” Siren whined, only to be cut off as Angel sighed in disappointment. Tommy perked up, taking that as Angel being on his side, but then he saw him shake his head with a grin.

“I don’t know what you think I’m gonna do to stop him, you little shit. You’re lucky he got to you first.”

As Tommy gasped in offense, Siren grinned widely and cheered. “Ha! See? Dadza agrees with me-”

“Only because he can’t swim either,” Blade cut in, a lazy grin on his own face. He was unaffected by Angel’s offended squawk.

Tommy immediately perked up and barked out a laugh, going to Blade’s side and standing on his tippy toes to awkwardly rest his elbow on his shoulder. “See? You might have Dadza on your side but I have The Blade.”

Siren’s ears lowered, playfully threatening, and though Tommy couldn’t see his eyes he just knew he was squinting at them. “You may have Blade but I-”

“Still can’t swim?” A feminine voice drawled before he could finish his comeback. Tommy got to see how Siren turned bright pink before sputtering and spinning around.

Behind him stood a rather muscular woman. She had mostly red hair with a few white streaks in it, freckles all across her cheeks, and green eyes. She was a merling, Tommy noted, and with a growing sense of excitement he realized that this must be the ‘Sally’ he’d been hearing about but hadn’t been able to see before now. 

“Sally!” Siren announced, confirming Tommy’s suspicions. His voice cracked when he did and the woman - Sally, he knew for sure - snickered, covering her mouth and flapping her fins in amusement. This caused the piglin-hybrid to turn an even darker pink and shrink down on himself.

“Hello, Siren. Do you think you’ll be fine on your own this year?” There was a teasing lilt to her voice, hinting at something happening last year where he wasn’t fine, and Tommy’s interest was piqued.

He couldn’t help but step forward, even if Siren jolted when he noticed him moving and tried to hold him back, and just beamed at her. “What happened last year?”

Sally blinked down at him before chuckling softly. “Theseus, right?”

“That’s me. You’re Sally, yeah? Wi- Siren talks about you all the time-”

“Okay! That’s enough-!” Siren tried to shove him back but Tommy fought back this time, shoving at him in return and laughing until Angel pulled them apart.

“Boys!” He scolded. “Don’t start fighting before the match, come on-” 

He might be scolding him but Tommy could tell it was for the laughs. He could see the amusement in his eyes and it made him want to laugh and join in, pretending to complain, but didn’t get the chance as the sound around them suddenly cut and he could hear the countdown start.

Oh! They were starting. 

Tommy stopped struggling and looked out at the water, just barely catching Sally moving closer to Siren and mouth something he didn’t quite catch to him before slinking off to her team. Seeing as they were now as alone as they would be, with a lot of the idle sound from the other teams now cut out and only the countdown and their own voices prevailing, he found himself asking about the course. “Do we just swim across to the ladder?” He asked. It didn’t seem so hard if that was all they had to do.

Blade snorted. “Siren an’ Angel wish that was all we ‘ad to do. There’s a path under the water that we need to follow. You gotta go through all the hoops otherwise your run won’t count. They got cameras down there an’ people watchin’ yer view to make sure you do it.”

Ah, yeah, that made more sense.

“But you’re allowed to come to the surface, right?”

“Yes,” Angel patted him on the shoulder and Tommy smiled a bit, mentally reminding himself to not grow any flowers. “You can come up, but you need to make sure you hit all the hoops underneath or you need to go all the way back, so it’s best to stay underwater as long as you can. It’s okay if you can’t hold your breath long enough to finish though, don’t push yourself, mate.” His voice softened, reassuring him, and Blade chuffed in agreement.

Tommy appreciated the reassurance. He would be fine holding his breath long enough to find whatever hoops were underwater, but it was nice to know they wouldn’t have blamed him if he hadn’t been able to.

He smiled.

“Thanks, Angel. Thanks, Blade. I’ll keep that in mind.”

He was patted on the shoulder one more time before the countdown finished, being given encouraging smiles by both of them, and seconds later the round started with a bang.

Tommy dove into the water without hesitation. It seemed like most people preferred to stay back as the first group of participants got into the water, likely waiting so that they wouldn’t land on someone or get hit, and so the god had plenty of time to swim further down and adjust to being under. 

It took a second for his vision to clear but once it did he found himself able to see fairly well, even without the night vision he would usually prefer while under. He could see coral and sand and kelp all along the bottom of the ocean, complete with all kinds of fish and creatures moving around. He didn’t have time to sight see, though, as he saw the first hoop that Blade had been talking about maybe twenty blocks ahead of him. 

With that in mind, the reminder of more people joining him in the water, and the merlings already getting ahead in the distance, Tommy dove further down and then propelled himself through the first hoop, able to pass by with no issue in just a few seconds.

He beamed proudly, letting out a stream of bubbles, and then kicked off the hoop to swim to the surface. Even if he didn’t need to go up to breathe, he knew he was being watched and it had to seem like he did. It seemed like he was in the lead when it came to non-aquatic participants anyway, and even if he planned to keep that lead for the entire round he could afford breaks to pretend to breathe.

Tommy broke the surface and gasped, rubbing at his eyes for a moment and glancing back to see the others. Siren was at the top as well, panting and seeming to struggle a bit while a few others seemed to be readying themselves to dive back under. He didn’t see Angel or Blade though, so he assumed they were already down below.

“I got past the first hoop,” he spoke into his comm.

Siren was the only one who responded, “already?” 

Tommy chuckled a bit to himself and began idly swimming further out so that he wasn’t just staying still and wasting time. “Yeah. The next ones should be in a straight line forward, right?”

“Ye- yeah, yeah, pretty much.”

“Pog! I will see you guys at the finish line.”

“Heh- good luck, Thes,” Siren said, half sarcastic with a partially trembling voice. 

Piglin-hybrids weren’t exactly known for their ability to acclimate to the cold, Tommy remembered, so he couldn’t blame him for being a bit out of it. His body was probably a little shocked by the change. No wonder he wasn’t the greatest swimmer.

“You too, King,” he shot back. He didn’t tease him this time. He just dove right back beneath the waves.

The second and then third rings were just as easy to get through, though he did notice they seemed to be getting a bit smaller. He made small stops to the surface after each one, gasping and panting like he needed to, and it was looking good for him when he suddenly tumbled mid dive.

Tommy had sped up so suddenly, gliding through the water, that it had caught him off guard enough that he ended up tilting forward and lightly colliding with some rocks. He yelped because of the collision and let out a flurry of bubbles before closing his mouth. He looked around in surprise and confusion, half wondering if someone had caught up to him and pushed him, before he lit up in surprise and delight when he saw a handful of dolphins swimming around him.

They were the same ones he’d seen the boat on the way to the main island, he was sure, and he couldn’t help but laugh soundlessly, letting out more bubbles, as he realized what had happened.

Dolphin’s Grace. 

Why didn’t he think of that?

He pushed off the rocks and grinned at the dolphins as they clicked and whistled, following him as he began to swim again. He couldn’t help but be a bit clumsier thanks to the increase in speed, not used to it like he once was in the past, but that didn’t stop him from making it through the fourth ring with a new type of ease.

His movements got smoother as he got used to it once more, moving with the water around him as it was a part of himself like all things were, and soon he broke the surface again with a soft gasp. He laughed breathlessly, able to feel the dolphins happily swimming around his feet below, and he grinned so widely he was sure it would’ve hurt if he was human.

“I’m- I’m almost to the end,” he announced into his comm, turning on his back to just float for a second as he caught his breath.

“Already?” It was Angel who answered him this time, sounding even more out of breath than Siren did. Not that that was too surprising, considering how heavy his wings had to be, even under the water.

“Yeah! I- uh, I see the platform with the buttons like, fifty bl- uh, a hundred and… fifty? Feet? Away? Or fifty yards. I’m about fifty yards from the end, yup!” He corrected himself.

Angel huffed with what must be a great deal of effort. “At least one of us will finish in the top ten, then.”

A warm feeling filled him, contrasting to the cool water all around him, as Angel said that so proudly. He was sure there were at least a few red carnations that sprouted in his hair because of his words.

“Fuck yeah, I will! I told you, I’d lead us to victory, gentlemen!” He crowed before finally tilting his head back and kicking enough that he was once more submerged, taking a deep breath just for show before doing so and closing his eyes until the bubbles disappeared from his vision.

Once they did, he was a bit surprised to find that all the dolphins were still there. Usually they swam off if someone stopped for long enough but they seemed keen to stay by his side. He couldn’t say he wasn’t happy about it, though. He glided right down to the next hoop and found that they once more seemed to be getting smaller, making him have to grab onto it to give himself a small boost through the hole to make the glide smooth, and he grinned. He didn’t even have to go up for air this time, having more than enough time to get to the final hoop and swim through with the dolphins at his tail.

One of them let him grab its fin, swimming close enough and just under him to let him do so, and he couldn’t help but squint happily as it pulled him along. 

No matter how old he got, sometimes it was just fun to swim with dolphins.

By the time he got to the ladder to climb onto the ending platform he knew he was a fair bit ahead of the others. The last person he saw in front of him was someone with a shark-like tail, so he assumed that was a merling. This, hopefully, meant that he was still in the lead for everyone besides the merlings.

With that in mind, Tommy broke the surface with a gasp and gripped onto the ladder, leaning on it for a moment and laughing as one of the dolphins nudged at his chest before he gave it a small shove. “Alright- alright, thanks for- thanks for the ride, boys!” He crowed cheerfully before beginning to climb up. 

As he did, he figured an announcement was in order. “I am climbing the ladder, team,” he let the heroes know as he got to the top. He blinked at the sun glaring down at him despite the grey sky and took a deep breath. “And I’m at the top- I’ll be finished soon!”

“Already?” Siren asked, shocked. “How the hell did you swim fifty yards in- in under a minute?”

Tommy snickered at the disbelief and figured that, since he was the only one replying, he was the only one above the water. As he jogged forward to the shaky, fabric bridge up ahead that he’d have to cross before doing some parkour to get to the very end, he replied. “The dolphins helped me.”

There was silence besides a choking noise for a moment before he heard a cough. “You- you got help from dolphins to get to the end?”

Once more laughing at the disbelief, Tommy ducked below one of the swinging poles that were meant to knock him off the bridge and answered. “Yeah! One of ‘em let me hold onto them and they helped me to the ladder.”

“What the fuck.”

He wheezed, and ducked beneath the second one only to lose his grip on the bridge and slip. 

“Fuck-!” He caught himself, thankfully, and didn’t fall all the way into the water, but Siren still made a small sound of worry.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah- yup! Yes! I- I’m fine! I just slipped. I caught myself though, because I’m just that good.”

He pushed himself up slowly, making sure to stay low to avoid the pole, before finally crawling to the end of the bridge. He breathed out in relief and stood up straight. He stretched out his limbs with a small whine and took a second to shake off some of the water covering him so that he could get some better traction here. It wouldn’t do to fall when all he had to do was jump to the end where he could see only a handful of people - Sally being one of them - standing by the buttons. When the redhead spotted him across the way she looked surprised before grinning and waving at him.

He cheerfully waved back. 

“I’m almost there, just gimme a second-” He grunted as he made the first jump after running and jumping. Despite looking straight forward now that he’d made it past the hoops in the water and the swinging poles, the jumps were four blocks. No wonder these were the last obstacle.

He took a deep breath, arms out to the side to keep his balance, before stepping back to the edge of the small platform he stood on and rushing forward. He made the jump. He also made the third, and the fourth onto the final landing that had all the buttons set out in a neat line. 

With a wide grin, he rushed at the purple button and slammed his hand down onto it.

“I did it!” He shrieked, arms flying up into the air and above his head in excitement. Had he had his wings, they would have flared and flapped from how excited he was. He got whistles and cheers from the few others who had finished already, loud enough to be heard even with his earplugs in, and his cheeks turned red with both pride and embarrassment. A red carnation bloomed behind his ear despite this and he couldn’t help but laugh and duck his head. 

It was nice, being celebrated by people he saw under the illusion of being Admins.

“Good- good job, mate,” Angel’s voice came through, breathless as always, and Blade’s soon followed.

“Good on you, runt, ‘m almost through the final hoop so ‘ll meet ya there soon. Siren, are you finishin’ this time ‘round?”

There was some muffled talking on the other end before a sigh sounded. “No, ‘m getting a pick up to the end. I’ll see ya soon, Thes.”

-

Siren wasn’t lying, he did see him soon. He was dropped off in a boat with a handful of the workers, all wrapped in a towel to warm up and dry off from the cold water. He was allowed to press the button once he was there, but there weren’t any fireworks for his trouble. There was only a small ding that signified he’d ended his run. He had forfeited the round.

Tommy would’ve teased him about it but he seemed genuinely down about not being able to complete the round. He kept his mouth shut, and just offered some conversation as a distraction while they waited for the other two. Blade joined them next, then Angel a little while later. He was the only one to finish in the top ten, finishing eighth that round, and they didn’t get any of the team bonuses, but that was okay. 

He’d had a lot of fun and, as they went to get changed once more and ride back to the main island, he excitedly recounted his interaction with the dolphins to his teammates.

The others had been disbelieving but amazed by it, having no choice but to believe him when a recap of some of the greatest plays of the last round played while waiting for the final round to start up. There was the scene of him tumbling at first before coming face to face with the dolphins. After that, it clipped to him holding onto the dolphin’s fin as it dragged him along before he climbed the ladder.

They laughed and congratulated him, then, and when Tommy snuck a look at his phone he felt happy butterflies in his stomach as Tubbo and Ranboo had blown him up while watching.

They had been commentating on practically everything, from cheering him on to calling him shit when he got tripped up by Manifold in the second round. It was hilarious to see them freak out over him being helped by the dolphins, with Tubbo calling him a ‘Disney Princess’ for it - whatever that meant - and he just managed to send back a cheeky comment about being ‘built different’ before he had to put his phone away.

Setting his phone down, Tommy missed the sudden flurry of texts he got. They were full of confusion and worry about his scars after the replay of him with the dolphins played from the outside point of view of a camera. He heard the vibrations of course, but he figured he’d just check it later.

Besides, Willis was calling him to hurry up.

-

Tommy stood at the starting line for the final time today. Everyone seemed fairly tired but they were sticking it out like champs. He was still full of energy, though he knew that was just because of the ichor in his vein. Had he been mortal, he’d likely be pretty tired right now too. The swim had been a lot for the others besides the merlings.

They were on a cliff side, now. Though the course clearly started on a relatively flat area, up ahead the trail slowly led up and up and up. He could almost see the finish line from here, it was clear this wasn’t a long course, but it would be hard. Even for him. It started simple, with a rope bridge that they’d have to cross, but he could very clearly see it sway slightly in the breeze, indicating that it wasn’t very stable. It would probably be hell to cross with so many people on it. Past that, he could see that there were some thin ladders that led up to a platform.

He couldn’t see what was after that, but he knew from Angel that there was more past it when he asked. That, and there had to be because if there wasn’t then the course would be too short. No way would it take more than fifteen minutes to get across if that was all it would be, even with setbacks, and that just wouldn’t be entertaining to watch.

Even if the games are different from the 100 Player ones he would play with his Admins, he knew what the main goal of this was: Entertainment. Not for the Gods this time, but for the Players, and he understood that. 

Tommy couldn’t help but wish he had blocks with him, then he could use them to help him bridge across and catch himself if he fell. Or at least he wished he had his wings…

But he didn’t.

The only thing that would catch them if they fell were nets. They lined the bottom of the entire course and there were ladders to climb back up if any of them did fall. Even then, he knew it would be embarrassing if he fell.

Angel must have noticed that he looked a little contemplative and nudged him with one of his wings. “You alright, mate? You’re lookin’ a little pale.”

“What?” He blinked out of his thoughts and looked up at him. With him wearing his veil now, he couldn’t really see his face like he could before and a part of him was relieved that he couldn’t see his expression. Prime and XD know that he’d have that stupid dad look on his face.

“If you’re scared of heights you can forfeit the round, Theseus. There’s no shame in it.” His voice was soft and it made Tommy’s cheeks heat up. He was definitely making that stupid face.

“I’m- I’m not scared of heights!” He wasn’t! He created the heights, thank you very much, and he could fly, and glide, and- and he wouldn’t be hurt even if he did fall. So no, he wasn’t scared of heights.

He was just… a bit hesitant.

He’d never just let himself fall while knowing that he’d have no backup plan. He wouldn’t be able to summon his wings, he wouldn’t be able to use an Elytra or catch himself with Creative flight, nor could he use a water bucket. He would just have to trust that the nets they’d set out will hold him.

Tommy could vaguely see Angel’s expression change beneath his veil, his ears - feathered, he’d recently noticed now that he could see him as others did - lowering as he let out a coo. 

“Theseus, it’s nothing to be ashamed about if you are. If you don’t want to forfeit though there are nets that will catch you if you fall. Trust me, I’ve fallen into them once and they won’t let you drop,” he said reassuringly, setting a hand on his back.

Tommy rolled his shoulders out of habit when he felt him brush against his shoulder blade and grumbled, stepping away from the physical comfort. “I’m fine, Ph- Angel, I’m not scared of heights!” He squinted at him and watched as he raised his hands in surrender.

“Alright,” he said soothingly. Despite snapping at him, Angel still looked at him with that soft expression, the one that made him feel all warm inside and Lady’s Mantle grow from his wrist to twine around his hand. “But if you did fall, I can catch you if you want.”

And that-...

That would help, actually.

He and Prime used to do that before. One would jump without their wings and the other would be expected to catch them without hesitation. Neither of them ever failed. 

Tommy stared up at Angel as zinnias suddenly decided it was the perfect time to sprout from his back, tracing his shoulder blades and his spine in the shape of wings he didn’t have at the moment, before swallowing and glancing away. “...Yeah, yeah that- that’d be nice,” he admitted. “It’d probably help.”

Angel chuckled and ruffled his wings. “Just tell me if you think you’re starting to slip or fall then, I’ll come get you.”

He grumbled and waved him off. “I will, I will.”

It was embarrassing to need to be coddled like this, but he was so like Prime that he couldn’t help but give in. 

As the countdown started and they all got ready, he found himself hanging back rather than at the front like he had with the other rounds. The path this time was narrower, and he had no doubt that people would be pushing and shoving to make people fall. His thought process was that if he hung back a bit to let most of them go before him and fall into the net below, then he’d have an easier time without fighting.

A few others seemed to have the same idea and he glanced at him. He made eye contact with someone in yellow, with blond hair and purple eyes and a butterfly-like mask. Looking at him, he could see that he had fractured pieces of shulker shells embedded into his skin. If he had to hazard a guess, he was probably a shulker-hybrid.

Right then he knew they had made an unsaid deal. He didn’t push him and he wouldn’t be pushed in return.

Tommy subtly nodded his head at him, getting a nod in return, and then the countdown finished with a final bang for the day as the final round began.

He was right in his assumption that it would basically be a stampede in the beginning, making him step side to side idly until it looked like the bridge had cleared out enough to squeeze his way through. Only then did he begin following after them, dodging the occasional punch from some of the slower members who were still struggling on the bridge.

He didn’t blame them for struggling, it swayed with each step he took, not to mention the other people on it didn’t exactly help keep it steady, but it was annoying that they blocked his way. He had to force his way past a couple people, pushing them into the side of the bridge but thankfully - for them - not making them fall all the way off. He just laughed at the muffled yells he heard from them as he continued. 

“You doin’ good, Thes?” Siren asked, sounding a bit amused after hearing his cackles.

“Yup, just-” he yelped and stumbled when the entire bridge suddenly gave a jerk to one side, then the other, swaying, and he would have fallen if it wasn’t for a hand grabbing the hood of his sweater. He choked and looked back to see who had caught him, half expecting to see Blade of Siren or even Angel, since he’d said he’d catch him if he fell, but it wasn’t any of them. 

Instead, it was the shulker-hybrid he’d seen just before the round started that had caught him.

He hauled him up with ease and shot him a look, mouthing something that looked suspiciously like ‘be careful, dumbass’, before running off the bridge and to the ladders.

Tommy was stunned for a moment before he huffed out a laugh. “Thanks!” He called, even if the other wouldn’t be able to hear him, and then got moving again.

“Theseus?”

Ah, right. He’d kind of just gone quiet on him when he tripped.

As he began climbing up the ladders after the others, kicking at someone when they tried to grab his ankle, he answered. “I’m good, I’m good! I’m- I’m at the ladders now.”

Angel’s voice broke through. “That’s good, mate. After that there’s a rock wall, do you think you’ll be okay crossing it?”

Tommy had a feeling that a ‘rock wall’ was not the kind that he was used to, but surely it wouldn’t be too hard. “I think so?” He answered, wincing at how clueless he sounded.

He managed to climb to the top and stood up on the platform. Up ahead, he could see the buttons all spread out. The course seemed so short, but he had a feeling it was meant to be after how exhausting all the other rounds were. No doubt at this point most heroes and villains and vigilantes would be running out of stamina, at least partially. 

The only thing that stood between him and the finish was a rock wall. There were no platforms to jump on, there weren’t any bridges he had to balance across, but there were colourful hand grips on the cliff side. He could already see the yellow that had helped him was climbing across, and he wasted no time in joining him.

He moved over to the rock wall and took a deep breath, wiped his hands on his pants, before he sidestepped and reached out, grabbing the closest one that he could. He hesitated, glancing down at the net below him, before tightening his grip and deciding that it would be fine. He pushed himself off the ledge and managed to catch himself on some of the footholds beneath him.

“Okay, uh- this- this isn’t exactly as easy as I- uh, as I thought it would be,” he admitted with a shaky laugh. He was uncomfortably pressed against the wall as he started to shimmy across. A glance back showed that there were already some people behind him, though they seemed just as wary to follow him onto the wall as he had been with yellow once they noticed the lack of flooring. At least they wouldn’t be pushing him off.

“Do you want me to come back? I haven’t pressed the button yet.”

“We’re all at the end.”

“Already?” He asked. He hadn’t really noticed when he’d been struggling on the bridge but of course they were already ahead. A look across the wall and to the buttons showed that they were, in fact, at the button. While Blade and Siren stood next to it, Angel was just a few feet away. Of course they made it across here easily, it was just another reminder of their Nether heritage.

His hands were shaking a bit, Tommy noticed, and he mentally cursed himself for struggling this much. He was tempted to ask for Angel’s help, he was, but then he saw the yellow that had helped him moving ahead with practiced ease and his nerves steeled.

“I’ll be fine, Angel! I’m a big man, I don’t need any help,” he insisted. He forced himself to go further onto the rock wall, ignoring the steadily increasing difficulty in finding hand and foot holds that would allow him to move on.

Angel sighed in his earpiece, but none of them protested. He was glad. He’d be fine!

Tommy was focusing so hard that he didn’t even notice he was nearing the end until movement out of the corner of his eyes caught his attention and he turned just in time to see the yellow swinging his body forward to try and make a jump to another pair of hand holds.

He slipped.

He jolted on habit, almost losing his own grip and falling, but it was unnecessary as the pieces of his shell in his skin expanded out around him and suddenly his fall slowed, then reversed. He could see particles surrounding him almost immediately after they expanded, blue-green in colour and similar to that of the levitation one got when hit by a shulker bullet. 

The levitation lasted just long enough for him to grab onto the edge of the cliff and drag himself up slightly before it dropped him. The shell compressed back into his skin as he stopped floating and the particles disappeared. He just hung there for a moment before managing to pull himself up onto flat ground. He was huffing and puffing, hands shaking similarly to Tommy’s, but after a few seconds he said something and forced himself up and towards his button.

Tommy watched the yellow hit his team’s button and then practically collapse with a groan. He couldn’t help but chuckle a bit at the guy's clear relief to be done with this.

It was only when he looked away that he realized he was near the same jump that he’d failed at. Ah. It was less funny now that he was in the guy’s place.

“Shit,” he muttered. He hesitates and swallowed back the rhododendron petals that tried to bloom in his throat. They made his chest feel tight from the size of the flowers and he did his best to ignore them as he swung his body just like he’d seen the yellow.

He just barely managed to grasp the hand holds with one hand to catch himself. He wheezed lightly as he slammed into the wall and one of the other holds dug into his chest. He just barely resisted the urge to let go because of the jolt of discomfort and he found he couldn’t blame the yellow for having slipped when this is likely what happened to him, too. 

Tommy tightened his grip on the hand hold and managed to scramble up enough to hook his foot on one, too. He took a deep breath and glanced over, able to see his teammates cheering him on, with Angel standing nearby. He was clearly waiting to see if he needed to catch him. He waved his hand at him briefly before immediately gripping the wall again, almost falling because of it. “I’m- I’m good, Angel. I can do it,” he insisted.

Angel didn’t look convinced, clearly worried about him, and he huffed. 

“I’m good, I’m good, just go press the button.”

He was clearly still hesitating but after his insistence he huffed. “Fine. Don’t fall, Thes, the boys will never let you live it down.” 

Tommy barked out a laugh and inched to the right after he saw Angel making his way towards the button to finally finish. “Oh, neither will my roommates.” He knew they were watching him, they made it clear that they were, and he wouldn’t doubt that if he came this far during the round only to fall then they’d spam him with a ton of ‘L’s and ‘get fucked’s.

With that motivating him, he pushed on the rest of the way across the rock wall. He almost fell, his foot missing one of the final holds, but he managed and after a few moments he was finally standing on flat ground. He cheered, laughing and shaking off his hands, and rushed towards the button as his teammates reminded him about the timer.

“I told you I could make it!” He bragged, slamming his hand down on the button and then huffing as Siren pulled him under his arm, nearly making him fall. His hands were still shaking a bit from the effort of holding onto the wall, and he knew he was still feeling the effects of adrenaline from climbing over someplace when he knew he’d have nothing to catch him if he fell, and so he just let Siren do what he wanted.

“You did, you did,” Angel conceded with a laugh. “Sit down, it’s you gotta be exhausted, mate.”

And- and that wasn’t true, not really, his body’s reaction to this was all fake, he could stop it at any moment, but the lighthearted, caring way Angel suggested it had him giving in without protest.

Tommy sat, huffing and leaning back against the wall, as his team joined him. It seemed they were one of, if not the, first full team to finish. That didn’t exactly surprise him, though. The rock wall had been pretty hard, and he wouldn’t be surprised if most people ended up falling and having to rush back to the start. Not to mention the bridge was probably still a war zone at this point in time.

As he was looking at the rock wall from here, watching as the next handful of people tried to cross it, he was startled by a hand suddenly being set on his head. He looked up and saw Blade looking at him with a lazy grin.

“Good job, runt.”

And usually he’d complain about being called ‘runt’, he’d whine and pout and yell, but this time it made his cheeks heat up and red carnations blossom in his chest and behind his ear.

So, he just huffed and begrudgingly leaned into the hand.

“Thanks, Blade.”

-

The Purple Pandas are officially in second place.

Willis could barely believe it, even as he looked at the numbers on the screen. He knew that their team wouldn’t be in last - he, Phil and Techno were always a solid team on their own - but he hadn’t thought they’d do good enough to be in second. Tommy had really pulled his weight, more than any of them thought he would, and it really boosted them.

Sure, it was only the first out of eight games before Dodgebolt, but even then Tommy had done good. He’d gotten in the top ten for three out of the four rounds, and helped them get top four in all but the third one. It was no fault of his own that they didn’t get that team bonus, though. No, it was his and Phil’s fault. The only time he didn’t get in the top ten was when he had purposefully stopped before the end to fight Manifold, and even then he was right there, he could have definitely done it if he tried.

The insane thing was that he didn’t try and he still kept up with them so well.

Icarus or not, human or not, powers or not - Tommy keeping up with them and even beating them, in some cases, was insane.  

Even if he was Icarus like he was so sure he was but hadn’t yet confirmed, he would still be a relatively new vigilante. He’d have been on the field for less than a year, with even less training than all of them, and so the fact that he had done so well was extremely impressive. He couldn’t help but be proud of him. (Like an older brother might be, not that he’d tell Tommy that to his face. He had been so angry the last time he brought up them being brothers, he didn’t want to face that type of anger - the one that made his chest feel tight and his instincts stand on edge, looking for a danger he wouldn’t be able to stop - again.)

His ear flicked and he looked away from the TV as Phil spoke up, causing him to turn his attention to the others. All of them currently sat on Phil’s bed - despite the old man’s halfhearted protests - while they ate dinner and waited for the decision dome to open to choose the next game for tomorrow.

“Honestly, Toms, you did really fucking good today,” he praised, and Willis couldn’t help but agree. Even Techno chuffed his agreement.

Tommy flushed and ducked his head with a grin. Willis pointedly ignored the red flowers he could see bloom behind his ear at this angle. It didn’t look like a petunia, he knew what those looked like and would be able to recognize them immediately at this point, so he didn’t know what it meant, but it did remind him of all the flowers he’d seen him disposing of earlier when they were changing for round three. (It also reminded him of the scars he’d seen all over his shoulders and back and arms.) He’d never seen a flower power as strong as Tommy’s, with so many different possibilities and meanings. It made him wonder just how many different types of flowers he could grow and if it tired him to grow so many.

He so badly wanted to ask about his flower powers, about what all he could do with them, if they took energy to grow off of his body as most of the time it seemed like they grew exclusively from his skin, but he couldn’t. He and Tommy had an unspoken agreement to not mention the flowers out loud. He could acknowledge them, look at them, hold them, but he could not talk about them out loud. He couldn’t ask about them. He understood that, even if he didn’t like it.

Maybe, if Icarus and his team agreed to the training at the hero tower then he’d be able to ask… but until then, he knew the flowers were a forbidden topic.

“Of- of course I did!” He sputtered, fighting down his grin unsuccessfully. “What did I say in the beginning, huh? I said that I’d carry you to victory and look, we’re already in second!” 

Willis laughed and leaned against Tommy, ignoring his groans of complaint as he was forced to hold up his weight. “It’s only the first game, Toms,” he reminded, “you gonna carry us through all of them ?”

Tommy squinted to glare at him. Usually he wouldn’t care, he knew Tommy didn’t mean the glare until his eyes flashed or a different type of red flower bloomed on him, but ever since this morning, when the sky had turned grey, that had changed. He couldn’t tell if he meant his glares anymore, if he was genuinely upset with him or just playing up his anger like he often did. It was impossible when his eyes stayed the same lifeless, grey colour all day.

He hated it. He missed Tommy’s blue eyes, even if they unsettled him sometimes, but he wasn’t sure he was allowed to mention it. It felt like another forbidden topic. Tommy hadn’t mentioned it, and neither had Phil or Techno aside from a brief comment in passing, so he kept his mouth shut. Maybe it was just a side effect of using his power that he’d never noticed before, or maybe it was something else entirely. It was none of his business.

(He was worried it was something worse, not that he’d admit it out loud.)

“I will! I’m gonna kick ass in all the games, got it? I’ve already stolen Sally because I can actually swim, imagine how many girls I’ll get when I kick everyone else’s asses-” He barked out a laugh when he shoved him on the bed.

“Oh, you little shit-”

“Boys!” Phil yelped, his wings flaring behind him as the bed shook thanks to their roughhousing. He had lifted up his plate from the bed and was holding it above his head with a bemused grin, clearly trying not to spill it. “C’mon, how do you even still have the energy to fight?”

“Phil’s got a point there,” Techno joined in, unaffected by the fighting as he continued eating his rice in peace. “Wil, yer usually outta energy after a six hour patrol, an’ those aren’t even that draining. How are you still going after today?”

Willis pouted at this slander. “Techno, c’mon, I’m not that bad, a six hour patrol is nothing-”

“You complain literally every time you have to do one.”

“Okay, no, that’s- that’s not true-!”

Tommy wheezed from next to him, sitting up and grinning cheekily at him. “I dunno, Wil. I’ll come into work sometimes and you’ll be laying on the couch, going all ‘Oh, woe is me, I had to fight a single bad guy last night-’”

“I don’t sound like that!”

“Yes you do! You’re always ‘Oh, Sally, please date me because I am so lonely and-’”

”Oh, that’s it-”

He tackled Tommy against the bed and they both laughed as they began squabbling. Phil tried to protest, but it didn’t really do anything to stop them. All they did was get off the bed so that he and Techno could eat in peace - ‘peace’ - while he and Tommy fought on the floor.

(In the back of his mind, he reminded himself to be careful. He’d seen the bruises Tommy had gotten during the game and he didn’t want to injure him anymore than he already was… even if said bruises seemed to be missing now. Maybe he’d gotten healed on the way back to the dorms.)

-

Eventually, though, they did have to stop fighting so that they could actually finish eating before they had to go to the Dome.

Tommy had hurried through the rest of his meal like a starving man - and this caused Willis to wonder if his flowers sapped his energy, or maybe took nutrients from his body to bloom. He knew a lot of physical powers like that had downsides or conditions and it made him wonder if Tommy’s was one of those - and once he finished, he immediately told them that he was going to call his friends. 

Now, this wasn’t him asking for permission, even if it seemed like it if you were watching from an outside perspective. Tommy didn’t ask for permission. He was more of a ‘ask for forgiveness, not permission’ person, as seen earlier that day when he had run off before they got their spectators. At least he let them know he’d be going before just disappearing this time around.

Phil shook his head fondly once he was gone, his wings ruffling in a painfully familiar way that had Willis chuckling. He’d seen how Phil acted around Tommy, especially recently - how he’d pat him on the shoulders or brush his hair out of his face or worry over him. He acted like Tommy was his son, even if Tommy didn’t seem to realize it yet.

That was partially why Willis had calmed down in his obsession towards him, despite having sufficient proof now that Tommy could be Icarus. The other part of why he had calmed down was just that he couldn’t bring himself to confirm it, not anymore. After Doomsday, it felt like something had changed. Maybe he saw something that day that had changed his mind - flashes of red and gold and blue covered his vision as they stood over him - or maybe it was because he got to see a more genuine side to Tommy more often now- he didn’t know what it was, but it didn’t matter. Something changed between him and Tommy, or maybe even between all three of them and Tommy, and this something kept him from confirming his long-held suspicions.

Even when he tried to hold onto his hatred and suspicions, he found it harder and harder to do so with each casual interaction he and Tommy had. Each time they talked or interacted without the human teasing him meanly or holding his suspicions over his head had him calming down more and more. He never really was that bad to begin with. After he stopped looking at him in the worst light, blinded by his frustration at not being listened to and only seeing him as a murderer with a god complex, it became easier to see that he wasn’t as bad as his mind had made him seem. Especially since the more time he spent around Tommy, the more time he spent watching Icarus out on patrol with his partners, the more it became clear to him that he was just a kid doing his best.

He couldn’t see the vigilante killing someone without a good reason and protecting his friends - brothers, Tommy called them, though there was that smallest chance that Icarus didn’t see his partners the same way - was what he’d consider to be good enough. (He couldn’t judge him when he’d be so happy to learn that Schlatt had died after what he had forced Techno to do. He couldn’t judge Icarus when Techno had been willing to let the entire city burn just so that his life would be spared.)

