The Transmigrated Villain and His Ghostly Nuisance Counterpart

Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at http://archiveofourown.org/works/38035393.

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Category: Other
Fandoms: Video Blogging RPF, Minecraft (Video Game)
Relationships: Wilbur Soot & Technoblade & TommyInnit & Phil Watson, Alexis |
Quackity & Technoblade, Ranboo & Toby Smith | Tubbo & TommyInnit,
Bitzel & Justin | TimeDeo & Kit | Wispexe & Luke | LukeOrSomething
& TommyInnit, Clay | Dream & Clay | Dream's Sister Drista (Video
Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream & GeorgeNotFound & Darryl
Noveschosch & Sapnap, Justin | TimeDeo & Technoblade, Eryn |
Cyberonix & Freddie | Badlinu & TommyInnit
Characters: TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream (Video Blogging
RPF), Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), Wilbur Soot, Phil Watson
(Video Blogging RPF), GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF), Sapnap
(Video Blogging RPF), Justin | TimeDeo, Ranboo (Video Blogging
RPF), Toby Smith | Tubbo, Jschlatt (Video Blogging RPF), Bitzel (Video
Blogging RPF), Luke | LukeOrSomething, Grayson | Purpled (Video
Blogging RPF), Kit | Wispexe, Eryn | Cyberonix, Alexis | Quackity,
Freddie | Badlinu
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Royalty, Dimension Travel, Alternate Universe -
Fantasy, Ghost TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Worldbuilding,
Prince TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Prince Wilbur Soot, Prince
Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), Emperor Phil Watson (Video
Blogging RPF), Somebody Lives/Not Everyone Dies, Body
Modification, if u noticed that i redid the tags shhh no u didnt,
Hurt/Comfort, Alternate Universe - Magic, guys guess what, my favorite
dsmp arc was exile LMAO, THAT BEING SAID, Character Death,
Everyone Loves TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), /p ofc, Religious
TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Religious Imagery & Symbolism,
except it’s /pos yayyy, Attempt at Humor, Implied/Referenced Suicide,
it’s in chapter 1/2 and only mentioned but still, you guys dont know how
close i am to giving tommy religious trauma, but i wont…not yet at least
/hj, As of 01/03/2023 i have Major Character Death tagged, but this is
only because i have a full picture of how the story will go, (take that
however you will)
Language: English
Series: Part 1 of Transmigrated!Tommy (+ His Good Old Pal, Theseus)
Stats: Published: 2022-06-06 Updated: 2024-02-27 Words: 90,993 Chapters:
40/?
 The Transmigrated Villain and His Ghostly Nuisance Counterpart
by ValarEstel1405

Summary

Tommy’s led a pretty shitty life so far. This fact remains true after he’s killed at the age of 15.

When he wakes up as the main villain in his favorite book series with the actual villain
hovering around him as a ghost, he thinks his shitty life has gone from “pretty shitty” to
“abnormally shitty.”

Why did he have to be the villain, of all characters?!

[HIATUS IS OVER (check most recent chapter for update!!)]

Notes

TW: Death, mentions of suicide, cursing(I mean, Tommy’s the MC, so this is expected)

See the end of the work for more notes

 Table of Contents
Chapter Summary

Hi! This is just for me to keep track of the different arcs haha—it’ll be updated as I go!!
<33

Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes

ARC I : A Fresh Start (Chapters 2-8)

INTERLUDE : The Sun (Chapter 9)

ARC II : The Battle of Champions (Chapters 10-21)

INTERLUDE : Change (Chapter 22)

ARC III : The Watchers of the Void (Chapters 23-26)

INTERLUDE : My Savior, My Prince (Chapter 27)

ARC IV : The Ballad of the False God (Chapters 28-33)

INTERLUDE : An Eye For an Eye (Chapter 34)

ARC V : Keep Your Friends Close and Your Enemies… (Chapters 35-??)

Chapter End Notes

Hey guys! Welcome to…my fic ig, if you’re just finding this after this update! I made
this as a Table of Contents to organize the fic a little bit haha.

Anyways, I hope you enjoy! Have a wonderful day/night everyone <33

 The Awakening of an Angry Gremlin

He watches in horror as his whole world burns around him. He can hear his comrades
around him shouting, screaming, and logically, he knows he should start fighting the enemy,
but-

He can’t bring himself to move. There’s debris flying all around him; rubble decorating the
once clean brick roads. He can only watch as all his people are slain in the fierce battle
against soldiers of the Antarctic Empire. He barely even notices the fact that he’s fallen to his
knees.

There’s footsteps approaching him from behind. “Well, well, well…Admin Dream, was it?”

The voice sends shivers down Dream’s spine. He recognizes it from the Masquerade Ball in
the Crimsom Valley. He never expected…

“Who are you?” Dream asks, and he feels hollow. He doesn’t even need to ask, he knows who
this is. It just all feels so surreal.

“You may know me as…Prince Theseus,” the boy behind him replies, his voice light and airy
as if he’s talking about something happy. “Ahah…you look unwell, Admin of Essempei.
Maybe a little…burnt out?”

“Why did you do this?” Dream asks, his throat hoarse. “You’ve killed everything. My home,
my people, my friends…” His family - Sapnap, George, Bad, Drista - flashes through his
mind. “You’ve taken it all away from me…why?”

“Oh, but I didn’t do that,” Theseus replies, in a way where Dream can practically hear him
smiling. “It wasn’t me who declared war on your kingdom, now was it? Nope!” He pops the
‘p’ and actually plops down right next to Dream, whose eyes are still fixated on the fires
burning around them. “Don’t you remember? That was my dear father.” Theseus says the
word ‘father’ with such venom that Dream doubts he actually cares about his father.
“You’re a monster,” Dream says. He wants to feel angry about it, but right now, he’s too
exhausted to muster any emotion. “You may not have declared war, but you were the one
behind everything, weren’t you?”

“Not exactly,” Theseus says. He brings his knees to his chest, hugging them, looking like a
melancholic child. “They were the ones who planned this war. I just made the most of the
benefits I get from it.”

“You’re a monster,” Dream repeats because it’s the truth.

“Maybe.” Theseus bites his nails. “But, heh, at least now I can see what the famed ‘Power of
the Gods’ looks like.”

And that’s exactly what Dream dreads.

(Chapter 142, The Fall of Essempei)

Tommy doesn’t know why this passage of the book floats into his mind. He can’t really see
or hear much, other than the muffled sound of police sirens and the faint flashing red and
blue lights in his vision that’s slowly darkening. His breathing is shallow, and he thinks he
can actually feel his heart shutting down.

In a messed up way, it’s calming. He’s lifted up onto what feels like a bed of sorts. A thought
then crosses his mind, This is kinda messed up.
After all, Tommy’s only 15 years old. Hey, shouldn’t he get a say in this whole ‘dying’
situation? As he lays in what sounds like the emergency ambulance - his vision’s all gone by
now - he’s suddenly overcome with an emotion so strong it takes over his whole body.

I don’t want to die.

He can still think - his brain probably hasn’t shut down yet - but he can feel his heart slowing
down. His body’s slowly turning numb. And while it’s more welcome than the pain he was
previously in, he becomes more scared the more numb he is.

He thinks if he were still fully alive, he’d be sobbing hysterically right now. Instead, he can
only feel the intensity of his fear and hate and anxieties.

…But then, Tommy can’t hear anything either.

He finds this quite odd—wasn’t he just dying a second ago? Is this some sort of limbo? He
ponders to himself where he could be, when he notices that he’s not exactly alive, either.

First off, he doesn’t actually think he has a physical body. It’s the oddest sensation he’s ever
felt—or, rather, can’t feel. He can’t feel any of his previous body’s features, and can only
think. He sees and hears nothing.

And then, there’s something. As if eternity and also no time has passed, Tommy’s
consciousness is pulled into what seems like a body. This causes a pulling sensation that
makes Tommy internally scream-

“Oh dear—are you ok?”

Tommy blinks…maybe. He looks around, and finds himself in a white void. He looks at his
hands—and they’re actually hands again. Except he can’t actually focus on any features of
what he sees; it’s the same sensation one would have when dreaming.

“Welcome,” a woman’s voice says from Tommy’s left(?), and he whips his head around
quickly. He sees the faint figure of a tall, black-haired woman wearing something similar to a
celtic wedding dress. He can’t tell what her exact features are, but he can tell that her eyes are
a bright turqoise color.

Beside the woman is a boy who looks the same age as himself. This boy is a little taller than
Tommy and has longer hair than what would be considered “normal”; it’s long enough to be
put into a messy ponytail. He has eerily similar blue eyes to Tommy, and also seems to be
wearing royal garb.

“…Where am I?” Tommy asks cautiously. He knows he just died—and yet, here he is,
dreaming! Did he manage to come back to life? Did the doctors manage to kickstart his
heart?

“You are…alive again,” the woman says. Her voice reminds Tommy of a melody that he
can’t quite place. “To put it short, I am known as the Goddess of Space. And I am here to
offer you both a deal.”

Tommy figures that the woman is talking about him and the other blond boy next to her.
Speaking of which, the boy’s features are also hard to place, but Tommy can tell he has a
smirk on his face. It sends shivers down his spine.

“You have both just died,” the Goddess says, and neither Tommy or the other boy are
surprised. “However, Tommy here has died an unfair death, while Theseus here,” and she
gestures towards the other boy, “had committed suicide.”

Tommy jerks, surprised, and looks at the other boy. The other boy, Theseus, simply keeps
smiling as if nothing’s wrong. And…
“Wait, Theseus?” Tommy asks, scrunching up his face. “As in, Theseus from ‘Dethroning the
Silent Megalomaniac Prince’? From…y’know…the fictional story?” Because now that
Tommy’s looking closely, Theseus looks exactly like how the author of said series had
described him. Tommy can even make out a red crown on his head.

The Goddess nods, smiling kindly. “Yes, I see you’re smart enough to realize who Theseus
is.” She walks over to Tommy. “Thomas Innes, your spirit is currently in Theseus’ previous
body. You have the chance to keep living, albeit in a different world, and with a different
identity.” She then turns to Theseus. “Theseus Craft, I grabbed your soul right before you
actually died. This means, while Tommy will be controlling your body, your soul will still be
tethered to it, and only Tommy will be able to see you.”

Tommy knows Theseus is the villain of the story, but he can’t help but feel like this is a little
unfair to him. “Uhm, Goddess of Space? I feel like, uh, this is a little unfair to Mr. Creepy-
Smile over there.”

“Oh, don’t worry, friend,” Theseus says while smiling, and Tommy suppresses the urge to
shiver. “I’m perfectly fine with this arrangement. After all, living has been kind of boring—at
least now, I’ll be able to have fun being a ghost, essentially!”

Theseus has the exact same accent as Tommy, which is a little strange. After all, wasn’t the
story he’s from based in a fantasy world?

“Right,” he replies, narrowing his eyes at the other. He then turns to the Goddess and points
at her accusingly, “Y’know, you’re lucky that I’ve read the book this bitch is from.” Theseus
gasps theatrically at the bad language, but the Goddess merely smiles.

“Good luck,” she says to both, and Tommy’s vision goes black.

“Welcome to my body, friend.”

Tommy blinks awake and sits up in what looks to be a bed with white sheets. Looking
around, he sees medical supplies and other beds with white sheets; an infirmary.

He turns to look up and- oh. Floating in the air is one Prince Theseus, a trail of blood leading
from his head down his face. He’s wearing a white blouse and light blue pants—casual wear
for a prince. If Tommy recalls correctly, this is the outfit he was wearing when he had
committed suicide.

“You better be givin’ me tips, big man,” Tommy points and glares at the boy above him, who
is basically a ghost. “I may know your story and all the history behind your fucked up family,
but you’ll have to teach me how to do that magic shit and ‘etiquette’.”

Theseus laughs. “You know, you shouldn’t talk to the air, Prince Theseus. That’s a sign of
mental illness.”

Tommy simply sighs. I just now remembered why I’ve always hated Theseus’ character. He’s
an asshole.

He starts to stand, but there are footsteps and a voice says, “My Prince, please don’t get up
yet!”

Tommy turns his head and notices a boy running towards him from another room. Instantly,
Tommy can recognize who this character is. One eye red, one eye green, and black and white
hair split down the middle. This would be Ranboo, Prince Theseus’ personal servant. The
two grew up as basically brothers, but Theseus - being the messed up individual that he is -
betrayed Ranboo by throwing him under the bus and getting him executed for a crime that
Theseus did.

“Aww, Ranboo does care for me!” Theseus cooes, and Tommy has to use all his energy to not
snap at the spirit.
Instead, Tommy stutters, “Agh, um, Ranboo, I assure you, I am fine.” He’s subconsciously
using a more ‘proper’ accent when he speaks, trying to mimic a softer voice fit for royalty.
Luckily, since he’s in Theseus’ body, his voice is the same; but all of Tommy’s instincts seem
to still be in place. This also means Tommy can’t sense magic like Theseus can.

Well, that Goddess did say that she put Tommy’s whole soul into Theseus’ body. What if he
can’t use magic at all?

After Tommy’s reassurance, Ranboo looks even more heartbroken. He clings to Tommy and
just starts bawling. Tommy’s startled by this, and he’s not ashamed to admit that he almost
kicks Ranboo away because his elbow is digging into his thigh.

Then, Ranboo says in a small voice, “My Prince…why would you throw yourself off the
bridge?”

Even Theseus looks surprised at that. “Ah, yes…in Ranboo’s eyes, I suppose I did try and
commit suicide…” He looks a bit sheepish, as if attempting suicide is something
embarassing. “I suppose you’ll have to try and explain this!”

And here’s what sucks about being reborn as someone that isn’t the protagonist: while
Tommy does know all about Theseus’ suicide attempt in the novel, he doesn’t know the
aftermath. He doesn’t know how Ranboo, Theseus’ family, or the rest of the castle reacted to
the attempt.

“Ahah…you see…” Tommy’s nothing if he isn’t a good liar. He says without thinking, “I
tripped on a rock, and fell over the edge of the bridge.”

Theseus gives Tommy a look. Even Ranboo stops crying momentarily to look at him
incredulously. “You…tripped? Over the bridge with the six-foot barriers along it?”

Theseus sighs loudly from where he’s at and says, “This is getting painful to watch. Tell
Ranboo that you actually wanted to see how high up you would be if you found a way to
stand on the barrier, and lost your footing.”
Tommy doesn’t know why Theseus is helping him, but he says, “I apologize, Ranboo, I lied
just then.” He makes sure to smile innocently like Theseus when he continues, “You see, I
was wanting to see the magnificent view from on top of the barriers surrounding the bridge!”
He sighs dramatically. “Alas, I lost my footing and unintentionally fell into the water.“

Ok, Tommy may be bad at lying. But in his original life, he was an amazing actor. Clearly,
this has carried over, because Ranboo doesn’t look as suspicious—just disappointed. Which
is actually a little worse.

“My Prince, please be more careful,” Ranboo says, finally releasing Tommy from the hug.
They exchange a few more words - mostly consisting of Ranboo making sure Tommy’s ok
while Tommy nods and smiles - before Ranboo leaves.

Tommy’s whole body slumps over. Why is he exhausted just from acting??

“My, what amazing acting, Sir Tomathy!”

Tommy resists the urge to attempt to punch Theseus. “Shut the fuck up, bitch.” He then lays
back down in the bed.

“Oh? Going back to sleep?” Theseus asks, in a much more regular tone of voice that’s void
of his usual faux cheerfulness. “But Prince Theseus, you’ve only just awoken.”

“Ok, look, we need to set some ground rules,” Tommy glares. “You’re stuck with me, alright?
So you’re going to be helping me pretend to be you.”

“And why should I help you?” Theseus is now picking at his nails, not even looking at
Tommy anymore. “I am the ‘villain’ after all, like you said—it wouldn’t be odd for me to
just…not help you.”
“But you know you’ll be bored if you do that.”

Theseus narrows his eyes at Tommy, who’s now speaking completely seriously. Because
Tommy has read all about Theseus’ character. He knows how he acts; he knows how he
thinks.

“You’ll be bored and you’ll regret becoming a ghost, because I’m the only one who can see
you,” Tommy continues. “But if we can…I dunno…actually get along, you’ll find that I’m a
very entertaining person.”

Theseus stares at Tommy with a hard glance, but Tommy knows that he’s won him over. The
former prince smiles wickedly and says, “Well, looks like we’ll have to get started on
etiquette lessons as soon as possible.”

Ah. It looks like my plan’s working too well. “Y’know, boss man, we don’t really need to have
etiquette lessons…”

“Ah, ah, ah!” Theseus holds up a hand. “You must now call me ‘Professor Theseus’,
not…’boss man’, whatever that means.” He then cackles. “Oh, I’m going to have fun making
you suffer through history lessons…”

Tommy’s slowly starting to regret this deal.

 A Dumb Invitation to a Dumb Championship
Chapter Summary

Tommy is slowly adjusting to his new life as Theseus Craft. However, he is forced to
adjust at a much quicker pace when he’s told that he’ll be participating in the Battle of
Champions.

Chapter Notes

WARNINGS: None really, other than slight mentions of death(not at all explicit) and
also an excessive amount of swearing

See the end of the chapter for more notes

In the past, Dream learned that the Antarctic Empire was only inhabitable because of a
power passed down through the royal family. This power is currently inherited by the
Empress, Kristin Craft. However, despite this, the weather is frigid and so cool that the Piglin
Tribe probably wouldn’t last an hour.

So, as a result, one could usually find everyone living there wearing warm clothing—
including the royal family. They incorporate cloaks and fur into their garb so they both
present the image of wealth, as well as staying warm.

As Dream looks across the court to Technoblade Craft, he finds that this is true. While
Technoblade is currently dressing down due to the warmer weather in Logsted, he still has on
his red fur-lined cape that’s clearly only meant to be worn in cold weather. Much like how
Dream is wearing the Admin mask he was given a few weeks ago, despite not being in
Essempei anymore.

The two face each other, and Dream hardens the grip on his axe.
(Chapter 57, The Ten-Thousandth Duel)

The first thing Tommy does once he’s let out of the infirmary is force Theseus to guide him
to his room. He had spent a whole three days in the infirmary because he apparently broke his
legs, and the healing potion he had taken takes three days to fully heal everything.

In the novel, the protagonist of the story visits the Antarctic Empire exactly once. He talks
about it a lot, but he only ever actually goes there at the end of the novel, after war has
already broken out. This means Tommy has to rely on Theseus to travel through the castle.

Theseus, who has no problem straight up lying to Tommy about where certain rooms are.
Tommy’s walked into the kitchen, the library, and the armory; all he wants is to find Theseus’
room!

“I promise, I just forgot where my room is!” Theseus says innocently, batting his eyelashes at
Tommy.

Tommy glares harshly at the ghost. Theseus has stopped floating and is walking with him
now. “You’re a right prick, y’know that?”

“Theseus? You’re out of the infirmary?”

Tommy freezes at the voice. Theseus, however, spins around and smiles, “Oh, look, it’s my
dear brother!” Judging by that reaction, Tommy knows exactly who this is without even
looking.

Theseus Craft was a good villain in the novel because he didn’t care about anything or
anyone other than wanting to be entertained. In the story, this want for something to make
him truly happy drives him mad.

However, Tommy’s found out that the point of time he’s in right now is actually before the
start of the novel. This means Theseus still cares for one person: his older brother, Wilbur
Craft. Wilbur is mentioned a lot in the story—after all, his son, Fundy, is one of the main
characters. However, in the novel, Wilbur dies in a kamikaze attack against the nation of
Manberg that officially kicks off the Great Disc War.

Also known as the moment Theseus becomes a true villain. So, in short, if Tommy wants to
actually make some progress with getting Theseus to help him, he’ll have to save Wilbur.

“Brother!” Tommy puts on a grin, turning around to face Wilbur. “Yes, the healer told me I’m
allowed to walk around now!”

Wilbur Craft - also known by his moniker, W. Soot - is tall and has brown hair, like Kristin
Craft, the Empress. In the novel, he’s the most famous son of the Craft family despite not
being the Heir. His good looks and his more extroverted personality make him popular. He’s
wearing his own version of the Antarctic royal garb—they don’t all wear the same clothes
because they’re all different types of people.

For example, Wilbur’s mantle consists of a long, light blue coat with white fur—much like a
modern jacket. Under the coat is a white tunic with gold buttons and light blue leggings. His
crown is spiky and a light blue color, meant to look like ice. He has dark grey boots and black
fingerless gloves. And to top it all off, he has a chain with an emerald around his neck, as
well as a small piece of his hair braided. The emerald and braid are a traditional fashion
choice by the royal family.

“Why aren’t you properly dressed?” Wilbur doesn’t match Tommy’s false enthusiasm at the
sight of him. In the novel, Wilbur and Theseus’ relationship was very one-sided, it was kinda
sad.

“Ah, well,” Tommy’s grin becomes more forced as he thinks of Theseus’ tricks, “I was
simply walking to my quarters, you see! I just got released ten minutes ago.”
“Your quarters…on the other side of the castle?” Wilbur raises an eyebrow suspiciously.
“Stop lying, Theseus. What were you really doing?”

Tommy freezes. Out of the corner of his eye, he can see Theseus turning red while trying not
to laugh. A bead of sweat rolls down Tommy’s forehead as he mentally curses Theseus.

He sighs, making his whole body droop. “F-ine, I guess you caught me.” He subtly glances
around, and notices that he’s currently at the hallway by the kitchen he’d passed earlier. “I
was going to the kitchen to grab some food.”

Wilbur’s suspicion clears and he simply narrows his eyes. “Theseus, you know that we eat
dinner as a family.”

No, Tommy didn’t actually know that. “Of course I know that. I was simply hungry after
three days of only eating apples and bread!”

“You can wait an hour,” Wilbur says dismissively, starting to walk past Tommy. “Also, I
might as well inform you that the Battle of Champions is occuring soon. Father wants us all
to sign up together.”

The Battle of Champions—also known as the start of the novel. The novel kicks off with
Dream winning a tournament called the Battle of Champions and meeting King George. This
is how Dream manages to move to Essempei and start training as a warrior. In the novel,
Dream doesn’t mention seeing Theseus at the tournament—granted, this makes sense,
because he wouldn’t know who Theseus is at that point. However, Tommy does remember
Dream mentioning Technoblade and Wilbur. In the passage, he says something like,
“Technoblade and Wilbur are in second place, along with two children.”

Tommy then realizes Wilbur walking away. “Ah—but brother, that would make three!
Wouldn’t we need a fourth member of our team?”

“Duke Schlatt will be letting his eldest child partake in the tournament,” Wilbur says. “Father
wants you to invite him to our team as a way to strengthen our bond with Manberg.”
Right. That would be Tubbo, the future President of Manberg, a nation that Dream will
eventually save from tyranny. In the novel, Tubbo holds a great hatred for Theseus, but
there’s never really an explanation for why. The only time they ever interact in the novel is
this Battle of Champions, so Tommy assumes that Theseus had done something to make
Tubbo hate him.

“Will do,” Tommy says, before catching himself. “I mean, I will, brother.”

Wilbur gives him another funny look before turning back around and walking down one side
of the hallway. Tommy waits until he rounds the corner before turning to Theseus, “Your
room is on the other side of the castle?!”

If Theseus were still alive, his burst of cackles would be heard all throughout the Antarctic
Empire by all its citizens.

Tommy doesn’t fully realize that he’s in another world until he looks at himself in the mirror
and sees a young Theseus with all his royal garb.

Theseus showed up on the cover of one of the books after becoming the actual villain; his
hair was cut short and more wild, and he was wearing a cloak with his hood in his hands,
ready to be draped over his head. His eyes were wild and a dark blue color, his irises a bright
red color that seemed to glow on the cover.

However, the Theseus that Tommy is currently inhabiting is a much different one. His hair is
messy, but in a contained fashion, and there’s a small braid that covers Tommy’s left ear—
Theseus had helped with it after seeing Tommy fail to braid it himself numerous times. As he
looks in the mirror, he can see a resemblance between Theseus and Wilbur now. On his head
is a similar crown to Wilbur’s, but instead of an icy blue color, it’s a dark red color.
Tommy’s clothing isn’t nearly as decked out in gold as Wilbur’s is; instead of golden buttons
and highlights, he has red. His tunic is light blue and he has a white cravat tied around his
neck. He has a half-cape that’s totally see-through except for the lining of white fur. Since his
tunic is a little too big for him, he has on a red and gold belt that makes his tunic look kind of
like a really short skirt on the buttom. Under his tunic is the same light blue pants as Wilbur,
and dark blue boots.

On Tommy’s right pointer finger, there’s a silver ring. This is where his matching emerald
with his family is. In the novel, Theseus throws the ring away after Wilbur dies. Tommy
honestly can’t comprehend why he did this—the ring is so fucking awesome!

“Look at you, Prince Theseus,” Theseus claps slowly from where he’s floating by the bed.
His room is quite large—larger than the apartment Tommy lived in.

Tommy sighs and flops down on the bed face-first, his clothes weighing down on him. “I
look fuckin’ stupid.”

“Hey now, that’s my body you’re in,” Theseus says with a warning tone of voice. He lays
next to Tommy and looks up and the ceiling. He sighs, “I never liked this bed. It’s too soft.”

“No, this is perfect,” Tommy shakes his head, turning himself over to also face the ceiling.

They lay in a comfortable silence. Tommy thinks of his situation. He should be glad that he’s
been transmigrated—after all, there wasn’t really anything waiting for him in his original
world. No friends, bad grades; just a bad life in general. But it’s not like everything here is all
sunshine and rainbows either—there’s an upcoming war that’ll happen within the next three
years that Tommy will be in the center of due to being part of the royal family.

“Ey, Theseus,” Tommy speaks up. Theseus ‘hmm’s in reply.

“Would you mind if I just…ran away from here?” Tommy asks. He feels Theseus’ gaze on
him and continues, “I mean, I’m not a fuckin’ prince in my world. You never know—I could
just leave and never come back.”
“Oh, but that’ll be boring,” Theseus whines. “Didn’t you just promise the other day that
you’d keep me entertained?”

“Well, yes,” Tommy admits, “but I’m only a human, y’know? I’m like…the equivalent of a
side bitch in your world. A commoner. I’m only good at acting. What if I need to do magic?”

This could be a legitimate issue. In the novel, Theseus was well-versed in channeling pure
magic through his body. And while he never revealed this in front of his family, he had
always been good with potions, so it would be suspicious if he suddenly couldn’t mix potions
correctly. Plus, Theseus’ mother, Kristin, has such powerful magic that it got passed down to
all three sons. So Theseus should still have pure magic, even if he can’t use it well.

“I can always teach you,” Theseus offers. He then floats above Tommy, making eye contact
with him. “You don’t really want to leave—you’re too much of a scaredy cat.”

Tommy glares. “No I’m fuckin’ not!”

“Well, not in the usual sense, no.” Theseus taps his chin. “…What I’m saying is, you’re only
bringing this up because you want to have a good argue with me. You want to see how I’ll
react—if I’ll try and stop you from leaving.”

“You just said that you wanted to be entertained,” Tommy points out.

“My soul might be tethered to the body you’re in, but that doesn’t mean I have to stay with
you, you know!” Theseus says in a sing-song voice. It sounds like an innocent observation,
but Tommy can recognize it as the threat it is.

A shiver runs down his spine. Theseus is a master of people and emotions—especially
manipulating them. He always has been, from a young age. He finds it fun to pick people
apart and analyze them until he can accurately guess every action they make. It’s why he was
the lead villain in the novel; there were other villains before him, but Theseus remained
Dream’s villain the longest of all of them. He wasn’t particularly good at fighting like
Technoblade or gathering allies like Wilbur; he was simply able to predict what Dream would
do, and would act accordingly.

Reading about this ability of Theseus’ had made Tommy scared of him. But for it to be used
on him, he’s even more scared, and he reminds himself that Theseus is the villain for a
reason.

Tommy sighs. In truth, he was never going to run away, he was just entertaining the idea. “…
Yeah. You’re totally right, you stupid prick.” He sits up and hunches over, crossing his arms.
“Ugh, fuck you and your psychoanalytic self.”

“You know, you should probably at least try and do magic,” Theseus says, and he’s smiling
again. “We should see how accurately you can actually act like me. After all, I’m a master of
enchantments.”

“Yes, you might be, but I’m not,” Tommy grits his teeth. “Plus, you don’t ever tell anyone
what you’re actually capable of. It’s not exactly ‘out of character’ for me to not know how to
enchant, because no one else knows that you can fuckin’ enchant.”

“I know,” Theseus replies, “but believe it or not, I actually do pride myself in knowing how
to enchant and brew potions.”

Tommy groans, covering his face with his hands. He then shakes his head and starts hyping
himself up, “Fine. Let’s do this shit. I’m fuckin’ ready.”

Theseus raises an eyebrow. “Are you sure?”

“Hell yeah!” Tommy punches the air, determined. “You bitch, you better teach me all about
how to fuckin’ enchant shit and make potions.” Because despite learning it just to keep up
reputation, being able to both brew potions and enchant items is very useful in a world like
this.
There are many different types of potions made of many…odd ingrediants. And while
potions effects are temporary, there are some really useful potions one can use; strength,
speed, water-breathing, and even fire resistance. In the novel, Dream himself states that
“potions are the very reason he isn’t dead”.

Enchantments are very hard to understand—not even Dream could master it. Enchantments
include being able to read the Galactic Alphabet so that you can differentiate the different
types of enchantments. And, to be able to enchant items, Tommy will have to be able to use
magic. Enchanting takes up magic, and the amount of magic that a person has depends on
how experienced they are with magic.

It’s like playing the piano—the more you practice, the more you’ll be able to play. So every
time Tommy brews a potion, enchants something, drinks a potion, and even touches any item
that has magic, his magic threshold will increase.

This might make acquiring magic sound easy, but enchantment tables aren’t easy to make,
and while drinking potions does increase your magic a little, it’s brewing potions that actually
helps you cultivate your magic. And lots of potions ingredients are either gross, hard to get,
or valuable items that most would rather use to make something else.

Theseus explains all this to Tommy surprisingly seriously.

“I didn’t know making potions was this hard,” Tommy mumbles, mostly to himself. Dream is
good at making potions in the novel, so he never really went into detail about how to actually
make them. “Also, did you just say I have to learn a fucking language?”

“No, you have to learn an alphabet,” Theseus rolls his eyes playfully. “Everything you read
in Galactic will be English—it’s just different symbols for the letters.”

“I guess that makes sense,” Tommy purses his lips. “So, what are we starting with?” He
really wants to enchant his clothes to stay warm. I wonder if I can enchant my hair to always
be clean…

“Oh, we’re not starting with enchantments.”

Tommy’s brought out of his thoughts with these words. “…Huh?”

“No. We’re starting with meditation.” Theseus grins in a way that looks like he’s joking, but
from his tone of voice, he’s dead serious.

“Meditation?!” Tommy wants to fucking cry.

“Yes, meditation!” Theseus waves his hands excitedly. “Meditation is a good way for one to
open their soul up to accept magic.”

“I…” Tommy can’t find the words to convey to Theseus just how much he doesn’t want to do
this. “I can’t fuckin’ sit still. I’m also not good at that ‘emptying the mind’ shit. This is a lost
cause. I can just pretend to have magic.”

“Oh, you silly goose, you don’t need to worry too much about the magic part!” Theseus
replies, attempting to tap Tommy on the nose. When he does so, Tommy feels the faint
presence of a finger. “Since we’re connected, I can see your spirit, like how you can see me!”

“And…what of it?” Tommy asks, a little afraid of the answer.

“Of course you have magic—everyone does,” Theseus squints his eyes as if he’s examining
something on Tommy that he can’t see. “But it looks like your soul has locked your ability to
use magic away. This isn’t an uncommon experience in this world—you simply have to
meditate!”

“But…but would anything from my original world affect that?” Tommy asks, now very wary
about this.

Theseus gives him a blank look. “Well, I wouldn’t know, would I? Because, despite me
knowing you’re from another world, you haven’t actually told me anything about said
world.”

Tommy flushes. “W-well, it never came up! And I guess I’ll just tell you right now.” He
furrows his eyebrows. “Uh, no one there believes in magic. Or, erm, some do, but the ones
that do are children because they still think fairytales are real.”

Theseus snaps his fingers after a moment of thinking. “Well, you being here is proof that you
can respond to magic. After all, Gods and Goddesses are beings made of pure magic. So the
fact that the Goddess of Space was able to pull your soul to my world means you have the
potential to use magic yourself—and so does everyone in your original world, in fact.”

“…I guess that makes sense…?” Tommy says, kind of starting to follow along.

“Right, of course it does.” Theseus has a stupidly smug look on his face. He then claps twice,
“Alright, Tomathy! It’s time to start meditating!”

“What—I need to head to the dining hall for dinner!” Tommy throws his hands in the air. “I
can’t just meditate right now!”

Theseus looks at the clock and blinks, surprised. “Oh. I suppose you do have to get going to
dinner.” He then snickers. “This is going to be fun. Considering…”

“…Considering? Considering what?” Tommy raises an eyebrow defiantly.

“Considering I usually don’t bother going to dinner anyways,” Theseus replies with a grin.
As Tommy realizes what this means, Theseus continues, “This means you either go to
tonight’s supper and risk being suspicious…or you start meditating right now.”

”Why do I even have to start right now??” Tommy starts grasping at straws. “I mean, I have a
whole two years to learn this shit!”
 ”Two years? More like one week,” Theseus replies with a snort. “Did you forget what
brother just informed you of? The Battle of Champions requires skills such as potion brewing
at the very least, as well as being able to identify different types of minerals and foods.”

Tommy actually didn’t know that the Battle of Champions requires any of that. In the novel,
the first chapter starts right in the middle of the last section of the championship, where
Dream wins. And since the Battle of Championships happens once per four years, it never
shows up again because of the war that ensues.

“…Fuck this life.” So now I have to cram learning a life’s worth of information…into a
week?!

Chapter End Notes

…Yeah, this chapter is essentially just worldbuilding in a different font. Also, I’m gonna
be super heavy on describing what the characters look like!

I have like 5 tabs opened that all say smth like “royal clothing names” “what is the scarf
thing that princes wear” and “minecraft enchanting table language”. This is taking a
surprising amount of research that I do NOT appreciate.

N E WAYS, thank you all for the support on the first chapter! I’ll see you tmrw, so have
a good day everyone <33
 Maybe Breaking Into a Prison is a Bad Idea…Not!
Chapter Summary

As Tommy’s getting the hang of potions, he realizes something crucial that he’s
forgetting he needs: the ability to fight against others! So, with Theseus in tow, they set
off to find someone who, in Tommy’s words, “is the perfect master for him.”

Chapter Notes

WARNINGS: I don’t think there are any, other than mentions of violence. Oh, and also
excessive amounts of cursing.

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Dream yelps as he narrowly dodges a fire attack from a Ghast Mage. He quickly rips the
nether wart out of its roots and starts running as he hears the angry voices of the Piglin Tribe
behind him, as well as heavy footsteps.

“Dream! Do you have it?”

Dream’s head snaps up as he hears Sapnap’s voice. “Yes, I’ve got it! Hurry, toss the rope!”

A line of thick rope is tossed towards Dream, which he grabs firmly. Sapnap lifts Dream up
onto the ledge, and the two quickly run back to the Nether Portal, hoping to escape this
crazed land.

(Chapter 33, Escaping the Nether)

“Alright, and what ingredients do you need for a Potion of Harming…if you do not have a
way to acquire glowstone?”

Tommy opens his mouth to answer, but then Theseus adds with a cheeky grin, “Actually,
make that a Lingering Potion of Harming.”

Tommy’s eye twitches. “Well, you need redstone-“

“In order.”

He throws his hands up. “Fine! You need Gunpowder, then Dragon’s Breath - wherever the
fuck you get that from, I don’t fuckin’ know - and then a Spider Eye, then a fuckin’
Fermented Spider Eye.”

“Alright. Now, how do you make Fermented Spider Eye?”

“You need a Spider Eye, sugar, and a mushroom,” Tommy grits his teeth. “Can we be fuckin’
finished, now?”

“Alright—but if we finish early, we’re spending the rest of the hour meditating!” Theseus
cheers.

Tommy thinks he wants to cry. It’s been a couple of days since he’s been released from the
infirmary, and he’s spent the whole two days learning all about potions and the ingredients
needed for every type of potion. Whenever Tommy’s able to answer all of Theseus’ questions
about potions correctly, he’s then forced to meditate and try and focus on his magic energy.
Of course, there have been certain allowances—Theseus had told Tommy that while he
doesn’t ever attend dinners, he does attend breakfast. Plus, the chef - a nice man named Pete -
lets Tommy sneak into the kitchen and grab snacks.

No one’s really suspicious of Tommy’s behavior. For starters, Philza - Theseus’ father - is the
Emporer of the Antarctic Empire, and is too busy. Technoblade is busy being the Heir to the
throne; Tommy doesn’t actually know what he does, but whatever it is, he needs a sword for
it. And Wilbur’s typically out and about, probably in town pretending to be W. Soot, the
famous musician.

The only one who’s even remotely suspicious of Tommy right now is Ranboo. This situation
really sucks for Tommy—Theseus and Ranboo have known each other since they were
children. They grew up together and are practically brothers. So while Tommy’s good at
acting like Theseus, it’s little habits that Tommy has from his past life that have Ranboo
casting a side-eye glance towards him.

“Oi, Theseus, what should we do about Ranboo?” Tommy asks. “I mean, you’re the one who
said that he’s starting to become suspicious.”

“I think we should just tell him our situation,” Theseus says with a shrug. “At worst, he’ll
just think that you’re mental and request for a mind healer.”

“…That’s pretty fuckin’ bad,” Tommy deadpans. “So, that idea’s outta the picture, I guess.”

Theseus checks the clock. “Alright, it looks like you’re pretty good with potions, so now,
we’ll move onto enchantments!”

“Shouldn’t I actually try and make the potions?” Tommy questions. “Y’know…theory versus
practicality, or some shit?”

“Normally, yes,” Theseus nods. “However! We’re on a time crunch of four days.“
“You’re such a liar, the championship is in five days,” Tommy raises an eyebrow.

“Yes, but we’re going to be arriving at the coliseum in four days,” Theseus grins. “Every
champion competing has to show up a day early to choose their teams and tour the
challenges that will take place.”

“…That’s stupid,” Tommy grumbles to himself. “Alright, then let’s get to this enchantin’
shit.”

He opens the door…and runs right into Technoblade. He yelps and quickly stumbles back,
looking up at Theseus’ tall brother.

Technoblade…is very intimidating. His emerald is hanging off of his left ear as an earring,
much like Philza’s does. He, by far, has the most flashy attire. His whole outfit is covered in
gold and jewels; despite this, his actual outfit is easy to move around in. Currently, he’s the
Commander for the militia force in the Antarctic Empire, so his white tunic is fashioned as
such. His leggings are white that fades into a light blue, and his boots are a dark brown color.
His long, pink hair is braided and tied with a red ribbon. His crown is also different from
theseus’ and Wilbur’s; Technoblade’s crown is crafted from real gold, with green, pink,
purple, and blue gems littering its surface.

“Greetings, Heir of the Antarctic,” Tommy says with a teasing smile, making sure to bow in a
way that looks mocking. “What brings you to my humble abode?”

In the novel, Theseus loves to subtly annoy Technoblade. Their relationship is far from close
—they’re practically strangers to each other. The large age gap between them doesn’t help
this issue at all. So, as a result, Technoblade treats Theseus as a child, and Theseus hurls
masked insult after insult at Technoblade.

“Theseus.” Technoblade’s voice actually terrifies Tommy, but he keeps that faux smile
plastered onto his face. “Have you been keeping up in training?”

“Oh,” Theseus says in surprise, as if just remembering something. “That’s right. I forgot to
mention…we also need to practice fighting.”
Fighting?!

“Perhaps,” Tommy replies instead, remaining outwardly calm.

“…I’ll get straight to the point,” Technoblade says in his monotone voice. “The Emperor is
allowing Duke Schlatt’s son to stay in our castle for the time being until the Battle of
Champions. You will do well to be on your best behavior, Theseus.”

“Of course, Prince Technoblade,” Tommy replies with a smirk, closing the door as he walks
backward right back into Theseus’ room.

“I’ll admit, this is my fault,” Theseus says as Tommy’s closing the door. “How could I have
forgotten the single most important part of the Battle of Champions—fighting.”

“So…I actually have to fight in this event-thing?” Tommy hisses, making sure to stay quiet.
Technoblade has really good ears, and Tommy doesn’t want to risk anything being heard.

“Of course you do,” Theseus replies nonchalantly. “I suppose this means you’ll have to start
going out to our weaponry and start training with the sword.”

Tommy groans at the idea—he doesn’t want to do any physical work! But then, an idea forms
in his head. “Hey, Theseus—are you ready for your first major source of entertainment?”

Theseus’ eyes sparkle dangerously. “You’ve caught my attention, my Prince.”

“Good.” Tommy grabs a satchel and fills it with food he’s stolen from the kitchen. “We’re
about to sneak out. Tonight.”

“Surely you’re not trying to wiggle your way out of our lessons, are you?” Theseus teases.
Tommy snorts. “I fuckin’ wish—but no. We’re about to get the best swordsman to help me
become better at fighting.”

“And who would that be?”

The Antarctic Empire is located at the center of a valley surrounded by mountains in almost
every direction. This valley is very large, so lots of people come to live here.

However, what most don’t know is that the Antarctic Empire was originally the Antarctic
Institution. A place where the worst of the worst criminals were sent to, or where super
powerful individuals were contained for their own - and others’ - safety. This Institution was
eventually renamed to Pandora’s Vault, because instead of being a prison for criminals, it’s
now a prison for even innocent people and creatures that happen to have really high magic
threshold. And, because recent corruption within the empire, people are sent there when
someone wants them silenced for knowing something they shouldn’t.

After Tommy explains all this to Theseus, he replies, “Wow, that’s really interesting
information, my Prince! But, I’m wondering what that has to do with the fact that we’re
currently in the forest.”

Tommy is currently trekking through the snowy forest at the kingdom’s borders. It’s very
cold, so Tommy had made sure to forgo his royal attire in favor of a more warm outfit. He
has three coats, a thick scarf, and hiking boots on. He made sure to leave his crown in his
room, but is bringing his emerald ring.

“I think you’re smart enough, so figure it out yourself, bitch,” Tommy replies. It comes out
rude, but Tommy can’t help that—he’s currently freezing to death, and talking takes up much
more energy than it should.
“Alright, alright,” Theseus raises his hands peacefully. “Of course, I can already assume
that we’re headed to Pandora’s Vault to break someone out. But how will we do that?”

“Pandora’s Vault only has one guard—the Warden,” Tommy replies. “Normally, getting by
the Warden is a totally impossible task; however, there is one key factor to my plan that will
work in our favor—my spirit doesn’t exude magic like yours does.”

Theseus had told Tommy this earlier, during their first meditation session. While Tommy
does have the ability to use magic, since his soul is from a world without access to magic, it
doesn’t radiate the usual magic a regular person has. This already gets Tommy past half the
security measures in Pandora’s Vault.

It doesn’t matter how unlucky you are born—everyone in this world is born with enough
magic that it’s detectable. Tommy happens to be the luckiest, because due to his spirit’s
transmigration, he can pass through any security alert undetected. This world doesn’t have
things like motion sensors or any advanced technology—it has magic sensors.

Theseus quickly catches on to what Tommy’s plan is. “I see, I see…but how will you get pass
the actual Warden? And how will you even manage to break a prisoner out of this prison?”

“Well, the Warden is only one man,” Tommy says, bringing out a lantern as the sun sets. “He
has to sleep sometimes, right?”

In the novel, Dream went to the Antarctic Empire exactly once, and it was after war had
broken out. He did this because he wanted to break someone out of Pandora’s Vault to try and
recruit them. He managed to time when the Warden would take a five-minute nap, and snuck
in within those five minutes.

In the end, he ended up recruiting the Warden, Sam, instead of any of the prisoners. However,
to have them in his debt, he set them all free. Later in the story, one of these prisoners showed
up to Essempei to fight Dream. This prisoner was merely a plot point to prove that Dream
was strong—however, this prisoner also left a deep impression on Tommy when he had read
the novel.
Tommy arrives at the entrance gates of the Antarctic Empire. There are no guards posted at
the gates—they’re posted at the harbors. The gates are simply a way to let people know
where the Antarctic territory is.

If I remember correctly….Tommy starts feeling up the gates’ pillars.

“…May I ask what you’re doing, Prince Tomathy?“ Theseus asks, genuinely sounding
confused now.

“Ahah!” Tommy makes a satisfied sound as he finds what he was looking for—a button.
When he presses it, there’s a shifting sound from below him, before the ground opens up
right in front of him like a metal trapdoor. It stays opened for a second, before closing and
blending right back in with the snow.

“Redstone, huh?” Theseus murmurs. “This is really advanced—even I don’t know how to
work with redstone…”

Tommy rubs his hands together—he curses himself for forgetting gloves, probably the most
important clothing. He then presses the button again and makes sure to jump down into the
opening from the trapdoor.

Theseus phases through the floor as he follows Tommy. The drop isn’t far—only about 10
feet, and Tommy ends up landing on something soft. The lights in this new environment
makes Tommy go temporarily blind, as it’s such a jarring change from the cold, dark night he
was previously traveling in.

“Wow,” Theseus marvels as he looks around, and Tommy can’t blame him.

There’s a staircase in from of Tommy leading down to a large collection of cells, all facing
each other. It reminds Tommy of a stereotypical TV prison—he can even hear shouting from
the cells.
Tommy turns to Theseus and gestures towards himself before bringing a finger up to his lips.

“Ah, I see!” Theseus nods at Tommy’s choice. “I suppose I can help you avoid the infamous
Warden, then!”

Tommy rolls his eyes at Theseus’ clearly exaggerated enthusiasm and starts walking down
the stairs quietly. It’s night hours, so a lot of prisoners are sound asleep in their cells, but
some seem to be arguing with each other.

Tommy passes by lots of unique prisoners. Some from the Piglin Tribe, some Enderians,
some humans—there are even old men and children here!

Finally, Tommy gets to the cell number he recognizes. Cell 455 - Herobrine’s Descendant.

“Who are you?”

“Ah, it looks like your criminal is awake, Sir Tomathy,” Theseus floats into the cell, right
through the iron bars. “And who would you be?”

“You can call me Deo.”

Theseus openly gapes as the prisoner actually responds to him. He turns to Tommy, who’s
still standing at the cell door, not surprised. “Deo. I’m here to free you.”

“Free me?” Deo snorts. “I don’t know how you managed to fully mask your magic trace, but
you’ll never get pass the Warden with a prisoner in tow.” He has a wild grin on his face.
Since his eyes are hidden behind sunglasses, Tommy can’t tell if Deo’s genuinely amused by
the idea, or if he’s being sarcastic.

“I have my ways.” Tommy turns his gaze to the lock and takes his emerald out of its space in
the ring. He puts it into the keyhole as if it’s a key and- click! The lock clicks, and drops to
 the ground, making a loud clanging sound.

There’s a moment of silence between the three in Deo’s cell, before an alarm starts to ring.

“Shit.” Tommy runs in and grabs Deo’s arm, turning to Theseus to say, “Keep an eye on our
surroundings! You better tell me if the Warden is coming!”

As he’s shouting orders at Theseus, Tommy doesn’t realize the slowly growing smile on
Deo’s face as he looks around, out of his cell for the first time in years.

Chapter End Notes

Sorry if this chapter seems short, I had an oddly rough time writing this…but I hope it
turned out fine!

Yes, this is the third day in a row that I’m updating this. And also, Tommy has officially
met Deo! Yayyy!

Big lore dump in this one. If you find any plot holes, they’re probably meant to be there,
but comment them anyways! Remember: I keep lots of things vague on purpose haha.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this very rushed chapter, and have an amazing day/night!
<33
 You Have Successfully Gained a Party Member!
Chapter Summary

With a prisoner in tow, Tommy and Theseus are both surprised by the enigma that is
Deo. Is he really a descendant of Herobrine?

Chapter Notes

WARNINGS: Mentions of imprisonment, homelessness, and - as per usual - copious

amounts of cursing from Tommy.

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Dream freezes as he comes face-to-face with the infamous Warden. Pandora’s Vault is
currently ringing with ear-splitting alarms as prisoners run around. The previously pristine
and well kept prison is now a chaotic mess, all thanks to Callahan’s explosions.

“You.” The Warden’s voice is dark and layered, imitating an Enderman’s voice. “I have to
kill you.” The Warden’s voice is completely void of emotion in a way that sends shivers down
Dream’s spine.

“You can try,” Dream replies, pulling his axe out.

And so, the battle starts.

(Chapter 198, Breakout)

“Ahah…looks like you’re both about to die,” Theseus says with a laugh and a shrug, not at
all sounding bothered by the blaring alarms ringing throughout the prison. “I guess it was a
fun five days.”

“Oh, shut up, you prick,” Tommy snaps, already rummaging through his satchel for
something he had stolen from Technoblade. He pulls out two Potions of Invisibility and
hands one to Deo. “Right, bottoms up!”

“Where-“ Deo shakes his head, cutting himself off. “You know what? You may be crazy and
stupid, but you’re breaking me outta here, so I’ll just follow your lead, I guess.” He sounds
defeated in a way that mildly offends Tommy.

The two drink the potion. “Ok, now grab my hand,” Tommy says, reaching his hand out to
where he last saw Deo visibly. There’s lots of awkwardly feeling around before Tommy gets
ahold of Deo’s wrist.

The two - plus Theseus, who’s keeping an eye on every entrance - start making their way
back to the entrance. It’s about a seven minute walk—however, now that the alarms are on,
larger sensors have popped up from the ground. Since Tommy and Deo just drank Potions,
they would undoubtedly be identified and captured by the sensors.

However, just as Tommy goes to open his mouth, Deo is suddenly taking the lead. Tommy
feels arms hook around his legs as he’s suddenly hoisted up in the air, being held by
something—which is probably Deo. Deo then proceeds to dodge every single magic sensor,
making sure to move swoftly and quietly.

It takes lots of dancing around, but eventually, the sensors retract back into the floor, and
Tommy’s dropped. He grunts and grumbles, “You arsehole.”

“You’re welcome,” Deo replies, and Tommy can almost hear his rolling eyes. “You can thank
me once we’re outta here.”
“Whatever.” Tommy stands up and notices the Potion of Invisibility starting to wear off—
while he and Deo are both still invisible, there’s a slight outline where both of them can be
seen if one squints enough.

“You two need to hide—the Warden’s right about to jump down the hatch.” Theseus phases
through the ceiling suddenly, calling out towards the two. He’s grinning coyly as Tommy and
Deo quickly scramble into the shadows of an empty cell.

Tommy shallows his breathing out as he hears heavy metallic footsteps walking across the
concrete ground. The Warden is looking through every cell to see what the problem was that
made the alarms go off. The people in the cells are all giving their own stories of what
happened—some are lying and some are telling the truth.

When the Warden stops at the cell in front of Tommy and Deo, he merely looks around for a
moment before moving onto the next cell.

Right at this moment, Tommy and Deo’s Potions of Invisibility run out. The two are huddled
up in the corner and wide-eyed, making sure not to make a sound.

Theseus hums. “How come he didn’t see you? Your Potions have worn off enough for even
me to see your physical bodies.”

Deo goes to reply, but Tommy quickly slaps his hand over Deo’s mouth. Tommy shakes his
head, raising a finger to his mouth, telling him to stay quiet.

He quietly stands up, snd so does Deo. Tommy then reaches into his satchel and grabs his
empty bottle that his potion was stored in. He chucks it as hard as he can, to the other side of
the prison. Like a hawk, the Warden immediately whips his head towards the sound and runs
over.

Deo takes his own bottle and throws it even further. So far that Tommy regret not just giving
Deo his bottle as well.
With the Warden successfully distracted, the two make their way to the main entrance room.
A ladder leads upwards, and the two emerge out of a wooden trapdoor. It’s still snowing, and
it’s still nighttime—however, the moon seems to be going down.

“That was a little too easy,” Theseus remarks, eyeing Deo and Tommy. “How come?”

“The Warden isn’t human,” Tommy replies, making sure that he and Deo keep walking and
make as much distance between themselves and the prison entrance. “In fact, the Warden’s
actually a puppet.”

“…Puppet,” Deo echoes idly. At the questioning looks he receives, he explains, “The Warden
doesn’t seem to have any emotions. Anything he says is usually words he’s repeated in the
past.”

“Exactly,” Tommy nods. “This is also why he couldn’t see us despite the Invisibility Potion
wearing off—since the Warden’s a puppet, the puppeteer can only see what the puppet sees.
Since the Warden can’t control magic, it isn’t good at detecting magic either. Hence the
excessive amounts of magic sensors around the place.”

“The Warden…can’t use magic?” Theseus asks blankly. “Even though it’s a direct product of
magic?”

“Yep—the creator, Sam, put a lock on the puppet’s ability to use magic,” Tommy nods. He
then gestures to Deo, “Probably the same lock that’s blocking Deo’s magic.”

“And how’d you know that my magic was being blocked?” Deo scrunches his face. “In fact,
how do you know all this? You’re definitely not a normal person. And how did you get that
key to open my cell?”

Tommy grins, revealing his emerald. It’s all he needs to show before putting it back on his
finger. Deo gapes at it, totally caught off guard.
“You’re part of the royal family…?” he asks slowly.

Tommy nods. “Yes.” He then retracts, “Well, no—maybe?” He thinks about their situation
and what he actually wants to tell Deo and settles with, “It’s…kind of a long story.”

“It’s really not,” Theseus cuts in, “he’s Prince Theseus. He used his emerald piece to open
your cell.”

Tommy glares at Theseus for stealing his thunder before clearing his throat. “Yeah. What he
said.”

“Then how come you both sound the same?” Deo asks.

Sound the same, but not look the same? Tommy thinks to himself. Wait, so can he not
actually see Theseus?

“Can you not see me?” Theseus voices his thoughts.

Deo nods. “…Kind of. I can hear your voice, and I can sense where you are because of the
pure magic you give off, but I don’t actually know what you look like.”

“…He’s just a ghost that I managed to find,” Tommy says, “and he hasn’t left me alone
since.”

Theseus is the one to glare at Tommy now, except it’s much scarier than all of Tommy’s
glares combined. He suppresses a flinch and quickly turns back to Deo. “So, erm. Yeah. I’m
Prince Theseus.”

Deo’s quiet for a moment. He then sighs, “Ok, I’ll be honest, I was just going to leave you
after you freed me…but you say you’re royalty?”
Tommy grins at that admission. Because this means the next phase of his plan is about to
start.

Deo - also known as Time Deo - is a generally greedy person. He has a hard time trusting
most, do to past experiences of people using him. He likes luxury and living comfortably,
because he grew up in rags. And, of course, with the title of ‘Herobrine’s Descendant’
hanging over him, he’s avoided at best, and attacked at worst. Someone had reported his
existence to the Emporer, Philza, and he decided to imprison him.

Tommy knows, logically, that Deo’s only deciding to “trust” him so that he can get close to
the Emporer. However, he doesn’t particularly care—because as long as Deo doesn’t pledge
his loyalty to Dream, Tommy will be comfortable.

By this point, Deo would have been in the prison for about five years, having been captured
when he was twelve. If Tommy had been sent to this world even a year later, Deo would have
been a completely different person, due to Sam starting to physically come in and watch the
prisoners, therefore being more aggressive towards them. The Deo of right now is closed off
and distrustful; the Deo of the novel is destructive and angry.

“I can promise you a life of luxury,” Tommy says with a smile. “Granted, you’ll have to stay
hidden—but I’ll find a way for you to live with us.”

Deo snorts. “Yeah, right, ok.” He sounds doubtful. “And why did you only save me? Why
not any of the other prisoners?”

Tommy goes quiet at that question. He could just lie and say something to try and get Deo’s
trust, but…

“Because you’re more useful to me than all of them combined,” Tommy says, momentarily
being completely truthful. “With you on my side, I’ll be more powerful.” He then snorts,
“Plus, I need someone to teach me how to fight, and you were the only person I could think
of.”
Deo furrows his eyebrows, staying silent for a moment. Then, he relaxes a bit, smiling easily
in a way that’s more genuine than the other smiles he’s given so far. “Haha…I think you’re
the first person to ever be honest to me in my life.”

“That’s a depressing life,” Theseus comments.

Tommy groans. “You bitch, you always ruin the mood.”

However, Deo just laughs at that. “And who are you, ghost? Or should I just called you
‘Theseus’ Ghost’?”

Theseus and Tommy both freeze at the question.

“Ah…” Theseus gains an insidious look on his face. “You can call me…Tommy.”

“No, you can’t, his name isn’t Tommy,” Tommy immediately shuts that down. “His name
is…Achilles.” If he’s honest, he just thought of the first Greek Mythology name that came to
mind.

Deo snorts. “What kind of name is that? Oh well—nice to meet you, Theseus and Achilles.”

Tommy smiles, but it’s a little strained. God, that’s gonna be confusing…

When the three get back to the castle, the sun’s starting to rise. Tommy starts to climb the
side of the castle where there’s purchase, but Theseus stops him, “To-Theseus.”
Tommy stops and turns to Theseus with a questioning look. Theseus gestures towards Deo
and- Oh. Tommy quickly nods, jumping down from where he’s at and walks over to Deo.

The castle sits at the top of a snowy mountain, so it’s much colder here than the rest of the
empire. Tommy and Deo are currently at the side of the castle, avoiding the entrance because
there are guards. There’s no guards anywhere else because no sane person would try and
climb the mountain when they could just take the stairs to the front gate.

The castle faces the North, and currently, Deo and Tommy are on the East side of the castle.
Deo’s looking out towards the horizon, where the sun starts to rise. It paints the sky with
pinks, purples, and light blues.

“I haven’t…seen the sky for a while,” Deo says in a soft voice as Tommy walks over. He’s
sitting on a rock that’s probably icy and cold. Tommy shrugs to himself before sitting next to
Deo, not particularly caring about the snow.

Theseus seems to read the mood and decides to fly into the castle, probably to scout for them.

“I’m sorry,” Tommy offers. At Deo’s questioning look, he clarifies, “I know that I’m
basically using you as a way to get stronger, but that’s not the only reason I freed you. You
didn’t deserve to be in there.”

Deo huffs a laugh. “Thanks, I guess.” He looks back out to the sun, despite its blinding light.
“You better be prepared to work. How are you a Prince, yet you don’t know how to fight for
yourself?”

Tommy blanches at that. “Well…I’ve been busy.”

Deo smiles and turns to Tommy. “You know, when I was imprisoned, I didn’t even know
there was a third Prince. How do I know you’re not lying right now?”
 Tommy gives Deo a look. “You’d be stupid if you think I’m lying. Did you not see the
emerald? Also, you were twelve when you were imprisoned, not seven. There’s no way you
could’ve lived in the Antarctic Empire without knowing that the Emporer has three sons.”

Deo crosses his arms, slightly reclining. “Well, I wasn’t born here. I lived in Essempei with
my older brother.” He then gives Tommy a teasing smirk, “You know the world doesn’t
revolve around you and the Antarctic Empire, right?”

“You prick,” Tommy hides a snort and instead punches Deo lightly in the shoulder. Tommy
does recall now that the novel said that Pandora’s Vault didn’t just imprison people from the
Antarctic Empire—it’s people all around the world that are imprisoned there.

The two sit in a comfortable silence after that. It’s still cold, but the sun that’s rising casts a
warm glow on them, and Tommy feels peaceful for the first time he’s been stuck here. All
this acting and arguing and studying is really tiring.

Suddenly overcome with exhaustion, Tommy quickly stands up. “Alright, we need to get into
the castle now, because I’m about to fuckin’ fall asleep.”

“I’d carry you,” Deo jokes.

“With those weak fuckin’ arms? No way,” Tommy snorts.

“Says you.”

“Oi! What’s that supposed to mean?!”

Chapter End Notes

OMG…this chapter’s 8 hours later than usual ;-; I technically failed the school
assignment—HOWEVER I decided to use an advanced technique called “lying to my
teachers”! So I’ll probably just be double-uploding today!

If this feels rushed, it’s because I honestly couldn’t find a coherent way to get Deo and
Tommy back to the castle safely, and I’m also shit at writing fighting scenes. At least
there’s more lore here, ahahhahahahahahhahahhhahahaa

Anyways, my rambling aside, have an amazing day, everyone! And thank you all for the
nice comments and kudos, I really appreciate them <33
 Everything Goes According to Plan - Not
Chapter Summary

Tommy is slowly getting better at fighting—now, he just needs to focus on the actual
Championship going on. To do this, he goes to enact a plan—however, it’s turned on its
head when Tommy is called to the Throne Room by the Emperor, Philza Craft.

Chapter Notes

WARNINGS: Mentions of violence, mild violence, cursing(obviously).

See the end of the chapter for more notes

“Again, I must thank you, Admin Dream,” Tubbo says, bowing with a hand on his chest.
“You’ve really helped with taking my father out.”

Schlatt’s the type of person Dream hates the most. “Of course, President Tubbo. It was only
my pleasure.”

“If there’s anything L’Manberg can do to assist Essempei Kingdom, please just ask,” Tubbo
gives Dream a smile. Dream’s heart clenches—he feels bad for this boy, who’s only just
became an adult; however, he hardens his resolve, because there’s currently a world war
right now, and there’s no time for regrets.

“Do you have any information about the current Prince of the Antarctic Empire?” Deo pipes
up from Dream’s side. He has on an unbothered expression as per usual, the sunglasses on
his face making it harder to discern what he’s feeling.

Tubbo’s face darkens immediately—a great contrast from the good mood he was just in.
“You’re talking about Prince Theseus, correct?” There’s an unmistakable hatred in his voice.
“Yes.” Dream nods while pulling out the note Theseus had given him back a year ago. He
hands it to Tubbo; as the boy reads on, his face somehow grows darker.

“…He was - and pardon my language - a right bastard,” Tubbo says, handing the note back
to Dream. “L’Manberg will fully support you in the fight against the Antarctic Empire.”

“So we’re allies?”

“Yes.”

(Chapter 217, Negotiations)

Tommy knows he has to completely sell this act. So, he spends all day with Deo outside,
roleplaying - for lack of a better word - what he’s going to say. He makes sure to plan out
every single word that he’s going to say, even rehearsing them over and over.

He’s desparate enough that he allows Theseus in on the plan. Theseus. He’s really hit rock
bottom, hasn’t he?

It’s the afternoon now, and Tommy’s been steadily practicing his new fighting skills. It’s only
been one day since they broke Deo out of Pandora’s Vault, and yet Tommy’s already gotten a
lot better. It’s almost like he’s a natural!

“You’re only ‘good’ because of my instincts, y’know.”

Tommy’s whole world crumbles around him. He slowly turns to the one who spoke: Theseus.

Theseus notices the empty glare and shrugs, continuing, “You’re in my body, remember?
Whenever you instinctively do something, it’s my instincts.”

“But- but what about my habits??” Tommy argues right back, because he’s not about to let
Theseus snatch this away from him. “I…I have my own handwriting, my own fuckin’…uh…
um…”

“Yeah, you do that unintentionally,” Theseus rolls his eyes, “but whenever you mindlessly
do something, your instincts would be mine. Here’s an example—if you were to experience a
life or death situation, what would you do?”

“Um, I’d…is this one of those dumb fight-or-flight questions?” Tommy raises an eyebrow
suspiciously.

“Sure.”

“I guess I’d…fight?” Tommy shrugs weakly. “I mean, I haven’t experience many life or
death situations. Only one—and you can see where that landed me.”

Theseus snaps his fingers. “Alright—this is a good example! You might face a life or death
situation—but since you’re in my body, if you ever face a situation where you’re scared
senseless, you’d run, because that’s what I would do.”

“I still don’t get it,” Tommy says bluntly. “Also, Deo’s probably freezing his sunglasses off
outside, so we should probably hurry this whole shit up.”

“You’re the one leading this plan, so you’re the one who’s actually taking too long to start
the plan,” Theseus crosses his arms expectantly.
There’s a small moment of silence before Tommy starts walking over to the front entrance.
However, right before he gets to the doors leading out of the castle…

“My Prince.”

