Oh, and I might be adding trigger warnings throughout the book. That means, that those TWs will be additional. Please have that in mind and look out for any more TWs that might come!

TW:
MEGA TRIGGER WARNING:
an author who has no idea about minecraft lore haha

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Tommy looked at the many skeletons in front of him. There were so many, that it overwhelmed him.

But what was he supposed to do now?

He looked at the still bowing skeletons before him.

Should he tell them, that they can stand up again? Maybe tell them that they can do whatever they normally do in this situation?

Or just decline their offer to be their king or whatever they think of him now?

"Uhmmmm... so you can stand up again.", he uttered nervously, not sure if he could say that without angering the black skeletons.

Well, okay, sure, they said that they accepted him as a leader or king or something, but he only knew about how those function in the overworld.

Not the nether.

To his relief the skeletons did as told and all stood there, staring at the blond, while some bones rattled here and there.

"Uhhhhhhh", Tommy awkwardly filled the silence. This was too overwhelming for a teen! He was suddenly a very important person, and he only just found out!

He thought he'd only have to get away, hide and, survive!

A skeleton luckily came to his rescue, noticing his distress or not, "We'll guard the Castle again, if you'll allow us, young lord. Rest assured, we'll keep everything safe!"

So he was a lord in their eyes. The blond hopefully had the same idea of a lord as them.

Tommy nodded at the black skeletons request. Almost every skeleton left. He looked at the two skeletons, that stayed. "Would you like for us to stay with you? You seem visibly overwhelmed, milord.", a high pitched but rather male voice asked politely.

Tommy smiled at their effort.

He accepted the offer and began walking with them. "Please, do not be afraid to ask us anything. Wether you need us to do a task or give you a simple answer.", the same voice stated while one skeleton rattled it's bones. They sounded very happy about something.

Maybe it was Tommy's long awaited presence.

"Sure", the blond simply answered. He thought for a bit and finally settled on a question.

"So, what am I exactly to you?", he asked while looking at the two skeletons with their swords in hand.

He had a hunch, but wanted to make sure.

Misunderstandings are like red flags in life.

He didn't need those.

"The most simple answer would be our lord, protector and future.", the same voice answered. The reply was simple, but didn't satisfy the blond.

"So, you mean like a leader or king or lord or something? I mean, I am flattered, but I don't know if I am up to it.", the blond explained, scratching the back of his neck thoughtfully.

The skeletons stayed silent at that.

Why were both of them suddenly so silent? Did he say something wrong?

Not even their bones rattled as loudly as before.

Their footsteps echoed through the halls, giving the silence an eerie feel to it.

Tommy blinked and found himself in the narrow underground halls of Pogtopia. His footsteps echoed through the little space, making the lonely and eerie silence even more uncomfortable.

Tommy's breathing hitched. He blinked a couple of times to quickly refocus on reality.

One of the Skeletons turned their head towards Tommy, taking in his nervous state. They quickly looked away, not wanting to seem rude to their new lord.

The skeleton that didn't look at Tommy began rattling their bones and the blond soon heard a voice speaking in his head. "Basically, we do. But please be aware, young lord, that we nether skeletons see things this way. Other races could see things differently and we wish for you to accept such views on things.", the high pitched voice from before explained.

"We also hope, that you can open up to us. While things might go rather quick for you, we wish to be able to serve you to the best of our abilities. Please do not see us as simple tools.", a new voice said. It sounded deeper and somewhat old, if Tommy had to describe it. It belonged to the other, more observant skeleton, walking with him.

Did he notice Tommy's distress earlier?

The blond wouldn't know.

"I understand. Thank you for telling me.", he smiled as brightly as he could, hiding his earlier panic to the best of his abilities.

The skeletons' bones started rattling. They probably showed their happiness that way.

It could be their way of communication, besides telepathy, to express feelings and emotions.

Well, skeletons don't have organs, skin and muscles, so they can't really make facial expressions like humans can.

The blond looked up ahead. The halls were so long. If they did end, they continued around the corner.

