Dream rowed in his wooden boat, watching a few dolphins jumping out of the water not too far away, swimming around fastly and cheerfully. It described his mood pretty well.

He felt amazing.

Not only did he get a good night's sleep, but he was able to break the blond very effectively the day before. It helped him get what he wanted. What he needed to fulfill his wish. His plan.

Dream arrived at the sandy shore, the waves pushing the sand up and dragging it down with every pleasing crash. Though, the green-hooded man was more surprised to see the place still in a wreck. Especially the tent.

Did Tommy not bother fixing anything?

Did he actually break him so much, that he felt hopeless enough to sleep outside during the night?

Dream couldn't help but smile under the mask.

"Tommy?", he yelled out into the dreaded atmosphere the destroyed place set and waited for an answer: A groan coming from the destroyed tent, a blond teen walking sleep-deprived towards him, a young boy's voice answering him.

Anything really, that would indicate where he was or acknowledge that he had arrived.

Though he heard nothing of the like as Dream picked up his boat and placed it into his inventory, right beside his 2 stacks of arrows.

"Tommy?", he tried again.

Still no answer.

The hooded man scoffed at the blond's irresponsibility, walking up the small hill to look for Tommy. It was way past sunrise, almost noon, and the blond was probably hiding in the rags of his tent, trying to sleep.

What an idiot.

"C'mon, Tommy. Only idiots sleep on the floor like that.", Dream looked down into the hole, left by an explosion that blew his beloved "tnret" up, expecting to see a sleeping blond covered in a ragged white sheet of wool on the stone-cold floor.

But there was no blond.

Dream looked around bewildered. Did Tommy sleep in Logstedshire perhaps? Well, the remains of it. He couldn't help but chuckle out loud, reminding himself of the day before. The look on Tommy's face when he realized that he messed up was unforgettable. It was truly hilarious.

As he made his way toward Logstedshire he looked at the forest. It was odd. As if something was missing.

He brushed it off and looked around the place.

"Hey, Tommy!", he called out again. "Where are you?"

Nobody replied.

Dream was very concerned now. Did Tommy hide somewhere? Did he run away? Was he not as predictable as he thought? Was he not under his control anymore?

Was he ever under his control?

"Haha, you got me, now come out before I get upset!"

No response.

"Friends wouldn't do this to each other, Tommy. And we are friends!"

Still no response.

"WE ARE!!", he yelled loudly, as if trying to summon Tommy through his words.

The eerie silence that echoed his own voice in his head was enough for him to understand, that Tommy was not near exile. Fuming, Dream rushed into the nearby forests looking for the blond teen.

Deep down he knew that he had messed up.

To be honest, he didn't know that there was a secret storage room underneath that ghost's cottage. He wanted to blow it up to break Tommy even more and make him forget about the others as soon as possible. To make every connection he had with those people disappear.

When he found out, he was enraged. He knew that Tommy was plotting something and that he disliked him, but Tommy was dependent on him. Well, that's what he thought before the incident.

In a matter of quick decision-making, he blew everything up. He was justified in his own twisted logical way. And since he thought Tommy only knew logic by his way, he would feel even more helpless. To make it seem like he was a good guy and Tommy was the bad one, Dream gave Tommy a stack of food.

It should've made Tommy more obedient.

Not make him want to run away!

But Dream was too hasty and pushed the blond too hard, making him run away the moment he could.

The hooded man sighed after giving up on searching for him in the forests. He smiled under the mask, ready to play this game of hide and seek until he found him.

But he would not play by the teen's rules.

Oh no.

He would make his own, twisting them all to favor him.

And the first step to do that was to tell everyone what Tommy did.

Or... at least his version of the story.

<=-=>

Tommy looked at his cave. He spent hours upon hours farming and building to hide his home the best he could. Some vines and gigantic warped mushrooms blocked most of the view. He tried to make it look natural. Though he was not an expert builder, and never took any lessons on good building from Phil or Wil when he was young. Swords and crossbows occupied his mind as well as silly games and stories back then.

