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when he had first created the pillar the intention had been to take his final life. though as he stood there, the wind hitting his face, he had an epiphany. why was he still here? not alive or dead but at the dream smp?
though it started off wonderful and new the smp had brought only trouble. so why did he stay? was it for his brothers or tubbo? no. it was because deep down he was scared. scared of what may happen if he ventured away from the land. but, as he stood on that tower, the prospect of death so intimidating, he realized this was his chance.
so, he jumped. the cold splash of the water against his body and the idea of a new life finally made him feel alive again.
of course, when tubbo came across the pieces of logstedshire and the pillar the news of tommy’s death spread quick. the reaction of the residents of the dreams smp were scattered. some happy, some sad, some somewhere in between.
there was only one person that was truly and utterly happy, tommy. the weight of the dream smp was a long forgotten thought. sure there were nights the boy would be plagued with the thoughts of returning to the terror, but those were fleeting thoughts. thoughts he didn’t allow to embezzle in his mind.
he had run until his lungs could no longer keep up and then when he felt ready he would do the same thing again. he wasn’t exactly sure how far he was from the smp, but he knew nobody would ever be able to find him. if they came looking for him that was.
for a couple weeks he had lived in a small cave. he gathered resources and built himself up. though sometimes when he put on the armor it felt heavy. not because of the weight but because he had not been allowed to keep his possessions for a long time. especially not armor.
after he had accumulated some wealth he packed up and ventured again. after some long days of walking he came across a village. although the village was small tommy could feel the potential and possibility spring like a light bulb in his mind.
he lived in the village for quite awhile before he made any progress. he became respected in the village. but respect was not everything. he formed connections with the other town people. he helped when they needed helping and he offered his service even when it was not asked for.
that’s why when the village was raided tommy was prepared to fight. he slayed pillagers and fought with a need to protect. the village was not harmed beyond repair and of course tommy was there to support everyone.
this is when the king caught word of him. he had heard of how mighty tommy had fought and thought he ought to be a nice addition to his guards.
when the king had tommy summoned to his castle in order to ask him to join his royal guards, tommy new that after all these years the fear of the dream smp was long gone. a forgotten land replaced with a surprising new adventure.
at this point tommy was no longer the kid he had been during the dream smp. when l’manberg was created tommy had absolutely no clue what he was doing, but as he stood in front of the king he knew things had changed.
tommy was a fierce warrior built and shaped to be graceful and powerful at the same time. sometimes he reminded himself of techno. tommy worked hard and earned his place. even though he had been through so much the universe had finally rewarded him.
then the king had promoted tommy to general. the king had taken a liking to tommy. he was professional yet not afraid to speak his mind. something the king had admired. the king would soon find out making tommy general had been one of the best decisions he would ever make.
tommy’s impact on that village had been monumental. it had grown into a massive, flourishing city. it was well known amongst the lands.
while tommy commanded and trained the guards he also spent time as the king’s person assistant. so when the king got a letter from the dream smp hoping to create a trade route, tommy was rightfully scared. he had pushed the idea of the smp far out of his brain, locked it with a key, and put the key somewhere he would never find it.
“Are you alright tom? you’re awfully quiet this morning.” the king asked.
Tommy assured him he was fine. although it was a lie tommy felt no need to reveal his disheveled past to the king.
“Well what are your thoughts pertaining letting the dream smp access our trade route? it looks here they’ve had many wars and i’m not sure id like to have that connected to us.”
