DreamSMP and Hermitcraft Oneshots [By Request]

Never Again (Part 3)

Alright this Oneshot was a lot longer than I thought it would be, but this is the final chapter.

Also, I kinda strayed from the request a little bit? Like obviously the hermits are really nice and protective of Tommy, but especially this last chapter turned more into a Tommy-character-growth chapter, so uh that.

Hope you're okay with it :/

Enjoy.

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Tommy felt like he was moving forwards.

It amazed him. There was a certain excitement in waking up every morning, a gentle promise of being loved and wanted.

He had been in Hermitcraft for a week now.

He lived for it - the exhilarating wonder of the freedoms granted to childhood, the allowance of pranks and fun and mistakes. Back on in the old world, all that had been stolen from him, snatched from his grasp before he had even realized how much he wanted it.

He smiled.

Of course, the past didn't loosen its claws on him that easily, and the smallest things could trigger what he learned were called panic attacks, something his previous acquaintances would have called weakness.

One had taken place a few days ago, when everyone had been eating dinner. The flash of silver when his butter knife had been tilted at just the right angle had been so similar to the glint of an iron sword in sunlight, and the memories had come pouring back.

It had been Doc who had helped him calm down that time, the Creeper-hybrid's deep voice that anchored him to reality - it, in a way, reminded him of Techno's voice, which hadn't helped, but was still soothing.

Another time was when he had heard the faraway rumbling thunder of TNT, as it had simply sounded too much like fireworks, and suddenly he was reliving that horrific moment when he had lost Tubbo.

That time is had been the entire ZIT team, feeling guilty for causing it by doing a job for The Boomers, who had talked him out of it gently. staying with him until he had felt better. Mostly Impulse who had talked, actually, and Zedaph and Tango silently freaking out behind him, unsure of how to proceed.

Tommy made sure to thank them after, and then mercilessly made fun of them for panicking.

He was happy here. Healing slowly, undisturbed, he was given the tranquility needed to grow and mend.

He had plenty of time he often spent with Tubbo, the two of them taking about bees, or Tommy would tell him about the past, and what they had gone through together, although he made sure to always water it down slightly - partly to not scare the other boy, but partly because it made him feel better as well.

A month slipped by, and he was almost always smiling, the haunted look in his eyes gone. There was an extra bounce to his step when he walked, and a cheery ring to his voice when he talked.

He still flinched when someone talked too loud though, or when he heard fireworks. But that was alright - he was happy with where he was at, and he hoped that one day, the cracks the war, his past, had left in his heart would heal.

He had hopes for a brighter future, and sometimes, he could even go a whole day without thinking of, remembering, the things he had seen and done.

His path was heading up, at last.

And then everything went wrong.

It started out small enough - Xisuma was going to attend a meeting with some other admins to discuss current issues, typically bugs and lag and such. That happened apparently quite often, once a month or so he was told, and he thought nothing of it.