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As the Fates Decreed

Word Count: 13000+ words

Summary: The three fates of Emperor XD's pantheon have officially declared Tommy a dead man. On the one hand, he'll finally be with his brother again. On the the other., Tommy isn't ready to die yet. The vigilante has given up on any chance of being saved, but Tubbo has always been willing to take a long shot chance if it's to save his best friend and the Antarctic Empire might have exactly what they need.

TW: cursing, shouting, lots of death mentions, panic attack, fighting (but no blood), mention of losing limbs (let me know if I need any more)

Requested?: no

Notes: I’ve been so excited to post this!! I hope y’all like it :)

Sol 17 was the day I died, Tommy wrote. He started this page in his journal the night The Fates told him his future, that being that he had none.

As he flew from planet Olyms 23, officially named the Pantheon, he wondered why he bothered. When The Fates told you that you would die, you will die. There is no escape (though many have tried). He’s just glad that he was the only one who got caught, not Tubbo or Ranboo.

The simple fact though, was that Emperor XD's fleet didn't even need to follow him this time, he would meet his end either way, as the Fates decreed.

The feel of his soft leather journal would usually be comforting, but now, as Tommy sat writing, his beautiful ship on autopilot (perhaps he could at least save Clementine), it was just a book. He ran his fingers along the familiar grooves on the cover anyway. The tree of life, he thought ruefully. What a joke. The journal had been a gift from Wilbur before he died. He told Tommy that their father and brother had wanted him to have it as protection and as a promise that they'd find each other again. Not that that ever happened. It was worn and almost smelled old, it's pages were permanently wrinkled slightly from the time it got dumped in a river. On a couple pages his handwriting was smudged or scribbled out and on several you could see where the ink in his pen had been running out, yet he couldn't get a new one.

To be fair, he had gotten through his fair share of rough scrapes, including ones he didn't think he would get out of, but even the tree of life couldn't get him out of this one, he guessed. But if it had done anything in the first place, it wouldn't have gotten him into this mess with The Fates to begin with and it wouldn't have gotten Wilbur killed.

He hoped Wilbur couldn't see him now. Supposedly, he was with the stars, watching Tommy from light years away that he could never travel too. He wished they had gotten to go on that last trip together. Wilbur had been so excited, twisting his ring every time he talked about it. That was his tell. Tommy wished Wilbur hadn't kept it a secret, then he could go and at least bring that ring and pretend his brother was still with him.

Tommy would be with him soon enough though. Unless he went to Valhalla. It wasn't incredibly likely, Tommy didn't think, but Wil had been rather interested in that planet system with their own supposed afterlife. He fit the bill to get in as well--Tommy hadn't met many folks from the Antarctic Empire, but what he had heard was that the only requirement was to die a warrior's death. Wilbur may not be a hero to the rest of the universe, but he was a hero to Tommy.

He must have known he was going to die. He spent nights on end pacing and muttering to himself when he thought Tommy was asleep. He never fought with Tommy beyond their play fights in his last days. He must have known he was going to die when he cuddled Tommy close and preened his wings and pressed the journal into his hands, a fond smile on his face and promised everything would be ok. Tommy should have known something was up. He should have asked more questions, fought harder and died with his brother in the explosion.

That was seven years ago. Tommy spent six of those years raining vigilante hell on the Essempi Empire in Wilbur's name. He wanted to start earlier, but resources were hard to come by as a broke eleven year old with a high bounty and a missing arm. Thank the stars for Tubbo. With nothing else use the notebook for, Tommy filled it with his adventures, detailed accounts of how he, the amazing and most pog vigilante Theseus, continued to screw over XD and his "Pantheon" and how they could never catch him. Only the best one's thought, (there were few that weren't "the best") he didn't want to waste it. Not to mention, physical paper books were hard to come by. Whoever his family was must've been filthy rich. Not that it mattered. He had yet to reunite with them, Wilbur had never gotten to either.

He finally stopped his recount of the "trial". "My empire," An echoing voice boomed. It sounded like several voices layered on top of each other. The room itself wasn't incredibly large, but he knew they were being broadcast to the entire galaxy and beyond. "Today we finally unmask the pesky flea that had been biting our great people." Tommy sneered. How fucking dare XD try to belittle him down to nothing but a bug?! Tommy lunged for him, watching the entire rest of the courtroom startle before remembering he was chained, even the big twelve bristled and readied their weapons. The massive winged creature before him didn't even flinch, but Tommy thought he might have seen Dream's halo flicker. Perhaps XD could pretend to squash him underfoot and forget about him, but the entire Olyms system and whoever else was watching had just seen a captive who was barely an adult, intimidate the big twelve of the Pantheon, the iron willed and fisted guard of XD himself.

When the emperor reached down for his mask, Tommy had to be careful not to flinch. Neither the emperor, nor Dream's eyes betrayed any form of recognition, that was what had stung the worst. Even more than when Drista, head of The Fates, swept into the room and pointed a golden ringed finger at him. Switching his notebook and pencil to his prosthetic left arm, he used his right hand to type in some coordinates. He shuffled a bit in his seat to situate his grey wings around the back of the chair. There was no way to change the fact that Tubbo had surely already head the news and wouldn't rest until he found a way for Tommy to survive, but he would be damned if he didn't see his brothers again before he died.

After that…he wasn’t really sure what to do.

Tommy flew. Logstedshire was almost four sol cycles from here, that's where he would go first. All that really mattered right now was seeing Tubbo and Ranboo again.

-----

3rd sol of being a dead man walking- If he was being a little dramatic, blame it on Wilbur. Tommy had picked up so many of his habits and mannerisms before he died. Frankly, Tommy thought he was well within his rights to be dramatic. -A strange ship has been following me since yesterday evening. Now that the galaxy knew what his ship looked like, Tommy had seen progressively fewer and fewer other people over the last three cycles. That only made it easier to figure out when he was being followed, like now. The lack of companionship was already getting to him, so he was almost grateful for the dark, vaguely pointy blob that had been tailing him, but he knew it was going to be far more trouble than it was worth, especially if the strange way the ship seemed to disappear in the inky space around it was anything to go by. How does it even do that?! More importantly, what kind of asshole won't just let a guy die in peace? It was probably some honorless bounty hunter who thought he wouldn't put up as much of a fight now that he was condemned to death anyway. Anyone with half a brain would realize that Emperor Pissface would never give them the reward now though, moron.

Fuck this guy, Tommy was busy doing big man shit, he couldn't be bothered with this right now and he couldn't bring the guy back to Tubbo and Ranboo. That means it's time for some evasive maneuvers.

Just in time, Tommy and his stalker came up on a long asteroid belt. It was far below his ship, floating above a large moon. Tommy waited until they were already part way over it to flip on the thrusters and nose dive. He peeled away from the incoming chunk of rock and into a void in the belt, slowing slightly to watch the dark ship spark to life and attempt to follow him. He kept slowing himself down, making it easy to swerve around the obstacles with all his experience, but the alien ship held its own. He cut left above one and barrel rolled around another, barely making it between two that were slowly drifting towards each other. Expecting that was enough to shake off his tail, as usual, he accelerated and started aiming for the top of the belt again. Glancing in his rear view camera, his smirk dropped and his wings flared. How is he still following me?!

This can’t be one of the Pantheon, they wouldn’t bother with me anymore and that isn’t any of their ships. Who the fuck?? The ship behind him started to close in and Tommy’s heart jumped. No no no no no! He dove again before immediately pulling back up, turning around an asteroid as he went for good measure. When he flattened out he was still being followed. Tommy’s hands flew over Clementine’s controls, guiding his beloved ship through a jagged zig zag, side to side and up and down, horizontal and vertical, but it wasn’t enough. The longer this went on, the closer the other ship got and Tommy couldn’t help the way he kept staring down at his external cameras. His breaths were beginning to come short and at one point his hand slipped off the control panel, almost sending him careening into a stray asteroid. What the fuck?! This was familiar territory—he’s had to throw off followers more time than he can count, he was just that popular, so why was he getting so shaken up?!

Tommy forced himself to take a deep breath. Think, what else can you do? Eliminate the threat, scare them so bad they’ll never want to look at you again. What size is the ship? Only slightly smaller than Clementine, a one passenger fighter. He looked back up in front of him. The other ship was getting far too close for comfort, he had to get rid of it now.

