Disclaimer: I have no idea how court things are supposed to go so this is as accurate as TV shows or less. Therefore, to avoid confusion, what I say goes. Enjoy! :D

*

Tommy didn't get to spend too much time with Tubbo. After his friend and his company's arrival, Tubbo was taken in by Xisuma and treated with kindness and soft questions for the first few hours after his recovery. Tommy understood why the admin had taken such an interest in his best friend, despite how much it hurt to not be able to see him after having had just got him back by his side.

It hurt but Tommy understood.

They were going to be blamed for that. The hermits were going to be blamed for the kidnapping of yet another member of the Dream SMP. And what was worse was that two hermits were also missing, destined for an unknown fate and only Prime knew if they were alive and well.

At least, Wels was still fine. Helsknight, who was the counterpart of Welsknight just like Evil X was Xisuma's, would get these random hits and cuts, and he would say that it was Wels doing most of it. They were connected on a far deeper level than the bee hybrids and Tommy was thankful to have a live representation of the hermit's physical state because he really didn't want to think of... of other things that could possibly happen to Wels.

False, he prayed she was doing well. She had gone to Phil and Technoblade's, so she had to be well. The two anarchists wouldn't kill her on sight. They're far calmer and cautious than that to kill someone without asking questions first and surely, they'd let False state her presence.

He had no time to think, however. Xisuma had came through on his words and the court date was moved closer. There were three days left and Tommy had crash landed into the reality, the stress and the anxiety that the hermits were going through tenfold. He had no previous experience of speaking to a judge, of talking and whining to a complete stranger about things he didn't want to remember -but he had to. For his own good and for the hermits and hopefully for the rest of the people on the Dream SMP, he would do so.

Stress had hugged him before Xisuma took him outside of Hermitcraft and into the Main Hub. She had hugged him, eyes wide and fearful but she had done her best to hide them as she'd pressed her face into his shoulder and held him there for a few moments. The height difference had given her worries away, however, as Tommy had peered her and he had felt a massive pit of guilt in his stomach.

He was causing so much hurt to the people who had taken him in in exchange for nothing but company. He'd make up for it -he had promised that to himself silently before pulling away from the hug. He'd fix everything; he had to because he owed these wonderful people so much.

Grian had pat him on the back, Mumbo following with a similar gesture but less roughly than the colorful avian and Scar had given him a pep talk on confidence. That was an interesting exit from Stress' base. Cleo had been waiting outside for him too, accompanied by Shroud -the little spider chittering as it looked at him with its big eyes- and she unceremoniously grabbed him by the shoulders and gave him a few words of encouragement.

The rest of the hermits had been waiting in the shopping district. Impulse, Tango, Etho, everyone who didn't live in the jungle or who didn't have buisiness there like Cleo. They had been waiting for him, anxioustly and worriedly but with no annoyance like Tommy would've had expected some months ago. They had only urged him to keep a smile on his face, to not let anyone get the better of him and to not back down because he was right. They were all right and Dream was wrong, so he took the advice to heart like he hadn't told himself that before.

And those who didn't have words had actions. A ruffle of his hair that had him laughing and swatting at the perpetrator, pats on his back, small gifts to give him courage and strength in the hardships that he had to overcome -he would overcome them and there was no rooms for questions in that one. 

Then, Xisuma had taken him -an arm around his shoulders, soft and kind like it had always been- and they were exiting Hermitcraft. They roamed the halls of the Main Hub, the ones filled with portals until they were walking down more private hallways and mixing with more important people. Moderators, those were, the people who would judge Hermitcraft and its members and give the go-ahead to adopting a 16-year-old; if- no, when, Dream would be proven guilty and Tommy could live in peace and tranquility with people who cared.

Maybe he could have his family move in too. He is certain that Xisuma would allow it, or at least he would allow visits, as frequent as they wished. It was a nice thought but he could think later.

They had come to the Main Hub for a reason and that was to visit the psychiatrist recommended by the Mods. The hermits had each an arrangement with that individual but their randevouz was in different times and honestly, Tommy thought that it would've had been better had they done this sooner and not three days before the main event but something was better than nothing and late was better than never.

