Tommy couldn't see the man's expression. He stood up, feeling the gazes of the soldiers land on him.

"That's the boy," the smiley masked one said. "Young, blonde hair, blue eyes- he matches."

How the fuck did they know what he looked like?! "Listen, prick," Tommy sneered, meeting the gaze of his mask. "Leave us alone."

The soldiers fanned out, blocking the exits. Tommy saw Techno draw a sword from above the fireplace mantle- it had been for show, but now it was a deadly weapon. Actually, now that Tommy realized it as he looked around, they all had masks on of some sort- even the soldier that had been at the door before.

Ha! They really did think Tommy could kill on eye contact. He needed to use this to an advantage.

"You think I need eye contact to kill?" He asked, standing tall. "I could murder any one of you with a single glance if I wanted to."

They exchanged looks.

"What? Want to test it?" Tommy asked.

Some of the guards backed up. "Hold," the smiley-masked one ordered. "The Queen didn't state that. Imagine we go back without the child. We would be murdered anyway. It's dying here or dying there without the kid. That was the Queen's words."

The knights nodded, taking a stance again. Fuck.

"Alright, time to go," Phil said from behind them. "Good try, Tommy. Techno- I have a sword too. You know what to do."

Tommy, Wilbur, and Tubbo watched in shock as their father and brother launched into battle. Wilbur grabbed Tommy and Tubbo by their clothes, pulling them backward.

"No fair!" Tommy yelled. "I want to help! Wilbur, let me help!" He pulled against his grip, trying to get free.

"No, Tommy! You're the one they want!" Wilbur snapped.

Tommy looked back, the sound of iron hitting iron blasting around the room as they fought. Both Techno and Phil were at a disadvantage- each of them were having a two v one.

The smiley face guy seemed especially good. He kept up with Techno blow for blow, and with the help of another soldier by his side, they were slowly overpowering Tommy's brother.

Phil was good but not as good as Techno. He managed to keep up with the people he was battling, though, swirling and ducking.

Despite their best efforts, they were going to lose.

"Switch!" Smiley man demanded. Suddenly the fight shifted- Phil was fighting Mr. Smiley and the person that smiley had been fighting with, Techno suddenly up against the other two.

Oh. Mr. Smiley was smart. He saw that Phil was worse at fighting than Techno, and even though Techno could defeat the two other soldiers, Mr. Smiley could take Phil hostage.

That's what he did. He knocked the sword out of Phil's hand, the iron landing on the ground loudly. He held his blade to Phil's neck, making him tilt his head up. The battle stopped. Techno stood there, his gaze on the spot where Mr. Smiley's sword was cutting lightly into Phil's neck.

"Phil!" Tommy hollered, pulling against Wilbur wildly. Wilbur had to let go of Tubbo to hold him back with both hands.

"Tommy, stop!" Wilbur yelled. "Stop struggling! You'll kill him!"

Tommy froze, his eyes widened in shock. "Let him go!" He commanded, but this time he was stationary.

"I'll let him go if you give me the boy," Mr. Smiley said, looking into Wilbur's eyes. He was putting the weight on his shoulders.

It was Phil or Tommy.

"Take Tommy, Wilbur," Phil managed, making the sword press more against his throat.

"Wait, no," Tommy said, looking at Phil before shifting his gaze at Wilbur. "Wil, let them take me. I'll be fine."

He swore he could hear a knight laugh from behind him.

Suddenly Technoblade attacked Mr. Smiley man, forcing him to let go of Phil as he got thrown backward. Phil ran to his sword, picking it up as the battle resumed.

"Go, Wilbur! Take them and go! Techno, follow them!" Phil said.

Wilbur grabbed Tommy and Tubbo again, running toward a window. He took an iron pole used to stroke the fire and smashed it open before yelling, "Tubbo, Tommy, you both go first!"

"What? We can't leave Phil!" Tommy insisted, trying to push back against Wilbur.

"Phil can handle himself, Tommy," Wilbur replied.

"No, he can't! Did you not just see what happened? Are you fucking blind? Just let them take me!"

Wilbur shoved him out and Tommy fell to the ground outside in a heap, quickly gathering himself and getting up. A light rain drizzled down on them, beginning to go through Tommy's hoodie.

Wilbur climbed out after him. "It's you they're after," he said, shoving his pointing finger at Tommy's chest. "You need to hide."

"No fucking duh it's me, Sherlock! Next you'll tell me I have blonde hair and blue eyes! I won't let Phil die for me!" He heard a scream from inside the house, and his heart almost stopped. It was Phil.

Suddenly someone ran out of the house- Technoblade. He spotted them and ran toward his brothers, shoving them the other way. "Go, go, go," he ordered, pushing all of them. "We need to leave."

"Wait!" Tommy yelled. "What about Phil?"

"Is Phil okay?" Tubbo asked. His eyes were wide, stricken with fear.

"Go!" Techno ordered. They all ran into the woods, their feet drumming on the ground.

__________

     They ran for what seemed like forever. They ran for what seemed like hours. They ran for what seemed like days.

In reality, the sun was only halfway in the sky when Tubbo finally toppled over, unable to continue on. The brothers had to stop and relax for a few moments, shock shown in all their movements.

Was Phil dead? They didn't know.

They were all panting raggedly. Wilbur took care of Tubbo while Tommy leaned against a tree, his hands on his knees. His head was low, his blonde hair falling over his eyes as he heaved for breath.

The rain had stopped, leaving their clothes cold and damp. Tubbo, Tommy, and Wilbur had it better than Techno- they had all been wearing jackets. Techno was wearing a simple white collared shirt that clung a bit transparently to his skin. He had long pants, thankfully, but Tommy knew he was freezing. His face was guarded, something deeply unsettling like sadness in his eyes.

Tommy looked over at Wilbur and Tubbo, finally catching his breath. Tubbo was lying on the ground with his hands under his head as Wilbur guided him into even breathing. Wil pulled his glasses out of his heavy dark faded brown jacket, putting them on.

"This is fucked up," Tommy said. "What if Phil died? What if he's dead? What would we do?" He tried to ignore the panic that opened up under him like a gaping hole, trying to suck him under. What if Phil is dead?

"We can't think like that," Wilbur said, looking at him for a second before turning back to Tubbo.

"What happened in the house, Techno?" Tommy demanded. He had to talk. He had to distract himself from his thoughts.

"The head soldier is really good- the guy in the smiley mask. I could definitely beat him if it was a one vs one, but I had the odds against me. I, uh- I had to leave Phil." His voice was heavy with guilt. It was weird- Techno almost never showed any emotion. It shoved Tommy's worries in his face.

Was it his fault? Why had someone made of that fucked up story of him? Kill with eye contact. How stupid.

The first thought nested in him, deciding to hang over Tommy's head like a grudge. Was it his fault? He should have forced himself forward and let the guards take him. His family would still have the house. Sure, he wouldn't be there, but they would have gotten over him eventually.

Now they lost everything. Phil, their house, their belongings- everything.

Tommy needed to be upbeat. Despite his own thoughts, he knew that that was the thing people relied on him. No one else, besides Tubbo, maybe, would be able to do it.

"Alright, where we headed boys?" Tommy asked, gathering himself. "We've been running this way for a while. Is there a village coming up?"

Wilbur helped Tubbo up, who dusted the wet dirt off of the back of his jacket and pants. "Yeah, there should be," Wilbur said. "When Techno and I were younger, Phil took us to the village."

There was a patch of silence that was the result of re-mentioning Phil.

"Let's go that way," Tommy decided, turning around with new energy.

__________