Chapter Text
Grian was the first to find him. The 15 year old boy had been exploring in the woods, and had stumbled across a mansion. The lights had been out, and there was no sound coming from inside, so Grian went in to explore. The mansion had been empty, or so he thought. He was diligently searching through room after room, when he found him in the second to last one.
There was a boy, looking around 10 years younger (maybe 5 or 6), sleeping on a bed. Grian, being the curious teen he was, had walked forward to investigate. The boy was smaller than Grian, and a bit shorter (but looking tall for his age). He had blond hair that slightly curled. When he opened his eyes, they were a brilliant sky blue, brighter than the world. And he had instantly recoiled from Grian the instant he saw him.
Grian could instantly tell the boy was scared. So, he waved, took off his red sweater leaving him in a white under shirt, set it on the bed, and then left. The next few days, he would come back. The blond boy started to trust him, and they became quick friends. The blond had latched onto Grian, and the teen didn’t mind.
Though, after about 2 weeks, he had to go. His parents were moving, so he had to go with him. Grian promised to see the blond boy again one day, and then disappeared. The blond had been angry at first, but then he was just sad. He knew Grian genuinely didn’t want to leave. Not like his family. But he was going to miss him dearly.
The next time he was found was 3 years later. He was 9, and the visitor was 16. He wore a mask that was purple. It covered almost all of his face, leaving only 1 of his eyes and the area around it visible. Where the mask met his hairline on the side where his eye was covered, there was a bunny ear.
He had a deep voice, deeper than anyone the blond had ever heard (and he had heard pretty deep voices before). The masked teen had come in the dead of the night, to escape mobs. He saw the mansion, and thought it was abandoned. He was surprised to find a 9 year old there, who had been making potatoes.
The blond had always had a wrecked sleep schedule. With nightmares from his old home. And nightmares of his new, he barely ever truly slept. Corpse, the masked teen, noticed that. He always could notice when someone was like him. So, he had decided then and there to help the kid with blond hair, sky blue eyes, and a red sweater sleep.
And that he did. He would come as often as possible in the night, and hum softly to the boy. Slowly, as they got closer and closer, Corpse was confident enough to take off his mask. And, well, if he left the mansion maskless and had to put one back on the instant he got back home, well, who would know besides him?
Eventually though, his parents caught him sneaking out. So with one last night out after months of doing so, and explaining to the blond, he couldn’t come back. And the blond understood, even at such a young age. He knew. He had always known that day would come, but it didn’t help with the sting that came with it.
The 3rd visitor was actually his fault, the blond had decided. He had been playing outside, it was his eleventh birthday after all, and that’s when a teen stumbled upon him. The teen was short, shorter than Tommy even though he was probably older. His eyes were black brown, and seemed to shin. He also had golden wings that seemed to sparkle in the light on his back, along with a beanie that barely hid black hair underneath.
The teen had instantly declared them best friends, and the blond learned his name. Alexis. But the blond decided Quackity fit him better. And so, they were best friends. Tommy would wait outside for him, even if the day were cold or blazing hot. And the 2 played outside or inside. Hide n seek, tag, tic tac toe, you name it. They played and played and played. They told stories as they played, or just did so in silence. Either way, both boys were happy.
And then came the fateful day Quackity had to leave. His village he lived in were driving out hybrids, and Quackity had to leave everyone behind. But, he promised to see him again. And Tommy, with those small flickers of hope that he had held over the years, believed him. He believed him, and bid him farewell, but only after receiving a yellow glow feather (as the blond had started calling them). The blond was ecstatic, of course, and made a necklace, which he then coated the feather in resin to preserve it.
Quackity leaving still stung, of course, but not as much as the other betrayals people who did.
The fourth came in a pair. A ram hybrid and a herobrine descendant (though, he was more a hybrid than anything). It had only been a year, the blond was 12 and a half. At first, when the pair saw the blond (reading in his room, they had come into his house for shelter from the rain), they thought he might be scared of them. Thought he might be scared that they were hybrids. And then they saw his pointed ears, slight tusks, and his raccoon tail and ears.
He looked at them, and instantly welcomed them in. They told stories as they waited out the rain. The herobrine hybrid was named TimeDeo, but preferred Deo. The ram hybrid was named Jschlatt, but he preferred Schlatt. They were 18, Deo closer to 19 than Schlatt. And the next day, if they came back without the rain, only they knew.