Both Icarus and Tommy were funny. They were loud, too, and protective of their friends, but neither of them seemed malicious. Even if they both seemed to have a temper, it seemed like it was all for show. (Most of the time. It seemed all for show, most of the time. Willis still remembered that time on the roof, and he still remembered the pure anger in Tommy’s eyes just before boarding the boat.)

It was easy to see them as innocents - or as innocent as they could be in this case - now that he was no longer watching them through red-tinted glasses.

With a sigh, Willis leaned against his dad. He was happy to have one of his wings drape over his shoulders like a big blanket and he smiled. “I know that look, Phil,” he mused.

Phil side eyed him. “I don’t know what you mean.”

Techno snorted next to them at the same time as Willis rolled his eyes. “I’m sure you don’t. All I’m sayin’ is that if you’re going to try and adopt him then it won’t be as easy as it was with me an’ Tech.”

His twin scooted closer on Phil’s other side and the Elytrian spread one of his wings for him. He didn’t lean into it like Willis was, though. Instead, he began to carefully run his hand through his feathers. Ah, right, yeah, they should probably take this time to preen him before they had to go back on live television. He twisted where he was sitting and began to copy Techno, smiling to himself when Phil slumped with a chirp.

“He doesn’t have parents, Wil, and he likes us! How hard can it be?” He protested halfheartedly. They all knew he was only half-joking when he said that. If he could, he would adopt Tommy in a heartbeat. They all knew that, and yet Willis was sure it wasn’t as easy as Phil was thinking it would be.

“He might not have parents but he has two brothers,” he corrected. “He’s not going to give in easily, trust me.” 

“He didn't have any family in his file?”

“No, but his roommates- Tubbo and Ranboo, I think. He calls them his brothers and he doesn’t really seem like he’s looking for any other family.” He admitted that part a bit dejectedly, lightly tossing one of the feathers he’d removed from his wings to the side. “At least wait until MCC is finished to bring it up, okay?”

Phil frowned, but nodded in agreement anyway. “I won’t bring it up until he’s ready. But you have to admit that it would be nice! He’d fit right in with you two, it feels like he already does! Even if he doesn’t have a power, he could easily become a trainee and work his way up to being an actual hero like us with how well he’s doing.” 

Willis held his tongue, and he glanced at Techno to see him doing the same. It slipped his mind sometimes that Tommy was actually good at hiding his powers from people he didn’t want to know. It made him wonder why Tommy had been so open when it came to showing him as opposed to Phil when he had been the most hostile and suspicious of him.

Shaking that thought off, he just continued running his hand through Phil’s wing, straightening his feathers and making sure to get all the dirt and sand that had gotten stuck in them from the courses. It was always a process to keep his wings clean during MCC.

“All I’m saying is be prepared for some push back.”

“But not from you guys?” Phil asked, a knowing smile on his face.

Both he and Techno paused and he shared a glance with his twin before looking away with a huff. His ears twitched and behind him his tail flicked but he knew he couldn’t deny it. He already saw Tommy as his brother half the time. Even if Tommy had seemed so against it and it had hurt, it didn’t change the fact that he’d been really warming up to him.

“...But not from us,” he agreed, answering for both of them. Techno didn’t protest. “Tommy can be a little shit, but he’s a good kid, I think. Just go slow, okay?”

Phil smiled at them and chuckled, flapping his wings slightly before stilling as his kids scolded him. “Sorry, sorry. I’ll go slow. I really think he’d fit in with us, though. It feels like he’s been here forever already, you know?”

And yeah, Willis did know.

Tommy felt like he belonged, like he’d always been there, like he was welcoming home a long-gone friend from ages ago whenever he was around.

He didn’t think it was a bad feeling, not anymore, but it was one he’d noticed for a long time. He recognized Tommy. Maybe not actively, maybe it wasn’t even him recognizing him but something inside him, but he knew him, and now that he wasn’t looking at him through anger and suspicion he couldn’t help but think that he had missed him.

-

Tommy only met up with his heroes at the dome after his conversation with Tubbo and Ranboo. They hadn’t really talked about anything important, not really, but he had vaguely had to explain where his scars had come from after they had freaked out on him. Besides that, though, they just talked about the games so far. They praised him for moves he’d made during the rounds, while making fun of him for others, and Tommy got to ask Tubbo a few more questions about the future games they would play now that they knew what were available.

By the time he left the VC, there was a pep in his step and some yellow roses and zinnias growing in his heart and around his brothers’ wrists.

“What game are you guys thinking next?” He asked his teammates, peeking at what was available. To Get To The Other Side’s portion of the middle was darkened, marking it as completed already, but that still left all the other games to be chosen from. He was leaning mostly towards Ace race or Hole in the Wall, since he heard from Tubbo and Ranboo that they were probably closest to what he’d experienced with To Get To The Other Side. He was hoping to suggest those if they didn’t have something specific that they wanted to play. 

By the end of the tournament, most of the games would be played anyway so he wasn’t opposed to doing whatever they thought was best first.

“I was thinking Sands of Time,” Techno admitted. “We have a decent lead and S.O.T. is a hard game when you first play it. If we can knock it out early, it can’t be used against us to get a lead later on.”

Tommy admitted that that was a fair plan. Tubbo had told him a bit about Sands of Time and he hadn’t been able to really grasp what was going on in it based off of his descriptions alone. He hoped it would be explained better if they did end up playing it.

Phil, though, seemed against that idea. He groaned and flapped his wings as much as he could in clear irritation. “I hate Sands of Time, I’d rather we just don’t play it at all.”

“Why?” Tommy raised a brow. He wondered if there was a story there, but he was shut down by Phil’s disgruntled huff.

“I’m allowed to fly in it.”

Tommy was not seeing the issue here. “And… that’s a bad thing because…?”

Phil snorted humorlessly. “Because the entire arena is made of underground tunnels that are too small for me to spread my wings in. It’s the only game I’m allowed to fly in throughout the entire tournament.”

Yeesh, that was sadistic. He winced in sympathy at first, but the more he thought about it the less he could hold back the snicker of amusement he let out. It was sadistic, but it was the exact kind of thing he, Prime and XD would do to Players who could fly.

“We can pick a different game if you don’t want to play it. Not all of them will be played, right? Maybe we can just avoid it altogether. I was thinking we could do Ace Race or Hole in the Wa-”

Just as he was suggesting replacement games for Sands of Time, the ground suddenly fell beneath them and they plummeted into the water tank below with shrieks of surprise.

He was submerged for only a few moments before he swam to the surface with a small gasp, wiping the water from his eyes. “What- what the hell?” He hissed. He looked up to see Noxite on the announcement screen, holding a card with their team’s name on it, a cheeky little ‘-from Aqua’ signed next to it, and a little salmon drawing.

None of them had been paying attention to the announcements as none of them thought they’d be dunked, completely focused on figuring out what game would be best, but maybe they should have guessed that first would want to block them from voting for whatever game might help them get up there in coins.

When he looked over to see Aqua team, he saw Sally grinning at them with her too-sharp teeth. She sent a wink in their direction and Tommy had a feeling that it was definitely aimed at Willis, who was suitably miserable as he clung onto Techno to stay afloat. He had a feeling he knew which Aqua member had submitted the dunk.

With a breathy laugh, Tommy leaned against the side of the tank and grinned at Willis. “Looks like your girlfriend betrayed you, Wil,” he mused. He got splashed for his teasing and he laughed.

With their team floating in water and their votes now forfeit, they could only watch as all the other teams settled down from their laughter and cast their votes. He couldn’t see which game had the most votes from this angle, but after they were all tallied, Noxite was happy to announce it on the big screen.

“The next game will be Battle Box!”

Chapter Text

After drying off from their dunking once at the dorms, Tommy got ready for bed and then just waited. He waited for Willis and Phil and Techno to fall asleep, or at least doze, and then he joined the VC with Tubbo and Ranboo once more. 

The three didn’t really say much that night, but they didn’t need to. Tommy simply curled his flowers and his presence around his brothers to help them sleep - they both seemed a little bothered, unable to sleep because something was plaguing their minds whenever they seemed to close their eyes. It was odd, he thought, because they had this same trouble just last night, too - before he was finally alone to ruminate with his thoughts from the day. He laid awake that night and thought.

He thought about the conversation he’d had with his brothers before the Dome.

It had started off how he had expected it to - with them talking about how he’d done in the games. He had preened as they praised him for how well he’d done in the games, and he had pouted when they brought up how he’d struggled on the rock wall - with Tubbo explicitly bragging how he wouldn’t have struggled with it, which had Ranboo shooting back that he was a goat so of course he wouldn’t have struggled. The chirp of pain that came from the Enderian made it very obvious what Tubbo thought of that comment - and all in all he enjoyed getting to talk about the games with his friends.

They had gushed about them. About how cool it was, about how they were jealous, about how much fun he seemed to be having. He had been more than happy to indulge and linger on that topic - despite the hellebores that threatened to bloom in his lungs as he thought about his real feelings on how the games were going so far. He was having fun, yes, but he wasn’t a fan of having to look at everyone like they were More than they were. He didn’t want to make them think that he wasn’t having fun - but eventually they moved onto other things.

One of those such things was the topic of his scars. He had hoped that because they were watching his point of view that they wouldn’t really see them, but apparently the highlight reels had shown him from an outside perspective during one of the breaks. Gods dammit.

It hadn’t been fun to discuss that with them, to explain that the scars on his body were the same as the one on his face. To explain, even vaguely, that he got the scars from before he’d met Tubbo for the first time and that it just happened when he pulled out a few too many flowers at once. He cringed when Tubbo said they’d talk about it more when he got home but was thankfully let off with only a handful of death threats besides that.

Tommy had laughed both of their concerns off, even telling Tubbo that he could kill him if it would make him feel better  - although he wasn’t sure that Tubbo understood that he meant that - before they moved on.

It was then that he was informed about two things. The sky, for one, was grey. Apparently it looked like that for everyone, and it wasn’t supposed to. He had honestly just assumed that the sky was always that dull for humans, but apparently it wasn’t supposed to be. And he… couldn’t really fix it, not without doing some major change to some Code that he wouldn’t want to change back later. The other thing they mentioned, though, was something he could fix.

His eyes were also grey. They weren’t meant to be, but they had been following the same Code that made the sky blue. It was an easier fix than the sky, though. All he had to do was change the colour of his skin. This wasn’t something Players could do anymore as far as he knew - although he could’ve sworn that Tubbo had mentioned his step-dad being able to shapeshift and it made him wonder if that was how the ability had translated into the more modern, magic-deficient world - but it was still so easy for him, even out of practice as he was.

He’d gone with something close to Tubbo’s eyes in colour, seeing as that was the first colour he thought of when it came to the colour blue, and that was that. 

Tommy looked at himself, then, as the world refocused and his skin refreshed. He stared into his eyes from an outside perspective and had to let out a slow breath to remind himself that he was still Everything.

Even when he looked at his flesh and saw no flowers growing from it, even when he looked into his eyes and saw no remnants of the sky, even when he looked at himself and couldn’t find the line where the world around him - so drab and dull - began and he - He - started.

Even when he looked like nothing more than any other human, when he looked so similar to the last time he Played a Game like this.

(Even when he remembered the last Game ending with two less almost-gods in the world.)

He was still Everything.

Tommy blinked and was suddenly back in his body, with the familiar feeling of zinnias growing from his wrists and heart. He took a deep breath, focusing heavily on the way the entire world inhaled with him, before slowly letting it out in a sigh. He turned on his side and finally closed his eyes for the night to get some sleep. The phantom feeling of laying with his brothers, tucked between them even when he physically wasn’t there, was a reminder of why he was dealing with all of this in the first place.

This championship was temporary and if this was the worst he had to go through during it then he’d be fine.

-

Willis couldn’t stop glancing at Tommy. He didn’t outright stare at him but he could see that Tommy kept looking at him out of the corner of his eyes in confusion anyway. He clearly noticed his looks, even when he tried to be sneaky about it. He didn’t question how he knew.

He just couldn’t help it. There wasn’t anything that stuck out to him, nothing was obviously different from when he’d gone to sleep last night, and even still his mind screamed that something was off.

The teen acted like nothing was wrong. They bantered, fighting over who gets to use the bathroom to get changed first before Techno ended up just going in there while they argued, and he droned on and on in complaint until Phil agreed to pick up his breakfast for him so that he wouldn’t have to leave the room.

Even once they got back and began to eat, he couldn’t help but stare at him.

“Isn’t that cannibalism?” Tommy asked suddenly, breaking the semi-quiet, calm atmosphere of their morning. He was scrunching up his nose as he stared at Phil and the question caused both him and Techno to let out identical snorts, all while Phil choked on the scrambled eggs he’d just put in his mouth.

“What?” The Elytrian asked, incredulous and amused all at once, once he stopped choking.

Tommy didn’t even flinch, and Willis had to admire his sheer confidence in the bit, even when they all looked at him with varying degrees of confusion and amusement. “Isn’t that cannibalism? You’re a bird, so you shouldn’t eat eggs.”

Phil laughed in disbelief, wings fluffed up with offense. Willis could see it was all in jest though. “I- I am not a bird, I’m an Elytrian. And that’s like saying Tech and Wil shouldn’t be eating bacon just because they’re piglin-hybrids.” He motioned to them and Willis snorted again, purposefully biting into a piece of his bacon right as Tommy looked at them.

The human narrowed his eyes at them, seemingly thinking, before sighing and clicking his tongue in disappointment while shaking his head. “No, no, that’s not the same thing. Piglins eat hoglins all the time,” he said casually before looking down at his food, shoving a piece of toast into his mouth. With his mouth now full, he continued, “but bird people shouldn’t eat birds. Or eggs. It’s just that simple.”

Ordinarily he would have cringed at his messy way of eating - it was like he didn’t know how to take breaks or savour anything - but he paused at the mention of hoglins.

“What the fuck is a hoglin?” Willis asked. Unsurprisingly, he was ignored while the two blonds continued their argument.

“What the fuck? How’s it fair that they can eat bacon but I can’t eat eggs?” He complained, humouring Tommy’s bit.

Tommy sniffed haughtily. “Life’s not fair, Phil. Sorry.”

Willis laughed as Phil shoved him, shaking his wings out in amusement and calling him a ‘little shit’, but he couldn’t help but watch as Tommy laughed with them. He had lilies of the valley and another pink flower that he didn’t recognize growing in his hair as he did, that flower likely having a meaning similar to ‘laughter’ or ‘amusement’, although that was only a guess based off of circumstance. Either way, Tommy was acting normal, laughing and growing flowers and joking around with them. And yet…

It was only when Tommy turned his attention to him, grinning widely with bright yet dull eyes, that he finally realized what had been bugging him all morning.

His eyes had changed again. 

Now that he’d noticed the change, he didn’t know how he didn’t realize it in the last hour. Where yesterday they had been like those of a corpse, dull and without any colour or shine to them as they stared him down, now they actually had some life to them. They shined in the light, yes, and they weren’t that flat, dead grey that he’d been - unfortunately - getting used to over the day, but they didn’t flash with amusement like he remembered Tommy’s eyes doing before. There was no glow of happiness and they didn’t darken with anger nor dull with a silent threat.

They looked human and something in the back of Willis' mind knew that that was wrong.

He knew at this point that Tommy couldn’t be a full human. Either he was a hybrid of some kind, or maybe he was something else (He had wings, red and white and gold and feathery, and the sky in place of His eyes), but nothing he could think of could excuse and explain away these continuous changes. Especially because it had never happened before now.

They looked normal - normal for Tommy at least - up until they got their spectators. Then, with the sky, they became grey. Now they were blue again, but they were human. Painfully human, even, to the point that they looked fake on him. Like they weren’t his eyes. He didn’t like it and it was honestly worrying him a little bit.

Tommy noticed his staring - because of course he did, he always seemed to - and furrowed his brows, scrunching up his nose. “What are you staring at, Wilbitch?”

Willis blinked and then forced a huff, reaching out and ruffling Tommy’s hair, even as he leaned back and tried to push at his hand. “Nothing, gremlin child.”

“Then stop bein’ fuckin’- fuckin’ weird, yeah? It’s not very pogchamp to keep staring at me. It’s wrong’un behaviour, actually. I thought you were supposed to be a hero, huh? What happened to that?”

He rolled his eyes and flicked his ear. The corners of his mouth quirked up when he saw Tommy squint challengingly at him before biting at the air, baring his nonexistent tusks in a mock of how they’d first met at the tower. He couldn’t help but laugh at the display. “You’re too energetic for this early in the morning. You’re gonna burn out before the game even starts.”

“Maybe you’re just not energetic enough, have you thought of that?”

Techno snorted next to him before he could reply. “No, no. He has a point, you’re definitely too energetic.”

“Seconded,” Phil agreed cheekily.

Willis grinned triumphantly as Tommy pouted at them. He could very clearly see him fighting a smile, though.

“Bastards, the lot of you.”

“You love us,” Willis cooed back without thought or hesitation. It was only when Tommy paused and looked at him in surprise that he realized he might have crossed a line. He was about to backtrack, to take it back and laugh it off like a joke, but then Tommy was laughing softly as well. He didn’t seem mad, but he just couldn’t be sure anymore. His eyes didn’t flash, they didn’t change like he’d grown used to, and no petunias grew in response to his words. 

He had no idea what Tommy was thinking.

Tommy seemed oblivious to his unease and just rolled his eyes before he went back to eating. “You wish,” was all the teen said to him.

And Willis wasn’t sure if those words were meant to stab at him the way they did. He didn’t know if it was just a returned joke he was taking the wrong way, or if they were meant to be taken as spiteful, to stab at his heart and remind him of their conversation on the boat. He couldn’t be sure and so all he could do was force himself to laugh with him.

If he didn’t, then he wasn’t sure he’d be able to convince himself that Tommy wasn’t just laughing at him.

-

With the game of the day about to start and rules about to be read out, Tommy lingered inside the waiting room provided for his team. He was already dressed up in his provided outfit, spectators lingering over his shoulder - more than yesterday - and in his newly-recoloured eyes, and was just looking at the different options given to them.

“So, I get to pick from any of these?” The god asked just to be sure, a little disappointed as he stared at the weapons hanging on the wall. They all looked to be of dubious quality, and he wasn’t sure how any of them would really help in a real battle.

It’s not that they looked ready to break apart if he used them, although that probably was a worry now that he thought about it, but more that they didn’t look like they’d do much damage if he were to get hit by them. Sure, he’d been told that however much damage they could do didn't actually matter, that the vests they’d been given to wear would count however consecutive hits they’d be taking and so damage wasn’t a real factor here, but still. These options did not spark joy in his mind.

There were four different choices available to add on to the basic kit everyone had been given: a wooden axe, a crossbow, a quiver of extra arrows, and a pair of boots that were supposed to give you an extra hit before you were out.

The axe would have been nice, if damage mattered, and the crossbow would have been nice as well but since he was already given a bow it didn’t matter all that much. The extra arrows could be neat, too, same with the boots… The kits looked balanced, not giving anyone too much of an advantage over another unless someone really knew what they were doing, but that just left him stumped on what to choose without a clear deciding factor to make one option stand out over the others. He was leaning towards the arrows or the boots…

“You should take the boots,” a voice suddenly spoke up from behind him while an arm was rested on his shoulder.

He jumped and turned then glared at Willis for spooking him like that, swatting at him and only getting a laugh in return.

“And why should I do that?”

He’d been considering getting the boots, but now that Willis said he should he didn’t think he wanted to anymore. 

Willis snorted and just stood next to him instead of leaning on him. Behind him, he could see Techno grabbing the axe. “Because you’re new and you don’t have as much practice as we do. An extra hit’ll do you good.”

Tommy couldn’t help but scoff in offense, glaring at him. “First of all, fuck you-”

“Oh, come on,” Willis laughed, “I bodied you when we were sparing and there are some people better than me here-” 

Tommy very pointedly ignored him and continued on like he hadn’t said a thing. “And, second of all, just for that? I’m taking the arrows.” 

And he did, grabbing the quiver of arrows provided and briefly counted them just to make sure they were all there. Combining these arrows with the ones he was originally given, he now had sixteen. That really wasn’t a lot, at least not compared to what he was used to, and the arrows themselves weren’t anything special at all. They had rubber tips instead of flint! He’d just have to make due with what he was given. These, plus his sword, at least gave him a bit of security, though not much.

His sword really wasn’t anything to be scared of. It wasn’t made of stone, but rather some kind of dull, lightweight metal. He couldn’t help but grimace as he held it, balancing it briefly on his hand and staring at it judgmentally. It certainly wasn’t made of iron or gold, despite being made of metal, and he hated it. The weight reminded him more of a wooden sword a Player might give to their child to toy with rather than an actual weapon. He knew they weren’t actually aiming to hurt anyone in this tournament, but he couldn’t help but feel vulnerable if this was all he was going to be given to defend himself in a fight.

He was a great fighter, mind you - one of the best, even! - but the sword would definitely throw off his swings if he wasn’t careful. He half wished that he’d grabbed the axe before Techno had.

“Why would you take the arrows? Do you even know how to use a bow?” Willis snarked, looking bemused at his actions as they left him with the boots. Ha. Idiot. Imagine needing an extra hit to stay alive in the tournament, couldn’t be him.

Tommy snorted at his own thoughts and grinned at the other. “I’ll have you know I’m the best with a bow, actually. Invented them myself, even.” He could see Willis' doubtful expression, even with his mask on, and he snickered to himself before tossing his sword again and catching it. His amusement fell to a grimace, though, as he was reminded of the weight. His nose scrunched up in distaste. “Is there any way I could switch out my sword?”

“What’s wrong with your sword, mate?” 

He looked at Phil when he spoke, seeing him holding a similar sword, as well as the crossbow. Looks like Willis really was left with the boots.

“I don’t like the way it feels. It’s too light, and the balance isn’t what I’m used to,” he answered honestly.

“What you’re ‘used to-’?”

Tommy very pointedly ignored Willis and the implication that he was used to a different kind of sword. He’d learned already that swords weren’t really a thing outside of certain hero or villain circles, with the very rare vigilante showing up with one. He learned that this was because people just didn’t craft things anymore, and ‘blacksmiths’ weren’t as common. Excuses, he had told Tubbo and Ranboo. He’d only gotten an eye roll from them.

“It just feels wrong.”

Techno grunted and briefly shuffled in place before moving closer to him. “You want the axe then? I’ll take the arrows.”

He briefly considered that offer, tilting his head and eyeing the wooden axe in his hands, before sighing. While he used the wooden axe as his vigilante persona, he would rather use an unbalanced sword than use it for the close quarter combat he knew this would be. “No, I’ll stick with the arrows,” he said, playfully dramatic as he accepted this reality. He wasn’t really upset, it was just sucky that there were no other options for weapons or swords.

“I’ll take the axe-?”

“No.”

“Gods damn it.” 

Willis grumbled as he sat on the floor to begin pulling on the boots, having to switch out his original boots for these ones.

“For free?” Tommy asked without thought, making Phil snort and Willis pause before turning his deadpan stare at him.

“I’ll kill you,” he threatened, and Tommy grinned like a particularly mischievous cat.

“Gods have tried to take me down and have failed, what makes you think you’ll succeed?” 

“Alright, that’s it-”

Willis moved to stand up, seemingly not caring that his boots weren’t even tied, and Tommy laughed as he quickly moved backwards. He went to hide behind Phil, as he often did when Willis tried to strangle him, but before anything could happen the announcements overhead started. This made Willis startle and freeze, which then made him trip over his shoe laces, which then made him faceplant right onto the floorboards below. 

Tommy wheezed, as did Phil and Techno, and as the piglin-hybrid sat up and glared at the god he grumbled.

“I know where you sleep, motherfucker.”

Tommy wheezed again and leaned against Phil to keep himself up, feeling almost lightheaded from how hard he laughed. “Bold- bold of you to assume I do sleep,” he giggled.

“I hate you.”

“Lying to yourself won’t make it true, Siren.”

“I’ll kill you.”

Tommy rolled his eyes in amusement, pink hyacinths popping up in his hair while his grin widened. If this was the kind of banter that continued for the entirety of the games, then he was looking forward to it. The death threats reminded him of his siblings, both old and new. “You already tried that and everyone watching us saw you fail.”

“He’s right. L.”

“I am not against killing my twin.” Willis' attention was stolen by Techno and Tommy was completely ready to see how this panned out, with none of them actually listening to the announcements going on in the background. He was sure he’d figure it out once the games started anyway.

“Everyone here knows that’s not a fight you’ll win.”

“Oh yeah?”

He could see the moment regret hit the younger twin at Willis' tone of voice.

“Siren-” Techno began, warning, but Willis wasn’t scared.

“Kill yours-”

“Siren!”

Phil interrupted him just as Tommy barked out a surprised laugh.

“What!? I’m joking, I’m joking- OW! Motherfucker!” He hissed, rubbing the back of his head and glaring at the Elytrian after he smacked him on the back of his head.

“Boys!”

Uh oh.

Tommy had been laughing, but hearing Phil’s tone had him cringing back a little. It seemed that they had pissed him off, just a tiny bit.

“Siren, do not use your powers on your brother. Theseus, Blade, stop antagonizing him. Please. At least wait until after Battle Box.”

With Willis still rubbing at the back of his head, he managed to mumble something that was probably an apology or agreement. Both he and Techno quickly followed suit and Phil sighed heavily, shaking his head.

“Prime and XD, give me strength,” he could hear the Elytrian mumble under his breath, and he laughed breathily to himself.

It was times like this, where they just bantered and laughed and roughhoused, that Tommy found himself enjoying this the most. Even though he didn’t like the fact that he had to see them like Admins, he could admit that it made it easier for him to forget and just enjoy these times, as if he was still in the past. 

The hurt was deep but the relief - however fleeting - was the perfect bandage.

(If only bandages were what he actually needed to heal. Wounds needed time to breathe but Tommy was giving himself no air - not with how he tightened the bandages as a sort of crutch each time the pain made itself known, whether he really needed it or not. He was suffocating himself and he didn’t even know it yet.)

-

“-ands off when your vest flashes red!”

Tommy tuned into the announcements as the timer for the round began, signaling its starting soon and causing all of them to sober up from their laughter. He hadn’t been paying attention to the announcements, but hopefully they weren’t anything important. The rules themselves appeared to be being read out now, so he was ninety percent sure he didn’t miss anything. 

“Your vest will flash red if you take enough hits, signaling that you’re out. If you keep fighting after your round ends, you will be disqualified and any points gained from that round will be deducted and added to the opposite team.”

He raised a brow at that. It made him wonder who threw a hissy fit so bad after they were eliminated that they had to implement that as a concrete rule. 

“To win the game, you must change each tile in the center to your team’s colour. To do so, stand on the tile for ten seconds without stepping off. If you step or get knocked off, the timer will be reset. All of the tiles must be changed for a win, or your team must have the most tiles changed by the end of the round.”

He hummed in acknowledgement, eyeing the glass that kept them in their waiting room and out at the arena presented to them. A river went straight through the room, with a boat in front of the opening that led onto land on either side, as well as a bridge right across the center. He assumed the tiles they were talking about were up on the bridge, although he couldn’t be a hundred percent sure from here. The room itself didn’t seem all that big though, so he was pretty certain that was where they would be.

“Can more than one person stand on the tiles to change them? At the same time I mean.” He wondered aloud as he looked to Phil next to him. He even tugged on the man’s sleeve to make sure he knew he was talking to him.

Phil blinked down at him and chuckled at something, almost seeming fond, before he replied. “Yeah, mate. But standing on the same tile doesn’t do anything different.”

“Pog,” he acknowledged the answer but didn’t try to continue the conversation.

That was all he needed to know. (He didn’t like how fond the Elytrian sounded when he answered him.)

“No power usage allowed in the arena. You need to use your knowledge of physical combat and the weapons provided to you to strike your opponents four times to eliminate them from the game.”

Tommy once more glanced down at the sword in his hand and frowned to himself. It had been a while since he’d last used a sword… He hoped he wasn’t too rusty with it. Especially because he’d passed on the axe Techno had offered him and it was too late to change now.

After a moment, he steadied himself as the announcements continued overhead and the timer continued its countdown. He tightened his grip on his sword and brushed his free hand against his bow and let out a slow breath. He’d be fine. He knew how to block and strike with any sword like it was an extension of himself and he was the best with a bow. Time wouldn’t change that.

With the timer coming to an end, Tommy locked eyes with a member of the team across from them. He was only a little surprised to recognize the butterfly mask from the yellow that had helped him the day before but that surprise only lasted as long as it took for the other to notice his stare and grin cockily back at him.

An amaryllis bloomed from behind his ear and in his chest. Similarly, a confident grin grew on his face. He was ready to kick some ass.

-

The timer ended and the glass blocking them in was lifted to allow them entrance into the arena. The first round was against yellow team and he’d gotten a very short briefing on them, with a warning to stay away from the one with the gold chain around his neck, as well as the ‘slime-hybrid’, since he was unpredictable. Tommy had half a thought to make fun of them for being wary of a singular slime - and not even a big one! - but held it back. Only because they didn’t know that Slimecicle was a mob.

Either way, he hopped out with the twins, with Angel staying behind, to get into position. He nearly tripped into the river when he had to jump on the boat set in front of them on his way to cross onto the main land area but thankfully managed to avoid that fate, though not without getting splashed. As much as he loved swimming yesterday, he wasn’t looking forward to fighting when he was soaking wet.

For now, he followed behind Blade and Siren while Angel stayed back to cover them, taking fire with his crossbow while they got into position in the lower left side of the room. He was planning to stay near Blade to help him, but as the other team came over and the fight began, he found himself distracted by a flash of yellow in the corner of his vision. Up on the bridge, as they were rushed by a shark merling and the man with a gold chain around his neck - he had no idea where Slimecicle had gone, and he was kind of just hoping he stayed away from him, though not for the reasons he had been warned about before - Tommy came face to face with the same yellow that had previously helped him out in To Get To The Other Side.

He was standing in the center and already beginning to fill in the center. A glance at his teammates showed that they were too distracted by the other to notice. Shit.

Taking a deep breath, he snuck around Blade and the man with the gold chain, as well as where Siren was evading the merling, and rushed onto the bridge. The guy had already managed to change three of the tiles and was already working on a fourth before he ran up and tackled him off.

He heard a vague shout outside of his earpiece thanks to the action and he laughed, rolling with the guy for a few moments before managing to push the yellow off of him. He used the momentum of his roll to get into a standing position with little pause, holding his sword tight with one hand and grinning at the yellow once he got up as well. 

The guy looked at him with both amusement and annoyance as he got into a fighting position, defensive over his vest as opposed to Tommy’s aggression.

With the others busy, Tommy was left to fight him alone and he was determined not to lose. 

The god didn’t know his name - he’d never gotten the chance to ask after yesterday, and he felt a spike of irritation hit him when he realized that he’d already know it if he didn’t have to adhere to these stupid visual rules to act like a Player - but he did know that he was pretty good with a sword, especially considering most people didn’t even use swords anymore. He wasn’t amazing, but as the fight went on Tommy would say he had pretty average adventurer-level skills.

They had both charged at each other, their swords clashing between them as they met in the middle. Tommy had laughed, the sound forced out of him from mild excitement when they pushed apart only to meet again when the god parried the yellow’s strike, sliding underneath the arch their swords made - and mentally mourning the fact that there was no clash, no stakes, nothing that signalled that it was a fight to the death like he felt it should be - and then pirouetting in place to swing his sword around.

It sliced through the air and against the other's vest when the sudden release of tension between their blades caused the yellow to stumble forward a brief step. It wasn’t a lot, but it gave Tommy one hit to his vest and caused it to briefly flash red. For a small moment, Tommy was snapped back in time to when he last fought someone like this.

(“Come on, again!” He demanded after he picked up his diamond sword from the ground.

“You didn’t win any of the other times, Theseus. Why do you think you’ll win this time?”

Theseus pouted and just punched him in the shoulder, amused when he flashed red and groaned in annoyance. “I’m not going to get any better if you don’t train me. War’s coming soon, are you going to just leave me, your brother, to die? Huh?”

“Fine! Fine! But don’t complain when you lose,” the Elytrian finally gave in with a fond smile.

The god avian beamed and then crouched into position in preparation for the spar.

The mortal that he’d made ‘friends’ with all those years ago rolled his eyes, still pretending as if he was annoyed by his prodding, before getting into a much more practiced stance. He always did have a more solid, textbook way of fighting. It’s one of the things that made their spars all that more fun as it clashed with the wild, reckless way he swung his own blade. He could see the way his wings were ruffled, though. He knew he was nothing but fond amused.)

Tommy was forced back into the present by a jab at his chest, his own vest blinking red and reminding him where he was. Right. Fuck.

He clumsily parried the next slash and huffed out a breath, forcing those memories away. It had been a while since he’d last sparred with anyone, let alone since he could last see the person he was sparing with. He just needed time to get used to doing this again without remembering a man long-since dead. A spar was a spar, no matter how different it was, and he wouldn’t lose on purpose this time.

Tommy tried to shake off the remnants of the memory, dismissing the petals of its growth and letting them fall into the canal below, as he crouched down to lunge.

The other dodged, but he didn’t even blink. He moved with his own momentum, letting it carry him as he twisted midair to slash at his back while he was stunned. A third hit was quick to follow up as the guy spun around, stunned but clearly trying to keep up with his sudden movements. He seemed to be caught off guard by something, but Tommy didn’t want to pay close enough attention to notice anything else.

All he needed to know about this guy was that his team was yellow and that he had a butterfly-like mask. Anything else was irrelevant.

With that thought in mind, the rest of the fight seemed like it blurred as he and the other fought. They sliced and lunged and jabbed at each other, engaged in a not-so-deadly dance on the bridge in the center until it all came crashing down with one final jab to the chest. His defense had lowered and Tommy had gotten the final hit in. Maybe he was a little too harsh with it, as he could faintly hear the guy grunting in pain, but it didn’t matter.

What mattered was that the fight was over and the man was out. His chest heaved with breaths he didn’t need as he pulled away from the other to let him leave, watching as he made the walk of shame back to his team’s corner.

Despite not wanting to notice anything more about the other, he’d be a fool to not see the bright purple eyes that stared back at him, calculating and curious and confused all at once.

Tommy forced himself to turn away when he heard Siren call out a curse.

-

With the yellow he’d been dealing with gone, Tommy was free to turn back to his teammates.

He was quick to realize why Siren had cursed as leaning over the side of the bridge showed the hero was pinned to the ground by the merling - though he was now realizing that the guy wasn’t just a merling, but also a golem of some kind. The hybrid had just brought his axe down on his chest when Tommy looked over and he winced in sympathy as Siren’s vest flashed red. He was out.

Turning, he could see that Blade and Angel weren’t doing all that great either. They were holding their own and still in the game, fighting two versus two with Slimecicle and the other yellow he didn’t recognize, the one with grey eyes and a gold chain and that’s all he thought about him before he focused more on the fight, but that didn’t mean they were winning. Slimecicle was forcing most of their attention on him, dodging their attacks and bouncing around while occasionally feigning a jab to keep them on their toes, all while the other yellow drove them back into a corner.

