Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Tommy had been in Limbo for a long time now. It had been over a month by this point. He stopped keeping track after a while. Limbo was dark, and only being able to talk to Schlatt, Wilbur, and Mexican Dream of all people could get really repetitive. But this was his new normal. He died, so now he was stuck in Limbo. He wondered what it would be like to go back to the server. But he’d rather die than see Dream again. Well, he’s already dead so it’s a bit late for that. Maybe being dead wasn’t so bad afterall. It’s better than staring at Dream’s ugly face; while rotting in a jail cell with the guy, that’s for sure. Sometimes, he wonders if anyone even noticed his death. Maybe they didn’t care. Tommy had been talking to Wilbur before it happened. The two had been talking about solitaire. Wilbur had been trying to convince him to play it with him. When he suddenly felt something pulling at him. It was as if he had been plucked out of limbo. He felt a throbbing pain in his head. It felt like he was being reconstructed. It started with the shattered bones slowly being pieced together, as if he were a puzzle. Then he felt his flesh and blood rush to his body. It ended with his skin sticking itself onto him. He passed out shortly after.

Tommy awoke in an unfamiliar place. He felt like death. He glanced down at his hands, unlike in Limbo however, he could actually see them. Gaze upon them in all their glory. They were littered in scars, ranging from burns to cuts. This freaked him out. If he was able to see himself, then he definitely wasn’t in Limbo anymore. He quickly got up onto his feet and looked around, feeling a wave of dizziness almost instantly. He looked around a bit before sitting back down. This certainly was not the Dream SMP. He felt weak, probably a side effect from being dead and all. He tried to grasp his new surroundings. It looked like he was in an alleyway. This place was very different from the SMP. He got up again and started to walk out of the alley, but he stopped when he saw a group of people in ugly costumes. They looked like they were fighting. Now, Tommy didn’t have anything on him. Just the clothes on his back, which were coated in his own blood. He should probably clean them when he gets the chance. Since he didn’t have any weapons or armour, he decided to simply just watch the fight. However, it seemed like it was just ending. He saw as some of them began to flee the scene. One of them ran directly into the alleyway he was currently in. That probably wasn’t good.

“Holy shit! What the fuck happened to you?!” the guy yelled at him. His voice sounded distorted, very weird. “Uhh,” Tommy didn’t really know how to respond to that. What was he even supposed to say? ‘Yeah I just died and came back to life,’ he didn’t even know this guy. “Here, let me help you,” the guy offered. Tommy felt inclined to accept this, it’s not like he had much to lose anyways. He didn’t even know where he was. “Sure man,” Tommy said. The guy inched closer and pulled out a box of sorts. It was white and had a red cross on it. It kind of looked like the red X’s on the original L’Manburg flag, just rotated a bit. “What’s that?” Tommy asked. The guy looked back at him with a confused expression; “It’s a first-aid kit. Do you not know what that is?”. Tommy shook his head. “Well- it’ll help me clean up all the uh, blood on your head,” he said. Tommy hadn’t even realized how bloody he must look. Being beaten to death did that he supposed. The guy opened the box and grabbed a paper of sorts. He proceeded to wipe the blood off of Tommy’s face. The paper was wet, and it felt cold against his skin. It was a different cold to the one felt in Limbo. It stung a bit too.

“So,” the guy started, “How’d you manage to get like this?”. Tommy still didn’t have an answer for him. “What’s it to you?” he spat back. The guy sighed before saying, “It’s not everyday you see someone bleeding out from their head y’know, you could’ve died”. Tommy scoffed. The guy wasn’t wrong, in fact he had died. “You haven’t even given me your name yet,” the guy added. “Tommy,” he reluctantly told him. “You haven’t given me yours either though,” Tommy said. “You- you don’t know who I am?” the guy asked. “Nope. You could say I’m not really from around here,” he replied, circling his finger. The man sighed again, “You can call me Siren”. “Weird name, but okay I guess,” Tommy replied. The guy, Siren, pulled out something else from his weird box thing, it was some sort of thin wrap. He began to place it around Tommy’s head. “What are you doing now?” Tommy asked. “I- I’m putting bandages on you. Y’know, so you don’t bleed out and die,” Siren said, sounding concerned. “A little late for that,” Tommy muttered under his breath. “What was that?” Siren asked. “Nothing, just keep doing your weird wrapping thing,” he said. The two didn’t say much after that. Siren just continued to tightly wrap the bandages around his head.

