Reunited and Reignited: Chapter 2
Wilbur was awoken as gentle sunlight shone on his face. He moved to sit up but a small whine reminded him of the kid peacefully sleeping on his chest. He smiled as he saw how deep they were sleeping. Probably their first good sleep in a while. Wilbur thought as he lightly nudged the kid, causing them to sleepily sit up from the comfy nest they had made out of Wilbur’s shirt.
“Good morning kid, we made it.” Small eyes stared at him for a moment before they leaned back against his chest with a sigh. He let out a little chuckle at the kid’s obvious annoyance at being woken up. “I know, I know, but we’ve got people to see. I’ll have Phil make you a place to sleep when we get there.”
Wilbur readjusted his hand to make sure the kid was secure as he sat up in the chair. He felt them lightly grab his shirt as he stood up. Double-checking that the kid was okay, he headed to the supplies stored in the back of the ship. Setting them down on a metal crate, he opened up the overhead cabinets and started rummaging around for anything useful.
He opened up a snack-sized box of Starrios and fished out a small handful. “Here you go, a little snack until we can get you some famous Technoblade potatoes,” he said as he set the Starrios on the crate next to the kid. He went back to rummaging but managed to see the kid happily munching on the Starrios out of the corner of his eye.
He grabbed a messenger bag out of the far corner of the cabinet. He put a few travel-sized cereal packs and a small first-aid kit in the bag. He looked in the other various storage containers but he found nothing else of value.
The kid had finished their snack a while ago and now they were silently observing him. Wilbur took one last look around the small ship before slowly crouching now beside the metal crate. The kid stood up and looked at him inquisitively. “It’s time to head out, kid,” Wilbur said as he put his hand on the crate for the kid to get on.
It seemed that he had proven himself enough to them as the hesitance from the day before didn’t show itself as the kid hopped onto his scaly hand. He cupped his hand slightly before gently depositing them onto his shoulder. He pulled down the collar of his jacket and waited until he felt the kid grab it from him. A smile spread across his face as he felt them snuggle up to his neck.
He stood up and headed to the ship’s door. He pushed the keypad to the side of the door and embraced the gentle breeze that rushed into the ship. He took a moment to observe the surroundings before confirming his suspicions. The autopilot had landed them in the clearing by the fuma berry patch. Luckily for them, the patch wasn’t more than an hour’s walk away from his home.
He stopped himself from spending too much time reminiscing over the various fond memories that were connected to this berry patch. He began walking on the familiar path toward his beloved home.
***
Even though he couldn’t understand the snake-like alien’s words their actions said enough for Tommy. They never grabbed him, they gave him those tasty star things, and they were even letting him ride on their shoulder instead of in the bag! They were a definite improvement from the last aliens he had met and were way nicer than them.
He took in all the new sights and sounds that surrounded them as the alien continued to make slow but steady strides, almost as if they were trying to make the trip as smooth as possible.
The gentle rhythm of the steps left him to wander off into his thoughts, finally able to let his guard down after months of staying alert.
***
As the crystal clear lake came into view Wilbur’s heart began to pound in excitement. They were almost there. One last turn and we’ll…….be home again. He stopped himself from running, he didn’t want to jumble the kid around.
He turned the corner and suddenly he was face to face with his home.
It’s real. I’m really home.
He almost fell to his knees but managed to correct himself as he walked to the wooden door that was connected to a wall they had built against the opening of the cave they called home. He let out a deep sigh before knocking their secret knock. 3…2…3…1.
The world fell eerily silent as he waited for any kind of response.
The door whipped open and he felt the sharp tip of a spear pushed against his thick scales before he had any chance of reacting.
He was met with Techno’s hardened eyes, filled with deep rage. They both stood in silence for less than a second before Wilbur saw Techno’s expression of hate drop and his spear clattered onto the ground. His dark eyes filled with tears as he whispered.
“Wilbur?”
Suddenly they both snapped their heads to the sound of yelling from inside the cave. “Wilbur!” Phil yelled as he came barreling out the door past Techno, followed by Tubbo and Ranboo. The avian bolted toward Wilbur’s face, stopping himself right before he ran into his face. He analyzed it, looking for any hint that this might be another dream. He finally reached out to touch his face.
He was met with his son’s scaly skin, as cold to the touch as he remembered.
Phil lost focus on keeping himself in the air and he started to fall. Techno caught the avian and brought him to perch on his shoulder.