He was about to dive in to help them - because he’d certainly do better against the slime than they were - when he heard Siren in his earpiece.

“Don’t even think about it.”

Tommy jolted and blinked, looking away from the fight to see Siren staring at him from their corner.

“What?”

“Just fill in the center, Theseus.” 

He furrowed his brows and opened his mouth to protest but didn’t get the chance.

“Jus’ fill it in,” Blade grunted. “We’re not winnin’ this fight. We don’t need the points, just fill it in. Angel ‘n’ I ‘ll keep them busy.” 

Tommy wanted to protest, because certainly three against two would be easy to beat, but then he saw the merling creeping over to join the battle and he winced.

“Fine.” 

He felt a little useless as he retreated back to the very center to start switching the tile colours. There were already four turned yellow, but thankfully it didn’t take more than a handful of seconds to override the colour and change it to purple. He was sure he could help them with the fight, he could probably even win! But he also didn’t want to be the reason they ended up losing this round. So, he listened. 

Even if he felt awkward crouching down on the tiles to avoid being seen by the others. 

By the time he was on the third tile, he could hear Angel get out. They had managed to get the merling out at the same time, but that still left two against one and Tommy could only hope that Blade could hold them back for long enough.

It seemed like he was doing just fine - he didn’t rely on his powers as much as Siren and Angel did when fighting, so he was actually pretty practiced in physical combat - and Tommy had hope for him as he moved onto the next tile. At this point he had completely removed Yellow from the tiles and it was just a matter of filling in the rest of them.

There were only three left when he heard Blade grunt in his ear piece.

“Hurry up over there, Thes,” he managed, sounding a bit winded and strained.

“I’m going as fast as I can!” He snapped back with no real heat. He wasn’t really mad, but c’mon! The tiles only changed after a certain amount of time, he couldn’t control it! 

Tommy hopped onto the seventh tile at the one under him flashed to the proper colour. “There are two left, just keep them distracted until then, okay?” He huffed into his comm as he finally looked over at the corner they had been in. 

Blade had been doing pretty good at holding them off, but Slimecicle kept managing to creep into his defenses. That man would not survive the Old World.

The god snickered at his own thoughts as he shifted onto the eighth tile, but those snickers died down when he saw the blond get a final hit in on his teammate's vest, causing him to pause before holding his hands up in surrender to show he was out. His vest blinked red.

Shit.

“Theseus, fill those last ones in quick.”

“What do you think I’m fuckin’ doing?” He called back, feeling a sense of urgency fill him as he realized that both of them would be coming to him now. Already he could see the yellows turning and starting to rush over. He felt panic fill him and he had to duck down to avoid an arrow aimed at his vest.

“C’mon, c’mon! You stupid fuckin’- tile!” He yelped as another arrow flew at him. He wasn’t able to dodge it this time and it hit his vest, causing it to briefly flash. Shit.

Thankfully, that was just when the eighth tile was finished and so he stepped onto the last one. He stared at the yellows, holding his sword at the ready, and let out a slow breath. He had this! Unlike with his teammate, he didn’t hesitate to dodge to the side just enough to avoid Slimecicle’s bounce. He didn’t struggle with it, either.

Seeing the mob coming down on him reminded him of all those times in the past where he’d fought similar mobs. Talking or not, it seemed the slime hadn’t improved his fighting all that much over the centuries. It took little more than a spin out to the side while making sure one of his feet still touched the tile to avoid him. 

After that, with the slime behind him and struggling with his momentum to turn back around, all that was left to be done was to block the other yellow’s swing. He did this with a huff, spinning right around at the sound of footsteps and catching his swing with his sword. The yellow briefly looked surprised at his swift action, but there was nothing he could do.

Not even a second later, the tile beneath him flashed purple and the first round was over.

-

When Tommy got back to the room to wait for the next round, he was almost immediately bombarded with praise and lighthearted teasing. The praise was for getting Purpled - he knew that Yellow’s name, fucking finally - out all on his own, and for successfully filling in the tiles at the very end before the rest of yellow team could get to him. The teasing was for the remarks he’d made about his sword before the round, which made him laugh.

“I wasn’t lying! It’s a bad sword if you’re actually gonna fight someone!” He defended himself, once more tucked under Willis' arm. One day he’d get payback on him for constantly doing that, but that day was not today. 

“If you’re gonna fight someone to the death, maybe,” Techno had snarked back. “You aren’t doing that, though, so there’s no reason t’ have a real sword.”

“Who says I’m not doing that?”

Techno paused and then looked him up and down briefly, his red eyes practically screaming condescension. He didn’t even need to say anything, just letting the silence speak for itself hurt enough. Ow.

Tommy pouted. “You- you are a bitch, Blade. You’re all bitches-”

“What did I do?” Willis whined from next to him but Tommy paid him no mind.

“-Except for Angel. He is not a bitch, because he is cool.”

Phil laughed at that and grinned at him from beneath his veil. “Thank you, Theseus.”

“However, I do have to dock some coolness points from you because you were kind of shit against the slime.” Tommy said pensively. He got a weird look from all of them at that and it was then that he remembered what he was supposed to be calling him. He corrected himself, “against Slimecicle, I mean. You were all kinda shit. You wouldn’t last a single night back in my day,” he remarked. Thankfully, none of them mentioned his slip up.

Phil snorted this time and looked at him with amusement. “‘Back in your day’?” He echoed. “You’re, like, nineteen, mate. ‘Back in your day’ you were a child and I was still an adult.”

“I’ve actually never been a child,” Tommy sniffed. “Ever. I was born fully grown and awesome, unlike you mere mortals who had to grow up.”

The Elytrian snorted again and sat down on one of the nearby benches with a small groan. He ruffled his wings before folding them behind him and started to reload his crossbow for the next round. “Oh, yes, of course. How could I forget? Mere mortals like us could never compare to you.” 

Tommy squinted at him as he sat down and leaned against Willis. “I get the feeling you’re mocking me but because I am so gracious I won’t punish you for it.” He sniffed haughtily and crossed his arms. “I think you should thank me!”

“Of course, of course, mate.” He drawled and shook his head with an almost fond roll of his eyes. “Oh gracious Prime, thank you so much for not punishing me.”

He faltered. 

His falter was noticeable to all of them and he was pretty sure Willis could feel the way some flowers burst from his spine and ribcage through his hoodie because of how he leaned against him. He consciously sat straighter to try and hide it, although he wasn’t sure it worked.

“Of- of course,” he said, voice a near whisper. When he realized this, he cleared his throat and forced himself to stand up and put on a grin. Despite the flowers that continued to grow - pink hyacinths, delphiniums, black dahlias - like awful parasites as a physical manifestation of the dread, almost betrayal, he felt at his words, he grinned. Playful or not, it was like ice water had been dunked over him. “Of course,” he forced himself to say again. His voice was more confident, even as roots dug so deep into his skin that they fractured his ribs. “Because I’m just so gracious, I won’t punish you.”

He wouldn’t.

He wouldn’t because he was just so gracious and he wouldn’t say a word, nor would he openly react. Because he was their oh so gracious god, even when they called Him the wrong name.

Tommy didn’t know what made Willis suddenly step in - maybe it was the way he spoke, through nearly gritted teeth, or maybe it was the flowers he’d most definitely felt before he moved - but he was grateful for the interruption none-the-less. Even if the gratitude towards him felt far away. A lot of his emotions felt far away, actually, but that was probably for the best.

The numbness was one of the reasons he didn’t immediately pull away from Willis when he wrapped an arm over his shoulders. The other reason was because he noticed Willis pointedly not resting his arm on his back. A glance up at him as he came over - babbling something about just needing to kick Aqua’s ass so they could get to first place since they’d already beaten Yellow - left him floundering for a moment.

Willis looked normal. He talked, his mouth moving and curling with a smile like always even though his voice felt like it was underwater, and his body language was open despite the very specific movements he made to keep his arm off of Tommy’s back.

It was only when the god noticed his ears were pinned back slightly and twitching that he realized he might have scared him. Right. That numbness grew in him as he remembered the time just before the boat, and all the other times he’d scared Willis, and he saw them in a different light now. Instead of the Willis or Siren he’d come to know - the blurry one, the one he didn’t have to see, the one he’d grown used to - he saw this Willis - the one who looked like an Admin, like His brother, like he was more than a Player - in his place.

He hated it.

(Another face flashed in place of those memories, for just a brief moment, and he was sure he hated that version of the memories even more.)

Tommy had the distant realization that he scared Willis when he got angry or upset and his brows furrowed slightly before he looked away from him.

He put on a smile, reminded himself that he’d only have to see them like this for another week or so, and agreed with Willis' plan as the countdown for the next round started.

-

The next round against Aqua started off similar to the first, although instead of separating Tommy found himself standing side by side with Angel as they fought off a man. The man was wearing what Tommy was pretty sure was a onesie, and when he mentioned this Angel barked out a laugh.

“That’s just Connor,” he said.

Tommy had half a mind to ask why Connor - apparently - was wearing a onesie to tournament between villains, heroes and vigilantes, and what the people in charge were doing allowing him to wear a onesie to said tournament, but quickly changed his mind. He actually didn’t want to know. It was in his team’s colours and that was good enough for everyone else, so it was good enough for him.

While he and Angel worked together to fight him off - which was actually a little harder than it looked, because occasionally the man would jerk to the side to dodge or he’d swing his sword too fast to be natural. It was only because Tommy was built different that he could keep up with the sudden bursts of speed, short as they were - he could hear Siren in the background fighting against Sally.

He would most definitely be teasing him about how they both immediately went to each other to fight when the round started, especially because Angel and Blade didn’t even blink at them doing so, actively avoiding Sally on the way into the battle. That meant this had to happen often enough for them to be used to it and if that wasn’t an open invitation to being made fun of then he didn’t know what was.

Blade was in the back fighting a woman with antlers growing from her head. He assumed she was some kind of deer-hybrid, though didn’t really have the time to focus and find out. He felt a spark of irritation at the fact that if he didn’t have to put on this stupid act he would already know who these people were but whatever.

It didn’t matter.

Tommy had just swung his sword for the final time, tracking Connor’s movements with his eyes and predicting where he’d slow down at, to hit his chest plate - kicking him out of the game - when a buzzer sounded.

Their round was over.

“What the fuck-?” He began, hearing some confusion from his teammates as his head snapped over to the center, because he thought they had everyone covered, none of the team had mentioned another sneaking by or filling the center, so what happened-?

Ah.

The inchling.  

Tommy remembered him from his introduction, having noted him because he was the only one with his full body in the picture, and was only just now noticing how tiny he really was. No wonder they had missed him! The guy was shorter than his knee! And he’d gone right to the center to fill it in while the rest of the team kept them busy.

“Well. Fuck.” 

Tommy barked out a laugh at Angel’s blunt statement but slowly relaxed his fighting position, grinning a bit as he looked over. “‘Well fuck’ indeed,” he snorted and waved a hand at Connor as he turned. He could see Siren and Sally were over near the wall, mouthing words to each other - not talking, because they wouldn’t be able to hear each other and Tommy couldn’t hear Wil in the earpiece - too briefly for him to make out what they were saying before-

His eyes widened as Sally leaned in and kissed Siren’s cheek before moving past him smoothly with a laugh. He couldn’t help but laugh as Siren turned pink - literally, some of his hair turned pink at the roots and his cheeks darkened - and stuttered something before ultimately giving up and just rubbing at his cheek with a stupid smile on his face.

“Stop flirting with your girlfriend, Siren!” He crowed as he and Angel began walking back to the waiting room.

Siren’s head snapped over and the blush on his cheeks darkened. “I’m- I’m not flirting-”

“You are! I just watched her kiss you!”

“Kiss-?”

“On the cheek!” Siren interrupted Blade’s grunt in surprise. “It was on the cheek!”

“It was still a kiss!”

“I’ll kill you-”

“We’ve already established you can’t-”

The banter continued, with Willis putting an arm over his shoulder just like he had earlier and ruffling his hair roughly until he finally gave in with a laugh, and some of the dread from before the round felt lesser with the distraction.

-

Before the next round started, Tommy proposed a plan to his teammates.

To avoid a repeat of last time, he, Angel and Siren would rush the middle. He’d fill in the tiles, Angel and Siren would protect him if anyone came to stop him, and Blade would hunt the others. Angel equated his plan to ‘King of the Hill’, which was apparently a game of some kind, and he agreed that it was similar. They would control the center and Blade - being the best at close combat out of all of them - would hunt down anyone else. 

“It’s the perfect plan,” Tommy had insisted as the countdown started. They laughed at his enthusiasm but agreed to give his plan a chance. It worked to their team’s strengths, and prevented immediate losses like before.

And it worked!

Tommy moved from tile to tile as Angel and Siren defended him from Lime. Foxtrot went out first, having gone after Siren but failed. He was given a pat on the back and a ruffle to his hair by the hero before retreating. The man Angel fought wasn’t someone Tommy knew the name of - hero or otherwise - but he stood out a little because of the plant sprouting from his head. The man had, originally, headed straight towards him but had been intercepted by Angel as he finished off the tile he was on without issue.

The sprout on his head made Tommy wonder if he had some sort of plant power. He hadn’t heard of any plant-hybrids yet, so that was the only logical solution. If that was the case, then could he sense all the flowers growing on him? The flowers growing in him?

…Tommy decided he didn’t want to know. Especially as, once out, the man met his gaze with something confused and curious in them. He scowled at him in return and pointedly turned away as he hovered around the final tile.

“Blade, hurry up! I have one tile left!” 

His call into the comms was met with a grunt and he turned to see him fighting both Nihachu and Manifold at the same time. Tommy was still surprised to see Niki Nihachu in this tournament, but maybe he shouldn’t be. He’d seen her kick ass when someone was being too rowdy in her café, of course she was a retired hero.

“Hush, child,” Blade said as he ducked beneath Nihachu’s swing and used the momentum to swing his axe at Manifold in a wide arch. Manifold got out, vest flashing, and the hero wasted no time in giving Nihachu all his attention. He ignored Tommy’s sputtering.

How rude of him.

“I’m- I’m not a child!” He yelled back, with just a little more force behind it than usual. His team laughed. He forced a laugh with them.

His team won as Tommy stood on the final tile and they cheered, even as Tommy pouted.

Well, it looked like pouting to his team and everyone else watching. In reality, Tommy was pointedly ignoring the petals of humiliation that grew in the form of orange lilies on his back, mixing with the earlier flowers of dread. ‘Child’ comments didn’t usually get to him, but this one did and he didn’t know why.

Tommy ignored the growing amount of flowers on his back, the orange lilies particularly heavy and hot at this moment. He’d get rid of them when there was a break.

(He half wished he could’ve fought Manifold that round, if only to get some of his anger out but whatever. They won the round and that’s all that mattered, isn’t it?)

-

Tommy’s quieter during the next round. 

It was nothing against the team they fought against - Blue, he thought they were, though he hadn’t been paying much attention. They put up a good fight but he felt numb as he fought them. Weighed down, even, with his swings lazy as opposed to energetic. He tried to hide it, to not seem super effected by whatever was happening to him, but he was sure his teammates noticed.

How could they not? He didn’t tease them much when the third round ended, had even pulled away from Willis' arm over his shoulders when he’d tried to cheer him up for his plan working, and he fought like he was weighed down.

He was weighed down.

The flowers on his back were heavy and they only seemed to get heavier and heavier as the round went on and his plan worked. His team praised him for the plan, for the execution of it, for doing so well so far, but he only managed a slight smile as little flowers grew behind his ears and their roots dug inside them.

He didn’t know what was going on to cause his flowers to react like this - to burn him, to weigh him down, to deafen him and muffle his hearing - but he hoped it ended soon. He forced himself to keep going, to focus on his teammates’ lips to read them in case he missed what they said, and just reminded himself that there was a break after round five.

Just one more round and he could tear the flowers out of his skin.

Tommy didn’t know why he was reacting like this but after the break he’d be fine. He’d stop being so stupid and moody and he could enjoy the rest of the rounds. 

He was fine.

-

He wasn’t fine.

The round was seeming like it would start fine, he was prepared to rush the center with Siren and Angel again, but that plan changed the second he saw Blade mouth the words ‘red team’ and ‘Dream’.

Round five was against Red. Fuck.

Had the past few rounds not happened to bring his mood down, he might not have cared that much. He could deal with seeing Dream for a handful of minutes before his ass got kicked, especially because he wasn’t wearing that stupid hoodie that reminded him of someone else! But they had. The rounds had happened, he couldn’t handle it, and no one even cared. 

No one knew to care, he corrected himself mindlessly as he stared across the arena and the countdown ticked slowly above him. It wasn’t fair to his teammates for him to blame them for something that wasn’t their fault. He could barely hear through the roots and dirt and ichor that rushed through his ears but that didn’t stop him from knowing that no one was at fault for this but himself. It’s not like Tommy had told any of his teammates that something was wrong, that he felt sick in an impossible way and that he just wanted to scream or sleep or do something other than this.

Anything other than this.

He couldn’t tell them, either. Something was wrong with him but he’d fix it. When the round was over. He just had to last until the round was over…

The countdown finished and he hoped to rush in there and attempt the strategy like the last two rounds but it failed quickly. A man wearing goggles that looked vaguely familiar, though he couldn’t place where he knew him from through the fog in his mind, targeted Siren and broke him away and Awesamdude rushed Angel. Blade got into combat with the Captain and suddenly Tommy was left all alone with the single person he didn’t want to fight.

Dream didn’t recognize him from their few interactions with each other, and that was the only solace Tommy got as he confronted him near the center. He had only gotten to fill one tile without his bodyguards before he spun on instinct to block a swipe from Dream. His block surprised the man but he quickly crouched, his shoulders shaking slightly because of course he found it amusing. He probably found the idea of a fight between them exciting.

XD, socially awkward as they had been, had always been so excitable.

And so of course this copycat - because that’s what he was. He’d mistaken him before, he’d gotten attached in a misguided sense of grief, but he knew better now. He had Tubbo and Ranboo and what he had with them wasn’t a replacement for what he had before. They were something new, and he knew now that he didn’t need a cheap replacement for what he lost. He knew that now and while that was good, it made him see Dream in a different light. An angry, dangerous light, if left unchecked - was just as excitable. He was just as competitive, too. 

Tommy half heartedly wondered if the man acted so much like XD on purpose, or if it was just another cruel twist the universe had crafted while had he ignored it.

(How sick of Himself did He have to be to create this Player?)

In response to Dream’s next swing, Tommy lunged at him. 

Dream dodged.

Tommy lunged again.

Dream dodged again.

Orange lilies once more burned just beneath his skin as they began a frustrating dance with each other. Tommy would swing his sword, Dream would dodge or block, and this continued for what felt like hours but Tommy knew was only a couple minutes at most. Beneath his earphones, outside the sound of his teammates’ voices and the maze of roots and petals in his ears, he could hear the stupid, grating sound of his wheezing laugh.

It was clear that Dream knew he was getting increasingly frustrated with this fight being drawn out, neither getting a hit on the other, and his sluggish movements began to speed up. Each lunge and slice quickly gained more force behind it, his hands tightening on his sword’s hilt and his movements becoming faster.

He sneered as the villain was pushed back and back and back until he was eventually pressed against the railing of the bridge. His dodges and blocks became desperate and he wasn’t laughing anymore, though Tommy could vaguely register that he was now speaking frantically into his comm. It sucked he couldn’t understand what he said thanks to his mask. It sucked worse that he couldn’t see the panic on his face, the regret he felt after masquerading as a poor imitation of XD in front of him.

It only took a few more hits before Tommy twisted his sword against Dream’s and shoved as hard as he could. The movement forced Dream to let go of his blade or risk being thrown into the canal below with it. He let go. There was a splash as the sword hit the water and, finally, Dream was cornered and without a defense.

Tommy raised his sword high and, without any hesitation, swung it down as hard as he could. He barely got to relish in the crack that came from his sword hitting Dream’s mask before he was suddenly pulled back. He made a noise of surprise and spun around with wide eyes, a sneer on his face and a curse on his tongue, but slowed when he saw it was Angel that had pulled him out.

Angel was talking to him, saying words, but even as Tommy stared at his mouth he found he couldn’t understand him. His vision was blurry and when he reached up to find out why, he was surprised to find he was crying. 

Oh.

Realizing that he wasn’t getting a reply from him, Angel began to lead him away. He initially tried with an arm around his shoulders but when that failed - with Tommy struggling away from the touch - he wrapped a hesitant wing around him instead. Tommy couldn’t help but melt at the familiar feeling of feathers draped over his shoulders and allowed himself to be led back towards their room for the break.

On the way, Tommy caught a glimpse of Dream as they passed and he couldn’t bring himself to feel any regret for what he’d done, even if most of the fight had been a blur. The villain was holding his face as blood sluggishly dripped from whatever wound he’d caused and his mask, once smooth like porcelain, was obviously cracked from the force of that final blow. Tommy could see the villain’s teammates rushing towards him, presumably to help, but Angel ushered him away before he could keep watching.

He hadn’t meant to cause any damage, he hadn’t! The hatred and anger just burst out of him after building up and up, all until he couldn’t hold it back anymore. Petunias joined the mess of tangled stems and vines and leaves on his body, adding to the weight he felt, and he almost cried again at the feeling.

It’s only because he reached up to wipe his tears away that he realized it wasn’t only tears blooming in his eyes now. He wiped away petals, red as blood, just as he arrived back in the room, and he let out a shaky breath. Fuck. With the emergence of these petals he felt something drip down his cheeks, but it wasn’t tears. It was thicker than tears, warmer and brighter and he knew it wasn’t tears.

The last time his insides had ripped themselves up was because he’d been overwhelmed with grief immediately after XD and Prime Logged Off. Why was it happening now?

Tommy vaguely heard Angel and Blade talking about the break, how it would be extended for some reason, and he immediately took that moment to excuse himself to the bathroom. 

He had to get rid of these fucking flowers. He couldn’t risk another meltdown, or whatever the fuck that was, again.

Not when it made him bleed.

-

Phil made a move to stop Tommy from marching off so suddenly, worried about what caused Tommy to go off like that - what made him angry enough that he shattered Dream’s mask and made him bleed bad enough that the break was extended from fifteen minutes to half an hour - but Willis stopped him. His son had a complicated expression on his face, but eventually just shook his head at him.

“Just let him go, Angel,” he muttered, and with that name Phil remembered where and when they were.

Right. With their spectators watching it would just be cruel to go talk to Tommy about whatever was wrong. Even if he asked for his camera to be cut momentarily to talk to him it was likely he’d only make whatever was upsetting him worse.

So, with a heavy heart, he resolved to wait for him and hope that Tommy came back before the next round started. When the game was over for the day then they could, hopefully, talk about what happened. His anger had been personal - he’d looked downright murderous before he pulled him away from Dream - and the fact that he’d been crying after all but confirmed that it was.

He was sure that he, Techno and Willis had all noticed the growing tension and quietness that followed behind him as the rounds went on. He figured that whatever grudge he had against Dream had brought it to a head. He just hoped he’d be okay to finish the last rounds.

(Phil was quiet as he sat down for the break, even if the image of Tommy wiping the tears from his eyes, originally clear but quickly running gold, was burned into his mind. He half hoped that he’d imagined it. The other half of him hoped that the cameras had cut off before any of their spectators caught it.)

-

Tommy can feel the stares of his teammates and the spectators watching him as he retreated. Even as the spectators are cut off and he’s away from his team, he can still feel them. They dug at his skin just as his flowers did and the whispers he heard only served to deafen him further as they pushed the roots deeper and deeper into his eardrum. Those fracturing his ribs tightened and weaved through them until they were around his lungs and he felt them squeeze as he hugged himself.

More blood dripped from his eyes as he raced to the nearest bathroom, leaving a trail of petals and gold behind him, and slammed the door as he entered. He doesn’t think to lock it but knows that no one will enter after him anyway as he wrenched his hoodie off.

It was a miracle that it didn’t tear from his frantic action and he let out a hysterical, strangled giggle at the idea. Miracles were his thing, of course it didn’t tear.

He carelessly draped his hoodie over the sink and stared into the mirror in front of him. His eyes - were they really his when he stole them from someone else? - met his reflection’s and he let out another shaky, hysterical laugh.

He looked like shit.  

His team would have to be blind to not notice that something was wrong with him and he just hoped they didn’t ask because he was not in the mood to put up much of an act. If his interaction with Dream was any reference for how he was feeling and how he’d react to any sort of conflict, then it would do others good to stay out his way until he managed to calm down from whatever was making him act up like this. 

All the flowers that he’d grown - every delphinium, pink hyacinth, black dahlia, orange lily, purple hyacinth and red petunia that had appeared to suffocate and weigh him down during the rounds - visibly sprouted from his back, draping over his shoulders and curling around his neck and arms tight enough to cut both blood and airflow, like a giant mat. It wasn’t nearly as bad as it had been when he first woke up, but the fact that it had gotten this bad at all surprised Tommy.

Why was he feeling like this?

He sneered at his reflection and grabbed a handful of the plants, pulling at them as hard as he could until they tore away for him to toss to the wind that followed him even when it shouldn’t be able to. They were carried away, nothing more than destroyed code, by the time he tossed another handful. 

Over and over and over, he tore them out. He grit his teeth as pain he was unused to kept his chest tight and his hearing muffled, even after all the roots were removed and all that was left were familiar scars.

He didn’t know why this was happening to him. Nothing was wrong!

More petunias threatened to bloom in his lungs from his frustration but he tore them out before they could root with a sound more suited for an enderman than the human he masqueraded himself as.  

His back was stained gold and marred with new scars that stretched like roots over the old ones, overtaking the others like an invasive plant might its neighbours in a new habitat. It was almost funny how accurate that was.

The god stared at the blood staining his hands with a hollow feeling in his chest and couldn’t figure out if the hollowness was from the empty cavity left from the roots or from the storm of emotions inside him. His hands were shaking, he distantly noticed, and with a slow breath he didn’t need he waved the blood away.

Within an instant, he stood in front of the mirror, no longer bloody, and met those eyes - they weren’t His, he decided then and there - once more. He hated the sight he was met with.

Human was the first thought that came to mind and he sneered at it and averted his gaze.

It was only then that he noticed dust falling from the ceiling and he slowly realized that it wasn’t just his hands that were shaking, it was the entire island. Fuck. 

With his realization it slowed to a stop and he let out another breath he didn’t need, trying to inflate his lungs after they’d burst. He hadn’t meant to do that. He hadn’t meant to do any of this, he didn’t know why it was happening. All of this was a lot and he was confused and frustrated and he needed a distraction before his emotions caused a tsunami to go with that earthquake.

Tommy then remembered his phone and he grasped blindly for it, grateful he could grab it from wherever because he didn’t feel like going past his team to his locker to grab it, and opened his texts. He found a bunch from Ranboo - they were wishing him luck, praising him for his idea working, cheering him on, but the more recent ones were full of worry - and none from Tubbo. He wasn’t sure if that stung or not, the cool feeling of frost biting at his fingers as he read through them.

Was that you? The most recent one said, catching his eye. He stared at it for a moment as he realized the earthquake had gone past the island and had probably spread out to the rest of L’manburg, maybe even further.

With hands he forced to be stable, he began typing back.

Sorry, he typed back. I’m fine, don’t worry. Snapdragons nipped at his wrists at the lie and he grimaced at the marks they left when he waved them away. 

Tommy could feel Ranboo’s hesitance to believe him and prayed to no one that Ranboo wouldn’t push and ask more questions. He didn’t know how he’d answer if he did because he didn’t know what was wrong with him.

Thankfully, he didn’t. He responded back with relief that he was fine, then soft praise that he knew was genuine. It almost made him feel warm, where the praise from his team had made frost nip at his fingertips.

Where’s Tubbo? He found himself asking as he leaned against the sink. Some of the tightness in his chest was beginning to loosen at the distraction Ranboo offered, at the silent comfort he got just by being near him - even if he wasn’t physically there.

Ranboo informed him that he was visiting his dad and Tommy furrowed his brows. He spread more of his awareness out in an action he was sure would give his spectator a headache and even more of that tightness in his chest loosened as he saw him. He was talking to a semi-familiar avian - he could’ve sworn he saw him at the dock before coming here - and when Tommy grew a flower around his wrist, Tubbo glanced at it and some tension in his shoulders seemed to fall away as he pet it.

Tubbo didn’t mention anything, didn’t make it obvious that he knew Tommy was there, but he could feel how he leaned into his presence and that was enough for him.

He blinked back into himself as his phone vibrated in his hand and he looked down at it to see Ranboo asking if he wanted to call. He denied - they didn’t have time right now - but promised that he would call them after today’s game was over and he got a moment alone. He grew a rose identical to the one around Tubbo’s wrist around Ranboo’s and smiled a little to himself when he felt his brother gently pet it.

I’m fine, he repeated, and then once more promised to call him later before putting his phone in his inventory for now. He pulled his consciousness back to a single point, letting out a slow breath as more of that tension loosened in his chest, and then began mechanically pulling back on his hoodie back on.

It hid the new scars on his back, neck and arms and the marks left by the snapdragons on his wrists. He made a mental note to himself to put on his sweater after the game was over so that his heroes wouldn’t see the new scars and injuries and get unnecessarily worried about him again.

He wasn’t lying to Ranboo when he told them he was fine. He was fine.

Now, at least.

Tommy felt a lot better after being able to talk to them and get rid of the flowers weighing him down. He just hoped whatever that was didn’t happen again.

(He also hoped that the rest of the rounds were quick. Truth be told, he was exhausted - impossible as that should be - after whatever all that was.)

- 

The next round continued after the break, although it had been extended past what they had initially been told it would be. 

Oh, sure, the break was supposed to be thirty minutes, though even that was extended because Dream needed medical attention or whatever, but it was extended further to forty-five minutes because apparently some of the spectators were having issues.

They didn’t say it out right, but Tommy was pretty sure that the reason the break was extended further was because he’d given his spectator a headache. He didn’t feel bad at all for being the reason it was extended. He didn’t!

It wasn’t his fault that whatever mortal was spectating him happened to get their consciousness forced apart briefly when he spread his own apart to check on his emotional support mortals. That seemed like a ‘them’ problem.

(No one else saw the purple hyacinths on his wrists and so no one could say that they ever existed in the first place.)

He was out of it for a lot of the round, though.

He fought when he had to and did his best to keep a hold on his emotions this time around but it was hard when he was hyper aware of how his team watched him the entire time. They watched him like he was dangerous, like they were waiting for him to make another wrong move and hurt someone.

He hated it.

Each swing of his sword was calculated perfectly, his expression dull but focused, as he did his best to not hit anywhere besides the vest. He was so careful he wouldn’t even scratch this man. To ensure this, he found himself dodging more than swinging.

This drew out the fight, yes, but it ensured that he wouldn’t so much as scratch or bruise the green. He didn’t want to delay this game any longer than he already had.

So, Tommy did his best to pay attention to the round, to respond to his team’s callouts and just keep the person he was fighting - a diamond-golem-hybrid, by the looks of it, though he wasn’t the demon’s soulmate like the one he was used to - fighting. It was a little hard, though. It still seemed like there were flowers in his ears despite the fact that he knew there weren’t.

Because he was listening so intently to any callout that might be made, he heard when Angel called for one of them to fill the center.

He swung his sword a final time at the green’s vest to knock them out, thankfully not injuring the man in the process, and turned to the center, then to Angel, in confusion. The center was empty - none of the other team was filling it in - and Angel was still fighting someone from the other team. The other Captain, he was pretty sure, though only because of Tubbo’s admiration of the guy. The fight was evenly matched between them as far as he could tell and a glance around showed Siren fighting a slime-hybrid - an actual slime-hybrid, not a mob like Slimecicle was - and though he couldn’t see Blade from his current position, he was pretty sure he had the final guy covered.

“Fill in the center?” He echoed him in confusion, standing there dumbly for a moment.

“There’s like twenty seconds left, fill in the center!”

That caught his attention. 

“There’s fuckin’ what?” He blurted out as a sudden rush of panic and anxiety filled him.

Twenty seconds?

As if whatever had been clogging his ears suddenly popped, he could very clearly hear the steady tick tick tick of a count down. One that only happened in the last thirty seconds. One that was happening now.

…

“Fuck!”  

Tommy’s eyes widened and he spun around, immediately making a dash towards the center. He could finally see Blade on the other side of the bridge, fighting back a blond man with what looked like frost in his hair, and he was grateful that his teammates definitely had everyone covered as he skidded to a stop.

He stopped just on one of the tiles and he stood in place, his heartbeat rushing in his ears as he began mentally counting down.

The issue with the countdown was that Tommy didn’t know how long it was going for before Angel said something, therefore he didn’t know how long he had. He needed at least ten seconds to switch the tile for the win, since neither team had gone to the center to fill it yet, but Angel mentioned only having twenty seconds and it took him at least seven to run over here-

Hellebores grew in his stomach, bubbling anxiety in him as he counted down the seconds.

Five… four… three… two… one…

The tile flashed purple and, barely a second later, the end-of-the-round buzzer sounded.

Tommy deflated in relief and actually managed a small smile as the round ended this time. A small sense of accomplishment filled him and withered away at the christmas roses. He hadn’t fucked it up this time!

Hearing Blade chuff in a familiar, encouraging way, with Angel and Siren praising him verbally, helped that accomplishment grow a bit. He wasn’t sure if the praise was empty, if they were just saying whatever so that he wouldn’t have another meltdown, but it felt sincere.

It felt sincere and he accepted it for what it seemed on the surface, refusing to look any deeper at it. He didn’t want his insides to rip themselves up again, he didn’t want his ribs to crack from the roots of flowers that burned him and he didn’t want to cry again and cause another earthquake. He just wanted to finish the game and then take a moment to breathe.

(Maybe he’d ask to suspend his spectator for a little while before the Decision Dome.)

There were only three rounds left. He just had to not fuck things up again for three more rounds, and he’d be free for the rest of the day until the Decision Dome.

-

Tommy goes into the next round with hope for a similar, if less stressful, win. He felt slightly better than he had been before, taking his teammate’s praise and applying them to his mood like a bandage - it really was nothing more than a temporary fix but he didn’t care. He only needed it to last until the game for the day was over - and so he proposed that they try their strategy again. It had worked before Red, hopefully it will work after them!

Unfortunately, it becomes apparent very quickly that it will not.

Orange apparently had a similar idea to them and, to their dismay, they managed to take over the center first. With the diamond-golem-hybrid on their team working to fill it in and Bad defending him - along with Karl and the demon-hybrid he only barely recognised working together to keep most of his team distracted, he was pretty sure they were going to lose this round.

Don’t get him wrong though. He tried. He slipped past where Angel was fighting the demon-hybrid and immediately came face to face with Bad. As he was the one defending the diamond-golem-hybrid, Tommy knew he had to get through him to stop him.

Bad, however, happens to be old. Not nearly old enough to recognize him at a glance - of course not, he was sure that only Slimecicle was old enough for that - but definitely old enough to know what he was doing with a sword. Despite the fact that he was a researcher before he was a hero, this left Tommy having to actually try.