Tommy almost yelps as Ranboo suddenly speaks up from behind him. He turns around
quickly and finds Ranboo kneeling on the floor.

“Ranboo,” Tommy says, quickly gathering his wits, “what is it?” He puts on Theseus’ overly
bright intonation, giving him the now-familiar eerie smile.

“Your majesty the Emperor has requested your presence,” Ranboo replies, raising his head
slightly to make eye contact with Tommy. “He wants to speak with you before Duke Schlatt
arrives.”

Tommy flicks his eyes to the side, where Theseus is listening in. Theseus receives the look
and quickly flies out of the castle, hopefully to find Deo and tell him about the temporary
pause in their plan.

“Let’s go,” he says sharply. Ranboo stands and follows behind Tommy as he makes his way
to the Throne Room.

“Ahh, I wonder what my dear father wants to talk to me about!” Tommy giggles to himself,
making sure that the walk isn’t too awkwardly silent. He’s not going to lie, it’s harder to act
like Theseus when the very bastard isn’t floating alongside him—he won’t be able to give
Tommy tips on what to say right now.

Even worst, this is Tommy’s first time actually talking to Emperor Philza. He remembers
what Theseus thinks of his father—it’s a neutral type of contempt. Theseus doesn’t really…
register Philza at all. He only ever pays attention to him when Philza’s the one to talk to
Theseus—and even when that happens, Theseus only replies with one-word answers.
So. This role will be a little more difficult for Tommy—especially since his memory of the
novel is already foggy at best and Theseus isn’t here to guide him through the conversation.

“Your majesty, I have brought Prince Theseus,” Ranboo calls out, knocking on the Throne
Room door.

It opens slowly without anyone physically opening it—magic, then. Tommy gets a peek into
the Throne Room and gapes.

The whole room is decorated in blue and white carpets, with patches on grass along of
perimeter of the room, periwinkle flowers growing amongst the wall. In the middle of the
room are two thrones—for the Emporer and Empress respectively. Currenly, only one throne
is being occupied by Philza Craft, the Emperor of the Antarctic Empire.

Philza Craft truly embodies the “rags to riches” trope. He went from a homeless criminal on
the streets to being known all around the world as the Archangel. He’s one of the few in
history that has faced the famed Ender Dragon and lived to tell the tale—and at such a young
age. After doing so, Philza proceeded to explore the End—something no one had thought of
doing beforehand, as it’s typically considered suicide.

However, due to his efforts, he found a seemingly man-made pair of wings. They didn’t
allow him to fly, but they did allow him to glide, which was still very useful. These wings -
Philza ended up naming them the Elytra - allowed him to accomplish many more amazing
feats.

The most amazing one, he claims, is marrying his wife: Kristin Craft. Which, in context, is
pretty funny.

In the Antarctic Empire, when a couple is married, the one who takes the others’ last name
isn’t the woman—it’s the one that’s lower class. So, Tommy will spell it out for you.

Philza got married to Kristin Craft, the Crown Princess of the Antarctic Empire. Most think
that Philza’s the one that passed the Craft name, but it was actually Kristin. Similarly, Kristin
is also the one that’s actually in charge of the Antarctic Empire due to being royalty.
It’s never confirmed, but lots of fans have come up with a theory for Theseus’ distaste for his
father; he allegedly believes that his father is taking Kristin’s rightful fame. Again, most
people think Philza’s the true ruler of the Antarctic Empire, so whenever Kristin makes an
announcement, people usually turn to Philza to confirm if it’s true.

Philza’s royal garment doesn’t scream royalty. First of all, he has a large blue and white
striped bucket hat on his head with a white drape covering his face. He wears a similar red
half cape to Technoblade that has white fur, and his light blue tunic resembles a chesplate
with dark red straps crossing his body. His dark grey boots come all the way up to his knees
—the highest out of anyone else’s in the family’s. His braid is located in the same spot as
Tommy’s, and his emerald hangs from his right ear as an earring.

Finally, the pin on his half cape is a red heart—given only to people who have defeated the
Ender Dragon.

“Theseus,” Philza says with a warm and benevolent smile. “It’s good to see you in good
health after your being injured.”

Tommy kneels at the edge of the throne and simply nods. He needs to stay in character or else
he’ll be too suspicious. He does plan to slowly ease back into his - Tommy’s - personality, but
that’ll take at least a year’s work of meticulous planning.

“I’ve heard that you’ve been preparing hard for the Battle of Champions,” Philza continues.
“Prince Technoblade has reported seeing you coming from our library as well as the weapons
room.”

That stupid snitch bitch. “Indeed,” he replies through gritted teeth.

“The young Lord Tubbo will be staying here at the Antarctic Empire for the remaining days
until the Championship,” Philza says. “Do your best to form a positive relationship with him.
Duke Schlatt is very influential and a good ally to have.”
“Of course, your majesty,” Tommy replies simply. Nice and simple, that’s all he needs to do
to get through this interaction. “Is there anything else, or can I leave?” He quickly adds on,
“Your majesty?” It sounds like he’s mocking Philza, but Tommy doesn’t amend it because it’s
in character.

Philza hums. It sounds dissatisfied in a way, but Tommy never really had a connection to
Philza’s character, so he doesn’t particularly care. He stands up, bows his head, and follows
Ranboo out.

“Oh, Theseus,” Philza calls, and Tommy turns his head slightly to look at him. “Don’t go
outside—our weather reader has reported that a storm is coming our way.”

Tommy nods. “Mhm.” He turns to leave, Ranboo following right behind him.

‘Don’t go outside’—well, that statement goes against the whole plan that he was rehearsing
for all day with Deo and Theseus. So, Tommy does the only logical thing: he decides to sneak
away.

Of course, not right now. But he needs to get Ranboo off his trail, because currently, the bitch
is following him.

Tommy stops walking in the middle of a hallway, causing said bitch to run into him. He spins
around with a smile, “Ehm, Ranboo, I think I need to rest up so I can greet Duke Schlatt and
Lord Tubbo tomorrow morning. So, good night, my friend.”

Ranboo stares at Tommy for a moment. He then says, “My Prince, I’m not an idiot.”

This takes Tommy by surprise. “Ahah, well, I never said you were one…?” Why is Ranboo
sounding so serious all of a sudden? And, now that Tommy thinks of it, Ranboo’s been
looking nervous all day.

“I know you’re sneaking out of the castle to meet with someone.”

Tommy did not expect that bomb to be dropped on him. He gapes openly at Ranboo—and it
must be visible, because something like satisfaction shines in Ranboo’s eyes.

“My Prince has been acting odd recently,” Ranboo says, “distant…you’ve been spending
more time studying, for some reason.”

“I’m a Prince, after all,” Tommy speaks up, and decides to channel a more passive-aggressive
energy that Theseus gives off. “Maybe you wouldn’t understand, dear Ranboo, but a Prince
must learn all he can to be a successful person.”

“I understand, my Prince.” Ranboo bows his head, suddenly sounding like a sad puppy, as if
he just realized that he’s speaking out of line. “I merely-“

Theseus chooses this moment to fly right through the castle walls, into Tommy’s view. “Sir
Tomathy? We might have a sl-ight issue.”

Tommy almost turns to look at Theseus, but decides not to. His voice sounds calm—so calm
that it makes Tommy’s stomach churn.

“Ah—I see my dear servant is still keeping you occupied,” Theseus glances at Ranboo for a
moment. “Oh well—I’ve come to inform you that Deo just got caught by a royal guard.”

Tommy pales. He’s been keeping his gaze on Ranboo to act as if he’s paying attention to him
—but now, all he can think of is Theseus’ words. What if he’s gonna get imprisoned again?
What should I do?

As his thoughts stew in his head, a royal guard runs up to Tommy and Ranboo. “My Prince!
We need to get you to safety.”
 “What’s going on?” Tommy asks, barely remembering to put on a carefree smile like Theseus
would—like how he is right now.

“There’s been a breach in the castle, my Prince,” the guard says, causing Ranboo’s eyes to
widen.

“Ah—then let’s go, Ranboo!” Tommy picks Ranboo up roughly from where he’s kneeling -
when did he kneel in the first place? - and the two follow the guard to the Throne Room,
where Tommy had just been five minutes ago.

The two arrive, and Tommy notices that everyone else of importance is already present.
Kristin and Philza are sitting in their thrones, while Wilbur and Technoblade are standing off
to the side. On the carpet leading to the throne is Deo, being held down in handcuffs by two
royal guards.

As Tommy and Ranboo walk in - with Theseus floating behind them, saying something about
entertainment - the heads all turn to them. Or, more accurately, to Tommy.

“Prince Theseus,” Kristin speaks up in an authoritative voice that makes Tommy instinctively
straighten his posture and make eye contact with her. “This commoner says that you know
him.”

“Theseus!” Deo sounds relieved. “Tell them! Tell them that we’re acquainted!”

Tommy makes his way over next to where Deo’s kneeling. Agh, what to do here…

Chapter End Notes

Ok, I feel like these are getting shorter by the chapter ;-; But hey, double upload!

Yes, it’s technically the next day. But I’ve been staying up late, so it’s still April 1st for
me!
I hope this chapter was to your guys’ likings—I’m gonna be honest, I had a whole script
planned out for this chapter, but then Ranboo took it away. Fuck you Ranboo (/lh)

Have an amazing day everyone, and my condolences if you were April Fools Day
pranked today <33
 Guilty or Innocent?
Chapter Summary

Tommy needs to find a way to help Deo out of re-imprisonment.

Chapter Notes

WARNINGS: Slight cursing, but nothing else really.

See the end of the chapter for more notes

“You’re misunderstandin’, Dream,” Techno says, and starts fiddling with the emerald
earring dangling from his left ear. It’s somehow still intact, even after the fierce battle they
just fought against the Warden. Dream hadn’t expected Techno to jump in suddenly—
especially since he hasn’t been seen for almost six months now. “I’m not here to put you into
jail. It’s quite the opposite.”

He hands the emerald to Dream, who simply raises an eyebrow. What’s this, a peace
offering?

Techno notices the confusion on Dream’s face and says, “You know, it would be very…
unrealistic if it was only one man running Pandora’s Vault. So, my father decided to adjust
the emerald earrings to also work as a key.”

“A key?” Dream takes a look at the emerald. It’s flat, and the end is pointed—it could
probably fit into a keyhole, albeit a very small one. “To which vault?”

“To all of ‘em,” Techno replies with a grin. “My key in particular works for the Warden’s
office as well.”
“Only yours, and not the rest of your family’s?” Dream smiles insidiously at that, thinking of
a certain Prince. “And why is that?”

“Well…a prison requires jailors to function,” Techno replies. “And I’ve been the jailor for
the past 15 years.”

(Chapter 199, A Chance Meeting)

Tommy wasn’t really good at anything in his original world. One of his only talents was
acting—he was able to act really well in any circumstance. He specialized in improvisation—
everytime he’s ever tried to plan an act in advance, it always goes wrong.

As he currently kneels down along with Deo to his right, he curses himself for being so bad
at planning things out in advance. He should’ve just winged this plan, like how he usually
does things!

The plan, of course, being the way Tommy was going to get Deo into the castle. He and Deo
had come up with a script—Tommy would pretend that he met Deo after running into him in
the snowy woods, and would bring him to the castle to warm him up. Right now, Deo
should’ve been making himself dirty and changing clothes. Then, he’d let Deo steal a few
things, so that he could leave with some money.

During the whole day, Tommy’s been giving Deo food from the kitchen, but couldn’t bring
clothes for Deo. The only clothes that Deo could fit is Theseus’, and the only type of clothes
that Theseus have wouldn’t be able to portray the “homeless and hungry” type of person. So,
he tasked Deo with grabbing clothes for himself to wear and to dirty throughout the course of
the day.

Deo had simply said, “Oh, don’t worry, I’ll make sure to buy clothes in time.”
This was said five hours ago, at noon, right after Tommy and Deo split up for the day to do
their respective duties after spending the whole morning together. Clearly, Deo’s a fucking
liar.

“Prince Theseus.” Kristin is speaking; she’s the authoritative figure here, so Tommy makes
eye contact with her.

Kristin’s outfit is much more different from the rest of the family’s—and not just because it’s
a dress rather than a tunic and pants. Instead of whites and blues, Kristin’s dress is a long,
dark grey dress with puffy sleeves. The sashes across her waist, shoulders, and along the hem
is white. The hat she has on is similar to Philza’s, except it’s dark grey - like her dress - and
the veil flows all the way to the floor.

Her emerald is located on her forehead. It’s not a physical emerald—it’s like a tattoo. Despite
this, it glows just as brightly as her family’s emeralds. The novel states that this symbol is
passed down to the Heir of the throne, and it also channels magic. In Kristin’s case, this
magic is what makes the Antarctic Empire inhabitable.

“This young man claims to know you, Prince Theseus,” Kristin says, her voice even.

“Your Majesty, this young man was found by the East side of the castle—he could be a
criminal,” Technoblade cuts in, glaring at Deo. Deo’s avoiding Technoblade’s gaze—he and
Technoblade know each other. This actually becomes a plot point in the novel.

“Hmm,” Theseus hums and Tommy almost jumps, he forgot that the ghost was still there.
“We very well cannot just say that we broke him out of prison…”

Tommy glances at Deo, pretending he’s trying to recognize his features. In reality, Tommy’s
searching Deo’s outfit—because while it’s a prisoner’s outfit, there also isn’t anything on it to
confirm that he’s a prisoner. Plus, Pandora’s Vault isn’t well-known; even to the royal family.
Currently, only Philza and Technoblade should know that Pandora’s Vault exists at this point
in time.
Tommy’s mind is racing. If he reveals that he knows Deo, it’s not like he’ll be considered
suspicious just because of that—he would, however, be considered suspicious if he were to
say that he was acquainted with Deo. Fuck me, this is gonna have to be a perfect
performance…

He puts on a wry smile—one that Theseus would have. He looks over to Technoblade and
says, “Your Highness, calling this young man a criminal simply for being nearby the castle
seems like a stretch, does it not?” He then turns to Kristin and says, “Your Majesty, I…”

Shit. Tommy was right about to say “I do not know this man”, but he then remembers what
Deo had said when he walked in: “Tell them that we’re acquainted.” If he objects that
statement right now, this will only make both look suspicious.

“I do know this man,” Tommy says finally. Everyone’s eyes turn to him incredulously.

“Ohohohh, playing with fire, are we?” Theseus chuckles.

Deo gives Tommy a grateful look. Tommy sends him a subtle smile in return.

“How do you know this young man, Prince Theseus?” Kristin asks. “You two must have
known each other for a small while, considering you haven’t been out of the castle since last
week.”

Tommy almost starts coughing nervously, an old habit he used to have when he lied. Shit,
what can he say here?! Anything he says can - and probably will - be out of character for
Theseus to say.

He decides to tell the truth, but doubles the amount of Theseus-ness he puts into his voice, so
it’ll hopefully be accurate. “Ahah,” he chuckles sheepishly, “I guess you caught me. I’ve
been meeting this young man in private.”
“And what is this young man’s name?” Philza cuts in suddenly, staring intently at Deo
seemingly through his sunglasses.

“Chronos, your Majesty,” Deo replies without missing a beat, the lie flowing smoothly off his
tongue. “If I may, I am a mere commoner boy who was only here to visit his…acquaintance.”
He seems to realize what Tommy’s trying to do here.

Tommy nods, backing Deo’s statement up. “We met just yesterday, your Majesty, and when I
saw the sorrowful state Chronos was in, I simply had to give the poor man a helping hand!”
Ok, he’s starting to lay the Theseus-ness on a little too thick, so he tones it back a dial.
“Chronos is no prisoner, your Highness,” this is directed to Technoblade. “He was simply at
the wrong place at the wrong time.”

“If I may, your Majesty,” Ranboo speaks up suddenly. All eyes turn to the servant, and he
flushes under their gazes. “I…can indeed confirm that m-Prince Theseus has been meeting
Chronos throughout this morning.” Tommy blinks at that, and then has a mini panic—he
totally forgot that Ranboo had said that! If he had lied, Ranboo would’ve totally been able to
call him out.

“Plot twist of the century!” Theseus laughs freely. “The lowly servant protecting his humble
master’s acquaintance?”

“Prince Theseus has also been in the kitchens more frequently than usual today,” Wilbur adds
randomly, as if he just remembered. “I saw him. He held more food than one person could
consume—perhaps the rest of the food was for Chronos here?”

Wow, Tommy’s really lucky today! Everyone is starting to believe that Deo really is just
some homeless kid. Lots of people are taught that those that steal valuables are criminals,
while those that steal necessities are simply unfortunate in life. Even though it was Tommy
doing the smuggling, since Deo was at the receiving end, the logic here would be that Deo is
stealing food through Tommy. This also paints Tommy in a positive light, as this means he
was caught giving to the poor—a trait that Kristin always admired.

“Then I suppose this debacle is settled.” Kristin stands up and turns to the guards,
“Unshackle the young man and give him warm clothes and a place to rest for the night.”
 Tommy, Deo, Theseus- actually, no, everyone gapes at Kristin, who simply smiles and hums
to herself as he leaves the Throne Room. Philza’s right on her heels after finishing a quiet
conversation with Technoblade.

Tommy helps Deo up and mutters, “Thanks for going along with my plan, mate.”

“I’m not stupid,” Deo snorts softly.

“You know, Prince Theseus isn’t the type of person to admit that he has an acquaintance,”
Theseus flies over and whispers this to Tommy, not wanting Deo to hear. “Your stories are
full of plot holes. You two should work on improvising much more,” he says louder so that
Deo can hear now.

All he receives are two side glares.

Chapter End Notes

I. I am well aware that this chapter is definitely shorter than usual, but. I’m going to
make it up tmrw, I promise. I just need something to submit for my school assignment
;-;
 Meeting the Duke and His Rat Son
Chapter Summary

Tommy finally meets Lord Tubbo and Duke Schlatt the day before the Battle of
Champions.

Chapter Notes

WARNINGS: Swearing, mentions of death(very light!)

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Dream’s heart is thudding against his chest as he looks out to the cheering crowd. His friends
are right by his side, also cheering with all their souls.

A crown is placed on his head. He thanks the organizer of this championship and takes a
deep breath. He starts cheering along with his team. His friends.

“In second place, we have the Purple Pandas.” There are loud cheers, but there are also
boos because of the fact that they didn’t win.

Dream isn’t surprised—the Princes of the Antarctic Empire are on that team. It’s shocking
that Dream’s team even made it to the last round in the first place, considering the fact that
they’re not at all well-known.

Dream himself is well-known in the small village he lives in with his sister, but he’d never
been this popular in the past. He’s exposed to so many people right now, as thousands of
people had been watching in the stands.
“And in first place is the Pink Parrots!”

The coliseum erupts into cheers, and Dream’s ears may have just burst, but he doesn’t care—
he’s too excited and pumped up.

“We did it, Dream! We won!”

Yes. It looks like they have.

(Chapter 1, The Start of a Journey)

If there’s one thing Tommy despises about Dethroning the Silent Megalomaniac Prince more
than the fact that he’s been forced into the role of the villain, it’s the fact that this story takes
place in a medieval setting. This means he has nothing to entertain him except Theseus—
because currently, Tommy’s riding in a carriage by himself to greet Duke Schlatt and his son,
Tubbo.

In the past couple of days, Tommy likes to think he’s gotten a lot better at swordfighting.
Deo’s been helping him; he bought a place to live that’s close to the castle, and now that the
royal family knows of Deo’s existence, Tommy doesn’t have to sneak out to visit him.

The night after Deo had been given funds to live, Tommy made sure not to leave him alone
with Technoblade or Philza. Who knows what they’d do if they managed to corner Deo?
Furthermore, after Deo left to buy his own house, they had cornered Tommy to question him
about Deo.

They asked about where they met, if they knew anything about each other, and why Tommy
trusted him.
Tommy knew this would happen—it isn’t like Theseus to call someone an acquaintance;
especially if it’s someone he just met. But if he wanted Deo to make it out of the castle
without being imprisoned, he needed to “break character”, so-to-speak.

Another thing: Tommy always forgets that, outside the castle, it’s actually very cold. He’s
bundled up in a large, red cape with white fur. This is something else that sucks about this
world: the lack of a heater. There’s only fireplaces and fire magic—which no one in the castle
can use.

“Why are you so cold? This is a nice, warm day,” Theseus comments. He’s sitting in the seat
across of Tommy and looking out the window. “You’re going to look odd to literally everyone
who lives here.”

Tommy does notice that a lot of the commoners are wearing only two layers of clothing, and
they don’t seem to be cold at all. Is it really only him that’s cold...?

“Seriously, how are you not drenched in sweat right now?” Theseus stares at Tommy like
he’s the insane one that started a war between literally all the realms.

“Well, unlike some people, I didn’t live in a fuckin’ ice cube my whole life,” Tommy replies,
using the fan he was given - a fan! - to wave at himself mockingly.

Ranboo had given him the fan while saying, “I know that it’d quite hot today, so I brought
my Prince’s favorite fan.”

Honestly, fuck this new life he’s living in.

“So, how are you planning on dealing with the young Lord Tubbo?” Theseus asks, resting his
chin on his hand while smiling “innocently” at Tommy. “Or is he not important for the
future?”
“He…” Tommy hesitates.

He’s not hesitating on Theseus’ question—Tubbo, later on known as President Tubbo of

L’Manberg, is a very useful asset. He’s a hidden genius in plain sight; he’d be a well-known
inventor if he were born in Tommy’s original world.

Whenever readers thought of Tubbo, the first thing they think of is “nukes”. The second thing
they think of is “President”.

Tubbo’s like a morally good version of Theseus—he puts on a kind, energetic persona to trick
his enemies. He’s very calculating and good at critical thinking. Theseus and Tubbo would’ve
actually gotten along fairly well—of course, if Theseus were a good person, or if Tubbo was
a little bit more morally grey.

And as for Duke Schlatt…in simple terms, he’s a dictator. He took his son, and the two
migrated to Manberg, where he reigned for a year before the citizens decided to riot.
Surprisingly, Schlatt is actually described as a funny and sarcastic person at the beginning of
the novel—but after Wilbur’s death - his only living friend’s death - he starts to become an
alcoholic and an overally shitty person.

“Oh, and Duke Schlatt!” Theseus practically has stars in his eyes now. “Duke Schlatt…he’s
the most intelligent man I know!”

Right. Theseus idolizes Duke Schlatt to…an almost obsessive point. Luckily, though, this
changes after Schlatt’s taken down from Presidency—at that point, Theseus renders Schlatt
as a “useless old man that has more bark than bite”.

“Y’know…” Tommy almost tells Theseus that Duke Schlatt isn’t the overlord that he thinks
he is, but refrains. “…Lord Tubbo is indeed useful,” he says instead, because this is another
thing he has to ponder.

Now, Tommy’s been thinking about what he needs to do while living in this world. While
Theseus is the main villain of the novel, the mastermind behind Theseus’ descent into
insanity is what Tommy’s been preparing for. He hasn’t told Theseus, but what he wants to
do is get as many powerful allies on his side. Getting Deo so early on is actually really good
—the fact that he trusts Tommy is so unbelievably lucky.

Needless to say, Tommy plans to get Tubbo on his side. And, if he’s charismatic enough, he’ll
get Schlatt on his side too. While Schlatt does ultimately serve no purpose in the overarching
story, he’s very politically powerful; it’s how he became President in the first place, despite
his campaign being an absolute disaster. That’s something Tommy might need in the future.

“Heyy, don’t go into your thoughts and leave me here!”

Tommy blinks, refocusing on Theseus who’s childishly pouting at him with his arms crossed
and everything. “Sorry,” he says, but doesn’t really feel sorry.

“That look means you’re hyping yourself up to act like me,” Theseus says with a grin. “It
looks like Tubbo is really important—just like Deo is?”

“Mhmm,” Tommy replies, also looking out the window. They’ve been traveling for about an
hour now, and the only entertainment that Tommy’s had is Theseus. Which, you know.
Tommy takes this with a grain of salt.

The carriage finally stops, and the door opens. Both Tommy and Theseus turn to the guard,
and Tommy takes their hand, allowing himself to be guided to the ground as if he’s a child.
While he appreciates the luxurious life of royalty, he hates how coddled he feels. It’s…very
wrong.

They’re at the dock right outside of the Antarctic Empire, and Tubbo and Schlatt seem to
already be there. Schlatt has on a business suit that Tommy’s kind of jarred from seeing—
after all, he’s been living in an empire that follows a monarchy, so he’s gotten used to the
tunics and capes and very medival-type outfits that make him feel like he’s in the 1800’s.

Technoblade and Wilbur had been in two separate carriages in front of Tommy’s. They all
step out at the same time - except Wilbur and Technoblade aren’t helped down by a guard -
and Technoblade’s the one to greet Schlatt.
Tommy, meanwhile, makes eye contact with Tubbo who’s standing slightly behind Schlatt
with a brown and green-plaid winter coat with white fur. He has brown hair and blue eyes—
no one would think that he’s related to Schlatt, as the two look nothing alike, with Schlatt
having dark brown hair and reddish-brown eyes. However, there is one similarity—the
matching set of ram horns they both have, and the way their hair becomes a lot more curly
right under the ears.

No one really knows where Schlatt’s ram features came from, but they ended up being passed
to Tubbo, and are officially considered hybrids. Which makes it even more impressive that
Schlatt is so well-known—hybrids are typically discriminated against.

As Technoblade and Wilbur greet Schlatt - they’re all old friends; mostly Wilbur and Schlatt,
but Technoblade’s interacted with Schlatt in the past - Tommy walks over to Tubbo and puts
on a grin, “Hello, Lord Tubbo!”

“…Your Highness, Prince Theseus,” Tubbo puts a smile on his own face and bows his head,
a hand on his chest, similar to how the novel described him meeting Dream. “It’s a pleasure
meeting you.”

“Ohh, he’s a funny one,” Theseus laughs. “We have to ally with this guy.”

Tommy agrees with Theseus’ sentiment. “I hope we both perform well at the Battle of
Champions, Lord Tubbo.”

“Call me Tubbo,” the other replies with a sly grin. “We are teammates, after all, are we not?”

“And you may call me Theseus,” Tommy replies with the same smile.

He’s going to have to watch his words in front of this one. He can’t afford to slip up in front
of someone like Tubbo.
“Are you sure you’re ready?” Deo asks for the third time in the span of the past ten minutes.
“I think we should practice again—you’re pretty shit with the disarming technique I taught
you, so-“

“Wow, Deo, you’re really acting like a Theseus’ mother right now,” Theseus says from where
he’s trying to blow on a book to turn its page.

“Well, Theseus is an even bigger idiot than I expected,” Deo argues back, even though
Theseus isn’t saying anything false. “And this guy’s a prince? Of the Antarctic Empire, no
less? There’s no chance.”

“You’re both dickheads,” Tommy grumbles from the bed he’s laying on—which is Deo’s.
The three are hanging out in Deo’s house. Tommy and Theseus had just gotten back from
givinf Tubbo and Schlatt a tour around the castle.

“Achilles is the annoying one, not me,” Deo raises his hands in surrender. “Also, you should
be reviewing all you know about enchantment books.”

It’s not like I’m taking a school test tomorrow, Tommy rolls his eyes. “Tell me, Deo. What do
you know of the Battle of Champions?”

He sounds like he’s seeing how much Deo knows, but he really just wants to know what this
championship actually is. In the novel, it doesn’t give many details about it, so Tommy’s had
to go off of comments he’s heard.

“Well,” Deo purses his eyebrows, “I know it takes place over nine days, and each of the days
is a different challenge, but I don’t quite know what happens.“
“I do!” Theseus speaks up in a sing-song tone. He sends Tommy a side-eyed glance that
makes him think that he’s caught onto his plan. “The Battle of Champions is a championship
that has different challenges over the span of nine days—Deo was correct about that. The
actual interesting thing is the challenges that the contestants have to go through, though!”

“What kind of challenges?” Deo asks, and Tommy internally thanks Deo profusely for asking
so that he didn’t have to.

“Well, it spans from battle royales to parkour.”

Tommy pales. He’s not the most…athletic person, despite him having sort of an affinity for
dueling. He has absolutely horrid stamina, and not a lot of muscle strength—something that’s
seemed to remain true for both of his lives.

“It’s basically different survival-based challenges,” Tommy says in an almost questioning

tone, but stays confident because Theseus is supposed to know this. Theseus nods in
confirmation.

“Well, you’re clearly going to have trouble,” Deo snorts, crossing his arms and leaning on the
wall. “I still have trouble trying to figure out your logic of going to a prison and breaking
someone out, just to get better at fighting.”

Tommy glares at him in response. “You prick. You absolute bitch. That’s rude.”

“The only thing that’s rude is the fact that you’ve managed to stay alive this long,” Theseus
pipes up.

Tommy glares at him too. “Just you watch—I’m going to win the Battle of Champions.” He
then remembers, “You know, Deo, you should go with my family to watch from the stands.
You can then bet on me, because I’ll win that crown.”
 “Says the prince,” Theseus snorts. “And also, sure. Let Deo, a criminal and a commoner, go
with the Antarctic Empire’s royal family. That won’t look odd at all.”

“My point is, I’m going to win!” Tommy turns to face both of them. “Just you wait. I don’t
give a fuck about any dumb green Admins—you’ll be seeing my team in the number one
spot, ok?”

Deo and Theseus both stare at Tommy with something unfamiliar in their expressions. He
feels an inexplicable warmth spread through his chest and, for some reason, has to fight back
a grin.

“Of course I’ll bet on you.” Deo shrugs and acts as if that’s what he was planning on doing
the whole time. “You really thought I wouldn’t?”

“Theseus, would you like me to also watch with Deo?” Theseus asks. “I mean, I could
hypothetically just help you cheat…”

“Shut the fuck up,” Tommy points furiously at Theseus. “I don’t want your pity help! I’ll win
with my own brains and intelligence.”

“Of course you will, Theseus,” Deo says with a smile.

And for some reason, his voice doesn’t hold the same joking tone as it did earlier.

Chapter End Notes

And this is officially the end of Arc I: A Fresh Start!

Now begins Arc II: The Battle of Champions!

I hope you’re all liking this so far! I’m updating this a LITTLE later than usual, but it’s
fine ;;-;;
Also, in case anyone is confused about Phil+Techno’s relationship with Pandora’s Vault:

Sam is the Warden, AKA the main one in charge. He hired Techno as a jailor, because
Phil was the previous jailor. However, the rest of the family doesn’t know any of this.
Phil decided to craft the emeralds in a fashion that would open any of the prisoner cells
—including Wilbur’s and Tommy’s.

If you have any questions at all about the story, lmk in the comments! And if you spot
any plot holes, also let me know!

I’m gonna finally get started on planning this story out. ALSO: there will be other
installations to this series in the playlist! I’ll include if there’s any spoilers in the
summary, but it’ll basically just be short one-shot stories that are canon to this fic!

Anyways, rant is over! Have an amazing day everyone, and I hope you’re enjoying this
fic so far <33
 Interlude: The Sun
Chapter Summary

The story of Chronos, and the lessons of life.

Chapter Notes

WARNINGS: Child abandonment, fighting rings, mentioned violence, implied abuse.

Nothing explicit, though! This sounds scarier than it actually is

See the end of the chapter for more notes

“You trust me, don’t you, Chronos?”

The first lesson that Chronos learns is the lesson of trust. His older brother, Eiríkr, is kneeling
with his hand on Chronos’ shoulder. It’s very large, since the age gap between the brothers is
about ten years at least.

Chronos, naive and young as he is, nods his head. He’s being lulled to sleep by the warmth
that his brother is giving off, and closes his eyes.

That’s the last time Chronos sees his brother.

Chronos learns his first lesson of trust at the age of seven: do not trust anyone.
Chronos’ second lesson of life is called poverty. After his brother left, Chronos has no way to
provide for himself, as he’s a seven year old boy who barely knows the language of this land.
He spends days at a time without eating, having to beg and grovel at people’s feet. This is
also when his eyesight starts to change—he starts to see…colors around people. Sometimes
they’re so bright that he can’t even look at them; sometimes they’re so dark that his brain sets
off alarms anytime they come near him.

During this second lesson, Chronos learns to survive. He learns to lie, beg, steal, pickpocket,
and run.

When his eighth birthday rolls around, Chronos decides to treat himself—he sneaks into a
library and starts reading. He reads of the history of the land he’s been surviving in—a
kingdom called Essempei. He reads of other nations - like Manberg and of the other realms.

He discovers what the colors he’s been seeing are—it’s the pure magic of a person. The
darker the color, the more experience they have with magic.

Chronos doesn’t know why his eyes are this sensitive to magic, but he just figures that he’s
special like the heores in the stories that his bro- Eiríkr would tell him.

Chronos is ten when he gives himself his new name: Time. This is after he discovers that his
name means “time”. He uses this name to instill fear in the underground society present in
Essempei. He starts joining fighting rings—and, amazingly, he starts winning them.

His reputation precedes him all around the underground. He becomes known for his short
frame and his eyes that seem to glow with glee every time he fights.
Chronos joins his first underground dueling ring when he’s eleven—it’s called Skyblock,
named after an ancient game that’s long since been played. It’s in Skyblock where Chronos
gets called what will eventually become his new name: Deo.

Or, technically, Dio. Time Dio—in a sense, this could mean “god of time”.

Lesson three of Chr- Deo’s life is a simple one known as deceit. In the underground walls of
Skyblock, Deo learns how to lie more successfully and to grow his negotiation skills.

Deo turns twelve years old; he owns a large, heavy, golden sword known as the Midas sword.

This Midas sword becomes associated with Deo’s name.

As of this point, Deo has enough money that he can afford his own home—however, try as he
might, he cannot let go of the feeling he gets when he’s in the underground.

He likes the feeling of danger; it’s so strong that he thinks he’d live in Skyblock if he could
choose to.

However, on Deo’s twelfth birthday, he’s caught in Skyblock by none other than the Crown
Prince himself, Technoblade Craft. Before Deo can ask why he and another man are there
with armor and handcuffs, his vision goes black.
He awakens in a cell. This cell is where Deo learns his fourth lesson: patience.

Deo doesn’t mind the unholy screeching and screaming of the prisoners surrounding him—
and clearly, neither do the Warden or the jailor.

Oh well—Deo can only be happy about small mercies, like his new, clean - prisoner - suit,
and the fact that his newly-bought sunglasses haven’t been taken off yet. The sunglasses help
dull what he can see; Deo is sometimes sent into a sensory overload if he looks at someone’s
spirit for too long.

Deo meditates. He works on his stance. He tries to recall everything he had learned from the
countless libraries he’d broke into in the past. Through this, he discovers a binding that was
put on his magic by Technoblade and the Warden. He’s not able to see magic as well, and
can’t use it as well either. It’s very annoying.

Pandora’s Vault is made of a black stone that’s located underground. There are many
criminals that terrify Deo, so he makes it a point to stay away from everyone there.

It’s during his time in prison when the plaque above his cell is changed from “Time Deo” to
“Herobrine’s Descendant”. The plaques don’t usually show someone’s name—it shows
whatever crime they committed, in a way to dehumanize them.

Deo actually doesn’t know the reason behind his plaque. Herobrine? Yeah, right—
Herobrine’s just a fairytale, he doesn’t even exist. And if he does, he certainly isn’t some
demon like everyone seems to think he is.

Lesson five reveals itself to be loneliness.

After a while, Technoblade stops being a jailor—likely due to the fact that he’s a prince, so he
doesn’t have the time. And the Warden stops sounding human—he even stops looking
human. Deo isn’t able to see any magic that the Warden possesses—even though he used to
be able to see a tightly compacted green aura around the Warden.

Deo’s days mush together in Pandora’s Vault. At first, he had tried to count the days, but he
gives up after about a month in, after getting caught and then punished for ruining the walls.

Being a child doesn’t stop the other prisoners from trying to pick fights with him during
lunch or recreational time. He doesn’t have a conversation with anyone for five years.

Deo tries to harden his resolve—he will escape, one day. He just doesn’t know when.

Deo finds himself back at a revamped version of lesson one when he wakes up to find
someone standing outside his cell. This someone seems to have just run through a snowstorm
with just a satchel. Deo also notes that there’s a…What is that?

“It looks like your criminal is awake, Sir Tomathy,” the floating thing says, probably talking
to the person outside Deo’s cell. It looks to be compacted magic in the form of a person—
maybe it’s a ghost? Deo can’t actually see what it looks like—maybe it’s a demon? “And who
would you be?”

“You can call me Deo,” Deo replies. The thing’s head seems to flinch in surprise, but Deo
makes sure to make eye contact with the person outside his cell.

This person - a boy that’s probably around Deo’s age - has shoulder-length blond hair that’s
tied into a messy ponytail, and bright blue eyes that almost reminds Deo of how he used to
see magic so bright it could blind him. However, that’s the odd part—Deo can’t see any
magic in this boy. It’s not even compacted tightly around him; either this boy’s magic isn’t
powerful enough for Deo to see it - his ability to see magic was dampened after being in the
prison, after all - or he doesn’t have magic.

Deo has no choice but to put his trust into this boy—this boy who’s so vulgar and rude that
Deo can’t help but laugh. Has society changed this much? How long has Deo been stuck in
the prison?

The two escape, and Deo learns of the boy’s identity: Prince Theseus of the Antarctic Empire.
He’s related to Technoblade. Deo has to do all he can to not run away and leave this boy
behind when he reveals the same emerald gem that Technoblade has.

But then Deo realizes he doesn’t have to worry—because Theseus turns out to be funny. He’s
not at all like Technoblade. He’s loud and weird, but above all, he’s a kind person. He broke
into Pandora’s Vault - somehow - just to save Deo. In a way, he’s kind of like…Deo’s savior.
Deo’s shocked to find out that he isn’t in Essempei anymore—he’s in the Antarctic Empire.

He allows himself one thing—the chance to trust someone. He’ll make sure to never let
Theseus go. Sure, this may be risky, but Theseus is so kind, so genuine, that Deo can’t help
but blindly trust him.

Deo sees his first sunrise in years. It’s freezing and he knows that he’ll probably get frostbite
if he stays out here for too long, but he can’t help it. He needs to look at something that isn’t
dark and damp like the proson walls.

It’s warm. And not the room-temperature kind of warm—the sun is shining on Deo’s face.
From beside him, Theseus sits down and also looks out towards the sun.
Deo peeks at Theseus from the corner of his eye, and thinks that there aren’t many
differences between Theseus and the sun. It’s cold, but the warmth coming from Theseus’
body is at least comforting Deo in a way that only his brother was able to do. Theseus is his
savior—he’s the reason that Deo can see the sun right now. And his personality’s so big - so
bright - that Deo’s surprised he’s able to look at him without being blinded by light.

When the two finally part, Deo feels a deep sadness, along with a mix of anxiety. What if
Theseus gets caught by the royal guards? He wouldn’t be able to come and visit Deo like he
said he would—and Deo can’t allow that.

As the sun shines on Deo, he thinks he can feel his former magic being restored. After
Theseus sneaks back into his room safely, Deo gets tossed a pouch of gold from Theseus’
window.

He stares at it, even after he’s gone down to the village’s pub. He pockets the pouch and
makes sure to save as much gold as he can.

Deo lives and breathes violence—it was a habit he’d gotten into during his time in Skyblock,
and it’s a habit he’s worming back into after meeting Theseus.

Theseus is weak. He doesn’t know how to hold a sword properly—or a bow, or an axe. This
surprises Deo, but overall, he feels concern—how will Theseus be able to survive the Battle
of Champions he’s going to if he can’t even fight correctly? So Deo accepts Theseus’ request
to train him in fighting.

While training Theseus, Deo also retrains himself—years without the motivation to exercise
has taken a noticeable toll on his skill. But he’s plenty motivated now—if he ever needs to
protect Theseus, he’ll make sure to be strong enough to fight against the whole world if he
needs to.
That very day, Deo gets caught in his prisoner outfit by a royal guard, sneaking around the
castle. He’s taken to the Throne Room, where the royal family - sans Theseus - is located.
The Empress, Kristin Craft, is giving him a peaceful smile, but all Deo can focus on is
Technoblade in his royal attire.

Deo’s glad he has his sunglasses, or else the whole family would’ve seen instinctive tears
well up in his eyes at the sight of the jailor. However, he mentally berates himself—he won’t
be imprisoned again, because Theseus will be there to help him.

Then Theseus shows up like a breath of fresh air from all the pressuring gazes that Deo’s
under. He comes up with an excuse to make sure Deo’s free, and Deo is already trusting him
infinitely. Theseus is just so kind.

Deo…doesn’t quite now how he managed to get this to work. He’s sitting across from
Empress Kristin in a carriage, being taken to a boat that will then take them to the Battle of
Champions island that the championship takes place at. He’s fidgeting and, to be honest,
really nervous—but he promised Theseus to watch over him during the tournament.

Empress Kristin sighs suddenly, and Deo looks back to her. “Chronos, you and my son are
friends, right?”

Deo feels his chest warm up at the word—friend. No one’s been as close as a friend since his
brother abandoned him. “Yes.” He holds himself back from saying something absurd like
calling Theseus his “best friend.” He often forgets that Theseus’ reputation is of an off-
puttingly energetic prince, who no one can get close to—not even his family. So then, how
did Deo get so close to the boy?

“He truly cares for you,” Empress Kristin speaks up after a minute of silence. “I’ve never
seen Theseus protect someone so earnestly.”
 The rest of the carriage ride is in silence, but Deo internally smiles at that starement.

He’ll make sure to pay back all the kindness that Theseus has given him.

Chapter End Notes

Sorry guys, the new arc doesn’t actually start here—this is an interlude chapter! But dw,
the next chapter will be back to Tommy’s POV and the next arc.

I’ve decided that I’ll put an interlude chapter after an arc ends, and it’ll be in someone
else’s POV, since I plan on making this story mostly in Tommy’s POV.

So, I hope you liked the Deo backstory! I made him kind of the reverse stereotype of
someone who was abandoned—because the first person to show him kindness in years,
Tommy, unintentionally gains Deo’s full loyalty and trust.

Deo is 17 years old, like I said in an earlier chapter, so he’s been in the prison for five
years.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Sorry it came out later than usual—but enjoy
nonetheless! <33
 In Which Tommy and Tubbo Eat Breakfast and Talk Shit
Chapter Summary

Tommy is a little anxious, as the tournament will be starting today. However, when he
meets up with Tubbo, he forms an unlikely connection with the Duke’s son.

Chapter Notes

WARNINGS: None other than mentions of violence—but it’s not graphic.

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Dream doesn’t quite know what to feel about Prince Theseus. He seems very energetic and
optimistic at first, but whenever you actually try and talk to him, he gives off an odd aura
about him. Dream knows he’s not the only one to think this.

The young Lord Tubbo also makes Dream feel this way, sometimes. The two are similar like
that—Tubbo is very nice and quiet at first, but when you actually start talking to him, he
seems to be full of dubious smiles.

Dream sighs—he really just needs to get through this Masquerade Ball, and he’ll be able to
prove Bad wrong.

(Chapter 75, The Masquerade Ball)

“Heyyy, Tommy, get up! You don’t want to miss the tournament, do you?”

Tommy groans as he’s awoken by a voice super close to his ear. He doesn’t yell or flinch
when he opens his eyes and Theseus is right in his face—he simply punches through the
spirit’s face and gets up with a stretch.

Turns out, the area that the Battle of Champions is held has dormitories for every player.
Since Tommy and his team arrived yesterday, they’d been welcomed and managed to mingle
with the other contestants.

Tommy doesn’t see Dream in the crowd. This actually checks out with the novel—Dream
only plays as a substitute for one of the players, Skeppy, after he oversleeps somehow. Which
means Tommy should actually be seeing Dream today.

The first day of the challenge is also today. Tommy tries to ward off the impending anxiety
attack he’s about to get as he changes from his sleep-clothes to his team uniform.

The first layer that he has on is the uniform for all contestants—a black button-up long sleeve
- or short sleeve, depending on what you told the tailor - shirt. He also wears a pair of black
leggings, along with some nice, silver boots that are surprisingly easy to move around in.

It’s the shirt over the button-up that’s different for every team. Tommy’s team is the ‘Purple
Pandas’, so over the black button-up, he has a dark purple vest on with a little pandas stitched
on it. Tommy almost grabs his royal crown, but then Theseus tuts and says, “You can’t wear
that into the tournament; Tommy! You’d lose it!”

Tommy glares. “Wilbur’s going to be wearing glasses. And Technoblade’s going to be

wearing a pig-skull- mask! How is this any different??”

“Those two have actually participated in the Battle of Champions before,” Theseus rolls his
eyes. “Also, they’re much better than you at, well…everything.”
“But Tubbo-“ Tommy starts, but the argument dies in his mouth. If anything, Tubbo’s a better
contestant overall than even Wilbur, so maybe he shouldn’t be brought up. “Fine, I see your
fuckin’ point.” He sets the crown down pointedly and walks over to the mirror on the closet,
eyeing his hair.

Theseus is a lucky bastard—his hair’s nice and soft, probably due to good maintenance. As a
prince, he probably can’t afford to look anything less than perfect, so his skin is also smooth
as hell. Tommy’s own hair wasn’t as nice.

When Tommy opens the door to leave his dorm, he comes face to face with Tubbo—their
rooms being faced towards each other. The two both throw on a bright smile that may or may
not be fake. Tubbo’s also wearing the uniform, but he also seems to have a pair of goggles
hanging from his neck.

“Prince Theseus!” Tubbo says happily. “Are you ready to win this tournament?”

Tommy laughs politely, “I’m ready to do my best, Lord Tubbo.” He then looks around, “We
should start heading towards the main island, yes?”

Tubbo nods in agreement. “Let’s get going.”

The Battle of Champions takes place on a collection of islands—some large, some so small
that it can only fit one building. The sponsers of this tournament, a group of Nox Crew, are
all individually filthy rich, which is how they were able to build so many unique types of
challenges, and afford all the potions effects that they put players through. Whenever the
contestants have to pick challenge to complete, it’s voted for in the Decision Dome.

Right now, Tommy and Tubbo are on the main island. It’s not that big, maybe a few miles
overall, but it’s completely terraformed and decorated. There’s a building called the ‘Hall of
Fame’ that shows what records have been set, and will also show the top ten contestants
during the span of the tournament. There’s also food stalls and places to eat—because while
the tournament does start today, depending on what challenge is picked, they might have to
wait till nighttime.
The tournament itself isn’t as dangerous as one might think, despite the types of challenges
there are. In most of the challenges, contestants aren’t allowed to hurt each other in any way,
and they’re all given Potions of Regeneration and Resistance before those challenges start.
They’re also given Potions of Stamina and Sation, so that they don’t get tired as easily, and so
they don’t need to eat or use the bathroom during the challenges.

As for the other challenges that actually do require/include fighting, it’s not like they’re
fighting to the death. Everyone’s given a Potion of Apathy—which, essentially, makes a
person unable to feel pain. And whenever someone takes enough damage, a firework will
launch from where they are, and they’ll be given instant healing as they’re escorted out of the
area.

And, of course, there’s challenges like parkour, where the area underneath them is just the
ocean.

Theseus had told Tommy about all of this information. Wilbur and Technoblade have
competed in the past, so they told Theseus all about how the systems work. With this context
in mind, Tommy now realizes how Theseus in the novel had managed to win so many duels
against Dream despite Dream being much better at fighting—he was a smart, sly son of a
bitch that always had a backup plan, that’s how.

Tommy and Tubbo find themselves at the bottom of a bridge that will lower to the Decision
Dome. There are others walking about right now, eating breakfast, talking, and generally
socializing.

“Would Lord Tubbo like me to pay for breakfast?” Tommy asks politely, turning to the
shorter boy next to him.

“Of course, Prince Theseus,” Tubbo nods, actually looking a bit hungry.

They’re sitting at one of the tables, eating food, when Technoblade and Wilbur walk over.
They seem to be joking around with each other, which makes Tommy roll his eyes—he can’t
ever joke around with them like that because of the age gap between them.
“Look, it’s brother! And Technoblade.” Theseus is way more excited to see Wilbur—he even
floats over and smiles contentedly.

The two look…a lot less impressive when they’re not in their royal attire. Wilbur straight up
looks like some edgy theater kid, because he also happens to be wearing a beanie for some
reason. And Technoblade looks less like an enigmatic prince and more like a pig wannabe.

Ok, Tommy retracts that thought—because technically, in the future, he does become
acquainted with the Piglin Tribe.

While Theseus would probably be excited to see them - mostly just Wilbur - Tommy doesn’t
have the same sentiment. And neither does Tubbo, judging by the look on his face. The two
make eye contact as the older brothers walk over, and Tubbo rolls his eyes at them.

Tommy stifles a grin and nods in agreement—he also gets annoyed by them easily.

“Brother!” Tommy straightens up and plasters a very fake smile on his face as he whirls
around to face Wilbur and Technoblade. “Are you excited for the Battle of Champions to
begin?”

But instead of merely ignoring Tommy like he usually does, Wilbur gives him what looks
like a fond smile and says, “You know I am, Theseus. Techno and I have already participated
—are you and Lord Tubbo ready?”

“We’re more than ready!” Tubbo speaks up. “Prince Theseus and I were eating breakfast just
now. Would you two…?”

“No, we’re fine,” Technoblade speaks up, and Tommy’s shocked to find that he isn’t as
emotionless as usual—he simply sounds bored at the moment. “The Decision Dome should
be openin’ up in half an hour or so, so make sure to stick close. And don’t talk to strangers.”
This is aimed at Tommy—probably because of the whole Deo incident a few days back.
He flushes and has to restrain himself from giving a very Tommy-esque answer. He instead
laughs and says, “Brother Technoblade, you’re too funny! I would never acclimate with
complete strangers.” He turns to Tubbo and then continues, “Lord Tubbo, would you like to
accompany me to the practice parkour section of the island?”

While it might look like Tommy’s trying to run away from his brothers, he really does just
want to practice his parkour skills. He needs to get himself to stop thinking about the chance
he might fall, and start thinking about how to time the jumps correctly.

Tubbo nods, “Absolutely, Prince Theseus!”

After the two leave Wilbur and Technoblade for the parkour area, Tubbo says, “Your brothers
are…quite odd, Prince Theseus.”

“Call me Theseus,” Tommy inturrups quickly. “Right now, I don’t have a crown on—and
neither do my brothers, so we should just get used to each other’s names.”

“Then you may simply call me Tubbo!” Tubbo replies with a smile. “And anyways, your
brothers…” He seems to struggle with the words he wants to say.

“Are they a little too…eccentric for you?” Tommy replies. “Technoblade is the Crown
Prince, therefore he’s used to assuming everyone will do what he says. And Wi- brother
Wilbur loves to…’mess around’, in a sense.”

“Yes,” Tubbo nods while giggling. “Oh, and don’t forget to mention that they’re on the older
side. How are you in the same family generation as them?” He seems more relaxed, even
joking around with Tommy!

Theseus snorts at that. “He’s actually pretty funny.”

Tommy nods, both to Tubbo and Theseus. “Well, either way, it’s an honor to be here,
competing, yes? We have to do our best.”
 “Oh! Speaking of which!” Theseus snaps his fingers as if he just remembered something. “I
told Deo that I’d illegally gamble with him, so I’m going to get going. Don’t mess up, Sir
Tomathy.”

Tommy almost sighs in relief as Theseus leaves. Maybe this tournament won’t be nearly as
stressful as the first week was.

Chapter End Notes

I’m late. Again. 🙂

This chapter was hard to push out because I actually fell asleep in the middle of writing
it. This next arc will also be pretty long, so I’m gonna have to get started on the next
chapter as soon as I publish this one.

Thank you all for the wonderful comments! Ily all /p and I appreciate all the support <33
 Battle of Champions: Day One
Chapter Summary

It’s the first day of the Battle of Champions.

Chapter Notes

WARNINGS: Cursing, very light mentions of violence/death.

See the end of the chapter for more notes

“What’s our next move, Dream?” Tubbo asks him. Everyone’s exhausted—Dream himself
doesn’t know how he’s standing. They’re out of healing potions, so they’ll have to wrap up
their injuries themselves and hope they don’t become infected.

“We should…” Dream furrows his eyebrows. The Antarctic Empire is the furthest away from
every nation, and yet they’re still able to attack all of them. Which means, they need
something unexpected.

“We could go to Pandora’s Vault,” Sam suggests. “We’d have a way to spy on them if need
be.”

“Yes, but isn’t Technoblade himself a jailor?” Puffy speaks up. “His emerald can even open
the Warden’s office, remember?”

“But he helped us…” Niki argues, the words dying out on her tongue as she realizes what
she’s saying.
“Technoblade declared war against us, along with Emporer Philza,” Dream reminds her.
“We can’t trust him to just turn a blind eye to us staying in Pandora’s Vault. It’s his nation—
he wouldn’t just let spies into Pandora’s Vault.”

“Then what else is there? The Eggpire?” Sam furrows his eyebrows from under the gas mask.
“Bad’s under the control of the Egg, so he wouldn’t be willing to help us…”

Puffy crosses her arms at the mention of the Egg. “We could always try burning it.”

“We did try last time, though,” Niki sighs. “What else could we…”

Tubbo gasps suddenly. Everyone turns to him, worried, when he says, “Of course, it’s a
perfect place to go!”

“Place? Have you thought of something, Tubbo?” Dream asks, noticing the delighted look on
the boy’s face.

“The Battle of Champions!” Tubbo grins.

There’s a brief moment of silence.

“Tubbo, you’re gonna have to elaborate more on that,” Fundy says wryly from the rock he’s
sitting on. He seems to have just finished wrapping up his foot. “Why are you thinking about
the Battle of Champions?”

“Because the islands it takes place at has so many supplies!”

It dawns on Dream—the Battle of Champions should be a save zone, since it technically isn’t
part of a nation. Nox Crew is likely on those islands because of the war—and there was lots
of food, water, and more importantly, potions over there.
“Great thinking, Tubbo!” Dream grins. “Let’s go find a boat!”

(Chapter 231, Flight)

As the bridge leading to the Decision Dome lowers, Tommy instantly feels his palms clam up
and he’s hyper-aware of his breathing, the way his clothes feel, and how hot the sun on his
skin is.

“Are you ready, Theseus?” Tubbo appears at his side, placing a hand on his shoulder,
unknowingly leading him away from a panic attack.

“Of course I am, Lo…Tubbo,” Tommy corrects himself with a more genuine smile. Tubbo’s
actually a pretty funny guy—he likes to joke around, but also seems to make sure not to let
his guard down around anyone.

The two find Technoblade and Wilbur. As they walk over to the other half of their team,
Tommy notices a bunch of people staring at them and whispering. It’s to be expected, though
—Theseus is 15 years old, and Tubbo would have just turned 16 years old. They’re probably
among the youngest contestants participating in the Battle of Champions.

“So! Are we all ready to win this?” Wilbur grins at the three of them.

“Obviously,” Technoblade rolls his eyes.

The bridge lands, and everyone immediately starts pushing each other, running to get to the
Decision Dome first. Tommy’s still a little stunned—he doesn’t quite know what to do.
Instinctively, he turns to look at Theseus-

Oh, right. Theseus left to go gamble with Deo.

“Theseus! Come on!” Tubbo calls from a few steps ahead of Tommy.

Tommy shakes his head, willing himself out of this nervous slump he’s in. He’s Tommy -
fucking - Innes—he’s not scared! He runs to catch up to his team, not wanting to be the last
one into the dome.

There’s a set of stairs that lead to 10 different rooms. Tommy follows his team into the
purple-carpeted room, and then the rooms are…elevated? He stumbles a bit; luckily, his team
is too focused on the Decision Dome.

In the center of the circle that the rooms have all formed, there seems to be a platform divided
into 8 different sections. Above the sections are signs with question marks.

“Alright, everyone!”

Tommy’s head snaps upward as a man starts floating down from the ceiling, onto a platform
floating in midair. He has a light shade of blue hair, as well as darker cerulean eyes. He has
on a white tunic tucked into black pants, with red and yellow stripes along the bottom of the
tunic; a blue dress cloak tops the outfit off, its hood down. Tommy doesn’t actually know
who this is—again, the Battle of Champions was never brought back into the story of the
novel.

“My name is Scott Smajor, one of the organizers of the Battle of Champions.” He has a very
loud presence, much like an announcer at a sports game. “Now, let’s welcome all the
contestants for this season’s Battle of Champions, shall we?”

He’s not exactly looking at a camera as he says this—he’s looking at what seems to be blue
sparkles in the air. From what Theseus described, these sparkles are the magical equivalent of
cameras. For people around the world, they can use these sparkles - known as Streams - to
tune into what’s going on at the tournament. It’s essentially a live streaming device. And the
sparkles are actually a potion effect—the actual device is under an Invisibility Potion effect.

The Stream starts flying over to the rooms that the teams are in, and everyone introduces
themselves. Finally, it arrives in front of their team.

“I am Technoblade Craft—Heir Prince of the Antarctic Empire,” Technoblade says with his
no-nonsense face and tone of voice. He has his pig-skull-mask on, and it’s actually pretty
intimidating—probably exactly what the dramatic bitch was going for.

“I am Wilbur S-Craft, second in the line of succession,” Wilbur greets with a charismatic
smile. “I’m thrilled to be here, Scott Smajor.”

“My name is Tubbo,” Tubbo says simply with a hard grin on his face. He doesn’t say
anything else like everyone else had—he doesn’t state his last name, title, or anything.

If Tommy remembers correctly, this is because Tubbo hates his father. As of now, he’s more
meek when it comes to Duke Schlatt—but in the future, he’ll eventually be part of the
revolution that takes him down.

As eyes go to Tommy, he shakes his head lightly. He grins widely - just wide enough for
others to start looking uncomfortable - and says, “Hello, everyone, my name is Theseus
Craft, the youngest Prince of the Antarctic Empire.” He then thinks to himself; What would
Theseus say? “I cannot wait to crush all the enemy teams,” he says with the same smile.

After the introductions are done, Scott Smajor speak up again, “Now that we have met the
teams, let’s move onto…our very first vote!”
The ceiling of the room opens up, and four plastic balls fall into the room, all purple. Tommy
picks one up—it’s a simple ball, nothing special about it.

“Our contestants shall now vote for which challenge they want to complete for Day One,”
Scott Smajor snaps, pointing at the sections on the platform in the middle of the room.
“Using the items you’ve just been given, may the contestants vote for which challenge of
these you’d like you start with today.”

The signs with question marks now have words on them; as they’re revealed, Scott Smajor is
announcing them.

“First up…we have the fairly popular Battle Box!”

There many cheers from the contestants—even Technoblade is grinning and Wilbur’s
clapping. Tommy has to refrain from covering his ears; luckily, Tubbo also seems to hate the
sudden loud noise.

“Next…Sands of Time!”

There’s a very large silence that rings through the room, accompanied with some boos from
the more confident players.

“…That’s not good,” Wilbur mumbles, just loud enough for everyone to hear. “We should try
and get that one over with.”

“And third…Parkour Tag!”

Tommy perks up at that—parkour and tag? He didn’t even know that tag existed in this world
—he’d always been super good at tag in his original world, and he’s also good at parkour in
this world. At least he has something to be excited about, now.
“Fourth…Big Sales at Build Mart!”

More people groan at that—more than they had groaned at Sands of Time. Tommy can’t even
think of anything this title of a challenge could fit: are they shopping? And also, grocery
stores exists in this world?? Is there anything else Tommy’s missing out on because he lives
in an old-fashioned nation?!

“Fifth up…Grid Runners!”

There are some scattered cheers at this one—it’s probably one of those challenges that’s only
easy for those who know how it actually works. Tommy notices that Technoblade’s one of
the ones cheering - albeit silently - and Wilbur seems to be sulking. Ok, so that means it’s
more of a physical challenge…

“Sixth, we have…Sky Battle!”

Well, that seems pretty self-explanatory. A lot of people start cheering, while a lot of people
also look distinctly nervous. In fact, quite a few others are side-eyeing Technoblade.
Interesting…

“Our seventh challenge is…Survival Games!”

Tommy…is very intimidated by that name. Survival Games?! That’s so vague—it could be
about hunting, gathering resources, adaptation; he just hopes it doesn’t include fighting.

“And our last challenge is…Hole in the Wall.”

Again, there are scattered cheers and claps amongst the contestants. Tommy stares at all the
signs that are now displaying the challenges.
“Let’s vote for Build Mart,” Technoblade says immediately. “At the start of the tournament,
we can afford to make mistakes, and none of us are exactly engineers.”

At the word ‘engineers’, Tubbo’s head perks up. “Oh, I’m one! I enjoy putting things
together!”

Tommy wants to ask what ‘Build Mart’ is, but he’ll just seem suspicious because Theseus has
watched the Battle of Champions in the past and knows the different challenges offered here.

“Why don’t we just avoid Build Mart?” Wilbur asks skeptically. “We could go for Sands of
Time…”

“We’re takin’ part in all 8 challenges anyways, though,” Technoblade inturrupts his brother.
“We should choose the challenge we are the least adept at—we’ll be able to earn the points in
a few days.”

“I agree with our Crown Prince,” Tommy speaks up, and everyone turns to him. “We should
start with our weaknesses. This means we start with…Big Sales at Big Mart.” Tommy still
doesn’t get why it’s named that.

Tubbo nods from beside Tommy, “I agree with Theseus. Build Mart sucks ass.”

The whole family is shocked at the language, but for different reasons. Wilbur is shocked
because he didn’t expect a Duke’s son to say that; Technoblade’s shocked because he’d
assumed Tubbo wasn’t the type to swear; Tommy’s shocked that Tubbo seems to be relaxed
enough to curse around them, something he only did once he trusted Dream and Dream’s
crew.

The four all throw their plastic balls into the ‘Big Sales at Build Mart’ section of the platform
—and Tommy notices a lot of others are as well. It seems like everyone mutually agrees that
this is the worst challenge by far.
“And our first challenge taking place today is…Big Sales at Build Mart!” Scott Smajor
chuckles at that. “Alright, everyone—let’s get to it, shall we?”

And then the floor opens from underneath Tommy’s feet, and he’s so shocked at falling into a
tunnel that leads to a portal that he doesn’t even scream.

“The objective: make a perfect replica of the build in front of you.”

Tommy hates this. This is shit. He wants to quit this life. Why the fuck is this even a
challenge?

In front of Tommy is an honest-to-god 10-foot tall carrot. It’s made of concrete, wool, and
what looks to be- leaves?! How the fuck…

He notices two tools in his hand: an axe and a pickaxe. He…doesn’t know how to use a
pickaxe, but he does know how to use an axe. Since it’s technically a weapon, Deo had taught
him how to fight with it in case he didn’t have a sword on him.

There’s a countdown, and Tommy thinks he’s under a Potion effect, because he can’t move.
And then there’s a buzzer, and he slumps forward as the invisible force retreats.

He follows Technoblade, Wilbur, and Tubbo through the portal behind them that leads to…a
large store.

He sees why it’s called ‘Build Mart’ now. Everyone seems to have their own shopping cart
and is…riding in them? Like a bike or a car. So, Tommy does the only logical thing—he
grabs his own cart and starts speeding his way towards the section with colored materials.
 On the way there, he has to subtly study how others use their pickaxes just to make sure he
doesn’t hurt himself. He feels the effects of a Potion in his body—it’s most likely the Potion
of Stamina that’s effecting him like this. It allows his stamina to keep going longer than
usual. Plus, the effects of Regeneration are coursing through his body—anytime he feels even
a tiny amount of pain, it’s healed and he doesn’t feel it anymore.

As the time ticks down, Tommy can see why no one actually like this challenge. After
completing the carrot, Tommy goes through two other builds; a snowman and a cat.

When the time is up, Tommy’s right about to go out and grab more materials from the store
section. The time is up, and from beside Tommy, Tubbo mutters, “Thank fuck it’s over.”

Yeah, Tommy agrees with that sentiment.

Chapter End Notes

Hey guys, i have some bad news for all you angst-haters: I recently just rewatched the
exile arc on dsmp and i’ve been getting ideas :DD

ALSO: i watched slimecicle’s 100 days video and tommy??? Being a villain??? Is so
entertaining???

ALSO ALSO: why wasn’t anyone gonna tell me that it’s spelled “emperor” and not
“emporer” ???? I went to every single chapter and fixed it.