After Siren finished wrapping his head, he put all the stuff back into the white box. He put it away and stared at Tommy for a bit. “What’s with your hair?” he asked, pointing at him. Tommy was confused, has the guy never seen blonde hair before? “What do you mean?” Tommy asked. “What’s with the white streak?” he said. Tommy has never had white in his hair. Tommy grabbed at a bit of his hair, and wouldn’t you know, part of it was white. “What the fuck,” Tommy said. This was news to him. Siren stared at him, confused by his reaction. Tommy wondered what else could have changed since his death. “What do you mean, ‘what the fuck’? You just dyed it, right?” Siren asked. Tommy was at a loss for words. His hair had never just changed color on its own before. This had to have been as a result of his death. “N-no, I didn’t dye my hair,” Tommy said. He was starting to panic a bit now. Siren pulled out some kind of device from his person. Tommy isn’t sure what it is. He’s never seen anything like it. “What is that?” Tommy asked, still panicking a bit. Siren just stares at him concerned; “How do you not know what any of this stuff is. You’re like a teenager, you should know what these basic things are?”. Tommy sighed, “I already told you. I-I’m not from around here,” he repeated. “That really doesn’t answer my question,” Siren says. Tommy debated telling the guy about his predicament. It would probably help him understand why Tommy was so injured in the first place. He’s not sure how that would go, he probably wouldn’t believe him. Instead, Tommy just stays quiet. “Whatever kid, I’ll just get you out of here,” Siren said.

Tommy didn’t know what he meant by that. Suddenly, Siren grabbed Tommy’s wrist and led him out of the alleyway. “W-where are we going?” Tommy asked, surprised at the sudden movement. “One of my friends is going to pick us up. The car should be here any second now,” Siren replied. “What’s a car?” he asked. Before Siren could answer, some sort of machine rolled past them. “That’s a car,” Siren said, pointing at the black box machine looking thing. It looked pretty cool in Tommy’s opinion. He wasn’t sure what it did, but it was probably something epic. “What’s up with your hands?” Siren asked. Tommy glanced down at his scarred hands. His hands had many small jagged cuts along them. As well as some splotchy burn scars from his time in exile. Most of his legs were covered in those too. Tommy finally mutters, “Doesn’t matter”. He doesn’t feel like sharing his traumas with a guy he met five minutes ago. “Fine, don’t tell me,” Siren responds with a bit of sass. The two were standing on beige pavement, Tommy tried to walk to the dark grey pavement but Siren held him back. “Dude! You can’t just walk onto the road like that!” He scolded him. Tommy was a bit annoyed, he didn’t know. He doesn’t try to argue though.

After a bit of waiting, one of those car things pulled up in front of the pair. Siren opened a door that was attached to the machine and got himself and Tommy inside. There were two other people inside, they were some of the other guys in the fight. The one driving is wearing green, and the other is wearing pink. Weird color choices but he doesn’t judge. “Is this the kid you were talking about earlier?” the pink guy asks. His voice was also distorted. Tommy was just confused. He hadn’t seen Siren pull out a communicator or anything. Maybe that weird device from earlier was his communicator. Tommy had never seen anything like it. “Yeah it is,” Siren replied. The guys in the car began talking, but Tommy tuned them out. He had been thinking about all the events that lead up to this moment. He had died, gone to Limbo, and suddenly woke up here. Maybe he was revived, but shouldn’t he be back in the Dream SMP. It just didn’t make sense. Maybe revival didn’t put you back to where you died. What if it just puts you in a whole different universe. It honestly made sense, everything in this place was unfamiliar to him.