And, just like everybody else, they came back. Days turned into months, which turned into a year. He was 13 and half when they had to leave. An old friend of theirs was calling them to help them rule. And they knew they needed to help. Tommy understood that as well.
So, they had to leave. And if both left with giving the boy a kiss, Deo’s sunglasses, and one of Schlatt’s favorite ties, no one knew but the 3 of them.
The leaving didn’t hurt anymore. Just left an empty pit in his stomach. So the blond poured his energy into things. Training, reading, redtone, design, building, gardening, baking, cooking, anything he could do. He poured his heart and soul (both of them empty) into what he did. He didn’t know what else to do with the pit.
And the final people to come were also a pair, and it was 5 (he was 17, a few days away from being 18) years later. This time though, they were brothers. Half brothers. The younger one, Ranboo, was taller than the other 2, and was half ender and half ghast. The older one was only half ender, who wore a white mask with a smiley face, and his name was Dream. Ranboo wore a suit, similar to Schlatt, but still different, along with a crown with real jewels.
They didn’t stay long like all the others. They couldn’t. They did stay for a week though. There had been a stray snowstorm, and they were stuck there until it blew away or melted. They played board games, talked, or just basked in the silence. Dream and Ranboo liked the blond right away, and they could tell the kid had been there for a very long time, if not forever.
Out of all of the visitors, they were the first ones to ever see his new wings and his scar. The scar had been from when he was 3. He remembered it faintly. The feeling of burning scalding water on his back. He was told 2 years later his parents had been fighting. His mom had been holding a tea kettle, when his father hit her. And it went downhill from there. He stayed silent when it happened, even as he got splashed 2 more items. And later, after patching him up as much as possible, his mother punished him for not crying out.
The wings though, those were new. He had gotten them when he turned 15. They had split open his back, and it hurt so much. He had silently screamed and sobbed for hours. Because even though he knew he was safe, he would always have that overwhelming fear, that survival instinct. In his old house, sound meant punishment. From when he could almost talk to when he turned 3, that had always been the rule. So, he stayed silent.
And after the endeavor, he cleaned up the blood, and learned how to fly. Learned how to fold his wings. Learned how to puff them out to strike fear. He learned how to make them appear larger than they were. All by himself.
Ranboo and Dream instantly knew one thing. He was somehow related to Philza, and they needed to learn what happened so they could act accordingly. .
So, when they left, they gave him 3 things. He got Ranboo’s crown (which the younger tried to protest, but he lost), Dream’s trademark black fingerless gloves (which he instantly put on with a “Thanks Big Man!”), and a map.
Dream told the blond that in a month, they were holding a festival in his lands. The festival was for celebrating the united nations. The Essempi, L’Manburg, the Antarctic Empire, the Dropships, El Rapids, the Badlands and Hermitcraft. It was only a 3 day walk, 1 day if he flew. They couldn’t take him with them because they had different stops to make, but he could always swing by. And so, instead of saying “Goodbye”, they said “See you later”, and instead of the pit coming back, it was replaced with the flickering flames of hope.
Flickering flames that were being heated up quickly.
The blond left 2 days in advance. He wasn’t as strong with his wings in the cold weather (which was the weather surrounding his home). He packed clothes, some of his favorite books, and dressed in the gifts he had received over the years. First was the sweater from Grian, his first friend, paired with some jeans. Next, he put on Schlatt’s tie, having it so it was cinched tight around his thigh, and hung on the outside of his left leg. He put on the necklace next, Quackity’s yellow glow feather still in perfect condition. He put on Dream's gloves next, then Deo’s sunglasses, and then Corpse’s mask. And finally, he put on the crown. He looked a bit weird in the mismatched clothing and accessories, but he didn’t care.
He also took a moment to make sure everything was safely secured on him (using hair pins to help keep the crown on his head). Then, he grabbed his side back, slung it over his shoulder, and flew, following the map easily.
As he got closer and closer, the weather turned warmer and warmer, until it was maybe late spring, early summer. A perfect temperature. It still took 2 days to arrive.
He made sure to stop before entering the line of sight of the guards surrounding walls made to protect those inside. He tucked his wings to his back, put Ranboo’s crown safely into his bag, and pulled on a cloak. His wings were comfortable against his back, even with the cloak. And as he walked up, no one questioned him, aside from a simple “State your business”, in which he explained he was here for the festival.
