The brothers plus Karl walked through the streets, Karl paying for their food as well as where stayed without trouble for the first couple of days. It was when they let their guard down that the soldiers found them.

"Ooh! Look, a bee!" Tubbo said, pulling on Tommy's sleeve and pointing at a small insect buzzing through the air. Tommy laughed at his excitement and said, "It's a fucking bee, big man. You've seen millions of them."

"But I haven't seen one lately," Tubbo replied, his gaze sliding to meet Tommy's. "There's not a lot of them in the village."

"I used to have a bee farm," Karl pitched in. "When I was a kid my dad had this whole thing set up."

Tubbo let out a noise of awe, making Tommy snicker.

"Did they make honey?" Tubbo asked as if that would be a shocking discovery.

"No," Tommy said sarcastically. "They were just there for show."

Tubbo shot a look at Tommy, making him laugh.

"They did," Karl replied, also smiling. "We used to have these little pattie things we put in their homes for food during the winter, too."

"I used to have a pet bee," Tubbo said. "I named him Tubee."

"How much can people talk about bees?" Wilbur asked from behind them.

"For real," Tommy nodded. "I don't understand their logic."

Tommy looked back at Techno, noticing he was being quiet. Usually he was always quiet, but this time he was quiet to an abnormal level. "Techno?" Tommy asked. "You good, big man?"

Techno nodded, something dark shown in his eyes. Tommy recognized it as grief. He knew Techno had been closer to Phil than the rest of the brothers. Tommy swallowed, trying to block the feelings that rose up in him, trying to overcome him. Techno was worried. What did that mean? Was Phil actually okay?

Karl and Tubbo were still talking about bees. It was slowly morphing into plants, which apparently Karl liked too.

Tommy took in a breath, telling himself Phil was okay. He was Phil. Phil couldn't be dead.

"That's them!"

The voice came from behind them and the group swerved around, eyes wide and hearts pounding. The three knights that had been chasing them before were running toward the group, their movements swift and practiced. Tommy couldn't tell who had yelled.

"Go!" Wilbur ordered, grabbing Tommy's hoodie and turning him around as they began to run. The group of five shoved people out of the way as they went, not on purpose, but desperate to get away.

Karl led them. He knew the street way better and found passages in attempts to trick the soldiers, trying to escape. Tommy grabbed Tubbo's hand as they ran, knowing he was slightly slower than the rest of the group. He helped lead him on.

"They're getting closer," Tubbo said, alarmed. "They're faster than us!"

"Fuck!" Tommy cursed loudly, catching the attention of people around them as they booked it.

"Just- I'm trying to get us to this one spot," Karl replied, worry etching his voice and making it higher. "It's close and is super good for tricking people."

They took a hard left, and Tommy accidentally knocked over a young kid. "Sorry!" He yelped, not looking back. Karl turned into an alleyway. The brothers, high on adrenaline, followed him and skirted to a halt.

"Oh- oh fuck," Karl said, his eyes wide. "This is the wrong alleyway!"

There was a brick wall on their way. The group turned around, about to run again, but the soldiers got there first.

Tommy watched in horror as they got cornered. Mr. Smiley and his two bitches stood three in a row, their fourth missing. Mr. Smiley took a step forward, his sword glinting in the sunlight. "Cornered?" He asked. This time his armor looked green like something had dyed it. No- something had dyed it. It had been like that in the house, now that Tommy thought about it.

"No fucking duh!" Tommy yelled. "Stupid prick! Leave us alone!" He took a step forward, his hands clutching into fists in anger.

"Tommy," Wilbur warned from behind him.

"We did nothing! We are just brothers who lost our fucking dad because of you! We don't even know if he's alive!"

Wilbur tugged him back and Tommy wrestled with him before he let him go again. Tommy stood straighter, anger basking in him.

"Just come with us. We'll leave your brothers alone. They can even go back to their house," Mr. Smiley said.

Tommy swallowed.

"He's not coming with you," Wilbur pushed himself in front of Tommy, making him sneer at his older brother.

Mr. Smiley looked down at the group, the mask covering his face eerily. "You don't have an option," he stated. "Either we kill all of you or you give us the child."

"I am not a child!" Tommy protested.

"Listen," Techno suddenly whispered to the group, out of earshot for the knights. "The only way we get out of this is overwhelming them and charging. On my count of three, we go and don't try to fight them. Just run."

Everyone silently agreed.

"Three, two, one."

The group ran forward, making Mr. Smiley and his two goons step back in surprise. By the time they realized what was happening, everyone was already past them and off to the races. Tommy noticed Karl stumble and almost fall, but Tommy ran up to him and helped him by grabbing his arm. Karl got his stance back and said, "Thanks," hurriedly.

"No!" Mr. Smiley yelled from behind them.

"Suck it greeen boooooy!" Wilbur hollered, and despite the moment, it made Tommy burst out laughing.

Karl guided them away. After ten more minutes, they had successfully left the knights in the dust.

__________

     "Ow," Karl said, limping badly as they padded through the streets. His arm was slung over Tommy's shoulder for help. He had twisted his ankle really badly in all the chaos. At first, adrenaline had kept the pain away, but now it was surfacing for him.

"We need to get out of this village," Techno said. "We need to go somewhere far away."

"I agree," Wilbur nodded. "If we stay we will keep being chased down."

Tommy and Tubbo shared a glance. They both didn't want to leave- this village was close to their home. It gave them hope that one day they might be able to go back. If they went far, they may never see their home again. They may never see Phil again.

"But," Tubbo protested, looking at his older brothers. "I don't want to go far from our house. Everything I own is there."

Wilbur shook his head slowly, eyes down-turned. "We don't have a choice."

Tommy looked down, feeling his gaze linger on the path below them. They could go back if he just handed himself over.

"It's okay," Karl said from behind him to the group. "I've heard of beautiful places far from here. Mountains, giant lakes, lands of springs... I'm sure you can build a life better than this one."

Wilbur chirped his agreement. The group slowly agreed to run further away, even Tommy, although he said it reluctantly. 

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