Techno stepped back into the cave, gesturing that Wilbur should come inside. Wilbur took a moment to mentally compose himself before he walked inside. Phil hopped down onto the counter, where a pile of uncut vegetables lay, as Techno gathered chairs.
Wilbur felt a tug at his collar as he suddenly remembered the kid on his shoulder. He gently scooped them into his hands and brought them to his eyes. He looked them over for any injuries. Luckily they seemed unharmed though quite startled. Ugh, why didn’t I think about them getting scared? It must be a lot for them to be surrounded by so many people, especially with Techno and his spear.
“I’m sorry kid, I didn’t think at all,” Wilbur said as he gave them an apologetic look. He cupped his hands and moved himself over to a wall to let them calm down.
“Who are you talking to, Bossman?” Tubbo asked, confused at the snake hybrid seemingly talking to himself.
Wilbur snapped his head to Tubbo. “Ummm, give me a second Tubbo,” he turned back to the kid, they were breathing deeply as they tried to calm themselves down. “It’s all good, kid. It’s time to meet everyone, I won’t leave you on your own, I promise.”
Even though Wilbur knew they couldn’t understand him he could have sworn they were calmed by his voice. They stabilized themselves against his fingers as they stood up and gave him a look that said they were ready.
Wilbur turned back to the rest of the group, everyone’s eyes on him, as he started to speak. “So…. I kinda brought someone else home with me. Everybody say hi,” he uncupped his hands slowly and let his fingers lay flat out. Various gasps sounded across the room until Phil spoke up.
“Bring them over here, let me take a look at them,” Phil said as he gestured next to himself. Wilbur walked over to the counter, making sure to keep his hands steady. He laid his hand on the counter, waiting for the kid to get off.
They hopped off his hands and stood facing Phil. Wilbur crouched by the counter to let the kid know that he was there for them.
***
Tommy was thankful that the snake alien stayed with him as the bird humanoid looked him over with concern. They gasped and looked at the snake alien, seemingly asking them a question about him.
They looked back at him and he could have sworn he saw them start to tear up as they walked toward him. He tensed up as the alien that was about twice his height approached but he didn’t run. He trusted that the snake wouldn’t let something happen to him, not after they rescued him.
Before he even realized it they had kneeled down and they were….hugging him. It was the first contact he had with someone even close to his size since he was taken. Their embrace was warm and he felt himself melt in their arms. Tears started to rise as they held him.
After what felt like an eternity the one with wings like a bee’s and antenna spoke up. The bird alien pulled away to look at them as they pointed at the snake’s bright orange tag and asked something with a questioning tone. The bird held Tommy’s hand for a moment before they walked to the edge and flew up to the bee hybrid’s shoulder. Tommy wanted them to come back but he stopped himself from reaching out.
He turned to the conversation as he saw the bee hybrid pulling what seemed like a toolbox out of a cupboard. They walked over to the snake with the box in their hands and pulled out a tool that looked similar to a screwdriver. They quickly examined the tag before starting to take it apart.
He stared fascinated as the bee hybrid worked until the tag unclamped with a snap and fell to the stone floor. The bee hybrid took it off the floor and placed it in their toolbox. The snake looked in awe for a moment before gesturing to Tommy. The bee alien looked at him and set down their handful of tools in favor of much smaller versions. As they walked over to him he didn’t feel as afraid. Despite them towering over him they had a young face like his and looked about his age.
They knelt in front of him and they had a warm smile on their face as they waited for him to offer his arm. He stuck out the arm with the tag for them and they gently held it between their thumb and index finger.
Even though they were a good bit smaller than the snake hybrid his hand was no bigger than the tip of their finger. His heart started to race as he was once again reminded of how easily they could hurt him. His mind started to fill with horrible thoughts until he heard a snap and felt an emptiness on his wrist.
The bee hybrid stood up and went back to their toolbox as Tommy stared at his wrist. The tag had left an angry red ring on his wrist, the only sign that it had ever been there. He glared at the orange eyesore that lay on the counter as a wave of rebellion overtook him. He raised his foot and smashed the tag with a stomp. He felt like a weight was lifted from his chest.
He was finally truly free.
—
Tommy settled into the small bedspread that was laid out for him as he thought about the day’s events.
So much had happened in only two days that it was almost hard to imagine.
He felt so different from how he did then.
He felt like he was….home.
Maybe things are gonna be okay.
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