They let him in with a smile, excited for the festival. Anyone and everyone was allowed. The only rules were no foul play in any way whatsoever, and have fun. So, of course they let the kid in.
And to the blond, the festival was amazing. He had also brought money just in case (he didn’t need any out in his mansion, he had gardons and no one close enough he wouldn’t be scared to find, besides here, of course). He twirled in the streets without a care, bought food from stalls, and other different objects. He saw Ranboo and Dream again, and Ranboo danced with him. Dream had other stuff to do, but with both of their permission, he put the crown back on. And no one questioned them as they danced the night.
At the end of the night, they offered him a place to stay in their castle. He refused politely. He wanted to stay in a smaller place, like an inn. And they seemed to understand. They even pointed him to the best one, that was also one of the smallest ones.
The next morning, Ranboo and Dream insisted on a tour of the castle. So, a tour they did. They showed him everywhere and everything. They introduced him to others, leaving aside the nobles from the other countries. And when they had a meeting, they had him go with him. Crown in all. And, of course, he agreed.
They wanted him like his own family didn’t. The ones who had been strangers nearly a month and a half ago, who had welcomed him with open arms. Hell, he had more random strangers he had known for months to a year who wanted him more, but were forced to leave. But his family, who had adopted him, had him for 2 years, and then left. He had been 5, left home alone to fend for himself. He learned everything he knew by himself.
They insisted he remained hooded though, and he agreed. So, when they entered, his head had been bowed. He sat on the right side of Ranboo, who sat on the right side of Dream. He sat, head bowed, before sneaking a glance up.
His breath caught, but nobody seemed to notice. The first people he had noticed were his family. Philza Minecraft and Technoblade, wearing regal blue, with the sign of the Antarctic Empire on their back. And Wilbur Soot with some boy with brown hair on his right, and an oranged haired fox haired boy on his left, all of them wearing the suit of L’Manburg. Wilbur looked at the brunette with such pride and adoration, same with Philza and Techno as they glanced at the brunette that it made Tommy prickle with jealousy, and it also made him want to throw up.
The next people he noticed were his friends. Schlatt and Deo, sitting with 2 others wearing the emblem of the Badlands. Grian, sitting with a bearded man with a farm hat and man with a black mustache. Corpse sitting with 3 others, hand enclosed around a brunette’s with a cyan and green scarf, with a female with light brown hair with blond ombre, and a black haired boy also with a mustache on either side of the pair. Quackity also sitting with 3 others, the 2 on either side of him each holding one of his hands. The other brunette keeps glancing at Dream, his eyes devoid of any color similar to Deo’s.
They were his friends and his families, all in one place. And he was scared, so very scared.
“Dream, may I ask why you have a hooded figure with you? Do you not trust us?” Wilbur asks, and Tommy holds back a recoil at the sound of his voice. Still the same.
“Actually, about half of you know him.” Dream replies easily.
“Is- Is he wearing one of Ranboo’s crowns?” GoodTimesWithScar hesitantly asks, pointing to the familiar lump of a crown at the top of the blond’s hood.
“Yes. I gave it to him, as a gift. When we first met, Dream and I were out, and got caught in a snowstorm. He sheltered us, and then we had to leave him for business, so I gave him one of my crowns, and we gave him a map to get here. So he could enjoy the festival.” Ranboo explains.
Philza’s eyes narrow at that. His chat was oddly silent, with only slight mutterings of being a bad parent, which he didn’t understand. He had all of his boys, Wilbur, Techno, and Tubbo.
Ranboo places a reassuring hand on the blond’s arm. “Whenever you’re ready. We’ll be here to help face them. And so will your other friends, we can see how deeply you cherish them and they can never shut up about you.”
The blond nods slowly, before turning to face them. He stands slowly, which puts the others on edge. In one swift movement, he takes his cloak off. His wings stay tucked to his back, so no one but Ranboo and Dream at his side can see.
Everyone who knows him is dumbfounded, all of them standing abruptly (except Philza, who had already been standing). The first one to react, surprisingly, is Corpse.
“Tommy.” He breathes, hands twitching as if to reach out to the blond boy.
“How are you here?” Grian asks softly, tears welling up in his eyes as he sees his sweater.
“You- You still have my feather!” Quackity cries out happily, tears of joy streaming down his face.