“I have an answer to your question,” Tommy finally said. The men paused their conversation; “Really?” Siren said skeptically. “I think I’m from another universe,” Tommy said.  The car stayed silent for a moment. The guys seem lost in thought for a bit. Tommy did kind of just drop a bomb on them though. “What?” one of the guy’s finally says. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure that’s what happened,” Tommy says. The trio stare dumbfoundedly at him for a bit. “How?” one of them, the one driving, says, breaking the silence. Tommy thinks for a second. He’s not sure if he wants to tell these strangers about how he died just yet. So he decides to just make something up, he probably won’t be here for too long anyways. “Well, I- uh passed out. And I just woke up here,” Tommy says. He doesn’t know if they’ll believe him. The car is filled with an awkward silence. That is until the pink guy speaks again, “Well, since you’re not really from here, there’s probably no harm in telling him our names”. Tommy’s confused. He already knew one of the guy’s names. He’s not sure why they are making such a big deal out of nothing. “I suppose that’d be fine,” the green one says. “My name is Phil. His name,” he points at the pink guy, “is Techno, and he’s Wilbur,” Phil says. Tommy freezes. He’s not sure what to think. Back on the SMP, he knew these guys. Fuck, Phil practically raised him until Wilbur took over. Wilbur had been like a brother to him, until his death. And Techno hated his guts. He has so much history with these people, and they didn’t know. He feels a sense of dread rush over him. He definitely can’t tell them about his death now. “Tommy,” he says after a bit.

Chapter Text

The rest of the drive was quiet. Tommy stared out the window, watching as things zoomed past. He’d never seen such a modern city before. And he thought that the SMP was modern. Tommy couldn’t tell you where they were going. He just hoped that nothing bad would happen to him. In all honesty, he wouldn’t mind dying again. It wasn’t so bad the first three times, what’s a fourth time. He notices the car begin to slow down, he hadn’t realized how fast they were going. They stop in front of a small building, Tommy doesn’t know what it is. Tommy finds that he doesn’t know much about this world. It’s entirely different from where he’s from. “We’re here,” Siren, or Wilbur says. The four  step out of the car and walk into the building. They lead Tommy into the building. The inside looks very homey, it’s nice. “Are you hungry, kid?” Techno asks. Tommy replies, “I’m not a kid, but yeah a little”. Tommy hadn’t eaten anything since before his death. In Limbo, he couldn’t really feel the hunger, but now that he’s alive again, it’s pretty noticeable. Techno gives him a smug look before saying, “Sure kid”. Tommy would’ve corrected him, but he stopped himself. He didn’t really feel like arguing with the guy who’s going to give him food. 'Don't bite at the hand that feeds you' or some other dumb thing Wilbur used to say.

Techno leads Tommy into a different room. Tommy has never seen something so cool. He thinks it’s a kitchen, but the ones on the SMP are nowhere near as high-tech. He doesn’t recognize much of the appliances, however, he does spot one of those fridge’s with a screen on it, nice. He watches as Techno navigates his way through the kitchen. “So, what do you wanna eat kid?” He asks, as he opens a few cabinets. Tommy shrugs; “Do you have like bread or something?”. Techno looks back at him, confused. “Like, plain bread?” he asks. Tommy’s confused, he doesn’t know of any other kind of bread. “Yeah, like what else would bread be?” he says. Techno just shrugs and grabs a bag with bread, tossing it to him. “Thanks, I guess,” Tommy says as he opens the bag. The bread is pre-cut into slices. Tommy thinks that’s smart. These guys must be smart. But if they’re anything like his versions, they can’t be that smart. He pulls out a slice and takes a bite. It’s nothing like the fresh bread Niki would bake in early L’manburg, but it's alright.

He watches Techno eye him as he eats the slice of bread. “You're really gonna eat that plain? You sure you don't want a sandwich or something?” he offers. Tommy has never even heard of a sandwich before. “A what?” he asks. Wilbur barges into the room before Techno can say anything. “I'm sorry, you don't know what a sandwich is?” Wilbur asks. Tommy didn't know what to say, the two were both looking directly at him. “I guess not? Why? Am I supposed to?” Tommy shrugs. This feels awkward. Wilbur gasps dramatically, putting his hands on his chest. “How- you need to try one right now,” Wilbur says, snatching the bag of bread from the counter. Techno sighs; “Ignore him he’s just being dramatic”. “I am not being dramatic, the kid doesn’t know what a sandwich is Tech,” Wilbur spits back. Tommy debates fighting back on being called a kid, he doesn’t. If these two are anything like the guys back home, then it isn’t really worth it. Wilbur had been fine when alive, it was towards the end of his life when he changed. And Techno, well he never saw much of him growing up. During Pogtopia he had been alright. It was after Tommy’s own exile when they had been the closest. But Techno hated him now. He shouldn’t push these guys too much. 