It was definitely bigger than any other fortress he has ever seen.

The blond thought about his possible duties now. "Uh, and what am I supposed to exactly do?", he asked a bit unsure.

"Well, we don't exactly function like a kingdom. You don't exactly have to do anything in the castle, but we would advise to explore your territory. Or in simpler terms the nether.", one of the two skeleton told the blond. "And it would be good if other nether inhabitants were to meet their new lord."

Tommy nodded in understanding. He felt so happy that he didn't have to do any of the boring paperwork his brother used to do.

Exploring sounded more fun. He could meet new people, make new friends and simply forget about his past.

Tommy halted in his steps as his eyes widened.

The whole purpose of him being there, was to hide.

Being in the open while exploring is dangerous.

He would find him.

Dream would find him.

He would finally snap at the blond and take extreme measures.

Tommy would surely loose his mind.

Tommy can't.

He can't simply wander in the nether.

In the open.

In the seen.

He would find him.

He probably already did.

He was never safe after all.

"TOMMY!! How DARE you run away!", Dreams voice came from somewhere.

He sounded so close. He had the blond in his grasp again.

Again.

Didn't he?

Haha.

Or maybe he always had Tommy in his grasp.

Haha.

"No...", Tommy's body ached. Did Dream do this? Did Dream make his life a living hell? Did he make Tommy question life? Question his loyalty? Question his friendship?

He did. He did. He did.

Dream will surely do worse this time.

Haha.

Tommy was suddenly drowning.

He couldn't breath. Breath. Air. He needed air.

"Haha", he laughed dryly, as the water filled his lungs, his natural reflexes somehow not kicking in.

Maybe his body gave up on life as well.

Haha.

It hurt.

It fucking hurt.

He should call for help, shouldn't he.

...

But nobody would come anyway.

Nobody would come anyway to help him.

He was alone, ever since Dream took him away from his brother's nation. He was alone, ever since his brother left him. He was alone, ever since his father and brother went on journeys.

He felt so alone.

Haha.

He was alone.

"Haha", Tommy felt like passing out, let the evil man take his last life, and tell this wretched world goodbye.

Wait, no... he should tell this wretched world 'Fuck you', shouldn't he.

Fuck you, then.

Haha.

"Young lord! Snap out of it!"

Air filled Tommy's lungs. It burned. Everything felt like burning.

His lungs, his head, his limbs.

Everything.

The blond took deep breaths, now that he wasn't underwater. Now that he could get air again.

Tommy looked at the skeleton before him. It startled him and he squirmed away from the warm, almost hot touch he got from them.

Wait.

It was alright. He was alright. He was just panicking.

It was just his stupid imagination. Just his fucking mind. Just his fucking anxiety.

It was just another panic attack!

No big deal!

"Please, calm down and focus on my voice. Everything is alright, you're alright.", the voice sounded very soothing. It felt so reassuring. It calmed Tommy.

He felt safe.

HAHA. As if.

He was never safe. No matter where he was. Who he was with. What he was doing.

It never mattered. He was just never truly safe!

Wait, he had to calm down. Everything was fine. After all, this was just a panic attack. He was completely fine.

He felt fine. He was fine. He was free. He could breath. He was fine.

Yes, everything was ok!

Tommy let go of his shirt, he didn't know he was clenching dear life on. He quickly wiped his tears away, that left his eyes.

The salty water luckily dried quickly.

"Can you hear me? Are you... better?", the soothing voice asked with a hint of surprise. It probably came from the skeleton holding his shoulder.

"I'm fine. Nothing to worry about.", Tommy answered quickly, not wanting to discuss the matter any further.

He was fine after all. Why would he have to talk about something so irrelevant as his panic attacks.

"That didn't look very fine to us", a voice he recognized as one of the skeletons accompanying him on his way through the halls ringed in his head. It was the deeper one.

"I am fine", Tommy mumbled. He didn't know why, but there was a third skeleton now. "Uhm, thank you.", Tommy said, as he looked at them.

"Of course. I'll return to my post now, if that's alright.", they said gently, while waiting for Tommy's reply.