Anyways, i’m done being dramatic—have an amazing day everyone! And thank you all
for the support, ily guys <33
 Day Two - Things May Be Going Wrong
Chapter Summary

The second day of the tournament comes and goes—but not without some major issues
arising.

Chapter Notes

WARNINGS: Descriptions of fighting, but no blood or anything!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Dream…really doesn’t know what to make of this. On one hand, it’s a good thing Tubbo’s on
their side.

On the other hand, nuclear warfare could possibly destroy the whole of the Antarctic Empire
instead of simply damaging a part of their nation.

“Nahh, big man, this is a great idea!” Tubbo grins at Dream. “We’ll just threaten them, and
then they’ll have no choice but to surrender!”

“I agree with Tubbo,” Fundy nods. “We strike ‘em when they least expect it!”

“A governmental coup,” Puffy agrees solemnly.

Dream stares incredulously. “…None of you are even talking about the same thing?!!”
(Chapter 240, Planning)

“…and I can’t believe the organizers managed to create a Potion of Numbness!”

Tubbo’s been rambling to their team for the past five minutes about the different potion
effects that were given to them rather than the actual challenge they had to do.

Tubbo had definitely gotten the most amount of points. Wilbur was…pretty bad at building,
and Technoblade was also just average; Tommy never expected to call Technoblade
“average” and Wilbur “pretty bad” at anything, but here he is.

And so what if Tommy got the least amount of points? He’s not good at building, and he
made sure this was known during Build Mart.

“Well, at least we’re in seventh place,” Wilbur shrugs.

“…Seventh place is third to last,” Tommy can’t help but point out with a smirk. “Wi-
Brother, your logic isn’t making sense.”

“Seventh place isn’t bad, per say,” Technoblade speaks up. “We just have to do better at the
other challenges. These first two or three days don’t matter in the long run.”

Technoblade and his over-excessive planning, Tommy rolls his eyes to himself.

“Well, so then what does that mean?” Wilbur asks the team. “What challenge should we try
and vote for next?”
“I say either Survival Games or Sands of Time,” Technoblade replies. The conversation
seems to suddenly just be Technoblade and Wilbur.

So, Tommy turns to Tubbo and says, “I have no idea what either of those challenges are.”

Tubbo snorts quietly. “Don’t worry, Theseus—I don’t either.”

The two snicker to themselves.

“Welcome back to day two of the Battle of Champions!” Scott Smajor says with a wide grin
as all the contestants file into their voting room. “Yesterday was a rough start for a lot of
teams—how will today go?”

In the middle, Big Sales at Build Mart is now blocked off, so no one can vote for it anymore.

“Sorry, what are we voting?” Tubbo asks Technoblade and Wilbur.

“I’d say Survival Games,” Technoblade replies. “The organizers lowered the amount of
points you get in this challenge, so it’s more about actually surviving than fighting anyone.”

Oh. This is a fighting-type of challenge, Tommy thinks miserably to himself. Luckily, he’s
playing the role of a bastard that loves to complain.

“Ahah, but brother Technoblade, what if I vote for Parkour Tag instead?” he grins, tapping
his finger on his chin innocently.
“…Theseus, please stop trying to antagonize your older brother,” Wilbur sighs, landing a
hand on Tommy’s shoulder.

Shut the fuck up you fucking bitch, Tommy thinks to himself. Alas, Theseus would decidedly
not say that to literally his favorite person in the world, so instead, he goes, “Yes, brother!”

He ends up caving and voting for Survival Games along with the rest of the team. He’s
honestly very terrified, but decides, Eh, fuck it.

The team takes a portal to a grassy planes and forest. As Scott Smajor starts announcing the
rules of this challenge, Tommy pales.

This is quite literally just the Hunger Games but in a fantasy world. Can’t Tommy sue Nox
Crew for this? This is straight plagiarism.

“Alright everyone—people are going to head straight for the loot in the middle, so we should
run the opposite direction,” Technoblade says. Tommy wants to punch him.

“Can we use natural resources, or does all our equipment have to be from the chests?” Tubbo
asks.

“You can utilize anything,” Wilbur replies.

There’s a timer, and once it hits 0, all ten teams are let out of the indinivudal cages they’re in.
Tommy follow his group into a forest, making sure not to use too much energy on this initial
run. He’s pretty agile in this life, but doesn’t have a lot of stamina.

The first thing he’s given is a chainmail chestplate by Technoblade, who’s wearing a leather
one himself.

“Does anyone have a weapon?” Tommy asks around. Technoblade has a sword that seems to
be made out of some flimsy metal—it’s sharp, but probably bendy.

“No, but I do have a…a fishing rod…” Wilbur replies, holding it out.

Tommy brightens up. In his original world, he’d been decent at aiming with a fishing rod.
“Brother, pass it to me! I can use this!”

“A fishin’ rod, Theseus?” Technoblade raises an eyebrow.

“Yep!” Tommy nods, grabbing said fishing rod and holding it. It’s made of simply wood and
string, but it’s sturdy enough. “With a fishing rod, I can pull people towards us!”

“Doesn’t that require strength, big man?” Tubbo asks with a tilt of his head. “And no offense,
but…”

“No, actually, it doesn’t,” Tommy snaps before Tubbo can finish his sentence. “I just have to
use the right technique.”

No one really argues with him - most likely because they don’t believe him, which, rude - so
they all start looking around for food. Technoblade is shooting down birds - because of
course he has amazing aim as well - while Wilbur ends up finding a golden apple in a chest
hidden in the trees. Tubbo and Tommy are scavenging for supplies rather than food, as
Tommy isn’t particularly hungry and Tubbo hasn’t eaten any food they’ve happened to come
across.
“Oh—Theseus, I found something!” Tubbo calls from another room in the abandoned house
they’re currently raiding.

Tommy runs over, and Tubbo’s holding different colored drinkable potions. One’s a magenta
color, and the other is a light blue.

“Looks like…Strength and Speed,” Tommy mumbles. “Should we head back and give them
to my brother?”

“Hmm…nah,” Tubbo replies with a shake of his head. “Here—you can hold onto these!”

Tommy’s startled when Tubbo pushes the potions into his arms. “Wha- why??” he splutters,
placing them in the satchel he has with him.

Tubbo shrugs. “Technoblade is already strong enough, and quite frankly, you’re the weakest
one here.”

“Wow, Tubbo, thanks a lot,” Tommy rolls his eyes. “We should probably head back, though.
We don’t want to get caught split up from the rest of our team.”

“I agree,” Tubbo nods. “Let’s go.”

It all seems to happen in an instant. A second ago, Tommy and Tubbo had just gotten back to
Technoblade and Wilbur, who are making a fire to cook the food they’ve gotten.
And then, suddenly, there’s a team of four people jumping down on them, attacking
Technoblade and Wilbur.

Technoblade actually manages to kill two of the people—and by ‘kill’, Tommy means that
they take too much damage and are given the Potion of Spectation effect, which essentially
turns them into a ghost for a certain amount of time—in this case, it would be until this
challenge is over.

But then, the other two manage to kill Wilbur, and start to gang up on Technoblade. Tommy
and Tubbo quickly rush in to try and help, causing the two attackers to split up. One’s
fighting Technoblade, while the other’s fighting Tommy and Tubbo.

Tommy’s so damn glad he came up with the idea for breaking Deo out of prison, because
dueling against Deo was way harder than it is to fight against whoever this person is.

Tommy only has his fishing rod, which he uses as a blockage against the other’s sword.
Tubbo, on the other hand, is straight up using his fists to punch the attacker. He seems pretty
good at martial arts, as a matter of fact.

Tommy then quickly backs up with a leap - this is probably Theseus’ body’s instincts,
because he did that to avoid a stab - and his mind searches for somethhing to do. In a wave of
brilliance, Tommy reels the fishing rod back, and throws the line, aiming vaguely towards the
attacker’s hand. It hooks onto the handle of the sword, and Tommy yanks, disarming the
attacker.

Tubbo takes this opportunity to grab the sword from where it’s flying, and swiftly stabs the
attacker. They disappear in grey smoke—signifying that they died.

Meanwhile, Technoblade also finishes killing his attacker, and the three quickly meet up
where Wilbur’s items had dropped.

“Wow, boss man, we did good, eh?” Tubbo nudges Tommy playfully.
Tommy snorts—which then turns into a giggle. “Ahahah, you’re not so bad yourself, Tubbo.”

“Creative way of usin’ a fishin’ rod, Theseus,” Technoblade drawls, and Tommy looks over
to the taller man. “Where’d you learn how to use it?”

“Just- around,” Tommy replies flippantly. He doesn’t really know how to answer—Theseus
would have been raised to be lowkey pampered, so he wouldn’t know anything like how to
farm or fish. Both of which Tommy actually does know how to do.

“Well, it doesn’t matter where—that was awesome!” Tubbo chuckles, grabbing some food
from where Wilbur’s things had dropped. “What should we do next?” Tubbo’s looking at
Tommy when he asks this, surprisingly.

“We shouldn’t engage in other teams,” Technoblade speaks up. “We get more points by
stayin’ alive; the organizers lessened the amount of coins we get when we kill someone.”

“That sucks,” Tubbo says simply, then turns to Tommy. “Oh, but Theseus, didn’t you wanna
totally crush the other teams?”

Shit, Tommy supposes that he did say that. He thinks for a little bit—why does acting like
Theseus require so much damn thinking? Oh yeah, because Theseus is a damn rat bastard.

“I did,” Tommy whines, pulling puppy eyes out on Technoblade. He doesn’t want to fight
anyone, but, “Brother Technoblade, can we please go looking for other teams anyways? This
is the only time I’ll be able to get battle experience without actually killing people.” In the
novel, Theseus actually does like learning how to fight, so this should be in-character.

Technoblade sighs heavily. “Fine—but if you die out there, that’s your fault, Theseus.”

Tommy rolls his eyes—what a drama queen.

And then, suddenly, someone drops onto the three, sword-first, right on top of Technoblade.
Tubbo and Tommy jump up as Technoblade’s on the ground wrestling with the assailant.

The mysterious new attacker has on the Pink Parrots vest, and Tommy’s mind immediately
comes to a halt. Pink Parrots—the team that Dream would be on.

So, Tommy does what any self-respecting person would do: he fishes the person, and the end
hooks onto the attacker’s vest, somehow. He pulls, and the attacker is pulled off of
Technoblade. However, the attacker has one last move, and throws the sword he was holding
at Technoblade, getting him right in the arm. This is apparently enough to bring
Technoblade’s health down, because he disappears in smoke, all his items on the ground.

“Shit,” Tubbo curses, and Tommy’s inclined to agree. The end of his fishing rod ended up
unhooking itself from the attacker, who turns around and makes eye contact with them.
Tommy gets severe whiplash at this.

He had thought this was Dream attacking Technoblade, because the attacker was strong
enough to pin him down, and also because the attacker had a hoodie up. But no—the attacker
is actually Sapnap.

Sapnap, otherwise known as the royal commander of Essempei Kingdom. Don’t get Tommy
wrong, Sapnap isn’t strong enough to pin Technoblade down on his own—but Sapnap
deserves some credit. He has fast reflexes and is also agile, with stamina to keep moving for
hours. He has on a white bandana underneath black bangs. His eyes are a bright, unusually
orange color—a trait he gained from growing up in the Nether. Like Technoblade, Sapnap’s
actually welcomed by the Nether dwellers; unlike Technoblade, who’s associated with the
Piglin Tribe, Sapnap is associated with the Blazes, which is why he doesn’t have a last name.

Currently, Tommy can see a magenta hue over Sapnap—he probably drank a Potion of
Strength right before coming down.

And speaking of coming down, his three teammates hop down from the trees, surrounding
Tubbo and Tommy.
George NotFound, the King of Essempei Kingdom, is on Tubbo and Tommy’s right. He has
on white goggles that cover his eyes - similar to Deo, actually - and has brown hair. He seems
to have also left his own crown in his own dorm.

Bad Boy Halo is known as a sorcerer—specifically, an aspiring necromancer, which gets him
a lot of dirty looks. It’s not like necromancy is forbidden or anything, it’s just typically a
taboo topic and considered morally wrong. Bad Boy Halo also seems to be a hybrid between
human and another species that never really ends up being revealed in the novel. His whole
body is shrouded in shadows everytime he’s in the light, and his eyes and mouth are white;
shadowy horns also poke out of his head. When in the shade - like right now - you can see
that he has green eyes and brown hair. The horns disappear when he looks like this.

And finally, the protagonist himself, Dream Wastaken. Currently, he’s not an Admin, so he
doesn’t have his iconic white mask. However, he does have a facemask covering the lower
half of his face; it’s bright green and has a smiley face drawn on it. His eyes are bright green
and he has dirty blond hair.

Tubbo and Tommy are…completely out-geared. All the Pink Parrots have full iron armor,
and they all have iron weapons.

Tubbo has a flimsy sword and Tommy has a fucking fishing rod; not to mention the minimal
armor that they have. Tubbo has a pair of leather boots, and Tommy has his chainmail
chestplate. It also looks as if all four of the Pink Parrots are under a Strength Potion.

“Shit,” is all Tommy can say before he and Tubbo are attacked.

Tubbo starts notching arrows in a bow - and by the way, where the hell was he hiding that?! -
and starts shooting at Sapnap and Bad’s feet—one of the areas not covered by the armor.

Meanwhile, George and Dream are both advancing towards Tommy menacingly. They’re not
even charging like Sapnap and Bad had—they literally just casually walking over.

“Ah, King George and…?” Tommy trails off intentionally, acting confused at the sight of
Dream—Theseus wouldn’t even know of Dream’s existence at this point, after all.
“Prince Theseus,” Dream speaks up. Tommy raises an eyebrow—why is Dream speaking
over George? And why does George seem content to just stay back and let Dream talk?

”Hahah, that’s my name, friend,” Tommy smiles casually. “And yours?”

”My name is Dream Wastaken,” Dream says, and he would’ve sounded a lot like a main
character, if it weren’t for the dark undertone in his voice. “Do you know anything of
‘Doomsday’?” he asks Tommy, narrowing his eyes.

Tommy has to suppress a full-body flinch. Doomsday? How does he know about
Doomsday?!

”Doomsday” refers to the day that Theseus bombed the Essempei Kingdom in the novel. It’s
an event that happens about two years in the future from now. So how does Dream know
about it?!

When Tommy doesn’t immediately answer, Dream’s eyes light up and he says quietly, “I
knew it. You’re like me.” He then sets his axe down. Tubbo dies from Sapnap as Dream starts
walking over to Tommy, and then puts a hand on his shoulder.

Tommy’s still too shocked to think of what he should say—but Theseus’ instincts tell him to
slap the hand away, which he does. Dream’s surprised, and Tommy uses this moment to start
running.

Luckily, the Pink Parrots don’t seem to have any projectiles prepared to shoot at Tommy, so
he manages to escape.

What the fuck just happened.

Tommy ends up hiding out in the attic of another abandoned house as others outside are
dying left and right. It’s definitely the afternoon by now, but Tommy doesn’t know what the
actual time is. He’s been hiding up here for hours.
 Tommy thinks back again on what Dream had said. What did he mean, I was like him? Is he
also someone who was transported into thhe novel?

Tommy doesn’t know, and that terrifies him. He ends up having to leave the house when he
runs out of food.

Coincidentally, it looks like he’s actually managed to survive to the last two players. He
knows this because, in the middle of the map, it’s only himself and Dream. Dream, who now
has a sword made of diamond.

“…Sir Dream,” Tommy says, trying to sound playful. The other turns to him. “Would you
know anything about DSMP?”

DSMP—referring to ‘Dethroning the Silent Megalomaniac Prince’, of course. The very title
of the novel they’re in.

But Dream doesn’t show any recognition at the title. In fact, he just looks more confused—
which confuses Tommy. So he isn’t another transmigrator—then why did he think Tommy
was like him?!

Tommy doesn’t get a chance to ask—because in a flash, Dream has a crossbow pulled out
and he shoots at Tommy. Tommy feels the slightest bit of pain before his body explodes into
white smoke, and he becomes a Spectator.

…What the fuck just happened.

Chapter End Notes

Guys. I didn’t actually mean for Dream to show up just yet, but. He just kinda. Did. So
here we are.

And yes, Ik I’m a lot later than usual ;-;

Also also, I just came up Theseus’ top 3 kins, and I wanted to share with you guys
because I think it’s hilarious:
- Kokichi Ouma (Danganronpa)
- Sou Hiyori (Your Turn to Die)
- Dream (Dream SMP)

(This is all /j btw, I just chose a bunch of manipulative characters 💀)

Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed! I lowkey have to rewrite the storyline because Dream
showed up out of nowhere <33
 Day Three - Part 1
Chapter Summary

The third day of the championship arrives.

Chapter Notes

WARNINGS: Violence, but not a lot, swearing (duh)

See the end of the chapter for more notes

“Hey, Dream, why can’t we just drink Potions of Stickiness?” Niki comes up to Dream a few
days into their quarantine.

Dream looks up from his book. “Well, Potions of Stickiness has the chance to make someone
deathly feverish.”

“‘Has the chance’?” Niki tilts her head. “Does that mean…luck is a factor, or something?”

“No, actually!” Dream’s eyes light up—he’s one of the only ones in the group that’s interested
in potions, so the fact that someone is asking about it makes him excited. “So, basically,
certain potions are only able to be used as a Splash Potion—this includes Potions of
Stickiness and Potions of Experience are examples. Drinking these gives a person the effect
of the potion—for example, Potions of Stickiness make the drinker able to stick to whatever
they want, and Potions of Experience allows them to gain…well, more magic experience.”

“So then, what could the backlash of drinking these be?” Niki asks. “Those all sound like
good outcomes.”
“They are—but for most people, they’ll feel incredibly nauseous after drinking the potions,”
Dream replies. “The more experience you have, the worse the nausea is. And since everyone
has at least a little bit of magic experience, it practically makes everyone sick. The only
exceptions to this would be animals that don’t have any magical properties.”

“Huh…thank you, Dream!”

“Of course, Niki.”

(Chapter 251, Locked In)

“Hey, boss man, what was that weird conversation you had with that Wastaken fellow during
our fight? Y’know, the one about the ‘Megalomania Prince’ or something,” Tubbo asks after
Survival Games and after all the teams gather to see their current ranking in the
championship. Tommy actually managed to get his team a fair amount of points since he
survived for so long, which boosted them to 4th place, right behind the Pink Parrots.

Tommy shrugs. “Sir Dream was quite odd—he started talking about this ‘Doomsday’, and I
figured he was speaking of a novel. So, I responded with my favorite novel—‘Dethroning the
Silent Megalomaniac Prince.’” Everything he just said is technically the truth, and half-truths
are always the best lies. Plus, he’s not even really lying—he’s just…omitting some important
details, that’s all.

Right now, Tubbo and Tommy are currently sitting at the edge of a pier, dangling their legs
off the edge. Technoblade and Wilbur had also asked - read: interrogated - Tommy about the
conversation he had with Dream, to which he gave the same exact excuse as he gave Tubbo
just now. It’s nighttime—the sun’s already gone down and the moon is rising, while stars are
twinkling in the sky.
It looks quite nice from here. There’s no artificial light along the beach, and the pier they’re
at is built on top of part of the beach. There are much more stars than Tommy’s seen in his
lifetime, and the sky looks vaguely like a galaxy. Though, this could just be because of the
change in worlds—after all, astrology does exist in this one.

Tubbo sighs and then lays back, laying down on the wooden pier. Tommy shrugs and follows
suit.

“Hey, Theseus…you’re different than what I expected.”

Tommy raises an eyebrow. “Am I?” he replies teasingly—and surprisingly, this isn’t just him
acting like Theseus. He feels genuinely comfortable with Tubbo. Then again, Tubbo was one
of his favorite characters in the novel.

“Yeah,” Tubbo replies with a smile, but his tone isn’t teasing like Tommy’s. “I thought you’d
be a spoilt and bratty prince. I thought you’d be a- well, a…”

“A bitch?” Tommy provides.

Tubbo sits up quickly and gapes at Tommy. “Theseus, you swore?!” His eyes are twinkling in
mirth.

Tommy sits up and rolls his eyes. It’s the end of the day—he’s pretty tired of acting like
Theseus. “Yes, big man. This might come off as a surprise, but I don’t necessarily like talking
all pompous and proper like I usually do.” He laughs, and it’s genuine, “I’ve only been doin’
that here to keep up with my reputation. Plus, my brothers don’t know how I truly act when
they’re not watching.”

Tubbo laughs. “You’re just like me, then!” He turns towards the ocean, where waves are
crashing underneath them. “I despise being the eldest child of my father’s. The
responsibilities I’ve taken on and the amount of important people and history I’ve been
forced to learn…” Tubbo shakes his head. “It’s not for me. I want to be a builder, to be
honest.”
Builders: a profession that isn’t considered high-ranking, and would ultimately lower Tubbo’s
reputation, as well as the Schlatt family’s.

Tommy tilts his head at a few words, though. “‘Eldest child’? You have siblings?”

“My little sister, Lani,” Tubbo replies, his smile shifting to a soft one. “She’s two years
younger than me, and she’s actually training to be a knight.”

“Good for her,” Tommy says, his mind wandering. In the novel, Tubbo’s sister was never
given a name—the only thing readers knew about her was that she died during the civil war
of Manberg and L’Manberg.

Tubbo nods. “Yeah. I’m proud of her, y’know.”

The conversation drifts into a comfortable silence. Tommy sighs quietly—what’s he going to
do about the Dream situation? Should he confront him about it? He’s been avoiding the
protagonist ever since the end of the game, but what if that was the wrong move? He should
probably resolve this as soon as he can—in the novel, Dream doesn’t even meet Theseus
until the Masquerade Ball in Chapter 70. Chapter 70–that’s literally at least four months away
from this point in time.

“We should head back to our dorms,” Tommy says regretfully, standing up and stretching his
limbs out. “Otherwise Scott Smajor’s going to kick our asses.”

Tubbo laughs, “I’d like to see him try.”

“This is the third day of the tournament—our coin multiplier is still at a 1.5 percent,”
Technoblade says, taking on the role of leader as per usual, that prick.

“So…are we still voting for challenges that we’re weak at?” Tubbo asks.

“Yep.” Technoblade turns to the choices. “I recommend Sands of Time—that challenge is the
worst, and we do not want to partake in that challenge on the eighth day.”

Tommy, of course, doesn’t listen to Technoblade—he is old, after all. So he ends up voting
for Grid Runners, which earns him a dry look. Tubbo simply chuckles and votes for Sands of
Time along with Wilbur and Technoblade.

Tommy looks around and his eyes land on the Pink Parrots’ room—which happens to be to
the left of their own. As Tommy looks, he flinches—Dream is staring right back at him. In
fact, the way Dream’s body is turned, it looks like Dream’s been watching him for a while.
Did this happen the past two days as well?! This is creepy, almost stalker shit.

He’s glad when the floor opens up beneath them, sending them through a portal to the next
challenge area.

While making eye contact with Dream, Tommy hadn’t been paying attention to the voting
results, so he’s surprised when he suddenly appears on a floating island in the sky. He yelps,
and everyone gives him an odd look.

“Theseus? What’s wrong?” Tubbo asks, raising an eyebrow.

“Apologies—I was not paying attention to the voting results,” Tommy replies. His mind races
as he goes through all of the different voting results. “So, this is Sky Battle?” It’s the only
option that makes sense. I mean, they’re literally thousands of miles into the sky.

“Mhm,” Wilbur nods, narrowing his eyes angrily. “I have no idea how this challenge was
chosen.”

“I think Red Rabbits had received a votin’ boost,” Technoblade replies gruffly, looking up.
There’s a timer floating in the sky, counting down from 60 seconds. “Alright—we need to
come up with a plan.”

Scott announces the rules, and Tommy wants to cry—is this just another version of the
Hunger Games, but in the air? What is with this world and its obsession with battle royales??

Tommy looks around—unlike the Hunger Games, all the teams seem to be starting on the
border of the area rather than the center. Scott then says, “…And remember, the loot in the
middle island is very beneficial to whomever gets it!”

There seems to be a chest on their little island, and the whole team is somehow wearing iron
chestplates. It’s…surprisingly light on Tommy, he can barely feel that it’s there. Oh well, it
probably has to do with magical properties or something weird like that.

He’s holding a pickaxe and a sword this time. The sword is the same type that Tubbo had
during Survival Games—sharp from the side, but otherwise flimsy and too light to do much
damage.

“Theseus,” Technoblade speaks up and Tommy quickly looks over, “grab that iron and meld
it into armor.” He nods to an iron chunk sat on a table.

And also, what?! Tommy’s brain bluescreens—he doesn’t know how to fucking do that.
Theseus had never mentioned anything about melding or welding or whatever the fuck-

“Oh—I got that, big man!” Tubbo speaks up with a grin. “You know, Theseus here is really
good at ranged attacks—you should use him for something else, like as a bowman!”
Thank the gods above for Tubbo. Tommy will happily sell national secrets for this man. He
nods along with the plan and grins at Technoblade, who just doesn’t seem to care much at all.

“And Wilbur,” Technoblade turns to the middle child, “you’re going to be usin’ the ladders
here to get us across to the other platforms.”

On the ground next to the group is a lot of ladders that are just long enough to reach the other
floating islands. The ladders probably serve as a way to get across to said islands—it’s not
like they can just jump across or put anything else down as a bridge, because then they and
the items would just fall.

The timer hits zero, and everyone is on the move. Tommy grabs the crossbow and the quiver
with two arrows inside the chest, slinging it around his shoulder. He hands a Splash Potion of
Stickiness - if he remembers correctly, this is made with cobwebs and then slime - to
Technoblade, right as Tubbo finished melding the iron somehow. He hands iron leggings to
Tommy, and puts the other pair on himself.

Meanwhile, Wilbur’s using the ladders to make a bridge to the next islands closer to the
middle island. They all have to do their best to only step on the rungs and not through the
holes—Tommy’s proud to say that even in his original life, he had really good balance.

They get diamonds, which Tubbo uses to create a diamond sword. This one is clearly better -
and heavier - than the flimsy one they all started out with. Tubbo ends up giving this sword to
Tommy—to which he has to refuse.

“Actually, Tubbo—I believe this sword will suit the Crown Prince more than I,” Tommy
says, shifting his refusal into a playful joke. But as he holds it, he thinks Tubbo has some
brain issues—did Tubbo really think Tommy could wield something this heavy?! He can use a
sword, not a weighted pointy diamond stick!

Technoblade nods, taking the sword and testing its weight in his arms. He then turns to Tubbo
and says, “This craft is decent.” That might as well be praise, coming from someone like
Technoblade.
Their team continues into the middle island after Tommy’s given two pieces of dynamite.
He’s going to be honest, the first thing he wants to do when he gets it is chuck it at another
team; he then remembers that dynamite doesn’t work that way, so he refrains from doing so.

They’re in the middle island, and Tommy’s given a Potion of Stickiness as well. If he recalls
correctly from Theseus’ lessons on potions, these are commonly used to soften falls from
high up places, acting like a spider web to catch them. You’d throw it, let it splash onto the
ground, and then jump in the little area of effect that it made.

“Theseus, here,” Wilbur says, tossing a handful more arrows towwards Tommy. “Use those
for your crossbow.”

Tommy stumbles catching said arrows; they’re on a tower right now, so he’s a lot more
nervous about falling off and dying. In fact, he’s seen a few other contestants fall due to not
going across the ladders smoothly enough.

“Pink Parrots are bridging into the middle of the arena,” Tubbo reports from where he’s
keeping an eye on the activity of other teams. Tommy involuntarily tenses up at the mention
of Dream’s team—holy shit, he thinks he’ll die if they decide to go against them-

“I say we attack them,” Wilbur says while looking out with Tubbo. “They seem to be
desperate for more armor, so we can go attack them right now.”

Tommy wants to die. “Ok, brother!” Fuck Theseus for being such a Wilbur Craft apologist
and blindly trusting him.

Actually, wait a sec. Tommy isn’t Theseus, he’s just been acting like him to not seem
suspicious. He didn’t want to be thrown out or known as “possessed” or anything—but in
reality, hasn’t he already established a good alibi for being able to act out of character?

He just had a moment with Tubbo last night where he admitted he doesn’t like acting like the
proper, goody-two-shoes Theseus. And he’s already shown with Deo that he isn’t all that he
seems; that he isn’t just the playful, chaotic, coldhearted Prince Theseus that they think he is.

So, he stops in his track and says without his usual Theseus infliction, “Actually, wait. I don’t
think we should do that.”

Wilbur turns around in surprise—probably because Theseus has never gone against Wilbur
before. Technoblade also seems confused. “Theseus? What do you mean?”

“Those fighters managed to overtake us during Survival Games,” Tommy continues,

frowning. “And now, we’re up in the air with only three competent fighters.” He directs this
statement at Wilbur, who’s outright shocked now, along with Technoblade. Tubbo seems to
just be glancing back and forth at all of them, mildly amused at Tommy’s words.

Just as he’s about to continue, he hears the sound of someone climbing up the ladder to the
top of their tower. He pauses and then looks down—the Blue Bats are making their way up,
but they don’t seem to have any iron armor.

“We should probably do somethin’ about that, boss man,” Tubbo comments quietly, also
looking down.

So, Tommy nods and lights three pieces of dynamite, dropping the sticks down and watching
them explode, instantly taking the entire team out. Tommy grins—that probably got him a
bunch of coins.

He turns back to Wilbur and Technoblade. “What we should probably do is take out the
weaker teams that are just now getting to the middle—they’re the ones that are actually
desperate for materials. That team,” he points over at the Pink Parrots, “has already claimed
the middle of the center island, which means they have the most power. At this point, we
should focus on gathering more points.”

In the back of his mind, Tommy thinks that he sounds pretty fucking badass. In all honesty,
he’s played lots of video games in his past life, so he’s really just coming up with a strategy
he’s used for PVP games in the past: don’t bother fighting the ones with the most points, and
scrap for points that’ll eventually add up. He calls it the Rat Strat.
 Technoblade surprises him by saying, “Ok, sure, Theseus. We’ll do that.” Even Wilbur looks
over at Technoblade, shock still evident on his features.

It’s at that moment when, suddenly, a deep blue Ender Pearl is tossed towards their tower—
right from the Pink Parrots.

Chapter End Notes

Hhhhey guys—you might’ve noticed that I missed a day

be adding a new story to this story’s playlist!
🙃 HOWEVER, I’m going to
If you don’t know, this fic is the “canon” story, and the main events of the verse.
However, every other fic in this series will be little side-stories and what-ifs.

The reason why is bring this up is, well…I hope you’re feeling up to a bit of canon
divergence and angst ;)

Edit: I have the link right here!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/38282266
 Day Three - Part 2
Chapter Summary

Stuck in a pickle, the Purple Pandas have to find a way out of their current fight.

Chapter Notes

WARNINGS: Violence(and by that, I mean incredibly badly-written fight scenes),

swearing.

See the end of the chapter for more notes

“What’s the best way to use a sword?” the boy with the raccoon mask, “Child”, asks Dream.

Dream…finds this child very interesting. Since this is a Masquerade Ball, he can’t tell who
the other is—but he spots tuffs of blond hair and the boy is wearing a formal white and red
suit.

“Well, I use an axe, so I’m probably not the best person to ask that question,” Dream replies
after thinking. “Why? Do you want to learn swordfighting?”

“Something like that.” Child giggles, “What if I tried to throw the sword?”

“That’s…pretty counter-intuitive,” Dream remarks, raising an eyebrow even though Child

can’t see him. Dream thinks to himself, Child’s faux name for this event seems to match his
personality.

“No it’s not!” Child denies playfully, shaking his head. “It’s simply…creative thinking!”
(Chapter 75, The Masquerade Ball)

Technoblade’s the first one to react—he uses the diamond sword he’s carrying to swiftly
block an attack from what appears to be just Dream. Wilbur grabs his own flimsy sword, also
trying to do damage to Dream, but—Tommy can honestly tell why Wilbur was never one for
dueling in the novel. He’s only been practicing fighting for a few days, and he’s able to point
out the mistakes in this everything Wilbur’s doing.

Tommy uses his crossbow, firing right at the space in between Dream’s eyes, underneath his
iron helmet. Dream’s eyes widen briefly, before he ducks and sweeps a leg under Wilbur’s
feet, causing him to trip.

Trip off the edge of the tower, that is. Tommy wants to scream in frustration as Wilbur falls
into the void of the sky.

And suddenly, instead of Dream attacking Technoblade, he’s in front of Tubbo, attacking him
instead. He must’ve used an Ender Pearl because he quite literally teleported over to the boy.

And then, Sapnap’s on their tower too, and Tommy wants to fucking cry.

Technoblade is busy with Sapnap, so Tommy gets busy with getting Dream off of Tubbo. He
uses his fishing rod and hooks onto Dream’s sleeve that pokes out the armor. Dream pauses
momentarily; Tommy uses this as the sign to yank hard. Dream stumbles back, and just like
that, Tubbo uses his own sword to attack Dream, dueling out some good damage.

And then, Dream brings out a flint and steel from his pocket, sparking it and- lighting the
hem of Tubbo’s shirt on fire! Tommy immediately drops his fishing rod, running over to
Tubbo to help him put the fire out.
Technoblade seems to be backing Sapnap into a corner, but Dream is now advancing on
Tubbo and Tommy. He has his axe back out, and Tommy narrows his eyes—what can he do
here? He doesn’t have much, just an iron sword, maybe on stick of dynamite, and a-

Instantly, Tommy’s body moves on its own at his thoughts. He grabs the last stick of
dynamite he has and lights it, waiting until the very last second, before chucking it at Dream
and watching it explode. Tommy and Tubbo both take damage—but they’re still considered
alive, as they haven’t been turned to Spectators yet.

Technoblade and Sapnap, who had been the closest of them to the edge of the tower, are
knocked off by the explosion. And Dream is knocked back and down—the explosion actually
got the other half of the tower.

“…Theseus, I don’t mean to alarm you,” Tubbo says casually as if his shirt wasn’t just on
fire, “but I think we should get off this tower before we fall and die.”

Tommy looks around and—yep, their tower actually seems to be falling due to the explosion.
“Huh. Good idea, Tubbo—you always seem to have my back.”

The two scramble up from where they had fallen and grab everything they can—Tommy
grabs a few more Potions of Stickiness from inside the chest, and throws one to the platform
all the way in the middle of the arena. It’s a small, 10-foot by 10-foot island that has a small
chest on it, and dynamite sticks littered around wrapped in bundles of four. This small island
is definitely a last-resort area, because from there, they won’t be able to get back up to any of
the towers.

“Alright, Tubbo—off we go,” Tommy chuckles nervously as the tower starts falling at a rapid
speed. He and Tubbo both get a running start and leap—the tower crashes behind them, the
force actually boosting them a few feet. Tommy’s the first one to land in the area of effect
that the potion caused, Tubbo right behind him.

And now, they have to wait out the potion’s effects. It should only last a few seconds—but
those few seconds could cost them, so Tommy makes sure to keep an eye out on the other
teams.
It looks like Dream has died from the explosion—the only ones left from Pink Parrots are
Bad Boy Halo and George. The Green Guardians have three team members, while the Aqua
Axolotls have all four team members; they’re the only ones left in the challenge, it seems.

“So, Tubbo, you have any more brilliant ideas?” Tommy asks wryly as the teams start
making their way into the middle, throwing some type of potion onto their ladders to make
them stay afloat in the air. If Tommy remembers correctly, those would be Potions of
Stability—it keeps anything from moving, no matter where it is, permanently—until
someone decides to simply break the item that was effected. This potion actually doesn’t
work on anything with magic—it simply has no effect whenever it’s splashed on someone or
when drunk.

Point being, the other teams probably got better loot from their towers if they have Potions of
Stability.

Tubbo looks around, his eyebrows furrowed. “We can try throwing these dynamite sticks,
but…”

But the other teams are at least twenty feet above them. It’s a risky play—especially since
ladders are being used to navigate around. If they miss a throw, the TNT will simply fall right
back onto their island, taking them out instead.

The Potion of Stickiness wears off, and Tubbo and Tommy are able to move freely. The first
thing they both do is grab the sticks of dynamite, both splitting them in half. Tommy checks
the small chest in the middle—there’s two Ender Pearls, a single diamond, and two more
arrows, along with a bow.

Tommy had lost both his crossbow and his fishing rod during the tower explosion, but his
quiver of arrows is still slung around his shoulder. That gives him four arrows in total.

“Theseus! Heads up!” Tubbo shouts. Tommy turns and notices Tubbo looking up. He whips
his head up, and pales.
While they were looting, the other teams have been getting into fights up top. Almost all of
the Aqua Axolotls have been killed off—except one person that Tommy actually recognizes
from one of the novel sketches.

He has dark brown hair and an odd, light blue mask that covers his whole face—Tommy
wonders how he’s even able to see. This would be Wisp Exe, a member of Dream’s party in
the novel before he eventually betrays them by siding with the Antarctic Empire. The reason
is never really said—but a lot of people ended up hating Wisp for doing that.

Tommy aims with his bow - he finds it harder to aim with this than a crossbow - and releases
an arrow, his eyes widening as it actually buries itself in Wisp’s calf. Wisp lets out a curse
and looks down at Tommy.

Tommy’s gaming instincts kick in and he gives Wisp a shit-eating grin.

“Boss man, you might not wanna make our enemies angry,” Tubbo remarks dryly.

“Well sorry, I guess,” Tommy mutters back. He decides, Fuck it, and tosses a stick of
dynamite up to Wisp—but just like he had with Dream, he waits until the very last second
before it explodes to actually throw it. It’s a perfectly-timed shot, as it explodes as soon as it
reaches the height Wisp is at. And Wisp doesn’t even fall—his body turns to white smoke in
the middle of the air.

“Nice!” Tubbo cheers. He then proceeds to throw his stone sword at the Green Guardians,
managing to stab one man and push him off the edge into the sky below.

“What the- why did you do that?!” Tommy immediately runs over, handing Tubbo his own
iron sword. “You idiot, you’re better at melee than I am!”

“I mean, I haven’t actually done much to help,” Tubbo says. It sounds self-conscious, but he
says it like it’s a fact. “For all you know, I could be shit at melee combat.”
But Tommy knows that Tubbo’s pretty adept at melee combat—specifically with swords. In
the future, Tubbo ends up abandoning regular combat in favor of nukes and his own fists—
but the novel states that Tubbo is best with a sword.

“Well, then that’d make two of us,” Tommy snarks, notching an arrow and knocking another
one of the Green Guardians off their bridge. He notches yet another arrow, but it’s blocked by
the last Green Guardians’ member’s sword.

“…That was kind of cool,” Tubbo admits, and Tommy’s forced to agree, that was kind of
cool. And then the remaining two Pink Parrots jump onto that poor member, instantly killing
them.

So now, Tommy and Tubbo are staring up at Bad Boy Halo and George. It’s…quite surreal, if
Tommy’s honest. Almost like a fever dream.

And then Bad Boy Halo starts throwing dynamite towards Tommy and Tubbo’s island.

“Shit, shit, shit,” Tommy mumbles, quickly kicking the sticks of dynamite off, just managing
to avoid their island getting blown up. Tubbo, meanwhile, is swatting the dynamite away
with his sword.

And then Tommy remembers—I have a fucking bow! So he stops kicking the dynamite off
their island and instead notches an arrow, managing to hit George, catching him by surprise.
George falls backwards off the platform he had created, and Bad Boy Halo stops his attacks
momentarily to try and grab George’s wrist.

Meanwhile, Tubbo is standing on the chest on their island, trying to aim his sowrd again to
try and hit Bad Boy Halo.

Tommy rolls his eyes and says, “Wow, Tubbo, that’s kind of sad.” He reaches for another
arrow—and his hand catches on nothing. He’s. He’s out of arrows.
 Tubbo raises an eyebrow right back. “Rrright…”

Tommy flushes. “Fine, keep trying your little sword trick.”

However, the two are too busy arguing to notice Bad Boy Halo tossing an Ender Pearl behind
Tommy. Tommy only notices what happened after he finds himself falling into the blue void
of the sky, and his body puffs into white smoke as he’s sent to Spectator mode.

Chapter End Notes

Yeah…I am so bad at writing fight scenes, and this whole chapter was literally a fight
scene. I want to cry.

ALSO! I was just rewatching tommy’s OSMP vods and, lemme just say, i LOVE the
dynamic between tommy and ranboo. Let’s just say, i just came up with an idea for a
whole arc in the future :)

I hope you enjoyed this chapter! It’s shorter than usual, but oh well. (Also, hope you
guys enjoyed that side-story i uploaded yesterday!)

Love you all, tysm <33

 Day Four - Part 1: Long Talks and Revelations
Chapter Summary

Tommy, now very afraid to confront his brothers about his little burst of OOC-ness, ends
up avoiding them. Meanwhile, he has two very important discussions.

Chapter Notes

WARNINGS: Mentions of child neglect, cursing(rated T for Tommy, after all).

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Dream loves his sister. He loves her very much—she’s all he has left after all, and vice versa.

This doesn’t mean he can’t be annoyed with her sometimes.

“Oh, come on, Dream,” Drista groans, “I swear I’ll be good! I’ll even bring Sapnap with
me!”

“I’m not letting you sneak into enemy territory, Drista,” Dream replies, unimpressed with his
sister. “Why would you even wanna do that?”

“To mess with the royal family, obviously,” Drista replies cheekily. “I’d probably start with
Prince Theseus—he’s my age, right?”

“A few years older, I think.” Dream furrows his eyes—he doesn’t know much about the third
Prince of the Antarctic Empire.
“If anything, I think I could befriend Prince Theseus,” Drista crosses her arms, looking away
childishly while narrowing her eyes. Her lower face is still covered by her own white smiley-
face mask - the one that was designed after his - but Dream can tell that she’s fake-pouting.

Dream chuckles. “What, do you want me to set up a playdate for you and Prince Theseus? I
can get in touch with Prince Technoblade for you.”

That’s clearly a lie—Technoblade had won against Dream in the duel, and never talking to
him again, so Dream can’t actually set up a playdate.

Drista rolls her eyes, looking back at Dream. “You’re stupid.”

“So are you, Drista.”

George then walks in, waving a letter. “Oh Dream, guess what!”

“What do you want, George,” Dream says exasperatedly. He’s just so done with dealing with
immature people like his sister and George.

“Bad invited us to a ball,” George replies with a grin. “A Masquerade Ball, apparently.”

(Chapter 68, Bonds of Family)

“Hey, Tubbo,” Tommy says as soon as he and Tubbo appear in the main plaza the
championship is being held. “Let’s avoid my- my brothers.” God—he didn’t even have any
brothers in his past life, it’s so weird to refer to someone as his brother.
“Sure, boss man,” Tubbo replies easily. “Same place as last night?”

“Of course!” Tommy’s so excited to see the stars again, even though it’s only midday right
now. Sky Battle lasted a surprisingly short time—maybe an hour at most. But, thinking of the
different types of challenges they have here, that’s actually not that surprising.

I mean, really—Parkour Tag?! That’s going to take 10 minutes, max.

Tubbo snaps Tommy out of his internal rant by grabbing his wrist, pulling him along to the
dock they were previously at the night before. The waves are still a crystal blue color, this
time a lighter shade of teal because of the sun. There’s actually a boat in the distance, coming
towards them—probably to provide materials for tomorrow’s challenge, whatever it may be.

“Theseus is such a shit name,” Tommy says aloud, because it’s simply a fact. He hates the
villain’s - or, future villain’s - name with a passion. What’s even worse is that Greek
mythology doesn’t even exist in this world—someone legitimately came up with the name
“Theseus” and thought it sounded cool. “Y’know, I reckon my name was picked by brother
Technoblade.”

“It is kinda shit,” Tubbo agrees.

Tommy rolls his eyes, “Says the guy named ‘Tubbo.’ Fuckin’—that sounds like
tuberculosis.”

“…What?” Tubbo shoots Tommy a confused look.

Right—modern technology doesn’t exactly exist here, so of course it makes sense that
modern terms for certain things don’t either.
“Nevermind,” Tommy says, looking out to the sea. “Just saying, your name’s also weird,
prick.”

“Well, I actually like my name,” Tubbo replies with a smirk. “I chose it myself, after all.”

Tommy raises an eyebrow. “What was your name before you chose Tubbo?”

“Nothing,” Tubbo shrugs. “I gave myself a name because my father didn’t name me. Or Lani.
We both picked our own names.”

…O-kay, Tommy didn’t expect this conversation to get particularly deep.

“That’s shit,” Tommy replies simply. “Your father sounds like a shit person.”

“He’s not shit,” Tubbo protests without much enthusiasm, “he’s just too focused on other
stuff. Stuff like- like business and trade and all that.”

“That’s child neglect, but whatever, Tubs.” Tommy narrows his eyes at the other—not glaring
at him, but just glaring in general. Schlatt was a dick in the novel, so Tommy doesn’t know
why he’s surprised to learn this.

He doesn’t know why he cares so much more about Tubbo now than when he’d read the
novel.

“Your brothers seem shit too,” Tubbo says out of nowhere after a period of silence.

Tommy startles, “What? The fuck do you mean?” Technoblade and Wilbur aren’t abusive like
Schlatt is, what the hell is Tubbo going on about?
“You care about them too much, I think,” Tubbo says, tilting his head and tapping his chin
thoughtfully. “Even when you were making a plan, you made sure to wait and give them the
permission to speak. But have they done that to you?”

No, wait, Tubbo’s clearly getting the wrong idea. “Tubbo, they- they’re my older brothers—
obviously I listen to them first.” He then flushes, “And my ‘plan’ actually failed, so…” He
can stand going out-of-character in front of Deo and Tubbo, but to do so in a fit of annoyance
in front of Technoblade and Wilbur is now giving him second-hand embarrassment…of
himself. Now he’s going to be confronted and they’ll tell Kristin and then Tommy will be
found out. He’ll be killed - twice in the span of two weeks - and-

“See, you’re doin’ it again!” Tubbo cries, pointing accusingly at Tommy. “You’re thinking
about what Technoblade and Wilbur will think of your ‘insubordination’, aren’t you?”

Well, yes, he is, but probably not for the reason Tubbo thinks. He doesn’t give a shit about
Wilbur or Technoblade’s feelings.

“They didn’t even listen to anything you said until you blew up on them!” Tubbo raises his
arms. “Plus, judging by their reactions, you’ve spent your whole life listenin’ to them, boss
man.”

That’s incredibly false for Tommy—but is it false for Theseus? Theseus loves Wilbur -
almost to the point of obsession - but Wilbur never shows this love back to Theseus. He ends
up fucking off and dying before even looking in Theseus’ direction. The only reason it’s
different now is because Tommy’s taking Theseus’ place now.

And Technoblade and Theseus didn’t even talk, other than to one-up each other. At the end of
the day, they weren’t close enough to have any type of familial bond, which is why they were
able to battle all-out in the novel.

“Again, Tubbo, they’re higher in power than me—I have to listen to them,” Tommy replies.
“And anyways, it’s not like I care, now do I?” He doesn’t know why he’s so passionate about
defending Wilbur and Technoblade—maybe he’s subconsciously trying to act like Theseus?
“Ok, Theseus,” Tubbo sighs, clearly disappointed, but he also won’t push anymore.

Tommy goes the whole day without talking to anyone other than Tubbo and the street vendor
to get food, surprisingly.

Actually, it’s not that surprising. Socially, Technoblade isn’t one for confrontation—he’ll
likely just pretend today never happened, just like Tommy plans to do. He’s still so
embarrassed—how could he let go of character so much like that?

As for Wilbur, though, he’ll definitely try and ask Tommy what the deal was with him during
Sky Battle. So Tommy mainly plans on avoiding Wilbur.

He goes to sleep early, subsequently waking up early as well. He sneaks out of the
dormitories after changing into his team’s uniform and lazily throwing his hair into a
ponytail. Stupid fuckin’ hair- I’m definitely cutting this off as soon as I can.

It’s early in the morning—probably not even 7 AM. The air is crisp and cool—in a
comforting way that kind of reminds Tommy of his old home.

“Oh—hello!”

Tommy startles—he’s currently making his way over to his and Tubbo’s dock. He turns, and
finds someone standing there.

That “someone” would be Cyber - a half-demon, half-human hybrid. They have dark brown
hair, dark skin, and heterochromatic eyes—one red and one a dark grey color. Wrapped
around his forehead is a black headband, and poking out of the headband is tiny, red horns.
He has a matching red tail swinging behind him. He’s wearing an orange vest, meaning he’s
on the Orange Ocelots team.

Cyber…could be described as a “misinformed antagonist”. He’s not at all mentioned in the

novel, but rather in a side-story; specifically, the side story that includes Dream’s sister.
They’re described as part of the Antarctic Empire; they sided with Theseus because they
were given the wrong information about the war, and believed that it was Essempei that
started the war. To make things worse, he was a very…violent person. Drista - Dream’s sister,
that is - understandably saw him as a “bad guy” and ended up killing him in battle.

“…Hello?” Tommy replies, uncertain. If he hadn’t been a big enough fan to read all the side
stories, he wouldn’t even know who this is. “Who are you?” Tommy slips back into his
‘Theseus’ mannerisms—it’s basically a habit at this point.

“I-“ Cyber cuts themself off and looks around. Then, without warning, they grab Tommy’s
wrist and starts dragging him back to the dormitories, into their own room. The whole while,
Tommy’s struggling and internally cursing himself for not having bigger muscles like he
always claims to have.

Then, Cyber locks the door to his dormitory, and Tommy thinks to himself, I won’t go down
without a fight, bitch.

Before Tommy can even open his mouth, though, Cyber holds his hand up and says quickly,
“Wait- just hear me out, ok?”

“‘Hear you out’? You just kidnapped me,” Tommy replies, crossing his arms and glaring.
“I’m going to scream if you even touch me.” That’s no empty threat—Tommy can scream
really loud.

“Just- just wait!” Cyber backs up a few steps at that. “Are you from another world?”

Of all the things Tommy expected Cyber to say here, it was not that. He openly gapes at
Cyber, only managing a, “I- wha- huh?!”
“…Earlier, during Survival Games,” Cyber starts to explain, “I had died, and you said
something about ‘Dethroning the Silent Megalomaniac Prince.’ As in, the book series from
my original world.”

Hold on. Tommy needs to process this—Cyber’s what?!

“Also, my name isn’t Cyber,” not-Cyber says, crossing their arms now, “it’s Eryn.”

Tommy blinks dumbly. He’s long since dropped his Theseus act by now. He shakes himself
out of his stupor and replies, “My name’s Tommy.” He then thinks for a bit, “Wait, so you
also made a deal with that Goddess of Space lady?”

Cyber - no, Eryn - shakes his head, confused at that. “No, I didn’t make any deal—I went to
sleep one night after watching the news, and woke up in Cyber’s body.” They laugh
mirthlessly. “I’m so lucky that I’ve read this book series, or else I wouldn’t even be surviving
right now.”

“That’s…weird,” Tommy replies.

“And something even weirder happened after I woke up,” Eryn continues. “Turns out, the
person who’s body I’m in - Cyber - is still here, but as a ghost!”

Tommy blinks—that’s just like with him and Theseus. “Where is he?” Can Tommy just not
see Cyber since he isn’t Eryn?

Eryn waves their hand flippantly. “I don’t know, probably just…around, being angry.”

Yeah, that tracks, actually.

 “The same thing happened to me, too,” Tommy replies. “I mean—you’ve read the novel, so
you obviously know that I’m Theseus.”

Eryn nods in confirmation.

“Well, yeah, I actually have Theseus’ ghost flyin’ around me,” Tommy explains. “He’s
fuckin’—I think he’s gambling, actually.”

“But isn’t he a ghost…?” Eryn is confused now.

Tommy waves his hand impatiently. “Whatever, that’s not the point!” He narrows his eyes.
“Eryn, I have a question—have you changed anything since you got here?”

“I got here about…a week ago?” Eryn replies. “Plus, Cyber doesn’t have a high position of
power—I can’t do much.”

Yeah, that’s fair. “A week ago…that’s when ai got gere too.” Tommy furrows his eyebrows.
“Well, I guess we should try and compare…our experiences so far?” he continues hesitantly.
“Y’know, so we get a better idea of how the world works.”

“Good idea,” Eryn nods.

Chapter End Notes

Yeah yeah, ik it’s another short chapter, but hopefully i made up for it by putting a bunch
of lore in there ;)

ANYWAYS—welcome, eryn! I really wanted some way to incorporate Eryn into the
story as someone special, since he and Tommy are best friends IRL and also childhood
friends in DSMP(as in, the actual DSMP, not the novel here).

If you’ve read SVSSS, you can probably tell where I got Eryn’s character idea from, but
SHHHH!!
So, yeah! I hope you enjoyed this chapter <33

EDIT: Also, since Eryn uses he/they pronouns irl, both Eryn AND Cyber will be using
he/they pronouns here! Just wanted to clear that up
 Day Four - Part 2: Cardinal Directions, Holes in Walls, and
Clingy Teammates
Chapter Summary

The challenge of Day 4 is officially here, and Tommy learns a lot about this world from
Eryn.

Chapter Notes

WARNINGS: Cursing, mentions of underground networking, implied violence/assault

(it doesn’t actually happen, it’s just a misunderstanding)

See the end of the chapter for more notes

“Hey, Dream, are Admins the same as hybrids?” Tubbo asks. “I mean, in terms of birth.”

Dream chuckles, “No, not exactly. Drista and I don’t technically have any parents.”

“Well, we’re all orphans, Dream,” Fundy rolls his eyes, “you’re acting as if any of us will
judge you.”

“What- no, that’s not what I mean!” Dream waves his hands frantically. “What I mean is…
Drista and I literally don’t have physical parents. We were born from…well, space dust,
basically.”

There’s a pause in the conversation.

“That’s so fuckin’ weird,” Jack states, and everyone’s laughing again.

Dream sighs, relieved. “Yeah. My older brothers-“

And then everyone’s eyes are on him again. “Older brothers?!”

(Chapter 262, The Hybrid Revolution)

“Theseus,” Technoblade greets awkwardly as per usual because he’s awful at social
interaction, “where were you all mornin’?”

Tommy just walked into his team’s voting room after avoiding Wilbur so hard that he lowkey
forgot what happened. Right now, he’s just glad that he’s found someone else like him.

“Oh, just hanging around~!” Tommy replies, and since he’s feeling upbeat, he makes sure to
put on his Theseus mask. He then looks out his room’s window, spotting the Orange Ocelots
and Eryn as well.

Eryn and him make eye contact. They grin—the two ended up getting along pretty well,
actually.

Eryn had told Tommy that they haven’t changed much in the plot—but despite their words,
they have been working behind the scenes. Because, turns out, there’s a whole underground
network that Eryn’s connected to because Cyber’s parents were apparently part of said
network.
If Tommy remembers correctly, this underground community is the same one Deo was in
before being arrested. Lots of fighting rings, drugs, gambling—all the works. Eryn’s been
snooping around in the underground network in Manberg - because that’s where Cyber lives
currently - and has made a few connections. The people he listed are names that Tommy
doesn’t recognize whatsoever—this means they were either side characters or just didn’t
show up in the novel at all. He mentions a Beau, a Finn, and a Charlie.

The two have also been trading information they know about this world, since neither of
them know anything beyond what the books told them.

In fact, Tommy had given Eryn a whole 30 minute lesson on the different types of potions,
how to brew them, and how to recognize them by color or scent. In return, Eryn gave Tommy
a 30 minute lesson on the different types of species’ and creatures that are in this world. In
the underground network, Eryn’s met lots of hybrids, monsters that people have as pets, and
just simply bizarre things.

In society, hybrids are typically looked down upon unless they have a high social status, like
Schlatt. There’s a scarce amount that you’ll actually find.

Eryn’s also found out where hybrids actually come from—which is a very popular unsolved
mystery. How are they even born? Because there’s no way people actually went through
reproduction with animals, right?

Well, the explanation for Tubbo and Lani is quite simple—the two got their hybrid traits from
Schlatt. Tubbo and Lani would be considered a Second Generation Hybrid—hybrids that are
hybrids because one or both of their parents were also hybrids.

First Generation Hybrids, meanwhile, only have one biological parent that’s a human. The
other half - the half where their actual hybrid genes come from - is apparently Nature Spirits.

What’ll happen is, if a human spiritually bonds with a Nature Spirit, the energy from both
will create a child. It doesn’t matter if the human is biologically a male or female—the child
will appear, right in front of them, on the ground, so no one technically gives birth.
When Tommy was told all this, he gave Eryn a blank look. “Bullshit,” he had said, “there’s
no way that’s true.”

“It’s true!” Eryn had insisted. “Go ask Tubbo once we get back—he’ll say that he doesn’t
have a grandma or grandpa or somethin’!”

So, remembering Eryn’s words, Tommy turns to Tubbo - still ignoring Wilbur, who seems to
be chatting quietly with Technoblade - and asks, “Tubbo, do you know why your father is a
hybrid?”

“Ehm, I don’t really know, boss man,” Tubbo replies apologetically. “I mean, I don’t even
know my own grandparents, so…”

Oh. “That’s alright!” Tommy smiles a Theseus-worthy smile and clasps his hands together.
He turns to his brothers and says, “Anyways—brother Wilbur, brother Technoblade, which
challenge should we vote for?”

The two startle - actually, Wilbur startles and Technoblade simply glances over - and look
down at the remaining challenges left.

“There should be a times-two multiplier on coins,” Wilbur says. “I think we should start
choosing challenges we’re good at.”

“I think we should still keep votin’ Sands of Time, though,” Technoblade shakes his head.
“We don’t want to end up doing Sands of Time later on in the tournament.”

“I think I agree with Technoblade,” Tubbo nods, tilting his head. “But, wait—what actually is
Sands of Time?”

“I think brother Wilbur is right,” Tommy replies, and this time, he actually thinks so. “Maybe
we choose something we’re decent at?”
Technoblade looks between Tommy and Wilbur. He then sighs, “Alright, then. What should
we vote?” Tubbo shrugs at the decision switch, probably not caring that much either way.

“We could do Hole in the Wall,” Wilbur suggests with a shrug. “Theseus, Tubbo, you two are
decent at parkour, right?”

“Yep!” Tubbo nods.

“I- I suppose,” Tommy replies as well. He is pretty good at parkour—even in his past life, he
was good at using momentum to jump around. The only thing is, a challenge called “Hole in
the Wall” sounds less like parkour and more like jumping.

Oh well. He tosses his ball down anyways, aiming at Hole in the Wall.

As they’re waiting for the rest of the teams to vote, Tommy sucks in a breath and turns to
Wilbur, who- oh. Wilbur, who’s also looking right back at Tommy.

“Brother Wilbur!” Tommy puts on a nervous smile and walks over to him. “I wanted to
apologize for my behavior yesterday. I was out of line, as your younger brother and as the…
subservient youngest Prince.”

Wilbur simply gives Tommy a smile—which is actually surprising. Tommy thinks this is the
first time Wilbur’s smiled at Tommy; he can tell why Wilbur’s so popular with the
commoners. His face in general gives off a very trustworthy vibe; Tommy’s not quite
compelled to reveal his deep and darkest secrets, but he does feel like if he were to fall,
Wilbur would catch him.

It’s odd how these people were only characters to Tommy, and yet they’re realer people than
the ones he knew in his old life.
“Our challenge for today, is…Hole in the Wall!”

Tommy pinches his lips together—he’s not quite sure what to expect here, but he guesses he’s
prepared.

If anything, at least Eryn will be there, just as confused as he is.

Ok, so Tommy’s now super confused. He’s standing on a very small platform that’s
surrounded by a far fall into water. It looks like a challenge where Tommy’s going to have to
stay on the platform as long as he can. There are also four walls around him, all titled the four
cardinal directions in different colors. There also seems to be pistons and all types of
mechanisms hidden behind said walls.

After Scott explains the rules of this challenge, Tommy realizes—yeah, they’re literally
jumping through the hole in the wall.

And then, potions come flying down on him and all the contestants around him. First, it’s a
light grey potion—when it hits Tommy, his whole world goes quiet. Then, it’s a blue potion
—when this one hits Tommy, he doesn’t notice anything different until he tries to tap Wilbur
on the arm and his hand phases right through him. And the third potion is a light blue-grey
color—it turns Tommy and everyone around him invisible. He’s been hit with a Deafness,
Impermeation, and Invisibility potion.

He wishes he was able to see his team - or even Eryn - but settles for just pretending he’s
alone on the platform.

The round starts, and Tommy finds himself almost falling off immediately. The “wall”
coming towards him is a lot less solid than he expected—he actually finds himself getting
pushed back by the wall whenever he touches it. He can’t actually tell what it’s made of,
though—probably some type of material native only to this world.
Something else that sucks about the potions effects is that Tommy can’t actually hear
anything other than his own breathing—which had gotten annoying within the first ten
seconds of him being splashed by the potion. And, you know, Tommy has pretty low stamina;
since his adrenaline isn’t pumping enough to make him block everything out, all he can hear
is his heavy breaths as he tires out more and more.

There’s a timer in the distance, floating above the North Wall, ticking down from 7 minutes,
and Tommy wants to cry. How has it only been three minutes since this fucking challenge
started?!

He can’t even tell if anyone else has fallen off around him—though, he thinks he can see
some footprints in the floor.

Then, the walls coming at them start to speed up. Tommy finds himself having to actually run
between the gaps now. He’ll be ducking under one, and then the next wall will be coming
from his left, so then he’ll have to jump as high as he can to not get knocked off.

And then this one wall, coming from the East side, absolutely wipes Tommy out. It seems to
just be a solid wall—but right in the middle of it, there’s a hole just big enough for a person.
The problem is, it’s about 5 feet up off the ground. The only way Tommy would be able to fit
through is if he were to grab onto it with his arms, lift himself up, stand up, then jump down
back onto the platform. All within the span of like two, three seconds.

So, Tommy ends up falling into the water pit below by the West wall. He swims up to the
surface and finds a ladder leading up to presumably where everyone else is. Towards the top,
he’s hit with another potion—this one outlines his body with a white light.

He lifts himself up and finds- bleachers, along with a bunch of other contestants that seem to
be covered by a towel. And wow, now that Tommy’s thinking about it, he also feels himself
shivering from the water. He’s given a glass of milk by one of the tournament directors,
which nullifies all of the previous potions’ effects.

“To- Theseus!”
Tommy notices Eryn running up towards him. He grins and replies, “Cyber, hello!”

Eryn grabs Tommy’s hand and says, “Prince Theseus, shall we go sit in the stands?”

The stands are actually split between viewers and contestants—contestants get the closest
seats with the best view of what’s going on. Tommy nods with a pleasant smile and Eryn
leads him over.

As soon as they sit down, Eryn whispers excitedly, “Woah, how’d you do that?! That was
sick.”

“It was, wasn’t it?!” Tommy grins while whispering back. “Y’know, I’m actually naturally
good at parkour. It comes with being a Big Man.”

Eryn raises an unimpressed eyebrow. “Uh huh. Sure.”

Wait a sec—how was Eryn able to see me down there when I had Invisibility?

Tommy whips his head towards the challenge and his eyes widen when he realizes he can
also see everyone left. Technoblade, Tubbo, and about five others are still jumping through
the walls. Tommy can’t see Wilbur anywhere—which probably means he just got out.

“My team’s fuckin’ stacked,” Tommy mutters in surprise. “Even Wilbur’s not totally useless.”

“You got that right,” Eryn snorts. “Except, the Pink Parrots are in the lead.”

“Well duh, Dream has the main character plot armor,” Tommy replies with a snicker.
Eryn sighs. “Man, Tom, how were you able to stay so calm? I freaked out as soon as the
Impermeation Potion was splashed on me and fell immediately.”

Tommy jumps a little at the nickname. “Um- well-“ He swallows and calms himself. “I’ve
read every single DSMP book, you see. Of course I know about every fuckin’ Potion.” He
then snorts, “Wait, didn’t I literally give you a lesson about potions right before this
challenge?”

Eryn flushes. “Oi, shut up! You said a lot of things, and I may or may not have spaced out
while you were talking.”

Tommy just laughs at that. “Whatever, man. It’ll just come and bite you in the arse later on.”

