Tommy stood with Schlatt at the door of his home. He was actually going to see Phil, Techno, and Wilbur. It had taken time for him to fully forgive them, and Schlatt even had to come to help him realize that it wasn't even really their fault.

After Tommy checked himself on his decision to go back to his family, he found that he had been too focused on himself. Schlatt had helped him to see that it was okay to make mistakes and assured him that there would be many more mistakes that they would both make. 'Assuring' might be a surprising word to describe that thought, but that's the way it felt to Tommy.

His mind wandered back to when he and Schlatt were traveling back through the forest. He remembered Schlatt noticing that he had a lot on his mind and slowing down.

"You wanna talk about it?" He had asked him casually. Tommy looked into the man's caring eyes.

"What if they don't forgive me? What if- what if they don't want me back?" He expressed his worries to them.

Schlatt thought for a moment, "For the short time I've known you, you seem like a pretty likable person," he looked at Tommy, "That's one of the many things we have in common," he joked. Tommy had smiled. "I'm sure they'll forgive you, and they'll probably be sorrier than you are."

-

The doorknob turned, and Tommy panicked. He grabbed the business man's arm and tried to hide behind him. The older man just looked at Tommy fondly and gently pushed him back to his original spot, putting his hand on the young one's shoulder. The businessman looked up just in time to see Phil open the door with Wilbur and Techno's curious faces popping out from behind the door frame.

Phil gasped, and the others stood aghast when their eyes reached Tommy. Wilbur's eyes widened as he looked back to Schlatt, his face gradually bending into a glare. He whispered under his breath, "You..." Phil's hand left the doorknob and slowly reached out to Tommy, afraid that this wasn't real.

Tommy tried to back up, but Schlatt held a firm grip on his shoulder. The boy looked up to the man's slightly perturbed face with questioning eyes. The man looked down at him and smiled weakly. Wilbur misread the scene, thinking Tommy was scared of the man. He pushed past Phil, startling everyone, and snatched the boy out of Schlatt's grasp and pulled him into a quick hug, then shoved him into Techno's arms.

"Stay away from us," he snarled to the man's bewildered face. Wil spun around and grabbed Philza's arm, slamming the door.

As the door slammed, he saved the last glimpse of Tommy's bereaved face in his memory.

He stood there for a quiet moment looking down at his feet.

Jschlatt smiled sorrowfully to himself, turned on his heel, and started to head to who knows where.

~~~~~

Tommy watched as the door slammed in the businessman's wistful face. He stared at the door as all attention was turned to him.

The room filled with a restrained silence.

Techno, who still held Tommy in his arms, observed the frail boy sparingly, afraid that he would disappear again. Phil walked over to the two and got on his knees (Wilbur had knocked Techno over after throwing Tommy into his arms, so they were sitting on the floor). He reached out to the boy with several tears rolling down his face.

"Tommy-" he choked. He pulled Techno and the youngest into a tight hug. Tommy shook with rage, his fists tightening.

Wilbur watched them, still fuming at the man who had stolen Tommy from them. Phil looked over and pleaded with his eyes for Wil to join them.

Wilbur took a step forward closer to them, but Tommy burst out of the hug, "I need to find him!" he yelled shakily. They all looked at him as he fumbled to open the door. Techno came over and held the doorknob to keep it from turning.

"You need to tell us who you're going after, Tommy. We can help you."

Tommy looked at him, laughing hysterically, "You just got through hollering at him! He's not gonna want to see you!" Techno was silent at Tommy's outburst.

"I thought he hurt you..." Wilbur said dismally, his eyes begging the boy to stay. Tommy looked at him but felt nothing. He beat at Techno's hand with all his strength (it wasn't much) until the pink-haired boy let go of the doorknob.

Tommy flew the door open and started running down the path to the gate, "Jschlatt! Come back!"

Phil had gotten up from the ground and rushed out to follow Tommy. His voice joined Tommy's, "We didn't mean it! Come back!" The boy looked up to his father figure, perplexed. Phil just hugged him, "We'll help you find him if he's that important to you." Tommy nodded his head and hugged Phil back.

~~~~~

"Dang it," Schlatt said as he nearly tripped over a pebble. He was heading back into town where he could hopefully find a train station. (I have no idea what time period this is. I'm so confused ;-;) There was a pretty long dirt path that led back down to the gated house with tall trees shooting up all around. He took his time leaving, enjoying the leaves rustling, birds chirping, and the crunch of leaves beneath his feet. It was peaceful.

Too peaceful.

He hadn't realized how much he missed the non-stop chatter coming from his young friend. He could've sworn he heard Tommy yell his name, but he didn't turn back. He could still see the glaring faces of the pink-haired boy and... Wilbur? was the other's name.

-

He had made it to the town now. He asked where he could find the train station and started towards it. He sat down on a bench and closed his eyes...

~~~~~

"We're going to pair up," Phil announced, "Who's going with Tommy?" Techno and Wilbur both looked at each other, hoping the other would let them go.

"Wilbur can't come with me. He's the one who yelled at him." Phil frowned slightly at Tommy's statement and looked to Wilbur, who nodded his head in a defeated agreement.

-

A distant train whistle passed through Tommy and Techno's brain as the fast-walked down the streets, asking passersby if they had seen a tall man in a wrinkled suit. No one knew anything.

Phil and Wilbur met up with them as another train whistle echoed through the air.

"Wait..." Tommy began. Techno looked at the boy as the realization hit them both. They sprinted to the train station, leaving Phil and Wilbur in the dust

~~~~~

Schlatt woke up to the not-so-distant sound of a train whistle. He twirled the ticket in his fingers and scowled at it.

He stood from the bench as the train got closer.

~~~~~

Phil and Wilbur had run up to the two boys. The man grabbed their shoulders.

"Tell me what's happeni-" He started.

Tommy interrupted him, "He could be at the train station! The train is coming; we need to get over there!" He pulled away from Philza and continued running to the train station.

The train was leaving.

~~~~~

Wilbur caught up to Tommy, who stood staring at the train that had just left, "I'm sorry, Toms..." He put his arm around him consolingly. Tommy opened his mouth to say something, but the sound of the door of the train station opening stopped him.

The suited man walked out, clutching dollar bills, his refund, from the ticket.

"Schlatt!" Tommy exclaimed. The man's eyes lit up as he saw Tommy, and he smiled affectionately.

"Tommy..."

~~~~~

I hope you enjoyed the finale. I had quite a time looking for synonyms for different words. I found so many good ones for the word "sad."

Thank you so much for reading! I'll see you again sometime <3