When they rearched the Moderator halls, everything was quiet and Tommy could feel his anxiety prick at his nerves. The hairs on the back of his neck raised in an awkward, uncomfortable manner and Tommy subconsciously palmed at the area. Xisuma stood beside him. The admin appeared calmer than Tommy, more relaxed like he had gone through this several times already -and he probably had given his status. It made Tommy relax a hair to have an adult who knew what was coming up beside him. He would be fine and the reassuring squeeze on his shoulder ground that into his skin.

He would be fine. It was just spilling your private life to a complete and utter stranger; he wouldn't, like, die or something. He'd live and then he'd make that everyone's problem because he could and he felt a bit vengeful.

"I will likely be told to leave", Xisuma told him right before he knockedd on the door, "But I'll be waiting outside, alright? Don't be afraid to talk to them, kiddo"

"I'm not a child", Tommy grumbled, earning a small nod and -he assumed- an eyeroll.

"You've got some growing up to do still"

He ignored him. He didn't know if it was the nerves that made him bite his tongue, the little nervous jitters that made him impatiently tap his foot against the floor. It was unlike him to not come up with some half-assed, witty comeback but he didn't feel like talking all that much as they waited.

They waited until the door opened. The door opened and there was a familiar face on the other side of it. White, curly hair, floppy ears of a lamb hybrid Tommy admired. Puffy was there, the retired captain of the Dream SMP and the server's self-proclaimed therapist. She was stunned when their eyes met and Xisuma picked up on her surprise easily.

"Tommy!", she exclaimed when she snapped out of the shock.

"Do you know each other?", Xisuma asked, only a little puzzled. Tommy nodded his head dazedly.

"We do", and after a moment he added, "Isn't that a bad thing?"

As if a cockroach had appeared, Puffy jolted back and she rushed them both inside her office. White curls bounced on her shoulders as she quickly shut the door but not before she took a final peek outside.

"You must be Hermitcraft's administrator, right?", Puffy asked professionally. Only then did Tommy notice that she wasn't in her normal pirate attire and that the captain's hat was missing from her head. Instead, she was wearing a suit and tie, almost the same as Mumbo's. Xisuma nodded curtly.

"Yes, I am Xisuma. It is very nice to meet a friend of Tommy's", he answered in the same manner as Puffy and he xtended a hand for a handshake which the sheep-hybrid returned with a smile.

"Likewise, especially with what has been happening on the Dream SMP", she sighed and gestured for them to sit in the chairs in front of the hardwood desk. Tommy was the first to plop in a seat, followed by Xisuma and his buzzing wings.

"What has been happening on there?", he asked with worry in his tone. Tommy brought a leg up to rest his chin on his knee and looked at the two adults. His eyes widened at the mystery behind Puffy's words; he hadn't talked to Tubbo about things but he could only imagine what Puffy knew, seeing as she was in and out of there nowadays. "It's not my place to pry but I've been taking care of Tommy for a while and I've heard some worrying things-"

"Dream has been acting suspicious as of late. Tubbo and Fundy have also gone missing and Ranboo is distraught, that's as much as I know", Puffy told them. She didn't know as much as Tommy then, that was fine. Tommy would confide everything in her and everything would be solved because Puffy loved him, Tubbo and Ranboo like a mother did her children. "On that note, I am on your side but please do not mention that Tommy and I know each other"

"Trust me, I won't", Xisuma assured her. After a moment, he added. "But this is too... convenient"

Puffy nodded and Tommy did so without missing a beat. Having Puffy in court, on their side, was too much of a coincidence, and it was so much more of a convenience if anything. He wondered if Dream knew of it, or if the Hub Mods didn't know that Puffy had ties in the SMP.

"I will not lie, I was not expecting to get involved in this. When I heard that a kid fell through a rift, then got kidnapped and that I was called in, I did not think it would be Tommy." -she took a breath and intertwined her fingers on the smooth surface of her desk- "Dream didn't tell anything to anyone"

"He was planning to tell everyone last minute", Tommy finally piped in. "That way, he'd cause confusion and everyone would've been too busy lookin' to connect the dots"

Everyone except maybe Technoblade and Philza but Dream wouldn't have made the mistake of telling them until it was time to go to court; until it was too late to think things through. Dream was cunning, sneaky, a cat that prowled and played with its food; a fucking green teletubby with too big an antenna that Tommy would cut off with the smuggest grin in existence.

"Right", Puffy said, eyes wide and unredeable as she gestured towards the door. "Mister Xisuma, I'd like to talk to Tommy in private, please"

"Of course"

And Xisuma left. He left and Tommy was alone with Puffy; he didn't feel as awkward as he'd thought he'd feel -then again, he knew the woman on a more personal level.