So, in conclusion, the finished product looked horrible.

He used too many materials. Not only that but they were placed around looking as unnatural as can be! The mushrooms were too close to the entrance and the vines climbed the wall and giant fungi very weirdly. It made one want to check the mess out rather than ignore it.

Tommy sighed loudly, slapping his forehead out of embarrassment and disappointment.

"What a mess", he said, laughing defeatedly. "It looks worse than my house back in-", he cut himself off.

He wanted to forget it all. He promised himself he would.

And he intended on keeping that promise.

He would forget all the wars, the pain, and the friends and enemies he made along the way. He would forget the good times and the bad ones. He would forget everything and start anew.

<Screech>

Tommy perked up and looked behind him as he heard some endermen talking - or rather screeching - not too far away. He quickly noticed his mistake and looked at the ground before he accidentally aggrevated the tall creatures. He couldn't understand their tongue, considering that they were, according to legends, from a faraway place humans call "the end".

Tommy sighed again, done with the warped forest for now. Who liked these forests anyway? They were way too blue for his liking.

And no, he was not just thinking that because he was upset with his building skills. Absolutely not.

Tommy walked towards the nearby fortress, deciding to go someplace he had been to before as to not lose his way around.

During his mindless walking, he found himself before a passageway downwards to the lava level of the nether. Tommy really didn't want to go down. It wasn't because it looked steep or anything, the opposite actually, but he just didn't feel like going there.

But, at the same time, he felt his feet going down, step by step. It felt right to do so.

Sighing once again he obliged to go down, feeling like he had to, or he would regret it. Tommy looked around, taking in the red nether rack. Its surface was rough and hot to the touch.

Not that he minded it.

Upon getting down he set his eyes on a tiny purple creature, barely tinier than half of his height, laying on the warm floor shivering. It was a strider child.

Something inside of him hurt. He needed to get to it. He had to!

Tommy rushed to the child, taking it in. The kid got startled and whipped its head toward the blond. For a moment it was scared, trying to get away, but winced in the process, deciding against it.

"Hey! Hey. Everything's fine!", Tommy told the little lava walker who still tried to scramble away. "Calm down. You can trust me. You can understand me, right?", Tommy tried again, crouching down, staying a few blocks away.

The strider looked Tommy into his eyes, calming down visibly after a little while, though still shaking. It tried talking - or rather croaking - , but its voice was so hoarse and broken that Tommy couldn't understand a word.

"Hey, it's ok. Don't talk.", the blond reassured. "Just show me how I can help."

The child looked at its injured legs, Tommy following its gaze. The wound was bad enough to hinder the little being from walking on its thin legs. No bones were visible - if they had bones in the first place - but it was more than just a scrape.

"O-ok", Tommy took a breath to steady himself. He saw worse (like Tubbos face or his wounded friends during and after the war), but he didn't know how to act when a complete stranger was injured! "S-so, uh. Do you need, like, food to heal that?", his voice rose a pitch or two.

The young strider nodded, frowning and shivering more by the second.

Tommy noticed how the shivering got worse and took the strider into his arms, who yelped in surprise, and carried the little creature closer to the lava, placing it right next to it. The strider's shivering calmed down visibly, its almost blue color reverting to a dark purple.

"Sorry that I didn't warn you.", Tommy apologized. "I have some food on me though", he took out some cooked pork. The strider frowned even more, its head turning away in disgust.

Tommy looked at it in surprise, remembering that there were species and races that ate vegetarian or vegan. He looked through his inventory, embarrassed by his mistake.

"Damn it, what do you eat...", he thought out loud, "I don't have anything vegetarian on me", he whined, dragging the single syllable of "me" out.

He looked at the warped fungi in his inventory, think that it might work. He had them in his inventory to help him hide his home better, but ended up not using all, afraid that they would all grow too fastly and that he wouldn't be able to make his way arround the forest anymore. The blond dragged the items into his hot bar.

