Cast off the Cliff

Three out of Four

"M-maybe I'll just wait out here."

Wilbur had stopped just outside the fenceline that made up Techno's property. A soft sigh escaped from Techno's lips as he stopped and turned to his brother, the snow crunching under his feet.

"You want to do what's right for Tommy right? Make up for the things you've done? This is the first step, owning up. I can't force you to come with me, just wait here if you really can't face him but I know he will want you around when this all goes down."

Wilbur let out a soft groan before he nodded. The two continued to walk, Wilbur falling slightly behind his older brother who was still carrying the body of his younger brother.

Techno walked up the stairs of Phil's house. His heart began to start pounding and a few voices began to urge him to run. He shook his head and managed to open the door even while carrying Tommy.

The door swung open and Techno's eyes widened as he saw Phil, Tubbo, and Ranboo all sitting in the middle of the room. Whatever discussion they were having stopped as soon as the door opened.

Phil gripped the armrest of his chair, his heart sank as he saw his three boys. When they were younger they had many moments like this. Techno would always be in the front and he'd often be carrying one of his injured brothers. In those days it was normally a bee sting or a twisted ankle, something Phil would be able to patch up.

Ranboo and Tubbo both filled with dread seeing Tommy in Techno's arms, it wasn't fully clear that Tommy was dead but the context clues were all the two boys needed. Tubbo got up first and rushed over to his friend and Ranboo followed quietly from behind him. Tommy's pale skin and still chest caused Tubbo to frantically grab the cold hand of his best friend. The ram hybrid squeezed his hand tightly and held it up to his chest. His other hand grabbed Tommy's shoulder and he weakly began to shake Tommy.

"Tom... Come on... P-please wake up."

Tubbo pleaded as tears fell down his face. He dropped Tommy's hand and watched as it hung limply. Ranboo was ready to embrace his husband and like clockwork, Tubbo turned to him and clung to him hiding his face as he continued to cry. Ranboo held him tight and found himself crying as well.

Phil had finally made his way over and as he got close to Tommy's body, Ranboo had moved Tubbo and himself out of the way. He looked down at Tommy and gently ran his fingers through his dead son's hair. His dead son. Why did that not phase him? Phil felt an immense amount of grief, sure, but he wasn't surprised by the visit. It was only a matter of time, right? Dream had been a threat to Tommy's life since Tommy first met him. Still, Phil closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he tried his best to remain calm. A light breeze from the open door ran past Phil's face, giving him a momentary feeling of inner peace. He was careful not to get lost in the blissful feeling and he opened his eyes once more and kept his eyes glued on Tommy. Like Techno and Wilbur, he noticed how relieved Tommy looked in death. He also noticed the bloodied bandages around his neck and finally worked up the nerve to ask his son what exactly had occurred.

"What happened?"

His question was followed by silence, cold and unnerving silence as Techno struggled to start his sentence, an immense amount of guilt fell over Techno as he faced his father.

"I should have been watching him closer but I just... I got distracted and he snuck off and, well, Dream found him before I could. If I just had made him stay close to me none of this would have happened. I took too many risks and- I'm so sorry."

Techno would often be vulnerable around Phil, so the stumbling over his words, accompanied by the shakiness in his voice wasn't new to Phil, however to the others in the room, including Wilbur, it was almost chilling to see the proud pigman crack. Phil looked up at Techno and put his hand on his shoulder.