With the press of a button, Tommy brought up on rod Tubbo’s best improvements to his ship: a 3-D map of whatever was surrounding Clementine for two miles. There, dead center of the field. There was an asteroid just big enough to wreck his ship is he ran into it, but small enough that he could shield it from view if he flew right. The stalker would have to be directly behind him.

Good thing he was leading this chase then. Taking a sharp right turn, Tommy brought them around a long strip of debris, watching his map to determine when to curve back around. Just after another large chunk of space rock, he made a precise 90 degree turn, heading straight for the target. With how close the other ship was, he wouldn't have been able to see around Tommy's wing even if he wasn't matching Clementine's path yard for yard. Tommy sped up. The other ship sped up. Tommy waited.

He kept waiting.

The other ship didn't hesitate to follow. At the very last second, Tommy peeled up and around and absolutely gunned it out of the asteroid belt, hoping to make a jump through hyperspace before his stalker could recover.

-------

Sol 3--evening

Planet Martiys 64--Abatojour

A landing bay is the most dangerous place for a traveler. Smugglers and criminals and opposing systems all come together in one massive area, hidden by their own ships and loading and unloading cargo and they could steal your ship or break it or follow you into the city and kidnap you in your most vulnerable time of travel.

A landing bay is the most dangerous place for a vigilante. Smugglers and criminals and bounty hunters and everyone could recognize you or your ship and either kill you or get you arrested.

If you were more careful you wouldn't be in this situation.

On every planet he went to, Tommy's face was plastered to every holoboard, every TV screen and every poster.

————————DEATH WATCH—————————

He cringed and ripped one of the paper ones down as he passed by. It didn't change the fact that as soon as someone saw a curl of his blonde hair (it was pretty rare out in space), he would be done for on this planet, no one would even come near him, much less trade with him and he needed food. He hadn't cut his hair since Wilbur died, so it was pretty easy to pull it back out of his face and tie it, then pin his hood in place. His usual mask was too well known, so he left it in Clementine's bay and found an old grey scarf to wrap around his face instead. With avians being decently common in this galaxy, he didn't need to bind his wings up, but he still peppered some dark tinted powder over their top and rubbed the stain into his feathers to make them seem like not his. He hasn't seen the small, dark ship since he lost it in the asteroid belt, but still remained highly on guard. At this point, it was second nature.

Stars, he would kill for an apple right now. He wondered how hard it would be to find them on this planet. He was close to the Ygdris system, surely it would be easier than anywhere else. This area was famous for their apples, it was part of what made the Antarctic Empire so rich. Tommy stalked the streets, eyeing the various vendors and not getting a second glance from the passers by. Dried meats and fruits from all over the galaxy were proudly displayed, plump and bright against the myriad of rainbow fabrics and dangling jewels also for sale. Carefully displaced from the more perishable items, blacksmiths with glinting blades and pyrotechs meticulously monitoring their blaze powder and various other explosive goods from wandering hands called out their wares, side by side with the apothecaries and potion masters. Tommy loved small merchant planets like this. Sure, he had used them as an early hunting ground for thieving skills, but he genuinely appreciated the lack of massive buildings and excess tech, not to mention the generally cheerful and amiable nature of the occupants.

When he spotted his prize, Tommy hardly debated his choices--not that he would have made the more responsible one on any other day--deciding to go for the apple before any other food, rationalizing it with the admittedly dark argument of ensuring himself a final treat. It wasn't like it mattered if he ate full meals now anyway. (He still hoped the delicacy wasn't too expensive this close to it's main distributor, he didn't like being hungry.) At the stall was a rather tall being, pure white eyes kind, but somehow glinting with wry knowledge. Thick curly hair fell to their shoulders over a gorgeous cloak, a few strands framing a light smile as they sent another customer on their way. They looked familiar...

Wilbur had had a friend once. It was rare that his older brother went out without Tommy, but this friend had a ship and now the pair were leaving more and more often. Sometimes Tommy asked why the friend--he couldn't remember their name, Eren maybe? Eret?--couldn't just take them both away from this awful planet. For only the second time since meeting them, the friend turns to look at Tommy. Their eyes are solid white and sadden when they see him. "I'm sorry Tommy, it's...complicated."

"She is helping us get away sunshine, it's just not that simple."

"Because we're in debt," the child mumbles. He's heard this before. He's not sure how they got this way, or why it's such a big deal, but Wilbur said they'll be hunted down if they run. They've had this conversation before.

It was never meant to be.

The sales person's voice was smooth and melodic, the closest he'd ever heard to Wilbur's voice and he might have gotten teary if it wasn't so deep. "Good morning, what can I get you?"

Tommy suddenly remembered he barely had any money. Real money at least. "How much are your apples?"

"Ah, good choice. Only 170 credits." He had about 100 real, 150 fake. He handed over all the real ones, hoping the merchant wouldn't notice the rest weren't right. He had good fakes, it should be fine, but higher valued goods always checked more thoroughly. The person let them leave before going through all the bills, so Tommy gladly pocketed his snack and moved on to a food stall several booths down. The actual restaurants were tempting, especially when he had enough for a delicious meal, but he needed food to last. He had one more anonymous job he could collect money from, if he acted like he was going to be around long enough to leave Tubbo and Ranboo again, but those didn't pay as well usually and after that, that was it.

He could probably keep taking jobs, find a new mask and start a new identity, maybe even become another vigilante again, because wouldn't that be a reall kick int he balls to the Empire of Essempi, but maybe this meant it was time to settle down, live the rest of his life for himself, the way Wilbur had wanted him too. Surely that would be ok now, surely the Goddess wouldn't be disappointed in him if he quit--it wasn't even quitting, it was...retiring.

There was a garden back home, he remembered. If Tommy was around more, they had thought about getting animals. They always made sure to keep one person back at Logstedshire but unless one of them was going to retire--they had always talked about Tommy. The others could too, he insisted, but even having brought up the idea of dropping his vengeful vigilantism once, his brothers had seemed to be determined to get him to relax, live his life--they wouldn't actually get any because animals were a lot of work and attention. Tommt wanted a cow. Cows were cute, he could name it Henry, and he could learn how to take care of bees for Tubbo. Ranboo never had the same enthusiasm, but they said they were happy to help with the pets and they were excellent at growing things, being half the reason the garden was so well maintained. It only grew potatoes and carrots right now, sometimes turnips, but maybe he could bring some other seeds home. They could learn to make bread, make the garden bigger, build that barn Tommy's been imagining...

The blonde whipped his head around, scarf almost coming undone with the abruptness of the action. Eyes locked on the corner of a building, he stared, then shifted focus to scan the area, keeping a side eye on where he thought he had seen it. There was something there...he was sure of it. Just a moment ago, a dark blob that looked vaguely like a person.

Eventually, he had to relax. There was nothing there, it must've just been his imagination.

That thought didn't sit right with Tommy. Surely he couldn't be hallucinating, he'd always been wary of wayward shadows, it came with the territory of being a criminal.

Did Wilbur ever seem more paranoid before he died?

Tommy couldn't remember. Instead, he let the smell of dinner lead him away.

------

The entire rest of the way back to Logstedshire, Tommy kept his external cameras on. Clementine didn't have any of the fancy upgrades that would alert him to other ships or movement around him, so he had to keep an eye out on his own, but thankfully, he never seemed to see anything. He still took a short detour before closing in on their little planet. He did that sometimes anyway, it didn't mean anything.

There was no air traffic control around Logstedshire, and as far as they knew, it being a tiny dwarf planet, He, Tubbo and Ranboo were the only occupants. The real trick, was knowing just where to land in the crevice of a ravine that they used as their port and then finding the hidden button that opened the tunnel to the cabin.

It was dimly lit and a little damp, chilly seeing as it never saw the sun, but Tommy ran his hands over the stone, doing his best to memorize every divot and bump that he feels like he's never known before. The trek felt both longer and shorter than ever at the same time and Tommy had to stop before he opened the trapdoor at the top of the stairs. Breathe in, breathe out. They're your family, you can do this. He wasn't sure what he was so nervous about. It wasn't like they'd give him any grief for getting caught, or get angry with him. Even Tubbo--mr.-I-show-how-worried-I-was-for-you-by-getting-upset-Underscore wouldn't pull that card with him now.

