Chapter Text
A blinding light..
Along with a deafening sound..
Everything and yet nothing being ripped inside a painful shredder..
Tommy gasped for air.
For a few blissful seconds Tommy couldn’t remember a thing, all he felt was foggy confusion. He wasn’t at his base with the stacks of invisibility potions he had grown so addicted to. His back ached as bars jabbed against his skin.
Then it all came flooding back.
Reuniting with Tubbo.
Finally killing Dream!!
Punz reviving Dream..
That plan with Tubbo..
Talking to Dream..
A blinding light along with the sickening sound of a crash.
He was dead. Tommyinnit was dead.
“Holy shit..” he muttered. He quickly flicked his head to the side as best as he could in this cramped space. He seemed to be in some sort of cage with his knees high and head bent low. The bars were cutting into his back and arms, well this was shit.. Behind the cage was the scariest thing of all though, because the outside world wasn’t a world at all, it was a pitch black void. He was left there floating aimlessly in nothing.
Was this it for him? For all eternity left with nothing but his thoughts?? It almost reminded him of his first limbo, the dark void where he couldn’t feel, he couldn’t smell, he couldn’t taste, all he could do was hear and pray he was actually walking since he couldn’t feel his legs either. At least in this situation he could feel his body, he could see it too. Maybe it would’ve been better if he didn’t feel that back pain though. Ugh why could he feel pain in death??
Well Tommy knew one thing for sure, he had to do something, even if he was left floating along the void, he had to at least get out of that fucking cage.
Thankfully, Limbo let Tommy keep the stuff he had on. Even if he was all alone, the guy didn’t wanna be naked! This also meant that right at his side was his pretty little blue fanny pack.
He opened it up and was immediately hit by a wave of comfort. Seeing that stack of invisibility potions, even if useless, brought such relief to him. He knew that getting addicted to them was a really bad thing but eh they still made him feel secure. But that wasn’t all this fanny pack was good for. Tommy always kept some good ol’ pins with him. He often used them to try to tuck the white strand of hair underneath his long mat of blonde hair. Even if he was mostly always invisible and everyone knew about the white strand anyway, once again, it just made him feel a bit better.
He took out one of his pins and started fidgeting with the lock at the side of his cage. It was a really uncomfortable position but hey, what could he do about it?
Finally, a bit longer than Tommy would’ve liked, he was out! He was actually fucking out!! The tiny door opened up and he crammed himself out of that tiny cell. Oh god, that felt good!! He made sure to stretch his arms wide and crack his back. Yeah, that felt way better.
So what now? All he had was a void of nothing. Tommy didn’t know where up was, where down was, wherever the right or left was, he was just floating aimlessly. Maybe that was just it.. No, it couldn’t be, somehow last time he ended up in Wilbur’s limbo, this time he’d find some other place. So Tommy picked a direction and just floated over. He tried to go in a sort of swimming motion. Tommy didn’t care if it took years, he had all the time in the world now, he guessed.
So that’s what he did. As the minutes ticked on it truly seemed to be going on forever, what was he even doing?? What was the point of this? This effort, it was useless, just like his whole life had been. Everything Tommy ever had, he lost. He lost L’manberg, he lost his discs, he lost Wilbur, he lost Ranboo, he lost the last strand of hope he had to live in peace without Dream. Oh Prime, he was nothing. Nothing at all. As his thoughts spiraled hot tears spilled down his cheeks. Fuck he couldn’t breathe, why couldn’t he breathe?? Fuck he must’ve been panicking. Ok ok, Tommy stopped moving, he had to steady his breath. He counted as he breathed in and out, but breathing didn’t get any easier. It was hard, so, so hard. There were only small wisps of air, it was like the atmosphere around him was lacking in oxygen. Suddenly, a small bubble appeared in the air and rose up.
It was his tear.
The tears that used to be streaming down his face were floating up into bubbles. Huh.. well that was.. odd. Welp! How was he gonna figure it out? By jumping head first into the unknown!
Tommy took in the small amount of air left and swam upwards following the bubbles. As he traveled, he noticed that the void was suddenly not an empty world of black, it was slowly becoming lighter, as he traveled farther, he could see that the world around him was turning into a dark grey. He also couldn’t breathe at all at this point and as his arms moved in a swimming motion he really did feel like he was swimming. Tommy could feel flowing matter being moved as his arms went back and forth. He was underwater!