“I think it would be a perfect opportunity to gain more resources from the west. we haven’t many trade routes from there.” Tommy wasn’t quite sure why he said this. it wasn’t like he wanted to rekindle with his old life, or more the people that were included in his old life. but part of him did miss his family. though wilbur had been dead he wondered what phil and techno were up to.
part of it was also selfish. he wanted them to see what he had built and created. he wanted them to know that he didn’t need them, that he never had. most of all, he wanted them to feel shame. shame for leaving him to rot in his darkest time, shame for making him go through that when he was just a kid, shame for knowing that tommy was better off without them.
tommy knew the king would not just allow them to join. he would invite the ruler for dinner and discuss what exactly would entail in there agreement.
standing outside the gates tommy would be lying if he said he wasn’t nervous. though he would not let that get in the way of what was important here. this was not a reunion, this was a business deal and his past was not to ruin that.
he stood with his armor on, helmet covering his face. he stood along with some other guards, patiently waiting until the leaders of the dream smp arrived.
when he could hear the sound of approaching hooves he took a deep breath and shouted, “stand guard!” to his men.
there were 3 horses approaching them. as they came more into view he could see who was on them. the most surprising was that dream did not take a seat on one of them, but wilbur did. alongside his, somehow, no longer deceased brother was tubbo and techno.
the sighting of wilbur shook tommy to his core, but he quickly regained himself and prepared to talk to them. tommy and his men stood firm at the gates while the smp people dismounted their horses.
tommy briskly introduced himself trying his hardest to usher them into the castle.
wilbur stuck out his hand to shake. out of the three he looked like he had not aged the most, “Pleasure to meet you im wilbur soot, president of the dream smp, this is my vice president,” he gestured to tubbo.
tubbo had aged the most. his horns had grown fully and he no longer looked the kid that exiled tommy so long ago.
“and my brother,” he pointed his hand towards techno. techno had not changed too much, but it was difficult to tell with the skull of some animal taking its place on his face.
tommy escorted them through the village giving them a brisk tour. when they reached the castle dining room the king gave them a hearty welcome. they all took their seats and tommy took his spot standing next to the king.
though usually tommy would sit and eat with the king it was procedure for a meeting like this that he be standing. they chatted for a bit before the king motioned to tommy. he wasn’t quite sure what for, he hadn’t been too focused on the conversation, more on the people that sat at the table.
the king noticed tommy still had his helmet covering his face, “oi toms please remove your helmet we have guests.”
tommy hesitated. he knew at some point his identity would be revealed, but he had hoped he would have more time to get his thoughts together. he slowly put his finger tips against the metal and pulled it off.
a small gasp had come from tubbo’s mouth. after shaking his hair a bit, he looked up to see the shocked faces of his once family. wilbur stuttered a bit before continuing his conversation with the king.
wilbur would steal glances at the boy while tubbo never took his eyes off of him. techno was back to showing no emotion, tommy was surprised he showed some for as long as he did. his brother had been known to keep his thoughts and feelings locked away. through all the looks tommy remained stoic. determined to not let any emotion seep onto his face.
when the meeting had been concluded tommy escorted the group, minus the king, out of the dining room. once the giant, and tommy thought frankly unnecessarily loud, doors shut behind them, tommy spoke, ”i will escort you to your rooms.”
he began to walk away from the group but before he could get too far, tubbo grabbed his arm. wilbur and techno stood a bit behind them as tubbo began to speak, ”tommy?” he questioned.
tommy pretended to be oblivious to what was going on, “yes?”
“i- we thought you died!” tubbo stammered.
“i’m unsure of what you’re talking about.” he pulled gently to signal to tubbo to let him go but tubbo’s grip just tightened on the boys arm.
wilbur took a step up, “please tommy.” wilbur had pleaded with him. tommy took a good look at his brothers face. he wondered if wilbur would have tried to save him while he was in exile but he turned this thought away. after all wilbur was the one to leave in the first place.
tommy signed understanding his current approach would be less than successful.
“the person you think i am no longer exists. he was a child, forced to face a life that would never be fair. he would be confused that his brother is alive and upset that this is even happening at all. but i’ve taken his place. i have worked harder than any of you can imagine and i’m happier than i’ve ever been. i will not let it get ruined because my forgotten past decided it doesn’t want to be forgotten anymore.”
the group was silent as tommy finished speaking.
“now,” he huffed,” i’ll escort you to your rooms.” again, before he could get away he was stopped once more. this time it was by techno. he had engulfed tommy in a crushing hug,” i’m proud of you.” he said
tommy nodded at him and finally was finally able to walk away.