“So, we finally meet again, huh, kid?” Schlatt says jokingly, and Deo just flashes a bright smile, trying to convey all his emotions to the blond. The blond receives them easily, knowing Deo well enough to know he’s not one for words as much as Schlatt.
“How the hell in the world do you 5 know Tommy?” Technoblade asks, anger seeping into his tone.
Tommy would laugh if he honestly wasn’t scared.
“I found him when he was 5, holed up in a mansion I thought abandoned, and came back everyday until my parents forced us to move. I gave him my original red sweater to remember me by.” Grian is the first to speak up.
“I found him when he was 9. It had been the dead of night, and I had been running from mobs. He welcomed me, and I kept coming back until my parents threatened me if I snuck out again. I gave him my first mask, and had to make a new one the next day, but it was worth it.” Corpse is next to explain his side.
‘It was his eleventh birthday when I found him. I came back everyday and played outside or inside, anything and everything. Or sometimes, we just told stories. I gave him one of my feathers before I left, he used to call them yellow glow feathers.” Quackity sounds fond, and he’s still crying happy tears.
“He was 12 and a half. We came back for a year before Bad and Skeppy called us to help with the Badlands. I gave him my sunglasses, which he is clearly wearing, and Schlatt gave him his favorite tie, which I see is tied around his leg.” Deo’s tone is harsh, and hard, letting people know he’s not lying. Tommy doesn’t mind, he likes the sound of Deo’s voice, no matter the tone (unless it’s true anger directed towards him).
“And, like Ranboo explained earlier, we stumbled across him in a snowstorm. I gave him my gloves before we left, Ranboo gave him his crown, and we both gave him a map. Explained the festival, and he came. We had fun yesterday, dancing and playing and eating, and it was fun.”
“How do you know Tommy?” Valkyrae inquires curiously.
Philza looks down, rubbing his temple with his forefinger and his thumb. “He’s my son, and Wilbur and Techno’s brother.”
Tommy laughs at that, catching everyone, even his family, off guard.
“Oh, no. I do not think so, Philza Minecraft-” but Wilbur cuts him off, “You do not speak like that to him, young man. Phil is our father, and you will treat him with respect.”
Tommy laughs once again. “He may be your father, but he is and will never be mine. My father was a drunkard who got into fights with my mom, who was also drunk half the time. My father is the person who instilled the fear into me when I was 3 that making sound meant punishment. My father is the man who killed my mother in a drunken rage with a knife, and almost killed me if a neighbor hadn't interfered. Philza is the man who adopted me, and promised a family. Nothing more, nothing less.” Tommy is shaking rage, trying to keep in his pent up emotions.
“Tommy-” Techno starts, exasperated, but Tommy cuts him off, finally letting his feelings explode.
“No- No! You do not get a say in this Technoblade!” The whole room falls silent, waiting. Tommy turns to glance at all of them, including the brunette who he learned was named Tubbo. The boy that replaced him in the family Philza promised him.
“You do not know how it feels to be abandoned. You left me in a mansion too big for one child for 13 years! I Was 5 and I learned how to take care of myself! I taught myself how to read, I taught myself how to garden, I taught myself how to cook, I taught myself how to fight, I taught myself how to hunt, I taught myself everything! From baking simple pastries to making complicated redstone machines! I have a total of 7 friends, and all because they stumbled across me in a forest!”
“You left me when I needed you most! You adopted me with promises of a family and then left, 2 years after! I waited 13 goddamn years in that house, too scared to leave in case you came back! I waited and waited and waited! And I might look dumb, but I’m actually a lot smarter than you think! I know I’m your distant cousin Philza! I know that I’m a mix between hybrids, with piglin tusks, and elven pointed ears and racoon ears and a tail and wings! I know that when I was 3 my mother accidentally splashed me in boiling hot water because my father hit her multiple times! I know that you never even f*cking wanted me!”
“Do you know what it feels like to not be wanted all your life?! Do you know how much you scarred me adding onto how much I already was! Do you know what it’s like to see all your friends having to move away because of something out of their control!? The only constant I had in my life was nothingness, loneliness, and a giant f*cking mansion!”
“And because god forbid it get any better, I come here looking for friends, and after having the best day of my life, I find out you replaced me! I can see it in the way you and Technoblade and Wilbur look at him! I can see it in the way your eyes shine with pride and adoration! Because I’m never good enough! I wasn’t for my birth parents and I wasn’t for you!”
