The Childrens Rebellion

title was too long for wattpad

Maybe don't name an animal in a language where a native speaker will hear you and will make fun of you

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There was a moment of silence as the two groups looked at each other. The same transport that had rescued Tommy, Lani, Drista, Rae, and Sykkuno from the planet—Icarus-45HB, he was told, was the name—brought them aboard the L'manburg. The Vice-Admiral and the two Avians arrived with them, and though the three had been offered a video call shortly before meeting up, Tommy and the others had decided they'd instead be reunited in person. His datapad was long gone, so no messages were received—nor would ever be received again, from that piece of tech that Philza had gotten him for his birthday.

The disembark opened with a slight hiss, and for a moment, all Tommy could do was raise his head and stare at people he thought he might never see again—live, yes, but see them—his family, he supposed—again?

No, he hadn't been that optimistic. Perhaps he should be in the future.

Rae shifted behind him, confused about why she stood among a bunch of frozen statues. Perhaps it was because they were amazed at his epicness or amazed at how cool he was. He felt a slight smirk tug at his face at that self-important thought.

It was Purpled who moved first from where he stood among the throng of people.

Purpled, not Dream or Tubbo or Wilbur or Phil or Niki or Eret or any of the other crew members—what if there was an emergency? Everyone he'd ever met on the ship was there, even people he vaguely realized. What if the Arachnids attacked?

No, the Mira was stationed nearby. They would be fine.

It was Purpled that Tommy met halfway down the gangplank, and it was Purpled who shed the first tear as he grasped Tommy so tightly that he thought his Avian biology had somehow taken ahold of him and forced the breath from his chest. It was Purpled that stared at him with starstruck magenta eyes, and it was Purpled, and Tommy hugged back, a smile coming to his face.

"I thought I'd lost you," the Human said softly.

"You could never lose me," he whispered back. "Not 'till we're ninety and in our deathbeds." Perhaps that wasn't entirely true, but Tommy didn't mind lying, for once.

Sykkuno was frowning—he didn't know why. He didn't care.

Purpled's actions caused a ripple of events amongst the others, and Lani shrieked in enthusiasm as she was all but swamped by her family—they were much taller than the tiny five-foot-one Shulker.

He had to look up at the Enderian that stepped up behind Purpled, for Ranboo always had—and would always—be far taller than him.

"I remembered," the Enderian told him softly, and he had to listen closely as Drista punched Dream in his shoulder as her older brother tried to hug her—she finally let him, after a few seconds of pretending to struggle. Sapnap ruffled her hair, laughing slightly, and she flipped him off. "I remembered Pogtopia."

"What?" he said, shocked.

"Just—just a bit," Ranboo said, biting his lip softly as he messed with his duo-colored hair. "Flashes, you know? Things. Words." He glanced at Purpled, who had finally stopped trying to suffocate Tommy and was instead just gripping his forearm so hard that he thought it would bruise. "Promises."

Tommy didn't know whether to smile or wince. "Is that a good thing?" he settled on. "Remembering, I mean?"

"I don't know," Ranboo said, looking away with a faraway look in his eyes. "Sometimes—I mean, memory gaps are annoying. But it's painful. I know it always was, based on you and Purpled, but...I don't know if I'd rather not remember anything or everything." He shifted on his feet, playing with the small L'manburg crew insignia on his chest. "I...I thought about it while you were—um, while you were gone. And—ah, and I thought maybe that I want to remember, because I am proud to be a survivor of the Red Planet's Genocide." Tommy smiled at him, sad and steady, and Purpled's grip tightened. He might have winced at that. "And at the same time, it hurts so much—" His hand moved towards his stomach, and Tommy knew he was reminded of the hunger that they had all felt, that was on the edge of his mind but barely remembered. "—and I feel like a coward wanting it gone."