The way the trees seemed to actively reach out to touch his hand back, as if they were saying love you too glad to have had you don't be afraid made him realize that it was the looks in their eyes he didn't want to see.

He was glad Ranboo was the first one he met. They weren't really sure where Ranboo came from; they didn't look like any planetary creature Tubbo or Tommy had ever seen, nor even anything Tommy had read about. Their existence was frankly more like a piece of the universe--the Milky Way galaxy specifically--had broken off and taken bipedal form. Ranboo's freckles looked like tiny stars (and they had about as many as the skies above), skin and hair pitch black except for the slight shimmer of blues and greens and purples of deeps space, mottled with white patches that covered almost half their body. The fluffy end of their slender tail turned wispy like smoke more often than not and disappeared into the world around it. As he does, Tubbo had simply picked them up somewhere (not even Tubbo quite remembers where) and they soon became a part of the crew. At first, Tommy hadn't liked Ranboo, but he doesn't know what he'd do without them now.

As soon as he stepped through the door of the trio's little shared cabin, Tommy was practically tackled in a hug. He knew it was Ranboo from the way a tail wrapped tightly around his waist and a head of soft hair was pressed up against his chin, tickling his nose. "Ran- Ran please-"

"Shut up! You're dying, why are you dying Tommy this was never supposed to happen! How did you get caught?! Tommy I- I'm gonna miss you, I can't- we can't- Why-?!" The poor creature broke down into stutters and ceaseless questions. Tommy knew they weren't going to stop anytime soon, so he let them go on without bothering to interrupt, just attempting to get comfortable on the floor.

Ranboo hugged him for what felt like hours, and if Tommy wasn't still so emotionally numb (or whatever strange state he was in), he probably would have cried until he ran out of tears. Instead, when they pulled themself off, Tommy simply gulped and offered them a grimace. "I- I'm sorry, Boo, I don't really know what to say..."

Ranboo's eyes widened. "Of course! Of course not, oh Tommy I'm so sorry! This- this must be terrifying..." They would do anything in the universe to help you right now. The thought made him smile, just a little bit.

He shook his head. "Honestly, right now all I want is some food-" Just as he knew, Ranboo leapt at the opportunity.

"We have eggs! And ramen and some bread. It's not much right now, I'm afraid, but-"

"That sounds great Ranboo, thank you." They grinned. "Where's Tubbo?" He figured he knew the answer, but "outside" was incredibly vague when you were on a mountainous forest planet. "I have an apple we can split too," he added.

Their grin dropped and they gave him a lopsided frown. "He's...by the river I think? The far one, in the canyon." They frowned deeper and their eyes tilted upwards in sympathy. "Good luck."

When Tommy glided down over the ridge and saw Tubbo, he was curled up into a ball, holding himself tightly, one hand fiddling with the ring on his left horn, the exact opposite of the way the Fauyn usually looked when he came to this spot.

When Tubbo saw Tommy, he cried.

-----

Are they going to forget me when I'm gone? Will Tubbo and Ranboo move on without me? His breaths were coming faster and faster. The thick wooden walls of Logstedshire were familiar but currently discomforting. The carpet was thin and hard underneath him. Tommy had moved from his bed to the ground for the solidity, like he could somehow attach himself to the world around him and not disappear, but it hadn't helped. He wanted to leave Clementine with his friends, he decided. If they ever had to scrap it for money, he wouldn't mind, but he wanted them to remember him. He needed to know he wasn't simply there and then gone, that his life meant something to someone.

"Today we finally unmask the pesky flea that had been biting our great people." XD was going to snuff him out like he never mattered. His breaths turned into a shaking whine. The universe was going to keep going, he hadn't left anything behind. He was going to be forgotten. His life will have meant nothing, his work will have meant nothing, his brother's death will have meant nothing. The world was a buzz around him, static noise and blurred colors. His cheeks were wet.His wings were hitting something hard, again and again. Trapped! Trapped trapped trapped trapped- He thinks he wanted to do something after his vigilante-ism, he didn't want to be angry forever. He didn't spend enough simple time with Tubbo and Ranboo, he had worked too much, he had never let himself live. And I'm never going to get too.

Tommy Big Man Innit was scared, he realized.

He had always said he didn't fear death. He had always thought that was true. "If I die, I die," he kept telling Tubbo and Ranboo. He wouldn't entirely mind, he missed his brother. He was going to die eventually anyway, right? Was it going to hurt? He was only 18, why did it have to be now? Couldn't he have a little longer? His brother's ring pressed dully into his skin. What was it going to be like? Dark? Empty? There wasn't anything after this, was there? That couldn't be right, this couldn't be it. This didn't feel like the end, please don't let it be the end!

He hadn't realized how much he was shaking until Ranboo's hands clamped down on his shoulders and held him gently in place, carefully guiding his wings away from whatever they were bumping into. He hadn't realized how loud he was being until Tubbo was almost shouting to get his attention, hurrying to crouch down in front of him when he and Ranboo should have been in bed. "Tommy?! Tommy it's ok! It's ok, you're safe here-" He wailed. No he wasn't safe, he was going to die! Tubbo faltered, then slowly reached a hand into his hair, gently beginning to scratch his scalp and twist the curls around his fingers. "Tommy we're here with you. You're still breathing, just breathe, you're alive I promise." Ranboo let him rock, but kept his hands steadily on his back, rubbing around his shoulders and down his spine. He was so strange, switching between almost normal body warmth and pure chill on a dime, like his skin can't hold the temperature. He was starting to slow, pushing his head into Tubbo's hands, thankfully beginning to get enough air to sob instead of the panic of hyperventilation. His hands still drummed wildly on the ground, occasionally up his legs and curling in and out of fists. "There you go, good Tommy, good job. Just breathe, we're right here, ok? We're never letting you go."

That was how he broke. With a loud cry, Tommy collapsed in on himself, falling into Tubbo's lap and wrapping his arms tight around his best friend's waist. Immediately, the other two were all over him. Ranboo's tail wrapped around his leg as they curled themself around Tommy protectively. He could feel the rumble of their chest against his back as they made that almost purring sound they do for comfort. It really did work, Tommy almost laughed. Tubbo's hand carded fully through his hair, brushing warm against the back of his neck on every run through, while the other took over stroking circles around Tommy's shoulders and back. He sobbed. He didn't want to die, he was still so afraid, yet somehow his tears were slowly beginning to run dry.

------

They had mac and cheese today. Tommy eagerly made himself a bowl and went to sit on one of the plush chairs in the common room, carefully dodging the mechanical parts of one of Tubbo's latest projects scattered on the floor. Since getting back home with his friends, he'd been smiling more and more and almost forgetting the nag of the ticking timer in the back of his mind. "Tommy, have you ever heard about the Antarctic Empire?"

Tommy's gaze slid over to his friend and he scoffed. Tubbo wasn't eating, just fiddling absentmindedly with his spoon. His horns needed to be trimmed. Ranboo could probably do that for him when they woke up from their nap, Tommy was no good at it. He wished he was, now more than ever. "Of course I have, everyone has. They're the only force that could possibly stand up to Essempi."

"You know about their, well, I wouldn't say religion, but their practice, I guess? The one about eternal life?"

The line of Tommy's mouth hardened. "Tubbo that's not real. That's just how they gain citizens without and territories without having to forcefully take planets."

"What if it is?! We don't know for sure that it's not possible, there have been accounts of revival after death, isn't it worth a shot?"

"That doesn't mean anything! People will say anything, everybody lies and cheats, you know that."

"But Tommy-"

"It doesn't work Tubbo! If it did, Wilbur would still be alive!" He was on his feet in an instant, charging past the Fauyn and back into the kitchen.

The air around them rang with the echo of Tommy's shout. His mouth was still stretched into his cheeks, baring his teeth. Tubbo didn't answer. It wasn't until Tommy started to relax, letting out a long exhale through his nose, that he heard a sniffle. Then another. Slowly, he turned around and immediately his hard expression broke.