He simply nodded and watched them leave.

"You gave us quite the scare, young lord.", the higher pitch voiced skeleton said. Tommy seemingly ignored what just happened and tried changing the topic.

"So, who was that?", he asked, like nothing happened.

Well, nothing really happened in his eyes. Nothing of importance. Nothing of their concern.

Nothing that made any difference.

The skeletons luckily noticed the blonds reluctancy on the topic. "We have no names around here. No one remembers their names anyway. That skeleton patrols near this place. They are one of the younger ones around here.", one answered while gesturing towards the direction the skeleton from before left off to.

"What? You guys don't have names? And they were one of the younger ones?", Tommy asked while looking confused.

He thought that their voice could maybe portray their age, but the higher pitch voiced skeleton sounded younger than the one that just left.

Was he wrong in his assumptions?

"Correct. We don't remember the people we were before our 'rebirth' as skeletons here in hell. And they are one of the newer ones around here.", they answered.

Tommy was fascinated by this. Not even Phil mentioned anything like this in his notebooks and diaries, the blond secretly read.

The old man never found out since he was away, travelling with Techno because of some reason he didn't know back then.

The fact that Wilbur had to take care of him, even though he was so young was sad.

Well, at least Tommy got to see his father and other brother when they came back and took a break from travelling.

Tommy snapped back to reality before his thoughts made a big dark turn.

"I see.", he eventually said. "Uh, I think I'll excuse myself for now. I don't want to be any more trouble than I already am. And I should get some stuff done.", he reasoned.

It was an excuse, obviously, not that he minded the company. The atmosphere just felt awkward.

The skeletons rattled in response. They nodded as well, to make it easier for the blond to understand them.

They wished each other goodbye and the blond left.

...

Only to go back after a few steps and ask them to show him the way out.

Not that he needed it, every fortress was built similarly, but better be safe than sorry.

Huh... if this was the Tommy from a few months ago he would've probably stubbornly looked around to find his way
out by his own effort.

Or he was still the same old Tommy, but just didn't feel up to it.

Probably the latter.

The skeletons showed him outside of the giant building. It wasn't that far away to his luck, they probably took many turns during their walk, going in circles and endless loops.

With a final goodbye, Tommy excused himself. He went back to his cave or home.

The piglins from before weren't around on his way back. He did see a few endermen, but ignored them.

Somehow his uneventful return made him tense.

Sure, the relaxing atmosphere was good and all.

Maybe it could be a nice change of pace.

But he was used to being in danger all the time.

Well, when was the last time Tommy could be relaxed? When was his last break from conflict? From Dream?

It was too long ago for him to remember exactly.

Oh well, whatever.

The blond stood before his home's entrance. It bugged him.

Not hidden enough.

He needed to hide it better or he would find it.

The others were happy about the blond missing and disappearing for good.

He most likely wasn't.

Tommy had to hide better. Hide from him. From everyone.

He needed to stay hidden.

Tommy woke up from his little trance and made his way into his not very well hidden home.

The blond approached the empty armour stand, about to place his armour on it, once he got it off.

He put the shield away.

Something felt wrong.

He put his helmet off.

He felt uneasy.

Then his chestplate.

He felt exposed.

And then the pants.

He felt unprotected.

He inhaled sharply.

Someone's attacking him.

Tommy whipped around, sword in hand, looking in every direction for the incoming attack he sensed.

Nothing beside him.
Nothing in front of him.
Nothing behind him.

There was no attack.

But there had to be! He sensed it, right? He could feel the upcoming danger. The uneasy feeling he had.

His mind told him so.
His instincts screamed at him.

He wasn't safe.

...

He was never safe.

The blond calmed himself a bit as he noticed his heart racing and his pulse beating loudly in his ears.

He needed to cool down.

After making sure that in fact nothing was there to harm him, he made his way towards a chest with water bottles and took one, gulping the somewhat cool liquid down.

Tommy sighed.

He was going insane, wasn't he.

The damage was already done the moment he lost everything.

