Tommy leaned against Philza sleepily as they gazed out at the water, and Philza put his arm around the boy. It was later in the evening, and Tommy kept bobbing on and off to sleep, much like how the ship bobbed upon the waves. Phil savored the last moments he had with the young boy while the island started to emerge from the distance. Their short two-day journey was coming to an end, and as it neared, the feeling of excitement shifted more into a bittersweet. Tommy felt pride that he had been invited to Dream's island (Dream was a very respected man), but he still felt a bit apprehensive, knowing he would have to leave Philza and Techno was, in a way, terrifying. Wilbur felt the same as Tommy, though a little less so since he was not as attached to the others as Tommy was.

Wilbur and Techno sat at one of the tables nearby where Philza and Tommy were. The two sat in silence, Wil trying to think of a conversation starter. At the same time, Techno was desperately hoping that Wilbur wouldn't try to make conversation. The two had never been too close, but they still thought of each other as a brother. "So..." Wilbur started, smiling sideways at his brother. Techno glanced at him, waiting for Wil to continue. Wilbur finally sighed, throwing his hands in the air, "Sorry, I got nothing!" Techno laughed slightly at that.

"You guys don't kill each other, okay? Or else I'll have to kill you," Techno smirked, making Wil laugh nervously. "I'll miss you guys, though," Techno looked at Tommy from where they sat, then looked to Wilbur, a slight grin on his face.

"Yeah... I'll miss you and Phil too," Wilbur said softly, glancing at Phil and Techno.

A horn bellowed loudly in the air, startling Tommy. The boy's eyes shot open, and he tried to pretend he hadn't been sleeping, sitting up straight. Phil grinned but didn't say anything. Tommy looked out at the water, seeing the island in the distance. "Oh... I guess we're almost there..." Tommy said. He tried to sound enthusiastic, but that was kind of the opposite he was feeling, and it definitely didn't show in his voice.

Philza nodded his head, looking to the island, then back at the boy, "We still have at least ten minutes. Let's go get Techno and Wil, though." Phil went to stand up, but Tommy clung onto him, too scared to let go. Tommy finally had to leave the person who he considered his father, and he had no idea what he would do without him.

Phil seemed to understand what was happening, and he kindly sat back down next to Tommy, "You'll be okay. Wilbur will be with you, and you can write to Techno and me every day." Tommy nodded into him, still not letting him go. Phil sighed, patting the boy's back, "And we won't forget about you, you don't have to worry at all, Tommy." That seemed to comfort him, and he hesitantly let go of Phil. The two walked over to collect the others.

-

"Well..." Tommy started, looking at the dock, then Techno, then Philza. Phil smiled sadly, holding his arms open. Tommy happily hugged him, crying a couple of tears.

"I'm going to miss you," Phil spoke soothingly, still holding onto the boy, "You stay safe, okay?"

Tommy nodded his head, "Yeah!" He snickered, "I'll do that." Techno was next to say his goodbyes, kneeling down in front of Tommy.

"If anyone's a jerk to you, let me know, and I'll come beat him up for you, okay?" Techno sounded grave, but he playfully tousled Tommy's hair.

"I believe you'd do that ..." Tommy looked into Techno's eyes, giving him a pained but sincere smile. Techno watched Tommy for a moment, not knowing what to say. He thought of the many times Tommy had shown admiration of him through his words. Those words had helped him so much. It was nice to have someone that looked up to him.

Suddenly, a wistful smile spread across Techno's face, and he hugged Tommy, "I'm gonna miss you." The statement was true, much to Techno's dismay. He didn't like to have someone to care about, and having a little brother was even worse. He guessed he had already taken on the role of his older brother as soon as Tommy had met Philza, Wilbur, and him; the boy just had a way of fixing himself in with others. Back to caring about people... it got too complicated, not hurting the ones that he cared about and not hurting the ones who the people he cared about, cared about, and so on. Nevertheless, Techno couldn't help but miss Tommy. He swore if anyone ever tried to hurt Tommy- or Wilbur- he would come and slay the retched worm where they stood.

"I'll miss you too, Techno."

Just those words made Techno hug Tommy even tighter before he had to let go. Techno dejectedly sighed as he watched Tommy go stand with Wilbur. It was funny how he had gone from killing the boy to want to protect him from anything. Funny how things change...

"I'll miss you too!" Wil interjected, jokingly. It was enough to cause them all to break into laughter. They all paused, examining each other before they had to leave, then Wilbur and Tommy picked up their bags. Phil gave them both a quick hug before Wil rested his hand on Tommy's shoulder and turned away from Techno and Philza to leave the ship. The two boys watched as the vessel departed, and Techno stood at Phil's side, his cape blowing in the wind as he waved goodbye to them.

"Don't kill each other!" Phil yelled as the ship departed, "And stick together!"

He had no idea.

~~~~~

It turned a little dark at the end there... Maybe I'll make a sequel to this eventually...

I hope you enjoyed this story; I enjoyed writing it. I have nothing to say, really, except that I love and appreciate you all. Remember that you are important, and always will be <333 :)))) Have a swell rest of your day/night/afternoon/evening :))))