It’s nice to have someone - a friend, if you will - that Tommy can fully relax with. Because
before, it had felt like Tommy against the world; now, he thinks it could be Tommy and Eryn
against the world.

Tommy’s whole mood is effectively ruined after Hole in the Wall. Because, turns out, they
weren’t just doing the one round—they did five whole rounds! And every round, ten minutes
would be added to the timer!

Technoblade was, of course, pretty high up in the rankings, but there were others. H. Bomb,
for example.

The Purple Pandas all meet up in front of the dormitory after the challenge is finally over.
Technoblade somehow doesn’t look the least bit tired, despite jumping around for at least
four hours now, if Tommy’s been counting correctly.
“So, Theseus, who was that young lad you were talking with after every round?” Wilbur asks
with a teasing smirk.

Tommy raises an eyebrow. “Brother Wilbur, you’re jumping to conclusions—that would be

Cyber, and he’s simply a good friend of mine!”

Tubbo turns to him, an odd look in his eye. “We’re friends too, right, Theseus?”

Um. “Of course, Tubbo!” Tommy sends him a questioning look, but Tubbo simply crosses his
arms, satisfied.

As if on cue, Eryn’s voice is shouting, “T- Prince Theseus!”

Tommy grins, turning to the other boy. “Ah, Cyber, my friend! Speak of the devil.”

Eryn gains a strained smile at that statement. “O-oh—the Purple Pandas were speaking of
me?”

“Yes, we were!” Tubbo chimes in with a terrifyingly nice, con-man smile. “You’re- Cyber,
was it?”

“Yes,” Eryn replies, startled as Tubbo suddenly shakes his hand violently. He turns to Tommy
- probably asking why Tubbo seems so bloodthirsty right now - but Tommy honestly doesn’t
know what’s going on, either.

“Well! Cyber, my good friend, what did you need to speak about?” Tommy asks, clasping his
hands together cheerfully.

“Oh, it’s fine, Prince Theseus,” Eryn replies, quickly retreating his hand as soon as Tubbo lets
it go. “We can talk tonight, if you’d like.”
Then, it’s Wilbur and Technoblade’s turn to gain a dark look in their eyes.

“Tonight? What’s goin’ on tonight, Theseus?” Technoblade asks, a frown evident on his face.

“You’ll be talking alone, later tonight?” Wilbur asks with a saccharine sweet smile.

Tommy wants to cry—a pattern that he’s been noticing recently. “Oh, my dear brothers, we’ll
probably just go out to the food vendors later tonight!”

“You know what?” Eryn says, cowering a little under all the other three Purple Pandas’
stares. “We can talk tomorrow, Theseus—during the next challenge.” Before Tommy can
reply, Eryn quickly heads into the dormitories, probably towards his own dorm.

Tommy crosses his arms, turning back towards his team. “You three are so unprofessional—
Cyber wasn’t going to do anything harmful to me, tonight.”

“I dunno, boss man, he gives me bad vibes!” Tubbo says, looking more genuinely happy
now. “I think you should stay away from him.”

Tommy raises an eyebrow. “Are…are you three being clingy towards me?” He laughs a little
at the thought. “No, nevermind, there’s no way you three are gatekeeping me from talking
with others.” Without looking at the rest of his team, he turns to go towards the food vendors.
“I’m going to go grab some food.”

As Theseus walks away, Wilbur whirls around on both Technoblade and Tubbo with a grin on
his face. He can’t believe this!
 “I see our brother Theseus has two very overprotective people in his life,” Wilbur cooes. It’s
funny, seeing his older brother so protective over his younger. And not to mention, Tubbo
was definitely glaring daggers at that Cyber fellow the whole time.

“Says you!” Tubbo turns to Wilbur with an accusatory look on his face. “You were assuming
the worst when he had said they’d be meeting alone tonight. You and Technoblade.”

Wilbur narrows his eyes—Tubbo really is different than many other Duke sons he’s met in
the past. “That’s called reasonable paranoia. Theseus is my-“

My little brother. Wilbur feels like he hasn’t been a good older brother, though, ever since the
eye-opener that was Theseus seemingly blowing up on him.

How much about Theseus does Wilbur not know? First it was the whole situation with that
commoner that Theseus had protected, and now, Theseus is proving to be a lot more
calculating than he seems. He’s not just blindly following behind Wilbur anymore—he’s
hiding in Wilbur’s shadow now; hiding behind a cheerful smile.

Wilbur will just have to prove to Theseus that he’s a trustworthy older brother, then.

Chapter End Notes

So! We have officially brought the “clingy” into clingyduo—and surprisingly, it’s not
because of tommy! (Don’t worry though, his time to be clingy will come eventually.)

Also featuring: possessive!Wilbur and possessive!Techno, as well as a surprise Wilbur

POV! We finally see some of his thoughts! (Plus Eryn+Tommy’s friendship. I swear,
this arc was supposed to be clingyduo, but funduo might be invading-)

Eryn is going to get his time, i promise, it’s just that none of these challenges allow him
to show off his talents. It’s the same for tubbo and wilbur—i promise they’re not just
there for tommy and techno to save or anything ;-; /lh

Also: 100+ BOOKMARKS?!:?/! AND 400+ KUDOS ILYSM EVERYONE <33333333

Note: We’re officially halfway through this arc! Yayyyy

I’m sorry if this chapter was a lore dump/too much info! The hybrid thing isn’t
important to the plot, i just accidentally strayed off topic and decided to keep it in the
chapter.

Anyways, tysm again for all the support! Have an amazing day/night, everyone <33

(Expect another side story soon btw!)

 Day Five: Spiderman Simulator
Chapter Summary

Day five has arrived, and Tommy finds that he desperately needs to improve his stamina
ASAP.

Chapter Notes

WARNINGS: Cursing. (That’s probably it, but lmk if there’s anything else I should
add!)

See the end of the chapter for more notes

“Here, take this,” Dream says, handing George a Potion of Resistance.

The king takes it with a suspicious look. “What’s this supposed to do for me?” he asks, the
underlying tone of judgement evident in his voice.

Dream rolls his eyes. What a critic. “It’s so you don’t get hurt.”

“It’s called a ‘Potion of Resistance’, not ‘Potion of Invincibility’,” George replies.

“Exactly—it’ll fortify your body,” Dream nods slowly—he feels like he’s explaining this to a
child. “It’ll make your pain tolerance better than it already is, so you won’t feel like you’re
taking pain—you’ll simply feel the impact; if it’s a broken bone or torn muscle, it won’t hurt
—your limb just won’t work properly.”

George purses his lips, but he nods. His expression is serious; he was actually listening to
Dream that time!
At least he’s making progress.

(Chapter 10, Ethos, Pathos, and Logos)

“Hey, Eryn!” Tommy whisper-shouts as he finds the other sitting at a table at one of the
vendors, alone. It’s still about 6PM, so some people are still out and about; but after today’s
challenge, people are probably resting up.

Eryn turns to Tommy, and grins. “Oh, hey! Come, sit!”

“What’d you wanna talk about?” Tommy asks, quickly pulling the chair out and sitting. He
instantly slouches—sitting down just feels so nice right now.

Eryn looks around, a little nervous. “Well, I overheard Pink Parrots—talking about you.”

Tommy’s eyes widen, his previous relaxed manner completely gone. “What?! What d’you-“

“I didn’t hear much, because they changed the subject!” Eryn clarifies. “But I heard them
mention your name. Dream had said, ‘We need to bring Theseus back to Essempei if this
doesn’t work.’”

Tommy purses his lips. “Shit. What the hell does that mean?” Dream wants to take him back
to Essempei? But why? And why’s Tommy involving his friends in whatever scheme Dream’s
planning?
“I dunno, but just keep your eye out for that team,” Eryn replies. “On a better note, I think
your team is in third right now!”

“Oh wow, nice,” Tommy blinks. He totally forgot that this was, in fact, a tournament and not
just a bunch of minigames. “What about your team? Who’s in it?”

“Umm, there’s a girl, Shubble,” Eryn says, “and two others called Sparklez and Bajan.”

Tommy wants to focus on the fact that Captain Sparklez and Bajan Canadian is on Eryn’s
team right now - two very well-known legends in this world - but all he can focus on is
Shubble—a woman. “Holy shit, that’s fuckin’ poggers.”

Eryn bursts out laughing. “‘Poggers’?! Holy shit, you were a gamer?!”

Tommy’s brain catches up to him and he flushes, glowering at Eryn. “No, you shut the fuck
up, I was not just ‘a gamer’ in my past life! I-“

“No, you said ‘poggers’,” Eryn replies, still laughing hysterically. “Who the hell says
‘poggers’ besides gamers?!”

Tommy sighs and stands up. “Good night, Eryn. You better sleep with one eye open, bitch.”

When Tommy gets to the Decision Dome, it’s early in the morning again. He’s been wanting
to genuinely explore this island in general, but the challenges have been leaving him too tired
to function, so he hasn’t gotten the chance to go anywhere other than the docks, the dining
area with the food vendors, and the Decision Dome itself.
He walks around the stands in the Decision Dome. There’s a portal that’s currently closed
right now, which is how the audience is able to access the island. An hour before the voting
time starts, the portal opens and the audience comes in. However, there’s only 500 people at
most watching the Battle of Champions in-person; there isn’t much space for fans, so
everyone else just has to watch with the magic broadcast that the Streams create.

The whole island is so beautifully decorated, Tommy wonders to himself, Why the fuck didn’t
the novel ever mention anything about this event? It’s not like a tournament arc would’ve
been a bad thing.

Tommy wonders how Deo and Theseus are doing. Sure, Theseus had mentioned that they’d
be illegally gambling, but he could’ve also just been straight-up lying. Theseus and Deo
hadn’t gotten along well last time Tommy saw them; while they would teach Tommy,
Theseus would constantly annoy Deo, and Deo would try and respond by stabbing Theseus.
He’d fail, of course, but the sentiment was definitely there.

Their relationship is…a work in progress, to say the least.

“There you are, boss man!”

Tommy turns around and sees Tubbo running up to him with a grin. He looks like he just
woke up—his hair is all messed up and his vest is slightly crooked.

“Oh, hey Tubbo!” Tommy replies, grinning back. “You’re up early.”

“Says you, who got here before me,” Tubbo shoots right back. “What’re you doing here
anyways?”

The two are standing right at the entrance of the Decision Dome. Tommy shrugs, “I just
fancied a little walk, y’know? Woke up early, couldn’t go back to sleep, so here I am.” That’s
not a lie either—he had woken up at like 5AM. Not because of a nightmare or sleeping
problems or anything, he just woke up early.
Tubbo glowers, but it’s not aimed at Tommy. “What, were you hangin’ out with that ‘Cyber’
guy again?” His voice sounds teasing, but his face is so mad that Tommy thinks he’s about to
pop a vein.

“No, I wasn’t,” Tommy rolls his eyes. “Why d’you still think he’s a wrongen? You met him
last night.”

“Lots of people lie,” Tubbo says dismissively, but looks happier. “You know, you could’ve
gotten kidnapped or something out here, all alone.”

Tommy thinks back to Eryn’s words—“Just keep your eye out for that team.” He shudders as
he realizes that yeah, he probably should stop wandering around alone.

“I wouldn’t get ‘napped, I’m a Big Man,” Tommy replies, placing his hands on his hips.
“And anyways, you’re here now, right? We could fight off the kidnappers together!”

Tubbo laughs. “Whatever you say, boss man.”

And the two end up just talking while walking around the island, until two hours have
suddenly slipped away and it’s 8AM.

Tommy’s mid-sentence when, suddenly, a shadow is cast over him. Tubbo’s eyes flicker up to
above Tommy’s head, and Tommy can even make out who the shadow is. He gulps.

“Theseus, Tubbo, where have you two been all mornin’?” Technoblade’s voice asks from
right behind Tommy. “Wilbur ‘n I’ve been lookin’ for you two—we need to plan out our next
move.”

Tommy laughs and turns around, looking up at the skull mask that Technoblade’s wearing.
“Brother Technoblade! Tubbo and I were simply spending quality time together.” He pats
Technoblade on the shoulder—or, he tries to, but he’s actually too short, so he ends up patting
the side of Technoblade’s arm. “Let’s go over to the Decision Dome so we can vote!”
Tubbo’s snickering behind Tommy, and then he joins him, the two walking ahead of
Technoblade. Tommy hears Technoblade sigh deeply, before proceeding to follow them to the
Decision Dome.

The stands are actually more crowded today. Tommy’s not surprised—in big tournaments like
this, more people tend to wait to watch until the end so they can see who wins. The first few
challenges don’t even matter much anyways, because the amount of coins gained then aren’t
a lot.

“What are we voting, team?” Tubbo asks cheerfully as the three join Wilbur in their room in
the Decision Dome. “This is our 5th challenge, I think. How big is the coin multiplier?”

“Still doubled, like last time,” Wilbur replies, his hand covering the bottom half of his mouth
—he’s thinking hard about something, probably.

Tommy looks down; the remaining games are Sands of Time, Parkour Tag, Battle Box, and
Grid Runner. All of them sound pretty active—at least, Grid Runner and Parkour Tag do.
Tommy doesn’t even know what you’d do in Sands of Time, and Battle Box sounds more
like…well…a battle-based challenge.

“What do we even do in Sands of Time?” Tommy asks, raising an eyebrow.

Technoblade groans. “We should’ve done Sands of Time first. I’m just sayin’.”

“Sands of Time is going to take forever to complete,” Wilbur says in a half-whine, half-
rejection. “Unlike all the other challenges, Sands of Time can last for as long as 24 hours.”

“Yes, but-“ Tubbo starts—he was probably going to ask what they actually do in Sands of
Time, but then, everyone from all the other teams start throwing their voting balls. Tommy
totally understands the dejected and annoyed look on Tubbo’s face currently.
“Look—we could do something like Parkour Tag,” Technoblade decides after a few stressful
seconds. “But if we do, then Sands of Time will become important. We’ll have to do really
well in that challenge.”

“That’s- that’s fine,” Wilbur nods. “Let’s vote Parkour Tag, ok team?” He sends a smile
towards Tommy and Tubbo.

Tommy and Tubbo both give each other a “what-the-hell-is-going-on” look. Tubbo then
shrugs, voting for Parkour Tag. Tommy sighs, doing the same right after.

It looks like a lot of others are voting Parkour Tag, too. The vote is so one-sided that it’s
obvious which challenge won.

As Tommy listens to the rules for this challenge, he and the other contestants are actually
standing on a glass ceiling. Underneath the glass seems to be a…a very complicated parkour
course in a relatively small room.

The room is styled in the form of an abandoned apartment complex area, kind of—there are a
few mini buildings with broken windows that you can jump through. The actual apartments
have maybe two rooms, each on different stories. There are vines growing along the walls,
and on the ground, there are hallow cars that you seem to be able to slide under; the ground is
evidently designed as a parking lot. There are also abnormally wide street lamps that are
probably there to jump across.

Also, cars exist in this universe?! Why the hell did Tommy get stuck with the fancy-shmancy
royalty shit?!

“…That looks fucking horrifying,” Tubbo states simply. “I’m going to twist my ankle.”
“You’ll be fine, Tubbo,” Wilbur replies with a chuckle. “We’re given both Resistance and
Regeneration—even if you did twist your ankle, you wouldn’t feel a thing. The main focus of
this challenge is ‘tag’, not ‘fighting’.”

“Wow, brother Wilbur, that’s amazing,” Tommy says, and he’s not lying that much when he
says this. This challenge actually sounds really fun. He was amazing at tag last time he
played - which, granted, was when he was like seven, but whatever - and he’s also good at
parkour.

“Do we get to choose who’s ‘It’?” Tubbo asks.

Just as he asks this, Scott explains, “You will be going against every other team; this means a
total of nine rounds. You may choose who is ‘It’ for your team, but one person can only be
‘It’ up to four times. And, whoever is ‘It’ in a round cannot be a runner against the other
team.”

“We should choose who’s ‘It’ dependin’ on who we’re against,” Technoblade speaks up, and
everyone nods in agreement.

Tommy feels the hairs on his neck prickle upwards, and he turns his head—just in time to
catch Dream staring intensely at him, before everyone’s told to go to their respective rooms.

He shivers, quickly turning back around. He’ll be doing his absolute best to run away from
all of the Pink Parrots.

The first team they’re up against is the Yellow Yaks. Tommy doesn’t recognize anyone on
that team, and quickly raises his hand while saying, “I want to be ‘It’, please!” He’s grinning
—he can’t wait to do this, because this honestly looks really fun.
“Alright, Theseus can be ‘It’,” Technoblade agrees. Since their team is currently in a higher
rank than the Yellow Yaks, Tommy’s team is going to be running first.

Tommy’s the only one left in their room as Technoblade, Wilbur, and Tubbo walk through the
portal into the actual parkour course. Tommy watches as the portal closes after all three walk
through, and all three of them are in the course.

Then, suddenly, a voice comes from the speaker in the waiting room, “To whomever is ‘It’
for this round: please take the gloves that are going to be dropped into the room.”

Tommy startles, and then looks towards the hopper system by the wall. A pair of black gloves
fall out of the chute, which Tommy catches.

“Please put the gloves on and hold them underneath the chute; do not let any of your bare
skin touch the potion incoming.”

Tommy does so, and suddenly, what looks like a Potion of Spectation splashes onto the
gloves. It vaporizes like mist, and now, Tommy’s gloves have a slight purple and blue hue to
them.

After about two minutes, a timer appears in the air, counting from ten. Judging by how no
one’s moving right now, Tommy assumes that everyone in the course is affected by some
Slowness or Freezing Potion right now.

The timer hits zero, and everyone immediately starts moving around as another timer takes
its place, counting down from five minutes. Tubbo’s taken to running on the streets—he’s the
fastest among them all. Wilbur’s strategically placed himself out of view somewhere where
even Tommy can’t see. And Technoblade is running along the roofs, his hair flowing - quite
obnoxiously, actually - behind him.

The Yellow Yaks’ “It” ends up catching Tubbo on the ground by cutting him off as they’re
running. They also end up catching Wilbur—turns out, he was hiding behind within one of
the hollow cars. Technoblade isn’t caught at all.
He realizes why only “It” is wearing the black gloves; as soon as his hand touches Tubbo and
Wilbur, they disappear, probably given the Spectator effect. Tommy makes extra sure to keep
these gloves away from his own face at all costs.

Once the second timer reaches zero, there’s an alarm ringing throughout the course, and the
portal opens back up. Tommy’s teammates walk back in. Tubbo is clearly the most tired
—“It” had chased Tubbo the most of the three, because Tubbo had stayed on the ground level
the whole time.

“That was fuckin’ torture,” Tubbo groans, flopping down on the coach in their waiting room.

Wilbur nods. “Theseus, you tire out easily—are you going to be ok?”

Tommy snorts and grins. “Yeah, I’ll be fine, brother Wilbur! I’ll tag all three of ‘em for you
guys, don’t worry.” He then walks through the portal, watching as his world warps into the
parkour course.

Everything’s a lot…bigger, now that he’s actually seeing this course in person. Despite this,
he can see openings where he can climb up onto the rooftops and where he can jump between
street lamps. He’s currently on the second floor of an apartment building; across the course,
he can see the three Yellow Yak runners on the second floor of the apartment building
opposite to him.

The timer then starts counting down from ten, and a feeling runs through Tommy’s body. Is
he nervous? Excited? Whatever it is, he’s becoming jittery just from watching the timer
slowly tick down.

After an eternity, it reaches zero, and Tommy immediately starts by jumping onto a window
ledge that leads up to a rooftop. He analyzes the other team’s runners, and finds one on the
ground, while the other is still in their apartment building.
Tommy slides down the roof - it’s slanted on the side closest to the middle - and lands on one
of the lamposts. He jumps across them, making sure to watch his footing. Despite this, the
Yellow Yak in the apartment building isn’t moving. In fact, they don’t seem to think he’s
going to reach them—that is, until Tommy leaps from one of the lamposts to the windowsill.
He almost misses the jump, but manages to grab the edge with his hands. He’s dangling now
—not at a dangerous height, though. He’s only about six feet away from the ground.

He debates lifting himself up to try and make his way into the apartment building. But then
he hears movement below him, and instantly lets himself drop, making sure to land into a
crouch to soften the impact. His feet are slightly shocked from the fall, but then he sees one
of the Yellow Yaks and quickly lunges, tagging them.

He then hears someone running behind him while someone else is shouting, “He’s on the
ground, go!”

He turns, and from where he is on the bottom for of the apartment building, he can see
another Yellow Yak runner in the middle of the room. With a running start, he slides
underneath one of the hollow cars and uses that momentum to push himself up. He loses
balance momentarily, but he’s a few feet away from the Yellow Yak runner, so his adrenaline
spikes as he runs right at the runner. He tags them after giving chase for a few seconds.

He looks back up to the apartment building on the Yellow Yaks’ side—but the third runner is
gone. Seeing as he’s right next to a vine, he starts to climb it, scaling the wall of the entire
room. He gets onto the second floor of his team’s apartment building—but he still can’t see
the last runner. So, he does the same thing he did at the beginning of the round—with a
running start, he jumps to a window sill built into the side of the room, hoisting himself up
onto one of the tiled rooftops.

And now, he sees the last member crouching behind a pillar on the ground floor, probably
trying to hide from him. Taking advantage of the Potions of Regeneration and Resistance, he
takes another running start from his roof and jumps all the way to the floor, landing with a
messy roll. He sprints over to the pillar where he’d seen the runner, but then they start
running away from him.

He grits his teeth, peeking at the timer. About three minutes have passed; he’s huffing and
gasping loudly, clearly out of breath. Despite this, he pushes himself, running his fastest to try
and tag the last runner.
He finds his opportunity when the runner jumps, trying to hop over one of the hollow cars.
Tommy slides underneath it, managing to grab the runner’s ankle right as they land.

When Tommy goes through the portal, he wants to fucking cry. Again. His whole body is
sore from running so much, and he flops right down on the ground. The effects on the gloves
seem to have ran out, so now they’re just normal, black gloves.

And then, Tubbo’s running up to him. “Holy shit, Theseus, that was amazing!”

Tommy lifts his head up to give Tubbo a tired smile. “Thanks, big man.” He then groans,
letting his head fall again with a thud. “We better have a fuckin’ break in between rounds.”

“You did good, Theseus,” Technoblade speaks up, and Tommy wants to look up, but he
genuinely cannot move right now. He simply brings his arms up to act as a pillow for his
head.

Wilbur laughs, and he sounds really close to Tommy. “Don’t worry—there’s an hour-long
break between every round, so just rest up, Theseus.”

And Tommy takes that as a sign to start napping, so he does exactly that.
The next seven rounds go similarly, except Tommy only volunteers to be “It” for one other
round. He much prefers being a runner, because he’s only looking out for one person—and
he’s trying to avoid them, not catch them. But despite his preference, he ends up being pretty
good at being “It” each round.

Tubbo turns out to be pretty decent at being “It”, while Wilbur…he’s alright. Wilbur’s
actually pretty fast in terms of running, and he also has height so he can reach a lot of the
higher-up places; he’s just not good at parkour. Like, at all. Technoblade, meanwhile, is good
at pretty much everything that comes with being “It”, and he also has godly stamina—so the
team unanimously agreed that Technoblade would be “It” for the faster teams.

Tommy isn’t really paying attention when Technoblade offers to be “It” for their eighth round
—he’s just preparing himself for yet another round of Parkour Tag. He finds this challenge
the most fun of all the other ones, despite the fact that he’s physically left in shambles after
every round—something about the fact that they’re just playing Tag makes him happy.

Tommy’s prepared to go through the portal first - the runners go first, after all - when he
realizes the portal had closed off behind Technoblade. He startles and then turns around, as
Tubbo and Wilbur are with him as well.

“Why the fuck…” he starts, before actually looking at the other team.

The team that’s lower in the rankings is “It” first. And their team - the Purple Pandas - are
currently second in overall points, and first place is…

“Oh. It’s that one creepy team,” Tubbo narrows his eyes, looking out their waiting room
window. “This is the team with the ‘Dream’ guy.”

Tommy’s heart plummets. He looks out; Technoblade is currently chasing three of the Pink
Parrots. He frantically looks at the runners—there’s George, Bad, and Sapnap…

Which means Dream is “It” against them.

Technoblade catches George first; surprisingly, George is pretty fast, but has bad stamina like
Tommy. Sapnap is jumping around like crazy on top of the rooftops, and Bad Boy Halo is
probably choosing to stay hidden.

The five minutes go by in an instant, which Tommy absolutely hates. Technoblade ends up
tagging both Sapnap and Bad Boy Halo as well, giving their team full points.

Tommy doesn’t want to go against Dream, because Dream doesn’t have the title
“Speedrunner” in the future for nothing. Nevertheless, he steps into the portal along with
Tubbo and Wilbur, and watches as Dream steps out of his portal.

The timer hits zero; Tommy blinks, and Dream has already moved from his building. The
first thing he does is look up—and when he doesn’t see Dream on any rooftops or anything,
he immediately throws himself onto the window sill to his right. By now, he’s made this jump
so many times, he’s no longer hesitant. He pulls himself up with ease onto the rooftop and his
eyes instantly start darting around, looking for the bright pink color of the Pink Parrots. He
finally spots Dream, running along the perimeter of the ground floor. He finds Wilbur and
tags him.

Tubbo’s also on the bottom floor, but in the opposite corner of the room—from where he is,
both Dream and Tubbo are able to see each other. As if on cue, Dream starts running towards
Tubbo by cutting through the middle.

Tommy winces as Tubbo’s tagged; while Tubbo’s the fastest in their group, Dream is much
faster.

Dream then looks upwards, right towards where Tommy’s crouching. Tommy’s pretty high
up, and has already thought of at least four escape routes, but shivers are still sent down his
spine. Only a minute has passed since the round started—Tommy has to run from Dream
Wastaken for four whole minutes.

As Dream starts climbing the vines, Tommy jumps onto a different roof, almost stumbling,
but catches himself right in time. In the corner of his eye, he can see Dream also on the
rooftops as well. How did he get up here so fast?!
There’s only four rooftops to jump across, and Tommy and Dream are on opposite ones. So
as soon as Dream jumps to one, Tommy jumps the opposite way. This goes on for about a
minute, until Tommy slips on a jump and finds himself going right through one of the broken
apartment building windows. He pushes himself up and scrambles to his feet, looking out the
window.

Dream is cutting through the middle, hopping across the street lamps with ease. Tommy
narrows his eyes—if he runs right now, Dream can just quickly change direction. So-

As soon as Dream makes the jump through the window, Tommy dives. He goes down and
starts running around the outskirts of the room, making sure to listen out well for Dream’s
footsteps; listening out for footsteps was a necessary skill he’d learned back in his original
life. And it looks like it’s necessary in this world too—it’s a very handy skill, apparently, as
he can hear Dream slowly catching up to him.

Right as Dream is breathing down his neck, Tommy pivots on his foot and turns towards the
middle, running right towards one of the hollow cars. He slides underneath, using the same
move as earlier to kick himself up and keep momentum going. He feels a slight twinge in his
ankle as he does this—but then the Regeneration kicks in and it feels fine.

He’s now running into the middle of the room, where there’s only cars. So Tommy weaves
through, trying to lose Dream in the obstacles—a nigh-impossible feat. However, Tommy’s
shorter than Dream, so his one advantage is his ability to safely slide underneath the cars.

And he absolutely abuses this advantage. Dream’s still hot on his tail, but Tommy no longer
hears his breathing right in his ear, so he assumes he’s losing him.

As Tommy slides underneath another car, he hears Dream straight up jump right on it, the
sound of hollow metal hitting his ears. And while this move puts Dream significantly closer
behind Tommy, it gives Tommy an idea.

So, to test this idea out, he runs for another car. Instead of sliding underneath, he jumps right
on it, and- Clang! It’s hollow, but it can actually hold Tommy’s weight!
Using his momentum, he jumps from the car onto one of the street lamps, just barely
managing to scramble up since it’s three feet higher up from the ground than the cars are. As
he does so, he turns around; Dream had stayed on the ground, and his arm’s outstretched for
Tommy’s ankle. However, it falls a few inches short, leaving Tommy safe on the street lamp
for the time being. He breathes heavily for a second; as the adrenaline in his veins starts
seeping out of him, a freight train of pure fatigue hits him, and he almost collapses on the
street lamp.

Except, Dream’s now scaling up the wall with one of the vines close to Tommy, so he pulls
himself up and starts hopping across the street lamps towards the opposite roof of where
Dream’s at. His jumps are messy; he finds himself almost falling with every single step. He
really needs to work on his stamina.

At this point, Tommy’s mind is totally blank right now—he’s too exhausted, too tired to
think, and relies heavily on his and Theseus’ instincts to pull himself up to the roof.

Except when he turns to look for Dream, he finds the other man already on the roof with him,
staring down at Tommy with his emerald eyes. Tommy can’t find it in him to care at the
moment, though. Well, it was a good run—goodbye cruel world.

But Dream doesn’t tag him. In fact, he doesn’t move to touch Tommy at all. He simple
crouches down, maintaining eye contact with him.

Tommy’s eyes flicker up to the timer; 1:52 is what’s remaining. He looks back at Dream;
neither of them speak. It’s silent, broken only by their labored breathing patterns.

“…You’re Theseus,” Dream says after what feels like an eternity of silence. “Of the Antarctic
Empire.”

“Hahh…that’s me…huff…big man…” Tommy wheezes. “And you…huff…you’re Dream…

Dream Wastaken…”

Dream nods, seemingly already recovered from all the tiredness that previously plagues him.
He’s ready to go again; Tommy, decidedly, isn’t.
 “…You’re important, in the future,” Dream says, his voice hushed, probably talking to
himself; Tommy has to strain his ears just to hear him, and they’re literally only like two feet
away from each other. But—Wait, what did he just say?!

“…The future…?” Tommy’s so surprised that he forgots his fatigue momentarily. He sits up,
his eyes wide.

“…I just don’t know how.” Dream turns to Tommy. “We need to talk, after this challenge.
Alone.”

Tommy’s breathing evens out slowly as he processes Dream’s words. “What…?”

“Hopefully, you can give me some answers, Theseus Craft,” Dream murmurs to him. He then
reaches out, lightly tapping Tommy on the shoulder - as if afraid to hurt him - rendering him
out of this round.

Chapter End Notes

Did I just write ~4000 words just purely about Parkour Tag? Yes. Yes I did.

I’m rewatching a shit ton of Tommy’s MCC streams as I write this arc, and as I was
watching, I remembered, “holy crap, tommy’s actually REALLY good at parkour tag!”
So, yeah—take Tommy absolutely crushing it at this game haha

This chapter’s kind of longer than usual! This update’s also later than usual, but eh, it’s
fine /lh

I hope you enjoyed! I love all your comments—AND ALSO 500+ KUDOS????
WTF!1!!1!11!!1

Love you all sm <33

 Day Six: Possible Allies? Also, Gambling
Chapter Summary

The last thing Tommy wants to do after the fifth challenge is meet Dream at the beach in
the middle of the night with no one around. And yet…

Chapter Notes

WARNINGS: Swearing(rated T for Tommy), lmk if there’s anything else in here I

should put!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

“Hey, Dream, why don’t you ever show your face?” Sapnap asks. “And, as a matter of fact,
neither does Drista. Why is that?”

“It’s an Admin cultural thing,” Dream replies with a grin hidden by his facemask. “Regular
Admins - like Drista and I - wear these types of facemasks that only cover our mouths and
noses. However, Awakened Admins - like my eldest brother - wear a mask that covers their
whole face.”

“Is there a hierarchy of some type involved?” Bad Boy Halo asks from where he is atop his
tree branch.

“Mm…no, not really,” Dream shakes his head. “It’s just- a culture thing. I dunno how to
explain it.”

(Chapter 27, Rebuilding)

The last round of Parkour Tag goes by quickly. Tommy doesn’t really register the fact that his
team wins—he’s too focused on Dream’s words.

“Hopefully you can give me some answers, Theseus Craft.”

What the hell does that mean?! Tommy really should’ve just ran away as soon as he got
transported here. Fuck Theseus and his stupid psychological threats—Dream is so much
scarier right now because he seems to actually be able to tell the future.

Actually, no, that’s not quite true. If Dream was somehow able to tell the future, wouldn’t he
immediately try and kill Tommy, since he’s Theseus right now? Plus, in the original novel,
Dream never had any precognition abilities, so why does he now? It sounds more as if
someone gave Dream Theseus’ name and said “this guy’s important for the future” and didn’t
give him any context.

“Theseus.” Tommy startles as Technoblade walks up to him. The fifth challenge is currently
over, and Tommy’s standing in the middle of the building that shows the ranking of each
contestant; Tommy’s actually in 7th place right now, which is a nice surprise.

“Brother Technoblade!” Tommy smiles shakily. He points at the rankings, “Look, brother
Technoblade, you’re in 1st place!”

Technoblade does look—and he is in 1st place, followed closely by someone named Pete,
and then Dream.

“Mhmm,” Technoblade says, sounding greatly uninterested. “Theseus, why are you actin’
so…strange, right now?”
Tommy purses his lips. “I’m not!” His mind drifts back to Dream. “I’m just a little tired after
today.” That’s not even a lie either, his bones are aching so much, he’s probably going to
wake up tomorrow and still be sore. “Do you have any recommendations for what I should
do about this setback, brother?”

“What did that Dream man say to you?” Technoblade asks instead, saying Dream’s name
with such intense contempt. “At the end of our round against him, you two exchanged words.
What did he say?”

Tommy outright frowns at that. “Brother, I…” he sighs. “He didn’t say anything to me. He
simply asked me about who I was, and I told him my name. He looked startled because he
realized that I’m a Prince of the Antarctic Empire.”

Technoblade looks at Tommy for a moment—at least, it looks like he is, but Tommy can’t
actually see Technoblade’s eyes underneath the pig-skull-mask.

He huffs, crossing his arms. “Alright. Come to me if anyone dares to trouble you, Theseus.”
He ruffles Tommy’s hair and then walks away, leaving Tommy alone in the ranking room.

Tommy’s eyes widen as he fixes his hair back into Theseus’ haircut. What the fuck, that bitch
messed my hair up.

As Tommy walks around, he finds that the island is a lot more beautiful at night than during
the day. The lights that decorate the island are still on, and the stars in the sky make for a nice
backdrop. He’s wandering along the coast of the island, his socks and shoes off as his feet sift
through the sand with every step.

In his past life, Tommy didn’t live anywhere near the ocean, so he’s never been able to enjoy
it like he is now. It’s…peaceful here. The waves are crashing softly against the sand, and
sometimes, the cool water comes all the way up to Tommy’s feet. It’s quiet, but not in an
eerie way—the quiet here is natural.

“Theseus Craft.”

That silence is broken by the very voice that Tommy didn’t want to have to speak to all day.
He turns around, and Dream is standing a few feet away from him.

“Sir Dream,” Tommy replies, inclining his head slightly. “You…”

Dream walks towards Tommy. “Prince Theseus, I’m going to say a few things, and…you’ll
have to believe me.”

Tommy raises an eyebrow. Oh, so this fucker wants to try and act rational now? What about
before, when he was threatening the shit out of me?!

You know what, he’s taking matters into his own hands. “Sir Dream Wastaken—you’re an
Admin of Essempei Kingdom.”

Dream pales. “You…how did you-“

“I want to know why an Admin is so focused on me,” Tommy cuts in. “I’m the youngest
Prince of the Antarctic—no one special. I don’t hold any power. You don’t know anything
about me. Why have you been searching me out this whole championship?”

Dream stays silent for a moment, and then turns back to Tommy. “You know a lot of things,
Prince Theseus.“

“I read a lot,” Tommy replies with a shrug. “What do you want?”

“I want to…offer you a partnership, of sorts.”

What. Out of everything Dream could have said, a partnership offering to Tommy wasn’t one
of them.

“What’s in it for me?” Tommy replies, now genuinely intrigued. If this isn’t a lie, then this
could be huge for the Antarctic Empire. “Why do you want to partner with the Antarctic
Empire?”

“Not the Antarctic Empire,” Dream denies, shaking his head. He crosses his arms, “I’m
talking about you specifically, Theseus Craft.”

Tommy’s…definitely shocked at this, but then he remembers everything Dream’s said up to

this point. “…You have foresight, don’t you?” He narrows his eyes, “You can see into the
future.”

Dream hesitates before nodding. “Technically, yeah, I can.”

“‘Technically’??” Tommy scoffs. “You either can or you can’t, big man.”

“I was visited a week ago in my sleep by a goddess,” Dream explains. “She called herself the
Goddess of Prosperity. She told me that I had the chance to change the future for the better,
so I took it.”

“Goddess of Prosperity…?” Tommy says to himself. Just like the Goddess of Space that had
visitied him, the Goddess of Prosperity wasn’t at all mentioned in the novel. In fact, only one
god was—the Goddess of Chaos.

“So- so you can see into the future,” he figures. “If you can see the future, then…” Then is
this some ploy to get revenge on Theseus or something? That’s a problem, though—Theseus
kills so many people that Dream cares about in the future, and since Tommy’s the one in
Theseus’ body, Dream’s revenge will be enacted on Tommy instead. So how can he-
“First of all, I can’t actually see the future,” Dream inturrupts Tommy’s train of thought.
“When I made the deal with the Goddess of Prosperity, I woke up the next day with…strange
feelings.” He looks down at himself. “It’s a gut feeling, from my future self. I don’t actually
have any memories, I just get certain feelings if I look at or hear certain things.”

Oh. Tommy gulps, “And…when you look at me?” He’s trying to play the cool and aloof
Theseus, but…it’s very difficult.

“…You’re important,” Dream settles on saying, his eyes narrowed, but not at Tommy. He just
looks confused now. “Whenever I look at you, I feel a very strong emotion—so strong it
makes my whole body freeze up. I just…” He clicks his tongue, looking away. “I’ve never
felt like this before. So I don’t know if, in the future, we’re allies—or if we’re enemies.”

Tommy blinks. This is quite a lot of information to process. “Then why did you offer me a
partnership? We could be enemies in the future.”

“Yes, but we could also be allies.”

Tommy scoffs—Protagonist optimism at its finest.

Dream stares at Tommy for a little while longer, settling on his hair. “…When I look at your
hair, though, I think to myself, ‘I’d really like to brush it so that it looks better.’”

What the fuck is he on about. Tommy has officially lost the plot of this conversation. “…Sir
Dream, if I may ask, what in the world are you talking about?”

But Dream seems to have decided on something. He nods. “Ok. I’m convinced that this
emotion for you was positive and possibly some type of affection.” He’s clearly meaning to
say this to himself, but he’s saying it loud enough for Tommy to hear.
There’s no way Dream actually confused his future self’s extreme hatred for Theseus as…as
affection, did he??

“What else have you felt strong emotions like that for?” Tommy asks, trying to make sense of
any of this.

“…My little sister,” Dream replies, “I have the strongest urge to protect her.”

Wow, what the fuck. This guy really did just confuse extreme hate with extreme affection. I
mean, sure, Tommy understands that love and hate are such opposite emotions that they’re
hard to differentiate, but-

“How do I know you’re not lying?” Tommy blurts out, not really giving a damn about
breaking out of character. If anything, it’s better to stay out of character when around Dream.
“How do I know that- that this isn’t some ploy to get me to trust you? That you’re not lying
about the future?”

Dream’s silent for a moment. “…You know of Admins, right?”

Um. “Yes, I do,” Tommy nods, eyeing Dream’s hands, which are slowly being raised towards
his- his face?

“Then you should know—an Admin’s face is only something they show to the people they
deem worthy of their trust. It’s also a sign that they’re telling the truth.”

Tommy…did not know that. Holy shit, is that why Dream and Drista both wear masks? I
thought that was a fucking fashion statement or some shit.

When he looks back over at Dream, he’s already unhooked his facemask, and he can see his
full face now. He expects a light to shine on him and for trumpets to play holy music.
But it’s night. And it’s windy. And also, Dream is just so- so not angelic that it’s kind of
underwhelming. The only thing he’s been hiding under the mask is light freckles and- and a
mouth.

Nevertheless, it’s the one thing in the novel that Dream never gave away to anyone.

“I trust you,” Tommy decides tentatively. “Now, what will this partnership entail?”

“You look tired, boss man,” Tubbo says as Tommy walks out of the dormitory. “What, did
you stay up late again?”

Tommy raises an eyebrow. “How do you know I’ve been staying up late?”

Tubbo just smiles. “As long as you’re not hanging out with that Cyber guy, then it doesn’t
really matter. Let’s head over to the Decision Dome! Oh- and also, I’m pretty sure
Technoblade is trying to push for us to do that Sands of Time challenge, so just…be prepared,
I guess.”

Tommy sighs. “I wish they’d just tell us what Sands of Time is.”

“You and me both, boss man,” Tubbo nods. “Adults, amirite?”

The two make their way over to the food vendor for breakfast, as they have about 30 minutes
until the Decision Dome opens up. They sit down at the outdoor tables, an umbrella stretched
out over them.
“So, I think we should make a bet on which challenge we’ll be doing today,” Tommy says as
a conversation starter. “I bet it’ll be fuckin’ Battle Box! That sounds cool as hell.”

“No, I still think it’s Sands of Time,” Tubbo shakes his head. “Prince Technoblade’s been
pushing that challenge, and now it’s one of the last three available. It’ll definitely be Sands of
Time.”

“I bet…a gold coin on Battle Box,” Tommy says with a grin. He doesn’t actually really
understand the currency in this world other than the fact that gold is worth a lot of money.

Tubbo scoffs. “Boss man, that’s child’s play—I’ll bet 100 gold coins.”

Well then. “Deal.” The two shake on it.

“Aaaand, the challenge chosen for today is…Grid Runners!”

“Fuck.”

“Shit.”

“So basically, this is like…a bunch of mini-challenges put into one big challenge?” Tommy
summarizes as Scott explains the rules of this challenge. “But it’s also a race?”
“This sounds stupid,” Tubbo grumbles, evidently still angry about their bet. “Why didn’t they
just make a bunch of different challenges? Give us more diversity and things other than
fighting and running?”

“Because the challenges in here are way too easy to be an actual challenge in the
championship,” Wilbur replies. “I mean, look at that one.” He points at one of the display
challenges. “That one’s literally just simple parkour—we could finish that in under a
minute.”

“Seconds, actually,” Technoblade cuts in, eyeing both Tommy and Tubbo. “You two’re
actually pretty decent at parkour. We could finish that one in ten seconds, max.”

When Tommy’s team gets to their starting position, it seems to be…a very large swimming
pool. They’re all standing on a diving board—except there’s some type of redstone piston
contraption behind the diving board, which makes Tommy think that they’re going to launch
a lot further than a regular diving board.

“Hey, uh, what do we do here?” Tubbo asks from the right of Tommy. The four are split into
different diving boards that are walled off from each other, but there’s a window right in the
middle of each wall, so they can all see each other’s faces.

“As soon as Scott reaches ‘1’, you need to jump as high as you can,” Wilbur says, holding up
a finger. “To explain quickly, this divjng board will be giving us a huge boost, so we basically
need to catch the boost at its highest, so we’ll get boosted all the way to the end.”

Tommy doesn’t really understand anything of what Wilbur said other than the word “boost”,
so he decides to focus on his original advice; to jump as soon as Scott reaches “1”.

When he does so, he finds himself flying. He screams, before landing in the pool that’s
actually about 30 feet deep. He swims up, right as everyone else does. They all reach the
other side of this stage, and are hit with an intense wind current that’s seemingly drying them
off.
“Ok—clean the statue,” Technoblade says, reading the sign in front of them. There’s a chest
with four different towels and four sets of cleaning supplies; everyone grabs one each and
gets to work. The statue is of a man holding a bunny holding an egg.

Tommy finds himself cleaning the arms of the man and the bunny. Technoblade is up above,
cleaning the face and the head, while Tubbo and Wilbur are cleaning the legs of the statue.
The four are cleaning in silence until, suddenly, the speaker in their room chimes. It sounds
positive; and sure enough, when Tommy looks over to the exit of the room, the door is open!
Except this time, the green zone they have to stand in is split into four different parts.

“Everyone, split up,” Technoblade orders as they all scramble down the statue and make their
way over.

Tommy finds himself all the way in the left section. From the ceiling, a dropper drops down a
bow that seems to be Enchanted. When he looks around the bow, he can spot some markings:
╎ リ ⎓╎ リ ╎ ℸ ̣ || ╎ .

He really wishes Theseus were here—they had started on memorizing different types of
Enchantments, but Tommy hadn’t started memorizing the ancient language it was all written
in. Damn it, if only Theseus was here…

Tommy looks up and finds arrows flying out of everyone else’s sections. He notches back the
one arrow he was given and shoots, aiming at one of the many targets around the room. It hits
the vey edge—despite this, the target lights up a green color. As this happens, another arrow
spawns into Tommy’s hand.

Oh, this is an Infinity Enchantment, he thinks to himself. He starts letting arrows fly; he hits
quite a lot of targets. None of them are bullseye’s, but they don’t even have to be, because the
targets light up green no matter where Tommy hits them. After he finishes shooting at the
ones in his view, he sits there and waits for everyone else to finish hitting their targets.

In total, it takes them about two, three minutes to hit all the targets. Once Wilbur shoots a
certain target that he’s been complaining about the whole time, the fence blocking them off
from the room retracts into the ground, and the four sprint to the other side of the room,
where the previously locked door is now open.
There’s only one green pad, so once all four teammates stand on it, suddenly, four swords fall
from the ceiling dropper. The door opens up, and a sign is on the ground in front of them:
Kill the Monsters.

This room is passed pretty easily; Tommy takes to the secret basement immediately, with
Tubbo right next to him. Wilbur and Technoblade go into the house itself. There are zombies,
skeletons with bows, and enlarged spiders—all common monsters - or mobs - within the
DSMP universe. Tommy’d bought a spin-off novel in the format of a travelling journal—it
would mark down every type of hostile mob, types of biomes, and even a few of the different
species that live around the world, like the Piglins.

The next challenge is called “Flip the Levers”. Tommy and Tubbo get up on different types of
parkour courses, and have to flip multiple levers. In this room, they seem to have the
Resistance and Regeneration effects on them, so they can leap for hard-to-reach levers
without worrying about twisting an ankle or jumping into a wall. Meanwhile, Wilbur and
Technoblade are on the ground, finding different levers that are hidden in nooks and crannies.

The next five challenges follow this vague pattern—there’s one where the four have to use
teamwork to get one of them onto a pyramid. And there’s another one where three of them
had to step on pressure plates while the last one had to jump on the contraptions caused by
the pressure plates.

The very last challenge turns out to be the one that they had all looked at on display; it’s a
five-jump parkour course that they do, in fact, finish within ten seconds. They end up in as
the third team to finish, giving them roughly 3000 coins rounded up—a pretty large amount.

The whole challenge had taken Tommy’s team about 45 minutes to complete, mostly because
of the large distances they had to travel.

“Man, that was intense,” Tubbo sighs as the four all sit at a table, eating dinner. “We couldn’t
even talk that much—we all had to focus on the tasks.”

“It was quite fun, though,” Tommy has to admit as he eats a spoonful of corn. “I mean, the
parkour ones were a little overkill, but the cleaning one was quite fun.”
“The cleaning one made me feel like a commoner,” Wilbur replies with the slight narrowing
of his eyes.

“Wilbur,” Technoblade deadpans, his tone dryer than it’s ever been, “we’ve been fightin’ and
runnin’ away from others this whole tournament. We have easily done things that commoners
- even criminals - would do. Get over it.”

Tommy and Tubbo both burst out laughing as Wilbur splutters at that, his face turning a
comical shade of red.

“My favorite one was the very first one,” Tubbo says with an excited gleam in his eyes. “I
wonder what the Redstone behind that diving board was…”

Tommy rolls his eyes. “Calm down, Tubbo, we still have two more challenges to win before
you can commit to learning Redstone.”

Tubbo responds by flicking a spoonful of beans at Tommy. While both Technoblade and
Wilbur stare at Tubbo with astonishment, Tommy grins and says, “Oh, you’re on.”

The team is promptly given a warning about not starting food fights, despite Wilbur and
Technoblade’s protests that they weren’t actually the ones participating in said food fight.

Psh. They’re all stupid, Tommy thinks to himself with a dumb smile on his face.

“Hey Tom, I trust you and all,” Eryn says blearily, “but what the hell are you doing?”
Tommy’s just awoken Eryn by sneaking into his room by picking their door’s lock with a
bent fork that he’d stolen. It was pretty easy to do, actually, if you asked Tommy.

“Come on,” Tommy says in a hushed voice, pulling Eryn from out of his bed. “I need go
show you something! It’s important!!”

“How important?” Eryn glares, yet still starts to pull his socks and shoes on.

“I may or may not have have made a deal with someone…pretty important,” Tommy says,
fully intended to sugarcoat this explanation. “And I may have included you being privy to
this deal as one of the clauses. So, uh, yeah- we need to head over to the beach on the South
side of the island.”

“What the fuck have you done,” Eryn asks tiredly—whether it’s because he just woke up or
because of Tommy’s words, he doesn’t know.

Tommy leads Eryn to the beach that he and Dream had met up at last night—and, sure
enough, the masked man in already there, waiting for the two.

“Is that Dream Wastaken??” Eryn whispers furiously into Tommy’s ear. “Tommy, I thought
we were supposed to avoid this guy!”

“Yeah, well, things changed,” Tommy grimaces, patting Eryn on the shoulder. He then speeds
up and speaks louder so Dream can hear, “I’ve brought him, big man!”

“Um- hi,” Eryn says awkwardly. “I’m Cyber…I don’t actually know why Prince Theseus has
brought me here.”

“Cyber?” Dream cocks his head. “Hmm—you trust this young man, Theseus?”
 Tommy chuckles. “Of course I do! Cyber and I are the best of friends—he knows my deepest
and darkest secrets.” Which, technically is a lie, but the fact that Tommy is a transmigrator is
a big enough secret that Tommy can say that he pretty much has full trust in Eryn.

Dream extends a hand out to Eryn. “Then, hello, Cyber. My name is Dream Wastaken, and
I’ve recently gained a variation of a foresight ability.”

“…You fucking what.”

Chapter End Notes

So! Happy Easter, everyone! (Even tho it’s already over, but whatever)

As you can all tell, I took a bit of a break! Things have been kinda busy recently—but
don’t worry, I’ll get back to regular posting soon!

Also, right after this, I’m going to work on an Easter special short-story. It’ll be super
short—like, probably under 1000 words—but yeah, ig that’s something to look forward
to!

Also! Some were wondering what the next arc is going to be about, and I’ll give you all
one detail about the next arc: Allium Duo.

Anywaysss, have an amazing day/night, everyone! (And thank you all for the kudos and
hits, I really appreciate it!!!) <33
 Day Seven: Fighting Montage and Chosen Names
Chapter Summary

The seventh day arrives…Technoblade continues to be unsuccessful in getting his team

to vote for Sands of Time, what a loser.

Chapter Notes

WARNINGS: Swearing, badly-written fight scenes.

See the end of the chapter for more notes

“Oh, there’s a Book of Knockback here!” Drista says excitedly. “Dream, can we-“

“Nope,” Dream replies instantly. “We’re not enchanting our sword with that.”

“But Knockback is such a useful Enchantment!” Drista groans, hugging the book to her
chests in a way that suggests she’s not letting it go. “Why shouldn’t we grab it? We have
space in our pouches…”

“Knockback is only useful against enemies like creepers and zombies,” Dream replies with a
grimace. “If you’re fighting anything else, the only thing it does is force your opponent out of
your reach.”

“But then they can’t hit you,” Drista furrows her eyebrows.

Dream shakes his head. “I don’t- it’s hard to explain. But Knockback is only useful when you
want to simply harm your enemy, not kill them. For example, pushing them into water.”
“I get it,” Drista sighs, her whole body slacking in sadness. “I guess I’ll put it back.”

(Chapter 110, The Stronghold)

“Y’know, you look like someone that would like butterflies,” Tubbo says.

“What the hell,” Tommy says, laughing in surprise at the sudden statement. “Butterflies? No,
I’m not a butterfly person.”

“I mean, that’s fair—clearly bees are the best animals,” Tubbo nods with a slight shrug. “I
just thought-“

“No, no, no, bees are also shit,” Tommy cuts in. “I’m more of a moth guy, myself.”

“Moth?” Tubbo scoffs. “That’s like…a secondhand butterfly. They’re not even as pretty as
butterflies.”

“No, but they’re fuckin’ cool,” Tommy argues. “Have you seen them?? They have wings.”

“So do butterflies,” Tubbo points out. “And birds. And chickens.”

“Chickens are birds, you idiot,” Tommy rolls his eyes.

“Hey, can you two help us vote for Sands of Time?” Technoblade asks exasperatedly from
the other side of their voting room. “The Blue Bats are riggin’ the vote—you two need to
stop talkin’ about birds and get over here.”

“But brother Technoblade, at this point, it doesn’t matter which challenge we choose,”
Tommy points out as he and Tubbo walk over. “I mean, won’t both of the games cost the
same amount of coins, since they’re the last two? We’ll get to both eventually, so…”

“He’s just being a baby about not wanting to stay up late,” Wilbur chimes in. “Sands of Time,
at minimum, takes half a day to complete, since it’s time-based. He thinks that it’ll be better
if we get it over with.”

“You still need to explain what we actually do in Sands of Time,” Tubbo raises an eyebrow,
crossing his arms.

Tommy nods, turning to Technoblade. “Yes, brother—I will not be voting Sands of Time
unless you explain what that challenge is.”

As if on cue, the voting time starts counting down from five seconds. When Technoblade
fails to come up with something to say, Tommy throws his vote at Battle Box.

The look of despair on Technoblade’s face makes him burst out into laughter.

The room they’re currently in right now reminds Tommy of the Parkour Tag waiting rooms.
There’s a glass wall that reveals their course—a series of bridges, trees, and a white platform
in the middle. The platforms are built over water; there are ladders leading up to every
platform as well, in case anyone falls into the water. The overall room looks like a canal.
From what Scott explains the rules are, each team is given a bucket of paint to paint the
white-wool platform in the middle. The first team to paint all of it wins; however, you can get
extra points by killing the other team’s members.
There are four different items in their waiting room: a crossbow, a quiver with 8 arrows, an
Enchanted sword, and a pair of Enchanted leather boots. The team was already given a
regular sword, a bow, and 8 arrows.

“So, we all choose one of these extra items each,” Wilbur explains to Tommy and Tubbo. “I
say we try and play to our strengths.”

“Ok then—Wilbur, you should grab the Depth Strider boots,” Technoblade replies. “I mean,
you seem to enjoy fallin’ off of stuff—at least now, you’ll be able to swim faster through the
water.”

Wilbur flushes furiously, pointing at Technoblade. “You- ugh!” He graps the Depth Strider
boots anyways, causing Technoblade to grin. If Tommy remembers correctly, Depth Strider
allows someone to move faster through water.

“What’s the sword Enchanted with?” Tommy asks, grabbing said sword. Engraved on the
ꖌ ꖌ
blade is: リ𝙹ᓵ ʖᔑ ᓵ ╎. ꖌ

“Knockback,” Technoblade replies while grabbing the crossbow. “I’m sure you know what
Knockback is, Theseus.”

“Of course I do, brother!” Tommy grins widely, claiming the Knockback sword. Since he’s
really only practice-fought against Deo, it’s good to have something that can keep others
away easy.

“I guess I get the arrows,” Tubbo grumbles, grabbed the quiver and putting his own 8 arrows
in it.

“Don’t worry, Tubbo,” Tommy pats him on the shoulder, “at least you have more arrows than
us now. Oh, here’s an idea—just throw the arrows at them regularly. They’ll never see it
coming!”
Tubbo rolls his eyes, pushing Tommy’s hand away. “You’re stupid.”

“How about you both get over here so we can plan out what to do?” Wilbur raises an
eyebrow. “First of all, should we go straight for painting the wool, or eliminating the other
team?”

“Obviously we’re goin’ for those extra points,” Technoblade rolls his eyes. “Alright—Tubbo,
you have the extra arrows, which means you’ll be the archer. Find somewhere high-up to
perch, and rain hell upon them.”

“Sure,” Tubbo shrugs.

“Wilbur, you’ll be in charge of painting…just try not to get knocked into the water.”

“Whatever, Tech-no-blade,” Wilbur crosses his arms, looking away.

“And Theseus.” Oh shit, he’s talking to Tommy now. “You have the sword, so you have to do
the most fightin’. We’ll cover Wilbur if they get close to the middle, ok?”

“Of course, brother Technoblade,” Tommy sneers all Theseus-like, but all in all, it’s a pretty
solid plan.

Their first opponent is the Orange Ocelots. And Tommy has to stifle a laugh, because he sees
Eryn on the other side, waving at him while talking to his own teammates. He waves back
happily.

“Who are you- oh,” Tubbo cuts himself off as he realizes who they’re up against. “It’s your
little friend.”
Tommy suppresses a very large sigh. “Why do you even hate him, Tubbo?”

“I’m telling you, man, he’s evil,” Tubbo replies.

Scott starts counting down from ten. When he hits zero, the team is teleported into the canal,
and the round starts.

Wilbur immediately makes his way across a bridge to the middle, his paintbrush out and
ready in hand. Tubbo makes his way onto a tree, while Technoblade goes around the side of
the room. Tommy, meanwhile, is right behind Wilbur, keeping an eye on their enemy team.

Eryn is going pointedly in the opposite direction of Technoblade, right towards the tree that
Tubbo’s perched on. Meanwhile, two of their other teammates team up on Technoblade. The
last one charges at Wilbur with his sword, which Tommy parries.

And then, Tommy finds himself at a great disadvantage: the man he’s fighting is, in fact, a
man. A man who’s stronger than him, at that. He’s forced back; he stumbles, but makes sure
to keep a tight grip on his sword.

“Hey, you’re pretty good at fighting.” Damn it, mouth, I did not want you to start talking!
“Come here often?”

Luckily, the other is caught off-guard. He laughs, “You’re funny, kid. What’s your name
again?”

Their conversation is inturrupted by Tubbo shooting an arrow at Eryn, and he bursts into
white smoke. Tommy swears that Tubbo has a bloodthirsty look on his face for a second, but
it’s quickly gone as he starts shooting at their other enemies.

Tommy backs up a few steps - he’s probably in Wilbur’s way now - and sheathes his sword,
instead pulling out his bow and notching at arrow at the man.
He quickly starts running to get behind a tree, but is sneaked from behind by Technoblade,
who seems to have already gotten rid of the other two teammates. Goddamn, Technoblade is
mental.

“Is that everyone?” Wilbur asks. The whole middle wool is painted purple except for a white
spot in the corner. Tommy’s actually standing on some of the paint, his shoes becoming
stained with purple paint.

“Yep!” Tubbo calls from his treetop.

Wilbur finishes painting, and a chime goes off from the speaker in their room. A portal opens
up, which they all walk through, and are teleported back to their waiting room.

“Congrats,” Technoblade drawls, “now, we just need to get through eight more rounds of
this.”

Tommy groans. “Oh, but this is going to take forever!”

“Don’t worry, boss man,” Tubbo pats Tommy on the shoulder with a teasing smile and faux
sympathy. “It’s not your fault that the Captain almost killed you.”

“The-“ Tommy’s brain shuts off for a second, before remembering Eryn’s words; he’d
mentioned someone called “Captain Sparklez”. This is probably who Tubbo’s talking about
right now.

If Tubbo knows of this Captain Sparklez person, then that means he’s well known. So, why
the hell didn’t he come up in any of the novels?!

Oh well—Tommy just gives a bashful smile and says, “Well, the Captain is a lot stronger
than I.”
“It’s true—he was bein’ forced back,” Technoblade chuckles.

Tommy glares at his older brother. Oh, I’m going to- I’m going to fucken-

A hand is placed on Tommy’s head. He startles, quickly swerving around to see- Oh, it’s just
Wilbur.

“Don’t worry, Theseus,” he says with a shit-eating grin. “We’ll train your puny muscles up in
no time.”

Puny? Who the fuck uses the word “puny” anymore?

Then, the speaker starts counting down again, and everyone grabs their extra items again.
This time, Tommy finds himself smiling in excitement; Maybe this will be kind of fun.

“Theseus, did you throw your fucking sword into the water?!” Tubbo screams from the other
side of the fake-canal.

Tommy leaps back as an arrow zooms right by him. “Maybe!” He looks down and dives into
the water below, swimming down to grab his now sinking sword.

He emerges, and Tubbo shouts, “You’re stupid, Theseus!”

“Oh, be quiet!”
“Oh…no,” Wilbur says worriedly. “Theseus, I may have…done something.”

“What did you-“ Tommy pauses, looking down at Wilbur’s hands.

Instead of the usual leather boots with Depth Strider, Wilbur’s holding the sword that Tommy
usually picks out.

Tommy groans. “Wilbur, you-“

Tommy curses loudly as his body explodes into white smoke. He turns, and finds that Tubbo
is also about to lose the battle he’s in- oh, yup, there he goes.

Wilbur’s the next one taken out. He’s stabbed with a sword and explodes into white smoke;
now, it’s just Technoblade left.

He mutters something that ends with, “…Blood God.”

In the next five seconds, a lot of things happen that Tommy doesn’t process until a full
minute afterwards. Technoblade takes his sword out of it sheath, kicking it towards one guy’s
face; right after taking the sword out, his hands grab his bow and he notches an arrow, aiming
between another guy’s eyes. Both guys are killed instantly. There’s one enemy left—Tommy
had killed the fourth one first.

Technoblade simply uses his sword to fight against the poor lad, who clearly isn’t nearly as
skilled in swordfighting as Technoblade. He’s killed, and then Technoblade goes over and
paints the wool purple.

“Technoblade never dies,” he announces to the air—probably to the enemy team.

Damn pig.

…Is that fucking Dream?! Oh hell no.

Tommy’s weight shifts between his feet as he stares anxiously at the other team. Logically, he
knows now that Dream didn’t mean him any harm; the two are officially allies now in every
way except politically. Dream also seems to trust Tommy to a concerning extent.

And yet, Tommy can’t help but shiver every time he sees Dream’s smiley face mask.

“Oh, I’ll be havin’ fun takin’ this team out,” Technoblade smirks nefariously. “Let’s get ‘em.”

The round starts, and Tommy finds himself in a battle against Sapnap. And, he’ll admit,
Sapnap’s pretty good; there’s a reason he’s part of Dream’s party.

Tubbo, of course, comes in clutch with a surprise arrow to the back of Sapnap’s head after he
takes care of Bad Boy Halo. As Sapnap’s distracted by the arrow, Tommy uses his
Knockback I sword to push him into the water.

Then, George is suddenly attacking him, and- woah. Tommy knew that George could
theoretically fight - he is the king of Essempei, after all - but he didn’t realize that George
would be this good at fighting! Tommy finds himself forced back; he also notices that George
is holding the sword that’s enchanted with Knockback I.

Hmm…this is just the right situation for a fun experiment!

Tommy grabs his own enchanted sword out and runs at George with a battle cry. George
swings, and Tommy aggressively parries the slash; both of them are sent flying backwards
from the force of both swords colliding—Tommy into the wall, and George into the water.

After the match, Tommy’s given a Potion of Healing. He’s told that he passed out, and that
Technoblade and Wilbur ended up teaming up on George. Tubbo had also managed to paint
the white wool fully purple.

“I can’t believe we’re in the topic fuckin’ 3,” Tommy grins as he looks out to the night sky. “I
mean, we have a good chance of getting into the final round!”

“I know!” Tubbo nods. He’s equally as excited as Tommy; but it’s late, so his energy isn’t as
present at the moment. “We did so good today.”

“We did, didn’t we?” Tommy agrees. “We had a solid plan.”

“And we defeated the Pink Parrots for once,” Tubbo points out. “From the way this
tournament’s going, they’re probably who we’re going to face in the final round.”
“‘We’?” Tommy chuckles. “You’re that confident that we’ll get to the final round?”

“Of course I am,” Tubbo rolls his eyes as if questioning the audacity of Tommy. “Our team’s
so cool.” He then pauses, as if thinking about somethinf. “Or—me and you are cool.
Technoblade and Wilbur are…meh.”

Of course, he’s joking when he says that. There’s a playful glint in his eyes. Technoblade is
renowned as one of the best fighters out there, and Wilbur’s talent in leadership is no joke
either.