As he kept traveling, suddenly he could see the light of a sun coming in through the waves. The sun wasn’t yellow though, at least not completely, it looked as if it was pure white with a yellow lining. At this point, the blonde’s muscles all ached from the constant movement, but he couldn’t stop, not now. That light came closer and closer and closer and finally-
Tommy gasped for air as he rose to the top. Oh fucking thank Prime, he did it!!! He was fucking free!! He truly was the biggest man of them all. Not that there were many. The men in the Dream SMP weren’t all that great. Of course Tubbo was very big.
Tommy took a second to rest as he looked around. This world looked eerily gray. The ocean was a dark gray. So was the sky with the place where ocean and sky met being a dusty pink. What in the fuck was this place? The air felt wrong, as he breathed in it was slightly colder than it was meant to be, but not in a cool breeze kind of way, it almost tasted like death. To be honest, it felt like there was something wrong inside him as well. There was a cold inside his chest, a cold that stemmed from where his heart should’ve been and ate away at his insides. He assumed he’d get used to it though.
Tommy took in the strange breeze before he started swimming unsure of where he was headed. There had to be something else, he just knew it. Tommy had never really been a great swimmer which he’d never admit, but he guessed that if this was most of the Afterlife then he’d have to get good.
Tommy left his thoughts drift as he traveled through the endless sea, water swaying against his moving arms. It was almost calming, finally a moment of silence. The Dream SMP was so loud and dangerous, here it was quiet, safe, it was just him. Tommy never really liked being lonely, but for just this moment, it felt okay.
But then, something appeared over at the end of the sea. It was a sort of yellowish green. As it crept closer, Tommy could tell that it was an island!! Oh Prime there was actually something there!! He started swimming even quicker and as the island came closer Tommy could feel a large smile creep into his face.
Tommy crawled onto the island, letting his body rest on the soft grass. He was okay, he’d be okay. The waves were going up and down through his legs and only now could he feel his wet clothes sticking to his skin. After giving himself a few beats, Tommy sat up and took off his blue sweater before tying it around his waist revealing his iconic red and white shirt.
Tommy slowly got up and began to slowly walk into the island
As he trudged along the land, it all pretty much looked the same, the only actual addition being a couple of trees here are there. Slowly the grass started becoming into sand with muted green cacti roaming the land. After walking for what felt like forever, Tommy found,, a structure?? It was definitely man-made, it was stairs! Dirt stairs. That was odd.. At the bottom, there was a wooden sign, one that read "Mexican L'manberg".
Oh Prime.. L'manberg.. That was.. an interesting thing to read.. huh.. What even was Mexican? Tommy only ever knew a man named Mexican Dream, he spoke a strange language with it's own strange culture. Huh.. Maybe MD made this! After all, he did die.. It's still weird as fuck though. Why L'manberg? That dude was always a bit of a weirdo. Where were Mexicans even from?? Were they close to Utah?? No no, Wilbur turned out to be American, not Mexican. Do all Americans come from Utah?? Maybe the British come from Dream SMP.
Eh, probably not. The only thing left to do was see what this staircase was. Well then, time to check it out he guessed. The staircase led to a flat dirt floor, at the edge of it was a weird black pyramid with two beds inside. Tommy crept closer until he was inside this thing that seemed to be a base. There were a couple chests around, some had pictures of who Tommy remembered to be called "Mamacita". Another picture was of a burrito?? Eh.. Tommy lightly chuckled to himself. MD was a bit odd, wasn't he?
"Who the fuck are you, wey?!"
The new voice startled Tommy out of his thoughts. He quickly turned around and found himself staring at his old friend. Black tufts of hair were stuffed inside a green beanie, with a red, white, and green mask covering the man’s eyes and nose but leaving just enough space to see his gritted teeth. Under his mouth was a black goatee that looked just as awesome as it always did. He also wore a green hoodie that matched perfectly with his beanie. Mexican Dream still looked just as awesome as when Tommy last saw him, the only difference being how his colors were now muted and he had the illusion of tears under his eyes. Once the man saw that there was an intruder in his house he clenched his fists, but all of that aggression quickly faded at the sight of Tommy's face.
"T- Tomás?!?!"
"Ayup, big man! How's it going?"
