A Family's Exile // Dream SMP

Tuesday

The moon rose high in the sky. Quietly, Philza closed the door to the old white house he had built so long ago and crossed the field of flowers. Tommy was left in his bed to rest, no need for him to worry of the current mission.

With more gear and more potions, the father returned to l'manberg with one goal in mind: saving Tubbo.

After hearing Tommy's story, it had become apparent to the father that the president was in a lot of danger. Dream was not scared to hurt the people they loved in order to find where they had gone. Although Tommy's attempts to get the president to join them in evading Dream had been unsuccessful, he thought maybe with more time he could-

The door to Tubbo's chambers creaked open and Phil stepped inside, ready to plead his case, but the room was empty. In the dead of night, there was no where else for the teenage president to be. Phil began to search the room frantically before he encountered a note neatly placed on top of the dresser.

"Meet me Thursday after the sun has set. Don't be late :)"

He was too late.

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Tommy awoke to the smell of a fresh breakfast cooking. He walked to the kitchen and seated himself in one of the many wooden chairs that surrounded the table.

"So what's the plan," he greeted his father who kept his eyes on the pan in front of him.

"I meet Dream tomorrow," Phil answered flatly.

"You? I'm sure you mean WE-"

"It's too dangerous Tommy, I'm sure-"

"And what do you mean meet? And tomorrow? Why can't we go right now? There's not much time-"
Tommy continued his shower of questions before he noticed his father who looked to be consumed by shame.

"Tommy..."

"What? What happened? Why-"

"Last night I...," the father took a deep breath, trying to muster the courage to tell his son about the fate of his best friend. "I realized Tubbo was in more danger than I thought so I went back to l'manberg and-"

"And what Phil? Where is he?" Tommy pleaded, as if he could change what he was about to hear.

"And he's gone. Dream took him."

"No. No... he was just there... no... You're lying."

"I'm sorry Tommy I-"

A memory quickly flashed in the teen's mind.

          ——————————————————————

"Techno, go get Tommy please. It's getting late."

"Why is it always me?" Technoblade groaned before heading outside with the falling sun. He tracked his brothers path until he arrived at a pile of brush buried deep into the woods.

"Tommy, please come home. It's getting late."

"I don't wanna come home. It's nice out here...where there's no one to be mad at me."

"I'm not mad at you," Techno reasoned as he slowly crawled into the makeshift fort to greet his brother who had run away from home earlier in the day.

"Hey! Go away!"

"No. I'm staying here with you." Technoblade matched the defiance in his brother's voice.

"No!"

"Even if I let you do my hair?" Technoblade resorted to a loyal method of negotiation with his brother. Tommy could never resist the opportunity to play with his brother's long pink hair. He kept it long largely for this reason, braiding having a calming effect on not only his brother but also himself.

Tommy's eyes lit up from the offer.

"Really?" He abandoned acting tough and looked toward his brother with excitement.

The long haired brother laid back so that his hair was in reach for his younger brother. As night fell, Tommy had calmed down enough to return home with the guidance of his older brother, who sported a new braid through his hair. A warm bed awaited them both.

This process repeated many times over the years. Each time, Techno would bring a new material to fortify the structure that they had built deep in the woods. Soon, it was strong enough to last the test of time and maybe out live them both.

          ——————————————————————

Tommy ran outside and into the woods, to a spot only he and his brother knew. Except this time, he was alone.

          ——————————————————————

Technoblade lifted his head for a second before it was snapped down once again. Just three words could be heard through the blending of senses and pain that blurred his mind.

Where. Are. They.

Floating in and out of consciousness, he suddenly recognized a new voice over the blur that consumed him.

"Technoblade?"

He was not able to catch even a glimpse of the president before the world went black.