“I wonder what Sands of Time is gonna be like,” Tommy sighs. “Those two bastards didn’t
tell us shit. I’m still mad at them for that—we’re gonna have to rely on Scott Smajor to find
out what to do!”

Tubbo groans exaggeratedly. “I know! I fucking hate Scott Smajor.”

“Agreed!” Tommy laughs. Tubbo does too.

There’s a calm silence for a couple of minutes. Then, Tubbo speaks, “Hey, Theseus, you
mentioned the other day that you don’t like your name, right?”

“Hmm?” Tommy hums, thinking back. “Oh- yeah, I suppose I did. What about it?”

“Choose a new name, right here!” Tubbo suggests simply. “It can be our secret—I’ll call you
this name in private! Besides, Theseus is such a shit name.”

Amen to that, Tommy thinks. “Ok, umm…” Fuck, what name should I choose??

Oh. He knows what name. “I like…Tommy.”

 Tubbo snorts. “‘Tommy’? That’s such a…normal name.”

“Well, I like it!” Tommy flushes a bright red color. He’s glad it’s dark out, so that Tubbo
won’t make fun of him. My name isn’t boring, is it?

“It’s a cool name; just like you, boss man,” Tubbo says encouragingly. He smiles. “I’m
Tubbo—nice to meet you.”

“I’m Tommy,” Tommy says, almost crying, because this is one of the only truths he’s told to
someone other than Theseus since being transported here. “It’s nice to meet you too.”

Chapter End Notes

Yay! Tommy actually being called Tommy for the first time in this fic!!

Clingyduo enjoyers, unite, i shall revive all of you ;)

I hope you enjoyed! And happy 4/20 everyone—today is truly a monumental day.

I’m glad you’re all liking this story so far—thank you all for the kudos and etc.!!

Anyways, in other news, there’s officially two chapters left until the end of this arc, and
then another Interlude!

I hope I’ve done the characters justice. You all seem to like the interactions, but still, if
you have any criticism, please lmk! A lot of these interactions are intentionally dubious
or odd—but I’d still like to hear your thoughts!!

Have a wonderful day/night everyone <33

 Day Eight: Caving Simulator and “Good” Life Choices
Chapter Summary

The eighth day - and final day, for 80% of the contestants here - has arrived! The
infamous Sands of Time is here :)

Chapter Notes

WARNINGS: Minor derealization at the beginning(skip the bold+italic words!!),

cursing (T for Tubbo), mentions of death.

See the end of the chapter for more notes

It’s dark. There’s hand reaching down - up? - towards him, beckoning him. But is it real?
Is he real?

He shifts in his bed.

“I love you so much, Toms. My little Sunshine.”

He nuzzles into his pillow, but his face is still contorted uncomfortably.

He hates small, cramped places. It makes him feel big- too big. It’s dark and he’s too big
and he needs to leave, but he can’t, because there isn’t a way out- because he isn’t real-

Despite the sadness within him, he stays quiet. Even in his sleep, he’s already learned to stay
silent, no matter how much he’s suffering.
“You’re all mine. My Sun; my Starlight.” A hand cups his cheek- or is it around his
throat? He can’t breathe.

He turns to his other side.

“You’ll never leave me, will you, Starlight?” A hand rests itself of his head of curls. It’s
soft- it hurts. “You’re mine. I wouldn’t survive if you left me.”

He’s curling up into a ball—he needs to feel small.

“I love you, you know that?” It hurts. It hurts hurts hurts hurts. “All of this is for your
sake.” He’s burning- or is he numb? “I’m doing this for you.” He’s too big. “I’d destroy
this whole universe for you, Starlight.”

When Tommy wakes up, he doesn’t remember the dream at all.

As the Purple Pandas walk up to the Decision Dome together - they had just finished eating
breakfast together and somehow didn’t end up arguing over something petty! - Tommy
notices that the dome isn’t actually open. Instead, there’s a portal in front of the doors, where
other contestants are walking through.

“If this goes well, we’ll be outta here by noon,” Technoblade says, but the weariness in his
face says that he believes otherwise.

Wilbur probably also notices the weariness, because he laughs sardonically and says, “Noon?
Don’t be ridiculous, Technoblade—this challenge isn’t going to be over until midnight
tonight.”
“You pricks need to tell us what this challenge even is,” Tubbo reminds the two, not caring
for the murderous looks that grow on their faces at being called ‘pricks’. “Maybe, if you two
had told us what we do in Sands of Time, we could’ve voted for it first.”

Tommy nods, just to stoke the fire. “Sorry, my brothers, but I’m inclined to agree with
Tubbo, here.” Both of their heads snap to him. “But it’ll be fine—we’ll get through it, won’t
we?” Tommy brings some of the Theseus-typical cheerfulness—maybe it’ll help them calm
the hell down.

“Prince Theseus.” For fucks sake, why is every source of Tommy’s problems here at this
tournament?

He turns around - the rest of his team doing the same - and Dream is standing there
ominously. In the novel, Dream is always confused about why he’s seen as threatening and
scary; clearly, he’s socially-fucking-blind. How can you not know how fucking creepy you’re
being when you stand like that?!

“Sir Dream!” Tommy smiles. “How have you been?”

“I’ve been…well,” Dream says, shifting uncomfortably. Though, that might be because of the
death glares that he’s receiving from Wilbur and Tubbo; Technoblade’s eyes aren’t showing,
but he’s probably also glaring at Dream.

Tommy raises an eyebrow—damn, Dream’s so intimidating that he has Tommy’s whole team
defensive. Impressive.

“Would you like to speak privately, Sir Dream?” Tommy says. This bitch better say yes—I’m
offering him a way out of this incredibly awkward situation.

“…If you don’t mind, Prince Theseus.” Dear Lord, this man has social blindness.
“Hey, can I come with?” Tubbo speaks up. “I just want to make sure that Theseus here
doesn’t get lost on the way back to us!”

“Oh, don’t worry, Tubbo,” Tommy says with a reassuring smile. “Sir Dream and I are just
going to have a nice chat! He’s not a wrongen.” Tubbo better not be attacking Dream like he
does with Eryn.

Before anyone can argue, Tommy grabs Dream’s arm and pulls him to a secluded part of the
island. No one’s particularly around—there’s about half an hour until the challenge actually
starts, so most are either in the waiting area or eating breakfast at the pavilion.

“So, Dream, what did you want to talk about?” Tommy asks carefully, crossing his arms. “Ah
—is this a tactic to lower my morale? Are you perhaps trying to sabotage me, Sir Dream?”
He smiles sarcastically at that.

A flash of recognition flashes in Dream’s eyes—probably because Tommy was blasting

Theseus Mode just now.

“No, I’m not doing that,” Dream says hurriedly. “I just wanted to ask- I know you agreed to
help me save the future from Doomsday.” Right—that’s the deal that he and Dream had
made. “But—I still don’t understand why you wanted that Cyber kid to be involved as well.”

“Cyber is my biggest ally,” Tommy says simply. “I trust him- fully, actually. Besides, he has
connections to lots of people—potentially powerful people, if we play our cards correctly.”

“I…don’t remember him,” Dream says slowly. “Err, not remember, but—I don’t recognize
him. In the future…”

In the future, Cyber dies because Drista kills him. In the future, Cyber fights alongside the
villain, Theseus, and helps him massacre thousands of Dream’s people. In the future, Dream
doesn’t know of Cyber’s existence because Drista ends up forgetting about killing him
because he was simply too easy to defeat.
“We’re going to change the future,” Tommy reminds Dream. “So why should it matter?”

“…I suppose you’re right,” Dream furrows his eyebrows. “One more thing: how are we
going to communicate?”

“Communicate?” Tommy repeats, confused. The fuck is this guy talking about?

“If we want to coordinate and work together, it will be difficult, to say the least,” Dream
explains. “We live- continents away from each other. And Cyber is an ocean away from you,
and a nation away from I.”

“Oh-“ Tommy purses his lips—Dream has a point. “I- I suppose we can…attempt to regroup
in a year or so? We can report anything that’s happened.” He then remembers something that
almost smacks himself in the head. “Sir Dream, we can also message each other with letters.”

Dream snorts. “Yes, but what about Cyber?”

Right—when Tommy had brought Eryn to meet with Dream, Tommy and Eryn had explained
everything to Dream - except for the whole “I’m from another world where you’re all
fictional characters and then got reincarnated” thing.

This included where Eryn lives, his connection to the underground, and his Demon Hybrid
nature. Demon Hybrids are probably the rarest type of Hybrid—other than whatever Bad Boy
Halo is. Demon Hybrids gain some pretty powerful magical abilities when they reach their
late-teen, early-adult years.

Cyber had died at 17 years old—probably right on the cusp of gaining his magical abilities.
Hopefully, Eryn will be living long enough to see these magical abilities.

Tommy also shared many different things about the Antarctic Empire—including Pandora’s
Vault and Sam and all his robots. He didn’t tell Dream about Deo, though—in the novel,
Dream and Deo were never able to fully trust each other due to their respective Admin and
Herobrine Descendant statuses. Since Deo was arresting in the Underground in Essempei, his
name is most likely known as a criminal and by his title: Herobrine’s Descendant.

Anyone sent to Pandora’s Vault is infamous for whatever crime they committed—the same
title that’s on the plaque above their prison cell.

However, Tommy would not be keeping this deal a secret from Deo. At any rate, while Eryn
is Tommy’s most trusted ally by far - the fact that Eryn’s from his original world makes him
infinitely more trustworthy than anyone in this universe - Deo is Tommy’s most powerful one
—besides Dream, of course, but both Dream and Deo haven’t really awoken their true
potential yet, and Deo is a lot more bloodthirsty at the moment than Dream is.

“Well, we can all meet up in a year at- somewhere,” Tommy replies with a shrug. “Cyber can
go do his own thing in the Underground network. He’s reliable—he wouldn’t get himself
killed or anything, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“I’m worried about both you and Cyber,” Dream admits. “You two are…well, you’re
children. Maybe I shouldn’t…”

Tommy thinks he knows where Dream’s train of thought is going, so he quickly cuts in,
“Well, too bad, Sir Dream! Both Cyber and I are already very interested—plus, we had a
deal, didn’t we?” Tommy can’t let Dream cut ties with him just because he’s a child—he
needs Dream’s alliance so he doesn’t die in the future.

Dream has an odd look in his eye - a mix of what looks to be disappointment and sadness -
but he sighs and says, “Alright, Prince Theseus.”

“You two are…well, you’re children.”

Well, too bad Dream, because this child is going to turn the future upside down.
“Wow,” Tubbo says, looking around the cave they’re all in. And- yeah, Tommy completely
understands the awe in his eyes. “This is massive.”

“It’s also dangerous,” Wilbur chimes in for the fifth time today. “So remember to always
keep a torch out, and-“

“Wilbur, they’re teenagers, not toddlers,” Technoblade rolls his eyes. “Stop worryin’ so
much.”

Wilbur flushes a light pink color. “Be quiet, Technoblade! I’m not worrying—I just don’t
want these two to be slain and lose us all our coins.”

“We can travel together if you want,” Tubbo suggests, grabbing Tommy’s arm. “Safety in
numbers ‘n all that.”

“No, sod off,” Tommy groans, shaking Tubbo off his arm. He makes eye contact with Wilbur.
“We’re both strong enough to go out on our own—you just…focus on whatever you need to
do.”

“Ok then—I’ll be staying here.” Wilbur looks a little dejected, but he quickly assumes the
role of leader. “You three, go down into the tunnels and get as many coins as you can.” He
gestures towards the middle of the cave, where a large hourglass and microphone are located.
“If the timer gets to under five minutes, I’ll be announcing it on the speaker—if you hear my
voice on the speaker, you are to make your way back immediately. Understood?”

Tommy snorts and nods. “Loud and clear, brother Wilbur.”

“Mother-fucker!” Tommy curses loudly, quickly jumping up and grabbing the rungs of the
ladder on the wall, climbing away from the enlarged spiders below him. A Spawner is located
in the center of the basement-like room, where Tommy had managed to place a torch.

Aggressive Mobs are created by magic from the darkness - specifically, the magic
accumulated by fears of monsters and the dark - so a common method to combat this is to
light up any dark areas.

The tunnels are very dark, and Tommy only has about 30 sticks left that he can light. Luckily,
there are empty torch holders bolted into the walls; at least Tommy doesn’t have to worry
about the torches falling down or anything.

He jumps off the ladder, a little bit away from the spiders, and unsheathes his sword. He
manages to kill all the spiders, and then breaks the Spawner. Spawners take magic and
transform it into a specific type of Mob.

So far, Tommy’s gathered about 300 coins—his pouch shows the number of coins he has on
the front. Though, from what Wilbur and Technoblade had said, they should try and aim for
at least 3000 coins each. Which, wow, that’s going to take a while, considering the rate
Tommy’s going at.

Tommy has another pouch full of sand. Scott had explained that this sand is used for the
hourglass; it adds more time to the hourglass, the more sand you put in. At the start, there had
been an hour. A liter of sand would add ten more minutes to the timer, and time added would
be ten minutes at a time. Wilbur was staying in the middle and not moving at all to keep an
eye on the timer. It’s only been about 30 minutes since they started, so they should be
relatively fine for now.

Tommy’s found different chests around, along with food and water, which is probably how
contestants are able to keep going. Technoblade had said that if there’s at least two teams still
going through the tunnels at midnight, then the challenge would automatically end. He had
also mentioned that, if a contestant doesn’t get back to the entry portal by the time the
hourglass is empty, then whatever coins that contestant has won’t count to their score.
Needless to say, Technoblade’s anxiety towards this particular challenge is making sense
now. Tommy scowls as he grabs a few more coins laying around. That arsehole’s words made
me all nervous and shit! I’m going to clart that pig when I get back.

He finds a wall with a rusted lock. From his third pouch - this one’s the one where he’s been
keeping everything that’s not a coin or sand - he grabs a similarly rusted key and tries it out.
The door unlocks, and the wall is lifted; dust falls as it clicks into place.

Tommy raises an eyebrow, and then notices the amount of coins in this room. “Holy shit.”

It’s been, what…5 hours? It’s probably afternoon by now, but Tommy doesn’t know, because
he can’t see the fucking sun.

He’s had to head back to give Wilbur more sand twice. Last time they all checked, they had
about 7000 coins altogether. Wilbur had even managed to grab some—he’d found a hidden
room underneath the large hourglass.

Tommy himself has about 2000 coins now. His coin pouch seems to be Enchanted somehow,
because it never gets full, no matter how many coins Tommy tosses into it. He was also given
a red vault key by Technoblade—because apparently, Tommy had found a red vault? Its door
was located across a pool of bubbling lava and parkour jumps.

He climbs a set of winding stairs and has his sword at the ready, just in case a skeleton or a
zombie jumps out at him. But instead, he finds a dead end.

Kind of.
There’s another set of parkour over another pool of lava. But this time, there’s a gold key at
the other side of the parkour, and the parkour itself is platforming across chains. Tommy
pales drastically—he doesn’t actually have to get this, does he?

He then notices the pillars holding up the chains. They’re a little high up, but…if Tommy
gets a running start, he can-

No, this is a stupid idea. Tommy shakes his head with a scowl. I’m not about to fall into a
pool of lava just because I thought I was good at parkour.

And he goes to leave…but then the light from the lava shines off of the golden key on the
other side, catching his eye.

Tommy decides then and there that he’s going to get this key, whether he wanted to or not.
Before he can listen to any sliver of logic in his brain, he leaps, making sure to high the
chains tightly.

He’s pleasantly surprised when the chains aren’t actually swaying. They stay still, in the
slight arc they have, and completely hold Tommy’s weight without any creaking sounds.

He breathes heavily for a moment, practically hugging the chains. They’re big enough for
him to stand on - kind of like a curb stop at a parking lot. He shakily stands up; he’s by a
pillar, so he grabs onto it and uses it to help him stand. He then blinks. I’m so fucking stupid.

From here, he lifts himself up onto the pillar, and simply jumps down across the pillars to the
other side of the parkour. He barks out a laugh in surprise and quickly gets to collecting all
the coins on the ground. He saves the golden key for last, which he puts in his third pouch.

And then, Wilbur’s speaking through the speakers, “Make your way back with sand!”

Tommy eyes the bucket of sand in the corner and grabs it, pouring it into his second pouch.
He takes the same route as he did going across the parkour the first time, and safely makes it
back.

Shit. Tommy’s freaking out a little bit.

It’s been about 8 hours now, according to Wilbur—the last trip back to the middle was kind
of a break. They’d all distributed the food that they gathered in the tunnels and had a quick,
30-minute lunch break.

Or, dinner break, actually. Wow, it’s probably somewhere close to 9 or 10 PM. They’ve been
going pretty strong, and only had a few close calls with the timer.

However, now, Tommy’s not finding as much sand in the corridors and tunnels. Plus, there’s
not as many tunnels to adventure. He, Tubbo, and Technoblade are all actually in the same
main tunnel—they all just went seperate ways when they found a fork in the road.

Tommy breaks a zombie spawner after successfully defeating a horde of zombies and also
drinking a Potion of Regeneration. He hasn’t had to worry too much about stamina—the type
of stamina used for running/fighting is different from the type used for traveling. Though,
Tommy has to admit, his legs are feeling sore right now.

Then, Wilbur’s voice says over the speakers, “Come back with sand!”

Shit. Tommy has a handful of sand at best. He hopes it’ll be enough. He quickly grabs two
more coins on the ground before making his way back to the middle.
Fuck. Shit. Bitch. Fuck. Fuck.

“Theseus, hurry!” Wilbur shouts impatiently.

Turns out, Tommy had gone adventuring down that tunnel a little too far. Because now, the
timer is counting down from ten seconds, and Tommy is currently all the way across the way
from the room.

He almost trips—his legs are dead, and they’re threatening to lock up on him. Despite this, he
clenches his fists - they’re a pale white color as a result - and runs as fast as he can towards
the portal. He needs to make it-!

“Hurry, everyone, get in,” Technoblade says to the other two. The three go in, and Tommy
finds himself alone, running at his fastest towards the portal, praying that he makes it in time.

He leaps into the portal right as the timer beeps, signaling the fact that there’s no time left. He
finds himself face-planted onto the ground, but he doesn’t quite care right now.

He’s simply happy that he made it through.

Ok, Tommy thought he was happy before—but he’s actually a lot happier now.

It’s like 2 AM right now, but none of the contestants care. Turns out, after every 8th game,
the contestants are treated to a grand diner. This is especially good for this batch of
contestants because they just finished Sands of Time—a challenge where the majority of
what they ate was apple and loafs of bread.

Tommy’s team didn’t end up being the last team out, but neither was Dream’s team, so there’s
a good chance his team is in the top two; that’s the qualification for the last challenge taking
place in the evening tomorrow.

The reason he doesn’t know which teams are in the top two yet is because, right after
finishing Sands of Time, every team was swooped up and taken to a fancy dining hall
building. They weren’t told of how many coins they got at the end, how many coins the other
teams had, and what rank they’re in now.

Here’s the thing, though: Tommy doesn’t really give a shit about rankings or the tournament
right now. He’s been starving for the past day; and now that’s he’s been sat at a large table
filled with meats, foods, and drinks of all sorts, he instantly forgets all about the tournament.

“Woah, Prince Theseus, calm down there,” Eryn snickers from Tommy’s side.

Tommy sends him a look. “Shut up, prick.” Eryn looks just as tired as Tommy is.

“Yeah, prick, shut up!” Tubbo chimes in from Tommy’s other side.

Tommy groans. “Please. Just- just one day, without this stupid fuckin’ rivalry that you two
have.”

“He has a rivalry with me!” Eryn stresses. “I don’t have a problem with you, Sir Tubbo!”

“Oh, but you seem…manipulative, if you will,” Tubbo replies with a careless shrug. “I can’t
help my suspicious nature, you know.”
 “Both of you are being pricks,” Tommy whines as he finishes drinking a glass of water. “I
just wann’ sleep…”

“I feel you there, boss man,” Tubbo nods, yawning. Tommy yawns as well. “What are we
even doing here…?”

“They’re keeping us here so they can find some grand way to announce the rankings,” Wilbur
says from the other side of the table. “Don’t worry, Prince Theseus, we’ll be out of here
soon.”

Tommy frowns a bit. “Alright, Wilb’r…”

And then, as if on cue, Scott Smajor walks into the building. By now, everyone’s eaten
plenty- and the chefs have even brought different types of desserts out.

“Well, it’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for,” Scott says with a cocky smirk as people
are quite literally at the edge of their seats wanting to know who will be competing in the last
challenge.

“The two teams continuing to the final challenge is…”

Chapter End Notes

Yayy, we’re onto the last chapter of this arc!! The last chapter will include the duel and
also an attempt to tie up any hypothetical loose ends :)

I’m so happy that you guys like this story!! I was in a really good mood today and got
this done really quickly—so I guess I also hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Guys. Guys? Guys. I’ve been rewatching a lot of Madoka Magica recently. Also Hetalia
—and don’t even ask why, because I don’t even know myself.

Also, I already have an ending idea in mind :D I won’t spoil anything, but—let’s just say
it’s a pretty chaotic idea.
I hope you guys liked the little amount of lore in this chapter! And also, the nightmare at
the beginning rather than a passage from the DSMP novel.

Side note again: I also just started watching Grian’s 3rd Life series!! This isn’t an
important detail, I just wanted to let u guys know.

I plan on making this a pretty big fic—lowkey kind of slowburn in terms of figuring out
who the “villain” is. Also, reminder: every relationship in this fic is platonic except for,
like, philza and mumza.

Anyways, have an amazing day/night, everyone! <33

 Day Nine: An Unexpected Challenger
Chapter Summary

When Tommy awakens, he’s confused, since everything around him is covered in
debris. He becomes more confused when he notices all the other contestants are
unconscious.

Chapter Notes

WARNINGS: Mild violence (choking), mentions of war, mentions of discrimination

See the end of the chapter for more notes

“Ah…if it isn’t the infamous Wastaken heir,” the girl says.

Dream glares. “Who are you?” He then furrows his eyebrows, “And what do you mean,
‘heir’? I’m not…”

The girl inturrupts him. “Oh, but you are, little Admin. Your eldest brother…well, we all
know what happened to him.” Dream clenches his fist. “And your second brother…well, he’s
not exactly purebred, is he? He doesn’t have the same…potency as you do.”

Dream curls his lip at the girl’s words. “You disgust me.” Who is she to talk about his
brothers like they’re not important?

“Oh, don’t look so…how should I put this…” the woman taps her chin thoughtfully, “…
bitchy.” She smiles, her teeth sharp; she no longer looks like an innocent young adult or
teenager—she looks like a demon.
And, oddly enough, said smile is familiar to Dream.

“You’re the only bitch around!” Drista shouts from Dream’s side. Her right eye is shut due to
the blood flowing from her head. Her sword is being gripped tightly in her arms.

Dream shifts in front of Drista as the girl looks over to them, a surprised expression on her
face.

She then laughs; it’s loud and shrill and free. “You- you’re kind of funny, Drista Wastaken!”
She tilts her head, a bright smile on her face. “You seem to have more of a sense of humor
than your killjoy brother here.”

“Well, people do tend to like me more,” Drista snarks, glaring heavily at the girl. “Since you
also seem to be part of that group, how about you come here so I can beat your ass?”

“Aww, you’re not that funny,” the girl pouts. She turns back to Dream. “Hmm…so you two
are the last Admins left.”

Dream pales. There’s no way she actually means that. “Last two? But what about the other
bloodlines…?”

“Ah…” the girl scratches her head, almost embarrassingly. “If they’re not dead, they’re in
hiding. Either way, the remaining bloodlines are out of commission…except for you two.”

Dream gulps. He readies his axe as the girl holds her hand out.

“Ahahah…as long as life exists, so does disorder,” the girl smiles sadistically. “And as long
as there’s disorder…there’s me.”

(Chapter 290, Power of the Gods)

Tommy’s ears are ringing.

He groans as he pushes himself up from the ground - from underneath the table that’s fallen
on top of him at some point. There’s debris and rubble all around, as well as the other
contestants also on the ground and unconscious like he just was.

What the hell happened?

“Tommy!” a voice calls out. “Where the hell are you?”

“Theseus?” Tommy calls out, his eyebrows furrowing. What’s Theseus doing here? Isn’t he
supposed to be with Deo?

Tommy stands up on shaky legs, slightly dizzy. His head is pounding. As he looks around, he
notices the building he’s in.

Or, erm, the building he was in. Because now, there’s a large hole in the roof that allows
Tommy to see the dark sky. It looks as if an explosion hit the building.

Theseus comes into view, and he raises an eyebrow as he eyes Tommy up and down. “Damn,
you had some fun, huh?”

“Shut the fuck up, Theseus,” Tommy groans, rubbing his eyes. He looks around. “What the
fuck happened ‘ere?”
“Yeah, that’s was I wanted to ask you,” Theseus crosses his arm, also looking around with a
judgemental eye. “The Stream cut out suddenly, for everyone that was watching. So I came
over to the islands to see what was going on.” He snorts. “I literally just got here—looks like
we are connected, huh?”

“This is not the time for your introspection, bitch,” Tommy glares. He starts walking around,
looking at the contestants lying around him. “Help me find Eryn.”

“Eryn?” Theseus questions, raising his eyebrow.

Tommy clicks his tongue, annoyed. “Ugh, he’s this- demon hybrid guy. He has red horns ‘n
shit.”

“Is it this guy?”

Theseus is floating over someone with blood streaming down their temple—and, yup, it’s
Eryn. Tommy rushes over, shaking him, “Eryn, wake up! Shit…”

“He looks very unconscious,” Theseus says unhelpfully. “You know, what if he has a
concussion?”

“I- I dunno what to do with people with concussions,” Tommy says, cursing under his breath.

A loud sound - An explosion, Tommy’s mind identifies it as - makes both Tommy and
Theseus turn their heads outside. There’s also voices coming from- somewhere. Maybe the
other side of the island?

“Shit- let’s go check out what’s goin’ on,” Tommy grunts, carefully setting Eryn down. He
takes his vest off, folding it into a pillow and slipping it under Eryn’s head so it doesn’t have
to rest on the cold floor.
“That’s an awful idea,” Theseus remarks, yet follows Tommy as he runs out the building.
“This looks like some sort of terrorist attack. Did this happen in your precious story?”

Tommy blinks, the fog in his mind starting to clear a little bit. That’s right…! Scott Smajor
was just about to announce the two teams moving onto the last round, and then suddenly, the
ceiling exploded…I must’ve passed out from the sound or something.

“It didn’t,” Tommy replies, making sure to be quiet in case anyone is nearby. “This isn’t
supposed to be happening at all.”

The championship is supposed to end with Pink Parrots winning the final round against the
Purple Pandas. There’s wasn’t any attack, or any problems at all during the championship; so
then what the hell is going on?!

Is it because of me? No, it can’t be because of Tommy, because Tommy hasn’t interacted
with anyone other than his family, Tubbo, Eryn, and Dream. Dream and Eryn have both
sworn to keep their little deal a secret—and Tommy knows that Dream wouldn’t tell a soul.
So then, maybe Eryn…?

No, because Tommy had seen Eryn hurt on the ground a minute ago. If Eryn had caused this,
he would’ve escaped the building before the explosion came.

Unless there was another transmigrator or time traveler present…

“So this is the famous Wastaken legacy?”

Tommy’s eyes widen. The voices are louder; in fact, they seem to be coming from right
around the corner of the building he’s pressed up against to try and hide. He slowly peeks
around the corner, making sure to quiet his breathing.

Dream is there, dirt and grime covering his clothes; which isn’t surprising, because he’d also
been in the building with the rest of the contestants when it was bombed. There’s blood stains
in his clothing and his hair is all wild, but he doesn’t seem to have any actual injuries—
probably due to his regenerative abilities from his Admin traits.

Meanwhile, the person he’s facing is a man. This guy’s head is in what looks to be a dark
grey gas mask with red lenses; there’s built-in red horns poking out of the helmet. He also has
red armor on with dark grey clothes underneath. Tommy, of course, knows immediately who
this is.

In a side story of the novel called “The Hermit’s Tale”, it mainly followed a man named
Grian Xelqua. However, there were two other prominent characters: Xisuma Void and his
twin brother, Evilex Void. All three characters have Admin blood running through their
veins; however, of the three, Evilex was the only one who managed to Ascend and become an
actual god. The God of Riches and Deceit.

Evilex isn’t exactly important to the main storyline of DSMP; so why the hell is he here,
battling Dream right now?!

“You’re an Admin too,” Dream realizes, his eyes narrowing. “Why are you attacking me?
Why did you attack the tournament?”

“Well…I’ve been trying to find the Wastaken bloodline ever since your eldest brother
Ascended,” Evilex replies, and Tommy can hear the evil grin through his speech. “Who is he
again…ah, right. The Smiling God.”

Dream flinches. “Take his name out your fucking mouth.” He’s furious; his green eyes are
aglow. “Why did you harm all these innocent people?”

“Oh, innocent people, huh?” Evilex laughs. “Then pray tell, Dream—why would you let an
‘innocent person’ know of your Admin status?”

Dream and Tommy both freeze.

Admins don’t tell anyone that they’re Admins because of an event in the past known as ‘The
Anarchy’. In the past, there were hundreds of Admin bloodlines around the world; at least
half of the population in the world was Admins. They started beating down humanity and
every other life form. After all, Admins have the ability to become literals gods; shouldn’t
they naturally be acknowledged as the best species in the world?

Then, humanity had an uprising known as The Anarchy. They came together and fought
Admins, wiping out as many as they could. And they succeeded; because while Admins are
naturally built sturdier and more powerful, humanity has the ability to reproduce.

An “Admin” is an “Administrator”, or a “Watcher of Life”. They’re the equivalent of

demigods; when actual gods bond enough with another life form, an Admin is born from
stardust, much like how a hybrid is born.

If an Admin tried to reproduce with another Admin, though, their child will not have any of
the godly genes that the Admins have. They’ll turn out to be a regular mortal.

This is how humanity survived and won the battle against Admins. It was a brutal 50+ years
of humanity and all the species’ working together reproducing to create more soldiers to fight
in the future. 60% of the whole population was wiped out at the end.

The Anarchy ended after 10 Admin bloodlines surrendered.

Of course, since Admins can’t reproduce, then why are “bloodlines” possible? Well, that
depends on the god or goddess that creates the Admins.

Dream is a Wastaken because his mother, the Goddess of Speed and Agility, had the last
name “Wastaken” when she was mortal. She’s probably had many other children in the past
centuries—all of which would’ve had the Wastaken last name. And they all probably shared
the similar trait of dirty blond hair, toxic green eyes, and light freckles that Dream - and
probably Drista - has.

All this to say, Admins have made it a point to stay hidden ever since the end of The
Anarchy. While they’d been discussing their deal, Dream had asked Tommy how he knew of
his Admin status, and Tommy had to bullshit his way out of it; “Oh, y’know, I researched it
because I’m a fan of history, and came up with your name!!” Shit like that.

“I…” Dream gulps. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Oh? You mean, that little boy hiding behind the building doesn’t know of your Admin
bloodline?” Evilex tilts his head innocently-

Wait a sec. What the hell did he just say?

“Shit,” Theseus frowns, his eyes widening.

That’s the only warning that Tommy gets before, suddenly, Evilex is in front of him, his red
eyes vibrant through the lenses. He grips Tommy’s arm hard and drags him over to where
Dream is standing.

Tommy glares up at the man. “You-“ A gloved hand is placed over his mouth, muffling his
shouts.

Dream glares. “Let the kid go. He has nothing to do with this.”

“Oh, on the contrary, he has everything to do with this!” Evilex laughs cruelly. His grip goes
from Tommy’s arm to his throat, closing around it just tight enough for Tommy’s breathing to
hollow.

Fuck all of this, he thinks to himself. He has to stop attempting to talk, because when he does,
then his oxygen gets cut off. He focuses on his chest and tries breathing slowly.

“You know, I have spies everywhere,” Evilex explains casually. “Including here. Obviously
I’d have spies here—this is the biggest national event in recent history!” He then gasps,
exaggeratedly. “Imagine my surprise when my spy sent here reports Theseus Craft and
Dream Wastaken having a little ‘talk’ in the middle of the night, at the beach!”

Tommy blinks. Shit. Was someone listening in on our conversation…? It’s not impossible to
believe—it was dark, and Tommy was too focused on Dream to notice anything else at the
time.

I can only be grateful that the spy only heard my talk with Dream, and not the one with Eryn.

“Another Admin bloodline…finally rediscovered,” Evilex chuckles. “And- oh! Surprise

surprise, the two most suspicious individuals in the tournament are actually keeping it a
secret!”

Right—Dream had been following Tommy in almost all of the challenges during the
championship so that he could try and get a conversation with him. To outside viewers, it
definitely looked odd; after all, why would a grown man follow a teenager like that so
intensely, if not because the two had bad blood?

“Once my spy reported this, I knew I just had to rush over,” Evilex continues. “You know,
this place isn’t as hard to locate as some might think.”

And now, things are finally starting to come together. Evilex is here because Tommy hadn’t
payed attention before spilling one of Dream’s biggest secrets, if not the biggest secret.
Tommy grunts; what else has he unintentionally messed up in the storyline? Was saving Deo
the right idea? Was befriending Tubbo a bad idea?

“Why did you want to meet me?” Dream asks. This whole time, he’s been slowly making his
way over to Tommy and Evilex. “Why are you looking for other Admin bloodlines?”

Evilex laughs. “Ah…because I’m going to Ascend. And when I do, I’ll make sure that no one
else can. I’ll be the most powerful god out there!”
“This guy is such a stereotypical villain,” Theseus raises an eyebrow, unimpressed.

Tommy glares at Theseus in response. You fucking jerk, at least try to look concerned for my
wellbeing!

Tommy then decides that he’s fucking tired of these shenanigans. He lifts his leg and then
kicks backwards, trying to aim for Evilex’s dick. He misses - he ends up hitting his kneecap -
but the grip around his throat weakens, and Tommy manages to wrestle his way out,
coughing lightly.

Dream quickly grabs Tommy and swings him around, placing Tommy behind him
protectively. Evilex is kneeling. The kick to his knee must’ve hurt a shit ton.

“Leave,” Dream commands, his voice cold. “Leave and- and come back when you’re not too
coward to take me on without taking in a hostage.”

Evilex growls and glares at the two of them. Tommy takes a closer peek at his knee and- oh,
wow, that’s definitely not right. Evilex’s knee is…to put it lightly, twisted 180 degrees.

“You two…” Evilex’s malice is clear in his tone of voice. “I’ll be back,” he promises, and
then as if a switch is flicked, Tommy’s vision goes black.

“…thy! Tomathy! Sir Tomathy~!”

“Shut the fuck up,” Tommy mutters quietly on instinct before even opening his eyes. He then
groans, slowly blinking awake and looks around.
He’s on an infirmary bed - wow, isn’t this familiar? - and there are others around him, also in
beds. Some are unconscious, some are awake. There aren’t many in beds, maybe 10; but
everyone in a bed has people crowding around it.

Tommy then realizes that the people around him are the Battle of Champions contestants. He
also realizes the two brothers sitting on chairs at the edge of his bed.

Wilbur has his arms crossed, and he’s picking at his nails. Technoblade, meanwhile, has a
book open: The Art of War. Both of them look a little worse for wear, but aren’t really injured
in any way.

Fuckin’ pretentious fucks.

“Hey, you’re finally awake!”

Ugh.

Theseus is floating right above Tommy as well, looking incredibly bored. He seems to have
been in the middle of flying in circles when Tommy had awoken.

Tommy groans again, and this time, Wilbur looks up. When Tommy makes eye contact with
him, his face lights up brightly. “Theseus, you’re awake!”

“Aww, brother Wilbur cares about me!” Theseus grins happily, and Tommy almost feels a
little bad for the prick, since he can’t actually experience his brother’s love as a spirit.

“H-“ Tommy tries to start talking, but then ends up coughing. His throat is dry, and he waves
towards the glass of water on the table too far away for him to reach. Technoblade grabs it,
giving him the water; he sighs contently after drinking it, feeling infinitely better.
“Theseus—the healer had said that your voice might not work for a day or two,” Wilbur
informs him. “And when we go back to the Antarctic Empire, you’ll have to get a lot more
rest.”

Tommy furrows his eyebrows, tilting his head questioningly.

“Right—we’re goin’ home tomorrow,” Technoblade explains. “So is everyone else. Now that
this place was found by terrorists, it isn’t safe anymore.”

It looks like no one else knows about who really bombed the island. Tommy sighs dejectedly
—this means he won’t be able to see Eryn or Tubbo for a while.

Or Dream, he supposes. He’s only a little sad about not seeing that guy, though.

“Your ‘Eryn’ guy is awake, by the way,” Theseus says while looking at another part of the
infirmary. “He just woke up, it looks like.”

Eryn! Tommy perks up, looking the direction that Theseus is facing, trying to spot his friend.

Technoblade then pushes Tommy down into his bed sternly. “Theseus, get some rest. You can
greet your acquaintances later today.”

Tommy pouts, but lets himself be laid back down. The blankets are just warm enough to
make him tired quickly.

“Make sure to call for me or Wilbur when you wake up,” Technoblade says.

“You’re like a fuckin’ baby,” Theseus snorts. “It’s midday—you shouldn’t be taking a nap.”
 “Fuck off,” Tommy mutters out loud as he closes his eyes.

He misses Technoblade staring at him incredulously. If he hadn’t, he would’ve laughed at just

how dumbfounded he looks.

Chapter End Notes

So! I hope the cliffhanger was worth it! You can’t have a proper tournament arc without
having it be inturrupted by villains /lh

The reason I didn’t upload this yesterday is because I actually spent all of yesterday
doing a shit ton of worldbuilding! Like, I was on a role.

Also, sorry for the massive lore dump, but this does all need to be said now! I hope it
makes sense, but if it doesn’t, then here:

God + Lifeform = Admin

Admin + Ascension = God
Admin + Admin ≠ Admin/God
Admin + Admin = Mortal

Side note: If you didn’t realize, Evilex is just Evil X/Evil Xisuma.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter! This is the official ending of Arc II, but there’s another
Interlude coming up that’ll help segway us into the next Arc, so don’t worry! <33
 Interlude: Change
Chapter Summary

Eryn didn’t ask for this new life, and still can’t accept the fact that he’s stuck here for the
rest of his life. And yet, Tommy helps ease the homesickness in his heart, just a little bit.

Chapter Notes

WARNINGS: Mentions of violence (choking), cursing (t for tommy trusty)

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Eryn thinks he was a pretty good person in his past life.

They didn’t save the world or anything, so they didn’t expect to go to an ulta-heaven of some
kind where all of their desires are fulfilled for all eternity.

At the same time, he sure didn’t expect to be reincarnated, technically, without even dying in
the first place.

Unless he did die when he fell asleep that night, and he just didn’t know…?

Oh well. Point being, Eryn didn’t think they were such a bad person to deserve spending the
rest of their life in a fantasy world of a story that they only read because a friend of theirs
suggested it. They weren’t even that into it—it was far too long for them to realistically want
to complete, and the lore in it was so specific and yet vague that they didn’t find themself
hooked like the rest of the fanbase.
Nowadays, he finds himself incredibly glad that he picked it up in the first place. He only got
through, like, the first 70 chapters; which, to be fair, is a really big deal for someone like him.

When he first transmigrated here about a week and a half ago, he spent the first day sneaking
into a library and reading everything that he could about this world. He was so lucky that the
“common” language here is English; if it turned out he had to learn a whole other language,
he would’ve probably just ran away as far as he could.

Despite this great lack of knowledge, there was one person who helped him a whole lot.

“Wow, you look…kinda pathetic, honestly.”

Ah. Speak of the devil. Eryn cranes their head up to see the spirit of Cyber, floating above
their medical bed.

“Can you not talk to me right now? I’m trying to sleep,” Eryn whispers back, shifting to their
left side to try and ignore the ghost. It’s about midnight, and there are no healers around, but
who knows—someone could be awake, listening in right now.

“Well, you happen to be the only person I can talk to,” Cyber shrugs, aloof and calm despite
the rage in his eyes. “I mean, you are the one who stole my body—shouldn’t you be paying
me back at least by humoring me with a conversation?”

Eryn resists the urge to roll their eyes; Cyber’s been rightfully angry about the body takeover,
and has been guilt-tripping Eryn into doing…frankly, some pretty embarassing things. Eryn
notices that sometimes, Cyber’s literally just manipulating them into doing dumb shit so that
they can laugh.

Yeah, he notices that. Does he still do the dumb shit? Yes, because he has morals, and feels
bad about the fact that he stole someone else’s whole life and future.

Meeting Theseus - er, Tommy - was pretty eye-opening in many ways.

First of all, Eryn had been - and still is - super relieved to finally have someone who gets
him. He knows that Tommy feels the exact same way. They don’t even know that much about
each other personally, but right now, Eryn can say with full confidence that Tommy is who he
most trusts.

Speaking of Tommy…he had to have been a full-on DSMP stan. He seems to know every
single character, whether they have a minor role or are literally mentioned twice in a filler
chapter. Tommy’s read the side stories - which is how Eryn managed to get more information
about Cyber’s and his own future - and has bought merchandise from the official DSMP
website. Hell, he probably has the physical copies of all three volumes of the books—just for
the fun of it. Nevermind the fact that they costed $50 each.

After Eryn and Tommy first met - which happened due to Eryn’s awkward approach by
pulling Tommy into their room - they both were able to learn more about this world. They
hadn’t just talked about hybrids and potions, after all—they shared the information they both
got from their original world; from the actual novels.

And man, does Eryn feel bad for Tommy now that he actually knows about Theseus’ fate at
the end of the novel. At the point he stopped at, Theseus was simply a name that was
repeated a few times, but hadn’t actually shown up yet in the book. Turns out, he actually
becomes the main villain.

Eryn likes the idea of popularity…but even they have to admit, this whole situation is
probably a lot worse for Tommy than it is for then.

“You never introduced me to this ‘Tommy’ companion that you spoke of, earlier,” Cyber
speaks up after a last pause of silence.

Eryn raises an eyebrow. “You can see him—in the morning. I want to sleep, now.” Stupid
ghost.

Cyber rolls his eyes and floats away, probably off to try and gain secrets about other
countries. Eryn shuts his eyes again, letting sleep take him.
Eryn doesn’t know how to feel about Dream.

He liked Dream, in the original DSMP novel. Dream’s inner thoughts are very dry and
sarcastic; the only thing is, the author of the book was clearly American, because there were a
few slang terms that Eryn had to search up on Google to find out what they meant.

Hmm. Is it worth pointing out that the main villain is British and the main hero is American?
Nahh, probably just a coincidence.

And sure, in the novel, Dream is described as intimidating—but even Dream thought that was
an exaggeration! So surely, he couldn’t actually be that scary in real life, right?

Wrong. Eryn thinks they almost shit themself when they first talked to Dream; when Tommy
approached them with a deal. A deal.

For all that Tommy complains about being smothered and limited by the Antarctic Empire
and the role he has to put on, he’s really changed quite a lot in the story. It’s only been, like,
twelve days since they both transmigrated! What the hell!

Eryn’s tried to change some things, but he isn’t in a social enough position to do anything
permanent. He has made some connections in the Underground society; other than that,
though, the only thing he has going for him is his demon hybrid status.

So when Eryn meets up with Dream and Tommy to talk about plans on how to stop
Doomsday from happening, he feels a little out of his depth. And, to be fair to him, he’s
rightfully cautious about all of this; he was forced into this new world without any context,
unlike Tommy who was apparently told beforehand.
If Eryn’s going to be honest, they really liked action in their past life. They liked going on
hikes; they liked doing dangerous, heart-pumping activities like sneaking out at night and
jumping fences and ditching class.

They don’t like planning on how to avoid what can be classified as a World War.

Nevertheless, here he is, at the docks, waiting for Tommy to arrive. Just Tommy, though—
Dream’s having a meeting with King George right now, probably discussing him and his
sister being allowed to live in Essempei Kingdom.

“This ‘Tommy’ guy better be interesting,” Cyber sighs, clearly uninterested. “On the Stream,
he was at least entertaining to watch; but does his personality match with his skill?”

“Obviously,” Eryn rolls his eyes. Stupid antagonist. “He’s the only other person from my
world. He’s, like, the funniest person here.”

Ok, he might be a little biased, but come on! Things that are considered “top humor” here, is
considered “cringe” in his original world. It’s all just corny jokes and puns, or thought-out
jokes that take way too long to get to the punchline. Eryn himself is a sarcastic-humor type of
person, so meeting Tommy - a surprise-humor type of person - was like a breath of fresh air
in many ways.

Speaking of, Tommy wanders into view, probably coming from the infirmary. However, there
seems to be something…following Tommy. Like, floating behind him. Eryn can’t quite make
it out, but it looks like a faint white silhouette of a person. The one thing Eryn can see clearly
about this thing is a combination of red splats all over the figure; it looks to be blood, leaking
down from the forehead, and also around the legs—specifically, the feet, oddly enough.

“Woah, what the hell is that?” Tommy then asks, pointing at- at Cyber.
“So…that’s Theseus Craft,” Eryn says slowly, their eyes flickering up to the faint white light
hovering by Tommy.

“And that’s Cyber Onix,” Tommy says, with the same tone of voice as Eryn, looking weirdly
at Cyber.

“Can he hear me?” Cyber asks Eryn.

Eryn turns to Tommy. “Could you hear them speak?”

Tommy narrows his eyes thoughtfully. “I…yes? Maybe? Whenever they talk, it comes out-
weird. Kinda like being underwater, or something.”

Theseus then speaks to Tommy, and Eryn instantly gets what he means. Theseus’ voice is
warbled; Eryn can hear the judgemental tone of voice, but he can’t seem to actually hear the
words.

“Oh well—we only have, like, an hour left before the ship back to the Antarctic Empire
arrives, so we have to be quick,” Tommy waves his hand dismissively. “Eryn—how are we
gonna, fuckin’, communicate? How will we know that we’ve changed the future?”

Eryn hums. “Well, letters could work…for you, at least. Maybe I could just send letters to
you?”

“Why can’t I send letters back to you?” Tommy scowls, crossing his arms.

Eryn groans. “Tom, I don’t actually have a stationary home. I live on the move, in the
Underground; there’s literally no way you could get a letter right to me without it being found
by someone else and opened. It’s best if we have a one-sided type of communication.”
“But-“ Tommy clicks his tongue. “I’ll try and find an Enchantment or some shit. We can’t
just have one-sides conversations—what if I need to report something to you?”

“I mean, I guess I do have one acquaintance with a home,” Eryn replies.

This is true. They have exactly one friend in the Underground world that has a legally-owned
home: that would be Charlie Slimecicle. And - get this - he’s a slime hybrid.

Charlie is…very odd. No one knows what he’s actually thinking, and no one knows anything
about his past. He’s also super nice; this is considered a major red flag in the Underground.

“I guess you could send letters to his house, and I can get him to give the letters to me,” Eryn
shrugs. He can’t think of any other way for Tommy to communicate back with him semi-
safely. And sure, Charlie may be part of the Underground, but he’s fairly reliable.

Tommy is visibly more relaxed and satisfied with this development. “Right. Ok. Just tell me
his address and I’ll be able to mail you.”

“God, I miss phones,” Eryn mutters, mostly to himself, but Tommy then barks out a laugh.

“Hah! Same, big man.” Tommy laughs, “I mean, that fucker’s for sure broken to all hell and
back—but it was my trusty phone, y’know?”

“I torally get that,” Eryn nods, grinning. “I broke mine, like, five times, but the cost for a new
one was way too expensive, so I just…kept it.”

This is nice. This is exactly what Eryn needs once in a while; the chance to talk with
someone freely about whatever they’re thinking.
Almost everyday they’ve been here, Eryn’s gotten homesick. How could they not? They just
got done with a tournament that ended in a terrorist attack; they’re so done with this world.
This is why Tommy’s such a positive addition to their new life. The homesickness doesn’t
exactly leave when Eryn’s around Tommy—but rather, it’s like the weight around their
shoulders is now being shared with Tommy.

“Hmm…” Eryn catches notice of something peculiar. On Tommy’s neck, there seem to be
marks. “Tom, did your neck get injured by the explosion?” Shit, that’s really bad, isn’t it?

Tommy’s eyes widen, and he seems to instinctively shift his position, trying to hide the red
marks. “I- uhh, well, y’see-“

“You know, yesterday, he couldn’t talk in the infirmary,” Cyber speaks up out of nowhere.

Eryn furrows his eyebrows. Why do the marks look like…like…

“Fine, you caught me,” Tommy sighs, throwing his arms into the air. “I may or may not have
gotten choked by this other villain from DSMP, like, yesterday morning. But it’s fine,
because Healing Potions are overpowered here!”

Eryn’s mind blanks. He then blinks and glares full-force at Tommy. “You WHAT?!” How the
hell hasn’t this idiot died yet?! Holy shit, Eryn needs to take Tommy to the infirmary again to
get checked up—if he was fully healed, then wouldn’t the bruise marks be gone? Why-

“Chill the fuck out,” Tommy grabs Eryn’s shoulders roughly. “Dude, I’m fine now, alright?
It’s just- yesterday, I went looking for Dream, and got in the middle of a fight.” He shrugs
nonchalantly. “It’s no big deal—all in the past now.”

Eryn’s going to become old, white-hired, and wrinkly because of this bitch. “You’re stupid.”

Tommy snorts. “Whatever, prick.”

 When Eryn’s feet touch Essempei grounds again, they feel a little dazed. The boat ride took a
whole two days—two days spent awkwardly interacting with the other participants that came
from the Battle of Champions.

Turns out, it was Purple Pandas and Red Rabbits that would’ve participated in the final
challenge. Scott Smajor revealed that the Purple Pandas were in the tunnels for the second-
longest amount of time, while the Red Rabbits were in there for the largest amount of time.
The Red Rabbits had been in 4th previously, and were boosted up because they’d found three
or four vaults in the tunnels.

It was strange. If that unknown terrorist attack hadn’t happened - this is what it’s officially
classified as, because no one other than Tommy and Dream saw Evilex - Pink Parrots
wouldn’t have won the Battle of Champions. There’s a good chance it would’ve been the
Purple Pandas.

Heh. Yet another thing Tommy’s managed to change.

“Why do you look so sentimental?” Cyber teases him. “What, are you sad to be leaving your
‘best fwend’?”

“Shut the fuck up,” Eryn rolls his eyes, no real heat behind his words.

Yeah, he’s a little sad. But now that he knows someone else like him is out there, changing
the world around them with their actions…it makes him want to try.

Chapter End Notes

Remember: Both Eryn AND Cyber use he/they pronouns!

Also, we’re about to start the next arc…in the next chapter! Yayyy; we’ll also be right
back to Tommy’s POV.

So, yeah! The reason the Pink Parrots didn’t get into the final round is because their
coins in Sands of Time was WAY too low for them to make it. They managed about four
hours before they ran out of sand, and had to rush out of there.

Meanwhile, Purple Pandas almost lasted until midnight. Red Rabbits did end up lasting
until midnight.

Sorry if this chapter was all over the place: I wanted to portray Eryn’s thoughts as kind
of chaotic! He has lots of trains of thoughts—and it also kinda reflects my own.

Uploads are going to be a bit more spaced out from now on! This next arc requires lots
of planning and also making sure the lore matches with the story; so please just be
patient!

I hope you guys enjoyed Arc II: The Battle of Champions. And now, onto…

Arc III: The Watchers of the Void

<33
 The Call of An Adventure!
Chapter Summary

After the Battle of Champions, Tommy is right back at the Antarctic Empire. And while
at first, it’s nice to be somewhere warm and full of people willing to do his wishes…he
starts getting bored.

And Big Man Tommy doesn’t do well with boredom.

Chapter Notes

WARNINGS: Cursing (t for tommytheus), lmk if there’s anyone else!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

“‘The Prince of the End’…” Drista reads out, holding the book up towards the torch’s light
that Dream’s holding. “Wait, ‘Prince’? Isn’t there a Prince of the End already? What’s his
name…Vrrrp-Vrooop?”

Dream resists the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose. “Drista…you’re just making noises, at
this point.”

“That’s what Enderspeech sounds like!” Drista complains, pinching her eyebrows. “Besides,
that’s not important. It says here that the Prince of the End has a whole prophecy
surrounding him!”

“A prophecy?” Dream asks, surprised. “What does it say? And does it actually say the
Prince’s name?”

“Hmm…in simple terms, it describes a boy who will unite the End with the ‘human world’,
but there isn’t anything else.”
“Uniting the Enderian race and humanity?” Dream raises an eyebrow. “That’s…I mean, it’s
not like it’s an impossible feat, but…”

“But it basically is,” Drista finishes. “The Enderians are super conservative and are
practically isolationists. The only reason that there are Endermen in our realm is because-“

“Because they were banished,” Dream nods, finishing her sentence. “They’re banished and
stripped of their consciousness, I believe. Which is why the Enderians aren’t really mad when
Endermen are hunted for sport—because at that point, they’re not really considered true
Enderians.”

“Where is the End, anyways?” Drista asks, already flipping through another book. “I know
that their ‘Strongholds’ are underground—does that mean the End is underground, too?”

“No,” Dream shakes his head. “No one actually knows where the End is located—for all we
know, it could be in a whole ‘nother dimension.”

(Chapter 92, Rumor Has It)

“Alright…translate this,” Theseus says, gesturing to the piece of parchment that Deo is
currently holding.

In large writing are the symbols: ʖ╎ℸ ̣ ᓵ ⍑.

“Uhh…” Tommy clicks his tongue, squinting his eyes at the words. The characters are a little
difficult to read when they’re next to each other like that - kind of like morse code or braille -
but soon, he’s able to separate them and finally piece together what the words say.

“…’Bitch’?!” He fucking hates these two.

Deo grins, setting the parchment down and clapping. “Exactly. That’s what you are.”

“No, that’s what he is,” Tommy grumbles, shooting at dirty glare at Theseus, who’s also
laughing. “Fuck both of you. Die.”

“I can’t die, stupid, I’m already dead,” Theseus raises an eyebrow, unimpressed with
Tommy’s words. “Also, you don’t actually want Deo to die, do you?”

“He does not,” Deo says. What the fuck, now they’re just ignoring Tommy! “Don’t worry,
Achilles—I know that, deep down, Theseus cares a lot about me.”

Tommy clicks his tongue. “Deo, what the fuck man, I told you to just call me ‘Tommy’.”

Deo snorts. “Why would you even pick the name ‘Tommy’? It’s such a…”

“Dull?” Theseus offers.

Deo snaps, nodding. “It’s such a dull name!”

Tommy groans. “And? I told you thag I prefer that name. It’s a special privilege given only to
certain people that I trust—you like privileges, don’t you?” He gives Deo a wolfish grin.
Deo simply goes silent for a moment—and with the sunglasses covering his eyes, Tommy
doesn’t know what he’s thinking.

“…Alright, Tommy,” Deo decides with a small, genuine smile. “If you trust me that much,
then I suppose I can call you that.”

It’s been about a month since the disaster that was the Battle of Champions. Tommy’s firmly
back in the Antarctic Empire’s castle—Theseus goes right back to bothering him at every
moment of every day, and he’s started teaching Tommy how to read the alphabet used in
Enchanting. It’s kind of hard, if Tommy’s honest—he hadn’t really gotten the chance to learn
another language in his past life, so this was something foreign to him.

Luckily, he has a pretty good memory, and has started picking the alphabet up quickly.

Right now, Deo’s hanging out with them after sneaking into Tommy’s/Theseus’ room from
the window. Sure, he can probably just walk up to the front gates and would be recognized as
‘Prince Theseus’ acquaintance’—but if he doesn’t have anything official to say to the
Empress, then he likely wouldn’t be allowed in.

Hence, the sneaking around.

After their boat back to the Antarctic Empire finally landed, Tommy was promptly kept under
lockdown. It was subtle—but Tommy had noticed that whenever he tried to leave the castle,
he’d be stopped for some reason or another. The only place he was allowed was the
greenhouse - the greenhouse built into a side of the castle.

He’s just recently been allowed to go out of the castle—and even then, his brothers had
forced him to take Ranboo along.

Luckily, at this point in time, nothing interesting should be happening in terms of the novel’s
timeline. Since Tommy’s reached the actual novel’s events, he has a rough idea about what’s
going to happen in the future, now.
Right about now, Dream and Drista should be all settled into Essempei Kingdom, and Drista
should already be training in swordfighting. Soon - and if not soon, then right now - the
Dreamon Arc should be going on.

The Dreamon Arc was very exciting and showed off Dream’s deductive abilities—it was a
fan-favorite overall.

Sadly, Tommy wouldn’t get to experience any of it. The Dreamon Arc was the manifestations
of demons that fed on people’s dreams—but it only occurred within the Essempei Kingdom
faction. So, here Tommy is, stuck waiting for something interesting to happen while he’s
forced to catch up on history, magic, and exercise.

Tommy stands up suddenly, startling Deo—Theseus simply raises an eyebrow questioningly.

“I want to go on an adventure,” Tommy declares, glaring down at the two still sitting on the
ground where they’d been practicing the Enchantment alphabet. “I’m bored. I need to get up
and move.”

“Sure—I’ll go with you,” Deo shrugs, standing up as well. “Where d’you wanna go? Are you
going to commit arson? Or treason? I can do both.”

What the fuck. “No, dimwit—I just wanted to go fight some mobs or something,” Tommy
says, staring horrified at Deo. “What- what the fuck do you get up to in your freetime?”

“I mean, he did gamble all his gold on you during the Battle of Champions,” Theseus shrugs.
“We all know that he’s done some illegal shit.”

Deo flushes a deep red. “Hey—I didn’t gamble it on The- Tommy specifically, I gambled the
money on his team, the Purple Pandas!”

Theseus rolls his eyes. “Suuure—and I’m totally alive and well.” He tries to pat Deo’s
shoulder, and his hand simply goes through it. “Come to me when you finally acknowledge
that you’ve been caught by Tommy’s ‘Best Friend Trap’.”

“What the fuck is he on about?” Tommy raises his own eyebrow after Theseus leaves via
phasing through the wall. “Deo, do you know?”

Deo shrugs. “Achilles is—quite odd, I’ve come to notice.”

Odd. Tommy snorts—yeah right, he’s a lot more than just odd. “You can say that again.” He
turns to his drawers, where he can clearly see a set of traveling clothes.

A sense of yearning comes over him—and he’s reminded of when he was younger, when he
first started reading Dethroning the Silent Megalomaniac Prince. It wasn’t the characters, or
the author, or all the cool merch that peaked his interest—it was the fantasy aspect. He’d
always been one to want things he could never have.

“So—you want to fight monsters?” Deo questions, crossing his arms with a half smile on his
face. He leans against one of the walls. “Are we talkin’ Slimes, Zombies—or, dare I suggest,
we travel to the Nether?”

Tommy gives Deo a blank look. “The Nether? What do you take me for, suicidal?”

Deo barks out a surprised laugh. “Hah, I suppose you have a point.” He raised an eyebrow.
“But were you actually serious about going on an adventure?”

“Of course I was,” Tommy rolls his eyes, walking over to grab a satchel for himself. “And
what I was wanting to go hunting for were Endermen, as a matter of fact.”

In DSMP, mobs were typically hunted by whoever wanted to. Tommy wants to hunt
Endermen because of the Ender Pearls that they drop when they die. It’s like modern day
fishing. However, since Tommy’s a prince now, it’ll be a little hard to convince his family to
let him go out to do something dangerous.
Don’t get him wrong, he’s not at all claiming that Theseus is weak. In fact, Tommy would
argue that Theseus is one of the strongest characters in DSMP—albeit, towards the end of the
novel. However, Theseus has a carefully crafted façade; one that portrays him as kind,
nurturing, weak, kind of odd, and soft. He wasn’t forced to do extra dueling classes like
Wilbur and Technoblade were because he had expressed a - very false - desire to not hurt
anyone or anything.

Hell, it’s the whole reason why Tommy was forced to spend weeks in the castle—his whole
family was way too overbearing on him, after the “terrorist” attack at the Battle of
Champions.

Deo chuckles. “Endermen? We wouldn’t find any of those here—the snow is literally
everywhere. Are you suggesting we travel to another continent entirely?”

“No, obviously not,” Tommy waves his hand dismissively. “Endermen are also found in
caves and such.”

“So you want to go caving,” Deo figures, nodding slightly. “Alright—I’ll go fetch my sword
in my living space.”

Deo swiftly hops out the window; Tommy yelps quietly, rushing over because damn it, Deo,
that’s a three-story drop!

However, the brunette seems fine. He lands in a roll and turns back, waving casually at
Tommy.

Tommy scoffs, whipping his head to the side. What a bastard, trying to act all cool when he
could’ve died just then. Who does he take Tommy for, a commoner to impress?

After this train of thought runs through Tommy’s mind, he pales.

Holy shit, I’m starting to actually sound like Theseus.

“Shit. Fuck. Bitch.”

Tommy clearly didn’t plan this enough. And sure, he kind of decided to do this on a whim
because he was starting to get antsy from the lack of anything interesting happening—but he
thought it’d be easy to sneak out of the castle! Deo does it super smoothly—that means that
Tommy can, too!

Except, as soon as he’s halfway out the window, he catches sight of one of the guards
patrolling the area underneath him! He climbes back into his room so fast, he even scratches
himself on the window sill on the way back in.

Shit. Why is there a guard there?!

Tommy groans quietly, sighing while resigning himself to have to sneak through the castle to
get out. Luckily, over the month he’s been here, he’s memorized the guards’ schedule - or, he
thinks he has - and knows all the good nooks and crannies to hide in.

So, he does what he does best: he sneaks around. He even gets all the way to the front
entrance, before encountering a slight problem.

The front entrance is designed to make noise when it moves. So, really, Tommy is kinda
fucked here.

ꖎ
“… ᒲ ⚍ ᒲ ʖ ᒷ …”
What in the fuck. Tommy whips his head around, and grows pale at the sight that he sees.

Tall, disproportionate limbs that remind Tommy of those creepypasta horror stories from his
old world. There’s no hair or skin on its body—just a dark matter that outlines its body parts.
It’s holding dirt in its cupped hands—and from the angle it’s facing, Tommy can spot
glowing purple eyes.

“Wow, is that an Enderman?! I’ve never seen one in person before!”

Tommy yelps, jumping as Theseus is suddenly right next to him, fawning over the creature in
the corner of the hall. “Where in the hell did you come from?!”

“Well, I was simply going around town, learning about all the new gossip, y’know?” Theseus
starts casually, as if there isn’t an eldritch horror monster right in front of them. “When I
came back, I noticed you and Deo were both gone! Since it’s nighttime, little ol’ me got so
worried for my Prince Tomathy,” Tommy knows for a fact that Theseus is lying right now,
“so I came looking for you! And here you are, somehow discovering an Enderman!”

“Uh huh, sure, dickhead,” Tommy rolls his eyes—before focusing on the problem at hand.
“Now, why the fuck is there an Enderman in our fucking castle?!”

“Watch your profanity, young sir,” Theseus huffs, crossing his arms.

Tommy narrows his eyes. Ohh, this bitch is in a fighting mood, eh? “Fuck. Bitch. Pussy.
Asshole. Dick. Shi-”

“My Prince?”

Shit. Tommy turns around quickly - again - and finds Ranboo, looking kind of eerie in the
middle of the hallway.
“Boo—looks like the fun just got ruined,” Theseus sighs dejectedly. “I’ll let Deo know that
your little ‘outing’ is cancelled, I suppose.” And he leaves through the front doors, phasing
right through them like an utter asshole.

Oh shit, oh fucking dammit, the Enderman is right behind me, I can’t let this bitch see it-

“Why are you out past sunset, My Prince?” Ranboo asks politely, bowing slightly, his eyes
casted slightly downwords, towards the ground. Yes, good, keep looking down! “It’s getting
quite late.”

“I’ve found myself…cooped up in my room, as of late,” Tommy replies, folding his hands in
front of him and straightening his posture. “This Prince just fancied a walk! Surely, I should
be allowed a walk around my own home, right, Ranboo?” He smiles innocently, using the
specific intonation of voice that he saves for when he needs to put on his Theseus act.