Tubbo wiped his tears away, but they kept coming. He was hunched in on himself, staring at the floor. "I- I just want to try. Please, I don't want to lose my best friend, Tommy...was Wilbur even for sure set up to revive with both of you living on Olyms 19?"

His heart sank, regret and sorrow and guilt all accumulating in his chest in a dark, heavy pool. "He- n-no. I'm sorry Tubbo, I-"

"Then can we please try? Please Tommy, I'm so scared and I know you are too. What if it does work? What if you don't have to die? I- I couldn't live with myself if you died and there was something we could have done about it."

Tommy swallowed thickly. "Alright. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have yelled at you. If you want me too, I will."

-----

Tommy's favorite part of the Ygdris system was easily the sun. He didn't know how it was possible (he was a vigilante pilot, not a scientist, fuck off) but the sun--maybe it was a sun, maybe something else, he wasn't sure--was always cleaved in half, permanently split on the horizon giving the vast emptiness of the space around it a perpetual sunrise or sunset appearance, depending on where you were looking at it.

The Antarctic Empire, on the planet Ygdris 5, was positioned directly below it, just barely in reach of it's rays. It was notoriously frozen and the shimmering crystal blue sheen of ice and clouded frosty air hovering in its atmosphere confirmed it. Ranboo made a quiet, pleased trill, leaning over Tommy's shoulders with both claws placed neatly on his shirt. They liked the cold. Tommy knew Ranboo was surprisingly cuddly, which worked fine because Tommy was too, but since he had returned to their little dwarf planet they used as a home base, the creature had hardly stopped touching him. It got to the point that even Tommy was starting to find it annoying, but he wouldn't comment. If he thought about it for even a moment, he knew he was glad for it. It was comforting, it was grounding and if he didn't want to freak his friends out any more than they already were, he'd be asking Tubbo for hugs every ten minutes too.

Speaking of, Tubbo had actually kept his distance more and more. Literally. They would easily slip into times where he would forget that he was supposed to be worried and they would be attached at the hip, laughing and roughhousing and playing just like normal; then it would end and the fauyn would seemingly remember that he thinks he should be treating Tommy like glass. It made him mad, but then Tommy would remind himself that he didn't want a fight to be one of his last moments with his friends, just like Wilbur hadn't. At the moment, Tubbo was pacing the cabin of the ship behind their chairs, chewing incessantly on his lips and occasionally muttering to himself. His hooves clunked against Clementine's floor and Tommy had to resist the urge to tell him to sit down. It was rare that Tommyinnit of all people was bothered by noise, but since he had been put on Death Watch it was like his senses were constantly dialed up to eleven, his brain and body trying to live as much of life as it could get before it couldn't anymore.

"Tubbs," Tommy called. "We're here. You're the one getting us in, we need you on the intercom."

"Ah! Right, right." His tail flicked behind him as he came over and he picked up the radio prematurely. A few minutes later, when they'd officially entered the atmosphere, it crackled to life, a small call profile from Antarctic Empire Official Communications appearing on screen.

"Attention incoming ship, you have breached Antarctic Empire airspace, please state your name and business and ship ID."

"Tubbo Underscore, frie- a-acquaintance? of Technoblade, here on invitation with two guests. Thomas Innit and Ranboo. Ship ID HS-17Clem." He never knew his friend had actually become closer with the one of the leaders of such a powerful system, just that Tubbo seemed to make a lot of tech and weapons for them. Good. They'll be protected when I'm gone. There were a couple minutes of hushed static while they found and processed his and Ranboo's official information. Tommy's heart seemed to beat even faster than before. Neither of them had much official information. Getting Ranboo properly registered in the Inter-Galactic Travel System had been a nightmare, and mainly working as a vigilante, Tommy would look suspicious as fuck as well. Fuck, he hoped they let them in, they were far to touchy about communications and intergalactic travel in this system. Not oppressively, like Essempi, just paranoid. The first time he had taken a job with them as Theseus had been a major hassle. Luckily, it got easier after that, but he still hadn't worked with them much.

Video call requested, showed up on Clementine's screen. Tubbo accepted and Tommy tried to put on a neutral face. They didn't get to see the air traffic controller on the other side, but after a short wait, they said, "Very well. Ship HS-17Clem is cleared for lading, follow the map to bay 3."

A simple topographical map into the mountains appeared on their screen, replacing the call, with a blinking red line of travel laid out. It seemed to lead them right into the side of a mountain. Both Ranboo and Tommy glanced over at Tubbo, who didn't bat an eye. Even as they got closer and closer to the flat sheet of rock Tommy knew that was probably an indicator of a hidden area but they weren't slowing down and no doors were opening-

-until the very last second. Tommy let out a sigh and rolled his eyes. That shouldn't have bothered him. He does shit like that all the time, besides, if Tubbo knew what he was doing, it would be fine.

They stepped out into a massive ship bay, easily big enough to hold 7- no 10 more Clementines. Wrapping his wings around himself because it was fucking cold, Tommy used the excuse to pull Tubbo into his side and wrap him up as well. A large blue hedgehog came waddling up to them, stood up on its hind legs to show that it was wearing an Antarctic Empire uniform and said, "Hi! I'm Connor. Welcome to the Antarctic Empire! The Blood God will see you now."

"Were you followed?"

"F-followed?" Tommy glances down again at the dark shine of the sword blade. The man behind it was no less intimidating; a massive piglin with several more weapons hanging from his belt or strapped to his back, sharp tusks protruding from his lower jaw, adorned with gold, in a pristine Anatartctic Empire uniform, cape billowing out behind him. "No?" He was about to say that at least, he didn't think so, but he had been at a point, before deciding it probably wasn't the best decision for his safety at the moment.

The piglin nodded and lowered his sword. "Good." He motioned to the guards standing on either side of him. They strode off briskly, like they already knew what he was asking. It was mercifully warm inside compared to the landing bay, maybe a bit too warm, but chills still rattled down Tommy's spine.

"W-why?"

Blood red eyes met his own. The piglin wasn't glaring, but his gaze was still piercing and Tommy had to resist the urge to shrink back. "You're on Death Watch," he answered simply. Tommy was about to protest, reminding the man that that doesn't make sense. Since I'm on Death Watch nobody has to follow me and nobody wants too, but before he could, the man continued. "You probably were followed, that's how they get you. The clairvoyance of Emperor XD's Fates isn't real, he made it up decades ago to give him a power that no one could take away. Sometimes people do die on their own, or commit suicide, but that was only after Death Watch became legend. In reality, it's an assassin." An assassin?! Immediately, Tommy's mind flashes back to the dark ship, the way it was small, sleek and sharp edged, made for speed and stealth and like almost every ship in the cosmos, probably had some guns on it. It had been like no ship he had ever seen before. "They call him Nightmare. Only XD, Nightmare, maybe the Pantheon and we know about him and if Sam hadn't come to us before they could kill him, we never would have learned. He claims some magic, unstoppable force kills the people that XD so conveniently wants dead--only the one who have been giving him the most trouble, or it would get suspicious--then he sends his personal assassin after them in a covert operation while he gets to cover everything up and push the empire forward again, neatly moving on from the resistance and scaring the galaxy too badly to mess with him. Well, for the most part." He gave Tommy a feral grin, like they were sharing some kind of secret. It disappeared almost as soon as it came.

Nightmare...

Assassin?!

Holy shit! That cheating bastard was going to kill him and cover it up! Fury and indignation sparked to life in Tommy's chest, making him shriek. Beside him, Ranboo gulped and Tubbo just stared, slack jawed.

"Heh, yeah. Don't trust anything the Empire tells you, kid. Lies and propaganda are the only thing they're actually good at. Anyway, they've been trying to find out home base for almost as long, especially now that we've gotten so used to housing Essempi's most wanted."

The blonde avian behind him stepped forward. He and the piglin wore matching emeralds framed in some larger silver design. His green striped bucket hat seemed out of place with the uniform, but Tommy had already seen several pieces of personal flair or adornment on the other soldiers and officers they'd passed. "Eh, you could give them a little more credit, mate, they've certainly given us some trouble now and then."