Mexican Dream's face lit up and he quickly walked over to Tommy for a high-five. "Ey man!!! It's so nice to see you! You're not dirty and shit anymore like in that weird island!"
Tommy winced at the reminder of his time in exile. "Y-yeah.. I'm better now, MD."
MD crossed his arms as he said "So what brings you here, wey?".
"I got nuked-" MD's eyes widened "-on purpose."
The Mexican man's eyebrow went up "Wait. What?"
Tommy sighed stating "Alright, walk with me, MD."
Tommy explained everything as they walked along the endless land. Multiple times MD interjected with his own comments about Dream being a weirdo or a 'cabroncito', or something like that. Even if Tommy was talking about something terrible, just talking to MD was enough of a comfort.
"Carajo, that's terrible, man!!"
Tommy gave him a small sad smile in response.
Of course, MD was quick to change the topic. "Well anyway! Wey, I'm planning this awesome fiesta for all the dead people. We're gonna have burritos and tacos and all that good shit! You wanna come?"
"Awh sure!!"
“Good! Where can I pick you up?”
Tommy narrowed his eyes “Huh??”
“Digo, where’s your Limbo so I can pick you up there, man?”
“Oh uh.. I don’t really know how to get back there and I kinda don’t want to.” Tommy crossed his arms uncomfortably.
“Ah you got one of the freaky Limbos?” MD questioned.
“I guess so” Tommy hunched over himself at the terrifying memory of pitch black.
"Well, you can stay with me, man!! I can be your papi!" MD exclaimed as he raised his arms.
Tommy widened his arms "I don't want you to be my 'paw-pee'!"
"Fine! Starve then, cabrón!!"
"Ok! Ok! You're my paw-pee!!"
"Say it right! You sound all gringo!"
"What the fuck is a 'green-go'?!"
"Is that how you speak to your father?! Show some respect, wey!"
"I-!" Tommy tried to interject but decided against fighting with his only opportunity of shelter and sighed. "Alright, I'll stay with you, big man."
"Good. No complaints, alright?!" said MD as he cackled.
Tommy deadpanned "Of course, faaaatheeerrr" elongating the last word dramatically.
MD laid his hands on his hips as he stated "Alright. So first of all, there's this one dude who I never knew when I was alive. He's a bit of a weirdo but I figured you'd know him so you're coming with me to get to know the man, alright?" The Mexican put a hand in mock secret to whisper "I heard his kid does hard drugss.."
Well that was odd, but it wasn't like Tommy had much of a choice. "Uh alright, big man, I'll see what I can tell you about him.
The two walked over to the edge of the island as Mexican Dream rambled on about what a good burrito looked like.
“One time I went over to this fucking like “Mexican” restaurant and it was so shit!! It didn’t even have aguacate!!” said MD raising his hands to act out the quote-on-quote sign.
Tommy nodded respectfully not understanding what the fuck an ‘Aw-goo-a-caw-tey” was.
Once they got to the shore MD placed a small boat perfectly fit for two people. Mexican Dream hopped on and motioned for Tommy to follow suit.
When they both got on the boat, MD began to row.
So Tommy was about to meet some random person that he probably knew. Who was dead that MD never met? Oh, maybe Schlatt.. Tommy really hoped it wasn’t Schlatt. What would Schlatt’s Limbo even look like?? Ugh.. He couldn’t even stand imagining that creepy drunk smile, those red piercing eyes, that booming voice, the cruelty in his tone at the festival.. He really didn’t want to see Schlatt again. Not now. He still wasn’t ready. Oh Prime..
Tommy slumped down on the boat and put his hand outside so it was gently touching the cool water. It was nice.
The water back at Dream SMP wasn’t so nice, it was dirty and murky, some of it even had blood. Tommy was pretty sure that the lake where he fell in the middle of the dual with Dream had some blood. He flinched at the awful memory.
It was weirdly foggy around this area, at least more than it had been for Tommy when he swam. After a while of waiting in that wooden boat, Tommy started seeing a figure in the distance, it was tall and lanky and stood on a tiny piece of land, with only really enough space for one person. Almost looked like Slenderman, why would Slenderman be in Limbo? Maybe that's why MD didn't know him, no one knows him at all. Come to think of it, how does Tommy know of Slenderman?