Ranboo fidgets, which means he’s being totally peer-pressured right now—which, normally,
would be bad, but Tommy’s the one doing it, so it’s a good thing.

“My Prince…should go back to sleep,” Ranboo says uncertainly. “Or, please let me escort
you as you have your walk.”

Tommy blinks. Damn it. “Ah, of course, my dear Ranboo! Come, let’s sneak into the kitchen
together!” Oh well—Tommy has to just make use of this situation; at least now, he can lead
Ranboo away from the Enderman in the dark corner that he somehow missed-

“ᒲ|| !¡∷╎リᓵ ᒷ…”

Ranboo whips around at a break-neck speed, his eyes immediately training on the twitching
Enderman in the corner. He sucks in a deep breath—but strangely, he doesn’t instantly call
the guards.
Instead, he tugs Tommy’s wrist and pulls him kind of behind him, and glares at the
Enderman.

“∴⍑ᔑ ℸ ̣ ↸𝙹 ||𝙹⚍ ∴ᔑ リℸ ̣ ∴╎ℸ ̣ ⍑ ℸ ̣ ⍑ᒷᓭᒷ⚍ᓭ?_?” Ranboo somehow says, even though

the human throat doesn’t have the vocal cords to say…well, any of what he just said. Is he
speaking Enderspeech?

“Ranboo…?” Tommy murmurs.

Ranboo either doesn’t hear Tommy or just isn’t responding; he’s focused on the Enderman in
the corner, that’s now starting to turn towards them what the fuck-

“||𝙹⚍ ⍑ᔑ ⍊ᒷ…ᔑ ʖ𝙹リ↸,” the Enderman says, its mouth opening wide as it speaks.

Tommy thinks back to the lore about Endermen and Enderians. Fuck, what do I do here…ok,
since this fella’s in the Overworld, this means he’s going insane or some shit…but since he
can talk, this means he probably just got banished from the End. Which means he still has
some memories…

Ok, so now Tommy kind of has a grasp on the stray Enderman in their castle; what the fuck is
going on with Ranboo? How is he able to use Enderspeech like that?

“ᔑ ʖ𝙹リ↸?_? ╎ ↸𝙹 リ𝙹ℸ ̣ ⚍リ↸ᒷ∷ᓭℸ ̣ ᔑ リ↸…” Ranboo replies, now looking puzzled.

He glances back at Tommy, who isn’t as scared anymore, just curious about what’s going on
right now.

“⎓╎リ↸ ℸ ̣ ⍑ᒷ ᒷ||ᒷ,_, ᒲ|| !¡∷╎リᓵ ᒷ,” the Enderman says, now staggering towards the duo,
its arm reaching out at them. “||𝙹⚍ ᔑ ∷ᒷ ʖ𝙹リ↸ᒷ↸ リ𝙹∴…||𝙹⚍ ᔑ ∷ᒷ 𝙹⚍∷ 𝙹リ || ⍑𝙹! ꖎ
¡ᒷ.”
It then teleports away suddenly, cutting itself off from whatever it was saying. Ranboo gasps,
staggering backwards, as if he were physically pushed back by the teleportation, even though
Tommy himself wasn’t.

Ranboo turns to Tommy. “My Prince?” Oh thank fuck, he’s speaking English again. “My
Prince, that mob was talking about you!”

Tommy blinks. “…Come again, Ranboo?”

“They said something about a ‘bond’, and an ‘eye’, and also kept saying ‘My Prince’!”
Ranboo says without taking a breath. “You- you’re in danger, my Prince!”

“Calm down, Ranboo,” Tommy says, grabbing the taller boy’s shoulders. “What exactly do
we do? Should we inform the-“

BANG!

Tommy and Ranboo both jump as a loud sound starts banging against the doors in front of
them. There’s a warping sound; the same warping sound that the Enderman just now had
made when it had teleported.

Tommy pales. “Ranboo…we need to run.”

The other nods quickly. “Yes, it seems like my Prince is correct. Let’s go.”

And the two run away, right as the hinges of the doors creak and the front entrance flies open,
undoubtedly awakening the whole castle.

Fuck. All Tommy wanted was a damn adventure arc, not some twisted Enderman shit!
Chapter End Notes

Whoo! Hello everyone, I’m back! It’s been, what, a week?

Welcome to Arc III: The Watchers of the Void!

So, this chapter was 100% a lore dump/filled, but ehhh who cares 🤷♀️
Tommy in here kind of reflects me; I really like spending time in my house, but if it’s for
too long, then I’ll get all antsy and drop everything just to go outside for a few hours.
Tommy’s experiencing this.

Don’t worry about if anything doesn’t make sense—it’ll all be explained at a later point
in time!

Anyways, I’m about to pass out, so have a good day/night everyone, and see you all
next update! <33

PS: May the 4th be with you all hehe

 A Man of Many Faces
Chapter Summary

Tommy decides that dealing with an injured Ranboo sucks, and also he hates zombies.

Chapter Notes

WARNINGS: blood, injuries, mentions of removing glass shards from the body, general
description of fixing a stab wound, cursing (T for TommyInnit)

See the end of the chapter for more notes

“I have lots of enemies, you know,” Technoblade says, his head tilting innocently as he says
this, but Dream can see the cocky smile on his face. “You won’t be the first to fall against
me.”

Dream knows very well of all the grudges people hold against Technoblade. Even Sapnap
seems to have a strange, slightly resentful opinion of the Crown Prince, for reasons Dream
doesn’t know of.

He’s known as the Blood God for a reason, after all.

“I won’t be failing here, Technoblade,” Dream says, his eyes widening as a cocky grin grows
from underneath his mask as well. “I wonder how your family will react when you return
home after losing for the first time in a while.”

The implications in Dream’s sentence dawns on Technoblade—Dream can tell the exact
moment when, because the other man tightens his hold on his sword. The pressure in the air
rises, and even the crowd around is quiet now. It really brings Dream into this tournament
fully; makes him feel as if it’s just him and Technoblade, about to engage in a very delicate
and ruthless dance.
Dream thinks he can understand now - why Sapnap and Drista are both excited rather than
nervous whenever they’re about to have a fight.

Because the tingling in his whole body and the blood rushing through his ears in a feeling he
thinks he can get drunk on.

(Chapter 58, One Match)

Shit. Tommy totally isn’t panicking right now, he’s just…having trouble processing the past
two minutes!

He continues to totally-not-panic all the way until Ranboo’s shaking him by the shoulders,
“My Prince! Prince Theseus!”

Tommy blinks. He and Ranboo are currently in the forest, quite far away from the castle. It’s
nighttime—probably close to midnight right about now.

Right. After the front doors of the castle of the Antarctic Empire was completely breached by
a hoard of Endermen, Ranboo and Tommy had run off, informing the guards of the breach.
Then, they’d gotten cornered by an Enderman, and Ranboo had mistakenly looked into its
eyes.

From here, things become a blur for Tommy, but now that he’s starting to calm down after his
not-panic, he remembers; he had pushed the Enderman away from Ranboo, and proceeded to
push Ranboo out one of the glass windows, shattering it. He followed Ranboo, but not before
the Enderman managed to hit him in his head with its elongated arm.
From there, Tommy assumes Ranboo dragged him away while running through the snowy
forest. Luckily, Tommy still has the clothing and items he had prepared for his and Deo’s
adventure; unluckily, Ranboo doesn’t have anything other than his indoor outfit, which is a
simple purple tunic with purple leggings and black shoes. The shoes he has on aren’t even
good for walking around outdoors; they’re made specifically to walk on carpet!

“Ah—Ranboo,” Tommy sighs, catching his breath after running for about two minutes
straight. “Are- are you hurt?” He did, after all, push Ranboo through a glass window.

Ranboo winces, rolling his shoulder while slowly crouching down. “I- think I may have a
glass shard in my shoulder…”

Shit. Tommy worries his lip, dropping to his knee and shifting Ranboo around to see the
damage and- oh damn. “Ah,” he murmurs out loud accidentally, surprised.

There is, in fact, three small shards of glass lodged into Ranboo’s shoulder, where a part of
his tunic had ripped at some point. There’s a trail of blood leading down from all the wounds;
Ranboo’s skin in general also looks bright red.

He’s probably numbed a little by the cold, Tommy furrows his eyebrows. “…Ranboo, I’m
going to have to get you to a medic.”

“We can’t go back!” Ranboo immediately denies, shaking his head. “Those Endermen…they
were after you, my Prince. You need to stay safe.”

“Yes, but not at the expense of my own servant!” Tommy snaps, letting his irritation bleed
into his words. “We-“

He’s inturrupted by the sound of groaning. Tommy’s eyes dart around quickly, his fingers
twitching towards his satchel where he has a few daggers stored.
A couple of zombies stagger into view. Tommy slowly leans Ranboo against one of the dark
oak trees. He then proceeds to toss a knife at one of the zombies, hitting it right in the face.

Tommy then runs at the other, slashing its chest, effectively pushing it back. He grabs the first
knife from the face of the zombie he impaled, and chucks it again—this time at the second
zombie, hitting it in the chest.

Once he confirms they’re both dead on the floor, he turns back to Ranboo, who seems to
be…troubled, to say the least. His breathing seems shallower, and his eyes have shut.

Tommy rushes back over. Shit, this bitch better not die on me!

“Ranboo! Ranboo, you wrongen, you shouldn’t fall asleep while your Prince is trying to talk
to you—that would be so rude, y’know!” he chides, trying using the playful nickname that
Theseus uses for him, but Ranboo simply stirs in his half-conscious state. His eyes are
flickering open and closed.

Ok. Fine. I’m going to do this myself, he decides. He yanks open his satchel, bringing out a
roll of gauze that he’d packed. He turns Ranboo’s body so that he’s face-to-face with the
damn glass shards.

“Shit. Fuck. I shouldn’t have done that,” he mutters out loud unintentionally, bringing out a
pair of leather gloves that have grip on the palms. “My bad, Ranboo.” He braces one of his
hands on Ranboo’s back, and uses his other to grip one of the three glass shards.

It takes Tommy a while to hype himself up to actually do the deed. But once he does, he
makes sure to do it as quick as possible so that Ranboo doesn’t bleed out too much. Once the
glass shards are all out, Tommy lunges towards the gauze, being quick to wrap it around
Ranboo’s shoulder, having already planned out how he’s going to cover all three wounds at
once.

Luckily, only one of the wounds seems to actually be harming Ranboo—the other two
weren’t as lodged into his shoulder, and were easily pulled out, therefore not bleeding as
much as the actual wound.
Tommy slumps over after pulling the gauze tightly, making sure no blood was allowed to
escape its bandaged confines. He’s exhausted, and he wasn’t even the one hurt!

Shit. Tommy’s hands are shaking; he puts them to use by packing up everything he’d just
used. His daggers and his gauze go into his satchel, and the three glass shards are also placed
into his bag; if he leaves these outhere, an animal or something might get hurt.

Ok. Shit. I need to get back. After all, there are Endermen raiding the castle—what is
Tommy’s family doing? Are the guards fairing well? Shit, he can’t believe he’s just
abandoned the castle like this, like a traitor-

Ranboo makes a pained noise, and Tommy’s head snaps downwords as the taller boy shifts
from where he’s sitting into a position that honestly looks just as uncomfortable, but manages
to calm Ranboo down.

Ok. Well. Tommy very well can’t just leave Ranboo here to die—but what about the guards
and the castle? No, wait, everyone there is actually trained to fight against mobs. Oh, but
what if it’s too much for them to handle? They’re trained to fight a few mobs at most, not
hundreds of Endermen!

Tommy goes around and around in circles in his head, before simply plopping down next to
Ranboo, leaning against the same tree as him. He lets his head thud against the trunk, and
sighs loudly.

The sight of Ranboo’s bloodied and wounded shoulder ends up rendering Tommy unable to
even blink without the image flashing through his mind. When he finally falls asleep, it’s of
exhaustion, not because he actually wants to.
When Tommy awakens, he’s honestly pretty surprised when his whole body isn’t numb from
the cold. In hindsight, maybe falling asleep in a cold forest where mobs are around wasn’t
exactly the best idea. But Tommy was tired—physically and emotionally.

Though, now, he wishes he had woken up cold and numb, with an injured Ranboo next to
him. He’d take that any day over the warmth and comfort he’s getting right now, in a
completely different and unknown location, with no Ranboo in sight.

He kicks against the blankets covering him and sits up, his eyes darting around frantically.
Where the fuck am I, why am I here, what the fuck-

“Oh, you’re awake! Ok, that’s good.”

Tommy startles. While he was freaking out, he hadn’t noticed someone walking into the
room, holding a glass of water.

The person in question is a…a rather short man. Short as in, Tommy knows for a fact that
he’s taller than him, despite the fact that the man is definitely older than him. He looks like…
well, one of those stereotypical gamblers, except without a dress coat. He has a white button-
up shirt, suspenders, matching dress pants, and some fancy black shoes. He has on what
could be a kind smile, but the jagged scar extending through the left side of his lip kind of
just makes him look a little eerie. And, to top it off, he has a dark blue top hat with a white
stripe.

“Who- who the fuck are you?” Tommy asks, glaring at the other man, trying to push down
the growing excitement in his chest.

Of course, Tommy already knows very well who this man is. Quackity, Big Q, funniest
character in DSMP—in the novel, he’s kind of an antihero, as well as one of the most
infamous sorcerers across the land. He specializes in the art of transfiguration—of himself.

Yep. He’s a total shapeshifter. And one of Tommy’s favorite characters.

The only thing is, the scar on Quackity’s lip tells Tommy one thing - at this point in time, he
cannot let Quackity know that he’s Theseus Craft. Because Quackity has a very large grudge
against Technoblade—which eventually extends to the whole royal Antarctic Empire family
later on in the novel.

So either he brought Tommy and Ranboo in because he’s Cool Like That…or he knows their
connection to the royal family, and is going to do something horrible to them.

Again, Quackity was an antihero—he was overall a very morally grey character.

Quackity laughs at Tommy’s guarded expression. “Don’t worry, man! I’m Quackity—the
best goddamn gambler in all of the lands!”

Hmm, Tommy doesn’t recall Quackity living in the Antarctic Empire when he was
introduced in DSMP. Then again, he’s also a traveler, so when Dream meets Quackity for the
first time, it’s in Essempei rather than the Antarctic Empire.

“…Where’s Ranboo?” Tommy asks next. Quackity might be one of his favorite characters,
but if he did anything to Ranboo, Tommy’s going to start fucking swinging.

“Oh—that other boy that was with you?” Quackity raises an eyebrow, amused at Tommy’s
anger—which, rude. “He’s in the other guest room. By the way, were you the one that
wrapped his shoulder up?” He pats Tommy’s shoulder with a grin, “That was some good
quick thinking, kid. Your bandaging really helped stop the bleeding.”

“So he’s alright,” Tommy says, his body all strung up from worry. He pushes Quackity’s
hand off of his shoulder. “I want to see him.”

“Calm down, buddy,” Quackity raises his hands peacefully. “I’ll bring you to him—but you
were asleep for half a day, and you were suffering from frostbite when I found you two.”
“Just me?” Tommy asks, his face paling at that thought. Holy shit, I only meant to nap for like
ten minutes, not half a day! “So wait, how long have I…”

“Well, it’s noon right about now,” Quackity replies, checking the grandfather clock present in
the room. “I dunno how long you were out there sleeping, but you’ve been in my house for
around 12 hours, so you do the math.”

That’s…about 15 hours, if Tommy counts correctly. He furrows his eyebrows—his family’s

probably looking for him right about now. And even though Theseus isn’t really well-known
in terms of what he looks like or acts like, Quackity’s smart enough to notice the similarities
between Tommy and Philza.

“Take me to go see Ranboo—right now,” Tommy demands, tired of answering questions. At

Quackity’s slightly affronted look, Tommy casts his gaze down and mumbles, embarassed,
“‘m worried about him.”

Quackity sighs exasperatedly, but his face gains a soft look to it. “Alright, kid—just let me
know if you’re not strong enough physically to move, ok?”

Tommy swings his legs off the bed and stands up quickly. He’s hit with a dizzy spell, but at
Quackity’s raised eyebrow, sheer will alone manages to let Tommy walk all the way to the
room next to his, where Ranboo’s actually also awake. By the way he’s rubbing his eyes and
yawning, he also just woke up.

“Ranboo!” Tommy grins, speed-walking over to the taller boy. “You’re ok!”

Ranboo’s face brightens at the sight of Tommy. “My P-“ he catches himself, glancing over at
Quackity, who’s leaning against the doorway. Tommy notices the apprehension in his eyes
and internally cheers. Thank you, Ranboo, for being so intelligent!

“I…thank you for bandaging my wound,” Ranboo says instead, his fingertips grazing the
now healed shoulder—probably due to a Potion of Healing. “Without you, I could’ve…” He
trails off morosely.
Tommy shakes his head quickly at that. “No!” he says a little loudly, startling Ranboo.
Catching himself, Tommy clears his throat and says in a more Theseus-like tone, “Silly
Ranboo—I wasn’t going to simply just leave you there! You’re stupid if you think I’m one to
abandon you like that.” He snorts at Ranboo’s confusion—probably from the sudden change
in tone.

But then Ranboo smiles softly. “Well, thank you anyways.”

Tommy turns to Quackity, who’s now shuffling awkwardly from foot to foot. Emotionally
awkward bastard. “Hey, you—Quackity, was it? Where exactly are we?”

“Well, you two are in my current home,” Quackity replies, face lighting up at being
conversed with. “I’m a traveler, you see—and a gambler as well.”

“Which is how you’re so wealthy,” Ranboo says, looking around at everything in the room.

And yes, the whole house is actually really nice—much nicer than a commoner’s house
would be. There’s silk sheets, smooth floors and walls, and Tommy’d even caught part of a
chandelier from the dining room!

“And who are you two kids, wandering around in the snowy forest?” Quackity asks, raising
an eyebrow suspiciously. He’s still smiling, but there’s an unreadable edge to it now. “I found
a couple of decaying zombie corpses near you two, you know.”

“That’s Ranboo,” Tommy speaks up before Ranboo can even open his mouth, “and my name
is- is Tommy. We had been—attacked, and I simply defended us. That’s why there were
zombie corpses.” Technically, all of what Tommy just said is true.

Quackity seems to also be able to tell that Tommy is telling the truth - which, by the way, is
so creepy - because his smile becomes more genuine. “Well—Tommy and Ranboo. My name
is Quackity, and right now, we’re at the Northern edge of Antarctica.”
Tommy blinks, his mind going back to when Theseus had forced him to study the geography
of Antarctica. If he remembers correctly, the Antarctic Empire is located in the Southern half
of Antarctica, and its overall area only covers an eighth of all of Antarctica. Which, is still
pretty big, but compared to the rest of the continent, it’s a small part of a larger whole.

So…Tommy and Ranboo were somehow brought to the opposite side of their whole
continent, in a house located in an area said to be uninhabitable. After all, the only reason the
Antarctic Empire is habitable is because of the magic passed down through the royal
bloodline—Kristin’s glowing emerald imbedded in her head is the proof of this.

Quackity probably notices the growing suspicion in both Tommy and Ranboo, as he quickly
says, “The village we’re in is protected with magic, just like the Antarctic Empire—just on a
much smaller scale.”

“Why are we so far away from the Antarctic Empire?” Ranboo asks, still distrustful of
Quackity. “Last I remember, My- Tommy and I were in the snowy woods located within the
Antarctic Empire’s border. So why did you bring us all the way out here instead of just- just
bringing us to the village in the Antarctic Empire?”

“Yeah—that’s a long journey, especially by foot,” Tommy nods along, squinting his eyes at
Quackity. “As a matter of fact, how did you manage to bring us here within 3 hours of you
finding us? You said we were here for half a day, which means we arrived here at midnight—
but when we’d fallen asleep, it was around 10 PM.” Yeah, Tommy knew Quackity was cool
—he didn’t think that the coolness was dubious!

“Why were you all the way in the Antarctic Empire if you live here?” Ranboo asks. “Sure,
the forest is often used for hunting—but it’s not like Antarctica is void of food outside of the
forests. I know for a fact that there are many edible creatures out here that you could hunt
for.”

Quackity sighs at the growing hostility. “Alright, fine—I’m a mage. I used magic to…” He
mumbles the last part of whatever his sentence is. “I mean- I used magic to transport us here.
And as for why I was near the Antarctic Empire…” He walks towards the bed Ranboo’s
laying in and Tommy’s sitting on, leaning in close. “…I was planning on assassinating Prince
Technoblade.”
Ok. Well then. That answers Tommy’s question of just how deep Quackity’s grudge for his
brother is currently.

Ranboo sucks in a breath, shooting a wild look towards Quackity, as if unable to comprehend
what he’s hearing. And Tommy doesn’t blame him—Technoblade is seen as an untouchable,
nigh-immortal figure that can’t be taken down by anything. Many have tried and failed to
best him, all ending in tragic failure. Ranboo’s also seen Technoblade practicing and sparring
with others—he’s technically a servant for all three of the Princes, it’s just that Wilbur and
Technoblade had pushed him to talk more with Theseus so he could have a friend when
Ranboo was first introduced to the family.

Tommy speaks up, once again cutting off whatever Ranboo’s about to say, “Prince
Technoblade never dies. You’d never be able to kill him.” He speaks as if it’s a fact; it’s best
to act like an ignorant citizen, so that Quackity spares them. He nudges Ranboo when
Quackity looks away angrily, urging him to play along as well.

Ranboo seems to catch the memo. “And besides, why are you targetting the Crown Prince?
The Antarctic Empire is a powerful faction.”

“It’s a little something called ‘revenge’,” Quackity replies, his expression overly cheerful as
he looks back at Tommy and Ranboo. He’s definitely covering up his bitter hatred with faux
friendliness.

And while Tommy can see that it’s fake, he also knows what Quackity’s trying to say: Stop
pushing it.

So he sighs, stops pushing the issue, and says, “Whatever, do what makes you happy.” He
stands up, tugging Ranboo’s arm. “Come on, Ranboo—we need to make our way back to the
Antarctic Empire.”

Quackity splutters at this. Tommy gets Ranboo to his feet and starts leading him out the door,
when Quackity gathers his wits and blurts out, “Wait, I need to talk to the two of you about
something important!”
“…I dunno,” Tommy murmurs. “What if you’re planning to murder us? We won’t fall for
your tricks.”

“Trust me, kid,” Quackity laughs humorlessly, “if I’d wanted to kill you both, you’d be gone.
I wouldn’t have used Healing Potions on either of you if that were the case.”

“My Prince—perhaps we hear him out,” Ranboo whispers, so quiet that even Tommy has to
strain his ears to hear him. “He might be suspicious, but this seems to be important.”

“Alright,” Tommy sighs, closing his eyes for a moment and taking a deep breath. Quackity,
you better not do anything a wrongen would do.

And so, Tommy and Ranboo are both sitting in front of Quackity on the bed Ranboo was
previously laying in. Quackity himself has brought a chair over, and is sitting on it
backwards, facing them.

“Last night, I heard talk of an Enderman hoard breaking into the castle,” Quackity begins,
and Tommy tenses up slightly at that. “I ran into one that seemed to be on its way to the
castle, saying ᒲ|| !¡∷╎リᓵ ᒷ,_, ᒲ|| !¡∷╎リᓵ ᒷ, over and over again.”

Tommy and Ranboo both jump at the sudden Enderspeech that comes out of Quackity’s
throat. As he says the foreign words, Tommy notices a slight change in his mouth area—he
probably shapeshifted parts of his throat and mouth to replicate the sound that Endermen
make.

Ranboo jumps at the sound, and Tommy notices a startled look in his eye. Oh, shit, that’s
right—Ranboo has that weird Enderman thing goin’ on with him…so he probably knows
what Quackity just said.

“Agh—I’m just going to be frank with you two,” Quackity purses his lips. “I think one of
you two is the Prince of the End.”
 A moment passes in silence. And then another.

“You think what?!”

Chapter End Notes

Introducing: a wild Quackity! I bet none of you expected him to be a part of this arc,
huh? ;)

Soo, another lore-focused chapter. The actual action won’t be for…a little while, i’m
gonna be honest—but I hope you guys still enjoy these slowburn-type chapters!

Sorry, i’ve never personally been stabbed by glass, so idk if that’s how to get rid of it,
but i decided to just treat it as a slightly modified stab wound! And to clarify, healing
potions can help soothe things like frostbite and colds—other than that, Tommy was put
into a warm room with warm blankets and all that.

Again, i’ve never actually had frosbite. So, uh, i hope it’s accurate enough :))

If anyone’s confused about the timeline of events in this chapter, lmk and i’ll explain it
to you! I kinda word-vomited in this chapter, so there’s lots of just random info
everywhere.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed! Have an amazing day/night everyone <33

 Walking in a Winter Wonderland
Chapter Summary

Prophecies are told TLDR, and Tommy and Ranboo make a decision.

Chapter Notes

WARNINGS: cursing (t for tommy trusty

add any others!
👍), mentions of hypothermia, lmk if I should

See the end of the chapter for more notes

“That monster,” Quackity points a trembling finger at Technoblade, a scowl fixed on his
face, rage evidence in his eyes, “took so much from me…my life, my pride, my eye.”

Technoblade stares back with his usual apathetic expression, as Dream’s eyes flicker
nervously between the two parties. One is hostile, and the other is uncaring towards the
hostility; just the recipe for disaster.

Dream’s proven correct when Quackity pulls a pickaxe out; there’s a shine to it from the light
from the torch affixed to the cave walls. It’s sharp, probably reinforced, and Enchanted. And
even though pickaxes are tools used for mining, with the morbidly gleeful look that Quackity
has on now, Dream wouldn’t be surprised if the pickaxe had a violent Enchantment like
Sharpness or Fire Aspect on it.

“‘I’ll take this pickaxe,’” he says, voice low and threatening as he takes a step towards the
exiled Crown Prince, “‘and I’ll put it through your teeth.’ You made true on that promise.”
He gestures towards his face, where that jagged scar runs through his mouth. “Now, it’s my
turn.”
“…I’m not here to fight you,” Technoblade replied after a beat of tense silence. “I’m here to
aid Dream ‘n to get help for my brother.” He gestures to the room where the now familiar
sounds of faint screaming and agony come from.

“Aww, but won’t you indulge me in this?” Quackity pleads, his expression morphing to be
alike a child’s disappointment. “You’re the infamous Technoblade, the Blood God, the Crown
Prince of the Antar- oh, hold on,” Quackity taps his chin thoughtfully, catching himself in the
middle of his sentence. “That’s not really true anymore, is it? You’re exiled now.” A sharp
grin spreads across his face. “You and your pathetic father.”

Technoblade’s eyes glint dangerously. “Bold words for a man tainted by a scar that I have
caused.”

Dream goes to step in—he can’t have them fighting now; not with Schlatt still reigning over
Manberg.

(Chapter 210, Las Nevadas)

“Everyone knows about the prophecy of the End Prince,” Quackity says, pulling a worn
scroll from one of his shelves. He spreads it across his dining table, revealing what looks to
be the alphabet used for Enchanting. It’s definitely an ancient-prophecy-worthy scroll.

“‘Everyone’?” Ranboo cocks his head. “I didn’t know of this prophecy before all of this…m-
Tommy, did you?”

Yes, I actually did. I’m 96% sure the prophecy’s about you. “No, I didn’t either.”
“Well, yes, obviously,” Quackity rolls his eyes. “What I meant was, everyone that practices
magic has stumbled upon the prophecy of the End Prince at least once. Or they’ve heard of
it.” He grins proudly. “However, no one has the original scroll like I do!“

“How the hell did you manage to obtain the actual, original scroll?” Tommy asks, ignoring
the appalled look Ranboo sends him for his rude language. “No offense—you understand that
it’s hard to believe someone like you has the original, right?” Sorry, Big Q—you’re one of my
favorites, but you’re also fucking suspicious!

“Well, yes,” Quackity admits with a wry and faux-abashed smile. “I suppose I can’t convince
you that this is the original text—but whether it’s real or not, everything written here is in the
prophecy. Which brings me to my next point.” He snaps his finger, pointing at Tommy and
Ranboo. “The prophecy says that the End Prince is, in fact, half-human and half-Enderian.”

“Isn’t that just an Enderian - or Enderman - hybrid?” Tommy quirks an eyebrow, crossing his
arms. “Also, neither of us have any Enderian traits.” Well, besides Ranboo’s odd vocal cords
that allow him to speak Endspeak, but that’s besides the point.

“No, not a hybrid,” Quackity shakes his head, an amused smirk pulled on his lips that makes
Tommy want to punch him. “The End Prince’s soul is two beings, merged into one
individual.”

A beat of silence. Then, “What??” Tommy’s just confused now. What the fuck does he mean,
“merged”??

“Think of…the forging of metal,” Quackity furrows his eyebrows. “When it’s melted, it can
be shaped, and once it’s cool, it hardens and becomes a solid object. That’s essentially what
happened to the End Prince’s soul—he was weak as a babe, so someone had taken his soul
and welded it together with half of a human soul. Therefore, there’s technically two souls
inhabiting one consciousness.”

“Well…neither of us are two people,” Tommy says slowly.

Surprisingly, it’s Ranboo that shakes his head. “M- Tommy, I think what Quackity is saying
is that the End Prince is one person—his soul is merely made of two people.”

Quackity nods. “Exactly!”

“So what’s the issue?” Tommy scowls, annoyed at this tip-toeing around the topic. “Use your
esteeemd magic to look at our souls.”

“I have already.” Tommy blinks at the vaguely frustrated tone that Quackity has when he
talks. “While you two were unconscious last night, I checked your souls to see if either of
you were close to death. And…imagine my surprise when both of you seem to have two
souls welded into one.”

Tommy freezes. What the fuck—this never came up in the original novel! And then the
answer hits him, and he feels stupid. Of course it isn’t in the original novel—it’s because,
technically, both mine and Theseus’ souls are still attached to his body. I didn’t know that the
goddess-lady had welded our souls together, though.

In DSMP, the topic of “souls” was…very vague, and mostly left readers with more questions
than answers. It was usually only sorcerers or those that practiced magic who could see souls
—and even then, you had to have good control over your magic. To see a soul, your magic
had to be directed towards your own soul, because the mind isn’t able to actually perceive it;
so when Quackity says that he’s “seen” Ranboo and Tommy’s soul, he really means that he’s
sensed their souls.

Again, anything to do with souls in DSMP was very vague, especially since Dream never
encountered any necromancers other than Bad Boy Halo - who also hadn’t been a
necromancer long enough to properly study the soul. Even the side stories didn’t give the
readers any idea about how soul magic worked.

In the back of his mind, Tommy decides to start researching about soul magic. But for now,
he’s focused on the fact that apparently both he and Ranboo have souls that are actually two
souls welded together.
Ranboo’s gone pale, his mouth gaping open. Tommy totally gets it—he thinks he’s making a
similar expression, based on Quackity’s muted amusement from looking between the two.

As Tommy goes to open his mouth, though, Quackity puts a hand on both his and Ranboo’s
shoulders while saying, “Well then, you two should go rest up! I’ll deliver some mushroom
soup to your rooms in a little bit.”

Tommy blinks, and then turns to Ranboo. “…What the hell.”

Ok, maybe in hindsight, this wasn’t one of Tommy’s best ideas he’s had since transmigrating
here. In his defense, though, Ranboo’s supposed to be the voice of reason between the two!
He’s the one in charge of making good decisions—so if he agrees with Tommy, then Tommy
has no choice but to assume that his idea is a good one.

Clearly, there’s been a miscommunication here. Because now, Tommy and Ranboo are
trudging through a sewer system with numbingly cold water and there’s patches of snow
falling from the grates above them.

Ok, maybe he should explain. Quackity had explained that he’d carried Ranboo and Tommy
through this sewer system that extends all the way to the forest in the Antarctic Empire—
which basically implies that he was lying earlier when he said “magic” was required to
transport them to his little house. So, Tommy’s logic was that they should take the same
sewer system back to the kingdom.

“Ranboo…you n-need t-to grow a spine…” Tommy groans, shivering as the water starts
coming up to his knees.

“M-my apologies…My Prince…” Ranboo replies, his words stiff and concise. He’s also
shivering.
Tommy’s arms - specifically, his hands - are tucked under his armpits. It doesn’t really help
with warming him up, though—because his whole body’s freezing.

Despite the cold temperature in the sewer system, Quackity had explained that the sewer
system had an Enchantment placed on the whole of it to keep anyone going through it from
getting frostbite or affected by the cold. This didn’t exactly include feeling cold, though.

“At least…we won’t d-die from this…” Tommy grunts, gritted his teeth as they start to
chatter wildly.

“S-s-save your breath, My P-prince,” Ranboo somehow manages to say, even though his tone
is pained just from talking.

Tommy nods stiffly, and simply continues walking. Due to the cold, it’s hard to fall asleep.
And yeah, they were smart and had grabbed some food and water from Quackity’s little
house—but it was hard to move their fingers, let alone eat regularly.

It’s easy for Tommy to kind of just…let his mind just drift. It’s cold, and his legs are starting
to numb, if it weren’t for the Enchantments casted on the sewer system. He’s cold, and it’s
fogging his mind up in a way, so he simply just thinks, letting his subconscious do the
walking.

It’s kind of funny, how his life has become…this. Not even in the transmigration sense—it
also applies to how much he’s managed to change about this world already, despite only
being here for a month and a half at most. Sure, the changes don’t seem earth-shattering at
first—but in the long run, they are. Tommy’s built a good rapport with Dream Wastaken
himself; he’s established a better relationship with his brothers than in canon; and, even if he
hasn’t changed anything, Eryn certainly has—he is working hard while running around in the
Underground, after all. Plus, a majority of the bad things in the future is due to Theseus’
meddling in affairs—so as long as Tommy just…doesn’t do any of that, the future should be
a lot brighter!

Speaking of, Tommy’s a little ashamed of himself for actually missing that ghostly asshole a
little. He totally misses Deo—which is pretty unsurprising, since that’s one of his best friends
in this world. But he also surprisingly misses Theseus’ presence.

Don’t get him wrong, that fucker absolutely annoys him. He’s rude, and annoying, and a
manipulative bastard that only cares about his own interests and possibly Wilbur—and even
then, his “love” for Wilbur is more possessive than actual, brotherly love.

But. Theseus is also the one that taught Tommy about the different types of mobs,
Enchantments, and Potions in this world.

It’s kind of crazy that it was Theseus’ body that Tommy managed to transmigrate into.
Because while Theseus has longer hair and smoother skin than Tommy had—his face still
looks like Tommy’s original face did. He has the same blue eyes, and the same shade of
slightly fluffy blond hair, and he’s even about the same height. It’s a little suspicious, sure,
but Tommy sometimes finds that he’s homesick; when that happens, he’ll simply tie his hair
back and then look into a mirror.

Food for thought, perhaps.

Tommy’s brought out of his musings when he suddenly bumps into Ranboo’s back. He blinks
—he would have yelped, except he’s too cold to do anything other than shiver. He reaches a
shaky hand out to try and nonverbally ask why they’ve stopped-

And then he soon realizes why Ranboo stopped. In front of the two is a large, glowing,
radiant Nether Portal.

...

How the fuck does Quackity have a Nether Portal here?! That’s- oh wow, it’s actually
radiating a warmth that thaws Tommy’s whole body as he gets closer.

“W-wait…” Ranboo calls quietly from behind, but Tommy’s already feeling the tempting
warmth coming from the portal. He steps into the purple array of magic, watching as his
vision morphs and shifts in a way that kind of gives him motion sickness as there’s a warping
sound in his ears. And then, he steps out, and stumbles from the sudden heat enveloping him.

Shit. A drastic change in temperature like this isn’t good for him, is it? He’s starting to see
why Theseus calls him “stupid” so often, now. I really need to start thinking things through
before making any actions like this…

His eyes start to dry up, and he hacks out a few coughs, lowering himself into a crouch. As
this happens, he hears the warping sound of the Nether Portal behind him—presumably
Ranboo, coming in to save his idiotic Prince from death.

When Tommy finally finishes hacking up a lung, he actually finds himself feeling…much
better, really. He looks around and is in slight awe at the view.

Currently, he and Ranboo are suffering on the ground of the Crimson Forest biome of the
Nether. The sky is covered in dark red clouds, and smoke in general, as there’s lava way
beneath them.

Strangely enough, there’s also a stone path leading away from the portal—going in the same
straight line direction that they were traveling in the sewer system.

“…What the fuck,” Tommy breathes out. He’s been saying and thinking that a lot, recently.
“Ranboo…Ranboo, look.”

The stone path bridges over the cliffs of the Nether, stretching out for what seems to be miles.
It’s a straight line—there’s no change in elevation, either. It’s as if the creator of this bridge
had dug right into the cliffs and mountains of the Nether just to keep this bridge perfectly
straight.

“This…this is a good thing, right, My Prince?” Ranboo asks, also breathless—probably

recovering from the sudden change in temperature.
 Tommy nods. “We should- start walking soon.” There’s no mobs or anything around them, so
Tommy’s not as nervous about being attacked—but he still has an eerie feeling about the area
they’re in, right now. It’s a subtle paranoia for now, though, and he can handle his emotions
expertly by now.

“I agree,” Ranboo nods, standing up shakily. He reaches a hand out towards Tommy, which
he gladly takes. The two spend a few minutes gathering themselves and also stripping the
coats they had both grabbed from Quackity’s closet. They’d snuck away while he was putting
out a kitchen fire - turns out, he’s a shit cook - and managed to grab a lot of things.

The two start walking, and Tommy finds himself wide awake, despite the warm atmosphere
invading his senses.

This proves to be a good thing, as he manages to duck just as an arrow flies right where his
head was a second ago.

Chapter End Notes

So! This chapter was another loredump, along with some bad choices from Tommy and
Ranboo!

Just to clear things up: Tommy and Ranboo don’t really trust Quackity. (Ok, well,
Tommy kinda does—but he also doesn’t know Quackity as well as, say, Dream or BBH,
so he can’t really read him well.)

Also, hi! I’m back!

I’m tired, so I’m gonna cut this end note short—thank you all for the nice comments ans
the kudos!! I really appreciate them <33

Also, if you wanted it, here’s Re!Tommy’s top-kin list:

- Shen QingQiu/Shen Yuan (for obvious reasons)

- Mukuro Ikusaba (this won’t make sense for a WHILE
- c!Tommy (they’re literally AUs of each other-)
💀)
- Sayaka Miki (again, won’t make sense until later)
- Madoka Kaname (read: Mukuro’s and Sayaka’s)
 The Calm Before the Storm
Chapter Summary

Tommy and Ranboo run from their pursuers as a new threat stirs in the distance.

Chapter Notes

WARNINGS: Cursing (t for technoblade), lmk if I should add anymore!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Dream lifts Sapnap up into a stand, making sure to support his left side. “Sapnap…you better
not pass out on me.”

Sapnap rolls his eyes. “Dream, I’m not a maiden in need of defending. I can handle a small
wound like this.”

Sure, a “small wound”. Sapnap speaks nonchalantly, as if his left leg isn’t burnt practically
to a crisp. All Dream can do in terms of healing him for now is offer up a Potion of Fire
Resistance to at least help him deal with the burning sensation he must be feeling.

“If you’re really part of the Blaze Tribe, why aren’t you more fire-resistant?” Dream mutters
furiously, mostly to himself, but Sapnap hears anyways.

Sapnap laughs—except it comes out more pained than he probably intends. “I’m still a
human, y’know. I’m not a Blaze Hybrid or anything. I’m just used to hot climates.”

“Yeah, well, you better be ‘used to’ running with a burnt leg in a second,” Dream narrows
his eyes at the Wither Skeletons currently charging towards them. He internally curses the
Nether Fortress for having such narrow paths.
He starts to turn back around, but Sapnap starts to protest, “There are Piglins that way!”

Dream rolls his eyes. “Piglins? Please—they’re so easy to defeat, Even a child could do it
with their eyes closed.” He tightens his grip on Sapnap and uses his right arm to unsheathe
his sword. “Now—hang on tight.”

(Chapter 31, Prisonbreak)

Ok. Fuck. Tommy doesn’t know what to do.

It’s kind of funny—he’s had this same thought an astounding amount of times in the past two
days; which is odd, considering he literally knows the fate of a good majority of the people in
this world.

Well, I guess a bunch of stuff has changed since I became Theseus, so actually, I don’t really
know the fates of many people anymore, Tommy would muse to himself if he were able to
stop and think clearly.

Unluckily for him, he and Ranboo are currently being chased through whatever goddamn part
of the Nether they’ve stumbled into during the chase. From the snorting and enraged beast
noises coming from behind them, Tommy’s pretty sure that a hoard of Piglins are chasing
them.

So, yeah. Not really the ideal situation he wants to be in.

He and Ranboo had to abandon the path leading to the exit because the Piglins had started to
cut them off once they realized where they were going.

Damn it Dream…damn you for being such an OP character! Damn DSMP for being written
in your perspective! Not everyone can just take on a hoard of Piglins!

“My Prince—over there!”

Ranboo’s voice causes Tommy to snap his neck over to him. The boy is pointing at one of the
warped trees that grows in the nether; its unnaturally sturdy leaves and branches were enough
to hold Dream and all of his company up for a whole day.

“Climb up!” Tommy commands, changing his direction along with Ranboo. The two gun
right for the warped tree with its suspiciously red leaves, and start to climb up it.

Tommy, for the first time in this world, feels tall. He’s been surrounded by Ranboo, Wilbur,
and Technoblade - all of who are taller than Tommy - and Deo and Theseus, who are the
same height as him. The Piglins chasing him and Ranboo, on the other hand, are just short
enough to not be able to reach any of the tree’s branches, rendering them unable to follow.

Of course, they still have their crossbows—so as soon as Tommy and Ranboo make it to the
top of the first tree, they start hopping along the small forest’s treetops. At this point,
Tommy’s too focused on not losing balance to notice the fact that he’s slowly becoming more
and more tired.

Ranboo seems to notice, though. “My Prince—here!” He then makes a leap towards a cliff
ledge, pulling himself up onto it, and then turns and reaches a hand towards Tommy.

Tommy jumps, and for a moment, he’s about 100 feet in the air, and aiming his hand towards
Ranboo’s. A little voice in his head whispers, What if I don’t make it?
And then Ranboo’s hand clutches his own with an iron grip, while his other clutches
Tommy’s forearm. He’s pulled up onto the ledge, and the two take a moment to just breathe
and let their adrenaline rest.

Tommy’s heart is beating incredibly fast. He sighs loudly, relaxing his head and letting it
thump onto the uncomfortable surface of the Netherrack.

“…Good, hah, job…Ranboo,” Tommy says, totally winded. “Nice quick thinking.”

“Of course…my Prince…” Dammit, Ranboo, stop calling me that! If anything, you’re the
only actual prince between the two of us!

The Piglins have long stopped chasing them, so Ranboo and Tommy just kind of…take a
little time to rest.

And also, to recuperate. Because what the fuck just happened??

In the novel, the Nether is described as a hellscape by the common people. It’s also describe
as an unconventionally beautiful landscape to live in, where those that can appreciate nature
can find peace.

The organisms that live in this place are traceable back to origins from the overworld. Piglins
came from Hoglins, that came from actual pigs from the overworld. While it’s unsure where
certain other mobs like Ghasts and Blazes come from, there are theories that they come from
a bird or phantoms respectfully.

Mobs like Piglins and Blazes are mobs that evolved due to the conditions in the Nether.
Those mobs are considered a new species entirely because, for some reason, they’ve also
gained heightened intelligence. As they’ve evolved throughout the centuries, they formed
societies and tribes; they’ve come together enough to create nations.
As of right now, the main tribes that have taken over the Nether are the Blaze and Piglin
tribes. They’re the species’ that have evolved the most; they even have their own language!
Blazes, obviously, can’t really speak since they don’t have mouths—but they use their rods to
make gestures to communicate, much like sign language. Piglins use a bastardized version of
Pig Latin, if what Tommy remembers from the novel is true.

The Piglin Tribe is an umbrella term for the Piglin communities licated in Bastions around
the Nether. They’re well known for their love of gold and violence. As for the Blaze Tribe,
it’s also an umbrella term for the Blaze communities located in the Nether Fortresses
scattered across the land.

The Nether isn’t inhabitable for humans—there are many characters in DSMP that have both
lived in and grown up in the Nether without having any hybrid traits. Sapnap, for example, is
fully human—yet, he was raised with the Blaze Tribe without any complications.

Well, without much complications. Obviously, Sapnap doesn’t have blaze rods, so he learned
the sign language by using his hands, each finger acting as an individual rod.

And then, in the novel, Technoblade is forced to spend a few months in the Nether due to an
attempt from Theseus to kill him. Technoblade ends up befriending the Piglin Tribe, and
becomes known as their Blood God. Like their king, in a way, Tommy thinks with a little
chuckle.

“Are you ok, my Prince?” Ranboo asks, sounding a lot less out of breath.

The two have been laying on the Netherrack for about ten minutes in silence now. Tommy’s
also caught his breath a bit, but his lack of stamina is rearing its ugly head right at this
moment, so he still can’t really move his legs.

“Just thinking to myself,” Tommy replies with an easy smile. “What, um…what should we
do?”

“Well…” Ranboo purses his lips, turning his head to look back up at the Nether roof. “We
lost the path…a while ago.”
He’s right—they’d ran for at least five minutes off the path, and had to turn a couple of times.
Plus, now, they’re on a totally different cliff from the one with the path.

“Well…” Tommy sighs loudly, sitting up as he does so. “We will simply have to do our best
to find our way out, won’t we?” He turns to give a hopefully reassuring smile to Ranboo,
who’s also sat up.

Ranboo notices said smile; instead of smiling back, though, he adopts a suspicious look on
his face.

“My Prince…” he starts, eyes shifting nervously. Ranboo’s always been bad with eye contact,
but he still tries his best usually; he’s actively avoiding catching Tommy’s eye right now.
He’s nervous, Tommy realizes.

“I…” Ranboo sucks in a breath. “My Prince, for the past month or so, ever since your
‘accident’…you’ve been acting different.”

Tommy narrows his eyes, but not into a glare—he thinks about how he’s been trying to
slowly ease out of his ‘Theseus’ persona in favor of acting more like himself. But maybe he’s
taken it too fast…? Then how come Wilbur and Technoblade haven’t noticed anything?

“You’ve been…kinder,” Ranboo continues, fidgeting with his hands now. “Are you…ok?”

Tommy can only stare in surprise and slight awe at the other boy. In the novel, Theseus treats
Ranboo like…like a puppy. He doesn’t make Ranboo do any servant work, but he does make
him feel like a lesser being. It’s in a subtle way; it can be seen as kindness and affection, but
to the reader, it’s clear that Theseus doesn’t actually ever care about Ranboo.

It’s moments like these that make Tommy remember why he so vehemently hated Theseus
when he first read the novel. He’s gotten way too cozy with the ghostly prince; he always
forgets just how wicked Theseus can be.
 It’s like a pair of hands wringing my neck—

And then, Ranboo’s head snaps to the side. Tommy’s does too; because he feels something.
The two both look off the edge of the cliff they’re resting on, out into the distance of the
Nether, where only lava and a slight red fog is seen.

Tommy instinctively knows what this something is. He can feel something making his skin
crawl; he feels a slight pulling sensation in every single nerve.

And then, Ranboo stands up. “My Prince…we must find out what that is.”

Shit. Tommy was hoping he wouldn’t have to ever deal with this at all in his new life.

Chapter End Notes

:)
 Interlude: My Savior, My Prince
Chapter Summary

Ranboo reflects.

Chapter Notes

WARNINGS: Manipulation (told from the receiver’s POV), slight dehumanization,

mind control (in a sense)

See the end of the chapter for more notes

It comes to Ranboo in what can only be described as the concept of soundwaves, in the form
of physical matter. It crashes into him, spreading throughout his whole being.

His Prince - Theseus - is standing beside him, having also jumped to his feet at the sound of
it.

Ranboo’s heart is beating. He’s scared excited. He can feel it calling to him. Luring him.

“My Prince…” he breathes out, looking out into the warm hues of the Nether. The lava below
them bubbles and shines brightly, the heat rising up to where they’re stationed.

“Ranboo,” his Prince is saying, touching his arm. It’s familiar, in a way; like how he used to
pet him if he was nice and quiet.

He can’t quite grasp this new personality that Theseus has adopted. He’s genuinely kind, and
very passionate, and determined to do…something. Ranboo doesn’t know what it is; which
makes sense, because he’s simply a lowly servant of Theseus’. Of course he isn’t trusted with
his Prince’s secrets—that would be absurd.

It’s an odd twist to how he used to act, before his fall. Ranboo remembers how he used to
purposefully trip sometimes to make a mess, just so his Prince would talk to him like a
person.

Not that he minded when his Prince would simply ignore him or treat him like a toddler! It
just felt…a tiny bit demeaning to Ranboo. Which meant there was something wrong with
Ranboo; after all, why wouldn’t he feel happy about serving his Prince?

“Aww, you’re so cute, Ranboo!” he remembers his Prince saying once while patting his head
as he knelt in front of the younger boy after spilling a tray of tea. “Don’t worry, I won’t
punish you for spilling all this tea.” Ranboo had tried his best to ignore the scolding heat he
felt from the carpet underneath him as he knelt, instead focusing on his chest that warmed at
his Prince’s words; his Prince was always so understanding of him.

The Empress, Kristin Craft, was so so kind to Ranboo. He had been found outside their castle
with nothing but an empty leatherback journal. When he learned to write, he used the journal
as his own personal diary.

He doesn’t know his surname or his parents. All he knows is that he was named Ranboo by
the Empress.

In exchange for taking him in, Ranboo was asked to act as Prince Theseus’ servant when he
was at the young age of five.

So, every time Theseus patted Ranboo’s head and that ugly feeling grew, Ranboo made sure
to push that feeling down, back into the dark recesses of his mind. He can’t just show that he
isn’t grateful to Prince Theseus and his family, after all!

Though…when Theseus, currently out of breath after running alongside him away from the
Piglins in the Nether - it’s been a long couple of days - starts giving him these little smiles,
Ranboo thinks he feels that ugly feeling coming back.
 Except, it’s not an ugly feeling anymore; it’s warm and fuzzy and makes him happy. He must
have finally reached the maturity to be able to understand what this feeling is!

He wants to repay Theseus in full for giving him happiness for all these years.

“Come…if you want to help Theseus…”

Help Theseus? Of course Ranboo wants to do that!

“Come, Ranboo…”

After all, Theseus is his savior. He owes Theseus his life; especially after the prince - his
Prince - has saved his life multiple times now.

“Your Prince.”

My Prince.

Chapter End Notes

So…surprise? *jazz hands*

Yep! This is actually the end of Arc III: The Watchers of the Void!

So, as you’ve noticed…this arc is very short. The truth is, this was all a big red herring.

The actual next big plot point is…a lot more psychologically terrifying than the Ender
Dragon and the End and End Politics.

That being said, this mini-arc was full of lots of lore, so be sure to memorize it (if u
want to) !
I’ve already planned out how I’m going to start the next arc. (Also, this interlude is why
the last chapter was so short haha)

To those following the updates, hi again! Sorry it’s been a few weeks—I’ve had finals.
(Dw guys, your girl passed with all A’s and B’s ;>) School is officially over now,
though, so I should be able to update more (maybe)!

The only other setback is, I’m going to be traveling all this week from Wednesday-
Sunday. So, if I don’t update, that’s why!

Anyways, I’m literally about to fall asleep on my desk rn. So goodnight everyone! Hope
you have an amazing day/night <33
 Lesson Learned: Never Skip Chapters
Chapter Summary

Tommy thinks back to his original life, where he realizes he’d made a huge mistake; a
mistake that might just cost him his and Ranboo’s lives.

Chapter Notes

WARNINGS: Mind control, canon-typical mentions of violence/death, cursing (t for

TOMMY TRUSTY)

EDIT: Hi! If you’re seeing this on June 6th thinking this was an update! I AM SORRY!
I added a Table of Contents to the beginning of the fic <3

See the end of the chapter for more notes

“Bad left.”

The words hit Dream suddenly, and he looks up to see George walking into the armory where
he and Sapnap had just finished dueling. When his mind registers what George just said, he
startles slightly. “Wait, what?”

“Bad left Essempei,” George repeats, making eye contact with Dream as he turns to face the
king. “I was told it’s because he’s just recently had a ‘revelation’.”

“A revelation?” Sapnap jumps into the conversation. He snorts, “Didn’t Bad go with Dream
to rescue me from the Nether? How could he have had any revelations?”

“Yeah—Bad hasn’t had any time at all since we got back to have any ‘revelations’,” Dream
frowns slightly underneath his mask. “Maybe it’s a code?”
“It’s Bad Boy Halo,” George says, shutting down that idea immediately. “Trust me, I’ve tried
to get him to use code in the past—he can’t wrap his mind around it.”

“Well, then what’s going on?” Sapnap throws his arms into the air. “Did he say where he was
going?”

“No—he didn’t tell me that he was leaving at all,” George replies, and he’s now looking a
little bit anxious, biting his lip. “I didn’t find out he was gone until just an hour ago, by a
Royal Guard telling me that Bad packed his whole room up.”

“That’s…weird,” Dream sighs. “But, if Bad wasn’t kidnapped or anything, I don’t think we
should chase after him. He’s a necromancer, after all, and he can surely fend for himself.”

“Yeah, yeah,” George waves Dream’s concerns off. “It’s just—what with the war we’ve just
had against the Piglin Tribe…this feels to soon after their surrender. It feels suspicious.”

“The Piglin Tribe isn’t nearly smart enough to be able to sneak into the palace, kidnap Bad
Boy Halo, and also somehow get Bad to tell the Royal Guards that he’s leaving willingly,”
Sapnap rolls his eyes.

Dream snickers. “Careful, Sapnap, your Blaze Tribe bias is showing.”

The mood is lightened at Dream’s words. Besides, he’s probably right—Bad is more than
strong enough to fend for himself, and if he really left Essempei willingly, he’s probably just
traveling for a bit. It’ll all be fine.

“Also, Dream—I have some news for you,” George speaks up after a moment of relaxed
silence. “Guess who was just invited to the Ten Thousandth Duel?”

Dream gapes. “No way.”

“Yep. You might want to check your mail.”

(Chapter 51, The Afterglow)

As he runs after Ranboo, Tommy remembers something Theseus had said once.

“Ranboo is a pushover,” he’d said frankly after Tommy asked a few questions about him.
“He’s a pushover and crumbles easily to peer pressure. He’s also weak to people he trusts—
that includes the Royal Family. But that especially includes me.”

“Ok, well, I know that,” Tommy had snapped back, ignoring the chills that had been sent
down his spine. Damn this trashy, manipulative villain. “I’m asking for things you know
about him so that I can stay in character. Things only you would know.”

“I’m getting there!” Theseus had giggled, probably ignoring Tommy’s uncomfortable look.
“Anyways, where was I?” He snaps, “Right! My dear servant might be a pushover and a
crybaby—but when it comes down to it, he can be a formidable foe.”

“That…is the opposite of everything you’ve just said,” Tommy said, giving Theseus an
unimpressed look. “Even in the novel, Ranboo can’t fight to save his life. He doesn’t know
how to wield any type of weapons other than a sword—and that’s because all Royal Staff are
required to at least know the very basics of swordfighting!”

“Ah, ah, ah!” Theseus tutted, which made Tommy want to find some way to bring the
bastard to life just to strangle him. “Now, I didn’t say anything about fighting, did I?”
“Then what did you mean?” Tommy raised an eyebrow. “It’s not like he’s formidable socially
—you just said that he bends to peer pressure easily. Plus, he’s an anxious mess. Anyone
could tell you that.”

“Yes—but I mean his ideals. His morals,” Theseus rolled his eyes. “He has a few values that
he sticks to—enough to even stand up to me about!” He listed off on his fingers, “Ranboo is
firmly against violence; he is a pacifist whenever he can help it. He believes politics are
unimportant. And he gives his all to those he trusts.”

“And…what is this supposed to help me with?” Tommy had asked, raising an eyebrow.

Theseus had just shrugged in response. “Well, I suppose I don’t really know. I just thought
it’d be good to know.” He had then smirked. “Ooh, do you wanna hear about the time where
Ranboo mistook a piece of dirt for chocolate?” Theseus had proceeded to actually answer
Tommy’s original request, telling him facts about Ranboo that only Theseus would know.

Tommy thinks he realizes what Theseus had meant by those words: “He has a few values
that he sticks to.”

Tommy’s going to be completely honest. He knows exactly why Ranboo - and even he,
himself - is affected by something in the distance of the Nether. This thing had shown up in
the novel, after all. There’s just one tiny little problem.

Tommy’s completely forgotten what this arc entailed of.

Ok, well, that’s maybe not fully true. He remembers something about mind control,
something about a party - the party where Dream would’ve originally met Theseus - and
something about a war against the Piglin Tribe. This whole debacle would ultimately end up
in original Ranboo’s death—of course Tommy didn’t forget the results of this arc. The only
problem is, he doesn’t remember why any of that happened.

Ok, fine, Tommy will admit it—he had skipped this particular arc in the novel. He wasn’t
vibing with the concept, so he simply read up a summary of it and went to the next arc.
Plus, this arc is faced with a lot of controversy because of the “mind control” element it
presents. Tommy saw quite a few people on the internet getting doxxed because of this arc.
So it was a resolute no from him when it came to reading this arc, thank you very much.

All this to say, as Tommy struggles to keep up with Ranboo - who’s gone from speed-walking
to straight ip running - he realizes, Oh shit, Ranboo’s totally infected by this mind-control
thing! Maybe I shouldn’t’ve skipped that damn arc…

“Ranboo—wait up!” Tommy calls. He’s slowly falling behind because of Ranboo’s damn
long strides, but he lunges forward at some point and manages to grab Ranboo’s sleeve.

The boy stops and turns to Tommy. His eyes are slightly glazed over, as if he’s in a trance—
but not a deep trance to where he doesn’t know where he is. In fact, his glazed over eyes fix
on Tommy’s figure, and his lips widen into a smile.

It’s too large. Unnatural. Shivers run down Tommy’s spine.

“My Prince,” Ranboo starts, in a tone of voice completely different than his usual one, “don’t
you feel it? I think that feeling is our way out.”

Hah, nice try, freaky mind-controlling entity, Tommy thinks to himself, but you’re totally not
good at pretending to be Ranboo. Ranboo’s too anxious to speak this clearly.

“Ranboo…what if it’s a bad thing?” Tommy asks carefully, making sure to keep a firm grip
on the other’s arm. “You know, common sense dictates that we shouldn’t just blindly rush
into decision making.”

Yeah, Tommy’s not ashamed to say that he stole that line from Dream in the novel. But no
one’s here to sue him, so he doesn’t really give a fuck!
And yeah, Tommy’s also coming up with funny comments in his mind because he’s
panicking a bit. Sue him.

“My Prince…you trust me, though, don’t you?” Ranboo says, and oh no, he’s pulling out the
puppy eyes. “My intuition says that this feeling is good. It’s good for us; it wants to help us.”

And logically, Tommy should be saying no to everything Ranboo’s saying. The mind-
controlling thing has definitively taken ahold of Ranboo; Ranboo’s speaking as if he already
knows that this “feeling” is an entity. This whole situation should be setting off red flags in
Tommy’s mind.

Instead, he has to violently fight off the urge to simply nod and agree with Ranboo.

“I…” Tommy trails off, gulping. Once he realizes the presence in his mind, it’s easy for him
to discern what are his thoughts and its thoughts. “No, Ranboo. We’re not going towards that
thing. Besides, it across the lava lake—we have no way of getting to it.”

He turns without looking at Ranboo, heart beating wildly in his chest. It’s effecting me…a lot
more than I expected. But at the same time, it isn’t nearly as bad as it seems to be effecting
Ranboo…

As Tommy starts to walk away, his grip on Ranboo’s arm slips; suddenly, it’s Ranboo
gripping Tommy’s arm. He startles and his head snaps back to the taller boy, who’s now
staring at Tommy with an empty expression.

“My Prince—I just want to help you feel better,” Ranboo says in a monotone voice. “If you
just follow me, I could help you forget all that…stress that you carry.”

Tommy flinches back, wrenching his arm out of Ranboo’s grasp. Shit, shit, fuck, it’s not even
hiding anymore.
 “Stop controlling Ranboo!” Tommy shouts, sounding infinitely more brave than he actually
feels. “I know your tricks…I won’t hesitate to destroy you!”

Not-Ranboo tilts his - its? - head curiously, still pinning Tommy down with that blank look.
“Prince Theseus of the Antarctic Empire…you are much more than you seem.”

It sounds like a compliment, yet it doesn’t. Tommy glares back, trying not to show any other
emotion than anger. “And so? Release Ranboo—I know how to kill you, and I am not one to
say things without meaning!”

“Oh…but if you do know how to ‘kill’ me, then why haven’t you already?” Not-Ranboo
asks. “Why didn’t you ‘kill’ me as soon as you realized I took over Ranboo’s mind?”

Shit, Tommy’s cornered here. I should have read that stupid arc.

And then, he remembers something.

Chapter End Notes

Helloooio to all my dear readers! Thank you for all the kind comments hehe

Anyways, welcome to our next arc—what is it, Arc IV?

Arc IV - The Ballad of the False God.

God, I love coming up with the arc names oml.

Also, featuring: Tommy making bad decisions! I’ll admit—I have skipped story arcs in
the past like he has. (Don’t tell anyone, but when I first read the Harry Potter series, I
completely skipped Book 5 bc I didn’t like how “edgy” - for lack of a better word -
Harry’s thoughts were. Obv now ik that he was just angry and a teen—that doesn’t mean
I had no reason for being annoyed with him tho lmao)

Anyways, random fact: my #1 kin is Madoka Kaname from Madoka Magica :D

(Makoto Naegi from Danganronpa is a close second tho lmao)
Another random fact: I’m been thinking of creating a new series of oneshots/short
stories of the MCYT cast in crossovers of a bunch of different fandoms, but I might not
go through with it. (If it does appear, tho, then you heard it from here first!)

use Discord! 💀
I also realized—a really good way to organize notes for a story that you’re writing is to
Why haven’t I ever thought of that?

As you can tell, these end notes have 100% become my rant space, but whatever. I doubt
anyone’s actually reading this lmao

Anyways, if you DID read that word vomit, then I hope you have a wonderful
day/night! Ilya <33
 Copyright Has the Power to Create Universes: Confirmed???
(Not Clickbait, REAL, GONE WRONG ) 😱
Chapter Summary

Tommy remembers a fan-favorite chapter of DSMP, and then remembers that he has
Sinned, so he prays.

Chapter Notes

WARNINGS: religious imagery (check end notes for details!!), cursing (t for
tomathyinsideofit)

See the end of the chapter for more notes

“Bad! You have to stop this madness!” Sapnap groans out from where he’s trapped under the
rubble of the decor - it’s not like Dream’s faring any better, considering he has a whole wall
pinning him to the ground.

Bad, in turn, only watches passively as Sapnap and Dream both struggle. From where Dream
is, he can see Sapnap practically frothing with anger towards the Egg. It’s affecting him, just
in the opposite way—instead of making him adore it, it’s making him hate it.

It’s not affecting Dream the same way, though. It’s affecting him, yes, but not nearly as much
as it did to everyone else at the banquet. Dream doesn’t feel a deep hatred or love for the
Egg; he feels a slight physical pull, but other than that, he’s pretty apathetic towards it.

Actually, no, that’s a lie, considering it’s literally mind-controlling his friend right now. But
still—he’s not overly attached to it!

So why is that?
He racks his brain for an answer, but as he’s doing so, Sapnap aims his palms upwards
towards the rubble holding him down, and pushes. Fire shoots out of his palms, launching the
rubble off of him, as he jumps up into a ready stance.

Right—Dream had totally forgotten the fact that Sapnap had studied Evocation magic while
growing up in the Nether. He so rarely uses his fire magic, it’s an easy detail to miss.

However, as they’ve established before, fire doesn’t work on the Egg; it originated from the
Nether, after all.

And yet, water doesn’t work either…

Dream’s musings are inturrupted as a gust of air blows past all three of them. He turns to
look at the direction it came from, and gapes.