The piglin huffed and turned away. The blonde man ushered them to follow as he introduced himself. "Welcome back Tubbo," he greeted, "and this must be Tommy and Ranboo! We've heard so much about both of you!" He smiled a kind smile and Tommy's guard was already slipping. "I'm Philza and this is Technoblade. Welcome to the Antarctic Empire."

Now that he didn't have a sword in his face, Tommy could properly appreciate the humongous room around them. It was the exact opposite of XD's home base; where the Essempi Emperor inlaid marble walls with as much gold as he could find, occasionally with a green decorative carpet or banner here and there, a throne in the main hall and servants slipping inconspicuously in and out of secret hallways and corners, the Antarctic Empire's main hall was dark, almost hard to see in, yes, but much nicer on the eyes and with frozen sunlight streaming in through giant glass windows, not really that bad. Instead of a solid, closed in room, large collumns held up the walls along the sides, allowing people to go in and out from anywhere along the hall and to the rest of the building. The base walls were clearly obsidian, not the most decorative rock in mass amounts, but durable as all hell. It could hardly be seen anyway, with velvet drapes bigger than single seater ship hung fro the walls and deep red banners underneath. a good three fifths of the floor in the middle was carpet, the purplish netherite color first with another red carpet on top in the very center, leaving only the outside edges to the hard tile. The two rulers (leaders? Emperors? He wasn't sure what they liked to be called) didn't seem to mind everybody stepping all over them, only stopping the one person who's boots were still dripping with mud there's a mud room, remember? Please go change before you track filth everywhere. Some people were walking together, chatting amiably, not having to bow or take a respectful silence around their rulers, no strict lines and salutes, bowed heads "yes lord".

There were no thrones at the end of the hall, only more doors, which again, everyone seemed to have free reign to travel in and out of. It was understandable why Tubbo talked about this place so fondly, there was no strict hierarchy, no servitude, just equals--the famous anarchist society really held up in person. There was even a mud room! Like someone's childhood home or something. It was already relaxing Tommy as well.

Philza pointed out doors through the columns on either side as they passed, mentioning thing like, "That's the direction of the wash rooms, if you keep following the hallway you'll be outside near the stables, we have gardens on the opposite side of the building through those doors, one for food and other for decoration, it's a lovely place, I recommend a visit." Tommy wasn't sure how they managed to keep plants alive on this perpetually snowing planet, but they must be good at it. Green houses probably? The two didn't ask any more questions yet, simply took them on a tour of the building. Through the big doors at the end of the hallway to the left were the kitchens (he could hear laughter and good natured banter all the way out here), they went through the right and would circle back around. The training center was the first door after that to the right, with a more gym style room directly after, through that door on the left is the private meeting hall, considerably smaller than the entrance room. Tommy did his best to memorize everything, but he was already forgetting. Well, he supposed he'd either live long enough to get used to it, or die before it mattered anyway.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to him. If he- if he lived...he wasn't betraying Wilbur at all by not coming to see him again, right? If he lived the rest of his life after this, didn't die a hero's death, like Wil did, would he be disappointed? Tommy had done great things, right? He had lived up to his brother's legacy?Wilbur would want him to be happy, he told himself, he'd want him to live, that's why he did what he did in the first place, that's why he's not here anymore-

Tommy wished he was here. He wished his brother could live with him now that he was retired, take care of pets together and be friends with Tubbo and Ranboo and live in this warm, lively place instead of that rotten Olyms system and their old planet. No one was staring down their noses at each other, there weren't eyes on his back everywhere he went. He wished Wilbur had gotten to see a life beyond lesser beings and more work for you, gràson we're in debt Toms we'll get out of here promise.

Philza's voice brought him out of his thoughts. "Here is the dining hall. It's a community area, you can eat whenever you liek and you can take food back to your room if you wish, but typically people like to eat together. It's connected to the kitchen here," he motioned to an open counter area where food was displayed on shelves and in pots, being served by folks in aprons. Behind them he could see the larger kitchen, food being made and brought up front. Further across the room was a counter with stools, where the diners and chefs were chatting and laughing like friends. "Everyone takes turns in the kitchen, we have senior cooks who make sure the food won't be an absolute disaster or nothing gets burned down, because dear goddess, some of these little shits cannot fucking cook." There were some shouts of protest from nearby tables, but when Tommy and Philza looked over, the darker winged avian just laughed and the fauyn waving a fork at him was grinning. They didn't even hesitate to talk back and weren't afraid of the consequences. Technoblade huffed what might have sounded like a chuckle. Tommy took in the rest of the room and had to stop his mouth from dropping open.

Long tables of dark wood were spread throughout the room, which was large enough to hold two armies and thankfully, well lit. People of every species, even some Tommy had never seen before, were intermingled, shouting and laughing and pushing eachother off their benches. He watched several folks get up and go back in line for seconds and another just walk right through the door to the kitchen, grab something out of the fridge and leave. In addition, the food selection was extensive, offering fully vegetarian and vegan meals, mixed, carnivorous meals, some were solely made from the cuisine of certain planets and others were everything all at once and it all smelled heavenly. Tommy's wings ruffled in delight. People were walking easily between tables, switching seats and food and it was an extroverts dream, he could get used to this.

There was a cry of surprise, and suddenly, something was flying across the room. Someone pointed and laughed when a clump of mashed potatoes splattered in someone else's face. Head whipped around to the opposite end of the hall, with one person climbing up on the table and grabbing a tray. "Oh, it's on!"

"No, no wait-"

Philza's protests were in vain as another figure, a lanky brunette with glasses that flashed in the light, also climbed up on his seat. "Gentlemen, ladies and all other comrades," he began in a pompous voice, the way an old fashioned military general would. "We have been issued a challenge! And it is our duty to defend our great table and all it's inhabitants from these vile aggressors!" Everyone cheered and Tommy's heart had completely stopped, because this couldn't be real. This couldn't be real, he knows that voice, knows that man, knows that body language and tone and-

"What'll we do?!"

"Fight!" The troops had been effortlessly rallied.

"Wilbur no!"

Wilbur laughed as he spun Tommy around in his arms, the boy squealed, partially in delight, partially in terror at the sideways way he was held off the ground. "Wilbur yes!" his older brother laughed.

Somehow, Philza was already standing between the two tables, arms held out on either side and the ceasefire was called before the battle had even really begun. Spoons clattered back onto plates and half hearted groans sounded from around the room, like that of children who knew their mischief wouldn't be acceptable yet tried anyway. "No, no, no food fights. You all know better than that."

"But Phil..." Wilbur--Wilbur whined, still grinning that dopey familiar grin.

"No buts. Besides, we have company!"

Then Wilbur turned to look at him and for a moment nothing was real neither the emperor, nor Dream's eyes betrayed any form of recognition pesky fly nobody important your life or death never mattered his death never mattered Wilbur-

His older brother's eyes widened in an instant that had felt like an eternity. "Tommy..." He didn't forget me

He's coming over what do I do it's Wilbur that's impossible what do I-

Wilbur greeted Tommy with open arms and an ear to ear grin, as if he hadn't left his little brother to fend for himself for seven years, all alone and thinking he was dead. Tommy could only stand and stare as Wilbur approached, tears building quickly in his eyes. As soon as Wilbur touched him, they fell. His brother pulled him into a bone crushing hug and suddenly Wilbur was real.

When he didn't react, Wilbur pulled back, giving him fearful looks with also teary eyes. "Tommy? Are you alright? I- I know it's been a long time Sunshine, but- "

Tommy punched him square in the face with all his might.

-----

It wasn’t so much the fact that Tommy punched Wilbur with his metal arm that did all the damage, but the seven years of built up fury, loneliness, sorrow and betrayal.

Other members of the Antarctic Empire had to pull Tommy off of Wilbur. He thrashed in their arms, screaming and crying, berating Wilbur for leaving him. The only one who stood aside was Eret, head bowed. “WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?! HOW COULD YOU LEAVE ME?! I LOST MY ARM BECAUSE OF YOU, YOU SELFISH MOTHERFUCKER-“

”Tommy! Tommy stop!”

”I WAS MISERABLE WITHOUT YOU! I MOURNED YOU EVERY DAY—YOU COULDN'T HAVE GIVEN ME SOME HINT THAT YOU WERE ALIVE?! YOU COULDN'T HAVE COME TO SAVE ME?!”