When Tommy swung his blade at him, Bad blocked. Not like Purpled had before, nor like any of the others he’d fought today. No, Bad blocked him in a swift, practised motion that was so very reminiscent of the way Players did in the past. It was like how Players used to block before they had created their shields.

It surprised him at first, his momentum faltering a bit, but then he breathed out a laugh and pulled back. 

He dropped into a steady position and, as Bad copied him in his own way, he felt just a little bit of excitement grow in his heart. It was muted, still partially choked out by any leftover roots and thorns of the other flowers, but it was there.

Tommy found himself falling into the familiar motions of a spar and Bad quickly followed. They both aimed to kill but not to kill, even if Bad didn’t seem to realize it. He doubted the demon did. It was a dance, one few still remembered the steps of, and it was fun. More fun than the last rounds had been, for sure. It helped momentarily push his exhaustion onto the back burner.

The god could see the surprise in the demon’s eyes when he matched him so easily and he just grinned at him. Neither of them were about to back down but Tommy didn’t really try either. He refused to go all out like he had with Dream, fearing he might accidentally hurt someone who hadn’t done anything wrong, and because of that they were stuck in a loop.

Bad would swing and he’d block. Then he’d swing and Bad would block. He’d spin or shift or try and sprint past him but Bad would meet him half-way. There was no real end in sight - Bad couldn’t beat him and he refused to push - and so it only made sense that their spar ended in a tie.

The round ended. Not because they ran out of time but, rather, because the diamond-golem-hybrid had filled the center in while Tommy was distracted with Bad. They lost but, for some reason, the loss didn’t sting as much as he thought it would. With how raw his insides were, he thought it would hurt more… but it didn’t.

He panted a bit, mostly for show, and met Bad’s eyes. He grinned up at him and Bad grinned back, similarly winded. It was when he held his hand out to him that he realized Bad probably didn’t recognize him. While they knew each other from working in the tower, it was only really in passing and there was no way Bad would recognize him right now. As long as the heroes didn’t tell Bad there was no way he’d know it was him…

With that thought, his grin widened and he shook his hand firmly. At the same time, he mouthed some words.

“⊣𝙹𝙹↸ ⊣ᔑᒲᒷ.”

His mouth formed the words with ease, even if he didn’t speak them outloud. There was just the slightest whisper of wind that went by, carrying the words to Bad in a way that he’d probably never experiened before.

Tommy found the way his eyes widened and his jaw dropped hilarious but didn’t stick around to hear what he might say. He pulled away from their handshake with a bark of laughter and sprinted back to his teammate’s, glancing back at him and waving cheekily as a clematis grew behind his ear.

Maybe he could still have some fun while he was here. He’d just have to do his best to keep it from his heroes.

-

Though he was, admittedly, a little bummed by their loss, and the growing exhaustion clinging to him was slowing him down some, the tiny rush he got from teasing Bad was just what he needed to get through the next round.

It wasn’t hard, not really.

Tommy found himself facing off against the avian in Pink, the one he was pretty sure he’d seen yesterday. Through the fog that still clouded some of his thoughts, he recalled pushing him sometime during To Get To The Other Side. Oops, but not really. He didn’t feel that bad for it - the guy had pushed him first - so he didn’t see the need to take it easy on him.

(Not anymore than he already was at least.)

He fought with the avian just as he had the others, though it wasn’t nearly as engaging as it had been when he fought Bad, and found it wasn’t horrible. Ignoring the exhaustion and wariness clinging to him, and the fact that it had been a while since he’d fought someone with wings, he found himself falling into familiar habits. He dodged each feathered appendage with ease, ducking beneath them when the avian ducked or spun and blocking them when the man tried to trip him up. The avian was swift, moving faster than most of his opponents with the help of his wings to boost his body, but that only made their fight more engaging. 

(More distracting.)

Tommy chased after the avian after he glided across the river, passing Siren and Blade both standing around another Pink - this one blond and with goggles covering her eyes rather than a normal mask - before cornering him on the edge of the bridge. Just before he could get the finishing blow on the avian, Angel swooped in from behind the trees next to the bridge and hit him right between his wings.

With that, the game was decided. All of Pink were out and, though Blade seemed to get out around the same time Siren finished off the one with the goggles, that left all of Purple to steal the win.

He, Angel and Siren worked together to fill the center, each taking a row for themselves and it wasn’t long before the round was officially over.

As they retreated back to their waiting room, Tommy could see the exhaustion tugging at his teammates. Siren’s ears and tail were drooping, as were Angel’s ears and wings. Blade was doing better at hiding it but Tommy could see the weariness in his eyes and stance.

Admittedly, it was really beginning to tug on him now too.

One more round, he told himself as he took a seat, accepting the water bottle Siren gave him with a small hum. Their room was mostly quiet as they all took a few minutes to rest before the last round. One more round. Then they would be free to rest for a few hours before the Decision Dome and he could just sit with his brothers.

-

The last round against Cyan was a blur. Everyone was ready to be finished and no one seemed to have the energy left to make it any fun.

He was honestly a little bummed. If they still had regen pots or even just gapples then later rounds for these games would be a lot more fun… but they didn’t. Each of them got some water and snacks between rounds, maybe some brief healing if one of them got injured, but none of it did much when hunger bars were a thing of the past.

Despite the round going by in a blur, it seemed to drag on. Everyone’s movements were a little sloppy and slow, even Tommy’s. Angel’s wings were more like a heavy hindrance than the advantage they’d been before and by the end of it even Blade’s ears were starting to droop.

Purple won their final round but there was very little excitement between any of them.

Siren slumped against Blade with an exhausted whine and Angel carefully sat in the corner, groaning and rolling his shoulder with a wince in an obvious expression of pain. It was clear they had all pushed it a little too much today.

Tommy was the only one still standing but it didn’t feel like much of an accomplishment.

(He’ll always stay standing. Even when everything He’s made falls apart around Him and He has nothing left.)

Flowers once more grew on him, weighing him down, whispering his exhaustion to a world that answered with only a gentle breeze of encouragement. The rounds were over, it whispered. He could rest soon, just wait it out.

He did.

They all sat through the aftergame announcements, a silent understanding between them that it was to be quiet. Siren and Blade whispered to each other, so quiet Tommy couldn’t hear them from where he leaned against the wall, and though Angel occasionally spoke up they left him out of it. 

He appreciated it.

Tommy had endless energy, don’t get him wrong. He could run for days and never run out of hunger and he could take on thousands of mobs and never even wince but even someone as amazing as him needed a break sometimes. It was rare that he did - because he was just oh-so-amazing - but this was one of those times.

The announcements felt like they droned on forever, with Noxite stating each team’s current scores and placements, but he wasn’t very interested. Even when their team was announced -

“-and Purple Pandas are in first!”

- he wasn’t very interested.

He did look up in surprise, only because he was sure his actions against Dream would’ve cost them points, but then smiled a bit.

“Pog,” he deadpanned.

Willis snorted across from him, the action seeming involuntary as he looked surprised afterwards. Maybe it was the exhaustion causing them to be a bit hysterical, or maybe it was his delivery that was just so funny, but it soon caused all of them to give little chuckles.

“Pog,” Techno deadpanned back when he eventually calmed down.

Phil and Willis caught on and joined in, copying him and Techno with their own varying levels of excitement, and Tommy hummed contently.

Even if he felt exhaustion down to his roots, he felt better than he had before. It was like a calm had washed over him and he appreciated it. As lavender grew oh-so-gently around his wrists, some tension fell from his shoulders and he let out a relieved sigh.

He made it through the last round without issue and finally, finally, he could go rest.

-

Tommy didn’t waste any time in rushing back to their dorms the second they were free.

He kept his head down as he passed between the other contestants, grateful more than ever that they all moved out of his way without giving him a glance so that he didn’t have to shove through the crowd like he could hear others doing. He appreciated this quirk of his more than he thought he would.

A calm might have settled over him for now but the idea of bumping into and having to touch others still sent shivers of disgust down his spine. He just… couldn’t do that right now.

He vaguely remembered telling his teammates that he’d meet them in the room. He knew they’d get caught in the crowd of everyone else also trying to get to the dorms and he used this to his advantage, grabbing some of the clothes he’d brought with him and immediately heading to the bathroom to change out of his costume.

The entire time he did this, his entire body felt far away. It felt like he was spectating himself, not registering any touch or sounds or anything, really, and he was surprisingly okay with that. At least, he would be until he could go and get his spectator removed for the rest of the day. It helped him hold onto the calm he’d grown, something he desperately needed until he could sit with his brothers unless he risked going off on someone again.

Tommy changed, ignoring the new scars marking him and the knowledge that there were similar cracks now marring the surface of the Overworld from his earthquake, and when he stepped out of the bathroom he spotted his heroes lounging. Well, most of them.

“Where’s Phil?” He asked. It was weird to hear his voice when he wasn’t completely present in his own body.

Willis tilted his head from where he was collapsed on his bed. He appeared to have gotten there recently considering he still wore his shoes and hadn’t done anything besides take off his mask. “Healer,” he mumbled, and Tommy had to strain his ears to hear it.

Tommy’s face scrunched up with confusion - because when did he get hurt enough that he had to go to a healer? - and Techno must’ve seen it before he spoke up next.

“‘Is back is bothering him, ‘cause ‘e’s’ an old man, so ‘e went to the ‘ealer to get it looked at.”

Tommy made an ‘o’ with his mouth in understanding and nodded. He hovered near the door for a moment before speaking. “I’m going to talk to my roommates.” Like before, he wasn’t asking. He was going to talk to his roommates, he didn’t care what they had to say or if they wanted to talk about what happened during the game earlier. 

He wasn’t going in the mood to walk to them about it. 

(He still didn’t even know what it was.)

“Tommy-” Willis began, sitting up with a slight groan, but stopped when he turned to look at him. Something on his face must’ve said that he wasn’t in the mood for any small talk because the piglin-hybrid hesitated before laying back again. “Just be back before the Decision Dome, don’t make us come looking for you again.”

Willis' mouth quirked up in a slight smile and his tone indicated he as trying to make a joke. Tommy wasn’t sure if it was because he felt like a stranger in his own skin or because he was still feeling the effects of what happened before but he had to force a small chuckle as he turned away.

“I won’t, Wil,” he drawled as he pushed the door open. Just as he started to walk out, he heard another all from behind him.

“Keep your mask on while you’re out, Theseus.”

Tommy refused to turn back around and show Techno the way his expression dropped into a scowl as he was called that outside the games. “I will,” he said, and he ignored the way the roots from before made a swift recovery from the brutal preening he’d subjected them to. These petunias were hot and heavy, choking out the lavender that had been cooling his torched insides, and he had to remind himself that it was fine, everything was fine, he was fine as he closed the door behind him.

He consciously tried to grow more lavender, trying to choke out the fire the petunias raged inside him, and was irrationally angry at himself when it didn’t work.

Whatever. He’d get rid of them when he was done talking to his spectator and it would be fine.

(Everything would always be fine, fine, fine.)

Tommy kept his head down as he walked throughout the building, passing by some others loitering or chatting in the halls, and made it outside before the wind met up with him. Only then did he glance up passively, expression blank, and then forced himself to look down at his feet as he passed by a couple contestants standing outside.

It was only when he was far enough away from anyone, on his way to the office - was it an office? It was the place where most of the staff seemed to stay and they had gone there to get their spectators - that he spoke to it.

“I prefer Icarus to Theseus,” he said, and he felt it shouldn’t be that controversial of a take.

Apparently it was, though. The wind stopped at his words and Tommy stopped with them, staring out at nothing. He wasn’t sure if he was imagining the sensation of eyes watching him or not. Maybe he was mistaking the feeling of something crawling on his skin for being watched when it was really just the leftover burning from before.

(Maybe it was something else, something whispered. Someone else, the wind added on.)

He ignored it. “Stop making him call me that. I don’t like it.”

Tommy felt crazy, talking to himself like this when he wasn’t sure if someone was even listening, but he didn’t stop. He couldn’t stop. He didn’t want to be called it anymore than he had to be. He stared out at nothing and listened for any sign that she was listening. Any sign that either of them was listening.

“...Prime,” he tried, using her name this time, and hoped the desperation in his voice was just another figment of his imagination.

Finally, the wind picked up again and he could swear it was her announcing her presence to him.

“Stop telling him to call me Theseus,” he whispered, near begging her to listen to him, to stop torturing him like this when he was already in pain. “Please. They are not my brothers and I know it’s you.”

The wind swirled around him, slow and gentle and almost apologetic as it swiped through his hair and brushed past his emerald.

“Please,” he tried one more time. Finally, finally, the sensation of eyes watching him seemed to disappear one by one and the wind gave one last whistle next to his ear before it left him alone.

Tommy only hoped that he wasn’t imagining the whisper of an apology in a familiar voice as it went by.

-

It was sprinkling by the time Tommy took a seat at the rocky shore.

He had spoken to his spectator and it was surprisingly easy to cut their connection for a day. For some reason he just couldn’t fathom the man hadn’t argued at all! He had to get it reinstated tomorrow before the day’s game begtan but he was more than fine agreeing to that ass long as he got this break. He just needed a moment to himself, a small break to breathe, and the second the connection between them severed he took it.

It was so relieving to stare at his spectator and not know a single thing about him besides his name.

Stepping outside was a whole other world of relief. He could meet His own gaze from above and could spread Himself out from his skin without fearing that he might break whoever was watching him and he didn’t even try and contain the flowers that bloomed in the grass as he began walking towards the beach. They blended in with all the other plants they had planted here, no one would notice a handful more.

The god sat down and breathed in deeply, appreciating the breeze that brushed through his hair. He thought of it as a silent apology by the wind after what happened before and hummed in acceptance.

He took a few moments to stare out at the waves in front of him as a soft sprinkle of rain fell around him, though never on him, despite the fact that there were few clouds in the sky. It was calming, watching the water shining with sunlight and reflecting the glow of his eyes as they should, as opposed to the dull water he’d seen the day before.

Everything looked exactly as He made it to and that loosened the tension in his shoulders more than anything else.

A rainbow slowly faded into view above from the renewed light and water reflecting of his eyes and tears and he smiled a little at it.

He knew this was temporary. He still had so much of the tournament to get through and he’d have to change his vision to suit his spectator’s capabilities tomorrow morning but it seemed a little less daunting now. Maybe he could have his spectator removed after each game and then reinstated the morning after? His spectator hadn’t fought him on it at all, despite the fact that Tommy was pretty sure he wasn’t supposed to be allowed to get the connection cancelled until the very end…

Maybe he saw something that made him think not to argue…

Not that he was complaining. If he knew what was good for him, and if it worked, then he didn’t care what he saw or what the rules were.

After a few more moments of just breathing with the earth and spreading his awareness out aimlessly to stretch, he finally zeroed it in on his brothers.

They were together now, although they weren’t at the apartment like he expected them to be. Rather, they were at the park. Tubbo was sitting at the edge of the water, tossing what he assumed were seeds into the water to feed the ducks, and Ranboo was sitting back on the bench and watching him with a fond smile.

It made him smile to himself and he hummed, leaning into them and letting Himself just rest over their shoulders for a few moments as he closed his eyes.

Tubbo paused mid-throw and then let out a soft huff, fondly amused as he leaned back into Him. 

“Hey, Bossman,” the goat-hybrid greeted. He sounded subdued, though not upset. Just a little drained today… He assumed it was because of his visit with his dad earlier and he didn’t blame him. He felt pretty subdued as well.

Similarly, Ranboo smiled and leaned into him Him with content static. “Hi, Tommy.”

Tommy’s smile softened considerably as both of his brothers greeted him and, deciding that no one would be looking for him for a while, pulled himself back into place next to Ranboo. He had one arm over his shoulders, leaning against his side, and barked out a laugh as the Enderian yelped and teleported away with a startled vwoop.

“Hello?” He greeted cheerfully, his smile turning to an amused grin. He didn’t even mind that he nearly fell from the lack of support all of a sudden, just catching himself on the bench with a snicker.

Ranboo sputtered when they reappeared a few feet away and Tommy hear splashing from Tubbo that said he probably slipped into the water. A glance over showed that yes, Tubbo had slipped into the pond some from his sudden appearance and was now glaring at him as he scrambled to stand to not completely soak his pants.

Despite his inevitable doom getting closer as Tubbo stood, he just laughed. He casually leaned back, playing off the soothing relief and calm that settled over him and doused the fire that had been burning him as he stared at their familiar faces and settled in their presence.

This is exactly what he’d been needing.

Tubbo was the first one to approach him, rushing at him once he had wrung out his pants and wasting no time in ramming into his chest. He wasn’t shy about his horns, either, even with his beanie on. “Bastard!” He shouted.

Tommy wheezed as his horns knocked the air out of him. He didn’t hesitate to wrap his arms around the goat-hybrid though, hugging his little brother and chuckling breathlessly down at him. “What did I do? I came all this way to see you and this is how you greet me?” He complained. Anyone who looked at him would see the yellow roses curling around him and the bench itself and know he wasn’t upset though. 

“It’s what you deserve. You’re a- a dickhead, you know that? We told you to visit each day and what do you do? You don’t.” Tubbo headbutted him again, unaffected by Tommy’s dramatic groan of pain.

The god flopped back against the bench and whined. “I’ve been getting beaten up all day and this is how you treat me? Haven’t I had enough? I’m bruised, Tubso! Bruised!”

Ranboo snorted and Tommy looked over in time to see them coming to sit next to him. “I’m- I’m pretty sure you were beating up other people all day, not the other way around, Tommy,” they drawled.

Tommy pouted at his words. He knew exactly what they were hinting at with them and he wasn’t looking forward to the conversation he’d like have to have eventually. So, he just scoffed and turned his attention back to Tubbo in hopes that he could delay it at least a little longer. 

“I have been visiting you, by the way-”

“Your ‘visiting’ doesn’t count!” Tubbo cut him off. He just knew he was glaring at him behind his bangs and he groaned again as he was headbutted in the shoulder before the goat-hybrid slid off of him. 

“What? It should!” He turned, glaring at him. Why didn’t his visiting count? Sure, he wasn’t physically there but they knew he was present! He knew they could feel him! He felt it was unfair that it didn’t count.

Tubbo crossed his arms with a scoff. “But it doesn’t! You need to physically visit us each day. Or have a good excuse for not.”

Tommy rolled his eyes with a grumble and huffed. “Fine,” he agreed, only because he didn’t want to keep arguing. “But I couldn’t before because of my spectator.”

He paused, as if that thought never occured to him, and then grumbled in return. “I guess that’s a good enough reason…” Tommy lit up as he agreed, but then he saw his eyes widened and he quickly turned. “Why the fuck are you here when you have a spectator-?”

“I don’t!” He cut him off this time, leaning into his side and smiling to himself when he felt Ranboo sandwich him in on his other side. He laughed and wrapped an arm over the goat-hybrid’s shoulders. “I talked with my spectator and he’s letting me go without it until tomorrow’s game, it’s fine.”

His brothers didn’t seem to believe him, Tubbo especially, but they eventually accepted his words and the conversation moved on.

They sat there for a good couple minutes, just chatting about everything and nothing as they avoided the topic of MCC and what happened during it. He appreciated that they gave him some time to just sit with them, even if Tubbo was a little shit - he really needed to stop hanging around Phil so much - and pulled off his mask.

Tubbo taunted him with it, pulling it off with an offended scoff and holding it away from him when he tried to grab it back. He had huffed and asked him if he was going to walk around looking like a hero every time he visited, citing that they might need to run away if that was the case. Vigilantes and heroes just didn’t mix, or so Tubbo said.

Tommy pouted but, with a heavy, dramatic sigh and roll of his eyes, let him keep the mask for now. He had almost forgotten he was wearing it anyway, so he snorted as Tubbo put it on and proudly proclaimed that he’d be a much better hero than Tommy would anyway.

He didn’t argue with him there. He’d never been a very good hero.

“Next year,” Tubbo began after he finally settled down from his dramatics, “we’ll be playing in MCC together. And we’ll kick everyone’s asses.”

Ranboo snickered at that, his ears flicking slightly from his amusement. Tommy was sure if he had his tail in this form it would be wagging. “You guys might, I’ll just die. Immediately, actually.”

Tommy barked out a laugh and nodded sagely, eagerly chiming in. “We’d get dunked on the first round and then boom, we’re down a teammate.” As he thought about it though, he sighed and tilted his head back. “I’m not sure I wanna play again next year, though,” He admitted.

Both of his brothers paused. He could feel them share a look over his head before they turned their attention back to him.

Ranboo spoke first, voice soft with sympathy. “Because of what happened today?”

Tommy made a vague noise, a frown pulling at his lips, and glanced at him. “I guess so? I don’t even know what happened.” He didn’t! He was fine one moment and then he wasn’t. As both of them just nodded their heads, ever so understanding, he groaned in frustration and took their silence cue to continue. “It was just- it was a lot. I’m not used to- to- to this. To seeing everything like this. Everyone like this.. I think it’s fucking with me and I just got- I just got really pissed off, I guess.”

He tried to wave it off, to act like it wasn’t that important and like it didn’t effect him so very much, but the truth was that he couldn’t. It effected him a lot. And now that he was talking about it, it felt like it all spilled out of him.

“I wasn’t feeling that great early on, right? Because the- the fucking heroes, they were talking shit and it kind of got to me. Then we lost a around and- and that was kinda shit, too. And then Blade called me a child. It’s fucking stupid, I don’t usually care if I’m called a child, but it- it- it just- it made everything worse. And it kept getting worse, and worse, and- and I think seeing Dream like an Admin up close pushed me over the edge. He looks so much like XD used to…”

The god trailed off, blinking and snapping out of his thoughts as a droplet of water hit his nose. He stared up at the sky for a moment and realized it was sprinkling again. He groaned in annoyance, reaching up and rubbing at his face to clear away his tears. “He- he just, he just pissed me off, y’know?”

Thinking about it, Tommy knew that - had Phil not pulled him away when he did - he wouldn’t have stopped at just that hit. He probably would’ve continued until Dream died if no one interviened, simply because he was that mad.

…But he had.

Phil had intervened and it was all fine and he was fine and he shouldn’t be fucking crying again.

Tommy was Overworld, he was a god. So why the fuck was he crying over something so simple? Why was it effecting him so much? Even now, thinking about how upset he’d been and what had caused it made those roots in his ribcage dig in again, threatening to regrow if he wasn’t care. Even feeling Ranboo hug him close, with Tubbo scooting closer to press against his side, didn’t eliminate that threat completely.

He sighed shakily but leaned into Ranboo anyway, wrapping an arm around Tubbo as well and soaking in their comfort.

“I just- I just needed a break. ‘s why I asked my spectator to give me the rest of the day off..” He explained himself even though he knew he didn’t need to and felt Tubbo squeeze him in response. He couldn’t stop himself from layering Himself over their shoulders, giving them the gentlest of squeezes he could in a form that so easily overwhelmed anything it touched.

It was quiet for a few moments as they processed his words, the only sound breaking the silence being the wind as it brushed by, soothing the god as it ran through his hair. He already felt ashamed to be this effected by something that should really mean nothing to him, he didn’t want to make this more embarrassing for himself, so he said nothing. 

He just waited.

It was only when Tubbo spoke up that he pulled himself back a little, able to see the slight fuzz of his being merging with his own and not wanting to overwhelm him while he tried to talk. He knew how easy it was for Tubbo to lose himself when Tommy was spread out like this, so he pulled Himself back. 

“I think… That it’s a good idea for you to take a break, if it really bothers you that much.”

“It does,” he blurted out in agreement, painfully honest in a way he was only recently becoming familiar with when it came to his brothers. It did bother him that much.

Ranboo hummed from behind him and he tilted his head just enough for them to rest their head on his shoulders. “Then you should do it. It- I’ll be honest, it- it sounds liike you got overstimulated.”

“Overstimulated?” He glanced to the side, seeing Ranboo without really seeing them.

“Yeah. It- it happens to me sometimes,” they admitted to him. “When people stare at me. Or- or when I’m around too many people.”

Tommy supposed he could understand that. Ranboo didn’t like being looked at for extended periods of time because they were an enderman-hybrid. It made sense for him, but he didn’t have that issue-

“It happens to me sometimes, too,” Tubbo admitted as well. He looked up in time to watch him give him another headbutt in the chest and he huffed in amusement before settling.

“But it’s never happened to me before,” he pointed out with a frown. In all his many, many years of living in this world he had never been ‘overstimulated’ to the point of throwing a tantrum. He once more felt embarrassment and humiliation creep over his shoulders, only stopping when Ranboo wrapped his arms around him and gave him a squeeze.

The Enderian warbled soothingly and, begrudgingly, Tommy’s shoulders fell with a grumble. 

“You said you- you’ve never had to do this before, right?”

Tommy furrowed his brows. “I mean, yeah-”

“So that’s why. It’s- it’s new, you’re just not used to it yet.”

“But- I mean- I’m not an enderman-hybrid. Or- or a goat-hybrid. Or any hybrid. I’m not human, I shouldn’t be acting like this.” His face scrunched up with frustration because he had a point, he wasn’t used to this, but that was no excuse for him to be throwing a tantrum in the middle of a tournament.

Tommy was a god, he shouldn’t be acting like a child! It was a running joke that he acted younger than he was but it was just that, a joke. He wasn’t a child, he had never been a child, so he shouldn’t be acting like one.

A petunia popped up by his feet as his frustration literally grew but a squeeze from both of his brothers stopped anymore from blooming.

“Tommy, you’re allowed to need time to adjust to change.”

He paused, despite not knowing which one of them had just spoke.

“You’re, you’re a god,” it was definitely Tubbo speaking this time, “but you’re still allowed to get overstimulated. You don’t need to be an Enderian, or a human, or whatever to get upset.” As he looked at the goat-hybrid, he could see a bit of guilt in his expression. “You aren’t used to looking at the world like we are, it makes sense you need a break sometimes.”

Tommy wondered why Tubbo looked so guilty as he said it. It wasn’t his fault that he had to look at the world through a mortal’s eyes, he did this to himself.

But, he supposed, as long as Tubbo and Ranboo weren’t judging him for it, that it was okay with him to get upset by the change… It.. it was a lot, especially after only a year of social interaction after so long of isolation.

“I’ll… I’ll ask my spectator for a break after each game,” he finally sighed. He leaned back against Ranboo, resting against his chest and smiling tiredly to himself when they hugged him closer with a purr. “And as long as I can get away from the heroes I’ll visit each day.” And, catching Tubbo’s expression, he snorted and clarified, “physically. I will physically, in person, visit you both each day if I get the chance.”

Tubbo grinned at him and flopped against him, not seeming to mind the uncomfortable position the two of them were putting Ranboo in as they had to hold both of their weight.

“Good.”

-

Eventually, the topic of Tubbo’s visit with Quackity came up. 

Tubbo sighed as he thought back to it, laying his head on Tommy’s lap and staring up at the sky. He ignored the phantom images of eyes staring back at him.

The visit hadn’t been bad. Quackity had been happy to see him, especially after what happened during Doomsday, and he’d been… not happy, but not upset to see him too. It had been nice, for the most part, as they caught up.

It was nice to know that Quackity was okay after Doomsday, even if Tubbo could see signs that he wasn’t doing amazingly on his own. His wings had some bald patches and there were some bags under his eyes, not to mention he could just barely smell the faint but obvious scent of alcohol. It wasn’t surprising that he wasn’t doing the greatest - Slime was at MCC and (as he came to find out) so were his fiances - leaving him all alone.

He wasn’t enthused to find out that the men he’d spotted him with on the docks were his fiances, and he felt more than a little guilty and out of place as he was invited to their wedding later in the year. He’d never even met them and yet they were alright with him being invited to their wedding as his son? (Don’t even get him started with how he felt at the idea of Quackity still talking about and introducing him as his son to others.)

But, as long as Quackity was happy with them - and as long as they weren’t anything like Schlatt - then it was whatever. He deserved to move on and be happy, even if it felt like he was being left behind.

“He wants to meet you,” Tubbo let Tommy know. He closed his eyes and tilted his head into the hand combing through his hair.

Tommy’s hand slowed but an exaggerated whine made the god continue with a light chuckle. Tubbo felt a little amusement at how easy it was to make Tommy do what he wanted. Who would’ve thought God was so easy to boss around?

“I’m down to meet him if you want me to.”

“I… do.” He opened his eyes again, glancing up at Tommy this time instead of the sky. (Were they the same thing?) “He met Ranboo ages ago, I think it’d be good for you to finally meet him too.”

Ranboo scoffed from behind them and Tubbo grinned a bit, already knowing what he was going to say. “You- you scared the shit out of me when I met him for the first time. I didn’t have a choice in the matter, you just- you just dragged me along and I couldn’t say no.”

Tubbo’s grin widened and his tail lightly thumped against the seat of the bench. “And now look at you, ‘boo! You’re not scared of him anymore!”

The Enderian vwooped at his words and Tubbo could imagine them rolling his eyes. “It’s hard to be afraid of someone who motherhenned me into falling asleep in a giant nest,” they grumbled.

And… yeah, it was. Maybe that’s why some of his anger (fear) towards Tommy had been fading away recently.

Tommy snorted at their back and forth and just rubbed the area around where his horns were growing in, making Tubbo bleat and slump a little. Screw Ranboo for teaching Tommy about that spot… “We can go when I get back. Er, a couple days after I get back. I don’t want to do anything for a while after this, I’m already exhausted and we’re only two games in.” He laughed like it was a joke and Tubbo was sure it mostly was, but he still felt a little guilt at how tired he clearly was. It reminded him of the time back around Halloween and Christmas…

Still, it didn’t seem to be that bad yet. He smiled as a yellow rose grew around his wrist, not even needing to look at it to know what it was.

Tubbo was more than happy to just lay there for a while until Tommy inevitably had to go, but that guilt still ate at him some. He doubted Tommy had ever been overstimulated like it seemed he had been today and he felt bad for not thinking anything would happened. He had yelled at him that day about ‘just seeing them as admins’ and hadn’t questioned why he’d been so quiet, or how quickly he had left. He’d been busy, overwhelmed by himself by the sheer difference between what Tommy saw and what he saw, and for that he had dismissed how Tommy might’ve felt about the change.

He hadn’t thought it would affect him so badly… but it made sense.

Tommy was a god but he still clearly had feelings and emotions like any normal person would. They were just… more intense. He knew this because of the earthquake he’d created earlier, one that spanned all the way to Snowchester and that had caused a new ravine to span through the valleys next to it. It was a miracle that no one had been hurt from it, and for that reason alone he hoped that a daily break would help him. Because as much as it unnerved him that Tommy didn’t see people as people, he’d rather he saw them as Player than break down every time he didn’t. 

(He wouldn’t admit it out loud, but it scared him how much power Tommy truly had. He rarely, if ever, showed it but he knew it was there. Him losing control for only a few moments had caused the Earth itself to split open, how much worse would it be if he actually wanted to hurt someone?)

He ignored those thoughts.

“A few days works,” he assured after a moment. “I’ll tell Quackity. He already know you’re busy with MCC so he won’t mind waiting. His fiancees,” his expression scrunched up and he was only slightly soothed by the sympathetic croon Ranboo let out at the mention of them, “are there anyway, he’ll want to spend time with them before anyone else..”

Including me, he thought but didn’t say.

He didn’t blame Quackity for wanting to see his fiances instead of him - they made him happy and he deserved to be happy - but the idea of it still caused old scars to ache horribly. 

-

When Tommy eventually came back, Willis, Techno and Phil had already eaten dinner. Willis had wanted to call him back to join them but Techno had stopped him. The voices said he was busy, and that he was fine, and Techno looked unbothered so Willis had let it go.

He seemed fine, anyway. He claimed he had something to eat while he was out, though where he got food if not from the dining hall he didn’t know, and Willis wasn’t inclined to ask. Tommy had a habit of getting food when he physically shouldn’t be able to - his constant visits to Niki’s bakery despite not having the time during his lunch break to make it there and back to the tower came to mind - and, besides, he didn’t want to ruin his good mood.

Something had been bothering him earlier - as obvious by his whole thing during round five - but he was brighter now. Literally, in some cases, as Willis once more found himself staring at Tommy’s eyes. They were lighting up like he was used to them doing, flashing with emotions and making it so very easy for him to realize that he was only joking with him when they chatted after he came back.

When they were walking back towards the Decision Dome, Willis mindlessly connected the change with his eyes to the change in the sky. 

Tommy didn’t notice his staring but Techno did, nudging him to make him stop. He shot his twin a glare in return but Techno simply stared back, expression blank. Eventually he gave in with a sigh and looked away.

Entering their room for the game, Willis was surprised when a worker came up to them and stopped Tommy on his way in. They spoke quickly and quietly, something confused passing over his face, before he lit up and followed the worker away. Lucky, Willis thought with a hum.

He settled into their room, leaning against the wall, and watched everyone else shuffle about into their own rooms. Tommy would be back soon enough, but they could at least discuss what to pick while they waited.

“We should pick something easy.”

Techno snorted but leaned on the opposite wall. “Hole in the Wall?” He suggested, flicking his ear and tilting his head slightly.

Willis hummed in thought at the suggestion. That would work… “Well, it’s that or Parkour Tag.”

Next to him, Phil whistled in agreement as he leaned against his cane. Willis glanced over his stance with sympathy. Phil had been getting better, not needing his cane nearly as much over time after he changed how he held his wings, but getting thrown around on Doomsday hadn’t done him any favours. The strain from today hadn’t, either.

Even if they wanted to do something strenuous - which he was sure neither of them did, even Techno was tired from today - he knew Phil wouldn’t be able to keep up. Battle Box had strained him and he knew the old man’s back and wings were aching. Even preening him earlier had caused some pain because he’d had to spread his wings.

“Either one works for me,” the Elytrian agreed after some thought.

“‘Either one’ what?”

Tommy’s voice made Willis' ears flick to attention and the hair on the back of his neck to stand up straight. He scoffed as the child laughed at his obvious surprise, glaring at him and only getting flipped off in the process. Even he couldn’t help but chuckle at that. At least he seemed to be in a better mood than earlier.

“Parkour Tag or Hole in the Wall for which game we want next,” Willis informed him as Tommy shuffled over to stand near him. 

Tommy hummed in understanding and looked out at the games, rocking on his heels a bit as he looked between them. Once more, Willis found himself staring at his eyes as they moved, flashing between each of the games on the board faster than he thought should be possible before he ended up shrugging. “I’m down for whichever one you guys want to do,” he turned to look up at him, though they both looked at Phil when he shifted.

Willis watched as he leaned his cane against the wall to lift up his slingshot and frowned at the pain in the movement. He bit back the instinct to scold him and make him sit down, knowing Phil wouldn’t appreciate being babied. 

“Let’s go with Hole in the Wall, my wings’ll cause issues in Parkour Tag if I’m not careful,” he admitted, looking just a little embarrassed. Willis didn’t think he had anything to be embarrassed about but he also knew he’d been so proud of himself for getting better recently.

