Tommy shivered as he watched the sun rise in the distance, coming up over a forest of leaves rustling in the never-ending wind. Time passed slowly, yet he could feel it slipping through his fingers like sand with each passing moment. He slept. Ate. He'd found a stream nearby.

He wasn't dying, which was a first. It was nice.

The cave was shallow, something he had found the night before. Now, he retreated into the darkness to wallow in his misery. To be honest, he wished someone would care enough to find him. He would even settle with going to prison. At least there would be people there.

That was another revelation he had discovered while in the cave. He needed people. Or, really, he needed company. No one said they had to be human. And yet all the animals he came across outside his little dark shelter fled from his presence, like he was some sort of monster. Even the spiders that decorated the corners of the cave with their intricate silk webs shied away from the bugs he'd brought them in a half-hearted attempt to make a friend.

He almost laughed at that. Maybe he was a monster. He tried to make friends with spiders, he'd murdered an innocent man–his friend–in cold blood, and now he was cowering in a cave like a beast. Dream had been right about what he had said in exile. Tommy was a child. He didn't listen. He betrayed, scammed, murdered–it was a surprise that he ever made friends in the first place. But, even then, he couldn't help but ruin it all.

He watched as the sun crept an inch higher and tried to ignore the burning in his eyes.

–

"TOMMY!" Mumbo called out for the 200th time–actually, it might have been more than that. He wasn't sure. He just knew that his throat was sore and raspy and his feet hurt, and the wind was messing up his hair. Not that he cared much. There was only one thing he paid attention to now.

Now, every rustle of leaves was Tommy, cold and alone and hating himself for what he'd done. Every twig snapped was Dream, out there hunting a poor defenseless kid to finish off what he'd started. But then he'd turn around, and it would just be Grian giving him a sad smile or X pushing aside a branch.

He missed Tommy more and more with every step he took. The way that he grinned as he first soared in the air on an elytra's wings. How he hesitated to make eye contact, almost as if it was beaten into him to be submissive–Mumbo supposed it had–but how when he finally looked up his blue eyes shined. It killed him that the genuinely kind kid that hid underneath Tommy's harsh facade had gone through so much. And now that the person who had hurt him was here? It only made the nerves cut deeper.

The first day was painfully slow. They'd set off into the wilderness, flying over plains and landing to search where the trees blocked their vision of the ground. They had tried to make small talk between shouting Tommy's name for the first few hours, attempting to lighten the mood. It broke off into silence when they found they had run out of things to say. It stayed that way until the silence (and lack of sleep) made it seem to Mumbo like the wilderness was going to eat them alive.

At one point, Mumbo turned to Xisuma, asking, "What happened? With Tommy?"

Xisuma was silent for a moment. "I found him on the floor of your base. He was really upset, and I started an argument." He looked up. "And then he started talking about how he wished we hadn't saved him. He left, and I couldn't stop him from–" the admin closed his eyes and stopped walking. Grian was looking at both of them, his eyes clouded in worry.

Mumbo put his hand on Xisuma's shoulder. "Hey, it's okay. We'll find him."

He wasn't sure if he said it to reassure Xisuma, or himself.

The second night, they camped under an overhang. Mumbo set his things down with a thud, gazing blearily at the water dripping from the stone. He smoothed out his moustache, sitting down with a sigh. His body didn't want to work anymore. Traveling two days mostly on foot with a kid's life depending on you was exhausting. This was the first real break they had had, and Mumbo felt like he couldn't take another step. When Grian draped himself over a log, he guessed the avian felt the same. Maybe even worse, actually. Avian bodies had evolved to contain less muscle and stamina in exchange for lighter weight, so Mumbo could hardly imagine how exhausted his friend might be.

Xisuma, on the other hand, had already gotten a fire going and was poking it with a stick. He seemed awake. Mumbo had no clue how he did it.

A high-pitched scream cut through the air. Mumbo hurled himself to his feet, looking around wildly for his worst nightmare: Dream holding a knife at Tommy's throat, and the fear in the kid's eyes as he desperately cried out for somebody to save him–

But all he saw was Grian staring in horror at the tiny spider that had crawled on his shirt. Mumbo sat back down with a thud, looking up at the sky as he tried to catch his breath. "Grian, I hate you. I nearly had a heart attack."

"I think I am going to have a heart attack," Grian responded stiffly. Mumbo watched with amusement as he attempted to reach a stick while simultaneously trying to stay as still as possible. After a moment of watching the avian struggle, Xisuma groaned and left his fire to flick the spider away. Grian exhaled. "You are a lifesaver."

"And you are short." The admin responded lightly.

Mumbo snorted. "He's not lying."

Grian looked at both of them, his mouth hanging open like an offended goldfish. "You're just too tall for your own good."

Mumbo snorted and pulled an apple out of his bag.

As the sun finally set and they set up their beds, Grian spoke out over the faint sound of crackling fire. "Mumbo?"

"Hm?" He turned to face the avian.

"Have we tried, um, messaging him?"

Mumbo yawned. "What?"

"Like, with our comms. Tommy left right after he respawned, and the comm respawns with you. He might still have it with him."

Mumbo sat up and looked at Grian. There was a beat of silence, and then he scrambled out of his bed, digging wildly through his bag for the metal device he knew was in there but seemed to avoid his every move–

"I have mine." Grian was holding out his comm.

In the background, Xisuma shifted, wearily sitting up. "Wha–"

Mumbo didn't wait for him to finish. He snatched the comm out of Grian's hand, typing in the message like his life depended on it.

–

Tommy rolled over, yawning as something woke him up. Even though his instincts were telling him to runhidefightgetaway, he kept his eyes shut, in the moment valuing another hour of sleep over insignificant things like "torture" and "death" and "a sadistic, pathetic excuse of a human being that liked to call himself Dream".

But then something buzzed. And assuming that was the thing that woke him up in the first place, it wasn't the first time it had gone off.

Tommy sat up, letting his eyes adjust to the darkness. The mystery thing buzzed again, and Tommy looked at his pocket. A tiny white light bled through the fabric.

Was that his comm?

He pulled it out, staring at the device.

He had his comm??

He opened it, squinting in the light shining from the screen.

<Grian>

He almost shut it, not wanting to read the avian screaming at him about killing his friend, but his eyes landed on the next few words.

Tommy, it's Mumbo.

Wait.

<Grian> Tommy, it's Mumbo. I have Grian's comm. I don't know If you're going to get this or not, but if you do please for the love of redstone answer

<Grian> I'm not mad. I promise I'm not mad. I would never be mad at you. But we're trying to find you, not to throw ypu in prison or anything but because we want you safe

<Grian> Dream is here. on the server. we dont know how he got here bur he foubd a way and now hes missing anf I really don't want him to find tou so Tommy please respond.

<Grian> please

Tommy sat there on the cold stone floor, his hands in a death grip around the comm, and watched as a forbidden tear hit the screen.

They actually cared?