The strider looked at Tommy's hands as two of the fungi appeared, leaping forward in a burst of energy and eating both in a matter of seconds. Tommy stared at his empty hands in surprise. He took out some more and gave it to his patient - if one could call it that.

The strider ate like it didn't have food for days, its injuries healing slowly, leaving nothing but ugly scars in its place.

The blond smiled at the little child before him, happy that he could help. He didn't notice it before, but he felt such relief the moment the strider's face loosened up and when it walked slowly unto the lava, its color changing to red in a matter of seconds. The frown didn't disappear from its face, but Tommy could tell that it was happy and relieved. His instincts told him so.

"Tha-ank yo-ou.", the strider croaked out, voice cracking. Though Tommy could feel the happiness conveyed in them. It warmed his heart in a strange way. "Anytime little dude.", Tommy replied just as happily as the little one in front of him.

"Me Kh'ar'd", the little one said, its name twisting in a way Tommy was unsure he could do with his tongue and voice. "I'm Tommy", the blond grinned.

He noted how, while he did understand Kh'ar'd, the language sounded not as complex as the ones he is used to speaking.

The strider croaked happily. It didn't speak any words. It only made a sound of happiness. Perhaps that was the way they conveyed emotions. Through noise?

It was similar to the skeletons rattling bones.

It made Tommy grin ever so slightly, but upon looking at the scars, Tommy couldn't help but ask, "Hey... so... How did that happen?" He pointed to its legs.

Kh'ar'd looked down and then began to look into the distance, obviously avoiding Tommy's gaze. "Parent Me attacked tall pink, black, shining yellow when near black grey material.", it began, leaving Tommy confused. "Parent tell me leave. Me leave. Parent gone.", it explained.

From what Tommy understood, it and its parent were attacked and the parent died.

Maybe he shouldn't have asked at all. "Sorry for asking."

"It ok.", the strider looked at him, shining black beads staring into his blue ones sadly. "Normal.", it said again, leaving Tommy at a loss again.

What was normal? That he cared? Or that its parents...

The thought shivered Tommy to the core. "W-What do you mean?", he didn't mean to stutter.

"Parent protect child. Parent dead, child find new parent.", it explained. "It hurt, it normal.", it continued.

Tommy stared at the little creature before him in horror. "You mean, this isn't the first time!?" He didn't mean to make it recall such memories. He didn't mean to burst out like that. But how could he stay calm!? How could he, when this little guy lost its parents more than once and is expected to live with it because it was normal!?

"It normal. So far 3. Last was longest. K'ron nice. Me like K'ron"

The sadness in its words was louder than any explosion ever was. Tommy felt like throwing up. It was like losing Wilbur three times in a row unexpectedly, hoping each one would stay, and being expected to act normal after each one dying and having to find a new Wilbur.

"Child stay with parent. Parent protect child. When child parent, parent guide new child."

Tommy stared at Kh'ar'd. It felt like someone had dumped high potency weakness potions on him and expected him to act normal all day.

"Now me go. Thank you save me." Tommy barely registered it in his head, mumbling a quiet "goodbye" before watching it leave.

He felt sick to his stomach that someone like it had to walk through every day as if nothing happened. As if it wasn't the first, second or third time. As if it was normal.

He felt sick.

And he knew that he didn't have the energy to deal with anything more for the day, craving his couch to rest and recover from this mental blow to the heart.

---

A/N:

Thanks for reading this chapter! I hope you enjoyed it.
Sorry for not updating, but one of you left such nice comments that I felt the need to update.
Thanks a bunch mate. You dragged me out of writers block for who knows how long XD

This was a shorter chapter, I know. My writing style changed a bit... I think? So I am sorry if this seems like someone else wrote it. Or like a whole 'nother work lolol XD

Thanks again and hope to see ya soon!
Til next time!!