He didn’t say anything and just chuffed in agreement, letting Phil shoot his shot first before following after him. His aim was a little off, but it got the idea across well enough. Techno was a better shot than him, though - admittedly - worse than Phil, and that left Tommy.

Just as Tommy raised his slingshot and aimed, there was a commotion across the Dome as red was dunked before half of them could vote. Tommy’s note was showcased up above, complete with a frowny face that very clearly mocked Dream’s smiley face motif.

Willis couldn’t say he was too surprised by Tommy’s choice, not after what happened earlier. Seeing the vindictive glow to Tommy’s eyes - and he wasn’t sure if the glow was literal or if he was simply imagining it - as he watched them only made it more clear he chose them on purpose. He stood quietly next to him as his anger, quiet and simmering, shone in his eyes before he shot his vote.

Bullseye, not that any of them were too surprised at this point.

His anger was almost contagious and Willis retreated to Techno’s side to avoid it as the announcements above started speaking of the final vote. He leaned against his twin and stared out at the center with a passive look, trying not to seem too affected by the anger. Techno glanced at him almost knowingly and just leaned back against him to offer some comfort.

Today was a lot for all of them, he could only hope tomorrow - and the rest of MCC - was simpler for all of them. Hole in the Wall as tomorrow’s game would at least help set the mood for the day, they’d just have to work together to keep it.

It shouldn’t be that hard. Who didn’t like Hole in the Wall?

(Besides, everyone would probably be too exhausted to cause too many problems… or so he hoped.)

Chapter Text

Tommy woke the next day feeling pretty good, all things considered. 

He felt so good, actually, that, when asked what he wanted for breakfast, he decided to actually join them rather than making Phil bring it back to the room for him. He had avoided breakfast - most meals, actually - with everyone else because he didn’t want to have to see all the Players all at once when he didn’t need to. But, with his newfound freedom (at least until the game for the day started) he wouldn’t mind joining them.

Besides, he thought as he sat down with the heroes at their own table, this gave him a chance to try and put some faces to names. It was like a game, he thought with a little laugh. Nothing like the Games He used to play, for sure, but it was still fun. It kept him busy. And it kept him from worrying about later when he inevitably had to get his spectator reinstated.

Tommy already knew what some people looked like, of course. Most of the heroes from L’manburg were recognizable - such as Puffy, BadBoyHalo and even Bad’s diamond-golem-hybrid partner - and Slimecicle wasn’t any different aside from being a bit more vibrant. After all, a mob was a mob, it didn’t matter who was looking at it and it didn’t matter if it had a Nametag or had learned to talk or act like a person.

Some he only barely recognized were those like Purpled or Sally. Their Nametags weren’t too far off from their names and, when he looked a little closer, he could see the resemblance. It was much clearer than it should’ve been, like he’d known them for so much longer than he had. He wasn’t sure if he liked this side effect of seeing them as people before Players.

There were many Nametags that he didn’t have a face to match them to, though. Either he had never heard their name or he hadn’t paid enough attention to them when looking at them before, but many were blank. He was more thankful for that than he usually was, it lessened the disconnect he felt looking at those he did recognize.

As his eyes continued their sweep across the room, he spotted Bad talking animatedly about something. His shadows were bristling and his tail was visibly swaying back and forth - nearly knocking someone who wasn’t paying attention down when they went by. He laughed when Bad felt his eyes on him and turned, only to bristle further when he grinned cheekily at him.

Suitably entertained, he turned back to the conversation his heroes were having.

“-might actually win this time.” Ah, Willis was talking. “Our team is really strong this time, and we’re doing good. As long as we don’t choke in the later games when the multiplier goes up then we might actually have a shot!”

Tommy perked up in interest. “Y’think so, Wil?” He asked, not caring that he had just stuffed some food in his mouth.

Willis grimaced in disgust at him and pointed his fork at him. “Don’t talk with your mouth full, Gremlin. And don’t use my name,” he scolded, kicking him under the table - which only prompted Tommy to kick him in return with an offended scowl - before continuing. “But yes, I do think we have a shot. As long as you don’t mess it up.” His disgust turned into a teasing grin and Tommy scoffed.

“I would never. I’ll have you know I’ve never messed anything up. Ever.”

Willis gave him a doubtful look, raising a brow at him, but, before he could say anything, Techno spoke.

“Y’know… Thes’ is doin’ much better than you ever did, Si,” Techno drawled, his mouth quirked up just enough to be noticeable under his mask as his tail swished back and forth. Tommy idly thought that he missed having a tail and being able to shapeshift on a whim without worry of who might see. Maybe he’d experiment more when he was done with this tournament.

The god lit up at the praise and beamed, having to consciously make an effort to not literally glow after freely doing so around Tubbo and Ranboo recently. His grin only got wider at Willis' scoff of offence.

“Yeah! So you don’t get to talk to me about messing things up.”

Tommy was pretty sure he looked like an excited puppy with how he turned to Techno, his grin wide and his excitement obvious enough that, if he did have a tail, it would be wagging. (Someone else looking in at them might’ve thought they looked more like brothers, with Tommy immediately rushing to back him up like that. Tommy would tell them that they were wrong.)

Techno snorted at his easy agreement and just nodded as he continued to eat his breakfast. It was what Tommy would consider a good meal for a piglin back in the day, consisting of plenty of meat and a baked potato. Alternatively, Willis had a more ‘human’ breakfast, with eggs and sausage and some toast. He half thought that the reason Willis was so small compared to Techno was because he wasn’t eating enough, though was sure he’d get a good whack on the back of his head if he mentioned it.

Willis narrowed his eyes and bared his teeth at Techno in a familiar motion that had Tommy grinning to himself.

Techno looked up from his food, midbite, and tilted his head just slightly, inviting a challenge if Willis was up for it. 

With how close Tommy was to Techno, he could hear the whispers of Prime around his head. They encouraged him to take the challenge, to not even hesitate, and he had to hold back a more open laugh at how blood thirsty they were.

He wondered, in the back of his mind as he continued to eat and the twins got worked up, if they were acting out because of what happened yesterday or if they were always this bad. He wouldn’t put it past them if they were just like this, but it was also completely possible that they thought getting into a fight with Willis was the best way to make it up to him. They wouldn't be completely wrong with that assumption, to be fair. 

As they started fighting - playfully. He could tell it was playful but was sure many wouldn’t notice that the snarls and growls they did weren’t actually that serious like he did - he saw movement from the corner of his eye and turned to see Phil shaking his head in faux disappointment.

“Don’t waste all your energy before the games!” He called to them. Unfortunately, neither seemed to be listening. With a fond scoff he shook his head, ruffled his wings with a small wince, and continued to eat his breakfast. “Little shits,” he sighed to himself. “I don’t know how they have so much energy after yesterday, I just want to go back to bed.”

Tommy snorted at his musing, laying his head in his hand and watching as the two started to gather a small crowd as they fought. It was honestly embarrassing how easily Techno was able to hold Willis back.

“They’re not old like you are,” he mused in return.

Phil turned his gaze to him, expression tired and amused, and playfully nudged him with a wing. “Little shit,” he grumbled, just a little too fondly for Tommy’s tastes. He ignored the pang of- disgust? Anger? Disinterest? He ignored the pang of something at the sound of it and shook it off, looking back to the fight. He figured that would be it, but apparently it wasn’t. 

He saw Phil tilt his head like a particularly curious bird, his expression less fond and more curious to match his body language, before he spoke again. “Would you want to do some shooting practice with me?”

Tommy glanced at him, blinking. He hadn’t expected that question, but he wasn’t opposed to doing so. He mimicked him by tilting his head, smiling. “Yeah, sure. After the games?”

“After the games,” the elytrian confirmed with a chuckle.

“Then yeah, sure! I’m down! But I dunno how long we’ll be able to practice for,” he began to warn. He was down for it, but he had other things to do today that he knew he couldn’t put off for too long without one of his roommates - Tubbo - throwing a fit. “I need to call my roommates before it gets too late, so if the games go on too long then I won’t be able to.”

Phil nodded in understanding, seemingly lost in thought. “Your roommates,” he began, and instantly Tommy’s focus was on him. He was sure Phil felt it, even without realizing what was causing his wings to fluff up and a shiver to run down his spine. “You call them every day, don’t you? Why not let us say hi one of these times?”

Tommy relaxed.

Okay, that was fine. He could probably do that… but he’d need to ask them first. So, he said as much.

“I’d need to ask them, they can be pretty shy.”

Internally, Tommy laughed at the thought. Ranboo was shy, though was getting better, but Tubbo? Tubbo wasn’t shy. But he did have a very specific hatred for some heroes, and one of those heroes just happened to be on his team. It was better to just call him shy then have a repeat of Halloween.

(Somewhere in L’manburg, a goat-hybrid woke with a sneeze and the sudden need to punch a god.)

He wondered, for a brief moment, if Phil would call him out for lying. He hadn’t met his brothers when they went to the Halloween party as far as he was aware. He’d spoken to Willis and Techno had talked to Tubbo and ranboo - and had subsequently had them leaving early because of something Techno did that he still hadn’t gotten an explanation on - but Phil hadn't really seen either of them. 

He didn’t, and Tommy let out a sigh and turned back to the twins just in time to see Techno laying on the ground and Willis with a foot on his chest. He stood triumphantly, beaming and eating up the cheers of the small crowd they’d gathered, and Tommy couldn’t help but laugh.

Willis had definitely cheated to get there, and Techno looked near murderous. Tommy was certain that he’d kill him when he was finally let up. Next to him, Phil groaned in tired disappointment.

Tommy rolled his eyes and laughed. His heroes were so, so stupid. Stupid but so, so entertaining.

-

Phil watched as Tommy got up to go antagonize Willis and Techno - as if they needed any more encouragement - and did nothing to stop him. They wouldn’t actually murder each other… hopefully. As long as none of them stabbed each other then he’d let them do what they wanted. He watched, equally fond, amused, and exasperated at the scene, and thought about how well Tommy fit in with his boys.

He hoped those roommates of his would fit in just as well. He just had to get the chance to actually meet them. With how firm Tommy was on disappearing whenever he talked to them, rarely giving away a name or detail about them besides vague mentions, it was hard to picture them.

Hopefully they could, at least, start small soon by giving small greetings to each other before Tommy went off and disappeared Prime-knows-where until the Decision Dome. After all, Willis had mentioned that it wouldn’t be as easy to adopt him as it was when he adopted the twins because he had his brothers. The solution to that was simple! Just adopt the brothers as well and boom- one big happy family.

Phil snorted at the thought, idly swirling his coffee and shaking out his wings. If his roommates were anything like Tommy then it would be nothing but chaos every day. He couldn’t wait.

-

Breakfast was over shortly after Tommy joined the twins with their wrestling. He and Techno almost ganged up on Willis once Techno was free from his power, but unfortunately, he was saved by the bell. Maybe next time.

Technically, Tommy was supposed to be getting changed for Hole in the Wall at the moment. He had taken his outfit and entered the stall to get changed just a moment ago.. But he wasn’t actually changing. See, he was already ready for the game. It took him mere seconds to get completely changed because he didn’t waste time in doing things the human way.

See, he didn’t have time to do things the human way. He had to go get his spectator, even if he wasn’t looking forward to it. Either he went to them or they’d track him down (probably, if the guy wasn’t too terrified of him) to get it settled before the game. He preferred to get the spectator situation sorted out on his own terms, thank you very much, so he was heading there now. He hadn’t had time before, what with how they immediately went back to the room to get their outfits to get ready once breakfast was over, giving him no chances to slip away without being noticed, so here he was doing it now

He wasn’t looking forward to it, but he knew he didn’t have much of a choice. Not unless he wanted to give himself away or cause issues.

So, once they were busy, he teleported out of the changing room and to an alleyway near the spectator building. He couldn’t just teleport straight in there, that would be too noticeable, it would give away too much, so he went as close as he could before starting to walk.

The wind was quick to take notice of his actions and brushed over him, causing him to snort and eye it. He didn’t hesitate to talk to it, even if anyone who saw him doing so would think him crazy.

He just had to reply to it, able to vividly imagine how it would tease him.

“What? I need to get my spectator before the game starts.”

The wind whistled in his ear, questioning, and he rolled his eyes with a snort. 

“Oh, calm down. It’s not like they’ll know I was gone. I’ll be right back in just a minute!” He defended himself. He could imagine, so vividly he could almost mistake it as real, how she’d roll her eyes at him for his defense. The wind circled around him in a way that he was sure was it doing just that. “Look, okay, unless you tell them that I’m gone, then they won’t even notice!”

The wind went still with a pause.

Tommy paused with it, brow furrowing in confusion, before he barked out a laugh. “Seriously? I’m bad at keeping secrets but you’re out there outright telling them-?” He didn’t even get to finish teasing it. A panicked whirlwind blew through him before disappearing.

The god couldn’t help but snort and roll his eyes, shaking his head in amusement as he approached the door. A yellow rose bloomed in the garden bed next to him before he entered. “So stupid,” he muttered under his breath, fond.

-

Tommy left them, Techno noticed idly as he wrapped his wrists, getting ready for Hole in the Wall. It was a passive observation, nothing he felt the need to point out or even mention later but something he noticed none-the-less. He was just curious on how he did it.

They’d gone to the locker rooms to get changed once breakfast was over - and Willis was done gloating about ‘beating’ him - and Tommy had slipped into the back to get changed, just like he had for To Get to the Other Side. One second he was there and Techno got changed, and then he was gone by the time he was out and just wrapping his wrists. It was surprising, especially considering the fact that he was so sure he would’ve seen or, at least, heard him leave.

But no. His disappearance was silent. Techno might not’ve even noticed he disappeared if it wasn’t for the voices. It started as one message being deleted, but quickly others began to parrot. The ‘moderators’ that kept ‘spoilers’ from him could only keep up for so long, and eventually one, then two, then three and four and- the point was, he could hear them. Tommy was gone, doing something else and not where he was supposed to be.

He really wouldn’t have paid it much mind if the ‘moderators’ and others didn’t make such a big deal about it, continuously deleting messages and shushing those who even started to chat or ask what was going on. There were always a lot of voices, a lot of messages, he rarely paid any real attention to them if he could ignore it, but this time they drew just a little too much attention to it.

It made him wonder…

Not that his wondering could get very far. It never could, not when the voices got worked up and loud like this. So, with a heavy sigh that erred on the edge of pained, he tilted his head back and closed his eyes. He was done wrapping his arms now anyway.

“Guys…” He tried to interject, hoping to stop them before they got too worked up and became a hivemind, but he seemed to be too late. Damn it.

Lol sorry that was autocorrect-

i MEANT that theseus is exactly where he’s supposed to be and is actually getting ready right now-

Real and true-

Can confirm-

my cat ran across my keyboard actually ignore my last messages ^-^-

Hey-

Hey techno-

Techno look over there-

PSPSPSPSPSPS DON’T PAY ATTENTION TO THEM!-

wait what did i miss-?-

nothing- 

nothing- 

nothing- 

Techno groaned heavily as they all began to spam that. Now he knew they were full of shit. “Guys,” he tried to interrupt them once more to no avail, beginning to rub at his temples in hopes to stave off the incoming headache. 

They all knew it was a useless attempt.

c’mon we didn’t say anything-

yeah! Theseus is-

<message deleted>

Message has been deleted by a moderator.

Fuck sorry

I mean T ommy is getting ready!-

Readyinnit!-

Yeah, he’s getting ready-

Unlike SOMEONE-

Yeah Techno-

Technolate-

At least Theseus is getting ready, techno’s just SITTING there-

“Bruh! What do you want me to do? I’m ready, I’m just waitin’ on the others!” He tried to protest, waving a hand in the vague direction of Phil and Willis where they were getting ready.

Sounds like excuses to me-

excuses!- 

L-

Technolate-

technolate- 

late-

Technolate-

And they were spamming again.

“Bruh,” he repeated, exasperated. “You guys know I can’t understand y’all when you’re spammin’. And if anyone’s late, it’s Phil an’ Willis-”

“Who’s late?” 

Techno startled at the voice, his eyes snapping over and his hand habitually reaching for his axe-... only to realize too late that he didn’t have it. He almost panicked for a second, all until he realized the voices were beginning to spam something new.

Willis!-

brother!- 

Ah.

Techno took a deep breath, held it, then let it out slowly as the tension in his shoulders melted away. It was just Willis. Even with all the shit he pulled with his powers, he could never be afraid of his twin.

“Phil is, an’ so is Th-”

Tommy*-

“-Tommy,” he corrected mindlessly after the voice did. 

They had been doing that more often ever since the games finished yesterday, insisting that he should call Tommy by his name more than his alias. It was a very sudden switch up, what with how excited they had been when suggesting the name to begin with, and it was odd, but it wasn’t an issue. He figured there was a reason for the corrections, and he didn’t think it important enough to ask why.

Willis hummed in understanding, the sound musical in a way that sometimes made Techno jealous, and then came to stand near him. “I guess they are. ‘S not surprising for Phil though, his back’s killing him after yesterday.”

His voice was calm, not joking and just stating a fact. Despite how the voices immediately latched on to his words to begin making fun of Phil-

Oldza!

next he’s gonna need a hip replacement or smthn-

old! old! old!-

oldza!!- 

-Techno appreciated the calm. Jokes were funny, and they made many at Phil’s expense, but he needed a moment to relax before the inevitable chaos of the games. Especially with his slowly forming headache.

“Not surprising,” he agreed easily instead of acknowledging the voices and taking advantage of low hanging fruit for a joke. Though that didn’t mean he wouldn’t bring up something that he might regret. He decided to just go for it. “Tommy has no excuses, though.”

Almost immediately the voices started up again, yelling in his ear, making excuses, trying to gaslight him into shutting his mouth because Tommy is right where he’s supposed to be, he’s just getting ready, but he ignored them to listen to Willis.

Willis had snorted in agreement, his ears flicking in though, before turning. “I’ll go check on him. Knowing him, he probably died or something when we weren’t looking.”

Techno huffed out a chuckle at the joke and watched Willis go. He briefly considered telling him to wait for him to come out on his own, making note that the voices really wanted him to be left alone… but decided against it. It was kind of funny to listen how they scrambled for him to say something, to delay Willis, when moments ago they had tried to gaslight him into thinking nothing was going on with Tommy at all. It was hilarious how quickly they changed their tune, even having the audacity to get angry at him because he didn’t listen to them. 

Was he paying for his actions as they got louder and louder in a group effort to give him a headache? Yeah, but it was worth it to spite them. He’d just take some medicine before they started the rounds, and, even then, it wasn’t like he’d never fought with a headache or even a migraine before. 

He’d be more than fine, so he just sighed and closed his eyes again. Soon enough Willis would come back, either with or without Tommy, and soon after that Phil would be finished and they’d need to go meet at the boats for the games. Until then, he’d rest his eyes.

It was never hard for him to fall asleep, especially with them just coming off the cuffs of winter, so maybe he’d even take a little power nap. He’d certainly need it if today was anything like yesterday.

-

Tommy stepped out of the stall and almost ran right into Willis. 

He stopped just before he did, but he looked up at him in surprise. He blinked up at him blankly for a moment before scoffing. “Wil, you gotta stop gettin’ in my way like this.”

Willis blinked right back at him before huffing out a laugh. “I came to check on you. Had to make sure you didn’t fall in or somethin’,” he shot back, reaching out and ruffling his hair. At Tommy’s groan and shove, he just chuckled again and shook his head before looking down at him. “Techno was wondering where you were,” he added on more genuinely.

Tommy grumbled at his teasing and fixed his hair from Willis messing it up, but hummed at his more sincere comment. “Well I was getting changed, Techno can wait a couple minutes.” He stepped out of the stall completely and started heading over. He heard a sharp inhale from Willis when he passed him, however, and he paused before glancing back in confusion. He tensed a bit at the sight of his lowered ears and tail. He found himself looking to his body language more than anything, hit with the horrid reminder than he couldn’t see his eyes like this, and he didn’t like reading the pity he looked at him with.

He grimaced, lips turning down as a buttercup grew in his throat. 

“What?”

Willis stopped walking, looking startled to be called out. Or maybe he was confused by the slight rasp his voice suddenly had. “What?”

Tommy consciously swallowed the ugly petals of annoyance, clearing his throat, before asking, “why are you looking at me like that? Like- like you’re pitying me?”

He was playing dumb. Tommy was pretty sure he knew why he was pitying him, and it was the same reason his heroes had been staring at him on the day of the first games. His swimming outfit left his arms and shoulders exposed, and with the way he put his hair up in a hair tie he was sure the back of his neck looked similarly scarred. He understood they’d stare, but it didn’t make it any less annoying to him.

Willis still looked caught off guard before wincing. “I’m not pitying you, I’m worried about you, there’s a difference, you gremlin,” he sighed. 

Tommy paused midstep, his mind flashing back-

Tubbo hummed, obviously suspicious of him, but he didn’t push it anymore despite clearly not believing him. “Fine. But it wouldn’t be pity, it’d be worry. There’s a difference.”

-before he shook it off.

Tommy took a deep breath, held it, and remembered that he had a spectator he couldn’t kill watching his every move and Tubbo and Ranboo waiting for him once the games were over. He didn’t want to blow up like he had yesterday, so he did his best to just continue walking towards where he could hear Techno and Phil’s voices.

“I’m fine, I don’t need you to worry about me or whatever. I’m not sure, am I?”

“Well, no. But-”

“But nothing! I’m not hurt, there’s nothing you can do about scars, just leave it.”

He might have snapped there, just a little bit, but it got the job done.

Willis seemed to hesitate before sighing, his ears flicking back. He nodded.

Good, Tommy thought, exasperated

As he turned, though, he saw Phil and Techno looking at them in surprise.

Phil’s surprise was much easier to see than Techno’s - his pity, especially, was much easier to spot. It’s not like he hid it well, letting out a mournful croon that, had he been almost anyone else, he likely thought he wouldn’t understand - but he spotted it in both of them.

Techno was much better at hiding his, less of an outwardly feeling person, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t feel how his eyes went straight to his shoulders.

The voices were the biggest give aways that he’d noticed his scars.

There are more than there used to be..-

theseus…-

tommy--

O-

<message deleted>

Message has been deleted by a moderator.

He could hear them as he got closer, their whispers quieter, sadder, than usual, and he met Techno’s eyes through his mask before he looked away.

“So, gentlemen! We ready to kick some ass?”

His voice seemed to snap them out of their staring, thankfully, because Phil chuckled - the noise only a little forced - and shook out his wings with a barely contained cringe and tense of pain.

“I wouldn’t say that… but I’m ready if you boys are.”

Willis hummed and then leaned against his shoulder. Tommy didn’t bother pushing him off, even if he was tempted to with how he avoided pressing his elbow on any of his visible scars. He was so painfully careful for no reason that it almost annoyed him more than him actively asking questions. “I’m ready too.”

Each of their eyes went to Techno, as he was the only one left, and there was a moment of thought or hesitation before he grunted and moved to stand. 

“Let me get somethin’ for me ‘ead, ‘ll meet you up ahead.”

Willis made a noise next to him and pulled away, going to his twin’s side. “They bein’ loud?”

“Yeah, they’ve been yelling non-stop ‘cause I pissed ‘em off-”

Tommy could almost hear the roll of his eyes at his words. Phil lightly nudged him with a wing, though, so he stopped paying attention and looked at him with a raised brow.

He just smiled at him, and Tommy appreciated that he didn’t have his veil so that he could actually see it. “Let’s get going to the boat, they’ll catch up. They know where it is,” he assured.

The god hummed, but conceded and started to walk with him. “Alright. You think Techno’ll be okay for the games today?” He felt almost worried that the voices might be too much for him today. 

Phil sighed. It was a tired sigh, but also one with sympathy. “He’ll be fine. The voices are loud sometimes, they’ll quiet eventually. And he’s learned to deal with them for the most part.”

Tommy nodded along, but made a mental note to maybe ask Prime to quiet down a little. If not for Techno then for him. It wouldn’t do for his teammate to be out of commission for the rest of the games.

(That’s what he told himself, at least. There was surely no other reason that he’d care.)

-

Tommy stood on the platform with his heroes, as well as the rest of the them. The boat they had taken had brought them to an artificial island. It wasn’t too far from the main Islands, he could still see them, but it was far enough to feel a little isolated. The platform they were packed onto in preparation for the round was pretty small, especially considering there were forty people - all adults, and somme rather large hybrids - all stood on it.

It was likely by design, making the platform crowded and hard to move on - it would certainly make it harder to dodge the walls.

The platform itself was a sort of checkerboard, with glass panels in between each square. He half wondered if there was a reason for that, or if that was just for decoration. Considering there was the ocean right beneath each square of glass, and he’d been told that the platform would shrink over time… he was pretty sure they’d drop sometime, and he wasn’t looking forward to standing on them when that happened.

Tracks were criss-crossed above them, running over the platforms and to the outer walls that formed a large box around them. There were some workers at each side to control the walls, as well as an audience between each corner. He knew by the ladder at the base of each wall that they were to climb up them to wait once knocked out and he internally grimaced at the idea of climbing all the way up.

It’s not that he feared he’d tire out from it - that was if he even fell in the first place - but climbing ladders was so slow. Couldn’t they have made a faster way up?

Tommy’s internal griping was cut off as the announcements began.

“First off, it’s my pleasure to announce the first multiplier for this years MCC! Ever coin earned during this game is to be multiplied by 1.5, and it will only go up from here in later games. Be careful not to fall too far behind, it’s very easy to lose your lead to a gamble. Just ask Yellow about last year!”

Tommy blinked in surprise and he glanced over to see Yellow team all grinning, as well as a handful of others shooting them annoyed looks. He figured they either won or lost very suddenly because of the multiplied coins. He hoped they could keep their lead.

“Secondly, you’ll see we have you on a new platform this year. What do you think? We spent a long time figuring out what you’d like the most,” his voice took on a playful coo and, with the groans around him, Tommy was sure he meant that sarcastically. Great, so he was probably right about the glass squares disappearing some time during the round. It would be hell to avoid stepping on those spots, but he’d do his best to accustom himself to moving without them so he wouldn’t make any accidental mistakes.

How embarrassing would it be to fall right through them?

“And I’m happy to announce that we have two new challenges that may make an appearance! I hope you guys don’t mind a little ice and slime!”

There were more groans and shouted complaints at that announcement, and Tommy found himself snickering. Ice and slime were the worst they could do? That was easy. What were they even complaining about?

“Now, with those changes out of the way, let’s begin with the rules. Most of you know them by now, but those of you who don’t? Don’t fret. It’s not very complicated, I promise,” Tommy could practically hear the stupid grin he was giving them all. “Powers are, of course, forbidden. Unless you have physical hybrid traits, you’re tough out of luck! You only have your physical capabilities to rely on for this game. Any power usage will be met with an immediate disqualification of the game and you will forfeit all your coins.”

That was fair. He was certain that Siren’s power would be an ass to deal with in an arena like this. With everyone so close to each other, it probably wouldn’t be hard to give out commands to make them just jump off. Not even the earplugs they’d given them would be able to completely block his voice and power out.

The comment on hybrid traits intrigued him, though. He idly wondered if that meant he could have used his wings if he had them… It sucked more each day that he played a human with the heroes. Maybe never year, if he, Tubbo and Ranboo joined, he could be something more fun. Maybe he could even give himself a ‘power’.

“The goal of the game is to be the last one standing, so do your best to stay on the platform as long as you can! Physical fights are allowed, but know that whoever you start something with is more than allowed to fight back. Provocation is grounds for a fight, and we won’t step in if you bring it upon yourself!”

There were a few laughs and, next to him, Angel chuckled and nudged Blade, saying something Tommy wasn’t close enough to hear and wasn’t paying enough attention to read. He would have to ask if there was a story later.

Tommy figured that meant that fights were allowed, but you should know what you’re getting into before you do. Fair enough. He didn’t think he’d start any fights if he didn’t have to.

“We have our events, of course. Every three minutes a different thing might happen. These events range from the floor becoming sticky, to projectiles being shot from the audience. Be careful not to piss any of them off, they might hold a grudge of the next rounds,” the announcer laughed and a few others laughed with him.

Next to him, Siren shuddered.

Tommy snorted at him. Of course Siren pissed someone off.

“Make sure you keep an eye out for anything coming your way. Sometimes even other contestants can get their hands on projectiles…” 

He let that hang in the air for a second, and Tommy felt determination to not get shot off by anyone.

“And finally, let’s explain the new platform. With ten minutes left, or half the contestants out, half of the platform will disappear. Again at five minutes, or a third of the contestants, and part of it will disappear. And one final time at two and a half minutes, or the final five left on the platform, it will shrink considerably. Make sure you keep an eye out for flashing tiles!”

Flashing tiles, Tommy noted. Got it. 

“And good luck! The round will start momentarily.”

Finally, the announcements finished off with a sing-song voice and Tommy made a mental note of each thing he thought was important. He’d keep an eye out so that the platforms wouldn’t just collapse underneath him. After the first half of the platform disappeared - which he assumed was the glass spaces - he would have no idea how it’d start shrinking. He’d have to keep a good eye on it.

Other than that, he’d have to keep an eye out for any activities that would start and mess him up… He was sure he’d be fine!

A handful of amaryllis bloomed from his wrists and wrapped around his ankles and calves comfortingly, giving him some support. He had this!

As a countdown for the game started, Tommy habitually shifted closer to Siren… only to get a look when he noticed him. He frowned at it, confused, but Siren just shooed him away with a concentrated look on his face. He guessed he didn’t want any distractions… He probably didn’t want to fall in the water, considering his condition, which was fair… But he didn’t need to be so rude about it.

Whatever. He didn’t need to stand near Siren anyway!

Tommy shuffled away and ended up standing near someone he didn’t really recognize. She had pink hair and she was a merling, but she wasn’t Niki. He knew that for a fact. She gave him a smile when she noticed him, though, and he smiled back. She seemed neat! Certainly much nicer than Siren was about him standing near her.

-

Nevermind, Tommy took it back. He hated this woman.

He had stayed near her for the first three or so minutes, since she seemed to welcome him next to her and she seemed to know what she was doing - it was easy to follow her lead between each walls, much easier than figuring out which way was North or South based off of his team’s callouts - but, in doing so, he forgot that this was a competition. Well, no- that wasn’t right. He didn’t forget it was a competition, but he forgot that she was a part of his competition.

She had been so nice to him! She had even helped steady him when the first event took place, the ground becoming slippery with soap. She didn’t go out of her way to trip or shove him, either!

…But then a guy got in his way, shoving between him and the lady as if he owned the place. Everything just went downhill from there.

He had shoved the guy, a man with a green streak in his hair, in return. He had laughed when it caused the man to slip on the left over soap and tumble into the water below. Imagine his surprise when he turned just in time to see the lady turn, stare him down, and then shove him. She gave him an apologetic grin he barely caught, even mouthing what he thought was ‘sorry!’ to him quickly, like that helped-

And then he was falling.

It was so sudden and startling that he didn’t even think about it when he caught himself. He stopped midair, looking like he was sitting in a chair that didn’t exist rather than being mid-fall. It was only for a split second though, because almost immediately he remembered he couldn’t be doing that, forcing his mind to let his body continue falling.

Like with the rockwall just days before, there was just something about free falling, of being unable to catch himself or trust anyone else to catch him, that he hated. It felt like giving away control, like he was gambling with a life that didn’t really exist, and it made him grimace as he hit the water.

Tommy felt like he hit the water hard. So hard it almost felt like it hurt, even if he knew that was literally impossible. 

The only thing he bruised from the fall was his ego, even if he didn’t want to admit it. He had wanted to be good at the game, and he thought it would be easy! Especially because he thought he was good at dodging projectiles. How hard could dodging walls be?

He can’t help but feel irritation build in him, because it really shouldn’t be hard at all! It should be easy, and he should excel at it like he had the other games! But he wasn’t. He struggled, and he only lasted as long as he did - which wasn’t even long - because he had been following behind that lady.

It was only when his irritation spiked, petunias burning at his lungs - or maybe that was the lack of oxygen? - that Tommy realized he had gotten lost in thought and had just been sinking in the water. He quickly began swimming up to the surface before anyone could start worrying about him. He didn’t need people to worry about him because he was fine, and this was just a single round, and he’d do better in the others so there was no reason for him to get upset.

He just had to remind himself of what Tubbo said yesterday!

He’s allowed to need time to adjust to change and new things. It was okay.

(He wasn’t so sure he agreed with him on that, but he also didn’t want to get taken over by his emotions again so soon. One breakdown a century was enough, thank you very much.)

Tommy just had to do better next round.

…Still, that didn’t stop him from grumbling as he headed towards the nearest ladder to the bleachers. He cursed the woman that had shoved him under his breath the whole way and no, he was not pouting.

He especially wasn’t pouting when he found out that he only got twenty-fifth place.

-

For the second round, Tommy decided it would be best if he copied the rest of his team.

His whole team, aside from him - and no, he wasn’t bitter about them doing better than him during this game so far - had done pretty good that round, getting in the top twenty as opposed to Tommy’s twenty-fifth place. Though he was pretty sure that Angel had been gliding down when he fell, rather than dropping right into the water, just to give himself a handful of extra points for survival before being out for the round… Not that he was judging him. 

Point was, he saw the way they had played and knew that their strategy at least worked better than him relying on some stranger to not immediately backstab him the second he turned away from them.

Angel, he noticed, had taken charge of the space around him. He used his wings to his advantage by holding them in such a way that made it awkward for anyone to stand near him. It forced anyone getting close to either have to touch him or trip over themselves to avoid being hit whenever they flared or moved. Anyone else watching might’ve called this accidental - it was just a consequence of having big wings like his - but Tommy was certain it was on purpose.

Angel was using his wings to defend his space and Tommy respected him for it.

Similarly, he had seen how Siren and Blade made a space for themselves. Where he thought Siren had just wanted to be alone, he found he was actually working with Blade. With the way they defended their space aggressively and worked in relative sync, he figured he’d just get in the way if he joined them.

Whenever anyone had entered their space, Blade had pushed them away or - if given the chance - off the edge, if he could get away with it. The only person who seemed to be able to safely enter their space was Angel, as they adjusted their movements to line up with together with what Tommy thought was little thought. He almost felt left out, but pushed that thought away. If it worked, it worked. He didn’t need to get in the way, and he’d just do his best to make it work for him on his own.

And it did! For the most part.

Tommy stayed alive much longer than he had the first round, even if sometimes his survival was dubious at best.

Tommy’s biggest struggle in this game was keeping up with the walls and those around him. See, he knew they were there, and he knew where the walls were coming from thanks to his team’s callouts, but neither of those helped him when he struggled to keep up. 

How did anyone keep an eye on so many things at once when only able to see from one pair of eyes?

He instinctively wanted to look at the world around his body from an outside perspective, to keep an eye on people around him while also being able to see more walls, but he couldn’t, he’s stuck doing things the human way. So, he just did his best to listen to the callouts - even if he didn’t know which way was North, South, East, or West off the top of his head and preferred a simple ‘left’ or ‘right’ - and get a feel for his own space.