“How does it feel to know you f*cked up my life more so than it already was!?”
The room lets the words sink in, all of them surprised. Those who had known Tommy, even if it was only for parts of his life, had never heard him yell like that. Yeah, maybe if they were playing a game or accidentally got hurt, he would scream and shout. But he never yelled with such emotion and pain clear in his voice before. Even the Watson family was dumbfounded.
Philza opens his mouth, face set into one of rage, when Mumbo puts up a hand to silence him. He obeys, and everyone turns to the mustached man.
“If you say one thing about him being wrong, or unvalidate him for his feelings, if you even let a tiny bit of rage or normal anger slip into your voice, I will not hesitate to end our contract between our nations right here and now. And I know for a fact, the others besides L’Manburg will follow me.” He asserts, and Tommy looks at him, surprised.
Did someone stand up for him on their own accord?
Everyone else seems to be in some sort of agreement, all waiting expectantly for Philza to say something. He flounders for a second, before Wilbur takes over.
“Tommy-”
Tommy cuts the man off. “If you’re going to apologize, there’s no need to say a thing. There’s nothing you could ever say or do for me to forgive you for leaving me alone for for more than a decade, in a giant mansion, in the middle of f*cking nowhere, with the only food resource being hunting or farming. Skip the apology, and say something, anything else. But tread carefully, because I don’t know most of these people, but they don’t look like the kind of people who take back threats like that.”
Wilbur huffs in frustration, thinking of his words carefully. So, Techno speaks up, voice monotone.
“Theseus, we didn’t replace you. Phil didn’t adopt Tubbo, nor was he thinking of doing so,” Techno’s eyes shift at that last part, and Tubbo’s lips are pressed firmly together, so Tommy cuts off another member of his family.
“That’s a lie, I’m not an idiot. I can see your eyes shift and I can see you never taught Tubbo how to properly hide secrets. Also, don’t call me that. I’m not a hero, nor was I ever exiled. I am not Theseus, or Icarus, or Achilles, or any of those Greek heroes and demigods or gods. I’m Tommy, plain and simple.”
“Wait, you said wings earlier in your rant. What do you mean by that?” Phil asks, confused.
“Oh! I forgot to mention! I had to lay in my bed, by myself, as wings sprouted out of my back and left a bloody mess that hurt excruciatingly so! Then I had to clean up everything, and take weeks to teach myself how to fly and so forth!” Tommy replies, adding fake cheerfulness to his voice.
He spreads his wings wide, showing off the molten orange and fiery red and yellow wings. They glow, like Quackity’s, and the blond can’t help to think they’re glow buddies.
“They’re phoenix wings, if you couldn’t tell. I learned about a year ago that I can’t die, when I accidentally impaled myself. If you even try to take a feather without permission, I will burn you. Plus, the healing and regeneration properties only work when I’ve willingly given a feather to you, or when you found one I’ve shed naturally.”
“I never thought you’d be so rare.” Philza mutters, and Tommy’s face twists.
“Yeah, of course you didn’t.”
Ranboo places his arm around Tommy’s shoulders, and Tommy turns into the taller teen. He sighs, exhausted after so much yelling. Dream is seething, as are a lot of the others. One thought was running through their heads;
Who would do that to a child?
“Philza Minecraft, Technoblade, Wilbur Soot, kings of the Antarctic Empire and President of L’Manburg. Our peace treaty will stay in peace, but, if you ever think of interacting with Tommy without his explicit permission, or if any of you enter one of our countries unannounced or without warning, the contract will mean nothing. You might be powerful, but I can say with confidence that Tommy means a lot to the people here, and we will do anything to protect him. And even if you 2 were to fight together, you would never be able to defeat the rest of us. Especially once Jimmy, FitMC, and Wispexe, all who couldn’t be here today for this meeting, hear about this, they will fight tooth and nail for him as well. You can stay here for the rest of the festival, but once it is over, I expect the 3 of you gone. Tubbo, Fundy, Pete, and anyone else can stay if they would like, but you 3 may not.” Dream declares, and to Tommy’s tired mind, it sounds perfect.
If he was awake, he would protest. He doesn’t want these people to hang their countries' peace treaty in the balance for him. But, his tired mind can tell he’d never win the argument. So, he stays silent. And just lets himself be loved for one.