The two had been arguing for the past five minutes. Something about toppings, Tommy hadn’t been paying attention. He wasn’t even hungry anymore, just bored. They eventually handed him two slices of bread with an assortment of things in between. “This is a sandwich, now eat up,” Wilbur says. Tommy takes the sandwich and examines it before biting down. The flavor is a blend of things Tommy can’t make out, it tastes amazing. He finishes the sandwich quickly, he doesn’t bother asking for another. 

Tommy walks around the space, he’s never seen anything like this. Not even his hotel, which is still in construction, is this fancy. He’ll have to steal a few design ideas from here. He walks into what he presumes to be the bathroom. There’s a tub, a toilet, a sink, and a mirror. Tommy walks up to the mirror, getting his first good look at himself since his death. There was a harsh white streak in the front of Tommy’s hair. That’s not the only thing that changed though. He has two red horns protruding from his head. As far as Tommy knows, he is not a hybrid. He very well could be, he never knew his real parents. But there would have been signs much earlier. He’s already 17, or he should be, he’s not sure if time is different here or in Limbo. The fact that they sprouted after his death can’t be a coincidence. It’s strange he doesn't have a tail though. Badboyhalo is a demon hybrid, and he’s got a tail. Then again he doesn’t think Bad’s died and came back to life before. It’s probably not the same. This is all very alarming for Tommy. He’s not sure what to do with this information. Tommy moves on from looking at his horns to looking at his face. He looked worse for wear. He had a black eye, and blood still streamed down his forehead. He grabs a bit of paper and tries to wipe it away, to no avail. The blood doesn’t stop, he wonders if it’ll ever stop. 

Tommy walks back outside to find the others gathered at the kitchen counter talking. He can’t make out what they’re saying. Before he can get close enough to eavesdrop, Techno notices him. “Hey Tommy,” Techno calls out. The other two pause their conversation and turn to look at him. “Uh, hi,” Tommy replies. It feels awkward. “Well,” Phil says, walking towards him. “We were discussing your situation, and we think it’s best you stay with us for the time being,” Phil offers. Tommy shrugs and accepts it. He’s not sure of what other option he has.

Chapter Text

After agreeing to stay with the trio, Phil began to give a tour of the place. “Since you’ll be staying here, we might as well show you around,” Phil explained. Tommy just nodded along. Tommy had already seen part of the place, but he has no idea how big it really is. Phil leads him down a hallway, leaving Techno and Wilbur behind. It’s honestly better that way. On the SMP, he and Phil were on good terms. Or at least he’d consider them good. Phil’s always been a sort of father figure to him, more so than Wilbur ever was. Phil was Wilbur’s dad though, not his. Tommy doesn’t have parents. 

Phil had been taking Tommy room to room for about 15 minutes. Tommy hadn’t been paying attention. “And this is where you’ll be staying,” Phil says as he opens a door. The doors in this place were different from the ones on the SMP. They probably made them themselves, it’s pretty cool. The room is full of things Tommy has never seen before. There’s a bed, that he recognizes, but there’s much more. Tommy walks in slowly, taking it all in. “This is only a guest bedroom, sorry it doesn’t have much,” Phil says. “No, it’s okay. Thank you,” Tommy replies, looking around the room. He doesn’t see any chests or crafting tables anywhere in the room. He’s not sure where he’d put his items, if he had any. There was a wooden box by the bed, it looked weird. Tommy went over to inspect it. There was a handle connected to it, and when he pulled on it a compartment came out. That’s probably where they keep their items. It was pretty nifty. He’d never seen anything like it. “Well, I’ll leave you to your room. If you want to take a bath or something just let one of us know,” Phil says before shutting the door. 