”TOMMY!”

People were shouting, Tommy wasn’t listening. All he knew was that he was furious. There had only been one other time that he had blamed Wilbur for what he did—only one other time that he got angry at his brother and that was seven years ago, when everything was still fresh and hurting and awful, but now? Now the wound was torn open and being dug into with red hot metal. Now Tommy wanted to hurt him. He wanted Wilbur to feel just as much pain as Tommy had, all seven years of it. He changed hands, almost being able to dart back to his brother moaning on the floor, but someone grabbed him around the ribs and hefted him all the way up to their head, swinging him over their shoulder and walking away. Tubbo and Ranboo were somewhere, frankly Tommy didn't care where and didn't know when they disappeared. Tommy pounded on the blue cloak underneath him, wild swings almost hitting the green hat off the man who was walking with him and his captor. His wings flapped wildly, but the height of the man carrying him made them almost useless. The two let him scream until his voice went hoarse, struggles rapidly getting weaker and weaker as soon as Wilbur was out of sight.

Finally, they reached a thick oak door. He was unceremoniously dropped onto the plush bed inside the room. The massive piglin glared down at him, flicking two hooves in his direction. "Stay."

The other one didn't leave with his friend. After a moment of assessing Tommy's change in behavior, he deemed it safe to sit down on the bed beside him. Tommy curled into himself and tried to stop crying. Philza's dark wings fluttered around his back hesitantly, before ultimately deciding to fold back down onto the bed. There was silence, like the blonde man didn't know what to say. Then, "I didn't know Wilbur was your brother."

Tommy made a feral noise of discontent and pushed his face further into his arms. "I suppose, that makes you the Tommy then?"

He couldn't help but perk up, though he tried to make it look like he didn't. The Tommy? "...Did he talk about me?"

Philza smiled. His eyes were as vivid blue as Tommy's own, perhaps the only difference being a sharp icy hue. "Oh yes, all the time." Every single one of Tommy's functions stalled. Was that a good thing? It was insulting. He didn't forget about me.

Why didn't he come back? Why didn't he take me with him?!

"It's nice to meet you again Tommy. I can't wait to get to know you. You can just call me Phil, by the way." What? Not wanting to be impolite to the host of his new planet, he accepted the handshake. He liked Phil's smile. Until blue eyes glanced down and the smile dropped, pupils momentarily dilating into slits. His gaze was hard set on the shining obsidian band around Tommy's finger. "Where did you get that?"

His eyes narrowed. Phil wouldn't let him pull his hand away. "It was Wilbur's, before the explosion. Why?"

The grip remained firm as Philza seemed to think about this, then his expression softened into something loving and his mouth split into a grin. "I'm glad you have it," was all he said. Then he let go and stood before Tommy could ask any important questions, such as "what the fuck?". "Well, I'll leave you be for tonight, I'm sure you have a lot to get settled and today was a big day. As you can see, everything has been brought in for you already. All I must say, is please no fighting outside of designated combat scenarios." In only a few strides, he was over by the door, already slipping out of the room before pausing one last time to smile at him. "Sleep well Tommy, I'll see you tomorrow."

That- that was strange. He didn't like it. However, he was much to tired in every possible way to deal with it right now. He wasn't even entirely sure what all he had to deal with anymore, there was just so much so fast, how was he supposed to-

Nope. That was Tomorrow Tommy's problem. He was going to sleep.

Immediately the next morning, Tommy was summoned to the private dining room. Philza greeted him with a delighted smile from the head of the single, mostly empty table. "Good morning Tommy! How are you feeling?" Techno grunted a greeting from beside him, then tilted his head up to eye him curiously.

"Mneh," Tommy answered. Phil motioned for him to sit down across from Techno and Tommy immediately went for the pastries. As soon as he bit into one, a wonderful taste exploded in his mouth. "Holy stars, are these apple?"

"Of course, we have plenty here. Would you like to see the orchards?"

"Orchards?!" Philza chuckled at his amazement and suddenly Tommy remembered to be suspicious. "Hold on, why am I here?"

"We want to get to know you," Philza answered simply. "Don't worry, Wilbur won't be here today. Tomorrow either, probably, you gave him a hell time yesterday, and we didn't think it's be great to put you in the same room together again too soon."

Tommy balked. He almost felt bad, hearing that he had hurt his brother badly, but the image of his face, healthier and older, with those white streaks in his hair sent a wave of resentment crashing over him again. He stuffed his mouth with another pastry.

Why would he be here?

We're causing trouble already, they're trying to fix us. It's not their job, it's not their business fuck off!

They're the only thing keeping you from an assassin right now, be calm.

"Where are Tubbo and Ranboo?"

"Either still sleeping or down in the main dining room, I presume. I promise, they're well taken care of and you'll have all day to be with them later." He nodded reluctantly, for lack of anything better to do. "So, Tommy, how old are you?"

"Eighteen." A chunk of pastry got lodged in his throat and he swears he had a mini heart attack, instantly grabbing his neck with one hand and almost spilling his water with the other, hurrying to guzzle it down. His heart went from a near standstill to attempting to beat out of his chest in only a moment. No, no, no, please I can't- I can't die now, I'm so close, please this can't be the end-

A hand pounded on his back and the chunk dislodged and Tommy filled his lungs with as much air as he could possibly get. He was alive. He wasn't going to die from- from something as petty as that.

Philza's face had fallen when he went to sit back down. "You're on Death Watch,"

"I'm on Death Watch," all three of them chorused. Both men were staring at him intensely, like they could see his heartbeat ebbing away. Tommy swallowed thickly and drank some more water. A sharp pang in his chest reminded him that even when Emperor XD condemned him, for every galaxy to see, Wilbur had still been just sitting here, having a grand old time with his new friends. He scowled and tried not to think about it so heart ache would stop making it so hard to breathe. Philza opened his mouth, like he was planning to say something, then closed it. He did it again. Then, he looked over to Techno with pleading eyes.They seemed to have an entire conversation with their eyes, before eventually, Techno sighed and waved at Philza dismissively.

The blonde pursed his lips. Lastly, he turned back to Tommy. "You came here for immortality," he surmised.

"Yes. Sort of. Not really, I'd just settle for not dying." Tommy wouldn't beat around the bush. He tried not to shrink under the man's icy gaze; he knew that was probably the man reason people came to the Antarctic Empire, he only hoped they would determine that he was worth it.

"You were a vigilante, that's why XD condemned you?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

Tommy stilled. It seemed silly now. It seemed too personal. Would they care? Would they think he was foolish and overreacting? He had to tell the truth anyway, he was putting his life in these people's hands, he wouldn't hold back. "They killed my brother. Or I thought they did. I don't know how, but we got stuck on one of their colony planets, Olyms 19. We weren't natives of the planet, but we got indebted to the Emperor somehow and repaid that with work. We lived in the government's housing with others, but it was hardly livable. They treated us like scum and we were lesser beings, if they said jump, we said how high and if we didn't, we could die. They were doing it all over the galaxy, trapping travelers and colonizing planets and generally treating people like absolute shit. I didn't really know what was going on at the time, only that we were stuck and miserable, but Wilbur started telling me, he said he was going to change things. Then one day he put me on a ship away and blew up the entire capitol city of Olyms 19. It was a fucking failure, I lost my arm, the Pantheon kept enslaving planets and then I was just lost. I learned for myself more of what was happening while I was on the run and once I got on my feet I wanted to stick it to the Pantheon as well and finish what Wilbur started."

"But if the Pantheon thought you were dead, why not move on with your life? You ended up making them hunt you down and kill you anyway," Technoblade pointed out.

"There were other people stuck in my situation, I wasn't going to not help them. Besides, Emperor Fuckface deserves it."

Both men snorted and Tommy thinks he might have gotten a smile out of Techno. "We've been watching you, you know. There have been other rebellion efforts and other vigilantes, but Theseus was in a league of his own. You inspired a lot of our citizens here, actually."

"Really?"

"Oh yes," Philza smiled. "It was clear to see that XD was having trouble with you as well. I'm sorry that he ended up catching you, but we're glad you're here. We're proud of you, Theseus, and we know Wilbur is too." The teen couldn't help the way his heart swelled at that. The Antarctic Empire was a notoriously anarchist group, staging rebellions across the galaxy. Theseus was just one kid and they thought he did well!