Grian Xelqua, who was previously bleeding out from a stab wound, is now flying in the air; a
large pair of brown, feathery wings have sprouted from his back. At his side, Xisuma Void is
holding what looks to be an Enchanted diamond sword.

“Grian, Xisuma- !” Dream calls out, relieved.

Bad narrows his eyes as they dart between Sapnap to his right and the two newcomers to his
left. His eyes then land on Dream, and without warning, he darts forward, intentions clear as
he aims a netherite axe towards Dream’s face.

Dream yelps, trying to cover his face, but one of his arms is pinned underneath the rubble, so
he’s really just wriggling around.

He hears Sapnap and Grian and Xisuma all running over, but they’re too slow. Bad has
always been fast; faster than any normal human should be. So he reaches Dream within a
second. He reaches out, and-

And is blasted back. Dream cracks an eye open, and then blinks, befuddled. Bad had been
flung back by an energy force, simply by touching his hand. It was so powerful that it even
knocked Sapnap back; but oddly enough, Grian and Xisuma, who are now crouching next to
Dream, were unaffected.

The Egg itself starts to roar in outrage. It starts chanting in that backwards, upside down
language; it clearly doesn’t like to touch Dream, for whatever reason. Hell, Dream doesn’t
even know why that happened! Unless…

“ ᔑ ↸ᒲ╎リ !” it then starts to shout furiously. And Dream recognizes those words instantly.

From the looks of it, so do Grian and Xisuma.

ꖎ ꖎ
“|| 𝙹⚍ ⎓╎ ℸ ̣ ⍑|| ⍑ᔑ ⎓-ʖ∷ᒷᒷ↸ ,” Bad starts to say. He’s stood back up, and his eyes are
glowing a bright red; it’s vibrant, due to his clothes being all greyed out. “ ↸ᔑ ᒲリ||𝙹⚍,_, !
ꖎ
¡∷╎ᒲᒷ!_!||𝙹⚍ ⎓╎ ℸ ̣ ⍑|| ℸ ̣ ∷ᔑ ╎ℸ ̣ 𝙹∷ !”

Bad then looks at Dream, Grian, and Xisuma, who all remained unaffected by the blast of
energy. He - actually, no, this isn’t Bad - It points at the three of them. “!¡∷╎ᒲᒷ’ᓭ ↸ᒷᓭᓵ ᒷ
∴ ꖎꖎ
リ↸ᔑ リℸ ̣ ᓭ,_, ||𝙹⚍ ╎ !¡ᔑ || ⎓𝙹∷ ℸ ̣ ⍑╎ᓭ.”

Dream isn’t an expert in the Enochian language—he only knows simple words like
“Sharpness” and “Fire Aspect” because it’s used for Enchantment.

However, everyone who has even touched magic should know what “!¡ ∷ ╎ リ ᒷ ” means.

After all, Lady Prime is the creator of this world.

(Chapter 87, Her Archangels)

“Her Archangels” - also known as Chapter 87 of Dethroning the Silent Megalomaniac

Prince.

Tommy admits that he had skipped that whole arc—however, Chapter 87 was a fan-favorite
chapter, because of the plot twist involving Grian and Xisuma being Admins.

And yeah, Tommy’s not going to lie, it was a fucking amazing plot twist. Xisuma was highly
theorized to be a hybrid rather than an Admin, and Grian shows his face to the world, which
is practically forbidden in Admin culture! It was completely unexpected!

The only chapter of the Crimson Egg Arc that Tommy had read was Chapter 87, because he
was hungry for all the Admin-related lore that was included. And oh boy, was there so much
lore. Lore that’s now become relevant.

First of all, the reveal that Grian and Xisuma were Admins.

And second of all, the fact that the Egg cannot stand Admins. Specifically, the Egg hates
Lady Prime.

Lady Prime was…well, funny enough, She was the figurehead of a real religion in Tommy’s
past life. The author of DSMP was lowkey very heavily religious, since they literally used a
real life religion.
Lady Prime was the figurehead of the Church of Prime in Tommy’s past world. In this world,
it’s a well-known fact that She’s a Creator of the universe and such.

In the novel, Dream and Grian and Xisuma managed to defeat the Egg by using whatever
holy magic they had due to their Admin blood. There was never an explanation as to how this
worked, but it’s assumed that since Admins can become Gods, and Gods are the closest thing
to Lady Prime, that’s how they defeated the Egg.

Now, obviously, Tommy doesn’t have any holy power like that. But what he does have - or, at
least, what he had in his past life - is his faith to Lady Prime.

Yep. It was a big surprise when past Tommy had opened up DSMP to realize that the very
Lady Prime that he himself worshipped was in the novel.

So he clasps his hands together, kneels, bows his head, and starts to pray.

“Lady Prime, thy alone shall be the rightful judge, jury, and executioner of the human
condition, thy who are so kind, who hath given us the chance and means to prove ourselves
worthy to you. Under thy watch, we eat, drink, sleep, and live peacefully thanks to the
sacrifices of the past, and the will of you. You, who never ask for anything in return other
than our word. I humbly ask for the grace of forgiveness, though I am unworthy of such
mercy.”

These words have been burned into Tommy’s brain since he was 5 years old and just learning
how to write properly in the local church he went to, known as “The Dome”. And, despite not
having said them in about two months, the words come back easily to him, like riding a bike.

His eyes are closed shut while he’s praying. When he opens them, he notices that Not-
Ranboo is nowhere in sight.

He sighs in relief and his whole body slumps—he wasn’t sure that would actually work, but
here he is, alive and safe.
…Except, not actually safe, because he’s in the fucking Nether with no portal around and no
idea where he is. Plus, now, he’s lost the only companion he’s had throughout this unwanted
journey.

So, he goes back to praying. He hasn’t prayed like this for a while—and, in an environment
where everything around him has magic, he thinks he can actually feel the world becoming
more vibrant as he prays.

When Tommy went to the Church of Prime, he had learned a few things. First: Amazon, also
known as Lady Prime, was the Creator. She made the universe to Her liking, and oversees all
beings. Second: while She is the Creator of life, this does not mean that She made the whole
universe by herself. She, the Lord of the Shepherds, and the Master of Matter all created the
universe together.

Lady Prime created the luxury of life; the Lord of the Shepherds created time; the Master of
Matter created, well, matter.

In Tommy’s past life, these three were known as the Divine Triad. Lady Prime was the
figurehead, while the Lord of the Shepherds and Master of Matter were like her helpers, as
they were less powerful than Her.

In the world of DSMP, these three are known as the true Gods/Pureblooded Admins. They’re
beings made of pure starlight.

The idea of Admins and Ascension was a creative liberty that the author of DSMP had taken.
Admins were not part of the Church of Prime back in Tommy’s past world.

Regular Admins - like Dream and Drista - were born due to the Gods falling in love with
humans. The love bond between any Admin - Pureblood or not - and any mortal is strong
enough to create a whole new being out of stardust.

Stardust, not pure starlight. Which is why the original three Gods are known as…well…the
original three; the Pureblooded Admins. They’re the most powerful Gods in this pyramid
scheme. The second highest in the pyramid scheme would be second-generation Admins.
Those second-generation Admins are also well-known. A couple of examples include Lady
Death and Lady Irene. They were Admins who became Gods after Ascending. After
Ascension, they were given their own divine duties. Lady Irene is the Goddess of Justice and
Peace, and Lady Death is the Goddess of Death and Endings(obviously).

The third generation contains Dream, Drista, Grian, Xisuma, Evilex, and most other Admins
mentioned in the novel that haven’t Ascended. Also included in the third generation is the
Smiling God: also known as the only Admin from the third generation that’s Ascended so
far.

In the novel, Dream and Drista never ended up Ascending; however, it was a very popular
discussion between fans. What kind of Gods would Dream and Drista be? And, as a matter of
fact, what about Grian and Xisuma, who also never Ascended?

Long story short: due to the whole logistics of magic and the Gods, Tommy thinks he can
practically feel Lady Prime’s presence, and it’s very…soothing.

It would have been nice to have in all those years of torture and suffering—

He takes in a deep breath, and lets it out slowly. “Alright. I can do this.”

…Except, what the fuck do I do now?

Tommy opens his eyes and stands up, brushing his pants off. He’s now stranded in the Nether
with no known way out, and he has a wild Not-Ranboo just running around, doing gods-
know-what.

“Well…time to take a page out of Sapnap’s book, I guess,” he mutters to himself, and picks a
random direction to walk in.
 It’s time to take a visit to one of the Nether civilizations.

Chapter End Notes

- If you’re here for the religious imagery warning: there’s no real religion used! Tommy
is, in fact, religious in this fic, and there are some ties to Christianity, but no real religion
from our world is used!!

If you’re here for the regular end notes:

Yeah, I grew up in a Christian family, so I have experienced a lot of what Tommy here
has experienced. He doesn’t have any religious trauma or anything; his family was
religious, and so he is.

(Fyi, I myself am not really religious rn. Maybe I’ll take an interest in it when I’m older,
but for now, I’m too focused on schools and all that ;-;)

Also, quick reminder! Tommy’s original world ≠ our real life world! The Church of
Prime is a completely fictional religion that I created!

If it was confusing, here:

- Lady Prime, Lord of the Shepherds, and Master of Matter all worked together to create
the universe (Lady Prime is the most powerful since she can create actual life, and the
other two are like her helpers, which is why she’s the figurehead)
- Humanity was created, and the three Gods fell in love with mortals (includes both
humans and hybrids—and even animal spirits!)
- The result of that love is the second-generation Admins! They’re born as mortals with
stronger magic, physical abilities, and healing properties. However, if they Ascend, they
can also become Gods.
- A bunch of second-generation Admins Ascended and became Gods. (This second
generation took place in the span of thousands of years; “second-generation” refers to an
Admin who’s the product of a mortal and one of the original three Gods)
- Third-generation Admins are the result of those second-generation Admins that
Ascended. This is Dream, Drista, Grian, Evilex, and Xisuma.
- In the DSMP novel, the only third-generation Admin to have ever Ascended so far is
known by the moniker “The Smiling God”.

So! That was a LOT of info dumping this chapter. Luckily, though, we’ll hopefully be
getting a lot more interactions in the next chapter!

Thank you for waiting patiently everyone. And also: look out for another side story! It’ll
be based off of Theseus and Deo! (And it may or may not be a certain gambling
storyline that I’ve hinted at in the past before *wink wink*)
Have a wonderful day/night everyone! <33
 ‼️‼️NOT A CHAPTER!!‼️‼️
Chapter Summary

WARNINGS: This isn’t a chapter, it touches topics such as the roe v. wade overturn and
generally political topics, as well as a mention of miscarriages. If this triggers you, DO
NOT READ!!

Chapter Notes

LAST WARNING: I will be talking about politics and my own political stances in terms
of the roe v. wade overturn! Expect talks of abortion!!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Hey guys, this isn’t an update, this is just going to be a note from me. And I’ll delete this
after I post the next chapter, but I just really wanted to say this.

So, I am working on the next chapter, but since the whole roe v. wade overturn, i’ve been a
little freaked out (i am, in fact, a female with a uterus that lives in the us)

I just wanted to take a moment to inform everyone reading this of a few things(I’m writing
this while assuming everyone reading is pro-choice):

- While I do think we should act on these decisions that have been made, I beg everyone to
please stay safe! A lot of us are angry - I am too, believe me - but our biggest worry right
now is to stay safe.

- They’re coming for same-sex marriage laws, the ICWA act, and i’ve seen talk about them
rethinking brown v. Board. I will say this again: STAY SAFE.

- The only thing this decision did was ban SAFE abortions. People will definitely find ways
to try and have abortions, only now, it’ll be unsafe and unsupervised by a professional.
 I’m sorry for getting political, but this is currently the only platform that I have where I can
spread awareness go people, and I owe it to myself to try and help in some way.

All this being said, just because the Supreme Court overturned the law doesn’t mean all the
states are following it (for now, at least). Make sure you know your rights, no matter which
state you live in, and keep fighting.

You can help by donating to Abortion Funds and spreading awareness of the situation.

If you read all this, thank you and stay safe. The next update will take a while to come out,
but don’t worry—I’m still writing!

Chapter End Notes

Here’s some more sources for info/ways you can help:

The New York Times ( https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/us/abortion-laws-roe-

v-wade.html )

The Guardian ( https://amp.theguardian.com/world/2022/jun/25/how-to-support-

abortion-access-rights-us-roe-wade-funds )

Time ( https://time.com/6190996/how-abortion-funds-work/ )

Remember: You are not alone in dealing with this! If you can, keep fighting. If not,
make sure to stay safe!
 In Which Mistakes Are Made and Treason is Committed
(Technically)
Chapter Summary

Tommy finds himself in a precarious situation, so he contemplates physics.

Chapter Notes

WARNINGS: Swearing (T for Tommyinnit), slight claustrophobic scene (nothing bad

tho), lmk if I should add anything else!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

“No way…you actually grew up in the Nether?” Dream asks, his eyebrows raised in surprise.
He’s heard of Overworld people living in the Nether, but he’s never heard of someone actually
growing up there.

Sapnap grins and nods, holding his hand out. A tiny, red flame bursts forth, flickering; it
doesn’t seem to be hurting it hand, despite its close proximity. “Yup! And as you can see, the
magic present ended up giving me more of an affinity towards fire-based magic. And since I
studied Evocation…”

“The energy you tap into is magic from the Nether!” Dream finishes, slightly in awe at the
science behind it. “So every spell you cast is fire-based?”

“…Kinda,” Sapnap replies, waving his hand in a ‘half-half’ gesture—the tiny flame is
extinguished. “Have you ever been to the Nether?”

“…Maybe once,” Dream replies. He vaguely remembers one of his older brothers creating a
Nether portal, and he had wandered into it as a child. It was only for a second though,
because he was quickly pulled out and subsequently yelled at.

“Well, most that have been down there will describe the air as ‘suffocating’,” Sapnap
continues. “And while that’s partially due to all the heat, it’s also because the Nether realm
as a whole is technically a very large cave system. You know the science behind alchemy?”

Dream blinks, a little jarred at the sudden topic change. “Um. Yeah, I know the basics—
doesn’t a good portion of alchemy follow the Universal Law of Exchange?”

Sapnap grins and snaps his fingers, “Exactly! Like how water rises and forms into clouds!”

“Yeah, I learned all this when I was younger,” Dream raises an eyebrow, “but what does that
have to do with anything?”

“Well, magic is like the water,” Sapnap replies. “If you use magic, excess magic is released
into the air—which is why you can tell if a fight with magic happened recently, because that
excess magic will still be in the air for a little while before dissipating and spreading out.”

“I guess that makes sense,” Dream acknowledges with a nod and a curious frown.

(Chapter 3, The False Blaze)

As far as Tommy knows, he’s a good navigator.

Clearly, he’s been gaslighting himself for his past 16 years of life.
All Tommy wanted to do was find Ranboo and then find a Nether portal that was hopefully
man-made. He didn’t want…this!!

“You…come,” the Piglin in front of him says, and then turns around and starts walking.

Tommy eyes the piglins around him, blocking any means of escape. The Bastion he’s
detained in right now is…fairly big. There looks to be about 100 piglins in this building
alone, not counting the guards outside.

The novel didn’t really good into much detail on what the Piglins’ living situations actually
looked like or the Piglins in general - after all, Dream only went into the Nether to go into the
Nether Fortress - but it’s actually pretty fuckin’ cool.

In the original novel, they’re called Piglin Camps because Dream only ever came into contact
with the smaller Piglin groups, that would set up camps. In one of the side stories - the one
that featured Sapnap’s backstory in his point of view as a child - it’s revealed that larger
Piglin groups actually build Bastions to both live in as well as store all theit treasures.

And somehow, this is where Tommy finds himself. He’s sweating - both from this situation
and the heat - and everytime his eyes so much as pass over the gold pile in the center of the
Bastion, every Piglin in sight becomes more hostile.

Tommy’s shoved forward, so he follows the Piglin that seems to be the leader. Surprisingly,
this one seems to know English.

Well, now that I think about it, it isn’t really that surprising. Piglins have made treaties and
had contact with humans up on the surface, so obviously they’d know how to speak their
language at least a little bit.

Tommy’s led to…a jail cell. Of course. I try doing one good thing and it leads me to
imprisonment. Of course.
He’s roughly thrown into the cell, and one of the Piglins closes the gate behind him. Tommy
glares up at the Piglins and spits out, “Uck-fay ou-yay.” Hah, classic Pig Latin.

They seem to understand him, and they simply smirk. They both then walk away, leaving
Tommy alone in the dark cell.

“Fuckin’…assholes,” Tommy grumbles, sitting up and dusting himself off. There’s no torch
or anything inside the actual cell, there’s just the dim light from the torch further in the
hallway.

Fuck…I wish Deo or Tubbo were here, Tommy thinks bitterly. Or literally anyone that I
know! I’d even take Theseus at this point!

Tommy starts looking around as his eyes start to adjust to the darkness. His cell is pretty
small and looks like it’s been unused for a while, but the walls, floor, and bars all feel sturdy.
And the Piglins had taken all of his things.

Shit! All because I happened to wander into a Piglin Bastion! Tommy thinks to himself,
frustrated. After all, the whole reason he’s in this mess is because he was caught inside the
Bastion, and the Piglins presumed he was trying to steal their gold.

And the worst part about this whole situation? Tommy’s finally starting to feel both hungry
and thirsty. Before, when he had been wandering around, he was too worried about Ranboo’s
whereabouts to notice how he was steadily getting more and more worn down. Now, though,
after being forced to stay in a cramped cell, all of the fatigue and issues of the human body is
catching up to him.

“Fuck this,” Tommy groans, his mouth feeling particularly dry. What’s even worse - because
yes, his situation can get worse than it already is - is the fact that water evaporates
immediately in the Nether. Therefore, he won’t be able to quench his thirst unless one of the
Piglins on the outside brings him something.

Tommy finally decides to settle into a corner of the room to try and get some rest. They didn’t
even give me a bed or anything to sleep on…bitches.
Tommy doesn’t exactly know how long he spends in captivity. It feels like it’s been days, but
that could be because of the lack of ability to tell time as well as the lack of people he can
really speak to.

The Piglins guarding the cells have given him 5 meals so far; and while there is no water
present in any of those meals, there is Water Essence.

It’s common knowledge in this world that water almost immediately evaporates when it’s in
the Nether. In-universe, this is just one of the universal laws of the world; magic exists in
everyone, there are three dimensions, water evaporates quickly in the Nether.

However, one day, a sorceress had said to herself, “But why does water evaporate in the
Nether?”

Which came about the Boiling Pot Theory—which was really just the introduction of physics
into a fantasy world.

It was discovered that water takes roughly 20 minutes to evaporate when boiling. The general
consensus was that water evaporates in the Nether because it’s super hot, but it’s actually a
lot more than that.

In the Nether, there are traces of magic in the air; this is said by Sapnap himself when
describing how he gained his affinity towards fire magic. The fire magic currently in the air is
from the Blazes, Magmas, and even the lava itself. After all, magic exists in most - if not, all
- matter in this world. So while the Nether isn’t exactly hot enough to instantly evaporate
water, the magic in the air is.
All this being said, this discovery led to the creation of Water Essence, which takes water and
condenses it to its most solid form—a form of ice. It takes a lot of water - all produced by
magic - and even then, if it isn’t kept in a tightly enclosed space, it’ll all evaporate in the
Nether within a couple hours.

Water Essence is made in the Overworld and distributed to the lifeforms in the Nether. Since
the three realms have interacted fairly often, most Nether dwellings have Water Essence. This
is likely how Sapnap survived in the Nether throughout childhood, despite being human.

As Tommy bites into the Water Essence - and is promptly freaked out by how, as he chews it,
it liquifies - the main Piglin that everyone had seemed to follow walks up to Tommy’s cell
bars.

Tommy looks up and immediately sneers. “The fuck do you want?”

This Piglin is clearly important. The gold armor it’s wearing, along with the countless amount
of gold jewelry, make it hard for Tommy to even see its face or any of its actual skin. It
reminds Tommy of what Technoblade will become in the future after becoming the Blood
God.

“I know who you are.” Shit, this Piglin actually seems to know English, compared to the
other ones that used simple words to communicate with Tommy. In fact, the Piglin even has
the accent down perfectly.

Tommy doesn’t reply, he just defiantly stares at the Piglin, conveying an unimpressed face.
Thank Prime for Theseus’ amazing RBF.

“You might act smug,” the Piglin says, “but even I can tell who you are…Prince Theseus.”

And then Tommy pales, because what the fuck?! Theseus is only supposed to be public as an
Antarctic Prince to the Antarctic Empire; and even then, the commoners don’t know anything
else about him. None of the other countries - much less the other realms - show even know
his name!
 And then, the Piglin laughs. Except, it’s not a mocking or sardonic laugh like Tommy would
have expected; it seems to be genuinely amused by something.

And then, it reaches up and takes its helmet off and-

“Holy shit,” is what slips out of Tommy’s mouth when he sees an absurdly human face
looking back at him.

A boy, around Tommy’s age, is looking through the bars and seems to be holding bag a
laugh. He has a pair of panda ears poking out through his hair.

The weirdest thing about this is…this boy looks familiar.

Extremely familiar.

“Hey, Tom,” the boy says, and it clicks. “Didn’t think I’d see you here. Are you surprised?”

And of course, it’s none other than Tommy’s oldest friend; one from his original world, one
who had been his absolute best friend.

Freddie - fucking - Linu is looking at him through the prison cell bars.

Chapter End Notes

I’M BACK! HELLO!

So, as for the whole physics situation……yea, all I meant to do was explain what Water
Essence was, which eventually led to me spending like an hour researching about water
and condensation and such…before I remembered “oh yeah, magic exists in the universe
lol and i literally just established that there’s fire magic in the air rip”

So. Yeah. Sorry for that block of text ;-;

So, hi! I’m back…kinda. Since school is starting back up, I won’t be able to update as
frequently as I did a few months ago, but I’ll try my best!

Thank you all for reading, and have a wonderful day/night <33
 Middle School Reunion!
Chapter Summary

Tommy and Freddie catch up after committing crimes.

Chapter Notes

WARNINGS: Swearing (rated T for Testicles), all the warnings that come with the Egg
ig (mind control, manipulation, except it’s only briefly mentioned)

See the end of the chapter for more notes

It’s the first day of fifth grade, and Tom doesn’t know where to sit. He’s just moved here from
another town, so all of the friends he had aren’t in his class, or even in his school!

All the other kids already have their own friend groups. The tables around the room are all
full, except for one in the back that has no one there. Tom hunches his shoulders in and walks
there, his skin prickling as if everyone’s eyes are on him, even though he can see that no one’s
looking at him.

He can’t tell what’s worse.

He sits down at the table that has three other empty chairs. He chooses the one that lets him
see the front board the most, and simply brings out a book he just started yesterday:
Dethroning the Silent Megalomaniac Prince. He goes over to his bookmark and picks right
back up from where he left off.

In the back of his mind, Tom notes that the bell rings, but he’s too invested in the adventures
of Dream to notice that the classroom has quieted down and that the teacher is now in the
room.
“…Thomas Innes? Is there a Thomas Innes?”

Tom’s head snaps over to the front of the classroom where the teacher has apparently taken
out the attendance sheet. He quietly shuts his book and calls out, “Here! And, erm, I go by
Tom.”

“Tom. Got it,” the teacher nods, jotting that down, and then continues roll call.

Tom sighs, his heart racing. He was startled by how suddenly the teacher had called his
name.

The next few classes he has goes like this. He goes to a class, sits alone - he’s tried sitting at a
table with other students, but it ends up being awkward because he doesn’t know anybody -
and trudges through the day. He just wants to get home and read his book, already!

Lunch comes, and Tom grabs a school lunch tray. Lunch today is a burger—but the bread is
way too cold and hard, and the patty tastes like a poorly microwaved piece of meat. The
chocolate milk he has also tastes vaguely spoiled.

While Tom starts to eat the mini-sized carrots that came with the lunch, a boy runs into the
cafeteria, his forehead sheen with sweat and panting. He rushed into the lunch line, grabs a
lunch, and looks around the cafeteria. As Tom watches the boy’s face go through a whole arc
of emotions, they suddenly make eye contact.

The boy then smiles, relieved, and walks over, setting his tray down. “Hey! Hope you don’t
mind if I sit here.”

“Nah, you’re good,” Tom replies, raising an eyebrow. “Are you in a rush or somethin’?” He
eyes the boy’s generally disheveled look.
“Yeah, kinda. I got held behind by a teacher and missed like half of lunch,” the boy replies,
all in between chewing his burger.

Tom winces. “Oof. Good on you for getting here, then.”

“Yeah.” The boy swallows and then says, “I’m Freddie Linu. Who’re you?”

Tom internally questions, Do I really wanna be friends with this bitch boy? He looks like he
has proper issues.

And then, Freddie goes and puts ketchup on top of the whole burger rather than on the patty.
And Tom knows he has to know how fucked up this guy’s brain is

“I’m Tom Innes,” he says, flashing Freddie a quick smile.

“Dude, holy shit, you’re here??” Tommy gapes at his friend who’s currently lifting a pickaxe
onto his shoulder.

Freddie grins. “Oi, shouldn’t I be asking you that? But yeah, I’m here.” He then holds the
pickaxe with both of his hands. “Stand back—I’m about to bust you outta there.”

“Pretty sure that’s illegal,” Tommy snarks, a wide grin present on his face as he backs up. It’s
Freddie! Freddie Linu, Tom’s oldest friend!

Tommy covers his ears and turns away as Freddie fucking breaks the bars off of his cell. He
then turns back and grins as he steps through the ruined bars.
Freddie then tosses the pickaxe on the ground and hands Tommy an iron sword. It’s perfectly
clean and looks unused, as if—

“I just made that, like, an hour ago, so don’t worry about its durability,” Freddie informs
Tommy. “Also, we gotta run. Like, right now.”

“The fuck? Why?” Tommy gives Freddie a questioning look.

“Because there’s an alarm system in here connected to the jail cells,” Freddie replies. Right
on cue, a blaring alarm rings in Tommy’s ears, and he winces at the shrill noise.

“Run with me!” Freddie yells out over the noise and starts running through the halls. “Let’s
run and talk! How’d you get here??”

“I fuckin’ died, man!” Tommy replies, panting slightly. “I got here, like, 2 or 3 months ago!
When the fuck did you get here??”

“For real??” Freddie spares a moment to cast Tommy a concerned look. He then looks
forward to pick one of the hallways to run down. “That sucks! I, uh, have been here from
birth! It’s been so long…I don’t even remember what happened before I got transported
here!”

“Holy shit, that fucking sucks!” Tommy’s eyes widen. Imagine being here since birth…
having to experience being a baby while having a teenager consciousness sounds like fucking
hell to Tommy. He and Eryn really got lucky with how they got transmigrated, despite the
fact that Tommy died and Eryn had so suddenly been taken to here.

Freddie leads Tommy to…what looks like a dead end. After all, the only thing down this
hallway is a busted wall that leads outside to the large lava lake in the Nether.
“What the fuck is this, Freddie,” Tommy says blankly, panting from the running they just did.

There are angry noises coming feom behind him - definitely Piglins - and Freddie simply
tosses Tommy a potion. “Bottoms up, Toms! I hope you know how to swim in lava!”

“How to what-“ Tommy can’t even begin to process that statement when Freddie downs his
whole potion, smashes the glass bottle on the ground, and then dives into the lava lake.

Right. So this is probably Fire Resistance. Tommy follows suit and drinks the potion - it’s a
lot more plain than he expected, sadly - and jumps into the lava.

If he could, he would be groaning in pain right now; however, he focuses on getting over to
the land plot that Freddie is on.

The Fire Resistance potion does little to actually protect Tommy against the pure amount of
heat that his skin feels. It doesn’t particularly hurt - after all, he has Fire Resistance - but it’s
definitely unpleasant. He’s so goddamn thankful for potions and magic in this world.

Freddie lends Tommy a hand, which he takes gratefully, and pulls him up on the land. The
two then continue to run, as the Piglins start looking for another way out to follow them.

“So, why the fuck are you in the Nether??” Tommy asks as they run, because he needs
answers for Prime’s sake!

“Well, I kinda…got bored?” Freddie somehow manages to shrug as they run through a flat
plot of netherrack. “Yeah, so, even though I’m a hybrid, I can’t do anything special, y’know?
And I decided that I wouldn’t let that slide—this world literally has magic, I should be
allowed to have fun!”

“Preach, king,” Tommy nods in full agreement.

“So, I snuck out of town one day, found a traveller’s Nether portal, and came in here,”
Freddie says as they now jump across the Basalt pillars, doing their best not to fall into one of
the many pockets of lava. “I made myself a bunch of gold armor, and then wore it, and…
apparently, Piglins don’t attack you when you’re wearing gold! They think you’re one of
them!”

“So…so you became their fucking leader?” Tommy says blankly. “Don’t think I don’t
recognize you as their fuckin’ ring leader from earlier, bitch.”

Freddie’s smile becomes a tad bit nervous. “Ahah. Toms, my best bud. You forgive me for
imprisoning you, right?”

“Fucker, you could’ve just told them ‘hey, this guy’s cool, don’t kill him!’” Tommy throws his
hands into the air.

“I…” Freddie pauses in his action of climbing up the side of a cliff that isn’t too steep. “…I
dunno how to talk to them.”

“…Bitch, they literally just speak Pig Latin!” Tommy glares up at his friend. “It’s literally so
easy! How did you get this far without knowing how to speak it??”

“Well, I dunno how to speak Pig Latin!” Freddie replies, his eyebrows furrowing in both faux
annoyance and concentration. “So ex-cuse me if not all of us are well-versed in everything
DSMP-related like you are. Plus, I was fine pretending like I was a mute, because apparently,
Piglins can be mute!”

“That’s…Pig Latin isn’t from DSMP, you dickhead!” Tommy replies with an incredulous
look at his friend’s words. “Pig Latin’s literally just English except you put the first letter at
the end and add ‘-ay’ to the end of the word!”

“You’re not making sense, so I’m going to ignore you,” Freddie says promptly, helping
Tommy up the rest of the way up the cliff.
“So. What’s with the fuckin’ panda ears?” Tommy asks after they finally stop running and
slow to a walk. By now, they’ve completely lost the Piglin hoard.

“I’m a Hybrid, duh,” Freddie gives Tommy a look that conveys ‘are-you-dumb?’ “Aren’t you
the expert on this book series? You’re lucky I actually paid attention to your oddly specific
rants about DSMP, or else I’d have had a much worse time here.”

Tommy’s ears flush. Right—back in middle school, whenever he had the chance, he’d rant
about DSMP to Freddie. In his defense though, Freddie never complained and it was his
favorite novel!

“Whatever. You better thank me, bitch,” he replies instead.

Freddie simply laughs at him and the two keep walking.

And then, Tommy stops in his tracks. “Shit! Ranboo!”

“What’s up?” Freddie turns around and raises an eyebrow at Tommy’s frozen form. “Are you
good?”

“I…look, it’s a long story,” Tommy starts, but then Freddie crosses his arms and raises an
eyebrow. Tommy groans and says, “I lost my friend in here who’s a Prince and who also may
or may not be mind controlled. I think we should find the thing mind-controlling him before
we leave the Nether.”

Freddie blinks. “Ok, sure, but you’re gonna have to explain to me while we look for your
friend. I’m guessing you know where to find him, since you’ve read the book, right?”

Tommy grimaces. “Yeah, about that…”

“I can’t believe you skipped a whole book arc because you just ‘didn’t like it’,” Freddie
groans again as the two sit down to take a break. “I mean, seriously! If it’s your first read-
through, then you read everything, no matter how much you like it! Then, if you wanna
reread the book, that’s when you can skip around as much as you like!”

“I know, Freddie,” Tommy glares at his friend. “You’ve repeated yourself enough times
already, bitch! I heard you the first time! Just let me fuckin’ repent, Prime!”

“Whatever,” Freddie takes two apples out of his pouch that he’d apparently been carrying. He
hands one out to Tommy, “Want one?”

“Of fucking course,” Tommy says as thanks, and grabs it. After eating something that’s nice
and juicy, he realizes just how much he misses the overworld.

Like, the Nether had been his favorite dimension when he had read DSMP because it just
sounded so cool to him! The pools of lava, the different species’ you could find there, the
oddly colored trees and plants—it was all so fucking cool to 12-year-old Tommy.

However, now, he misses the feeling of wind. He even misses how cold it was if he even took
a step outside of the Antarctic Empire castle without wearing at least five layers of clothing!

In the Nether, it’s constantly humid, and there seems to be death traps everywhere. Tommy’s
already had a few close calls with falling into random holes like three times since he’s been
here.

“Ok, well, you’re actually lucky that I’m here,” Freddie says after a few minutes of the two
sitting in silence and eating their apples. “I’ve been a Piglin leader-ish for like…years now.
I’ve also been living here for a years. Which means I can semi-navigate the Nether.”
“Really?” Tommy’s eyes widen. “Holy shit, that-that’s great! Where there any areas around
the Nether that felt…weird? Or off to you?”

After all, while the Crimson Egg was hidden in the Nether, that’s only because no one was
able to get close enough to it to actually find it. There was a constant barrier-like substance
surrounding it, which caused people to either start burning or fall into its mind-controlling
trap.

Freddie furrows his eyebrows, taking a bite of his apple. After swalling, he says carefully,
“Well…not really an area, more like…the lava over by this patch of soul sand that I found
once.”

“What did it feel like?” Tommy presses.

“Well, I had the urge to dig down into the soul sand with my bare hands,” Freddie replies, a
mildly disturbed look crossing his face. “Man, it was so creepy. I immediately left after.”

Huh. Tommy had expected the Egg to have a much bigger affect on Freddie, but apparently
that wasn’t the case.

In any case, “Well, that’s where my friend is. The mind-controlling thing - this ‘Crimson
Egg’ - is…I guess it’s underneath the soul sand? So we have to get there.”

Freddie groans loudly, his hands coming up to cover his face. “Tom, you bitch!” he says in
despair, his hands muffling his voice.

Tommy simply stares at his friend. “What the fuck, are you high?”

“You bitch,” Freddie repeats, and then uncovers his face to give Tommy a glare. “That patch
of soul sand is in the opposite direction of where we went from the Bastion! We have to go
all the way back there!”
 Tommy thinks of the land, cliffs, and lava lakes that they had just crossed within the past -
hour, maybe two? god how does time even work down here - few hours.

“Shit,” he mutters, glaring down at his half-eaten apple. “Fuck.”

Chapter End Notes

Hi! I’m back! Sorry for the wait!

So, basically, school is up and running again (kill me now) !!!! I’m a lot more busy, but
we’re still doing good hehe

Thank you all for the support. I repeat it a lot, but I really do appreciate everyone who
comments, kudos, and bookmarks this fic. (Also, to everyone who bookmarks, I read
your notes!!!)

Anyways, cheesy stuff aside, I might FINALLY start up that MCYT-crossover series!
For those that don’t know, it’s just gonna be me writing MCYT AU oneshots based off
of another series. (Right now, I’m thinking of doing my first one based off of Undertale
because. Well. Of course.)

So, there’s something to look forward to? I guess?

Anyways! Thank you for reading this chapter, and I hope you all have a wonderful
day/night <33

EDIT: OH OH OH I ALMOST FORGOT—LOOK AT THIS AMAZING PIECE OF

ARTWORK BY @sunshine.cows ON INSTAGRAM:

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cgzt7GslU05/?igshid=MDJmNzVkMjY=
 I Love Walking Through Fantasy-Hell With My Best Friend
Chapter Summary

In which Freddie and Tommy reach the area of Soul Sand that Freddie had heard the
Egg.

Chapter Notes

WARNINGS: Swearing (t for tndkdnjdkd), mentions of child abuse (child

abandonment), lmk if i should add anything else!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

When Dream walks into the mansion, he’s kind of taken aback by the pure amount of red
that’s in sight. And then he notices the high quality of…practically everything around him.

The floors and walls are polished and sturdy, the carpeting and furnishings are clean, and the
hall he’s in - the hall that the ball will be held in a few hours - is very large and spacious, yet
not empty.

And then Dream hears, “Dream! You made it!”

Dream turns to the staircase and finds Bad walking down it. Except…Bad looks way different
from when Dream last saw him.

Instead of the usual red and black hoodie that Bad usually wears, the red seems to be
replaced with a dull grey color. Bad seems the same - he’s smiling, and he sounds well - but
the absence of red, especially compared to the red-colored mansion they’re in, is a little
disorienting to Dream.
Despite this, Dream smiles back, even though Bad can’t see it, and says, “Hey, Bad! I like
your place!”

“Why thank you,” Bad grins, pleased. “We spent a while working on it.”

“We?” Dream questions, but he’s promptly ignored.

“Come—you should meeet my good pal, Antfrost!” Bad gestures towards Dream to come
closer. “And, we can catch up! It’s been, what, a month? What’s been going on over in
Essempei?”

(Chapter 71, The Mansion of Crimson)

“…Were you ever scared?” Tommy asks as he and Freddie retrace their steps back through
the Nether.

They’ve been walking for a little while - maybe half an hour or so? - but they had already
been walking for three hours before turning around, so this trek back is going to be tough. Oh
well, at least this time, they won’t be running away from angry Piglins. Freddie had reassured
Tommy that Piglins don’t stay super angry for long unless you steal gold, and they hadn’t
stolen anything.

“Scared? Of what?” Freddie raises an eyebrow, looking over to Tommy.

Tommy shrugs half-heartedly. “This world. Because…because at least I’ve read this, book,
you know? I know what’s going to happen, and besides, I have a Deus Ex Machina—I have a
literal ghost that seems to tolerate me enough to give me information! You…weren’t that
lucky.”
Freddie hadn’t read DSMP back in their old world, so everything he knew was based off of
what Tommy would tell him.

“…Of course I was scared.” Despite those words, Freddie turns to give Tommy a small smile.
“But…you know that I didn’t have much to go back to, in our old world. So, this whole
mess…it wasn’t unwelcome.”

Ah. Right. It wasn’t as if Freddie’s parents treated him badly; they didn’t spend enough time
with him to even treat him anyway at all. It had always been clear to Tommy that Freddie’s
parents weren’t equipped or prepared to raise a child. They would spend all their time either
at work or having a date together; work because they had to provide for themselves and
Freddie, and dates because they barely had any alone time together.

At the time, while Tommy was happy that Freddie could spend a lot of time with him after
school, he also knew of the pain that Freddie must have felt. Freddie’s parents were
genuinely nice people, going by the two times Tommy had actually met them. It was just an
unfortunate situation all around.

“Well, you have me now!” Tommy smirks, trying to lighten the mood up. “Or, well, you have
me again! I haven’t seen you since, what, middle school?”

Right—Tommy had moved away after graduating from middle school, and he didn’t have his
own cell phone, so he and Freddie drifted away.

“Yeah—crazy, right?” Freddie laughs. “I never thought I’d see you again.”

Tommy’s smile fades. “Yeah…me too.”

The two walk in a thick - and yet, not entirely uncomfortable - silence.
After about two hours, Tommy spies the Bastion in the distance, and points it out to Freddie.
Suddenly re-energized by the sight of the Bastion, the two quickly make their way to and past
it, staying extra quiet to not alert the Piglins.

And so, now, here they are, walking in the opposite direction that they were before.

“Ok, you said…the odd area where I felt a slight pull, right?” Freddie turns to Tommy to
confirm.

Tommy nods. “Yup. It’ll be a pull, or maybe whispers—just, anything odd.”

“Everything’s odd here, in the Nether,” Freddie points out.

Tommy rolls his eyes, pushing Freddie lightly with a grin. “You know what I mean,
dickhead.”

Tommy pops another Water Essence into his mouth. Freddie’s been supplying both of them
with them, because he’d stolen some before going over to break Tommy out of the Piglins’
jail cell.

“Freddie, where’d you even get these Water Essences?” Tommy asks with a raised brow.
“‘Cause I know for sure you didn’t craft them in here.”

“Oh—so you know how I was like- the Piglins’ Tribe Leader?” Tommy nods, recalling their
earlier conversation. “I’ve been here in the Nether for about…eight years?”

“Holy shit!” is what escapes Tommy’s mouth. “And…how old are you now?”

“I’m sixteen,” Freddie replies, his smile widening at Tommy’s growing horror. “Yup, you
heard that right—I became a Tribe Leader of Piglins in the Nether at the age of 8.”
“But…but surely they knew that you were just a child!” Tommy gaped.

“Well, yeah—but I was the same age as the other Piglin runts,” Freddie shrugs. “It was easy
to pretend to be a mute, and then blend in with the others.”

“You fuckin’ madlad,” Tommy huffs out a laugh. He goes to say more, but suddenly, he takes
a step and…starts to sink into the ground.

“Oh, we’re almost there!” Freddie grins, also stepping into the Soul Sand.

The Soul Sand feels like what quicksand is portrayed as in movies, but not quite. It’s…well,
to be honest, it’s just really think sand. It slows Tommy and Freddie’s pace because of its
consistency.

Maybe the fact that the Soul Sand kind of resembles screaming faces is a little concerning—
but honestly, Tommy’s fine with putting that realization into the back of his mind to ease his
mental health.

Tommy turns when he realizes Freddie is no longer walking with him—he’s a few steps
behind, crouching and scooping some of the soul sand into a bottle.

“You collecting sand, bro?” Tommy raises an eyebrow. “Oi, hurry up!”

“Tom, you do know that Soul Sand is used to grow Nether Wart, right?” Freddie raises an
eyebrow. “If we’re getting you back to the Overworld, you should take some Soul Sand to
help you make potions.”

Tommy furrows his eyebrows in thought. He honestly forgot that he’s currently the missing
Prince Theseus of the Antarctic Empire, what with all the running around and imprisoning
that’s been happening. Plus, he doesn’t want to deal with all those politics! He knows from
 the novel that literally every relationship in here is complicated, and he’s had to act like some
spoiled prince for the past few months; it’s tiring.

At the same time though…Tommy has friends back there. Sure, it’s only Deo that he can
really talk to at the castle - as well as Theseus, even though he hardly counts as a friend - but
still! He made a promise to Deo. And he does want to change the future for the better.

“Toms?”

Tommy blinks and looks over to Freddie, who’s caught up to him. “Finally, you took forever.
Is the suspicious area close?”

“…Maybe??” Freddie replies sheepishly. At Tommy’s glare, he quickly says, “Look, all I
could see when I felt that feeling was literally just Soul Sand and lava. It could be anywhere
around here.”

Tommy looks out to the seemingly endless amount of Soul Sand in sight, and he sighs
heavily. “Well, fuck. Let’s get started then, I suppose.”

Chapter End Notes

GUYS. HI. IM SO SORRY. I HAVENT UPLOADED FOR A WHOLE MONTH AND

I FEEL SO BAD.

Funny thing is, i literally sat down yesterday and said to myself “ok, i’m gonna finish
the chapter and then update!”

But then, life decided to hate me and so now, i’ve applied for an intership
story, but anyways, here’s the new chapter!
🙃 it’s a long
Also: I know this chapter is short, but…let’s just say that this is technically the end of
this arc! And next chapter…let’s just say it’ll (hopefully) be a very long Interlude ;) (and
it’ll - hopefully - be uploaded sometime this week hehe)

(Also—thank you to everyone who’s read the Undertale AU! I’m probably not gonna
update that super consistently, because it’s more of a stress-reliever and a fun little side
project.)

I hope you all have a wonderful day/night! <33

 Interlude: An Eye For an Eye
Chapter Summary

Tommy and Freddie descend into the Egg’s lair.

Chapter Notes

WARNINGS: graphic depictions of violence (sharp objects leaving scars), light

mentions of death, body modification (self-imposed), mentions of substance abuse,
Extremely Unreliable Narrator, cursing (T for t!Quackity)

See the end of the chapter for more notes

All things considered, Quackity had a good upbringing.

His human father had bonded with a male Nature Spirit; one that had resembled a duck or a
chicken, but his human father couldn’t really tell. As a result, Quackity Nevadas is created
with golden wings sprouting out of his back.

Quackity’s father isn’t royalty or incredibly rich; he also isn’t part of the lower class. They sit
comfortably in the middle class; a home big enough to house both him and Quackity, enough
money to give them three meals a day with snacks and treats, and a good education for
Quackity.

Quackity’s tutor, Schlatt, is a few years older than him—maybe two or three, though
Quackity doesn’t know, because Schlatt himself doesn’t know his own age.

Outside of tutoring lessons, Quackity and Schlatt get along like fire on wood. They both have
high energy and chaotic personalities. And they both seem to have a knack for getting into
trouble.
“Hey, what do you wanna do when you grow up?” Schlatt asks one day, looking out into the
distance.

Quackity peers up at his friend. The two had just reached the top of the tallest tree in their
village in the small country of L’Manberg. Long ago, the people of L’Manberg had seceded
from Essempei because of unfair treatment they specifically were getting. In the past,
Essempei had been based a kingdom based on an unofficial class system where the wealthy
had more of a voice in politics and kingdom affairs in general.

L’Manberg was a lower-class city that had been given unfair pay and treatment. After
seceding, they became an official country and settled about two hours away from where
Essempei was located. The tree that Quackity and Schlatt are both on the top of, the
L’Mantree, is the very first tree that had grown in L’Manberg.

Since becoming an independent country, L’Manberg has elected their leader, rather than
having a crown that’s inherited through bloodline.

“…Maybe I’ll become a lawyer?” Quackity answers Schlatt’s question with a shrug. “I
haven’t really thought about it. I’m too worried about my academics.” He laughs and Schlatt
parrots the laugh, albeit not as energetically as he usually would have.

“I want to become a politician,” Schlatt says confidently, an odd look on his face that
Quackity can’t currently comprehend.

“Someone with power. Someone that has respect, and can never be looked down on,” Schlatt
explains to Quackity.

Quackity nods. “That makes sense.”

(It hadn’t, not really. Quackity had never understood the obsession his friend had with power;
and he still doesn’t, to this day.)
Quackity’s adolescence passes by in an instant, and when he completes his education, Schlatt
leaves L’Manberg.

However, it’s only one year later when Schlatt returns with a hybrid child about 10 years old
as well as the confidence to run for President of L’Manberg. Quackity’s 21 years old when
Schlatt is fairly elected as President and completely flips L’Manberg and its ideals on its
head.

“L’Manberg” is renamed to Manberg. Schlatt creates a cabinet of people that hold all the
power; the public are no longer given a say in anything. He unfairly taxes the residents of
Manberg, and Quackity watched as others go bankrupt and end up having to either leave the
country or become beggars. He watches as his country is run by a Dictator, and can do
nothing to stop it.

Meanwhile, Quackity’s father retires from working at the Las Nevadas Casino and passes
down the company to him.

A fight breaks out between Quackity and his father as a result. Quackity doesn’t want to
waste the rest of his life watching over people throwing their life savings away while getting
drunk. Quackity’s father doesn’t want the company he founded to die out.

In a rage, Quackity ends up running away from home, and runs into a friend of a friend, Niki
Nihachu as she’s about to close the bakery she owns in Manberg.

“Quackity,” she greets with a smile as he walks in. “I’m right about to close—do you want
anything?”

Quackity sighs, “No, I’m just…fuck, I just need somewhere to stay for a little.”

Niki tilts her head from the other side of the bar as Quackity sits down at the stools. She
wipes the counter down a few times and then throws the rag into the sink.
She then proceeds to start making a milkshake. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Not really,” Quackity replies, “but thanks for the offer, Niki.” As frustrated as he is, this
issue is between him and his father, as he’s never been one to drag others into his own
conflicts.

Quackity eyes the tax letter sitting further down on the countee. “What about you? How are
you dealing with…everything going on?”

Niki’s expression noticeably darkens. “President Schlatt…his tax is too demanding for me.
I’ll likely be closing the bakery soon and moving somewhere else…maybe Essempei.
Logsted, even.”

Quackity winces—everyone knows Logsted is a high class state. After all, one of its most
well known residents is none other than Mr. Beast himself.

“I’ll miss you and your amazing baked goods,” Quackity smiles slightly, and Niki
reciprocates.

“Thanks, Quackity,” she chuckles. “Whatever you’re dealing with, I hope you resolve it soon.
And you’re always welcome in here, no matter what.”

The next day, the tax on Niki’s bakery going up by 50%, and Quackity never sees her again
within Manberg.

As for Schlatt…Quackity hasn’t had the chance to talk to him, to find out what’s been
happening. It’s been a full month since the election, and already so much has changed.

Manberg is almost fully industrialized. Where there used to be gardens and farms, there are
now factories managed by the working class. When Quackity realizes he has to get a job, he
relents to his father and takes over Las Nevadas.

Work there is…decent. There’s lots of customers - lots of people wanting to run away from
their newfound troubles here in Manberg - so Quackity is still living semi-comfortably.

Quackity’s father dies due to a sickness. And Quackity throws himself into his work with a
fervor, earning more and more money.

Then one day, President Schlatt walks into the casino.

He’s wearing a suit, is holding a child - his child - and his ram horns have grown out to fully
curve around his ears. He looks more grown up than when Quackity last saw him.

Schlatt spots him and walks over, waving with a cheerful smile. Except he starts talking,
trying to kick up a conversation, and all Quackity is overcome with is the feeling of Wrong,
lies, fake.

Needless to say, Quackity leaves Manberg the week after. Maybe it’s out of anger, maybe it’s
out of disgust.

(Maybe it’s out of fear.)

And then, as he’s traveling, he’s found by the one and only Prince Technoblade of the
Antarctic Empire as he’s visiting Essempei.

Except, as Quackity pleads for Technoblade to help him at least point the direction as to
where the nearest town is, Technoblade simply grabs a stone pickaxe and swings it at
Quackity, snagging the skin on his chin, right underneath his mouth.

( “Please, just—“
“If you keep talking…” Prince Technoblade reaches into his bag and lifts a pickaxe. It’s
shiny, and was probably just made that day. “I’ll take this pickaxe, and I’ll put it through
your teeth.”

“But—“

The irritated huff of the prince is the only warning Quackity gets before— )

The pickaxe is swung upwards, and Quackity spends the next two weeks of the aftermath
frantically making Potions of Healing and trying to get his eye to heal.

When it doesn’t, Quackity is forced to except his partial blindness. He keeps moving, and
finds a boat to the Antarctic Empire.

He thinks about how, twice in his life now, those in power have caused him harm. First with
his old friend, President Schlatt, who went mad with his power as President. And now, with
Prince Technoblade, who took away half of his sight, coupled with giving him a scar that
expands from under his lip to over his eye.

Revenge is what fuels Quackity’s quest to learn Transfiguration. He had tried to learn
Conjuration and Sorcery magic at first, but after dabbling in Transfiguration, he found that he
was actually better at it than the other types.

Learning magic while living in the Antarctic Empire is simple compared to if he had stayed
in Manberg. After all, Schlatt banned the use and learning of magic - of course, excluding
himself and his cabinet - so Quackity wouldn’t have even been able to find books on the
subject.

In the Antarctic Empire, there are books on magic located in places so public as the library.
And while library books on magic don’t sound reliable, Quackity is the king of both digging
and improvising.
Except he definitely messed something up along the way, because he seems to have found a
way to transmutate himself. Which, y’know, is technically outside the unspoken Laws of
Alchemy. Since it’s considered inhumane to transmutate people, Quackity hides it.

That is, until he uses it to start changing features of his body. He starts with his eye, and is
pleasantly surprised when sight returns. It’s not perfect - he needs an eyeglass to see semi-
clearly - but he permanently changes his body to heal his eye. The scar around his eye is
healed too—but not the half of the scar that goes through his lip.

He then finds a way to grow and shrink his wings. This, of course, takes effort; whenever he
shrinks his wings, the leftover mass ends up condensing in the bones of his wings, leaving
them useless in terms of flight.

Oh well, he doesn’t ever use his wings anyways, so he doesn’t care.

He continues Las Nevadas, and it turns into a traveling casino…somehow. Quackity makes a
living out of others gambling, and becomes rich.

This is when he starts digging. Literally. He goes up to the Antarctic Empire, right outside of
the castle in the woods, and starts working on a tunnel that goes all the way to the other side
of the continent. While it would have taken decades normally, Quackity had used an
abundance of magic, as well as stolen and illegally made TNT. He built his own house out
there, infusing it with magic to keep it steadily firm out in the wind and snow.

He keeps the tunnel. It’ll hopefully come in handy for when he’ll eventually exact revenge on
Prince Technoblade.

He stays there for two years. As of now, it’s been about five years since he’d left Manberg.
He thinks about Schlatt. Is he still reigning over the country? Is his son a bitter teenager
because he’s being raised by a tyrant?
(Sometimes, Quackity remembers how he and Schlatt were so close. Schlatt had always been
so smart, and so specifically interested in politics. Maybe it shouldn’t have been surprising
when he grew up to be a politician.

Quackity just doesn’t know why he grew up to be a corrupt politician. What happened to his -
best friend- old friend?)

One day, as Quackity walks through his tunnels to get back to the Antarctic Empire to steal
some more spells on healing - his wings have been reacting badly recently to the stress the
compacted density of his bones - he runs into two young boys.

They’re both unconscious, as well as badly injured. Quackity doesn’t fail to notice the high
quality of the clothes on their bodies, or the way that the blond boy looks an awful lot like
King Philza Craft.

Either way, he transports them back to his house, which is about a couple hours walk. When
he gets home, he makes sure to patch them both up, as they seem to have been attack by a
Mob—maybe a Zombie or Enderman? Either way, why are two teenage boys wandering
around in the wild outside of the castle?

When the two wake up, the blond introduces himself as Tommy, and the other as Ranboo.

Quackity’s not going to lie, the two are a funny duo. Tommy is funny and loud, while
Ranboo’s simply trying to keep peace.

( He’s not jealous at the show of friendship. He’s not. It’s not like the only close friend that
Quackity’s had completely left him to become some monster— )

When the two suddenly disappear, Quackity can instinctively tell that they went inside the
tunnels. (That’s where he and -Schlatt- his old friend would have gone.)
He finds a trail of footprints as he steps into the Nether, and spends a couple of days trying to
track down these idiotic children.

He spends hours walking around the Nether. Luckily, neither of the boys had any items or
food, so they can’t have gone too far. Quackity did bring that stuff - he’s always prepared for
the Nether, after all, that’s his portal that they used - so he’ll hopefully find the two quicker
than they can travel.

When he finally finds one, he finds the taller one, Ranboo. Except…he doesn’t look
completely there.

“Hey, kid,” Quackity calls out and puts on an easy grin. “Where’s your little friend? You two
should be resting, y’know!”

“In there.” The boy points into the Soul Sand, to a ladder leading down.

Quackity raises an eyebrow. “You sure? Ok…”

And instantly, his vision goes black.

When Quackity comes to, the first thing he can think is simply I’m never trusting teenagers
again.

He’s tied by something stronger than rope to a pillar of…well, a very freaky room in general.
First of all, the walls and floor is a bright, almost neon red that hurts his eyes. Doubled with
the fact that he’s in the Nether, his clothes are just dripping with sweat and he feels gross all
around. Honestly, Quackity wouldn’t mind going outside naked in the Antarctic Empire after
this…affair.

Also, the glaring issue of his whole situation is the huge, breathing egg that’s only 10 feet
away from where Quackity’s bound. There are veins all over it, and even vines - or tentacles?
- growing out of it.

“What the fuck,” Quackity states in partial shock and awe—but mostly horror. This thing
makes Quackity feel so disgusted that he can feel himself physically shaking at the proxity,
despite his morbid curiosity of it.

And then, the egg…speaks to Quackity? It doesn’t say any words but it emits sounds that his
brain automatically translates.

“Quackity…” it pulsates. He can only shiver at the fear and hate that overcomes his body.

Quackity spends an unknown amount of time there with the egg(?) repeating his name over
and over and over. It starts to drive him insane when suddenly—

“‘SUP, BITCH BOY?”

The energetic boy from earlier, Tommy, suddenly comes falling down the entrance of the
cave-area Quackity’s in, a golden sword in his grasp. Right behind him is another boy, a
panda Hybrid, grinning widely.

“You…worshipper of Prime,” the egg snarles, and seemingly broadcasts the message to
everyone closeby judging by the glare on Tommy’s face.

“Freddie, start praying!” Tommy commands to the other boy, and then charges at the egg.
“Hey! Tommy! Get me out of these ropes!” Quackity calls out, when suddenly, Ranboo
appears in front of him in a cloud of purple particles.

Ranboo’s eyes are still clouded over, but he seems to have some awareness as he grabs a
knife from his pokcet and slices through the rope that’s tying Quackity to the pillar. He
shakes the rope off and immediately conviscates the knife from Ranboo before charging in
with Tommy.

Freddie, the panda Hybrid, is kneeling while bowing. He’s muttering words - words that
sound similar to the language used for spellcasting and magic in general - but Quackity’s too
focused on the problem at hand.

He looks over to Tommy’s who’s swinging at the vines growing out of the egg. So, Quackity
mirrors the boy, going to the opposite side and chopping the vines in half. It requires some
force, but it’s clear that he and Tommy are overwhelming the egg.

“Ayy, thanks a lot, Big Q!” Tommy grins as he dodges a tentacle attack from the egg. “Sorry
for runnin’ away on you!”

“No problem, Thomás,” Quackity grins right back. “You can pay me back by filling me in on
what’s goin’ the fuck on!”

“Sure thing!” Tommy replies, and the two get back to work.

After what feels like forever - but in reality is actually about three minutes - the egg releases
a loud shrieking sound in Quackity’s head that gives him a headache. He winces and quickly
trasmutates his head to hopefully block out the sound. It actually works; his brain stops
rattling in his head, and his ears stop ringing after a few seconds.

The other three boys, however, aren’t as lucky as Quackity was. They’ve all seemingly
fainted in place.
 He turns to the egg thing, and is pleased to see that it’s completely grey. There’s no more
breathing coming from it, and there’s a pool of red liquid underneath it, as if it bled to death.

Good riddance, Quackity can only think to himself before tossing the knife to the ground. He
then turns to look at the kids.

Sighing, Quackity mutters aloud, “I better get some good karma points after this bullshit.”

Chapter End Notes

I’m lowkey disappointed with how short this ende dup, but I’m super proud of all the
info I put in here! Ayy, Quackity, welcome back into the story!

I’m making it my personal goal to take as many DSMP fic tropes as I can and flip them;
in this chapter, for example, I have Quackity and Schlatt as childhood friends rather than
divorced fiancés like they are in lots of fics!

(Also, I accidentally gave Quackity an anarchy arc so ig he’s an anarchist now lmao)

Anyways! This is a day later than I hoped it would come out, but better late then never,
huh? ;)

The next chapter is going to be the start of the next Arc! I haven’t decided on the name
yet, but it’ll be Tommy+Deo centric (as well as a few other ppl but that would
practically spoil the whole arc hehe)

I hope you all enjoyed, and have a wonderful day/night! <33

 Aftermaths
Chapter Summary

In which: Tommy feels emotions, Freddie is Fucking Done, Quackity babysits, Theseus
is there, and Ranboo has a panic attack (but not in that order)

Chapter Notes

WARNINGS: Cursing (rated T for Teen :>), Very Deep Emotional Talks, slight mention
of body…modification? i guess? that’s the closest way to describe it, lmk if i should add
any more!!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

“I wonder how similar Admins and Hybrids really are,” Tubbo says aloud one day as they’re
mining during the nighttime.

“Well, both are considered different than what’s considered ‘normal’,” Dream offers as he
digs his pickaxe back into the stone. “I’m pretty sure both are more inclined towards use of
magic than regular people as well.”

“Are you born with your Admin abilities?” Tubbo turns to dream, a rare excited look on his
face. “Like…all the super healing, super strength, super speed, super intelligence; all of
that?”

“…Last I checked, Admins don’t have any super-intelligence,” Dream replies dryly. “And we
don’t really have any of that other stuff except for better resistance.”

“And what does that entail?” Tubbo asks.

“We don’t get tired as fast,” Dream explains. He furrows his eyebrows as he tries to think of
some more examples. “Our bodies are more resilient against physical attacks…we don’t need
to eat or drink as much as a mortal either.”

“That’s crazy!” Tubbo grins. “I wish Hyrids were like that!”

“I thought Hybrids did get abilities based off of what type they are,” Dream raises an
eyebrow. “Is that not the case?”

“Not at all,” Tubbo sighs. “And actually, Hybrids aren’t born with Hybrid traits like Admins
are. We grow them in as we get older.”

“When did you grow your horns in?” Dream asks, curious about the genes of Hybrids. He’d
always though that Hybrids were very similar to Admins.

“When I was about…eight years old?” Tubbo furrows his eyebrows in thought. “But it
depends on the person. Some Hybrids grow their traits in when they’re well into their adult
years. This results in some Hybrids thinking they’re human for all their lives—and then
suddenly, they’ll grow in their traits.”

“Is it painful?” Dream remembers when he had first started to experiment with his Admins
abilities. As he grew older and his power grew stronger, his body would undergo random
bouts of pain as it would adjust to its power.

“Not physically,” Tubbo replies, wincing. “I’m a Ram Hybrid, but before I grew my traits in,
I functioned as a normal human. I could eat anything I wanted, my hair stayed short, I didn’t
have to worry about accidentally scratching myself too hard with my nails…but once I
started growing in my horns, I would be overcome with a type of fear whenever I did
something that conflicted with my biology.”

Tubbo frowns at this. “It started with meat; everytime I would try to eat meat, I would either
be too disgusted to eat it or throw up afterwards. And then, I’d look at myself in the mirror
and think, ‘My hair isn’t long rnough.’ Hence, all this.” He gestures towards the fluffy hair
that’s grown down to about his neck. “And then, at some point in the process of growing the
traits, a Hybrid will likely become more…animalistic in nature? We call this the Carnal
State.”

“That means you’d act more like the animal your traits came from, right?” Dream asks
rhetorically.

“Basically,” Tubbo nods. “And…well, since I was in such a mentally odd state, I actually
don’t remember any of that right now. Judging from what my f— President Schlatt told me, I
didn’t talk, and I didn’t do much. I acted like a ram.” He chuckles, “You know, I was probably
one of the lucky ones. Some Hybrids, like Spider and Blaze Hybrids, have some of the worst
Carnal States. Any Hybrid whose traits come from a naturally hostile being have the worst
times growing into their traits.”

Dream can think of multiple people he’s met in life who have had a wide range of Hybrid
traits. He winces at the thought.

The two resume mining in silence.

(Chapter 211, The Gathering of the Wronged)

The immediate aftermath of The Egg Incident - that’s what Tommy’s been calling it - is
actually very boring.

In a movie, the superheroes defeat the bad guy, and then it cuts to them all happy and
together a few months later when the world is fixed and they can just relax.
For Tommy, he wakes up in a familiar cabin with a headache so bad, it might rival the pain he
had felt when he died in his past life.

“Motherfucker holy shit,” Tommy says as soon as he’s conscious. He then opens his eyes and
sits up from the - surprisingly comfortable - bed he’s laying on.

The room he’s in…it’s Quackity’s bedroom. In the bed next to him is Freddie, still asleep.
Tommy looks out the window and notices the bright light shining through it—it’s probably
around midday, if he had to guess.

The door to the room opens, and Tommy’s head swivels around to make eye contact with—
Ranboo?

“Prince Theseus!” he cries and runs over, hugging Tommy who’s still in the bed.

Tommy’s so shocked that he can only blink and say, “The fuck’s wrong with you, Ranboo?”

“My Prince…” Ranboo lets go and stares down at him regretfully. “I…I’m sorry. It was my
fault that you and your friend got hurt, and—“

“Woah, slow down, Ranboo,” Tommy stops the other quickly when he notices his friend on
the verge of a panic attack. “It wasn’t your fault—that stupid Egg bastard took control of
your mind. So let’s all blame the Egg, yeah?”

Ranboo nods and takes a deep breath, though he doesn’t seem to have actually listened to
Tommy’s advice. “I woke up an hour after we were all knocked out, but you and your friend
have been unconscious for about two days.”

Tommy’s mind blanks. “Two fuckin’ days?! Shit, we’ve been gone from the castle for like…
two weeks!”
“So you are a Prince of the Antarctic Empire,” a voice comes from the open doorway.
Tommy is horrified to turn his head and find Quackity leaning against the frame, his arms
crossed and an unreadable expression on his face.