Tommy sat on the bed and thought about his day for a moment. He had been stuck in Limbo for so long, and now he’s just back. How is he even going to get back to the SMP? Should he even go back? He didn’t know. Being here felt weird. He knew these people, but at the same time he didn’t know them at all. Or maybe they just didn’t know him, it was confusing. He laid down on the bed. He had never been in a comfier bed. This place was so different. He didn’t know how to feel about it. He felt incredibly out of place. He had been feeling that way for a while now. Probably since his second exile. It hurts to even think about that exile. He looks down at his arms. He regrets a lot of the things he’s done. He had some time to think about his past. All you really have in Limbo is time, at least that’s what Wilbur would say. Whenever Tommy didn’t feel like talking to anyone there, he’d just sit in silence. He thought a lot about early L’manburg. At first it was with nostalgia, with longing. As the days went on, he grew more and more resentful. Why couldn’t times be like that now. It wasn’t fair.

Tommy sat up again, he was tired. A knock came from outside his door, followed by a “Tommy, you in there?” from Phil. Tommy sighs, “Yeah, I’m here”. Phil creaks the door open, Tommy just stares at him. “Well, in about 30 minutes I’m going to the store. Since you’ll be staying here for now, I thought I might as well take you to pick out some,” he pauses, “essentials”. Tommy shrugs. “Before we go though, you should probably wash up. I’ll go get you a towel, and I’ll see if one of the boys can lend you some clothes,” Phil offers. “Okay,” Tommy says. Now, Tommy didn’t have a clue what Phil meant by that, but it couldn’t be that bad. He knew that he was still caked in blood and stuff. It’d be nice to not have that be the case. 

Phil led Tommy into a different bathroom, he didn’t really get why they needed more than one. This bathroom also had a tub, those were really fancy. Phil had left to go get him a towel, so he was just waiting. He looked into the mirror at his reflection. He doesn’t think he has ever looked worse. He looked worn down, with all his bruises and stuff. He didn’t like it. He hadn’t even looked this bad after exile. It was scary. He doesn’t even want to think about the red horn protruding from his messy hair. “You feeling okay?” Phil asks. Tommy hadn’t noticed he was here. “Yeah, I’m fine,” Tommy replies. Phil gives him a wary look before handing him the towel; “Don’t take too long yeah,” he says as he walks out. Tommy shuts the door, fiddling with the lock for a moment. He turned to the tub. He hadn’t used one since he was a kid. Some might argue that he’s still a kid. Regardless, he had no clue how to work it. He turned one of the knobs and water fell from the sky. Tommy looked up to see a hose-looking thing hanging from the wall. He just assumed that’s how he was meant to use it. 

The water was cold, it reminded him of L’manburg. The nation was never the richest, in fact they had been quite poor. Especially during the war. They used to wash themselves in the lake, since Dream had cut the water supply to the area. Dream had been incredibly petty. And even before that, they would use a hose to shower. One thing always stayed the same, the water was always cold. He showers quickly, having learned how to be fast during the first war. He slips the towel around himself and looks at the mirror again. He looked wrong. He hadn’t looked like this on the SMP, it was strange. He had managed to wash off most of the blood from himself, however the injury on his head wouldn’t stop bleeding. Blood continued to pool in the indent on his head. He hates it. He hates what Dream did to him.

Tommy makes his way back to his room. A stack of clothes had been left for him on the bed. He walked over to the clothes, inspecting them. A pair of sweatpants, a plain white T-shirt, and a black hoodie, as well as undergarments. Tommy quickly slid the clothes on. They were a bit big on him, but that was to be expected. He had probably lost a considerable amount of weight throughout his years on the SMP. He had always been thin, but never to this degree. He wasn’t sure what he was meant to do now. He decided to just stay in his room. He still didn’t really know these guys. They may share a name with people he knows, but they aren’t the same. 

Tommy isn’t sure how long he waits, but after a bit he hears a knock at his door. “Hey mate, just checking in to see if you’re ready to go?” Phil asks. Tommy gets up from his bed and goes towards the door, opening it. “I guess,” he says. Phil looks at him, noticing the lack of shoes. “Do you not have shoes?” he asks. Phil and his questions. Tommy shakes his head. He’s not sure what happened to his shoes after his death. He was still wearing them in the prison. Phil says he’ll go grab him some before leaving again. This is starting to get repetitive.