Dream was just a cherry on top of this gigantic cake hE NEVER WANTED!

Breath in. Breath out. Breath in and breath out.

Everything was fine. He was safe. He was home. Home was safe.

That's a lie.

But this home would surely be. Think positively. The monsters didn't harm him at sight, unless you aggravate them. He can have a fresh start, with NO people to ruin it.

And he has enough stuff to last for a while.

He just needed to improve everything.

And hide. He just needed to hide.

Then everything would be fine!

"haha", Tommy quietly laughed to himself. He probably looked pathetic right now. Not only pathetic, but pitiful as well.

And broken.

Tommy made his way towards his makeshift couch and sat down on the many blankets and cushions he equipped it with.

He felt very tired. But he couldn't sleep yet. Or ever. Not when he is so exposed to threats.

Besides, he was in the nether.

A place known to be hell. A place noone can rest in.

Not even it's possible protector.

Or maybe he could, but he didn't want to take the chances.

The blond looked at the table, with the unfinished oak flower. It looked quite alright, for a base. He could maybe take his mind off of things, if he concentrated on something else.

He should pick up this hobby. Could be fun. And distracting.

He stood up and grabbed the wood from it's place on the table, sat back down on the couch and took his stone knife out.

He began carving the wood in some places, before getting out some coal to draw lines. If he wanted to do this, he had to make it look like a professional made it.

Any less would be an insult to his pride.

And he didn't really need the coal in the nether. He could just use lava instead in the oven.

So, the coal is now a drawing tool.

Tommy shaped the wood here and there, tried with the petals, soon noticing that some things are hard to do with only a knife.

Well, it was good experience for him.

He actually found it enjoyable.

Tommy lost track of time a long while ago, but the time he spent on this little flower was filled with concentration, trial and error and somehow joy.

The blond looked at his creation, feeling proud.

It looked like some flower, that might've existed. He wasn't sure about the name of it.

The flower had slightly pointed petals, that curved downwards from the middle. The leaves were kind of blank for his first try. They normally had these little lines in them.

Sadly, since he didn't have the necessary tools, the flower looked very rough. There weren't any roundish parts.

Oh well, he found it fine anyway, so why bother looking at the bad side of it.

Tommy sat the flower back down on the table, while taking some food out for him to eat.

He was hungry, so he couldn't help it.

And he felt tired, ready to collapse somewhere and sleep.

Maybe some cold water would wake him.

He took another bottle of water and drank from it.

The liquid was slightly warmer now, which made the blond resist the urge to spit the disgusting thing out.

Well, he felt a bit better, so it was a somewhat success.

The blond looked around again, debating on what to do.

He should try and look around his new home, get familiar with it.

Maybe building some secret escape routes would be good.

Yeah, and then he could also get some materials to hide his cave better. Maybe make some kind of hidden entrance, or secret passage ways, so that he doesn't have to walk in open!

Yes!

Sometimes the genius ideas he had made him proud.

Who was he kidding, he was no genius. He was just another stupid little crime-boy, that did more wrong than good.

Tubbo would agree.

Wilbur would agree.

Phil would agree.

Dream would agree.

Tommy shook his head fiercely, trying to refocus on reality. He didn't need those thoughts right now.

What he needed, were his trusty pick axe, some building materials and food.

That's what he needed!

And then he'd finally feel truly safe, again!

Right?

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A/N:

Hello people! I know, shorter chapter than the ones before. It still has over 3000 words though!
Besides that, I hope you have a nice day everyone.

I currently don't have internet connection, so I'll upload this whenever. Same for the next chapter or more.

So, I know that the panic attack wasn't really good in this chapter. I don't think you can snap out of it so easily, hence why the skeleton is so surprised. Tommy is kind of a special case, I guess. He always coped with these thoughts and panic attacks alone, so he kinda just snaps out of them, at some point, calming down as fast as possible, to not alarm anything of his presence. (Zombies, Skeleton and other monsters. If they noticed the blond because he breathed heavily or choked and sobbed, than that would be a problem for him in his weak state.)

That's all!
Til next time!!