Well, anyway, the figure looked black from the foggy distance but as Tommy got closer and closer, it seemed like the figure was black, except only one side of it was. The nearer Tommy got, he could see that there was a tail resting limply and pointy ears drooped down on the hunched thing.
Wait.. this person..
Tommy recognized him!
The person turned around at the sound of water swooshing and stared at a boy he hadn't seen in a long time.
Before they could even say a word Tommy jumped out of the boat and hugged him as tightly as he could. Ranboo almost fell off balance but was able to catch the weight of the both of them before gripping onto Tommy just as tightly as the other. Tommy could feel his eyes water as he clung onto one of his best friends, warmth blooming inside his cold ghostly chest. Oh, how he had missed Ranboo, those familiar arms gripping onto him like they had so long ago was enough to bring back all the pain he felt when he first lost Ranboo. Thank fucking Prime, he thought he'd never see the half enderian again. The quiet dragged on until- hiss
A noise came from above his head.
It was reminiscent of the sound of TNT or a creeper but it was a noise too familiar to be any of those, more familiar than even the cries of war. As Ranboo laid his cheek on Tommy's hair, he could feel the wet drops falling onto it and the smoke rising from his friend's tears.
The two slowly sat down still gripping tightly to each other, too afraid to let go.
Tommy moved so that his head was resting down on Ranboo's chest as he quietly fiddled with the strings on Ranboo’s black sweater vest, their red tie also resting under his head. Tommy jokingly whispered "Ran-boob".
Usually Ranboo would've dramatically sighed but all they gave was a small airy chuckle.
"I missed you." Ranboo's voice cracked as they said those painful words.
Tommy gripped tighter as he whispered "It's okay now, you'll never have to leave again".
A sob tore out of Ranboo's throat at this and they sat in silence a few moments more.
Finally, Ranboo reluctantly let go of their grip on Tommy and pulled back to look at his face with a soft smile.
This smile was abruptly cut though.
A look of worry and concern lied on the half enderian's face as they pursed their lips and scrunched their eyebrows. Tommy stared back in confusion.
"Tommy, I- what happened??"
"Huh?"
"You- Have you looked at your face?"
"Wh- no?'
"Okay, okay, wait.” Ranboo pulled their hand back and looked through the pockets in their long black pants. They pulled out a little mirror. “Why the fuck do you just have a random mirror in your pocket?” said Tommy attempting to hide his cheeky smile.
"I'll have you know it's incredibly useful!!" answered Ranboo who didn't try to hide their smile. Their smile did fade though when they said "But really, Tommy, look."
With a doubtful look on his face, Tommy grabbed the mirror Ranboo held out and stared back at himself. Tommy still had the same blue eyes that got duller over time, and his hair was still as messy as always (maybe with some added debris from the explosion), but there was something he definitely did not expect to see. On both of his rosy cheeks rested strong burn marks reminiscent of the ones Tubbo had, except these were on both sides of his face and didn't reach his eye.
Tommy muttered an "Oh fuck.." at the jarring sight. What the fuck was this? Was this from the explosion? Oh Prime, was this really his face? Tommy examined at touched his face. After a few beats, he looked back up at Ranboo and yelled "WHAT THE FUCK????"
The startled Ranboo widened their eyes at the sudden noise but quickly calmed back down. Softly they asked, "Tommy.. how did you die?"
"I-.." Tommy stayed silent for a few beats as they waited patiently. Tommy sighed before starting his story again.
For some reason, it was harder this time to say it. When he spoke to MD about it, he went into a humorous facade, but when Tommy spoke with Ranboo, he had no facade, Tommy knew that he could be real with them, and they would listen.
Ranboo heard everything quietly nodding with their lips pursed in worry. Mexican Dream stayed quiet on the boat, understanding that this was a serious moment. Still kinda annoyed though.
When Tommy finished, he felt like a weight had been lifted off his chest and he let Ranboo lean forward to hold him like before. But this time they didn't grip onto him, instead, they just softly leaned into Tommy as they whispered comforting words.
"You're okay now, Tommy. I promise no one will ever hurt you again. You're safe.. you're okay.."
Tommy happily leaned into the familiar touch as he closed his eyes and let his chest fill with droplets of warmth.
For just a few seconds nothing mattered, not his face, not his Limbo, not his death. Tommyinnit was okay.