Philza's demeanor changed, though Tommy couldn't read it anymore. "Tommy, do you have a journal?"

"What? Uh, yeah? Why?"

"Would you go get it please?"

The entire walk back to his room, his thoughts were racing. How did they know? Why did that matter? What if they found something inside that they didn't like? What if they were going to throw it away? He didn't know why they would do that, but the thought made his hands shake and he thumbed over the engraving again an again until he returned to the dining room. Somehow this time the room felt larger, Tommy felt more exposed. Perhaps it was because they knew who he was or perhaps the way he was quite literally about to hand over his entire life the last seven years to these strange people. He crossed the long table and sat himself down on the other side of Philza again, trying not to grasp the book too hard.

The older blonde held his hand out. "May I?" Both adults were watching him closely.

Deliberately avoiding hesitation, he handed it over. He tried not to fiddle with his hands. He wasn't hungry anymore.

Philza ran a hand over the cover almost lovingly, like greeting an old friend, dipping a finger into one of the imprints of an apple hanging form the branches of the tree. He took note of the well worn edges and the softness of the leather, the way the binding string was ready to fall apart. Tommy was eternally relieved that he didn't read what was inside, or even so much and skim the pages, only flipped them through his fingers like he was testing the paper. Eventually, he gave it to Technoblade to do the same and held his hand out to Tommy again. "The ring as well please? We'll give it back, I promise."

He wasn't expecting that. he wasn't ready for that. He didn't want to give his ring up, not once since Wilbur gave it to him had he taken it off. It slipped off his finger painfully easily. Once again, Philza looked at it in that strange, familiar way, quickly giving it as well to the piglin who hadn't already seen it. Technoblade turned both items over in his hooves with a critical eye. "The Sword and the sandals," he muttered.

"What?"

Blood red eyes met his own. "Tommy, did you choose your vigilante name based off of the legend of Theseus?"

"No. I don't know who that is. I--this is going to sound so dumb--the night I decided to be a vigilante, a woman appeared in my dream. I think she was a goddess from somewhere, I don't know, I'm an atheist; she was suuuper tall and all dressed in black, with a veiled hat? She called me Theseus and begged me to 'take [my] journey by ship' instead of staying on-planet, so I did. I don't know, it was confusing, but I got the feeling she was talking about the vigilante-ism--that Dream Feeling, you know? Besides, I had no other idea what to call myself, so I just went with it."

Technoblade and Philza just stared for a moment, then both burst out laughing. Techno rose from his seat and walked around the table, kneeling by Tommy's chair. "Tommy, before Aegeus, Theseus' father left for Athens, he hid a sword and a pair of sandals under a giant boulder and told Aethra 'If you bore a son in nine months and if he is able to lift this rock once he reaches manhood, then send him to Athens with this sword and these sandals, for then I’d know that he is, indeed, my son, the future king of Athens'." The piglin took Tommy's hand and slid the ring back on his finger, then pressed the journal into his palms. "When Theseus did, Aethra begged him to travel to Athens by sea, because of all the dangers waiting by land. Theseus refused, wanting to prove himself a worthy hero, instead facing threat after threat until he arrived and was hailed as a great warrior."

"Rather poetic, don't you think, mate?"

Techno nodded, but Tommy was still lost. Thankfully, the piglin continued as he stood. "Phil is my father and Wilbur is my twin; we had a younger brother a long time ago, but in an accident, we got separated. Wilbur and the youngest were lost. Almost a decade ago, Wilbur found us again, on a mission from the Pantheon. He still had mom's ring, that's how we knew."

Suddenly, all the pieces began to click into place. Tommy gaped. "You gave him the journal! When- when he said we'd see our family again-"

"Yes. He told us about your situation and how the Pantheon was would never let you travel with him in order to make sure he came back. We helped him plan your escape. We've been looking for you everywhere, Theseus, we were almost afraid you really had died in the explosion. Yet you were right in front of us the whole time," Phil finished. His eyes were teary and Tommy could feel his own starting to wet. Even Technoblade was smiling.

”So…you…” He didn’t just have an older brother, he had a whole family.

A whole family who didn't leave him on purpose, a whole family who had been searching for him the whole time.

"Welcome home, Theseus."

After the reunion, Techno and Phil led him on a tour around the building, saying they’ll have more than enough time to get to the rest of the city and the planet later. He didn't mind waiting another day to go see Tubbo and Ranboo, they would understand. They ended in the infirmary.

Tommy had been a chatterbox the entire time, but neither Phi, nor Techno seemed to mind. “Wait so, how do you guys do the immortality thing? Is it even real?? It has to be since Wilbur is alive, right?”

”It is real. Frankly, we prefer to keep it more of a legend, especially so others like XD don’t figure it out as well. There are two parts to it.”

”One,” Techno began, “the gapples. Golden apples could bring someone back from the very brink of death, one heartbeat left. They have magical properties that make you more durable and helps wound close faster. Usually the effect is only temporary, but if you eat enough…well, theoretically you could become immortal or close enough at least.” He glanced over at Phil. Tommy’s eyes widened to the size of saucers.

”Trust me mate, it’s not actually that great.”

”Regeneration beds are…complicated. They’re hard to explain,” Techno continued. “Essentially, there’s some spiritual mumbo jumbo that Phil could tell you more about if you’re interested that makes places of rest an anchor for the soul. With some magical intervention, you can anchor a soul there permanently. We have people eat the gapples so that they can reform after death and they don’t just end up haunting us instead.” They pushed open the massive doors to the infirmary, leading into a large white hospital room. “We keep all of our regen beds in here, so if something happens to you, this is where you’ll end up. Using them as a place of healing strengthens the revival factor as well.”

”We also occasionally make protective pendants,” Phil adds.

”You’re not a real member of the Antarctic Empire if you haven’t died at least once,” a voice called cheerfully. Halfway across the room on the right, a girl with pink hair in twin buns turned away from a bed and waved at them.

“That’s not true Nemesis, stop scaring him,” Phil chided.

The girl shrugged, wandering over. She held out her hand with a kind smile. “But you do have to prove yourself a hero and a true warrior. Immortality isn't free. Though, from what I've heard, that won't be a problem for you. Hi, I’m Niki. You must be Tommy!”

"Hi. Nemesis? Or Niki?"

"Oh, you can call me either. Some Syndicate members have codenames. Phil and Tech are Zephyrus and Protesilaus, respectively. You probably haven't heard of Harpocrates, Apollo is the dog, you'll see him wandering around. There are a lot of dogs actually, but he's the one with the golden collar. And then...wasn't Tubbo going to become an official member soon?"

Tommy's head whipped around to stare at the two behind him. His brother, a member of the Syndicate?! "Yeah, we haven't actually offered it yet though, I'm not sure he would want to, but we've been coming up with names for him."

"I can make him!" Tommy declared. "Ohhhh that would be so pog! Can I have a codename?! And can Ranboo stay here too??"

Phil put a hand on his head, effectively calming his bouncing. "Of course, mate. You don't have to live here to be a member of the Syndicate though. Although, we were hoping you would stay."

"Of course! This place is fucking awesome!! So what's my codename?? It's gotta be something cool."

"You already have a codename Tommy, you're Theseus. Ah, but we understand if you want to change it. I assure you though, XD--no one--can hurt you here."

Oh.

That- wow it's been a long time since he's heard that.

No one can hurt you while I'm here sunshine, I promise.

Welcome home Theseus. "Heh, nah. I think Theseus is fine. I just forgot for a sec."

Then, behind Niki, he saw a head of curly brown hair, tucked into a hospital bed. The face turned away when they locked eyes, like he was afraid to be caught staring. Tommy gulped and his feathers ruffled, instinctively swiping one back towards where Phil was standing close behind him. The older avian- Tommy's father reached him hand out to meet it reassuringly and with a deep breath, Tommy walked to the bed.

The other two followed behind, trying to give him his space while simultaneously staying well withing arms reach.