“I- we-“ Tommy starts to babble, but Quackity starts walking over to him, causing him to
shut up.

“Look…Tommy,” Quackity says, and the way he calls him ‘Tommy’ is clearly a temporary
truce. “I’m not stupid, alright? I was able to tell that you were royalty from the second I
stumbled upon you and Ranboo in the woods.”

“Then why didn’t you kill us?” Tommy demands, slightly terrified and slightly confused.

Quackity chuckles, and Tommy knows that he’s screwed up somehow. “Tommy…why would
you think that I have bad blood against royalty?” It’s a test. The question is a test to see how
Tommy knows that Quackity wants revenge on Technoblade.

So, Tommy turns on his Snooty Theseus Face and looks up at Quackity, holding eye contact.
“My brother, Techno, is a prideful man. Obviously he’d tell me, his little brother, about
someone who’s wronged him in some way.”

Yeah, Tommy’s spouting out his arse right now. In the novel, Quackity tells Dream that
Technoblade had hurt him for no reason, so everything Tommy just said is a lie. But…right
now, he’s kind of more focused on not dying, ok??

Quackity’s face darkens. “I didn’t wrong his pompous ass, I inconvenienced him slightly and
he repaid that a hundred-fold! Tell me, Prince Theseus, did I deserve to lose my vision
because I was homeless and starving?”

Quackity looks down at Tommy with a cold look, and Tommy can feel sweat gathering on his
brow. He gulps, and it sounds loud to him.
“Prince Theseus isn’t the one who did that to you,” Ranboo cuts in before Tommy can even
say anything. “It was Prince Technoblade that wronged you, so don’t even try to take revenge
on My Prince.”

Tommy thinks he could cry of relief. Ranboo, my absolute best friend! But also, you’re
supposed to be all the Princes’ servant, so why are you throwing Technoblade under the bus
just to get me out of this situation?

Either way, Tommy’s make sure Ranboo gets a promition as soon as they get home!

Err, that is, the castle. Huh, Tommy supposes he really has come to see the Antarctic Empire
as his home.

“Fine.” Tommy’s attention is stolen by Quackity, who starts walking out the room. “As soon
as you three are all feeling better, I’m taking you all back to the Antarctic Empire.” He shuts
the door behind him.

Tommy sighs in relief; the tension that was present in the room is gone. He turns to Ranboo,
“Ranboo…thank you.”

Ranboo smiles at him. “Of course.” He then gestures vaguely towards Freddie. “Who’s this?”

“Ah—I met him in the Nether!” Tommy explains. “After you disappeared, I ran into him.”

At the mention of Ranboo’s disappearance, Ranboo’s smile is wiped off his face. He looks
down dejectedly. “…I shouldn’t have abandoned you like that, my Prince. I’m s—“

“If you say ‘I’m sorry’, I’ll beat your fuckin’ arse,” Tommy warns, catching Ranboo off
guard. “Listen to me, Ranboo: if I was the one that was being controlled, would you blame
me for running away?”

“No, but—“ Ranboo cuts himself off, frustrated. “That’s different. You would’ve been strong
enough to fight the voice off. You wouldn’t have been controlled in the first place.”

Tommy looks at Ranboo consideringly. “…’The voice’. There was a voice?”

Ranboo nods. “Yes. It was…soothing. It sounded like a woman’s voice, though it changed
between two women’s voices; and though I don’t recognize them, they brought me immense
comfort. I followed those voices, and they led me to the Egg.”

“What did the Egg say to you?” Tommy asks cautiously.

Ranboo gulps. “It didn’t say anything…so much as show me things. It showed me…” His
breathing is labored now. “Destruction and death. Our kingdom, our people…you.” He looks
up and makes eye contact with Tommy. “And then it showed me a void. A void filled with
nothing but a dark ocean, where I was on a small wooden boat that was slowly sinking, and
the thought of it…made me so scared.”

He laughs with an edge of hysteria present in his tone, closing his eyes amd pressing his hand
to his forehead. “Ever since it controlled me…I’ve felt different. Why aren’t I able to keep
eye contact with you anymore? Why do I find myself flinching at the snowflakes passing by
through the window, and the thought of drinking a glass of water?”

Tommy doesn’t know. He doesn’t know, because Ranboo was supposed to-

He gulps. Ranboo was supposed to die by Theseus in a couple years’ time. His future would
have been taken away…by a piece of shit who never cared about him.

Tommy’s not a caring person. He’s never found it easy to calm someone down and be open
and honest; he prefers to solve things by laughter. He’ll act like a clown, say random shit—
anything to make the other person laugh.
But clearly, that’s not what Ranboo needs right now. So, Tommy reaches our and wraps his
arms around Ranboo.

“It’s…” Tommy struggles for a moment to say words, there’s a strange tightening in his chest
that’s akin to sympathy but it’s so much more. It’s an urge, a burning fire in his heart to-

He doesn’t know. “I don’t know why,” he tells Ranboo honestly. “And you don’t know why,
either. You must be so scared. Your whole world is…is probably being flipped upside down,
isn’t it?”

Tommy thinks about how his life was cut short. He remembers blaring lights, and a scream -
maybe his own? - and then sirens.

“But if neither of us know…then that opens up the opportunity for us to find out together. I
will never understand what you’re feeling, but…I can promise to be there for you. We can
learn about the new you together, yeah?”

Tommy thinks of his new…life. He’s been given a second chance, and it’s amazing. He has
parents, two brothers, and friends. He’s happy here—probably happier than he was back in
the old world. And in that world, something like this would have been an inconvenience for
him.

Now? Tommy finds himself genuine in his words. He wants to help Ranboo, just like how he
wants to save this world from falling into ruin. He wants to be friends with Tubbo, Deo, and
Ranboo—not because they’re cool characters or because he would benefit from thw alliance,
but because he values them as actual friends.

Something clicks in Tommy’s mind; something protective and- and- raw. But he can’t quite
place it right now.

Ranboo sniffs, and Tommy feels something wet land on his shoulder. “Yeah…” His voice
comes out as sounding congested.
Instead of calling Ranboo out on it, Tommy just closes his eyes, content. It wouldn’t be bad
to stay like this for a while.

“Alright, no one forgot anything, right?” Quackity eyes the three teens suspiciously.

“We were all kidnapped by you—none of us brought anything in the first place,” Freddie
replies instantly, in a tone that says ‘duh’.

Tommy holds back a snicker as Quackity takes a few calming breaths before he continues,
“Alright, I’ll be taking you three back to the Antarctic Empire. Actually, hold on a second.“
His eyes shift to where Freddie is standing. “You. Where are you from? I wanna know why I
ended up with three children when I only took in two originally.”

“We’re not children,” Tommy complains, his words falling on deaf ears.

Freddie crosses his arms, “Well, I was telling you earlier that I live in the Nether, but you
weren’t listening!”

“And obviously you’re lying,” Quackity rolls his eyes. “I’m going to assume you’re from the
Antarctic Empire as well. Be glad that I’m feeling too tired to properly deal with you three.”
The words are said teasingly, but Tommy can only picture a scene in the novel where
Quackity gleefully helps to bomb Manberg to spite the already-dead President Schlatt.

Tommy shivers slightly and mentally notes down in bold font: Do NOT Piss Quackity
Off!!!!!
Quackity leads them back to his basement-tunnel-thing, to the Nether portal. When no one
moves, he gestures towards it and says, “Alright, someone go in now.”

“We just came from there,” Tommy says, raising an eyebrow.

Quackity scoffs, “Obviously. You know, there actually is a path you can take to get to the
Antarctic Empire—you and Mr. Ranboo, however, went in the opposite direction. Good job.”

“Oh, whatever,” Tommy scowls at Quackity’s smirk.

Freddie shrugs, “YOLO.” He walks into the portal. Ranboo follows, and then Tommy follows
Ranboo.

Going through the portal is the same as last time—equally as disorienting, and it makes him
slightly nauseous.

Quackity steps out from behind Tommy. “Alright—now, you see those boats over there?” He
points to a cliff that has…holy shit, there actually are mini wooden boats just hanging out
over there! How did Tommy and Ranboo miss them?!?!

“…My Prince, we must be blind,” Ranboo says bluntly. Tommy nods in agreement.

The climb up the cliff isn’t bad—especially since no one is chasing them. Honestly, Tommy’s
had to climb so many cliffs in the Nether while being chased, it isn’t even funny.

The boats are stacked on top of each other - somehow - and in front of the boats is…a long
path made of ice. The ice path goes into part of the Nether wall, so there’s no openings where
one could fall out.

Freddie’s eyes widen. “Woah, you made an ice path through the Nether??”
Quackity nods, his ego clearly boosted by the teens’ amazement. “Yup. All by myself.”

“I thought that water evaporated in the Nether…” Tommy gapes, feeling stupid. Did he
misread something in DSMP?? Is this hidden lore??

“Well, it was packed ice that hadn’t started melting when I had laid it out,” Quackity replies
with a shrug. “And then, I placed a spell on the ice to keep it cold. And as a result—an ice
bridge.”

“This shit looks fun!” Freddie grins wildly and grabs a boat, setting it onto the ice. There are
five boats in total, so all four of them are able to grab one separately.

“You three…just start rowing,” Quackity says from behind Tommy. “I’ll stay behind you and
make sure no one dies. The exit is a straight shot.”

This’ll be so fuckin’ awesome, Tommy thinks with a smirk. I’ll be going so fast, it’ll only take
10 minutes max.

Tommy doesn’t know what Quackity expected would happen when he let three teens who
don’t know how to actually row try to row across an ice bridge. It took them three whole
hours - which is apparently six times longer than it should’ve taken them! - to reach the
Nether portal at the end of the ice path.

Freddie kept accidentally crashed into the wall, which would cause a chain reaction of
crashes. Ranboo got constantly freaked out every time he even used a little bit of force while
rowing. And Tommy had somehow managed to flip his boat upside down, breaking it.
“You three are impossible,” Quackity groans, running his hand down his face. “I can’t believe
I just babysat for three whole hours.”

“Deal with it, bitch,” Tommy replies with a cheeky grin. Quackity shoots him a murderous
glare.

“So, this portal will take us to the Antarctic Empire?” Freddie questions, poking at said
portal. “Like…will we be brought to right outside of the castle?”

“Hell no, I’m not that stupid,” Quackity says, looking offended that Freddie even suggested
that as a possibility. “No, the portal is…a couple of miles within the woods. I had to keep it
hidden, after all.”

“…’A couple of miles’??” Freddie already looks exhausted at the thought. “A couple of
miles, and we’ll have to walk through the freezing cold???”

“It’s really not that cold,” Ranboo murmurs. “And besides, I’d take the cold over this
humidity any day.”

“Yeah, well, some of us don’t live in the damn arctic!” Freddie replies, throwing his hands
into the air. “I’ll properly freeze to death out there!”

“Shut up, no you won’t,” Quackity sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. He then claps his
hands twice, draws some symbols in the air, and says, “∴ᔑ ∷ᒲℸ ̣ ⍑ ╎╎╎.”

Where Quackity had drawn the symbols in the air, it lights up and then floats towards
Freddie’s chest. Once it reaches him, it envelopes him in an orange light, which fades away
soon.

“Woah,” Freddie says, surprised. “It’s…warm? I’m warm.”

“Yeah. I casted a Warmth spell on you since you were bitching so much,” Quackity deadpans.
“As a favor, maybe keep your mouth shut for the rest of this trip.”

Tommy grins. “Alright, Freddie, are you ready now?” Tommy’s pretty much ready just be
back in his very rich, very nice bedroom in his bed.

“Hell yeah, let’s go!” Freddie nods.

Tommy jumps through the portal, and his lungs fill with a biting cold. It’s the familiar cold of
the Antarctic, and he feels a sense of happiness wash over him.

Or maybe it’s the cold. Maybe Tommy’s just getting cold. He should’ve asked for a Warmth
spell from Quackity.

“Alright, let’s go,” Quackity’s voice comes from behind Tommy, and then suddenly,
Quackity’s walking in front of him, into the woods. He turns around to face the three teens,
“Come one, I’ll walk you three to the side of the castle, and then you can make your way
from there.”

“Cool,” Tommy says through gritted teeth. Freddie’s already following

“My Prince…” is what makes Tommy stop from following Freddie. He turns around, and
sees Ranboo looking way too pale to be healthy.

“Ranboo? You good?” Tommy asks worriedly, before following where Ranboo’s eyes are
looking—his feet. Or, specifically, the snow around his feet.

“The snow…” there’s a shudder in Ranboo’s voice that isn’t being caused by the cold. “I-
why am I-“
 Tommy thinks back to what he knows about the Enderians. They’re tall, they’re hoarders,
they don’t like eye contact, water hurts them-

Oh. Right.

“It’s fine, Ranboo—you’re wearing boots, remember?” Tommy says, gesturing towards the
very firm boots that Ranboo has on. “They’ll hold up until we get to the castle. Come on—
the faster we walk, the faster we can relax in our rooms!”

Ranboo nods slowly, and walks forward with Tommy. His steps are almost robotic; he seems
to plan out every step he takes. Luckily, the only snow present is the snow on the ground. The
sky is a bright blue, with no clouds in sight.

The walk to the castle is…actually pretty awkward. Tommy and Freddie are the only ones
talking—Ranboo’s too busy calculating each and every one of his steps, while Quackity is
keeping an eye on them. And Tommy and Freddie can’t talk too comfortably because Ranboo
would get suspicious; plus, all Tommy wants to talk about with Freddie is how to plan out
how they’re going to change the future.

And finally, they make it back to the castle. Back home. In fact, Quackity has led them to the
very window that Tommy and Ranboo had jumped through to escape the…the Endermen’s
attack…

“Shit!” Tommy groans, running up to the now-fixed window. “Shit, the castle was under
attack by Endermen! We have to make sure they’re—“

“Well, well, well,” a sneering voice says from Tommy’s left. “Look who’s here—Prince
Theseus. Ah, and he’s brought some friends! How wonderful!”

Theseus fucking Craft is smiling coyly at Tommy.

Chapter End Notes

THANK YOU ALL FOR THE KIND COMMENTS! And I’d formally like you
welcome you all to Arc V: Keep Your Friends Close and Your Enemies…

😭
Tbh, this chapter has actually been done since like last night, but I was actually so busy
today, it’s insane. I spent 10 hours working on a cooking project

(Edit from future Estel: WARNING! There’s a long rant coming up that was
unintentional!! Fyi, I’m very emotional in it!! If you wanna just skip to my little author’s
note at the end, I’ll mark it with a ****)

Anyways! I just watched Tommy’s DSMP Tribute video last night and cried for like a
whole hour. As a result, I’m definitely going to make this fic my MCYT-Magnum Opus.
I hope you guys don’t mind the inevitable 10+ Arcs we’re about to get after this one
/hj
🤩
No but seriously, I’m not going to rant here - I’ll save it for my final author’s note oof -
but that was such a beautiful video, and it reminds me of the good sides of 2020. DSMP
honestly saved me; I wasn’t in a bad headspace or anything, but the whole year was just
kind of a bummer.

I’m gonna be honest; the other day i had said to myself “why was i even into mcyt in the
first place? the fanbase is just full of constant fighting and drama, i don’t watch their
videos nearly as much anymore, and i’m starting to lose motivation for this fic.”

But the truth is, DSMP holds a special place in my heart. And so does this fic, as a
matter of fact. In July, when i had said i was going to discontinue this fic, i felt an instant
state of panic within myself; i don’t want to just give up on this. Even though it started
off as a high school project, i really do enjoy writing this fic!

And i enjoy interacting with all of you, a lot! Especially all of you who have been here
with me since March, when this fic was just for shits and giggles. (Not that everyone
else isn’t important obviously)

****

So, while I might never get around to writing that Deo+Theseus gambling side-story, I
promise you all that I won’t be giving up on this fic. And I want to sincerely thank you
all.

Ahh, this turned into a rant ;-; sorry for that, and thank you if you actually read all of it!
Honestly, this Arc might be my favorite; I spent the last week or so planning out the
storyline, and…well, let’s just say that this Arc is one of the key reasons I started writing
this hehe ;)

(Also, thank god for the undo button on this site, because I almost lost all of the editing i
had done for this chapter :’>)

I hope you all have an amazing day/night! I love you guys <33
 Tommy, Ranboo, Deo, and Freddie Talk (Real!! Not Clickbait!!
Gone Wrong!!)
Chapter Summary

90% of this chapter is literally all of them catching up and dialogue because apparently
they’re on a time crunch. And wait, Manberg?? Possible traitor?? What’s been going on
while they were gone????

Chapter Notes

WARNINGS: Swearing (rated t for tinniymmot), lmk if i should add anymore!!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

“You know, when I heard we’d be going to the Antarctic Empire, I thought we’d be doing
something fun like snowboarding or sledding,” Drista grumbles, “not breaking and entering
into the damn country.”

“They literally destroyed Essempei,” Dream replies bluntly to his sister, giving her a side
eye. “Also, we’re quite literally at war with them.”

“I know, but still,” Drista pouts. “When we were younger, you promised we’d visit this place
one day!”

“I technically haven’t broken that promise,” Dream replies with a grin hidden by his mask.
“In fact, I’ve actually fulfilled it.”

“No, Captain Puffy did,” Drista argues back. “She’s the one who actually brought us here.”
“Why are you so worried about details? We’re still here, aren’t we?” Dream snickers.

Drista sighs dramatically. “I guess.” Dream can hear the smile as she says that. Despite the
circumstances, Drista is always able to make everything a little brighter; Dream really
appreciates her for that.

Their lighthearted conversation is inturrupted when suddenly, there’s the sound of footsteps
from in front of the two.

They both freeze.

“Shit,” Drista says. Dream’s inclined to agree.

(Chapter 191, Breaking and Entering)

As Tommy makes eye contact with a smirking Theseus, he hears from above, “Tommy?! Is
that you?!”

Tommy looks up and his eyes widen. “Deo??” he calls back in response, a smile growing on
his face. “Yeah, it’s me! I’ve got Ranboo here with me too! And—“

“All of you, get up here, quick!” Deo whisper-shouts, throwing a sturdy rope down to them.
“And try to be quiet—there’s a lot of things we need to talk about!”

Tommy looks back. Ranboo starts climbing his way up the rope, and Freddie comes closer to
him—but Quackity is out of sight. There’s no trace of his footsteps, no nothing; it’s as if he
vanished.

“Who’s that?” Freddie mutters to Tommy, nodding his head towards Theseus.

Theseus’ eyes widen, and then he smirks and says, “Ooh, there’s another one like you?”

“Just shut up, Theseus,” Tommy sighs. He turns to Freddie and replies, “I’ll tell you later;
let’s just get inside for now.”

The first thing Tommy notices is how messy his room is. The drawers and closet is open, his
bed is stripped clean of sheets and pillows, and the candle that used to sit on the table that
provides light is straight up gone.

“What the shit, did someone fuckin’ raid my room??” Tommy’s eyes widen.

“Yes,” Deo replies bluntly. At all the newcomers’ stressed looks, he amends, “Ok, kinda.
Look, the whole country has been on lockdown ever since the Endermen attacked the castle a
week or so ago.”

“They attacked the castle??” Freddie’s eyes widen. “Why would they do that? Did one of the
guards run into a horde and then make eye contact with all of them?”

“First of all, that’s a stupid-ass suggestion,” Deo turns his head to Freddie, and even though
he has sunglasses on, Tommy can just tell that he has an unimpressed look on his face. “And
second of all, who even are you?”
“I’m Freddie Linu, and I’m currently the leader of a Piglin Bastion,” Freddie replies, voice
full of snark. “The better question is, who are you?”

“Ok, calm down everyone, let’s all take a chill pill,” Tommy buts in, stepping in between
them physically. “Deo, this is my good friend, Freddie. Freddie, this is my good friend, Deo.
Deo, Freddie, you both know Ranboo. Can we all fuckin’ get along now?”

“My bad, Tommy, I’m a little on edge right now,” Deo says, looking over to Freddie with an
unspoken truce. “Things are…hectic, to say the least. Politically, internally, public-wise; it’s a
real clusterfuck of bad situations right now.”

“Well, fill us in, big man,” Tommy prods with an expecting look. “Besides, we also have to
fill you in on what’s been going on on our end.”

Deo nods. “First off—in a week and a half, you and Ranboo will be officially declared dead.
As of right now, you’re both missing.”

Ok, that’s not that surprising. “Well, that’s not a big deal—I’m just the third son of the
Queen, and to the eyes of the castle, Ranboo’s just a servant,” Tommy shrugs. Deo’s eyebrow
raises at that last comment, to which Tommy replies, “I can explain later.”

“Right. Well, the public might not think of that as a big deal—but the royal family sure
does.” Deo smirks despite the circumstances, “You know, Tommy, you have your older
brothers running around like chickens without heads. They’ve been sending out all the
knights besides the castle guards to look for you two.”

“Pretentious bastards,” Tommy sighs. “I fuckin’ hate those guys.”

“Why aren’t we presenting Tommy and Ranboo to the royal family then?” Freddie asks.
“That would put a stop to their worry.”
“I would do that, but this is where the Endermen’s attack comes in.” Deo leans in, and the
whole group leans in instinctively in response.

Deo speaks in a low voice, “Both Empress Kristin and Prince Technoblade believe there’s a
spy in the castle. They found a patch in the kitchen—a patch with the Manberg flag. And, as
we all know, Manberg and the Antarctic have negative relations at best.”

Manberg? Tommy’s eyes widen—he doesn’t remember a spy for Manberg ever being in the
novel! In fact, the only spy arc that was ever present in the novel was Wisp Exe. And even
then, Wisp Exe had infiltrated and betrayed Essempei to side with the Antarctic Empire, so he
couldn’t be the spy. Plus, all the plot holes him being a spy would open up—after all,
according to the novel, Wisp Exe owes his life to Technoblade because of a debt, so he
wouldn’t just betray the Antarctic Empire like that.

That either means there’s no spy in the first place, or the spy is some cannon-fodder
character.

“The Manberg flag…” Ranboo murmurs. “You said that this tied in with the Endermen
attack…? Are you suggesting that this ‘spy’ is the one who led the Endermen here?”

“That’s the best theory anyone can come up with,” Deo shrugs. “I’ve only been able to
eavesdrop on conversations—no one in this castle trusts me at all. At the sight of me, people
literally run away.”

“Oh yeahh—well that’s because of how you were brought into the castle in the first place,”
Tommy reminds him.

The four all sit in silence for a moment before Ranboo speaks up.

“So…we can’t announce Prince Theseus’ return, because then the spy will pick up on that,
and attempt to assault him or steal him?” he confirms.
Deo nods. “Exactly. You too—after all, those Endermen kept looking around for ‘their
Prince.’”

Ranboo shuffles in his place, “Well, y’see, I’m not sure if I’m their Prince at all, but—“

“No, let’s be true to ourselves here, there’s an 80% chance you’re the End Prince,” Tommy
cuts in bluntly. “Not that it’s a bad thing! But. I mean. You heard what Big Q said earlier.”

“‘Big Q’?” both Deo and Freddie ask at the same time.

“Fuckin’—we can explain later,” Tommy sighs, “Deo, is there anything else that’s important
for us to know?”

“Right—I befriended one of the guards of the Antarctic, his name is Bitzel. He’s going to
help us smuggle you and Ranboo out.” Tommy narrows his eyes—he doesn’t recognize that
name from the novel, which could be a good or a bad thing.

“Should they sneak out together, though?” Freddie asks with a slight frown. “We should split
them up to make sure no one can find them.”

Deo nods reluctantly, “That…would work out, I guess. Ok then—I can get another guard to-“

“Freddie, you should do it,” Tommy suggests quickly. At everyone’s questioning looks, he
explains, “I trust Freddie, and I trust you, Deo, but I don’t know who else I can trust if you’re
saying there’s a fuckin’ spy. Freddie, I can get you a map or something of the Antarctic
Empire—do you think you and Ranboo can get out of the country?”

“Woah, wait, we’re leaving the country?!” Ranboo yelps, surprised, and is insantly shushed.
At a quieter tone, he says, “I though my Prince and I were just going to hide out or
something…”
“No, they have the knights patrolling everywhere around the empire,” Deo shakes his head.
“There’s nowhere hidden enough here.”

“Well, there’s Pandora’s Vault…” Tommy says uncertainly, instantly regretting even bringing
it up as Deo winces. “Nevermind, that’s stupid, my family knows about that place
anyways…”

“Yeahh, I’m pretty sure your brothers think I’m the one hiding you and Ranboo,” Deo snorts.
“I mean, technically, they’re not wrong right now, but still…”

“So how are we getting out of the country? Do we have a Nether portal we could go through
so that we could just go through the Nether?” Freddie asks, getting the group back on track.

Deo groans. “No, we don’t, unfortunately. Our solution is a boat.”

Ranboo blinks. Freddit blinks. Tommy blinks.

“A boat,” Tommy repeats flatly. “We’re taking a boat….to get off of the continent secretly.
And how big is boat, exactly? Because it can’t be too big, but it also can’t be too small—this-
this is literally a lose-lose scenario.”

“Calm down, drama queen,” Deo replies with a smirk. “The boat we’re taking is Enchanted.
And, I have these.” He pulls out five vials of a cloudy-colored liquid—probably a potion, if
Tommy were to guess.

“What baout Ranboo and I? What should we do?” Freddie asks with concern.

Tommy thinks about it for a second. “We should all get onto the same boat together, but after
we land, we can split up. Ranboo, Freddie, maybe you two can hide out in Essempei or
something.”
 “Ok, that’s good.” Freddie and Ranboo are visibly more relieved than before.

“Oh yeah!” Deo snaps, grabbing their attention. “Before I forget; Tommy, you have mail.”

Deo reaches into his pocket again and brings out three envelopes, plopping them into
Tommy’s arms. Tommy makes a surprised sound and looks down at the letters; two have a
crest on the flap that’s green and shaped like a blob. The last one has a lot higher quality
paper and ink, and has the Essempei Kingdom crest on it.

Tommy’s eyes widen. This letter is definitely from Dream…and these other two are either
from Tubbo or Eryn. He had, after all, told both of them to write to him more often.

“Ok, when have you and that guard you mentioned scheduled to meet up?” Tommy turns to
Deo.

“Tonight at 23:00,” Deo replies.

Tommy sighs in relief and nods—it’s only around noon right now. “Thank fuck—I need to
shower. Right now.” He eyes the dirty clothes that Deo has on and the clothes that Freddie
and Ranboo have been wearing for at least a week now. “You guys, too! Come on, we’ll all
use my shower—just be quiet when turning the handle, ok?“

”And then we should start packing,” Deo hums. “I mean, I’m already all packed—but you
three need to get clothes, food, and whatever else you need. After all, we’ll have to sneak
down to the boat—through the snow and wind.”

Ranboo winces, and Tommy pats his arm. “Yeah, obviously. But for now, let’s get all cleaned
up.”

Chapter End Notes

 🙃
We’re gonna pretend that Tommy managed to cast some type of cleaning Enchantment
onto Ranboo so he didn’t have to go into the water hehe

So! Hi everyone! It’s currently about 6:00 AM and I have not even started to get up for
school yet. It’s also exam week, which is why this chapter’s a little shorter than usual.
However, I hope it wasn’t too bad! Most of the action will be next chapter.

Also, I just realized that I’ve kinda been holding back on writing super super angsty

😭
stuff cuz I’ll think to myself “nahh, that’ll be a little too dark”. Example: this past arc

🙃
with the egg
all of it
I can’t help but think i did the egg dirty, but I also don’t wanna rewrite

If things start to turn angstier, just know that i intended it to be more on the angsty side
from the get-go, but then Tommy turned out to be an unreliable narrator as well as I lost
motivation in the beginning to do anything angsty!

Before this end note gets too long, I just want to say: THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR

😭
ALL THE KUDOS AND HITS!!!! It’s literally insane how much this fic has grown
omg /pos

Anyways! Sorry for the shorter chapter, I’ll try and make the next one longer! Fall break
is next week for me, so hopefully I’ll be able to have more freetime and write more.

(Also i’ve been playing Colorful Stage since july, and lemme just say, that game is
ADDICTING. Yes, i’m shamelessly promoting a game.)

I hope you all enjoyed, and have a wonderful day/night!! <33

 Loss
Chapter Summary

“ The thought makes Deo happy—and scared. He’s so happy; he has a friend. A friend
who has been so kind to him; a friend that cares for Deo as much as Deo cares for him.

A friend that hasn’t abandoned him yet.

And through this friend, he’s been given a better life. Deo’s long since learned not to
have hope, but…

But he does. This has been the happiest few months in his whole life. Maybe it’s him
being selfish, but he wants to prolong this happiness for as long as he can.”

Chapter Notes

WARNINGS: Swearing (rated T for TOMMYINNIT), explicit detailing of

disassociation, lmk if i should add anymore!!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

“Good game,” the youngest Prince of the Antarctic says, sticking his hand out to Dream.

Dream takes it, puzzled at how cheerful the boy is. His teammates are giving Dream’s
teammates a pretty heavy death glare.

“Good game,” he parrots anyways with a smile, even though he knows the boy won’t see it.
“Hey, tell your brothers that they were good—just not good enough.” He says it to the boy,
but he speaks loud enough so that the other Purple Pandas can undoubtedly hear his trash-
talking.

And then, the prince surprises him again; he laughs. “You’re funny, mister!” the boy says
with a wide grin.
Dream raises an eyebrow. “So are you, kid.” He ruffles the boy’s hair, and turns around and
walks away.

What a strange boy.

(Chapter 1, The Start of a Journey)

“In and out, Tommy,” he hears distantly. “Follow my breaths. In, and out. Just like that.”

Tommy can feel himself hiccuping. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he’s cringing at how
utterly cringy and out-of-character he’s being, but-

The letter in his left hand is like a killgram of steel. It’s all he can focus on.

He wants to laugh; maybe he does. All it took was twelve words to reduce him into this—this
panicked mess.

I shouldn’t even be reacting like this, Tommy thinks hysterically. These are fictional
characters. And I’m just doing my best to survive in this fictional world.

And yet, the words on that damned letter are very real.

And so, Tommy does what he does best—pushes everything away.

“This way, Tommy.” There’s a hand around his bicep—guiding him somewhere.

Maybe he should be worried, but he’s not anymore. He simply needs to drift away for a little
bit. And once he’s on the boat, maybe he’ll go to sleep and wake up, and find out that all of
this was some sick, twisted nightmare.

Deo wants to shake Tommy violently until he emerges from whatever state he’s put himself
in, but he resists the urge. Whatever Tommy had seen on that letter was probably shocking,
so Deo is content with letting Tommy drift away for now.

For now. This doesn’t mean he won’t be interrogating his friend when he’s back.

The thought makes Deo happy—and scared. He’s so happy; he has a friend. A friend who has
been so kind to him; a friend that cares for Deo as much as Deo cares for him.

A friend that hasn’t abandoned him yet.

And through this friend, he’s been given a better life. Deo’s long since been taught not to
have hope, but…

But he does. This has been the happiest few months in his whole life. Maybe it’s him being
selfish, but he wants to prolong this happiness for as long as he can.

Deo tightens his grip on Tommy’s arm, making sure he doesn’t wander off anywhere while in
his dazed state.
As long as Tommy is ok, Deo tells himself. He peels the letter out of his friend’s hand and
crumples it, throwing it out into the snow as they sneak outside with bags slung around their
shoulders.

And, Deo thinks to himself, holding in a laugh as Ranboo almost trips in the snow and how
Freddie almost falls in after them, maybe a few others are allowed into his circle of loved
ones.

“This way!” Deo can hear Freddie calling from the dark forest. He sees a torch waving in the
distance, and thanks Prime for the heavy snow; no one will be able to see them sneak away.

Deo leads Tommy through the snow woods, and eventually, they find their way to the docks
where he can see a faint outline of a ship.

“Deo! Tommy!” Ranboo calls out from inside the ship, the roof shielding them from the
snow. “Hurry, get in!”

Deo passes Tommy to Freddie. At his questioning look, Deo simply says, “Tommy’s spaced
out right now—I think he received some bad news on that letter he got.”

Freddie takes a look at Tommy’s glazed-over stare and seems to realize something. He takes
Tommy and leads him to a seat inside the ship, draping a light blanket over Tommy’s
shoulders.

Deo shuts the door behind him, and Bitzel starts the boat up from where he is at the wheel.

“Wow,” Ranboo says. “That was…a journey.”

“I don’t get how you guys can stand living in the Antarctic,” Freddie groans. “It’s way too
cold here.”
“Didn’t you live in the literal Nether??” Deo replies, raising an eyebrow. “You have no room
to talk.”

“At least it’s easy to live in warm temperatures,” Freddie shoots back with a smirk. He
crosses his arms, “You could die out here if you went out without enough layers.”

“You could die in the Nether if you accidentally fell into one of the many lava pools that are
scattered everywhere,” Ranboo cuts in, surprising everyone. At the sudden silence, he
backtracks, “But, uh, keep going. This debate is getting interesting.”

Bitzel smirks. “Hey, I wanna join in!” He takes two long, sturdy wooden sticks and angles
them specifically at the wheel. When they prove to be sturdy enough to keep the wheel in
place, he skips over to the seat that Deo’s on and sits down on the other side of Tommy.

“Oh, uh, blondie over here is completely knocked out. You should put him in the cabin,” he
says, poking Tommy’s shoulder.

Deo rolls his eyes, softly yanking Tommy out of Bitzel’s reach and stands both of them up.
He then gives Bitzel a look, “Wait, there’s a cabin on this ship??”

“Duh.” Bitzel opens a trapdoor that’s in the middle of the floor, revealing the single cabin.
From the way this ship is positioned - as well as the wetness that Deo can smell - the outer
walls of the very wooden cabin are likely submerged in the ice-cold waters.

Deo and Bitzel have a mini staring contest. Deo hopes he manages to nonverbally convey the
pure disappointment he feels at Bitzel.

“…Ok, lemme just go get the blankets that’re down there.”

Deo assumes that he succeeded. He smirks victoriously.

“Where’d he even get this boat from? It’s horrendously ugly,” the ghost, Achilles, says,
suddenly poking his head - at least, Deo thinks it’s his head - into the wall.

Deo notes how Freddie seems to jump at Achilles’ appearance, but simply files that away for
later. Interesting.

“Where’s this boat even from?” Deo shouts Achilles’ unheard question down into the cabin
where Bitzel’s balancing five blankets.

“I stole it,” is the reply.

No one’s surprised at this.

“Will anyone notice that it’s missing?” Ranboo asks. They eye a large splinter poking out of
the wall. “…Nevermind, I know the answer.”

“Here ya go!” Five blankets and pillows are thrown up to their floor. Deo sets Tommy down
on the seat and starts laying all the blankets and pillows out as beds for each of them.

He then lays Tommy down on one of the makeshift beds.

“…Well, I might follow in blondie’s footsteps,” Bitzel says, yawning loudly. “Wake me if we
start to sink.”

“…Aren’t you the one steering this damn ship?!” Freddie asks, practically glaring holes into
Bitzel’s back.

“No, my trusty Stickmen are doing the job!” Bitzel says flippantly, flopping down - rather
roughly - onto another bed. In the span of about ten seconds, he’s fast asleep, softly snoring.
The whole group slowly look over to the wheel that’s being propped up by the two stick. The
supposed “Stickmen.”

“…” Deo wonders why he even trusts Bitzel this much.

There’s a sting in his eye. Right; because of that damn vision that I got.

“I’m also going to sleep,” Deo announces and lays down in one of the beds.

He ignores Ranboo’s shout of, “Why are all the competent people sleeping??” and Freddie’s
indignant reply of, “Are you saying I’m not competent?!?!”

When Tommy awakens, he feels infinitely better than he had before.

He also panics, because last he remembered, he was definitely in the castle reading that note,
and not laying down in this damn boat-

Wait, pause. Boat?

Tommy looks around at the three other sleeping figures around him. He recognizes two of
them - Ranboo and Deo - but the third one is someone new to him.

This must be Bitzel, Tommy realizes as he looks around at the…quite frankly, gross-ass ship
they’re in.
“Tom!”

Tommy’s head snaps over to the front of the ship where Freddie’s sitting at the captain’s
chair. Except, when he gets up and runs over to Tommy, Tommy can spot two wooden sticks
that are somehow strong enough to keep the wheel staying in one direction.

“Freddie??” Tommy whisper-shouts. “We haven’t been kidnapped, right?”

Freddie rolls his eyes. “No, we’re fine. What happened back there? In the castle?”

Tommy pauses. Up until now, his mind has been refusing the existence of that damn note, but
he knows he has to tell Freddie - and maybe Theseus - at some point.

“…Let’s talk over there.” Tommy points to some seats over at the other end of the boat. At
Freddie’s questioning look, Tommy replies, “It’s about DSMP.”

A look of realization falls over Freddie’s face. He nods and the two quietly tiptoe their way
over to the opposite side of the ship, huddling in the corner.

“You know the alliance I have going on with Dream and Eryn?” Tommy starts off.

He knows that this is a mistake, though, because Freddie’s face goes through a whole series
of emotions. He settles on a slight disappointed, slight accepting look. “No. Tom, you didn’t
tell me about any of that.”

“Shit.” Tommy almost snorts at the look on his friend’s face, but he rushes to explain, “Long
story short, I took place in this super famous tournament and met two people. One, Dream.”

“Yes, yes, the protagonist of your favorite book series,” Freddie waves a hand impatiently. “I
know about him; you’ve ranted about him enough in middle school. Who the fuck is Eryn?”
“Turns out, he’s another transmigrator,” Tommy replies, relishing in the pure shock on
Freddie’s face. “We told Dream that we know the future, and he believed us.”

“…I have so many questions.” Freddie holds a hand up when Tommy opens his mouth,
“Luckily, I have something called ‘restraint,’ which you seem to lack. When I do meet this
‘Eryn,’ though, I’ll be asking so many questions.”

Tommy nods. “Yeah, yeah, whatever. Anyways…” He shifts, and then looks through his
pockets. “What the—where the fuck is the letter?”

“The letter that you got from Prince Dream?” Freddie asks, furrowing his eyebrows. “Deo
said something about it bothering you. He probably threw it away.”

Tommy groans. The only reason he doesn’t outright facepalm is because it would probably
wake everyone else up. “Alright. Cool. That’s totally fine.”

The words on the letter are still burned into his mind regardless.

“What was on the letter?” Freddie presses, recognizing the look on Tommy’s face.

( “Just tell me what’s wrong!” Freddie growls out of frustration from Tom’s uncharacteristic
silence.

But Tom can’t bring himself to reply. “I…” He falls silent. He gives Freddie a small smile.

It’s helpless, and very empty. Freddie picks up on this.

He glares at Tom. “This is why it’s so hard to be friends with you!” he says. It’s not said
loudly - in fact, it’s said quietly; practically whispered - but the words rattle around in Tom’s
 head.

But Freddie isn’t done. “You…you keep so many secrets. And I know that I have secrets too—
but at least I’m trying to be more open!” He gives Tom a look so full of emotion; of
desperation, of hope, of fear. “I…” His head drops, and he crosses his arms as if he’s cold.

“…I want to know how I can trust you with my true emotions, if you won’t even trust me with
yours.”

Somehow, these words hurt more than any physical pain Tom’s felt in the past. )

“…It wasn’t actually from Dream. It was from Eryn,” Tommy says, and it’s concerning how
he has to force the words out of his throat.

Freddie seems to recognize how troubling it is for Tommy to speak. He doesn’t say anything,
he simply nods.

“‘A dead body was found recently,’” Tommy says. He swallows thickly, and tries to contain
the emotion he feels.

“‘Drista has identified it as Sir Dream’s body.’”

Chapter End Notes

*cutely drops this chapter and runs away*

NO BUT SRSLY!! HI!! IT’S BEEN A WHILE!!

So. I’ve been thinking a lot; and I now realize that I need to apply the age-old fanfic
rule: “separate the character from the actor.”

(tw // mentions of grooming)

I stopped updating this fic because of the grooming allegations brought up against
Dream; however, I’ve come to realize that the ttv!Dream in my fic is a completely
different person than cc!Dream. So, even if the allegations end up being true, I will
continue to write the fic as I intended.

me; i went to the ER bcuz of bronchitis and also got surgery bcuz i broke my leg
turns out, physical therapy is a lot more than just doing some simple stretches
🙃
The other reason I haven’t been updating is bcuz the “ao3 author curse” has finally hit

HOWEVER! I’m back and ready to keep writing!

On another note, Happy New Year everyone!! We’re finally in 2023!!! It’s so crazy, but
I’m excited.

Forgive me if my updating schedule continues to be a little wobbly—I’m still trying to

figure my life out lmao.

Anyways. I hope you all enjoyed reading, and have a wonderful day/night! <33

🙈
 Uhhhhh Author’s Note 🙈
So. This is incredibly awkward, but hi everyone! 🙃🙃🙃
Ok so I know it’s quite literally been a year since I’ve update. A whole year. It’s 2024 now.
And it turns February in a few days.

So, first of all, I just wanted to say: I think I’m FINALLY getting back to updating this!! I’m
saying this now, because I’m about to explain what’s been going on recently. If you want to
just skip all that, then just know: I’m back, I plan to update the fic within a few days, and life
has just sorta been crazy recently.

It might be a bit oversharing, but I’ll try to be as truthful as I can while keeping my
anonymity, so uh. Here goes nothing lol

Basically, I’m a senior in high school now. If you’ve been with me since the start of this fic, it
started out as a school assignment in my SOPHOMORE YEAR. In fact, we’re coming up on
the two-year anniversary of this fic in March(?) I believe.

While I had a vague storyline planned out, I didn’t think this fic would get as far as it is now.
In fact, I’m still so shocked that I wrote 80K+ words on this fic, like HUH??? Where is this
motivation whenever I have english assignments??

Speaking of english - and school in general - this school year has been rough for me. I’m
taking the hardest classes I’ve ever had, as well as sports on top of it; so, I don’t have a lot of
free time. And the free time that I DO have, I’m working on getting into college, paying for
college, or homework for school.

However, most of all, one of the biggest reasons I stopped updating was because of how…
icky(?) the fandom got. Not even the fans—just everything about it. After Techno’s death, I
couldn’t watch anything with him in it because I felt like I was disrespecting him. And then
the whole Dream drama - which I am NOT going to talk about! I’m not here to start any
discourse - just drove me further away from the fandom. In fact, the only thing that sorta kept
me in it was Lovejoy—and even then, I was barely watching anymore Minecraft videos.
And then, like most of my interests, I just…let my DSMP phase go. I moved onto other
things - like Project Sekai (which I’m sure you’ve noticed), anime in general, etc.

The only reason I got back into the fandom is because I randomly got one of those “best
skephalo moments” on my FYP and just. Went right back into the hole of MCYT.

So anyways. I’m going to deeply apologize, because I’ve been planning on continuing this fic
—I just haven’t had the will or motivation. I sort of do now—but looking at my story plan,
it’s looking…pretty tedious right now. As in, I probably need to change up how I’m handling
the current arc before I make my comeback, because WOW. There is definitely a difference
in my writing skills between last year and now.

Anyways, I’m sorry for the long rant. I know you guys don’t want this rant, you probably
want a new chapter—but alas, you’re getting this rant.

I plan to delete this Author’s Note and update the fic within the week, though!! I still need to
fix up the plot - and also go back and edit some of the chapters because WOW there’s so
many spelling mistakes - but I promise, I will be back. This fic is the biggest project I’ve ever
worked on. The fact that I never deleted any of my notes or blueprints in the past year that I
haven’t updated just tells me—I plan to take this fic to its end, no matter how long it takes
me.

On a side note, I’m literally able to vote this year, how crazy is that? 😭
Alright, I’ll stop the A/N here. If you’re still reading, thank you so much. If you skipped that
whole rant, thank you as well. Thank you all who have been commenting and giving this fic
kudos, despite the lack of updates.

And, as always—have a wonderful day/night <33

 Midnight Boat Rides and Important Conversations
Chapter Summary

The group tries to entertain themselves; it does not go well.

Meanwhile, Freddie and Tommy are trying to pool together their collective 10 brain
cells to plan for the future!

Chapter Notes

WARNINGS: Mentions of death, cursing (rated T for Tomathy Simmins)

See the end of the chapter for more notes

“Wow, Ms. Puffy, you’re good at steering!” Drista says in awe, watching the older woman
keep track of the sails, the wheel, and keeping her balance as she turns the ship.

Puffy smirks. “Thanks, kid. It took me years of experience.”

“How long have you been sailing?” Dream asks curiously.

Puffy hums, stopping in her movements a moment to tilt her head upwards in a thinking
motion. “Hmm……at least ten years by now. I started back when I was…your age actually,
Drista.”

Dream balks at that. “That young??”

Puffy throws her head back and laughs. “HAH—Don’t look so shocked, kid! I was born into a
family of pirates—of course I started early!” She sighs, content, and wipes a stray tear from
her eye from laughing so hard. “Don’t worry too much about it—soon, you two will be just as
good at steerin’ this thing!”

(Chapter 144, The Seven Seas)

“Hey, are you sure you’re feeling better?” Deo asks Tommy for the fifth time today.

Tommy sighs and waves his hand flippantly, as if warding away Deo’s worry. “Dude, I told
you already, I’m fine.”

“Yeah. Sure, I believe you,” Deo replies in a skeptical tone that tells Tommy that he doesn’t
actually believe him.

“Aaaand here’s breakfast!” Bitzel comes over, tossing a very cold, very wet piece of steak
onto both of their laps.

“What the fuck,” Tommy says unhappily, glaring down at the monstrosity that’s now staining
his pants. Bitzel hadn’t even bothered giving them plates or any type of silverware!

Deo simply throws the steak back at Bitzel, aiming at his face. Unfortunately, Bitzel is a
guard for the Antarctic Empire and is trained in his reflexes; he manages to dodge out of the
way. The steak’s trajectory takes him to where Ranboo is sitting on the floor, hitting him on
the face.

There’s a brief moment of silence until laughter is heard throughout the ship.
“Ok, so what’s even our plan here, anyways?” Freddie asks as they’re all lounging around.
There’s nothing for them to really do; they’d only packed necessities like clothing and
hygiene items, so there was nothing to do. They’d only been sailing for about five hours and
had already become bored.

“Well, the nearest part of Essempei is about…” Bitzel pulls out a crumpled up map and
unfolds it. “…A month away?”

“A month?” Tommy exclaims. Freddie has a similarly aghast look on his face.

Ranboo and Deo give Tommy a strange look, though.

“My Prince, we’ve traveled to Essempei in the past,” Ranboo says, his eyebrows furrowed.
“Yes, the ship we had taken was a lot faster…but surely you knew how long it takes to get to
Essempei?”

Shit. Tommy puts on a sheepish smile, “Well, that doesn’t mean it wasn’t long. Just because
I’m used to long boat trips doesn’t mean I like them.” Ok, maybe I DO miss modern-day
technology…if we had a plane, it would take us five hours max.

Thankfully, Ranboo accepts this answer with a nod. “I totally get it; I also tend to become
restless.” He then snorts slightly, “And, if I remember correctly, the last time we all went on a
boat trip, you were also terribly bored. You caused a scene any chance you could get.”

Tommy’s face heats up, even though he knows Ranboo’s talking about Theseus. He feels a
type of second-hand embarrassment for Theseus; all he can imagine right now is a tween
Theseus throwing a tantrum because he’s bored.
As if he can sense Tommy’s thoughts, Theseus pops his head into the ship and gives him the
dirtiest glare Tommy’s ever been given. He then promptly disappears, off to do whatever.
He’s probably gonna go terrorize some kids or some shit, Tommy thinks offhandedly.

“Well, this case is worse, since there’s literally nothing to do,” Freddie points out.

“We could…sing songs?” Bitzel suggests slowly. “Do any of you know any songs?”

“Nope,” Deo shakes his head.

“Not really,” Freddie shrugs.

“Nnnope,” Tommy says.

“Well shit,” Bitzel says.

And that’s that.

It’s nighttime - or maybe not, but everyone’s asleep, so Tommy’s counting this as nighttime -
and Tommy and Freddie are huddled up in the corner again. This time, they’re attempting to
plan for the future.

“So, Dream’s dead,” Tommy says, still shocked over that fact. “And the point that we’re at in
the timeline…is literally a timeskip in the original novel.”
“Well shit,” Freddie says, which is a complete understatement. “Do we at least know any
major events that should be coming up?”

“Uhh…” Tommy tries to think. “Well, the problem is, we’ve already kind of gone completely
off-fucking-script. Plus, like I said—we’re in a timeskip. We don’t know anything that’s
gonna happen.”

“Haven’t you, like, completely memorized every single side story of this novel?” Freddie
asks with a raised eyebrow. “There has to be something in one of them, right?”

“The side stories were about worldbuilding, if anything,” Tommy refutes. “The only ones
about specific characters were…Drista - which is where Eryn’s character is also featured in.
There’s another one about—“

“Who’s Eryn??” Freddie gives Tommy a weird look.

Tommy glares, “Bitch, I mentioned him, like, yesterday. He’s the other guy from our world,
remember?”

“Right…” Freddie is silent for a moment. “Do you think there a reason we were put into
these characters specifically?”

“What do you mean?” It’s Tommy’s turn to raise an eyebrow at Freddie now.

“Well…your character, Theseus, is the main villain of the entire novel,” Freddie explains.
“You could say that he’s even a main character, since he’s so important, right?”

“Yes…?” Tommy nods along, though not really understanding what Freddie’s getting at.
“My character is literally nonexistent in the novels,” Freddie continues. “You’ve read every
single piece of media pertaining to this novel, so you’d be able to recognize my character,
right?”

“Yeah, there’s no one that even looks like you in the novel,” Tommy says, eyeing Freddie’s
panda ears. “In fact, I’m pretty sure panda Hybrids are, like, almost extinct, or something.”

“So I’m basically just an original character,” Freddie nods. “And your buddy, Cyber—“

“His name is Eryn,” Tommy reminds Freddie.

“Yeah, that. They’re in the body of a side character, right? Like, someone that isn’t important
to the main plot, but still has some use somewhere else.”

“Get to the fuckin’ point, Freddie,” Tommy groans, looking over to make sure none of the
others are awake.

“I don’t really have a point here,” Freddie shrugs. “Just pointing it out—all three of us have
different roles in the story. I’m an original character, you’re a main character, and Eryn’s a
side character. Maybe that’ll come into play later on.”

“Whatever, man,” Tommy sighs, already feeling himself getting more tired as time goes on.

The two sit for a while in silence. Tommy’s racking his mind as he tries to think of a rough
timeline for what would be happening in the original DSMP novel.

Of course, Dream being fucking dead sorta throws everything into wack, but whatever.

“…The Dreamon Arc,” Tommy whispers out loud, mostly to himself.

“Huh?” Freddie is still awake, and he looks over to the other.

“The first chapter in DSMP is about Dream and the rest of his group winning the big
tournament,” Tommy recites to Freddie. “In chapter 2, Dream and Drista officially move into
Essempei Kingdom. Dream starts training to become a knight, and he also teaches Drista how
to use a sword.”

“So…as of right now, they would’ve just moved to Essempei, right?” Freddie confirms.

Tommy scrunches his eyebrows, and then shakes his head. “No. That would’ve been, like, the
day after the Battle of Champions. It’s been a couple of months since then, so they were
probably already settled in Essempei when Dream died.”

“Do you think Dream could have died a while ago?” Freddie points out. “Delivering a letter
across the ocean probably took a while—he could’ve died at any point between when you
last saw him and when you got the letter.”

Tommy…hadn’t considered that. “Shit, I totally forgot about that.” He’s still so used to
modern technology that he expected that the letter was maybe a week old at most.

He forgot that he was in the fucking ancient times in terms of technology.

“That means Dream could’ve died as soon as he and Drista moved into Essempei,” Tommy
thought aloud. “But…who in Essempei has the power to kill Dream?” Even though Dream
doesn’t have his full Admin powers awakened, he’s still a hassle to deal with.

“Wait, we’re getting off topic,” Freddie says, holding a hand up to stop Tommy’s train of
thought. “You said something about a ‘Dreamon Arc.’ What’s that about?”

“Oh yeah.” Tommy thinks again. “The Dreamon Arc happens while Dream is still training to
become a knight. A hoard of Dreamons attack Essempei, and Dream helps to defeat them all,
which earns George’s trust.”
“Is there like…a time frame for when that happens?” Freddie raises an eyebrow. “Because
‘while Dream is still training to become a knight’ sounds like it could be literally anytime.”

Tommy sighs. “See, that’s the fuckin’ thing—for the first handful of arcs, there’s no time
frame for anything. All I know is that, two years after Dream and his team wins the Battle of
Champions, all of the arcs with wars start happening.”

“All of the arcs with wars??” Freddie’s eyebrows raise incredulously. “As in, more than
two?”

“Yeah, big man,” Tommy chuckles. Counting on his fingers, he recalls, “The Nether-SMP
Arc causes the Nether to go to war against Essempei; the End Arc ends with the Enderians
also declaring war against Essempei; there’s a whole revolution against Manberg that they
lead; the Hybrid Revolution is when Dream finally manages to kill Theseus; and finally…”

Tommy scrunches his face as his mind comes up with a blank. “…The fuck?” he says out
loud. Everytime he tries to think of the last Arc of DSMP, he just…can’t.

He knows he’s read it. In fact, he had finished reading the book the day before he died in his
original life, and he remembers…doing something after finishing it.

“Toms? You good?” Freddie nudges Tommy lightly.

Tommy snaps out of it, confused. “Yeah, yeah, big man. I’m good. That’s fuckin’ weird,
though, I can’t remember the last arc…”

“Well, either way, that’s a good timeline for all of the really big events,” Freddie continues
the conversation, which Tommy greatly appreciates. “So in about two years, the world starts
goin’ to shit, yeah?”
Tommy nods. “Yeah. But, we’ve already prevented two of them.”

“We- we have?” Freddie asks, shocked. “Wait, but we’ve barely fuckin’ done anything!”

“Well, remember that Egg that we found?” Tommy asks rhetorically. “Originally, that Egg
was supposed to take over one of Dream’s friends, BadBoyHalo. Dream, George, and Sapnap
would then go to the Nether, kill the Egg, and then the Piglins would declare war on them.”

“But why?” Freddie asks. “The Egg is freaky. In fact, I’d welcome someone to kill it.”

“The Piglins see the Egg as some sort of deity, I think…?” Tommy says slowly. “Like,
they’re religious towards the Egg.”

“…They’re religious?” Freddie mumbles, flabbergasted. “But…but they’re so stupid. How

are they intelligent enough to be religious??”

“Anyways,” Tommy continues, resolving to ignore his friend, “that’s how the Nether-SMP
Arc starts. Since we got rid of the Egg early, that means that BadBoyHalo is fine…which gets
rid of the entire Crimson Egg arc. That saves, like, at least 50 people already, since so many
background characters die in those two arcs.”

“Well shit,” Freddie says, whistling lowly. “Ok, I guess that’s done. Anything else that we’ve
stopped already?”

(Quick A/N: hi guys! This is future-author. Everything from before this A/N was actually
written a year ago. Everything after this is present-me writing! Just wanted to throw that in
there :> )

“Uhh…” Tommy says, racking his brain to think of everything he’s done so far. “Well, by me
even being here, I’m pretty sure that gets rid of both the whole End Arc and the Hybrid
Revolution, since those were both caused by Theseus.”
“Well damn, good job, then,” Freddie snickers.

Tommy turns to his friend. “Is there anything interesting that you’ve done so far?”

“I mean…you saw how it was in the Nether,” Freddie shrugs, picking at a piece of wood
sticking out of the ground. “I spent my whole time in this world gathering supporters in the
Nether, because…well, they guaranteed safety, y’know? Plus, there isn’t much to do in the
Nether.”

“Did you ever come in contact with any of the Blazes?” Tommy asks, deciding to lean back
onto the wooden floor, making himself comfortable.

“Sometimes,” Freddie nods his head. “We’d come across them as we explored or looked for
materials. It was hard to communicate with them, since they don’t even…speak. And also, I
was pretending to be mute, so there was also that.”

Tommy nods. In DSMP, the novel describes Blazes as a species that doesn’t have a mouth to
speak, so they used their rods to create a sign language. Sapnap, who grew up with the
Blazes, had to resort to using his fingers as a crude version of Blazes rods.

The two delve into a comfortable silence for a couple minutes. Tommy’s content as he just
lays there, listening to the sound of the waves underneath his head, crashing into each other
and the wooden planks of the boat.

Tommy takes a moment to just…think. He isn’t the type to reflect often—he’s the type of
person to keep going, to not stop moving until he just sort of shuts down. So, needless to say,
he’s not the best when it comes to introspection. But as he lays there, he lets his mind wander,
thinking about everything that’s happened.

Tommy’s…dead, in the real world. It’s not a shocking thought—Tommy thinks he’s come to
terms with it fairly well, considering he’s been in this new world for about a couple of
months. It’s just a little odd to think about.
What was my funeral like? Tommy thinks to himself. …Was I even given a funeral?

…Will Theseus ever be given a proper funeral? Tommy rolls over onto his side, facing away
from Freddie. He doesn’t seem sad to be dead…but he still deserves a funeral, right?

But he’s done so much awful shit, the more rational part of his brain whispers. And plus, I’m
effectively acting as Theseus. I am Theseus.

…I don’t like being Theseus, the emotional side of Tommy says quietly. What’s wrong with
being myself? I was never allowed the chance. It’s not fair—

“Tommy…?” Freddie whispers from behind Tommy. “Are you asleep?”

Tommy blinks lazily, just realizing that his eyes have been closed the whole time. “Hmm…?”
he grunts out, not really feeling up to speaking. He struggles even keeping his eyes open, his
eyelids fighting against his will to stay awake.

“Nevermind. Just go to sleep,” Freddie says, and then there’s a shuffling sound from behind
Tommy. A minute later, soft snores can be heard from him.

Tommy mentally snorts. Look at this bitch…all tired ‘n shit. He lets his eyes shut, and
suddenly, he can’t hear the sloshing of the waves anymore.

As he drifts off, he doesn’t think about his current role. He doesn’t ponder on Dream’s death.
He doesn’t even think about the situation he’s in.

Oddly enough, all he can think about as his mind fades into the darkness of unconsciousness
is the absence of the final arc of DSMP in his memory.
 …Why can’t I remember it?

Chapter End Notes

hi guys!!!! it’s been a while since i’ve written one of these, wow

ok so, if you didn’t see my author’s note—then just know that hi, i’m back. yes, i know
it’s been a year, but…better late than never? (sweats)

ANYWAYS! i’m going to delete the author’s note in a couple of days, so expect the
chapter count to go down in a bit.

😭
i’m sorry this chapter’s so short—i’m trying to get back into the swing of things. and
also, this boat-trip arc is SO hard to write about!
with that one by making it a month-long boat trip.
i guess i shot myself in the foot

of spelling errors
them to stay there
💀
also, i’ve been going back and editing the past chapters! turns out, past-me made a LOT
so, if you see any, PLEASE let me know because i don’t want

anyways. thank you all for reading the chapter, and - if anyone even bothers to read
these notes sections, then - thank you all for entertaining my rants! i won’t be updating

💀 😭
nearly as often as i used to—in fact, after i upload THIS chapter, i’m gonna be doing
schoolwork that’s due tmrw . however, i will be updating, so…pls don’t leave /lh

okok, i’m done ranting for REAL this time. thank you all, and have an amazing
day/night!! <33
 ‼️NOT A CHAPTER‼️

Hey guys. I never wanted another situation like this to happen, but I can’t just ignore it as it
is.

I’m not going to go into deep detail about what happened, so if you’re looking for me to
explain, I’m not the right person. There’s lots of info about the situation on Twitter, YouTube,
Tiktok—including word from the people involved themselves.

Now, first off—this is technically a spoiler, but I want to address it. This fic took a turn when
I decided to kill of Dream. Originally, in my outline, his death wasn’t going to be a real death
—he was going to be acting dead to hide from an outside threat. However, with the
allegations that happened starting around a year ago, I decided that I didn’t want him in my
fic, so I killed him off for good. I rewrote my whole outline, made sure he wasn’t a character
- at least, as much as I could have. He was honestly relatively easy to take out of the story, as
he wasn’t ever going to be a *main* character. The main characters I had planned was SBI,
Business Bay, Tubbo, Ranboo, the other two transmigrators (Eryn, Freddie), and the main
villain.

All in all, Dream was going to serve as more of a concept character than a character
physically doing a lot in the story, so taking him out of the outline was easy.

It is not easy for Wilbur.

I have always held the same opinion: believe the victim. I’d rather believe the victim and info
turn out to be fake, than believe a potential abuser. So, I want to start off by saying: Shelby is
so brave to come out and say what she did. Rather than bash the abuser, I want to elevate the
victims’ voices; we should be giving them as much support as we can.

I’m going to be totally honest: I didn’t plan to make this A/N. I was honestly just going to
post the next chapter sometime this week or next week, see what information came out about
the allegations, and then go from there.

But Wilbur posted his “apology” today. And I put quotation marks because it wasn’t an
apology at all; if you’re going to make an apology, you should be doing more than just
talking about yourself and trying to justify your actions. You say that the abuse was
“consensual,” and yet Shelby says that she said the safe word MULTIPLE TIMES and you
didn’t stop.

The Wilbur in my story was going to be a pivotal role. I would say that I hate to spoil, but to
be honest, spoilers are the least that I’m worried about.

At some point, Wilbur was going to become the main antagonist. Unlike Dream, Wilbur was
going to be in almost every single arc from here on out, acting as both Tommy’s older brother
figure AND also one of the main villains. (Note: not THE main villain, but he was going to
cause a lot of problems.)
Writing Wilbur out - if I were to even *do* so, would take *SO* much time. And while I
could keep him in the story regularly - yknow, separate the art from the artist, like I have
been doing with Dream - the difference is that I’ve been basing Dream’s character off of
DSMP!Dream, not his real self; but for Wilbur’s character, I’ve been basing off of the real
life Wilbur Soot.

I don’t condone abuse of any kind: that’s the main point of this message. It sucks that
someone whose music up and changed my life for the better has done something like this, but
it must suck even MORE for the victims, so I’d rather focus on supporting the victims than
be sad that Wilbur’s an abuser.

Sorry for another A/N like this so soon after the last one—but this really needs to be
addressed. I don’t want to discontinue this fic; as I said in my last A/N, this is a project that
I’ve spent years on my life working. But I have to put my morals above my wants in
situations like this, like I did with the Dream situation.

TLDR: Discontinuing this fic is the worst-case scenario. I will be doing my absolute best to
avoid this. I’m likely going to do what I did with Dream and rewrite Wilbur out of the rest of
the outline. The only problem is that Wilbur is such an integral part of the story, it’s going to
be hard to do.

Since either way I’ll be taking Wilbur out of the story, I’ll likely be posting the original
storyline I had for him as another fic in the series.

Sorry guys. I didn’t want to make you guys wait any longer for the next chapter, since it’s
already taking so long to write, but I might have to.

Thank you all for sticking with me through all of this fic’s ups and downs. I love you all so
much <33

And also, quick side note: I don’t care if you read this and still enjoy Wilbur’s content. Watch
his videos, listen to his music—I don’t care. Hell, I have so many of his songs on my playlist;
but don’t excuse his actions. If you still support Wilbur after this, then I don’t want you here.

Maybe Wilbur will prove that he’s a better person in the future. Maybe he won’t. All I know
is, as it is now, the damage he’s done to Shelby and all the other girls that spoke out is
irreversible. I will not be supporting someone like that; so I want everyone to do their best to
support Shelby and the victims as best as you all can.
End Notes

Ok…before anyone flames me for starting a new fic even though I have 2 other ones to write:
This one is actually part of a school project I have to do ;-;

Also, I’ve been wanting to write an MCYT fic for a while, so here we are! I’m not at all
ashamed to admit that I came up with the idea for this book after reading Scum Villain’s Self-
Saving System and Trash of the Count’s Family. (And also Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint
and Heavenly Official’s Blessing. Yeah. I’ve been reading a lot recently.)

N E WAYS, I hope this fic is at least entertaining! I’m gonna be updating this everyday for
the next 4 weeks or so, so…yeah. Have an amazing day! <33

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