There was no need to defend it nearly as hard as the others, nor did he really have the means to. Last time he pushed someone off he ended up getting pushed himself, so he’d rather just mind his business, thanks.

He manages to survive the first event - though this was only thanks to quick intervention on Blade’s part. The ground had become sticky so quickly that he had barely been given time to react. It was only because he’d noticed that he was stuck so quickly and acted, pulling him out of the way, that he didn’t get shoved off the edge by the wall.

Shortly after that event, there was a noise, a flash that he only barely remembered meant the platform would be shrinking, and he rushed to get onto a stable part of it. Moments later, half of the platform dropped away and the amount of people surviving lessened considerably in the next few seconds.

The second event was projectiles being shot from the stand by those in the audience. He assumed most of the people shooting were trusted staff members… but he also wouldn’t put it past MCC to give random people in the audience slingshots to shoot plastic at them.

He was dodging them pretty well, mostly on instinct that not even his current blindness changed, until he turned just in time to see Siren get shot right in the face with a ball and stumble off the edge.

“Ha! Idiot!” Tommy called into his comm without hesitation, barking out a laugh. His laughter was quickly stifled by a yelp as he was nearly hit in the face as well. He dodged, because he was just that cool, but he could hear Siren sputtering about karma below when he surfaced.

It was totally worth it, even if he almost got hit himself.

Once that event was over, Tommy became increasingly focused on the walls. The platform was just the black spaces left and because of this he had to hop between each space to avoid the walls while also making sure he wouldn’t get tripped up because of any residual stickiness in the flooring.

Tommy was so focused on the walls, listening to Siren’s callouts from the side, that he didn’t notice the floor he was jumping to flashing with a rim of red light until it was too late. 

The god made an embarrassing noise that he’d later deny was him as he plummeted into the water below.

God damn it. He had been doing so well, too…

Tommy got thirteenth that round, as he found out once he finished climbing up to the bleachers. He wouldn’t admit that he had grinned, a red carnation popping up in his chest, as Siren praised him for doing so well after only his second round.

-

As the round continued, Tommy found himself sitting on the sidelines as he waited for it to be over. It felt like this round was really drawing on and on, neither of the last - he quickly checked - seven going for each other. They all seemed focused on just surviving the walls and challenges, which he couldn’t blame them for, he supposed, but it didn’t make for a very entertaining watch.

At least in his opinion it didn’t. So he took out his earplugs, made himself comfortable, and sat back as he let his mind wander.

Now, it wasn’t intentional, but he ended up settling near a handful of people he actually knew. Specifically, he was sat next to Bad and the rest of Orange. He didn’t mean to be close enough to hear them, and he wasn’t trying to eavesdrop on what they were saying… but he also didn’t try and stop himself from listening in. What could he say? 

It was far more interesting to hear what a mortal thought about the wither grounds than actually pay attention to the tournament.

“-it keeps growing around the shards, my team are keeping their distance until I get back but they say that the vines from the roses have started to grow more! Some have started to grow around the bones stuck in the ground and I can’t wait to see what’s changed when I get back-”

Tommy found it funny how excited he was about wither roses. They were wither roses! Of course they would grow and change, especially around bones. They were probably still just settling in place - it had only been a bit since the Wither spawning, after all - and soaking up the last of the code they gathered.

“-say that the vines have started to twitch whenever they make a sound near them, they’re still waiting for me but they’ve started doing smaller tests to see how far away they can be and still have it react, I’m so excited, Geppy-”

This was just sad.

Of course it reacted to the sound of Players around them, they were wither roses. They lived off of the magic of living beings. They’ve probably been starved so long that they’re reaching for anything living nearby.

He almost wanted to say something to them because of how stupid they were being, actively going towards hungry wither roses and experimenting with them. He talked about them like it was something that needed experimenting, like the crater and mess left from the Wither was anything besides a scar that now marred the Earth with its splinters, and it was going to get some of them hurt.

Just like wither skulls, wither roses could make people horribly ill when touched. Hell- just look at what happened to those within a hundred blocks of the Wither! Many had gotten sick afterwards, contracting wither poisoning just by breathing in the magic from the explosion. No one had died from that, as far as he knew, but it wasn’t ideal for anyone and more people would just keep getting sick if they kept poking around.

But he said nothing.

Who was he to interfere in Player’s being idiots? It wouldn’t affect him any if they went and got themselves sick or even killed. 

Tommy leaned back and yawned widely, tuning out Orange team’s conversation - ‘conversation’ in that Bad was speaking to his team and they made noises and nodded in all the right places to show they were listening - and let his gaze wander.  He’d let him learn the hard way that he wouldn’t find anything interesting at the Wither explosion. There was a reason people spawned Withers at the bottom of the world, or the top of the Nether, and it was simply because the damage they caused was ugly and destructive, and they were dangerous for any living thing in the area.

There was nothing magical or interesting about it, especially after he sealed up the magic before heading to the Pub(e) to check on Ranboo and Tubbo.

-

Tommy did even better in the third round. Third time’s the charm, after all.

He’d gotten much better at guessing which side the walls will come from, and it helped that he’d begun to understand his team’s callouts more. He was memorizing which side was which depending on the call and he used this memorization to pay more active attention to the events and flooring, rather than just the walls, so that there wouldn’t be a repeat of last time.

It also helped that he’d begun to notice and recognize who did best at the end of the last rounds and he started to vaguely follow their lead. One guy on Blue - a man with cat ears, it looked like - and the inchling on Aqua seemed to be doing the best, so he copied what they did. Of course, he couldn’t slip under the walls as easily as the inchling, and he wasn’t as agile as the cat-hybrid, but it helped him at least keep an eye on which way the wall would come from when he missed his team’s callouts.

Tommy got so focused this time, dodging the walls and projectiles, avoiding getting pushed off ot falling because the platform shrunk, and following those two people - then one, when the blue fell - that he didn’t even realize how far he’d gotten into the round until he noticed he was one of the last people on the platform. He only realized this because he was looking for the next wall and snapped out of his concentration when he saw practically no one left. 

It was just him, the avian on Pink that he vaguely recognized from To Get To The Other Side, and the inchling.

He grinned to himself, bouvardias and confidence growing in him, and he decided then and there that he really wanted to get first place. He was determined to do so, once more focusing on sliding through the holes in the walls. He was doing pretty good, each of them seeming to claim a spot on the platform in a silent truce, but when he contorted his body mid-air to make one of the holes he was caught off guard by an event suddenly occurring as he landed.

Tommy was stunned, the ground suddenly bouncy like slime, and because of this he couldn’t control it as he was launched forward suddenly. He cried out in surprise and just barely managed to grab onto one part of the platform in front of him before he fell down into the water. He crashed into the side of it pretty hard, causing him to wheeze, but he did it!

Internally, he cursed the inchling for being too light to be thrown off and the avian for gliding down in a controlled way to prevent him from being flung. 

He began trying to climb up, not about to just accept this as his end, but he had barely fixed his hold on the side when a shadow suddenly loomed over him. Seconds later and-

Someone’s hands were on his for just a moment, his head snapped up to catch sight of a mischievous grin on the avian’s face, and then he was once more plummeting to the water below.

“You bitch-!” He practically shrieked before he hit the water. He hit it with a hard smack, right on his back, and he cringed at the sound of it. It was so loud that, when he got up to the stands to wait out the final two - at least he got third place - Angel was quick to come to his side.

He worried over him, asking if his back was okay from the hit, if his ribs were okay from when he slammed into the side of the platform, if he had any bruises or felt short of breath or- Tommy cut him off. He was fine! He wasn’t hurt, he could breathe just fine, he didn’t need to worry about him.

Unfortunately, despite waving him off and assuring him that he wasn’t hurt, Angel still threatened to send him to the healer on standby if he didn’t let him make sure. He grumbled but, when it was obvious Angel wouldn’t let this go, gave in. 

Tommy didn’t like pulling up his shirt so that Angel could see his back clearly, but he definitely wouldn’t like the healer seeing it even more. It’s not that he was worried there would be bruises, but he knew Angel knew about his scars and he didn’t want to hear him worry anymore about them. At least he hadn’t questioned why he wanted them to go into a side area to check it out.

Angel had waited for him to pull his shirt up, brows noticeably furrowed in worry, and Tommy grimaced at the sharp inhale he heard when he showed off his back.

He knew how it looked, how many scars he had, how new ones overlapped the old and choked them like invasive roots, and how many of them formed a grotesque image of wings on his back. He hadn’t really wanted to show them off clearly if he could avoid it, but Angel insisted.

Tommy moved shortly after showing Angel, seeing as he wasn’t saying anything, and turned around with a frown. “There, happy?”

Angel looked even more upset than before. He was clearly debating if he should say something, and Tommy glared at him in hope that he’d get the memo to not ask. Apparently not. “..Tommy, who-” He began, but the god wasn’t having it. He was having a good day, damn it! He wasn’t about to let it be ruined.

“I told you, I’m not injured, so I don’t need to go see the healer. Can we go back to the others now?”

The hero hesitated again, staring at him, before he pursed his lips. He blew out a small raspberry before finally conceding with a nod. 

“Yeah, let’s go.”

-

Tommy hoped to get first in the final round - he’d settle for second if he had to - but he was never that lucky. He was on a good pace for it, with only four others still on the platforms with him.

He had outlasted his team, and he outlasted almost everyone else as well… and out of the people left, he was only worried about two of the four. Slimecicle, because of course he was good at jumping through holes in the walls, he was a slime, and the inchling. The other two were Siren’s protege and Sally, both of whom Tommy wasn’t concerned about. Why would he be? He didn’t think Siren’s protege was much better than him at this game, and Sally wasn’t the greatest at slipping through walls. She was merling after all, they weren’t built for land and so jumping and flexibility weren’t her strong suits.

He had just avoided getting shoved into the nearest wall by Slimecicle - he didn’t hold it against him, slimes could be rather clumsy when they bounced around, it was a miracle he hadn’t just bounced off the edge yet - when a chime sounded to say an event started.

Bracing himself as he landed, worried for a repeat of the bouncy floor like before, he was surprised when an arrow narrowly missed him. It barely clipped across his nose and Tommy was sure if it was a real arrow he would’ve gotten a cut similar to that of the scar already there. It wasn’t, though. It was rubber tipped, as Tommy quickly learned when it bounced off the ground.

Ah shit. A quick glance out at those in the stands showed audience members and participants, each one with a crossbow and single arrow. How was it fair that the participants that were already out got a shot?!

Tommy wanted to complain about it being unfair, especially when another arrow barely missed him, but decided against it. Complaining wouldn’t matter, and would just get him distracted. He decided to just focus on dodging the walls and the arrows. Most of them were pretty bad shots anyway, so he relied mostly on his instincts to keep him from getting hit.

It worked for a good while, at least until the arrows started flying by less and less as everyone used theirs up. It got to the point where Tommy thought he was good to go, that no one else had anymore, and he let his guard down. That was his mistake, because it was then that one finally hit their target - him.

The god cursed, yelped in surprise, and didn’t manage to catch himself as he was pushed off the ledge by the force of it.

As Tommy surfaced from the water, he couldn’t help but curse. He cursed the person who shot the arrow. He cursed that person’s mother. He cursed the Earth, the sky, the End, the Nether- he even cursed Himself!

He grumbled under his breath all the way up to the stands, although it was mostly playful upset than any real anger, and Siren greeted him once he was up there. He sympathetically patted him on the back but, based on how he was laughing, Tommy was sure he wasn’t taking his dramatics seriously.

It made him fight back a smile as he upped the antics, waving his hands around and cursing everyone as Siren joined in with his own complaints in between his cheering for his little protege - Foxtrot, that was his name - and eventually Blade came across them like this and laughed at them, even joining in a bit with complains from the voices.

In the end, it was Angel who broke the three of them up.

“You little shits,” he’d scoffed. “Get your asses moving or they’ll leave you behind, and I know at least one of you won’t be able to make the swim back.”

Tommy and Blade laughed at the jab towards Siren. As they started on their way to the boats so that they wouldn’t actually get left behind, Siren tried to defend himself - actually, I can swim and there’s proof, I was just swimming earlier to get to the ladders after falling from the platform so, actually, go fuck yourself - but it wasn’t very effective.

“If you could swim then you wouldn’t have needed help in that round of To Get To The Other Side,” Tommy remarked.

“I-” Siren tried to interject but couldn’t.

“If you can swim then why do I take all the patrols near the ocean?” Blade added in his usual drawl. 

“Hey now-” He tried once more, but was ignored.

“Mate, if you could swim then I wouldn’t have those floaties at home for you-”

Finally, Siren spoke up. The words burst out of him as he sputtered, Angel’s seeming to be the final straw.

“I got those floaties when I was seven!”

“And yet you’re still using them nineteen years later!”

-

The three of them didn’t stop making fun of Willis until they were safely on the island, and even then they were still giggling on their way to the changing rooms.

Tommy appreciated that they were distracted with making fun of Willis the entire way back, and even on the way to the changing rooms. It left little time for the others to pay attention to his scars - Phil especially, because he could feel his gaze on them but he was unable to say anything without interrupting the conversation.

It helped that they went straight to the changing rooms after instead of stopping to get lunch like some others. It gave him the chance to change into more conservative clothing, hiding his arms and shoulders with his usual blue sweater and red and white shirt. It also gave him a chance to go and get his spectator removed while no one was looking.

The spectator didn’t put up a fight about it - actually seeming relieved to be done with him for the day, and Tommy couldn't help but agree - soon enough he was stepping out of his stall like he’d never left. It seemed the voices learned from last time, because they weren’t panicking about ratting him out to Techno when he passed by him.

Soon enough, they were headed to the dining hall to get their late lunch. 

Tommy wasn’t feeling up to hanging out in the cafeteria with everyone else this time, but Techno and Willis had already sat down. He was going to go straight to their rooms to just eat and then possibly slip away to see Tubbo and Ranboo, but Phil stopped him before he could by offering to go eat in the shooting range so they could just start immediately when they were done.

The god agreed.

So, Tommy sat with Phil at the range, finding it blissfully empty of other players, as they ate their lunch. It was something Tommy had never had before, and he wasn’t sure he’d ever have it again, but it was alright. Most human food was just ‘alright’ to him, especially if it hadn’t existed before he left. Maybe he was just old fashioned or something.

Anyway, they talked while they ate, providing him some much needed entertainment.

“So, Tommy,” Phil began between his bites. “How long have you been using a bow?”

Tommy looked up, humming through his own mouthful, and then hummed again at the question. “Forever,” he answered immediately once he swallowed.

Phil laughed, and Tommy chuckled along with him. He clearly thought he was exaggerating. “What kind of shooting did you do? Just target practice? Or did you ever go hunting?”

“Both. We used to-” he paused for a split second, thinking of how to word this, and then tilted his head. “We used to live pretty far out of the way. So we’d hunt for food a lot, there weren’t many places to buy it from.” He was only partially bullshitting. They never needed to eat. But, when they wanted to, they’d often go out hunting for it themselves simply because it was fun.

Phil’s ear feathers flicked forward and he tilted his head like a curious bird, looking intrigued. “Really? So you didn’t always live in L’manburg?”

Tommy snorted at that. “I only moved here about… a year ago? I think? Yeah, almost a year. Just a little before I started working with you guys, actually.”

“Less than a year? Jeez, I’m sorry, mate. It’s been an eventful year for you… it was probably a lot calmer wherever you came from, huh?”

The god looked over at him for a brief second before huffing. “Yeah, yeah, for a while it was. Guess I got bored, y’know? I’m glad everything’s exciting again.”

And he meant it. It was so nice to Play a new Game. It was much better than being left to his dreams, and he didn’t know what he’d do it he didn’t have Tubbo and Ranboo with him.

A soft sound drew him out of his thoughts and he turned to see Phil smiling at him. 

“What?”

“I’m glad you’re liking it here, Toms.” He was caught off guard by the sincerity of his tone. “I’m not sure what we would’ve done without you joining us, either, I don’t think Wil or Tech would’ve been as open to anyone else.”

He felt… exposed, almost, with how Phil was looking at him. His gaze was searching, questioning, clearly seeing if he would fight against his words. When he didn’t fight against them, but also didn’t agree, he hummed again.

“The rest of the applicants were kind of shit, anyway,” he moved on, looking away and continuing to eat. As if he could sense that Tommy was vaguely uncomfortable with his sincerity.

Tommy let out a breath he hadn’t known he was holding. “Really?”

“Yeah, they all lied to Puffy, and most of them couldn’t handle being around Techno or the others without freakin’ out.”

As finished off his food he wondered how they’d react to finding out that he had lied to Puffy, too. He wondered if they’d ever find out, actually, because he didn’t ever plan on telling them but, if the Wither showed him anything then it was that sometimes things didn’t go to plan.

“I’m simply better than all of them, obviously,” he crowed proudly when he was done chewing.

Phil snorted but hummed in agreement and just watched him as he got up to grab a bow and quiver from the rack now that he was done eating.

“Do you want to play a game?” 

Tommy paused where he’d been getting a feel for the bow he picked, glancing over and tilting his head as his mouth quirked up in a grin. “What kind of game?”

Phil grinned back at him and stood after finishing his own food. He took a moment to take off his hat and veil and set them aside before joining him at the rack to pick out a bow. Tommy had a brief thought that they looked almost like a father and son if another Player walked in to see them. What with their blond hair, blue eyes, and similar masks…

He.. wasn’t sure how he felt about that thought, because he’d never had a parental figure in his life. He wasn’t opposed to it, but it was odd. Parents, as far as he knew, were there to guide and take care of children. He didn’t need to be guided, nor did he need to be taken care of, nor was he a child. It was a weird grey area for him. 

“The kind of game where we see who gets the most bullseyes.”

Tommy blinked and then lit up. “You’re going to lose, Phil,” he told him seriously. “I’m the best shot this side of the Nether - I’m not going to lose.”

Phil laughed at him and raised a brow at the saying, but didn’t question it. That was one thing Tommy liked about Phil. Most of the time, he didn’t ask questions. (Most of the time. Sometimes he got bold.)

“You seem pretty confident-”

“Because I know I’m going to win-”

“But I’ll have you know I used to be called the ‘Angel of Death’ for a reason,” he commented. Then, as an after thought, he added. “Aside from my power. I was the best shot in the hero league.”

Tommy froze for a brief moment, registering that name was familiar and briefly thinking back to the first Elytrian- then realizing what Phil was saying. “Was?” He questioned, noting the past-tense and ignoring the familiarity.

There was a huff, and Tommy turned to see Phil finally grabbing his own bow and arrow with a slight grimace. “My back got too bad to consistently draw an arrow. That’s just the hazard of having wings my size, I suppose..”

Tommy bit his tongue. 

It was not. Wings were supposed to have hazards besides dropping out of the sky because of stupidity. They weren’t meant to ruin your back, they were meant to be a gift. They were to help, to let you explore the world and fly like a god. It was only because of how Phil used to hold his wings that his back was fucked up the way it was.

Tommy wasn’t sure he would ever fly again without a miracle. 

“..Do you think you’ll ever be able to shoot like before again?”

Phil snorted, and Tommy was surprised by how self deprecating his next words were.

“No, not unless Overworld gives me a miracle. Ponk’s tried everything, and she’s the best healer in the country. If she can’t fix it, I don’t think anyone else can either.”

“Oh. I’m… sorry.”

The Elytrian waved him off, turning and heading towards the shooting area. “It’s not your fault. If anything, you helped me more than enough by not making it worse. I was.. Honestly? I was a little worried I’d be unable to fly eventually.”

Tommy’s heart hurt a little, hearing that. Phil was still just a Player, but he knew how it felt to be grounded, to not have wings to catch you and to be unable to feel the wind blowing by. He sympathized with him.

Maybe he could find a discrete way to help him, without making it known that he helped him.

“I’m glad I could help that much, then.”

Tommy smiled, and Phil returned it, albeit his was a bit more regretful, and that seemed to be the end of that conversation as they both got ready for shooting. 

He ended up losing their little game, getting less bullseyes than Phil, but Phil still looked at him, impressed, when they were done.

The hero praised him for doing so well, even though he hadn’t beaten him, and commented again on how long he’d been shooting. Tommy had laughed and repeated, “I told you, I’ve been using a bow and arrow for nearly forever.”

Phil rolled his eyes at his answer, clearly thinking he was exaggerating again, and then asked a question that had Tommy answering without thought. “Who taught you to shoot? Are you self taught?”

“Oh, my brother did!”

He was busy putting up his bow on the rack, so he didn’t realize how his answer could be taken before Phil asked another question.

“Which one of your brothers taught you?” Phil didn’t seem to notice how he’d frozen this time, nor how the hand holding his quiver tightened so much his fist was trembling. “Their names were.. Ranboo and Tubso?”

“..Tubbo,” Tommy corrected shakily, really just stalling in answering.

“Right! Ranboo and Tubbo, sorry. Which one taught you? It’s seriously impressive how good you are, and if they’re anywhere near as good as you are then maybe they could come in and help teach some of the recruits. If they have time and want to, I mean- I know you said they were shy-”

Phil laughed and Tommy almost hated him for it, because he wasn’t laughing. He couldn’t laugh.

He stared at the rack for a moment, long enough that Phil stopped and looked at him. He was still facing away but Tommy could feel his eyes on him, filling slowly with worry.

“Tommy?”

Finally, Tommy blinked and breathed in before letting it out in a shaky sigh. “Neither of them did, actually.”

“What?”

“Tubbo and Ranboo didn’t teach me. It was a different brother.” He turned around and felt a little vindicated that Phil jumped at his swift movement.

“Oh! I… didn’t know you had another brother?”

“Yeah, you wouldn’t.”

Phil tensed a little, and maybe Tommy was too harsh in how he said it.

“Sorry, sorry-” Tommy apologized, but Phil quickly waved his hand.

“No, no! I should be sorry, I didn’t mean to pry-”

“No, you didn’t. You couldn’t have known, I’m sorry. I think I should get going to call Tubs and ‘Boo, before the Dome, y’know..”

“Right! Of course, I’m sorry again. I didn’t mean to keep you for so long. Say ‘hi’ to them for me?” He asked, and Tommy hated how hopeful he sounded.

Tommy smiled weakly, zinnias itching at his wrists and scratching the insides of his ribs. “Maybe,” he said, and it was a lie he felt like both of them knew.

And then Tommy was leaving, disappearing just as he stepped out of Phil’s field of view. 

-

Phil sighed as Tommy walked out, feeling horrible for bringing it up even if he couldn’t have known better. Maybe there was another reason Tommy didn’t want another brother that Willis didn’t know about. He said it was because he already had brothers, but Phil was willing to bet - although never out loud - that it was more like Tommy no longer had a brother.

-

Tommy’s visit with Ranboo and Tubbo lasted hours but, admittedly, a lot of it he spent napping. They were actually at the apartment this time and Tubbo had seemed exhausted, barely awake, and Ranboo was very obviously exasperated with their tired roommate. Seeing this, the god had little trouble suggesting that they all nap together before he had to go back… so they did.

They all curled up in the nest he’d made on their bed, with Tommy letting his wings out to flop over each of the mortals like a blanket, and soon enough all of them had dozed off.

It was only because Tommy knew he had to be back shortly that he woke up at all. If it were up to him, and if it wasn’t obvious, he would’ve stayed there… but, alas, he was sent off back to his heroes for the Dome.

He didn’t bother changing, or even brushing his hair from how messy it’d gotten during the nap. He just put his mask back on and then slipped into the Dome behind Willis and Techno.

Techno was the first to notice him, because of course he was. The voices probably ratted him out again, the bastards. He didn’t jump, but rather looked him up and down briefly before snorting. He reached out and ruffled his hair. “Welcome back. Did you take a nap ‘r somethin’?”

Tommy whined, shoving at Techno’s hand and ducking even if he was just fixing his hair. “A little. Fell asleep on call with my roommates.”

He hummed, but nodded. “‘S good you got back in time, then.”

Tommy smiled a bit, then groaned when Willis' arm was around him suddenly. He looked up to glare at the man, who only grinned back. “You’re a bitch, you know that?”

“You’re a gremlin, did you know that?”

“I’m not hearing a denial-”

“Oh, fuck you!”

They had a brief stand off, neither wanting to be the first to crack, but eventually they broke down into little laughs as Willis nudged him.

“Welcome back. Heard you kicked Phil’s ass in the shooting range.”

Tommy almost wilted at the mention of what happened at the shooting range, but was distracted by his wording. He blinked, then grinned sharply. “Fuck yeah I did-”

“No you did not,” Phil interrupted him before he could get started on his bullshit.

He groaned dramatically, turning to pout at him. “C’monnnn, Phil! Don’t lie to him!”

“You’re the one lying, not me! You little shit.” He reached out and ruffled his hair, just like Techno had. Tommy wondered if the piglin-hybrid learned it from Phil.

Tommy shoved at his hand and turned away. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Oh, I’m sure-”

“Anyway!” He interrupted him before he could continue to slander his name, “what game are we going for?”

There was a pause, then a heavy sigh joined with the ruffle of wings. “I was thinking Parkour Tag. My wings are feeling better, and I think it’s best to knock out before the multiplier gets too high.”

Tommy hummed and looked out at the games on the signs. “Is Parkour Tag a short game?”

Next to him, Techno answered. “‘S pretty short, each round ‘s like ten minutes, max.”

He thought about it for a second, then nodded. “Parkour Tag it is.”

Aiming his slingshot, he hit the bullseye for Parkour Tag and smiled.

Unfortunately for them, though, it was then that he noticed that most people weren’t voting for it with them. They must’ve gotten their energy back after today, because the majority vote went towards Survival Games.

Ah, shit.

“...Is Survival Games long?” He asked, hoping to the Universe that it wasn’t…

It didn’t answer.

“Very,” Phil sighed.

Double shit.

Chapter Text

Tommy woke up the next day to Phil shaking his shoulder. It was early - though not nearly as early as he used to wake up - and he was disoriented and confused and mildly pissed off for all of three seconds until Phil quietly explained that they needed to get ready.

A glance at the clock in his inventory told him it wasn’t much later than five in the morning - though that was a guess on his part, he still wasn’t the best at telling time with the silly numbers Players used these days - and it just made him frown to himself.

“Why the hell are we getting ready so early?”

Phil laughed quietly at him and Tommy could hear Willis grumbling in the background as he went to get ready.

“Survival Games always starts early,” he began, “we let you sleep in as long as we could but if we want breakfast then we need to get going now.”

Tommy groaned. He was tempted to skip breakfast, if only so he could put off his spectator for a little longer… but he knew he’d have to do it eventually and he might as well get it over with. So, with a heavy sigh, he pushed himself up and waved Phil off.

“I’ll get ready,” he mumbled.

Phil smiled apologetically but nodded, patting him on the shoulder before heading back to his side of the room. As Tommy got out of bed and grabbed his outfit, preparing to get changed once Willis was out - whenever that was, the vain fucker would probably admire himself in the mirror for fifteen minutes before coming out - he idly noticed that Phil’s veil was shorter today.

It was a background observation, just something he noticed that made him briefly go ‘...huh.’ before moving on. He just waited for a moment, yawning, and let his awareness dull and spread out.

Tubbo and Ranboo were still asleep, both of them in the bed and snoring. He could admit to being a little jealous, wishing he could join them instead of being here. He wasn’t even tired, he just dreaded a long game with his spectator.

He had been told a little about it last night.

Survival Games could last a whole day. There had been many times where the game had gone overnight and they had to sleep on the field. They just had to accept the chance that they’d be ambushed in their sleep. What the fuck, right?

Tommy dreaded having to deal with his spectator the entire time. He was sure his spectator felt the same as him… but there was nothing he could do. Nothing besides doing his best to finish the game as fast as possible so it wouldn’t go into the next day.

Unfortunately for him, Phil mentioned that this game rarely lasted less than eighteen hours. The shortest ever game on record had been about sixteen and a half hours, and even then that was far too long for his tastes.

He had to pull his senses back into a single spot when Willis came out of the bathroom. He quickly called out ‘I’m next!’ - as if Techno or Phil would sneak in before him despite the fact that they both seemed ready to go already - and went in.

As he passed Willis, he was a little surprised to notice that Willis hadn’t drawn on those scales he always did. He almost always had them when he was in costume, and he couldn’t remember a single time he didn’t have them on before a game - not even before Hole in the Wall and To Get To The Other Side when they would inevitably get washed off.

…Weird.

Tommy spent a normal amount of time in the bathroom, most of it being spent getting his spectator for the day - and possibly night, although he tried not to focus on that too much. He was sure Tubbo was going to be pissed at him if he missed calling them, but surely he would have to understand - but before he did that he found himself stepping into their bedroom and leaving a small note.

It took little effort to grow some roses around them and then write a note explaining that he probably wouldn’t be able to talk or visit tonight.

It took even less to stick it to Tubbo’s forehead. 

You know, just so he wouldn’t miss it when he woke up. 

He had to muffle his snickers as he left so that he wouldn’t wake either of them up.

By the time Tommy came out, everyone seemed mostly ready. It was only Techno left, and even then the only thing he still had to do was wait for Willis to finish braiding his hair. So, like usual, it was Willis' fault.

Admittedly, he felt a spike of jealousy as he saw how Willis' hands expertly wove Techno’s hair into a manageable, tight braid that would definitely stay in place if the game went overnight. He wasn’t sure if the yellow hyacinth that grew was because of Willis or Techno, nor was he sure if the one that followed was for both of them.

Tommy decided he was going to ignore the flowers completely, because he wasn’t about to ask Willis to braid his hair and he wasn’t going to wake up Ranboo or Tubbo.

“Are we ready to go, boys?” He asked with what he knew was far too much enthusiasm for this early in the morning.

“Amost,” Willis hummed. He quickly tied off the end of the braid but, before Tommy could assume they were ready, then began twisting it into a bun. He watched him pin it in place with a few pins, then lean back with a grin. 

“Okay, now we’re ready to go.”

Tommy supposed if they were doing a lot of fighting and wouldn’t be allowed back to the room to get cleaned up for a while then a bun like that would be best to keep his hair under control. Once more, there was a spike of jealousy. His hair was getting long enough, to the point where Prime or XD would braid it for him if they were here.

He missed them, and the only braid Tommy got before they left the room was of zinnias and yellow hyacinths braided together in his ribs.

-

No one was nearly as energetic as they were the day before when they got to the cafeteria.

Everyone sat with their team or friends, talking quietly amongst themselves. A rare few spoke loud enough to be overheard, but even then they were subdued. Clearly no one wanted to be up this early. He could see people who had voted for Survival Games yesterday visibly regretting their choices, and it made him chuckle a little to himself.

Served them right for voting against him.

Tommy was grateful for the change, though. He didn’t feel up for dealing with the excitement that was yesterday’s breakfast again. Especially because, not that he’d admit it aloud, he was a little grumpy that he hadn’t gotten to talk to neither Tubbo or Ranboo before getting his spectator. He barely got to see them, and the fact that he likely wouldn’t get to talk to them until tomorrow wasn’t helping his mood any.

Purple was mostly quiet while they ate. Willis and Techno whispered to each other a little, and Phil tried to make some small talk with him, but ultimately they just finished their food and did their best to wake up.

Despite being one of the first people to finish his food, he still had to sit there until the end of breakfast with everyone else. He began to hear team names being called and he watched them stand, group by group, and go over to a pile of bags where workers were waiting. He watched each team talk to the worker as they were handed a bag before being shuffled away, probably to get on the boat to take them to their next game.

As far as he knew, the game took place on another one of the islands around here.

His suspicions were confirmed when their team was called. It took nearly fifteen minutes for them to get their bags and go, mostly because Phil got into an argument with the worker handling his. He missed most of it, too busy getting his own supplies, and by the time they got to the boat he was too distracted to ask.

Unfortunately for them, they were one of the last teams to get called. This meant they had to sit in a more crowded area and couldn’t pick great seats. Fortunately for them, however, this also meant they would be one of the first people off the boat once they got there.

Seeing as it would take a little bit for them to arrive, Tommy took the time to look through what all he’d been given in his bag.

The first thing the god noticed was a sleeping bag latched onto the front. Digging in the side pockets first, the second thing he found was a medkit, then a water bottle, then a small box with sticks. The sticks kind of reminded him of mini torches, especially when he curiously lit one off the side of the box. It - and the box itself - was quickly taken from him by Willis, annoyingly enough, and he was scolded for lighting the match on the boat.

Fucker, ruining his fun. It’s not like he was going to commit arson! He knew how to hold a torch and be careful.

Grumbling and rolling his eyes, he moved on to the bigger pocket. He found a smaller pack in it that, when opened, he found had his rations in it. It certainly wasn’t a lot, but it would last him a full day if the game went on that long. He thought that Players might struggle a little more but a day with less than ideal meals wouldn’t kill them, unlike in the past.

Tommy took to looking through the other pockets after briefly checking what all he’d been given, but there wasn’t anything else. He grumbled in complaint, then paused with a realization.

“They didn’t even give me a weapon-?”

“They didn’t even give me jerky-?”

There were two complaints at the same time, but Phil’s was much louder. It was also more attention grabbing, what with his wings flapping angrily behind him.

Tommy looked over to see him looking at his own rations.

“They didn’t give you what?”

Phil turned to him before sighing and leaning back. “They gave me an avian’s rations again,” he grumbled.

Tommy blinked at him. “But… you’re not an avian-?”

“Exactly!” He exclaimed. The word seemed to burst out of him as he waved his hands and flared his wings. He seemed to catch himself and looked embarrassed as he reigned them in, but it got his point across. “They do this every year,” he complained. “Most of my accommodations are the same as an avian’s so they just mark me down as one, but they forget to change the food requirements, then make it my fault because I didn’t fill out their stupid form in time! I couldn’t even fill it out this year if I wanted to, I was in the fuckin’ hospital!”

Tommy was caught off guard by the ranting. He couldn’t remember many times where he’d seen Phil as upset as this. Most of the time his anger was playful or light at best. The only time that came to mind was when he was calling for him and Willis on Doomsday.

“Oh, so you don’t-” he began but then cut himself off. His expression scrunched up in confusion. “You were in the hospital? What? When?”

When did Phil get hurt bad enough-?

Phil gave him an odd look at the question.

“Doomsday, mate,” he told him as if it was the obvious answer. Maybe it was, but Tommy didn’t remember Phil being at Doomsday. He had seen Willis and Techno, of course, and Tubbo and Ranboo, but not Phil…

He seemed to notice the confusion on his face because he sighed and rolled his shoulders in a way that told Tommy he was uncomfortable. “I was out there with Siren and Blade in the beginning, but I went to help civilians. Then Schlatt summoned that- that thing and I ended up hitting a building from the shockwave. My wings got pretty fucked up.” He laughed, but the sound was self-deprecating and he held his wings tighter to himself, similarly to how he used to before Tommy showed him the right way to hold them. “Same with my back. If it wasn’t for Ponk I probably wouldn’t even be able to walk right now.”

Oh.