"First off", she started with the most accusing tone Tommy had ever heard from her.

"What?", he asked, confused.

"Did they drug you? You haven't said a single swear!"

Tommy let out a startled laugh, followed by Puffy's chuckles, and he shook his head no, backing up and throwing his hands up like Puffy had just told him the most incredulous thing ever. That must've had been a good sign for the future, and Tommy had hope.

Φ

When he exited Puffy's office, Xisuma was dutifully waiting outside. Leaned against the wall,  arms crossed over his chest, zoned out; that's how Tommy found him. The man was stressed -Tommy could tell despite being unable to see his expression behind the helmet- but that stresss disappeared as fast as his eyes landed on him. Then, he was all smiles and sunshine and Tommy returned those as he was the one to pat the man on the back that time.

"How was it?", Xisuma asked, voice full of concern even though he tried to hide it. Tommy straightened his shoulders and puffed out his chest.

"Good! She said I should tell the same to our lawyer", he said with an ammused smile. "Dream won't know where to hide after this whole charade!"

"It will end well", the bee nodded. "For both us and the members of your old server"

Neither of them noticed a man trailing them when they returned to the crowds of the Main Hub.

Φ

When they returned to Hermitcraft, he was received with gifts and smiles and everything in between. He was treated like a king the whole three days before court and he spent every minute with Xisuma, Stress and Iskall, Shroud always by his side. Each hermit came and went for some final pre-court matters that had to be taken care of. Some character evaluation or something, Tommy wasn't quite listening.

Thing was that each of the hermits returned with a sort of horror story to tell. Stress had returned with a blank slate for a face, eyes blank before she told them that she fell down the stairs- that she was pushed down the stairs and that she had been lucky enough to not have broken a leg. She hadn't been able to see the culprit and the hermits dismissed it as an accident.

"Are you crazy? That's way too convenient to be an accident!", Tommy had shouted at her and while she was unsure, Tommy knew that she had heard and that she'd listened. They all had.

Grian had a story about almost getting his wing clipped in an awful accident in the Main Hub lobby, TFC lost his prosthetic leg to a stray dog -how a stray was allowed in the Main Hub of all places, Tommy didn't know-, Iskall almost lost his other eye to a thrown knife -the culprit was, of course, unknown.

"It has to be Dream", Tommy had told them after Cleo returned carrying her hand, annoyed and frustrated about having to do the stitches again. "Either him or Punz"

"Who is Punz?", Stress had asked, Dandelion tangling herself between the woman's legs as she was cooking. They'd been in Stress' base while they had been having that conversation and Tommy had brought Shroud for a playdate -inspite of the fact that Dandelion was a dog and not a spider (they were roughly the same size anyway).

"The mercinary of the server. Give him enough money and he'll shoot someone in the head", he'd answered with the spider in his lap. "Or in our case... push someone down the stairs"

Stress had almost dropped a plate when he'd said that. She'd turned to him, suspicion on her expression.

"You think that-"

"Dream is too smart to do the dirty work himself, especially where other people could see him"

That made complete sense. It was either Punz or his younger brother, Purpled, but Purpled was on their side. Sure, he was impressionable and enthusiastic, resembling his brother in the way he carried himself nonchalantly and fearlessly but he was with Tommy and Tubbo. Dream probably wanted to disable some of the hermits from coming as witnesses; either that or he wanted to postpone the date, to gain some more time or something. Xisuma had guessed that much and Tommy could see the reason in his suspicions.

Tommy had managed to spend some time with his best friend as well. After the small interrogation in Xisuma's base, Tubbo had been let to explore the server, or as much of it as he could've in the short amount of time he'd be there. They met up beside the Omega Tree, where Iskall welcomed them and promptly left them to their own devices.

"So, this is where you've been for the past few months, huh?", Tubbo had asked him. He had been in awe of the beauty that surrounded them in a mere jungle and Tommy couldn't have blamed him. There were no such builds on the Dream SMP, except for the massive, high-security prison that had been built in Tommy's absence but it had been made out of black, ugly obsidian and blackstone, with lava flowing through its pipes; it couldn't have held a candle to the hermits' impressive builds.