The difference between Wilbur today and Wilbur yesterday was stark. He looked like he hadn't slept all night and the bruises blooming across his eyes and cheek and jaw only made the worn down, pitiful appearance worse. A wave of sickness rolled n Tommy's stomach and he suddenly felt very very guilty because he had done that, he had hurt his own brother--his Wilbur. Even if he wasn't the exact same Wilbur Tommy remembered, even if he was growing a beard and looked just a bit older and had those unnatural white streaks in his hair, he was still, undeniably Tommy's brother.

”Hi Tommy.” Wilbur kept his voice low and soft, prepared for Tommy to go off on him again.

"Hi," he answered quietly.

”Your hair has gotten so long,” Wil muttered, pushing a few curls away from his face. The blonde tried not to melt into the touch.

”Yeah, well, I didn’t have you there to cut it for me.” It was equal parts bitter dig, honesty and invitation.

“Why did you leave me? Why didn’t you at least tell me?”

Wilbur opened his mouth to answer, but before he could, a deafening boom shook the building.

“ATTENTION YGDRIS 5, THE EMPEROR OF ESSEMPI ORDERS YOU TO HAND OVER YOUR LEADERS AND SURRENDER FOR CRIMES AGAINST THE EMPIRE”

”What!?”

”How the fuck-?!”

In an instant, Technoblade had whirled around and was rushing out the door, already unsheathing an axe across his back. Alarms were blaring in Tommy’s ears and Wilbur jumped out of bed, grabbing him before he could do anything else. “Tommy go to your room and hide-“

”No!”

"Tommy I'm not letting you get hurt again, you'll be safe there-"

"No! I'm not running away, they're here for me!"

"He's right mate," Phil interjected.

"Wh- Phil! No. I don't care, I know I haven't been there but I love you Tommy and I'm going to keep you safe!"

"I can keep myself safe bitch, I've been doing it this whole time, haven't I?!" Wilbur's expression broke and his grip on Tommy's shoulders slackened. The blonde couldn't help but feel bad again, his heart aching to just ahve his brother back, they simple way they used to be. "Yo- I- Look, I've got this covered, ok? But I need Tubbo and Ranboo to be safe too, I don't want them dragged into this mess. Wil please, will you go find them? Protect them, that- that's what you can do for me."

Wilbur's eyes widened with something like hope--pained, but hope nonetheless. "Ok. Ok, I can do that. I- I'll keep them safe, promise." He turned to leave but before he could Tommy yanked him back in and crushed him in a hug, this time letting himself cry freely. Wilbur's arms settled perfectly beside his wings and wrapped warm around his body just like they always had, like they had never parted.

"I missed you."

"I missed you too Sunshine."

"I love you."

Wilbur pressed a kiss to the top of his head and Tommy could hear the smile in his voice when he said, "I love you too."

Another boom rattled the building and they practically threw each other off, Wilbur turning and sprinting for the doors with his long legs, but not before twisting back to give him one last joyous smile and wave which Tommy gladly returned. Let's just hope this time-

No, nope not thinking about that.

"I'm glad you made up mate." There was a hand on his shoulder and Tommy looked up to his father, the same bright blue eyes and blonde hair and Tommy felt safe despite it all.

"I'm still gonna fight him later," he answered and Phil laughed. Then, something was being pressed into Tommy's hands. It was Phil's emerald pendant. The silver designs around it were another tree of life, just like the one on his journal, with the emerald set firmly in the trunk.

"Wear that. It'll keep you safe."

Tommy gaped up at him, but grinned wide and clipped the pendant to the hole in the zipper on his jacket's breast pocket and held his hands out expectantly. "So, do I get a sword too, or what? 'Cause you guys kind of took away my blaster." He was practically bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet with excitement, making the grabby hands and Phil was trying not to laugh, staring down at him with unfettered fondness in his eyes already.

"Absolutely not, I don't trust you with one of those yet." Phil rushed over to the wall by the nurse's station and pressed a button and the entire wall opened up to reveal a fully stocked weapons cabinet. Tommy screamed with delight. Quickly choosing a blaster to sheath on his hip and another, larger one to carry around, he practically jumped out to follow Phil out of the infirmary.

Just a few turns that Tommy still couldn't remember later, and they were skidding to a stop in the center of the entrance hall, where Tommy had first met Phil and Techno. He ddn't have to look around for the source of the commotion, besides the fact that soldiers were assembling en mass and already in fights with Essempi soldiers, almost half the roof had been blown open, letting bright white light stream in. Hovering just outside of his enormous imperial ship, was XD himself, with his little piss ant number 2, Dream, next to him.

Dream was on his own ship and didn't look anything like how he normally does. His white face mask was the same, with the same painfully bright halo around his head that mirrored XD's (once again Tommy couldn't help but wonder if they were related) but his clothes were dark and much more suited for tactical operations than even the usual manhunt clothes he wore as the head of the Pantheon. At his side he held a long, wickedly sharp sword, with an equally intimidating dagger at his belt. That was the ship! Tommy realized. The ship Dream is standing on- That was the ship that was following me!

But he didn't have time to gape as someone almost slammed into him from the side. Tommy darted out of the way, only not getting hit by vigilante's reflexes, and realized that everyone was here. There, just a little off to his left was an enraged shout of "Sapnap!" and some more words he couldn't hear and looking over, there was Ares using his blazeborn abilities to blast fire at Hephaestus- no, not Hephaestus, he thought. Sam. The ex-Pantheon member and the only Death Watch not to be confirmed. On his right, he whirled around to see Nemesis viciously slash out at Hermes, a tall demonic looking creature who he didn't know the real name of, Dionysus and Athena were tag teaming a battalion of Antarctic Empire soldiers with the Dionysus, the Platyanas swooping down on them from above with his golden wings and Athena (yet another strange species Tommy had never known, he was starting to think Ranboo's very normal alien existence was actually plausible) using his book to warp the cosmos around them momentarily. Immediately, Tommy moved to go help them, he'd dealt with everyone in the Pantheon before and escaped, they needed him, but Phil grabbed his collar.

"No," They have other friends, they can take care of themselves. We're needed up there." He pointed to the top of the rubble pile where a familiar piglin form was squared off against all five of the rest of the Pantheon, XD and Dream watching with feigned disinterest, yet not moving from their safe positions several hundred yards above. Techno was doing well, of course he was, being notoriously one of the only beings to scare Emperor XD (and everyone knew it, even if they couldn't admit it), but there were bigger fish to fry that he was too preoccupied to take down. Tommy almost feared for his life--honestly, he kind of was afraid. What if something happened to his new brother? This was no easy fight, what if-

Two were unconscious and tumbling down the rubble pile at the piglin's feet, he threw off a third and slashed a fourth, leaving the fifth to zip away out of fear. Tommy was sure they would come back, but it gave Techno a break. He noticed them at the exact same time they had both flared their wings to take off, and grinned savagely. "Welcome to the party! Yer late!" It's ok, it's ok, he's fucking insane, he's got this, no one can take down The Blade.

With a single powerful beat of his wings, Phil was beside Technoblade, darting forward in a black blur to spear the fifth Pantheon member out of the air when they returned. Technoblade hadn't even bothered to look behind him. Something shiny in his hooves caught Tommy's eyes from all the way on the ground. Technoblade held the golden apple out to Tommy with an expectant look and that same wild, sharp tusked grin. "You want to be a hero Tommy? Then die like one."

Without a single thought, Tommy leapt into the air and caught it, ripping a piece out with his teeth in one fell swoop. It tasted better than anything he had ever tried, anything he had ever experienced. It tasted like magic, like victory, like life, shimmering, popping, exploding flavor on his tongue. It tasted like cold metal and blood, snakes venom running down his throat and smelled like flowers and earth and old bones held up to his face.

He leveled his aim at XD's chest as the Emperor was turning towards him and flew directly to his death.

-------------------------------

I didn’t know the story of Theseus very well before this and I didn’t expect it to match up as well as it did but now I feel like a literary genius. We even got a king Minos parallel at the end with XD showing up for blood and Tommy going to fight for his new country/planet

This whole thing is very greek but celtic/norse antarctic empire is my everything so I put it in there anyway.

IVE WANTED TO POST THIS For FOREVER

-sorta ad astra inspired usually sci-fi isn't my thing

-so tumblr doesn't have a word limit apparently or at least I haven't found it yet

#tommy centric

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