Tommy… didn’t know that.

He knew Phil had been out on Doomsday but he hadn’t seen him at all, he didn’t know he’d gotten that hurt. His entire attention had been on Tubbo and Ranboo, even Willis and Techno had barely been an afterthought. If he had known Phil was out there he would’ve-

…done what? Healed him? Protected him? What would he have done?

Would he have really taken the time to heal him instead of going straight to Tubbo and Ranboo?

Tommy felt an uncomfortable pit grow in his stomach. He was almost ashamed as he thought about it. Would he have taken the time to heal him?

He wanted to say yes, of course because Phil was one of his heroes… but he knew that was a lie.

Purple hyacinths choked him for a moment and he hated it. The guilt was an unfamiliar feeling, especially because he felt it for Phil. When had he started to care about his heroes so much? 

When did he get so attached to them that he felt guilt for not helping one of them?

He didn’t know and he hated it.

Tommy only snapped out of it when Phil set a hand on his shoulder, giving him a light shake.

“Tom? Sorry, I shouldn’t have gone off like that,” he laughed awkwardly.

He just blinked at him then realized he had stopped breathing. He barely even realized he stopped but quickly breathed in. “Y-” his voice cracked and he coughed, clearing his throat and then swallowing down the petals that attempted to come up. “Yeah, yeah, ‘m- I’m fine. Sorry, I just… didn’t know that happened. I’m glad you’re fine now.”

Phil’s expression softened with a little worry, but he didn’t mention it. He just chuckled and hummed. “Thanks, mate. Ponk’s a great healer. I don’t think you’ve met him yet but you probably will eventually.”

Tommy raised a brow at him, squinting. “Is that a threat?”

He grinned back at him innocently, holding his hands up. “No, no, of course not. Little shit. But if you and Si keep sparring when we get back then I wouldn’t be surprised if one of you end up getting hurt…”

The god snorted and conceded. That was fair. Especially once they started training… not that Phil would know that it would be him. Willis would definitely be the one to get hurt though, especially if he tried anything against Tubbo or Ranboo. 

Actually, if any of the heroes tried anything against them when they went for training then he wouldn’t hesitate. Even his heroes wouldn’t get a pass for that, no matter how attached he was getting to them.

“Siren’ll be the one getting hurt,” he shot back. He tried to ignore the idea about what he might have to do if it came down to it after his gamble of agreeing to the training.

Phil snorted and hummed in what Tommy took as agreement. Good, he should agree. He could kick Siren’s ass if he wanted to. It was only because he was such a gracious and forgiving and amazing god that he hadn’t yet.

Tommy watched as his amusement slowly died away as the conversation ended and he looked back at his ration bag. He seemed pretty bummed about being stuck on an avian diet, even if it was just a day. He figured if it happened this often then it was annoying…

He hesitated. Maybe it was the fact that hyacinths were still tickling the back of his throat, a stark reminder that he hadn’t even known Phil had been hurt so bad, or maybe he just felt bad for the poor bird, but he found himself asking, “do you wanna trade food?”

Phil was surprised by the offer but genuinely seemed to consider it… but ultimately tried to wave him off. “It’s fine, Theseus, I can survive off of these for a day-”

“So could I,” he remarked with a roll of his eyes. “C’mon, Phil, just trade with me, I don’t care about not having meat for a day.” He shot down his attempts to deny the trade.

The hero side-eyed him, hesitating and seeming guilty, but eventually sighed. He was clearly holding back a smile in an attempt to not seem too excited. “If you really don’t mind…” He trailed off, not finishing, and when Tommy didn’t protest he finally grinned and easily traded off the ration pack. “Usually I’m stuck with whatever they give me, Wil and Tech would probably get sick off of just this.”

Tommy nodded in understanding. He didn’t mind eating the avian rations. A peek inside told him that it was mostly bread and nuts and dried fruits, which was more than fine with him. He used to go years just eating bread or golden carrots - and sometimes not at all - so this was no issue for him.

Honestly, if it wouldn’t give him away - and if it wouldn’t upset Ranboo and Tubbo - he wouldn’t even bother with eating at all during the game. Ah well.

-

When they eventually arrived at the island, they were brought ashore and immediately led to the game’s starting place. They had to go through a small forest, then through the back alleys of what seemed like an abandoned city, and finally they were led to what probably would’ve been the town square.

There a large circle waited for them, made up of ten platforms - each one painted the colour of a team - and in the middle of it were chests and packs of gear spread out on a fountain. There were swords, bows, what maybe could count as leather armour, food… There were many different items, though the weapons - just like in Battle Box - didn’t seem like they could do any real damage to someone.

The item that caught his eye the most was at the very top, clearly more important than most of the stuff below it. It was a golden apple. Not a real one, he knew at just a glance that it had no magic in it - the colour was odd, and it didn’t have the proper shine to it, he didn’t need his natural vision to know the difference - but it was clearly meant to mimic one.

As they were led to their team’s platform, they were informed by a worker to wait here and not step off until after the announcements and the timer was done. Idly, Tommy wondered what they’d do if he didn’t listen to them. 

Tommy hummed as they were left to their own devices, watching other teams get settled in their own squares before beginning to talk amongst themselves. Everyone seemed far more awake now, those who had been regretting their choices during breakfast looked more sure of themselves and he noticed that almost everyone was eyeing the center. It made him wonder if maybe whatever was there changed each year to keep people on their toes.

As he shifted in place and his foot edged to the side of the platform, the god toying with the idea of disobeying the rule, someone behind him grabbed the hood of his sweater and pulled him back.

Tommy choked from the action, stumbling back and coughing, then immediately spun around to sneer at whoever had done it. He assumed it had been Willis was surprised to see Techno standing behind him. He was unaffected by his sneer but let go of his hood once he turned and stepped away.

“What the hell was that for!?”

“Don’t step off th’ platform ‘fore the rules and timer are done,” he scolded.

His nose scrunched up and he scoffed. “I wasn’t going to touch anything,” he grumbled. He wasn’t pouting as he said it, okay? He wasn’t. He was a big man and big men didn’t pout when they were scolded and their plans were halted.

Techno snorted and looked at him disbelievingly, ruffling his hair. The action made him sputter. “Don’t care. Don’t step off, we’ll all get a penalty for it.”

“But I wasn’t even going to do anything-”

“Doesn’t matter, runt.”

Tommy sneered at the nickname and bared his teeth at him. “I’m not a runt!” He complained, despite his reaction being similar to that of a runt. “And- and, fuck you! I wasn’t gonna step off, okay?” He shoved at the hand on his head and huffed once it was removed, beginning to try and fix his hair.

“Bastard,” he grumbled under his breath. Especially when he noticed Techno’s mouth turning up at the corners in a way that Tommy knew meant he was amused, much to his annoyance. He watched him for a few moments before stepping closer.

He tensed for a second, waiting to see if he’d mess with his hair or pull his hood again, but ultimately relaxed when he did neither.

“Lemme fix your hair.”

Tommy narrowed his eyes at him, debating if he trusted him to not fuck his hair up anymore, but ultimately decided to give him a chance to fix his error. 

“...Fine.”

“Turn around.”

Tommy did as asked and stood still, waiting to see what he’d do. What, did he have a comb on him or something? He wasn’t expecting for fingers to suddenly card through his hair, pulling it back. He flinched away in surprise but Techno was quick to tell him to stay still. Begrudgingly, he did. He was confused on what he was doing when he pulled half of his hair back, parting it slightly in the center, and briefly considered the possibility of him putting his hair up in a hair tie before he felt the familiar feeling of his hair being braided.

He tensed in surprise.

“Are you- are you braiding my hair?”

He couldn’t help the way his voice pitched slightly with the question and he pointedly ignored the chuckle Techno let out in response.

“Yeah?” His tone was sarcastic, as if there was nothing else he would be doing right now. Tommy’s quiet must’ve made him second guess himself, though, because he slowed to a stop and added, “‘nless you don’t want me to?”

“No!” Tommy snapped out of it. “No- no, I mean- yes, you can- you can braid my hair if you want to. I just- I just didn’t expect it. It’s fine.”

Thankfully, Techno just chuckled and didn’t dignify his babbling with a response. He continued braiding his hair carefully as the announcements began.

“Hello, hello!” Crowed the announcer. Tommy couldn’t even bring himself to be that annoyed by the sheer amount of cheer in his voice this early in the day. Almost all of his attention was on the feeling of Techno’s fingers carefully pulling his hair back in a braid. “Welcome to Survival Games! I’ll start with today’s coin multiplier - all coins earned during this game will be doubled! This game could make or break a team’s chance at victory, be careful.”

Tommy hummed in idle interest. The announcer was probably right. While he didn’t know much about this game, he knew enough. This game was worth a lot of points if played well.

“Now, for the newbies, we’ll go over all the rules just so they aren’t confused. To start, don’t leave your team’s platform until the game officially begins! Your entire team will be docked half of any points earned in the first half of the game if you do.”

“Seriously?” Behind him, Techno grunted as if confirming his incredulity. 

Jeez, that rule seemed a little extreme in his opinion, no wonder Techno stopped him when he did.

“Now, if you look around you’ll see workers handing out vests. When you put yours on, make sure it flashes three times once it’s secured .If it doesn’t, please flag a crew member down to get a replacement - we can’t start the game until everyone has a working vest.”

Their words were a little pointed. It made Tommy wonder if, in the past, someone had tried to cheat the game by keeping a broken vest.

Tommy had to open his eyes to see the workers that were mentioned - he hadn’t even realized he’d closed them - and spotted one making their way over with four vests hanging off their arm. Just as they arrived, Techno finished one of the braids and moved on to the other side. Before he could take a step to grab his own vest, Techno stopped him with a scolding snort.

If anyone noticed how quickly he stopped at the sound then no they didn’t.

Thankfully Phil took pity on him and took his vest from the worker for him. 

“I’ll hold onto yours until Blade’s done, mate.” There was a fondness to the coo that made Tommy want to squirm, his cheeks warming.

He didn’t have to wait with the embarrassment for long though as Techno finished the second braid and nudged him away. “‘Lright, runt, go get yer vest on.”

“I’m not a runt.” He definitely wasn’t whining. Maybe he was a little comforted by the name after his hair was braided. He supposed he could let him get away with it, just this once.

Phil passed over his vest with a knowing grin, which Tommy willfully ignored. He had to dodge a wing to the face when he finally put on his vest and Willis shouted in annoyance when he didn’t manage to move in time. Tommy laughed at him and the announcements continued.

“Alright, does everyone have their vests?”

A chorus of murmurs sounded out among all the teams, though the announcer didn’t seem too interested in actually getting an answer. Or maybe they already knew from the spectators. EIther way, they continued with little pause.

“Great! Now, just like Battle Box, your vest will light up red when you’ve taken too many hits and get out. In this case you have ten starting hits, but you can get more by acquiring armour. And just like Battle Box, hands off when you’re out. Don’t keep fighting. If the person you’re fighting gets out you must let them go so that a crew member may take them to a neutral place to wait.

“At the end of the halfway point any participants that are out will be given the opportunity to return to the main island to wait for the end of the game.”

As he lightly felt one of the braids, he thought about it. Ten hits wasn’t a lot in a free-for-all like he’d been told this game was, but if that was all they had to work with then he was sure he could make it work. Especially with the mention of armour…

“Around the island there are many types of items available. Survival - things like extra food and water - are the biggest ones to find first, but there are also weapons and armour. Bows are available but are useless if you can’t find any arrows, so it’s always best to have a sword or axe just in case… And armour, of course. You can double the amount of hits you take if you wear enough, but be warned - it’s restricting and heavy. Do you sacrifice your agility in favour of hits?” 

There was an amused hum to the announcer’s voice and it made Tommy wonder just how bad the armour could be. He remembered how Tubbo and Ranboo had struggled with the armour he gave them before he showed them how to Equip it and couldn’t help but snicker to himself. He was sure he’d have no trouble with the armour if he got some.

“And, of course, shelter is especially important once the sun goes down. No one wants to sleep out in the open - we wouldn’t want phantoms to get you before the other teams did!”

There were a few chuckles but Tommy found himself surprised by the mention of them. Were phantoms even still a thing? He hadn’t seen or heard any, and he highly doubted that they were still spawning in when nothing else was…

“Phantoms?” He found himself turning to the closest hero, seeing Willis next to him, and looked at him with confusion.

“What, you don’t know what phantoms are?” He seemed unamused, unlike some others. 

Tommy scoffed. “Of course I do- I just- are they even- I mean-” he frowned, trying to think of how to word it, but thankfully didn’t have to.

Willis seemed to understand what he was asking, at least partially. “Phantoms aren’t real, they’re just a boogeyman people scare their kids with to make them sleep. It’s a running joke that one day Noxcrew is just going to release phantoms on us during the game just to fuck with us.”

That made sense. He noticed a surprising amount of bitterness in his explanation of the phantoms, though… and it made him wonder. “Did Phil- did Angel scare you to sleep with phantoms when you were a kid?”

Willis paused and the tips of his ears noticeably darkened. “No.”

Tommy laughed. “Are you sure? I mean, that was a pretty quick denial-”

“No! No, Dad- Phil- Angel did not scare me with phantom stories to make me sleep.”

“Mmmhm…”

Tommy hummed, disbelieving, but before Willis could continue lying to him their argument was cut short by the announcements continuing.

“And finally, we have our specialty items! Golden apples are very literal in their name - you’ll know one when you see one. Based off the fruits said to grant life and health from the gods, eating one will give you two extra hits. There’s a chance to heal an extra hit shortly after eating one.” Tommy could easily imagine the way they were probably leaning into the mic, as if telling a little secret. “Strength potions do exactly what you’d expect - if you drink one, you’ll deal double damage to anyone attacked within ten minutes of consumption.” 

Tommy made a small noise of intrigue and eyed the golden apple at the top of the found. He was reminded, then, that this was originally a ‘tournament for the gods’. Of course they would have replica magic items around.

“Huh.”

Next to him, Willis scoffed. Glancing over, he found his face was scrunched up in disgust.

“What?”

“Those items are only good if you wanna throw up your rations,” he said scathingly.

Tommy snorted in surprise. “What? C’mon, they can’t be that bad.”

He refused to believe they were that horrible. They were replicas, yeah, but no matter what they used to make them couldn’t be horrible.

Real golden apples tasted amazing - if he could eat them every day without calling attention to himself he definitely would. They were sweet and crunchy and the extra hearts always gave him a little pep in his step. Strength potions also weren’t the worst thing to drink. It had been a while since he’d had one, even longer than his last gapple, but even then he knew they tasted like spicy mushroom soup.

The disgusted shiver than ran up Willis' spin, and the nauseous sounding sigh from Phil, made him less confident in that statement.

“They are. Just- they are. Trust me, Toms, Theseus, they are that bad.”

Tommy looked at Willis, seeing how he practically pleaded with him to believe how horrible they were, and slowly nodded. He was amused by how insistent he was. “Okay, okay. Are they worth grabbing, then?”

He watched as he deliberated for a few moments, really seeming to think about it. In the background, the announcer continued.

“-and remember, you have to finish the entire thing to get the effects from your specialty item. If there’s any left then it won’t count-”

As if reminded by those words, Willis' expression tightened and he shook his head with the seriousness of a man remembering death.

“Never.”

He really had to hold back a laugh. “Got it.”

Tommy kind of wanted to try one of them now, just to see how bad they really were. It couldn’t be any worse than raw chicken or rotten flesh!

“-and we can’t forget the border, of course! Every hour, starting thirty minutes into the round, the places available on the island will shrink. If you’re outside the allowed area, your vest will flash blue. For every minute spent outside the allowed area you will take one tick of damage. Each tick is worth one tenth a full hit. Take too long and you’ll be dead before you know it.”

A border?

Tommy found it so interesting just how similar this game in particular was to the Games he used to place back in the day. He knew the entire tournament started as a sort of homage ‘to the gods’, but the similarities were striking now.

“There are lights all throughout the island. If they’re blue then it means you’ll be outside the allowed area once it shrinks. If they’re red then you’re outside the allowed area. There will be announcements for when it starts to close in. 

“If you get stuck outside it, it certainly won’t be our fault.”

He huffed in amusement. It really was just like back then. 

It had never been his fault if people suffocated outside the border when he gave them plenty of time and warnings to get inside. 

Surprisingly, the similarities were exciting this time, rather than upsetting. Maybe he was just in a better mood today. He was already playing, he might as well make the most of it and do his best to win - especially because it was so very similar to what he used to Play.

He wouldn’t want to let down ‘the gods’, after all.

As if sensing his thoughts, the wind brushed by, briefly swirling around his braids before moving past him. He grinned to himself at the silent approval.

“And finally, before we begin, I have to mention the grace period. For five minutes after the game starts, no fighting is allowed. That should give you all plenty of time to get gear from the middle then run, right?”

Based on how cheeky they sounded saying it, and the loud complaints from other teams and grumbling of his own, he assumed that no, it was not plenty of time.

The announcer laughed at the discontent and the little lights in the ground lit up green.

“Now then, if every team is ready, let’s begin!”

-

Tommy had crouched down, eyeing the supplies in the center, but was snapped out of his internal planning by Siren’s voice.

“We’re not going to the center.”

“What? Why not?”

“We’re not going to the center,” Blade repeated, nodding firmly. “It’s a good way to waste time and get tripped over, we should focus on finding a building further out to set up camp. We’ll find gear on our way.”

He had expected Blade to want to play more aggressively, but he supposed, with the grace period, that there was no real reason to get into it this early. They had plenty of time once they were more settled to hunt people down. It was probably best to use the grace period to stack up and get as far out from the center as possible.

So, that’s what they planned to do.

The second the timer ended, a rush began. A buzzer sounded and signified the start of the game and everyone began moving at once. More than half the teams rush the center, scrambling to get their hands on any loot they could, but Purple were busy rushing down the nearest street.

On the way, Tommy chanced a glance back at the others. He was immediately grateful that they weren’t getting into that mess of people. Being that close to all of those Players, while looking at them, was just asking for him get to get overstimulated again. Already he could feel the hints of a headache starting just seeing them scrambling around like that. He was grateful to be led away from them.

They ran for a minute, getting further away from the other teams that also chose to spread out and make the most of the grace period, and soon entered a nearby building. Grace period wasn’t that long, they needed to get gear first and foremost to at least try and fight off attackers if they came after them.

If Tommy was being honest, he was a little surprised how much had been put into this game. They just had an entire abandoned city on this island that they used each year? It was insane, especially if each building had as much loot in it as this one.

“Alright,” Blade called his attention away from where he’d been looking around the build, “me an’ Angel ‘re goin’ upstairs. Si, you and These are gonna search downstairs. When grace is over then we meet up back here.” He spoke with confidence, already heading to the stairs, and no one argued with him. Angel followed at his heel with an immediate call for going to the right side and Siren hummed and immediately began his search.

Well, if no one was going to argue with him then he wouldn’t either.

Tommy turned and started to search through the gear as well. At first he lingered around Siren, opening a chest and checking beneath a desk or two, but he quickly figured it would be better if he followed Blade and Angel’s lead and checked on half of the floor.

He didn’t even have to think to start sprint-jumping down the halls. He made quick work of all the rooms he entered, checking in any place he could think of that might have loot sitting around. He found some packaged snacks in some cupboards that he quickly stashed in his backpack - he had to consciously think about not shoving everything into his inventory by accident - and soon after found a quiver of arrows behind a desk.

Tommy lit up when he found them, immediately slinging the quiver over his shoulder with a happy cheer, and then continued into the next room.

He, unfortunately, didn’t find much else - a lot of it seemed to be food and matches and water, but he could only carry so much of each before he was worrying about the space in his bag to carry other things. He had been hoping for a bow to go with his arrows but didn’t find one. He did find a sword, although it was like the ones in Battle Box. It wasn’t great but it would get the job done.

To keep his hands empty to grab things, he ended up hooking it on the strap of his backpack. It was a good thing he did, because shortly after he found an axe in the top shelf of a closet. It was similar to the wooden one he used as Icarus. The only differences were that it was oddly off balance, making it awkward to hold, and it wasn’t enchanted.

How lame.

Tommy began sprint-jumping down the hall again, intending to make his way back towards the stairs to wait for the others, when he heard footsteps in a nearby room. He turned on instinct, swinging the axe in his hand on habit, and just barely avoided hitting Siren when it turned out he was the one coming out.

“Fuck-” Siren cursed, flinching back and putting a hand to his heart. He wheezed. “Fuck, Tom- Theseus, you can’t do that to me.”

“You shouldn’t be sneaking around like that then!” He shot back, a little incredulous.

The hero huffed and began walking with him. “I wasn’t sneaking around. It’s not my fault you’re trigger happy and jumpy!” He retorted. “How do you have enough energy to jump around like that? I swear you were falling asleep at breakfast not even an hour ago.”

Tommy rolled his eyes at being called trigger happy. He wasn’t trigger happy, he was prepared. There was a difference. “Hey, at least I was ready! If you had been someone from an enemy team then at least I wouldn’t die.”

Siren sputtered, laughing at his dramatics. “You wouldn’t die-”

“I would! I’d be killed and then you’d all be fucked!”

“Prime, you’re so dramatic. You’re just like Blade.”

Tommy preened at the comparison. “I choose to take that as a complement!” 

“It wasn’t one,” the hero deadpanned.

Tommy was going to insist on his willful ignorance when a voice startled both of them.

“What wasn’t a compliment?”

Immediately he spun with his axe at the ready. Siren hadn’t found a weapon, but he stepped behind Tommy and seemed ready to run if needed. Ultimately, their guard was unnecessary.

Angel looked at them with amusement at the top of the steps, although he didn’t waste time in spreading his wings and gliding down to their level with a good amount of tools. He had no sword but there was a sheath for one around his waist, as well as a bow around his chest. 

“Siren said I was like the Blade,” Tommy told him excitedly, as if it was the best thing he ever heard. It was funny to hear Siren sputter next to him.

“I said you were dramatic like him-”

“If any of you are dramatic, it’s you, Siren,” Angel mused, stepping between them with a laugh. “Now stop that. Did you find anything good?”

Tommy and Siren shared a glare with each other, but they both fought grins as they left the argument alone for now.

Instead he perked up and nodded. “I found these-” he motioned to the sword at his waist, showing off the axe in his hand at the same time, then turned and did a little hop to bounce and show off the quiver on his back, “-no bow though. I also found a bunch of food and water!”

Angel, similarly, perked up upon seeing the arrows. “Oh! I’ll trade the bow for the sword,” he offered excitedly.

“Are you sure? I mean, I can give you the arrows if you want-” He began to offer, but Angel just huffed and shook out his wings.

“No, mate. I’ll stick with melee unless we get another one. You’re more likely to be a reliable shot if we’re movin’ around than I am.”

Tommy remembered their time at the shooting range, how he’d told him about his back, and figured that was fair. They traded. Tommy handed over his sword to Angel and took the bow. He had just looped it over his shoulders when he heard the sound of hooves on tiles above them.

Looking up, he spotted Blade coming down the steps with a bunch of leather gear.

“Aight, everyone pick a piece of armour,” he grunted a  he let it all drop to the floor.

Almost immediately Siren began to complain. “Oh, come on, Blade-”

Blade’s expression tightened and he stared his twin down. “No. Siren, grab a piece of armour.”

“Blade, they’re always so heavy-”

“You do this every time,” he sighed under his breath. “Each piece is like five extra pounds, it ain’t gonna kill you to wear one-”

“But- but they stink-”

“And I don’t care, you need the extra hits-”

“They’re so ugly though! They’ll cover up my outfit or mess with my hair-”

Blade took a deep breath, pinching the bridge of his nose and clearly holding back the urge to force Siren to wear one. “Siren,” he said, calmly, “pick a piece of armour. Now.”

Siren visibly hesitated, glaring at Blade. It was clear he intended to wait him out but, ultimately, he had no choice. Blade’s glare was far more intimidating than Siren’s and he lost the staring contest.

The hero visibly deflated and grumbled under his breath as he looked through the armour. There were two pairs of boots, a vest, and a single hat.

Tommy watched with vague amusement as Siren debated on the hat, then ultimately grimaced in disgust before even putting it on and grabbed a pair of boots instead. He couldn’t help but snicker at how dramatic he was acting. He called him a child?

The call was coming from inside the house, Willis.

When he was done picking, though, everyone else finally got the chance.

Angel picked out the hat. He couldn’t wear the vest, and he reasoned that the boots were far too big for him to comfortably wear without tripping over himself, so he picked the hat. In doing so, though, he had to replace his own. Tommy watched as he began to put his in his bag but he jumped at the opportunity, stopping him.

“Can I wear your hat?” He asked, staring up at him pleadingly.

He watched the Elytrian internally debate with himself. “I don’t know…” He trailed off.

“I’ll take care of it, I promise! Please, Angel?”

Angel stared up at him for a few seconds before sighing. He held the hat out. “Fine. But do not lose it.”

Tommy immediately took the offered hat, putting it on his head without hesitation. He had to adjust the veil a little, unused to wearing one these days, but eventually he had it settled properly and he grinned at Angel. “If I had wings,” he began, and missed the subtle confusion that flashed in Angel’s eyes, “then we’d look alike.”

(Phil stared at him for a moment, having sworn he saw a flash with his words. It had only been for a split second but, when Theseus mentioned his wings, he thought he had them. They had been red and white and maybe gold, and, if he had a clearer look at them, he might’ve said that they were bigger than even his wings.

What a ridiculous thought.)

Angel laughed and smiled at him. “If I didn’t know any better I’d say you were like my son.”

And… Tommy didn’t disagree. He agreed with him as he turned to grab the pair of boots. Blade seemed to have grabbed the vest when he had been begging for the hat, so it was all that was left.

Just as Tommy sat and Equipped the boots - to the naked eye it seemed like he simply pulled them on over his own shoes, seeing as they were big enough, but he wasn’t about to trip over himself like an idiot. Or Siren. It’s not like anyone would be able to tell on him for the switch - a chime sounded out.

Immediately the rest of his team tensed up, expressions tightening, and looked ready to go. 

Tommy pushed himself up at the chance and dusted himself off. “What’s that sound mean?”

“Grace ‘s over. We’re leaving,” Blade answered firmly.

Ah, so they were.

The four of them left the building and began making their way down the street. It kind of reminded him of how he and Tubbo and Ranboo would travel as vigilantes. He couldn’t help the way he left a small trail of zinnias as they went. He couldn’t wait to get home and get back to their usual routine - even if it would be partially interrupted by the training.

Honestly, he just missed them in general.

Siren brought up sticking to the back alleys so that they wouldn’t be seen but Blade quickly shot the idea down. Not only was Angel claustrophobic - the Elytrian squawked in offense at the mention of it - but there was rarely ever good loot in them. It was best to stick to the main streets unless they had to.

“We just need t’ get to the outer parts of the city. ‘S more spread out an’ safer than center,” Blade explained as they went. They didn’t see any people as they went, but they did find some loot. They separated from each other to cover more ground as they collected what they found.

“We’ll stop in th’ middle t’ sleep f’r the night ‘f it comes to it,” Blade said as he found himself a crossbow and some arrows. Across the street, Siren finally found himself a weapon. It was just an axe, but it was better than nothing. “It’s th’ best place t’ not get jumped by the border in our sleep. We should focus on gettin’ rich for now. ‘S the best way not to die once we start fightin’.”

Tommy snorted at his wording but found it was a sound plan. 

“We can go for kills once we’re stacked, right?”

He looked over in time to see Blade’s mouth spread in a grin. It was similar to how a piglin might bare their teeth before a hunt. Tommy found himself copying him.

“Yeah. Once we’re rich we can go for the poor people-”

Angel choked, hitting him on his shoulder, while he and Siren laughed.

“Blade,” he admonished. 

Blade joined them in laughing and dramatically groaned, stumbling as if Angel had the necessary strength to actually unbalance him. “Bruh! What? C’mon, I don’t mean actual poor people-”

Angel was clearly exasperated, face palming with a heavy sigh. “Gods, you cannot just- just say things like that! This is why people are scared of you,” he scolded.

Tommy chuckled under his breath as they continued, Blade going on to say that maybe he wanted them to be scared of him, then they wouldn’t come ask him for autographs while Siren added that there are other reasons people are scared of him, Angel. He found himself drifting a little further away, stopping to search a little bus stop for anything.

There wasn’t much, although he did find himself some extra arrows that he cheerfully pocketed. Just as he turned to return back to his team’s side, he paused.

In the distance, there was a man. Not just any man, no. The Captain, not to be confused with Captain Puffy, was crouched and clearly looking for some loot as well. A dragon-like tail was swaying excitedly behind him, so he seemed to have found something really cool looking.

Tommy glanced around but found no one else around besides his team. He was all alone… He contemplated calling his team over for a moment, but ultimately decided against it. A whole group would probably scare him off if he was really alone. If he was the only one to approach then, hopefully, he would actually try and fight him.

If he really needed his team’s help then he could run back to them, it wasn’t like they were that far from here.

With that in mind, Tommy began sprint-jumping towards the other. If it had been anyone else, he was sure that their footsteps - especially in these boots - would’ve made quite a bit of noise on the concrete… But he wasn’t anyone else and so his didn’t. 

Because of this it wasn’t hard for him to sneak up behind the villain, especially considering he was too focused on whatever he’d found in the cache he was crouched in front of.

He grinned widely and, aware of the fact that his shadow would easily give him away, jumped him.

Tommy swung his axe at his vest, getting in a hit, then a second, and he might’ve been able to get a third in there if he had a sword instead. He didn’t, and so he swiftly jumped back as the Captain realized what was happening and retaliated. His swing with his sword was clumsy, clearly he was just trying to make some space between them, and Tommy allowed it for a moment.

He stood up straight and spun, eyes glowing a familiar purple beneath his glasses, and Tommy laughed at his obvious surprise. What did he expect, just sitting in the open like that?

This time around, he could actually hear what the other was saying. Their earpieces weren’t meant to deafen them to other teams this time. Rather, they allowed and seemed to encourage conversation - or shit talking, whichever came first - between groups. This made it exceptionally easy for the god to hear the near-curse he let out.

“What the fuc-dge-”

He barked out a laugh at the flimsy correction, easily dodging a second, more sure swing of his sword. There wasn’t much room for conversation during their fight - the Captain seemed more focused on dodging and calling his team to come back him up - but it was ultimately useless.

By the time they arrived, it would be too late. Where Tommy had boots to grant him extra hits, the Captain didn’t. Not to mention he had the element of surprise and experience on his side. Even with the difference in speeds between their weapons - an axe versus a sword - the Captain didn’t stand a chance. Soon after their fight began, it was over, and the first canon went off as his vest flashed red.

He was the first one out.

The Captain stopped immediately, sighing and letting his sword fall to the ground. “Gods dammit,” he muttered under his breath as he held his hands up in surrender.

Tommy snickered and picked up the sword for himself. It would certainly be better to have a faster swing if the amount of damage he did didn’t change based on what weapon he used. “Sorry,” he lied.

A glare was shot at him but, ultimately, the villain sighed and leaned against a nearby wall to wait. “It’s just a game,” he waved him off. “You should head back to your team before mine gets here though, I don’t think you’ll stand much of a chance against all three of them.”

Tommy scoffed in offense at the villain’s musing. “I’ll have you know that- that I would do fine against the rest of your team.”

He was right about one thing, though. He should get headed back to his team soon. Already he could hear them in his comm, asking where he was and if that canon was him. He shot them a quick I’m fine! And told them he’d catch up in a second… but there was one thing he wanted to do first.

If nothing else, then he had to do it to embarrass Tubbo.

“I know I just kicked your ass,” he grinned at the surprised laugh the other let out, “but could I get your autograph before I go? My friend is a huge fan of yours, y’know.”

The Captain was obviously caught off guard by the request. He ended up snorting, though. “Not every day I hear that… Yeah, sure, kid-”

“Not a kid-”

“Do you have something for me to write with? You wanna put a name on this?”

As Tommy pulled a pen out of his pocket - and definitely not out of thin air, what are you talking about? - he could already imagine Tubbo yelling at him in embarrassment when he got back.

(He was right. Later on, when Tubbo eventually woke up and learned what he did, he immediately began cursing him out and threatening him in prayers. Tommy had to actively hold back his laughter when he heard them.)

He got his autograph and slipped it into his inventory for safe keeping, right next to his clock. Then, as much as he’d love to stick around and chat with the villain, he bid his farewell and took off in the direction he knew his team was.

-

“You can’t just run off like that, Theseus! What if you needed back up? We wouldn’t have been able to find you-”

Tommy should’ve expected the scolding he got when he got back but, for some reason, he hadn’t. Sure, he probably should’ve given them a warning or given them a chance to join him just in case something had, on the off chance, gone wrong… That didn’t mean Angel had to yell at him and no, he was not pouting.

Eventually he was left off the hook, only after his ego was bruised from being scolded by Angel like he was his child, and they were allowed to continue on their journey. Admittedly, there was a bit of a scuffle between him and Siren that ended with Siren being down two hit points after he teased him for getting scolded by Dadza like that.

It was ended by Angel then scolding Siren for inciting a fight.

Tommy wanted to laugh at him- but Angel’s knowing glare had him keeping his mouth shut.

He definitely didn’t ‘accidentally’ step on the back of Siren’s boots to make him stumble. To avoid retaliation, he quickly went back to Blade’s side and ignored the sputtering and cursing under Siren’s breath behind him.

Blade was rambling. It seemed like he was mostly talking to himself - or maybe to the voices? - but when he noticed him at his side he turned his attention to him and continued without any pause.

“-’s important t’ keep a track ‘f the big caches we find. There’s a refill an hour ‘r two ‘fore deathmatch at corn an’ if y’ need any arrows ‘r want some extra armour then that’s the best chance t’ get it,” he explained in depth. Tommy thought that this was the most excited he’d ever seen Blade for anything. “It’s best t’ wait to get lots of armour ‘til ‘round deathmatch, makes it easier t’ flee and get ‘round if you need to.”

Despite Siren looking mildly annoyed still and clearly not paying attention, and Angel seeming fondly amused but bored, Tommy listened attentively to his rambles. It made complete sense to him.

In the past it was best to get all the armour you could and stack up on any gear you came across, but here Players couldn’t do that. They didn’t have inventories to hold everything, so they had to be careful on what the brought with them - same with armour. There was no Equipping things like he did, what they wore could actually slow them down and trip them up. It added an interesting spin to the old Games they used to hold.

He was also glad he wouldn’t have to ration his arrows all that much. Right now he only had ten and that really wasn’t a lot when it came to moving targets - not that he’d miss a shot, he never missed. It was just in case, you know? The wind might mess him up. Or someone might trip him when he was aiming. It was just a precaution.

Obviously.

As Blade finished their rambling, he began leading them through an alleyway. He claimed that he knew a good building to set up camp in for the night, they just had to go through here, but Tommy had half a mind to think it was a lie. You know, considering they were ambushed.