"Yup! Life's been great here", Tommy had answered him. He had taken Tubbo by the hand and led him up the inner staircase of the Tree, up to the canopy. He had wanted his friend to get a better view of it all. "Come on, you haven't even seen half of it!"

"I've seen, like, half of the jungle already!", Tubbo had exclaimed as they ran up the broad, wooden steps.

"Have you seen the giant bees?"

"There's giant bees?!"

Tubbo hadn't stumbled upon Scar's base. If he had, he would've had seen the massive bees and the dragon flies and the butterfly that normally rested near Stress' giant lotus by the nearby lake. But he hadn't, so Tommy had to show him -and he did. Tubbo's reaction had priceless when he saw Big Bee hover over the jungle village and the dragonflies and the butterfly flattering in the distance. Larry the snail had also been spotted; at least his swirly, bulgy shell.

It had been a while since Tommy had seen Tubbo grin as bright as at that moment. It had also taken him a while to stop grinning after that and drop it to a smile, a soft line on his lips that brought Tommy so much happiness that he couldn't describe how he was feeling.

"I want to meet that Scar guy", Tubbo had told him right after. "Is that his main base?"

"That's his home but he has this huge drill and Aqua Town- Oh! Did I tell you he's the mayor of the shopping district?"

"He's what?"

Tommy had seen the flash of suspicion that crossed Tubbo's face. Memories of Schlatt and his cruel presidency had certaintly resurfaced but Scar was nothing like Schlatt and Tommy had to show Tubbo that.

"He is nothing like him, Tubs, don't worry", he had said, "He just watches the shopping district and spends diamonds in building someroads and Aqua Town, you'll see"

And Tubbo had seen. Tommy had taken him to the shopping district and introduced him to Scar and BDubs when he found them in the town hall, chatting about something irrelevant. Tubbo had taken to Scar almost immediately, surprisingly enough, but then again, Scar was just as chaotic as Tubbo -just not on the nuclear scale just yet.

"You made a nuke?!", BDubs had asked incredulously and he'd shared his disbelief wth a surprised Scar.

"Sure did! Lunched it and all", Tubbo had the hugest, smuggest grin plastered on his face as he answered.

"This kid is insane!", Scar had commented and then- "Have you met Cleo?"

"Nope. Who's that?"

As if striken by lightning, Tommy had recalled the very first conversation he had had with the zombie lady. She had had a student who made a nuke for a school project, hadn't she?

So, that was how Tommy took Tubbo to Cleo's zoo.

But Cleo wasn't there. Or she was and they couldn't see her because the place was massive just like the animals preserved in their respective enclosures. Tubbo immediately took off after exiting the nether portal, his eyes on the big pelicans just outside of the zoo entrance. Tommy followed and he dragged Tubbo away just in time to avoid a big splash of water as one of the tall, posh birds fished out a colorful fish.

"Hey, Tommy!", they heard Cleo's voice coming from the oriental gate. "What's up?"

Her hand was back in its place, fresh, black stitches holding it in place. It looked good as new.

"Cleo! My main woman! How are you doing?", Tommy called after her as she approached. Tubbo was silent behind him.

"Good, I'm good", she answered with a small smile but her eyes -even dead as they were- betrayed her true mood. "Not at all murderous or anything about almost losing a hand. It's fiiine" and that sounded more like she was reassuring herself more so than reassuring Tommy.

Tommy chuckled awkwardly. He knew that messing with a bloodthirsty Cleo was dangerous but he wasn't about to reschedule introducing Tubbo to her; that would have been plain rude!

"I've brought Tubbo over, by the way", he said and Tubbo took a step forward. Tubbo lifted the bangs out of his eyes -both light blue but one was surrounded by burn scars- and his jaw almost fell to the floor.

"Miss Cleo!?", he sounded more surprised than Tommy had ever heard him sound.

"Wait a minute-", Cleo stopped dead in her tracks for a moment. The murderous glint in her undead eyes was gone, replaced by recognition as she looked Tubbo up and down. "Tubbo? Tubbo Underscore?"

Tubbo nodded before running up to the woman. Tommy was stunned in place, lips in a firm line as he tried to make sense of what was happening. It took him a second to connect the dots but he did and he laughed as he went to join them -but not after getting splashed with water by the ever-so-graceful pelicans.

It turned out that Tubbo was the expelled student that made that nuke.