Niki - Nihachu. It wasn’t hard to remember the name she went by here because he was used to seeing it as her Nametag - was the first to jump out at them. She tried to get a sneaky hit on Blade’s vest but he reacted too fast. Tommy was willing to bet that the voices had warned him.

He got a few seconds to watch as she and Blade began trading blows and he could admit, he was impressed by her form. It was certainly better than what he had seen from a lot of other Players so far - which was surprising, considering the fact that most if not all of them should have fighting experience. No wonder it was so easy to fuck up criminals when no one in this world knew how to fight against an axe or sword anymore - and it made him wonder why she retired in the first place. Maybe she just wanted to run her bakery instead of beating people up? Couldn’t be him, but good for her if so.

Once those seconds passed, the rest of Lime team came out behind her as back up.

Manifold took one look at them and immediately bee-lined it for him. As the two engaged in their own clash of swords, he could see Foxtrot slip past him out of the corner of his eye. He only really caught a flash of colour and his tail flashing in his vision before he heard a shout from Siren. He sounded excited about it. 

Tommy wouldn’t admit he smiled a little at the banter between them - mentor to mentee - behind him. It was familiar, comforting, almost. 

Even further behind him, still near the entrance of the alleyway, he could hear Angel start fighting with someone - presumably the final member of Lime - and snorted at his quiet cursing about fighting in tight spaces.

A smack against his chest brought his focus back to Manifold, at which he scowled at.

“Fuck you!” 

Manifold laughed. Tommy was quick to wipe that stupid grin off his face by returning the smack. Admittedly, it was a bit harder than he needed to hit him but it was definitely deserved.

“Ow-! You didn’t have to hit me that hard-”

Tommy beamed at him, although it was more a baring of his teeth. “I think I did-”

“Why?”  

“Because you-” He had to duck, dodging the hit, then immediately dashed forward and got in a sneaky hit of his own, “are a bitch.”

“For someone who says they aren’t a child you sure act like one-”

“Bruh!” Maybe he was spending a little too much time around Blade, “I’m not a child!”

“You sure about that? You look-” He grunted from the next hit, which was even harder. He just grit his teeth and continued, “like a child-”

“Yeah? And you’re bald!”

Manifold sputtered, stutter-stepping, and Tommy took the chance to get another hit in.

“Why do you say that like it’s an insult!?”

Tommy barked out a laugh and, this time blocking the hit to his vest with one wrist while the one holding his sword swung up for a free shot while his guard was open, jeered. “Because it is!”

He was winning the fight. Manifold had only gotten one real hit in on him meanwhile he’d gotten a total of four- five- six-

It was only a matter of time before he beat him. He continued to count each hit. Assuming Manifold had been at full ‘health’ before fighting him, he’ll be down to four.

Three…

Two.. 

One-

And then Nihachu called for a retreat.

Tommy saw Blade debate about chasing after them but, ultimately, let Nihachu run. Unfortunately for Manifold, Tommy wasn’t nearly as merciful. He didn’t chase him but that didn’t mean much when he grabbed his bow and nocked a single arrow. If he missed then fine, he’d let him go- 

But it wasn’t often that he missed his target, especially in such tight spaces with little places to go.

He pulled back the string, aimed- and let the arrow fly. It whistled, a tell-tale warning that Manifold didn’t have time to react to, and then hit him square in the back. It was so sudden that he kept running for a few blocks before he realized what happened, at which point he finally stopped.

Nihachu turned back and cursed, seeming ready to come back- but then Tommy grabbed a second arrow and nocked it. He didn’t aim, not yet, but the threat was there and she grimaced before running off.

Tommy grinned cheekily as Manifold turned to glare at him. He flipped him off and Manifold oh-so-nicely returned the favour before he was shoved to the side. He grunted and, on instinct, tightened his grip on his bow and pulled it back. He didn’t even register who he was aiming at it happened so fast. The arrow hit but the person - a semi-familiar man with a plant sticking out of his head - kept running. They only glanced back with a glare but didn’t stop to engage. 

Soon enough it was just him, his team, Manifold further down - although he didn’t seem much for conversation - and… Foxtrot.

Tommy turned, wondering what happened, and snorted in amusement when he saw his vest was glowing and his ears and tail were drooping. Clearly, he had lost the fight. Siren was chuckling and ruffling his hair, saying something that was too faint for him to hear, and it seemed to embarrass the fox-hybrid further. 

He was snickering when he returned to Blade’s side.

“Those were some pretty good shots,” he commented when he joined him. “I wasn’t sure ‘f I believe Angel when ‘e said you were good with a bow.”

Tommy lit up at the praise, beaming, and a red carnation popped up behind his ear.

“Y’know,” he began, “there are four of us and only two of them left, we could hunt them down before they get too far-”

And maybe there was a little too much bloodlust in his voice, riding the high of a good fight and the familiar little dings that sounded when he shot them, because Blade side-eyed him before just shaking his head. “Nah, just let ‘em go.”

Tommy waited for an elaboration, for a reason that they were letting them go, but he got none. He even strained his ears for a moment to try and hear what the voices might be saying since he was close enough to hear them- then stopped himself. He wasn’t supposed to be able to hear them, and he knew there were at least a handful of Players watching from his point of view - the amount of watchers he had had grown over the days and he wasn’t sure how to feel about that many Players seeing things from his eyes.

He grimaced but tried to hide it, suddenly thankful that he had Angel’s hat and veil. He couldn’t say he was a big fan of it. The wind tried to comfort him for his lack of hearing and out of habit he was tempted to ignore it. For once, he didn’t. Tommy leaned into the comfort and breathed in deeply, held it, then slowly let it out.

“Alright. Let’s get goin’ then? Angel’s lookin’ a lil antsy.” He was only half joking, trying to lighten the mood while simultaneously changing the subject.

An offended squawk sounded and Tommy turned to see Angel really was looking antsy. His wings were held tightly against his back - so tightly that Tommy shot him a scolding look that he wasn’t sure he even noticed - and he was rocking on his heels, hopping from foot to foot like an anxious bird.

Next to him, Blade snorted in agreement and nodded. “Siren!” He called, turning and beginning to walk again, “we’re headin’ out!”

It took a second - Tommy could faintly hear him still talking to his little protege - but soon enough Siren jogged to catch up to them and they left the alley.

-

Tommy wandered a little bit as they continued their way down the street. He didn’t go far from them but only because any time he was more than ten blocks away from the group Angel would whistle at him to come back. He wasn’t the only one who reacted to the scolding though, Siren and Blade would both drift a little closer without even seeming to mean to. He thought it was kind of funny how easy it was for Angel to corral them - he really was like the dad of the group.

The whistling itself was kind of annoying though, the sound pricking his ears each time he stopped to check if there were any items lying around, and - if he was a lesser-willed god - he might’ve given in and replied with a whistle of his own. Whether that whistle would be to tell him to fuck off or a habitual response that he was coming, he wasn’t sure yet.

But he wasn’t a lesser-willed god, so he just called a confirmation and did his best not to go too far from the group.

In his search, despite his setbacks thanks to Angel, he ended up finding a golden apple. He hadn’t found much so far - Lime team probably raided everything already, or maybe some other team had bowled their way through here before them - but he wasn’t surprised that this had been left. Siren had been pretty insistent about golden apples not being worth the hassle after all, most others probably agreed with him.

Tommy, however, wanted to at least try it once, just to see how it held up compared to a real golden apple.

With a nod, Tommy shoved it into one of the side pockets of his backpack before jogging to catch up. Just as he got close, he heard the telltale whistle from Angel and he scowled. He didn’t even try and stop himself from whistling back in annoyance this time.

If anyone asked, he’d just say that he was copying him because the whistling was annoying. After all, he clearly wasn’t a bird-person, he had no idea what it meant.

At least Angel didn’t question it. He just grinned sheepishly and thankfully looked properly cowed when he saw he was next to him.

They made it down the street and to the building Blade pointed out but, before they could even get to the door, Blade began to slow down. They copied him, even if they didn’t know why they were slowing down, and Tommy crouched on habit to help stay hidden.

“Why are we slowing down-?”

Siren was shushed instantly for his question. Before he could complain, they heard it - voices.

Not Blade’s voices, of course not, but those of other Players nearby.

Tommy watched as the words died in Siren’s throat and he tensed at the realization.

The four of them moved together, all of them crouching now, and he stood next to Blade as they peeked through a nearby window. Doing so revealed that Yellow was settling inside, chatting to each other. One with blond hair seemed to be on guard, looking around and tense, and Slimecicle was bouncing around with practically no care in the world. Typical for a slime. Meanwhile Purpled and the totem-hybrid were digging through a room, likely to find supplies.

In front of him, Blade’s expression tightened.

“Are we gonna go somewhere else?” Tommy asked, making sure to keep his voice down on the off chance that the guard or slime would hear him.

Blade hummed quietly, tilting his head as if listening to something they couldn’t hear, and finally turned to look at all of them. His expression was calculating and Tommy was sure he was trying to figure out if the risk for fighting these guys was worth it. “How many hits d’y’all got left?”

“Eleven.” He’d only been hit twice, leaving him with an extra hit thanks to the boots. 

Just over his shoulder, he heard Siren sigh, then felt someone leaning on him. He glanced over and shot a glare at the hero, but he wasn’t looking at him to see it. “Ten.”

“Twelve,” Angel added in easily. Was there a bit of anticipation in his voice, or was Tommy imagining it?

He was only down one, making Siren have the least left. Tommy had to hold back a small laugh at the fact. He was pretty sure he saw the look on his face though because he moved from leaning on his shoulder to lodging an elbow in his side. He wheezed in response and glared at him but otherwise didn’t react. He didn’t want to draw Yellow’s attention before they were ready.

Blade nodded, ignoring him and Siren, and seemed to think for a moment before nodding again.

“Aight, we’re gonna go in. This place ‘s right in between th’ border and corn, ‘s the best place t’ set up camp. If we can get it then we should.”

When no one protested going in, Blade grunted lowly and crept his way towards the door. “I’ll go for Foolish.” 

Tommy didn’t know which one was Foolish but okay. “I’ll take the slime,” he called, following Blade’s league. He tightened his grip on his sword and readied himself and ignored the weird looks he got for his words.

After a slightly awkward pause that almost went on for too long, Siren added on, “I’ll take Punz. Let me go in first.”

Now it was Tommy’s turn to give a weird look. “Are you sure you can do that? I mean, you are kinda shit-”

Siren scowled at him and kicked his ankle. Tommy cursed and was about to retaliate but was quickly shushed so as to not give away their position.

“I can use my powers and distract him.”

Oh.

Y’know, Tommy hadn’t realized it before but he supposed he hadn’t heard a rule about no power usage during this game. That would certainly make for some interesting plays. And, annoyingly enough, it meant that there was a higher likelihood that he’d end up hearing Siren use his powers up close.

Unfortunate.

He nodded, though, and left it at that. As much as he hated Siren’s power, he knew it was very powerful compared to the ones most Players had - of course it was, it was once Prime’s - and, as much as Tommy made fun of him for being ‘weak’ (despite the fact that he wasn’t a horrible fighter), he knew he wasn’t completely helpless. Especially with access to it. 

Siren could probably take down this ‘Punz’ guy with ease.

So he left it be, and Angel called that he’d take on Purpled to keep him from getting in between him and Punz.

Tommy still didn’t know exactly who Punz or Foolish were but he didn’t have much time to ask before they were heading in.

Siren went first of course, getting the attention of the guard that Tommy rightfully assumed was Punz. Just as he did, Tommy spotted Purpled moving in as if to help. He was stopped by Angel, of course, and everything seemed to go so fast next.

Tommy stepped in front of Slimecicle before he could join in, easily distracting him with a hit to his back. He just barely missed the sensor on the vest thanks to the bouncing, unfortunately. With slimes in the past it was as easy as hitting them wherever until they fell apart into smaller slimes but now he actually had to hit him in a single area.

Annoying, with the way he moved around, but definitely not impossible.

Slimecicle seemed excited when he realized it was him that he was fighting, perking up with a cheerful chirp. Admittedly, Tommy grinned a little.

That grin fell when the slime bounced at him and he habitually swiped his sword to make him back off. It did as intended but thanks to the habitual response he accidentally cut deep into the slime’s arm. He didn’t bleed - there was no blood in his body to bleed - and he didn’t seem that affected, but he heard a choked noise of surprise behind him that sounded suspiciously like Angel.

Oops.

“Hey! That’s my- that’s my human skin!” The slime gasped in complaint. He didn’t seem that upset, considering it was trivially easy for him to regenerate back to normal, but he still pouted.

Tommy laughed a bit awkwardly and grinned, apologetic. “Sorry,” he dodged a slash from the slime’s axe - it was strange to fight a slime who wielded a weapon. Sure, some mobs in the past could use them but he never gave much thought to Slimes doing so - and then returned it with his sword, “habit, you know?”

And Slimecicle laughed because he did know. He understood his habits in a way that very, very few left in the world ever would and it was nice, relieving, to know he had some space to make mistakes and not be judged for them.

“It’s okay, 𝙹- Tommy from Everywhere! I understand!”

And because it was so nice to be given some slack by the slime, he let the almost-slip of his tongue go. 

Tommy spent most of the fight between him and Slimecicle staying focused. He couldn’t rely completely on habit and slice the slime apart and it was easier to remember when he realized just how shit his sword was. Where diamond or netherite or even iron would’ve sliced through the body of a slime with ease, now it was like cutting rubber with a butter knife. Clearly he learned from before and had solidified his form a bit more to avoid a repeat.

He appreciated the help because, admittedly, there were a few times where he missed and definitely would’ve just stabbed him.

By the end of it Tommy was at eight health but the slime was at zero - he had won.

He panted and slowly straightened up from his last dash to finish him off before turning to his team. He could see the rest of Yellow were out as well and were grumbling as they went to exit the building and wait for a part of the crew to pick them up. He noticed that Siren looked a lot worse for wear and was leaning against Blade as he wheezed.

Tommy took back what he said before about him not being useless. How could he be a hero and still be this out of shape?

Joining the rest of his team as Slimecicle sludged off to join Yellow outside - thankfully before he could say any cryptid shit to him on live TV - Tommy snorted.

“You good, Si?”

He didn’t clock his use of the nickname. It was said mindlessly, just something he picked up from Angel and Blade. Siren, however, did notice. He seemed to light up at it. Similarly, Angel chuckled nearby and Blade side-eyed Siren with a slight grin.

Siren composed himself quickly - which made Tommy’s face scrunch up in confusion at his weird behaviour - and then responded, calmly, “I’m fine. Just ready for lunch already.”

Tommy only then realized how late it had gotten. It felt like no time at all had passed but, looking at his clock for a brief second, he realized it had already been hours. Damn. “Me too,” he commented, although he wasn’t really hungry. He could eat.

“Well, we can eat once the building’s clear and secured.” The whole team turned, almost in sync, to where Angel was standing. “I don’t think there’s another team here but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t double check. Siren will be staying with me. Theseus, you and Blade can go check the upper floors.”

Tommy was nodding along to the plan, alright with it, but paused in confusion. “Why’s Siren not helping?”

There was a pause. A long pause, full of judgement and amusement, and Tommy slowly looked to Siren. He wouldn’t have questioned it much if they had just brushed him off, but now he was curious.

“Siren,” he began, and took great joy in watching him look away, “why aren’t you coming with us?”

Siren mumbled something, but it was too quiet for him to hear.

“What was that?”

There was a heavy, shameful sigh and Siren shot Angel an embarrassed glare before begrudgingly admitting, “...I’m on three hits.”

Tommy’s mind stalled.

“...How?”

Siren had access to his powers. He was incredibly unathletic but it shouldn’t matter much when he had access to his powers! How did he go down seven points-?

The hero bristled at his confused tone and emphatically motioned to Angel. “Someone didn’t-”

“No! You can’t blame me for this-”

“-keep track of his target-”

“Mate, you were standing still-”

“-so Purpled got a few free hits in!”

Tommy couldn’t help but laugh, especially as Angel and Siren really began to argue over whose fault it was that he was so low now. Blade snorted next to him and began heading towards the closest staircase.

“C’mon. Those idiots’ll be fine. Angel ‘ll be wantin’ to stay on the second floor at least so we should get t’ clearin’ it.”

He hummed, interested, and followed after him. “Why the second floor?”

“He prefers sleeping higher up - we think it’s a bird thing.”

Ah, that made sense. Tommy nodded in understanding. “Mood. I was like that for a while.”

“Oh really?”

“Yeah,” he confirmed. He then registered the questioning, amused tone he had and quickly clarified, “it- it wasn’t a bird thing for me, though- I just didn’t want to be bothered, y’know? When I was high up no one could bother me.”

Tommy watched Blade, wondering if he’d question when he was high up like that, but he didn’t. He just nodded like that was a normal thing to say. Maybe he understood - at least partially - because he also didn’t like people bothering him. The easy acceptance reminded him a lot of when he and Tubbo and Ranboo were first living together and the memory helped chase away some of the leftover shaking in his hands after the fight with Slimecicle.

Getting to the second floor, they found it was trivially easy to clear. No one else was there and, thanks to Yellow getting there first, it was already cleared of most items. He and Blade talked - well, he talked, Blade mostly listened - as they checked each of the rooms.

Blade didn’t seem stressed at all, just going through the motions, and Tommy was willing to bet a couple diamonds (primes?) that the voices were telling him the next room was clear before they even entered it.

With the second floor officially cleared, they called Siren and Angel up to pick a room to set up camp in.

They - it was mostly Angel, they didn’t get much of a say, nor did they really care - picked a room with a balcony. Angel said that it was the best room because they could escape off it if they needed to.

Blade deadpanned and replied back that it was best for him because he could escape, as the only one out of the four of them with wings.

Tommy couldn’t say he was a big fan of the slight expression that briefly came over Angel’s face at the reminder. He could swear his eyes glanced to him for a moment… and then that moment was over and they were being instructed to give him their backpack and sleeping bags so that he and Siren could set up while they cleared the upper floors.

“You’ve jumped off higher balconies before,” he reminded Blade as he unrolled his sleeping bag first. “And I can carry Theseus on the way down if it comes to it.” 

Tommy appreciated the thought, nodding, and nearby Siren made an offended noise from where he’d taken a seat on a counter. “What about me?”

“You’ve also jumped off higher places than the second story balcony.”

Blade snorted behind him. “Not without rolling his ankle he hasn’t.”

A growl escaped Siren and he crossed his arms. “Fuck you! That’s not true.” There was a pause, then he corrected himself so no one had to do it for him. “I don’t always roll my ankle.”

Angel chuckled and hummed. “Blade could carry you, then?”

Siren side eyed his twin.

Blade side eyed him right back.

“...Blade would probably drop me on purpose.”

There was a moment of silence and, when no denial came, Angel laughed and stopped setting up his sleeping bag to look at his son.

“Do not drop your brother-”

“I would never-” He lied.

“Blade-”

“You’d never drop Theseus,” Siren accused, squinting.

“Well, I mean-...”

“That’s not a denial! Dadza, tell Blade not to play favourites.”

Tommy was, admittedly, surprised by Blade’s reaction. That didn’t stop him from puffing up with pride, another red carnation blooming in his heart this time. “Ha! Blade likes me more than you, I’m his favourite!”

“Okay, I wouldn’t go that far.”

Blade tried to deny it but it was too late!

“I’m your favourite,” he cooed in a singsong voice.

Angel grinned cheekily at Siren, shrugging helplessly, before he resumed setting up the sleeping bags. “Your brother is fully grown, I can’t tell him to do something.”

Siren gaped at him, offended and sputtering but not making much sense, and a yellow rose crept up the side of the building without any of their notice.

-

Eventually they all calmed down enough for him and Blade to finish clearing the building. Blade stayed on the third floor but suggested he go check the roof real quick when they passed some stairs up. He thought that maybe Blade should just ask the voices if it was clear or not so that he could stay downstairs and eat but quickly realized it was highly unlikely that they’d actually help them.

The voices loved him - of course they did - but they were cheeky things, bastards before anything else, and it was likely that they’d sabotage them. Whether that be by not saying a word if someone was up there or by making something up about someone being there, making him have to check anyway…

So, unfortunately, he was stuck on roof duty for now.

Tommy didn’t think anyone would be up there - Yellow had been guarding the bottom for who-knows-how-long. Someone would have to fly to get up there and as far as he knew Angel was one of the only ones who could do that in this tournament.

His doubts were proven false shortly after getting up there.

Pushing the door to the roof open with a small grunt and then looking around, he didn’t immediately spot anything. He planned to just do a cursory glance, just long enough to tell Blade that he did check it, but just as he was about to head back down he heard the faintest sound of whispers. Then the door creaked and the voice cut off. 

He tensed, looking around a bit more frantically, but saw nothing. Nothing saw him, though. He could feel it, the familiar sensation of being watched from all over. Finally, Tommy caught sight of one of the eyes watching him. It reminded him eerily of his own eyes, the ones from the sky, and for a small moment he thought he might understand how Tubbo and Ranboo had felt when they were spectating him because it stared at him through the fabric of the Universe, making a hole where there shouldn’t just so someone could see him.

Catching the gaze of his mysterious watcher seemed to set them off and he was barely given the chance to register the sound of ruffled feathers before he was jumped.

The god was grabbed and then shoved until he was leaning heavily over the side of the building. If the person holding his vest let him go then there was no way he’d be able to - naturally - save himself from falling to his ‘death’.

His breath hitched, heart racing, and the feeling of vertigo momentarily blurred his vision before clearing just in time to see the nothing that had been watching him. He first saw the eyes. It was hard not to, considering there weren’t just two but three, four, six, ten-

Even more than that. This person had many eyes and the feeling of them watching him was intense and horribly familiar. 

The bloodlust, too, was familiar. There was genuine intent to drop him in them and he quickly grabbed at the wrist of the Player to try and prevent it. He was caught off guard, something that didn’t happen often when it came to fighting Players, and was unable to do anything. If he kicked the guy then he’d probably fall thanks to this angle and that meant he’d have to catch himself but he couldn’t.

He didn’t have wings, he couldn’t use creative fly, he had no other traditional ways to save himself - no elytra, no water, not even a ladder! He’d be screwed.

Tommy held his breath and waited to see if he’d be dropped, mind racing to figure out the best way to get out of this, but nothing happened. Slowly, the feeling of being watched disappeared and he was pulled back to his own feet. He wheezed slightly as he was released and quickly brandished his sword, glaring at the Player who had just done that.

Now that his mind wasn’t racing as fast and he wasn’t being held over the edge of a three story, fifteen block tall building, he realized he actually recognized this man. It was that avian, the one on Pink. The one who had thrown him off the platform in Hole in the Wall and that he’d shoved in To Get To The Other Side.

Tommy sneered at him. He used his anger to hide the hellebores in his throat, making his voice rough. He hoped no one noticed. Just like he hoped no one noticed how his hands shook.

“What- what the- the fuck?!”

The pink stepped back, wings spread, and Tommy was relieved to see the bloodlust disappearing in exchange for some embarrassment and sheepishness. He watched as he tilted his head and grinned at him. “Sorry! You startled me-”

“I startled you-?”

“-and I really should be catching up with my team, so good day!” He crowed and Tommy didn’t have time to even get a single hit in before the avian hopped on the ledge he’d just been hung over then jumped off.

Tommy shouted after him, angry that he was just leaving after threatening him like that, but it was too late. He didn’t think about grabbing his bow in time and when he did, he was too nauseous by the distance between him and the ground to really aim.

The avian escaped across the street and there was nothing he could do about it.

Fuck.

Tommy glanced around, wary on the off chance of anyone else being there, but there was no one. The avian had been alone. He didn’t bother to double check and just made his way back downstairs. He rushed, skipping a few steps, and hoped that, when he got back, his heroes wouldn’t notice the shake in his hands or the aspen growing from his ears.

Hopefully the veil hid fuzzy catkins of aspen well enough.

When he got back to the heroes, Tommy told them that the upstairs was clear. It wasn’t a lie, but he was clearly omitting what happened while he was up there. He was just thankful that none of them mentioned or asked about it.

-

Blade snorted next to him when he sat on his sleeping back. He looked at the piglin-hybrid in confusion, expression furrowed. He’d just sat down and gotten his ration pack from Angel, what did he want? 

“What’s up?”

“You good?”

Tommy’s expression tightened and he narrowed his eyes. After a brief moment, he looked away and tried not to seem affected by his obvious concern. “I’m fine, why?”

It was easy to see that Blade didn’t believe his lie - he bet that the voices were telling on him, the fucking snitches - but he didn’t press. “Alright,” he conceded easily. Tommy hoped that was the end of it and opened his rations to take out the sandwich inside but was stopped from eating by the hero asking another question. “...Did’ya go down any hits?”

Tommy paused mid-bite then shot him a glare. At the passive look he got in return, he hesitated before grumbling. “...No, I’m still at eight. Chased ‘im right off, he couldn’t even land a hit.”

And it wasn’t a lie, not really. It was just an omission of truth.

Blade didn’t need to know about how he’d been attacked and this life had been threatened. He knew this place was considered neutral but he didn’t want to risk starting a fight by telling him what happened. He didn’t know how much his heroes really cared for his safety - they invited him, who they thought was a human, to a place like this - but he was willing to bet they’d be at least a little upset.

Probably? He didn’t know, they were weirdly concerned about his scars. He didn’t need them worrying anymore.

Tommy knew he’d be upset if Tubbo or Ranboo were threatened like that - he’d gotten upset by them being threatened like that. Villains who did the threatening never lasted very long once he heard about it - so it wasn’t too far-fetched to think that the heroes might be the same to some capacity. Although, admittedly, he didn’t think the heroes would kill anyone for him.

Thankfully, that was the end of the conversation. Blade nodded with a proud snort that definitely didn’t make more carnations pop up nearby and they both started actually eating their food.

Tommy was glad no one noticed the flowers. He’d been trying not to grow them on his body as much today so it was easier to hide them, and so there wouldn’t be a repeat of Willis seeing him get rid of them. He’d like to avoid that kind of negativity in his life, thank you very much.

-

After lunch, it was a waiting game.

“There’s an unofficial second grace right now,” Angel explained when he asked what the plan was. “We get more points the longer we stay alive, so it’s best to wait until the border shrinks and forces fights instead of searching them out. Especially when Si is on two.” The last part was said without judgement, but Siren still snorted in offense.

He didn’t protest or try and defend himself though. They all knew he was holding on by a thread, if he got into a fight and they got a couple lucky hits on him then it would be over and they’d be down a teammate. Tommy supposed it was best they honoured the second grace, even if Blade looked a little antsy.

“We should mind our business,” Blade said agreeably. Despite this, he stood up just a few moments later and informed them that he’d be doing a patrol around the building until dinner, just in case someone else didn’t mind their business.

Angel sighed but waved him off, giving him permission to go. “He’ll call us if he gets into trouble. Most people will avoid him, though. Even without grace, not many people wanna fight the Blade,” he grinned and Tommy couldn’t help but grin back. “For now, we’ll wait here. Most of the fighting happens right after grace, then dies down until the border shrinks and forces us to fight. We have time.”

So that’s what they did.

They waited there. They talked, and at one point he and Siren ended up play fighting to pass the time. When Blade came back, he was no worse for wear and even joined in with the fighting. It was fun! Though Tommy had been careful at first, worried that he might accidentally chip away at Siren’s last couple points, he was soon reassured that they couldn’t ‘hurt’ people on their team and he stopped holding back.

Tommy enjoyed getting to fight them with an actual weapon. Neither were particularly amazing with their weapons - they certainly wouldn’t be trusted with anything higher than stone in the past - but it gave him enough of a thrill to just part with them.

It reminded him of when he taught Tubbo and Ranboo how to use the axes he gave them.

Pink hyacinths curled gently around his arms and Tommy was glad he hadn’t taken off his hoodie like Siren eventually did his trenchcoat.

Eventually, after Angel joined them in sparring and actually gave Tommy a slight run for his money with how good he was with a sword, they settled back down for dinner.

As they settled in and Tommy began munching on a piece of jerky he stole from Siren, he couldn’t help but remark that this was probably boring for the people watching them. Because of this, he finally got some information on how the actually streaming bit worked.

“There’s a ten minute delay on everythin’ they put out,” Blade let him know as he snacked on his own, non-stolen jerky. “If anythin’ interestin’ happens they’ll air us on th’ main channel, but ‘s usually commercials or clips playin’ when nothin’s happening on long games like this. People could watch us jus’ sit ‘ere and eat if they wanted to, I guess. They got separate streams f’r everyone, but I dunno why they’d want to.” He snorted, and Tommy nodded in understanding.

That made more sense, he guessed. He hoped the Players currently watching them enjoyed getting called out like that, freaks.

By the time they finished eating, the sun was barely beginning to set outside. Despite this, Angel announced that they should be going to sleep.

“Sleeping early means we’ll be up before the border shrinks and we can get a headstart. It also means we can catch up on sleep from waking up early.”

Now, Tommy was down to sleep early - even if he was admittedly a little upset that he hadn’t been able to talk to Tubbo or Ranboo at all today past that sticky note - but he was a little worried about being jumped. “What if someone attacks us?”

Angel glanced away and, following his gaze, Tommy found Siren looking resigned. They didn’t even need to say anything for Siren to speak.

“I’m staying up to guard us.” He didn’t look happy about it, but he also wasn’t grumbling like usual. Tommy was honestly a little surprised by the lack of complaints.

“Don’t you only have two hits?” Tommy squinted at him.

Siren flicked his tail at Tommy’s face, making his flinch then swat at him with a scowl. He was chuckled at. “Yeah, but I can run the best on no sleep. Also, I can wake you guys up immediately if I need to.”

Despite internally grimacing, feeling as if tar briefly rant through him, at the idea of Siren waking him up the way he assumed he would, he couldn’t deny that he was right. He’d seen Siren run on no sleep and as much as he grumbled or complained usually, he was much better at it than Angel or Blade.

So, Tommy agreed easily and just ten minutes later he, Blade and Angel were all lying down to sleep for the night.

If he was being completely honest, this game was kind of a let down. Where was the survival? They didn’t even get to actually fight to the death. If there was some Admin intervention - or God intervention, he supposed. There were no more Admins to intervene - then it could be so much more fun… at least in his humble opinion.

Maybe, once he finished this Game, he could start a new one with Tubbo and Ranboo. 

He’d have to teach them the ropes, of course, and it would probably be a while until they could start one, but it would be far more entertaining to watch than this. The stakes would be higher, too. They could actually get a ‘favour of the gods’ if they won.

Tommy grinned at the thought. Prime and XD, he couldn’t wait for the time they could Play real Games like he used to.

His smile fell a little when he closed his eyes and realized that he was going to sleep without being able to see them since early that morning. He dared to extend his senses, although not his sight, to just check on them. He was a little surprised to find that they both seemed to be getting ready for patrol. Tubbo had his wings on and Ranboo was just now pulling on their boots.

They both leaned into him when they realized he was there, as they always did, and Tubbo said something that Tommy couldn’t hear without tipping off his spectator and anyone else watching him. He sighed heavily and, after a moment of deliberation, grew some white heathers around their wrists. He hoped they got the message. He’d be pissed if they went out on patrol and got themselves hurt while he was busy.

With that settled and the quiet whispers of overprotective asshole echoing in his mind from Tubbo, Tommy pulled his awareness back to one place and finally let it full so that he could fall asleep.

-

Ranboo stopped where they’d been pulling on his boots when he felt the familiar tingle of a flower growing on their wrist. He looked at it, watching with quiet awe that never seemed to go away - no matter how many times Tommy grew flowers on him - as it bloomed before his eyes, and sighed fondly. He had felt Tommy visiting them, although it felt less invasive than usual, less all-consuming.

Honestly, it was a little disappointing. They had both grown to expect Tommy’s presence to press in at them on all sides, Ranboo in particular had grown very used to the feeling of his eyes on them, like he had never belonged anywhere else but they knew he couldn’t do that today. Not with the current round taking all day and then some.

They already knew that he’d be busy today, Tubbo had explained to him that the next game was long and invasive and he had been annoyed they picked it yesterday - not to mention Tubbo had woken up with a glorious reminder on his forehead that caused them to laugh and him to curse Tommy’s name. He even cursed His real name, just to make sure he heard it, and Ranboo had managed to catch the moment Tommy heard it because he had clearly been holding back his laughter during the game. 

Ranboo had taken to watching the game during the day while Tubbo was at work, admittedly missing Tommy. He had been there a lot of the time when he didn’t have work, having less hours than Tubbo, and now that he was gone to MCC they were left alone during the day again. It was a lot like how it had been before they took him in and after Tubbo started at his job - lonely.

They had gotten spoiled, having Tommy there almost all the time when they had nothing to do or just wanted to hang around someone even if they weren’t talking. He had felt similarly when he first moved in with them, when he and Tommy could sit in the living room together while Tommy did whatever on the laptop while he watched TV, and then Tommy got a job.

He missed him then and they missed him now, too.

Maybe they were just being pathetic. It had only been a handful of days, and it would only be a handful more until he got back. He just had to wait it out.

Shaking out of their thoughts, they looked up to see Tubbo had already finished pulling on his wings and had tucked his flower in his beanie. It made them chuckle a bit as they remembered to finish getting ready, pulling on his cloak and stretching out as much as they could in this form in the apartment.

He and Tubbo had gotten pretty good at wearing the armour like Tommy had shown them, though they had needed help for a bit, so they were all geared up now. 

“You ready, ‘bo?”

Tubbo grinned at him, then pulled up his bandana. “Whenever you are, ‘boo.”

Ranboo smiled at the nickname and, hand slightly shaking, waited for Tubbo to grab onto them before he teleported out onto a nearby roof. It wasn’t the roof their apartment was in, because they weren’t that dumb, but a random one nearby. They never used the same roof twice, just in case.

With a flash of particles that they quickly drowned out by shadows so as to not alert anyone who might be looking, the two of them appeared on the roof.

Tubbo had to take a minute to himself to adjust to the vertigo of teleporting - he always complained about it, but Ranboo had never had an issue. They thought it was because he was an enderman-hybrid, Tubbo said it was because they were a ‘bitch’ - before shaking it off and stepping back. He stepped once, twice, and one the third he hopped and shook his wings out in a practiced move. He was so much better at controlling them than he used to be. They remembered when he used to nearly run into buildings when turning, or when he’d get occasionally tripped up in the air.

“You lead the way?” Ranboo - Lethe - suggested. They usually followed Tommy but since he wasn’t here and it was Daedalus was the one to bring up going out tonight, they figured he should be the one to lead the way.

(If Ranboo was being completely honest, he missed this.

The adrenaline of going out, the cool night air, the wind that seemed much gentler compared to when he and Tubbo were out here when they were younger- he missed all of it. They hadn’t had the chance to go out on patrol with Tommy gone, especially because of how clingy he’d been recently.

The only reason they were able to go out tonight without fearing that he’d stop them was because he couldn’t stop them, stuck in the game as he was. The flower he grew on them was definitely one of defeat, but also of warning. It meant protection and Ranboo was sure the only reason he grew it for them was because he was giving them his ‘blessing’, of sorts, to go out alone.