Φ

They were finally standing in front of the huge, double doors of the court room. Right in the hall they stood, only Evil X and Tubbo missing because Xisuma said it would've been better for them to not be seen in public and especially with the hermits. They'd resolve the matter of the missing child and the missing hermits in private after the whole ordeal was done and dealt with.

Tommy hated the suit he was wearing; he hated the texture, the fact that he had to wear one altogether and the fact that he was going to go in that darned room- he'd apologize to Mumbo for burning the suit at some point in the future. He paced up and down the hall almost casually, feeling his hands trembling and his knees growing weak. He was nervous but so were all of them. It only felt right to not bother anyone but apparently, the hermits didn't feel the same.

A wing suddenly appeared in his path and it bumped him back. He took several steps  bacck in hopes of not falling on his arse and in the end, he ended up in Grian's side. He would've cursed had the man not huffed a laugh and messed his hair up -not that he had made an attempt at a more formal hairstyle but still!

"Relax, Tommy, you'll be fine", he tried to reassure him. It didn't do much; what Tommy wanted to do in that moment of stress was to complain and make it everyone else's problem because he could.

"Where is he?", he heard Xisuma's voice from somewhere behind the avian.

Dream and his lawyer, as well as the witnesses on his server had yet to show up. Whether it was an attempt at postponing court any more than they already had, was a mystery. It was a good mystery, though, because Tommy remembered that he'd see Dream again; he really didn't want to look at that fucking porcelain mask ever again but he had to for his own sake, damnit.

They had an hour left for everyone to gather. The jury was already waiting inside, same for the judge and the Hub's Moderators and Admins. It was enough time for Tommy to gather his nerves and shove them in a bulky jar and shut them away for the duration of the trial.

It was Punz who turned up first with Purpled by his side. Tommy sneered at him, shot him a look that said I know what you've done, and it was a promise for revenge. The man regarded him and the others with a stoic facade before retreating to the other side of the hallway. Purpled followed behind him, matching his older brother's expression but Tommy caught how he faltered when they locked eyes.

Purpled didn't want to be there  and Tommy could share the desperation to get out of there.

Then came Ranboo, right as Tommy had untangled himself from Grian's feathers. He was going to run up to the enderman hybrid had their lawyer and Puffy not showed up right then. Xisuma called for him to talk tactics or whatever so the only attention he could pay his friend were small glances. Then it was Quackity, then Sam, then a professional person who looked like a lawyer... Then the whole ass "Dream Team" showed up.

Sapnap was the first to see him and Tommy raised an eyebrow when the dak-haired man threw a smile his way. George didn't so much as glance at them, just continued to the double doors. The gentle, tall demon that was Bad followed looking timid and incredibly awkward in the space of the hall, the small diamond golem, Skeppy, sitting on his shoulder.

And finally, Dream.

With the anger of a dragon, Tommy turned to face him. He straightened his back, raised his chin high to show  his newfound pride, confidence and self-worth he'd lost to his time with Dream in exile. He was not as helpless as he had once been.

Dream tried to approach, head low in a threatening manner. He was about to speak but Xisuma was quick to come to his side. Grian splayed his wings as well, eyes sharp and piercing and Dream backed off, looking almost scared of the avian.

"Tommy", Stress called out to him. The woman was at the double doors, an arm outstretched and inviting him to her side. He obliged but not without throwing Dream a warning glare.

"You'll wish you'd never messed with me, bastard", he hissed at him before straightening his blazer and walking off.

Dream chuckled.

"We'll see about that, Tommy", it was supposed to be a taunt; a threat -but Tommy had stopped fearing threats and thinking his life choices over.

So he walked confidently, tangled his arm around Stress' invitation like he was the one accompanying her, and entered the room.

There was only one worry in his head: Phil and Techno had yet to show. He couldn't let that inconvenience nor the disappointment in the reality hit him in the gut.

He had to be strong and he'd pull through; he had so many people supporting him, so much shit to admit and so many witnesses to back him up -what could possibly go wrong?

=======
As for the sad news of Technoblade's passing, I will not comment on it. This is a period of grief and everyone should take their time to process it and go at their own pace.

I believe that mourning is something personal and private; something that should be done with friends and family and people that are close to you. So I will ask that the comments stay free of sadness for the sake of everyone's mental state, alright?

As for my stories, I will continue them -even the mermaid fic rewrite but that will take some more time considering it is pretty Techno-centric. Thank you for reading.