Tommy

Tommy fell onto one of the cots the minute the Pogtopia guards deposited him and his sister to a tent. The day had taken its toll on him, and he could feel exhaustion clinging to his body. It wasn't the physical exhaustion that got him because he didn't do anything particularly straining. He, along with his travel companions, had walked the final stretch towards Pogtopia's base of command. It wasn't that long of a walk, so Tommy's feet ached but he wasn't tired from that.

His fatigue sprouted from his emotions. His emotional state was a chain that pulled him towards the ground, making him want to crumple in on himself in defeat. He wanted to throw in the towel, and he almost wished he could feel nothing. His childhood friends were still dead, and he could see their bodies hitting the ground every time he closed his eyes. Tommy's cheek continued to burn from where Wisp had touched him seconds before his death. He remembered Kristin's tired arms enveloping him in bitter heat as they both broke down. Those were frightening memories that Tommy couldn't get rid of. They permeated in his mind. They snuck up on him, filling him to the brim with grief and regret. He sometimes felt like he couldn't breathe with how much he wanted to scream at the sky to return his friends back to him.

Worse still, Tommy had two adverse reactions earlier that day. Tommy knew who the Blade was abstractly. He was a warrior from the North. He was likened to a force of nature instead of a mortal being. Tommy had admired the Blade in his youth, so he expected that seeing his hero would stir emotions inside him. Tommy wasn't able to protect the sheer, crushing amount of emotions that made him physically sick and desperate for affection and approval from this man Tommy only knew from rumors. The Blade- Techno, wasn't it?- was a man that Tommy wanted to impress, but he also hated this man more than anything in the world because Tommy would have done anything for him. Techno was the embodiment of all of Tommy's regrets, but he was also a bonfire in a blizzard for Tommy. He was a beacon of safety and light when the world was dangerous and dark. Tommy couldn't understand the contradictions, so he pretended like he didn't feel any of it when he noticed a mysterious ginger hanging around Techno's shoulders.

Later that day, Tommy came face to face with the king that was going to help him avenge his people. Tommy was faced with memories tinged with vague emotions, similar and yet different from what he experienced with Techno. This king- Wilbur- played music with a guitar, singing towards the heavens as he walked along a dusty path. Wilbur held Tommy so close that their foreheads were pressed together. Wilbur made silly faces and spoke with a funny accent that made Tommy giggle. Wilbur held Tommy close as arrows fell to the ground, whispering that they would be okay even when Tommy could feel warm blood coating his hands and he knew that they would not be. A thousand seconds that belonged to someone else were forced into Tommy's mind, and he reconciled with the fact that perhaps someone else's life was becoming intertwined with his life. Tommy didn't understand it, and this made him more upset than the horrible and sweet memories that warmed his heart.

"Are you okay?" A voice from the present moment called out. Tommy opened his eyes, realizing that tears were starting to form as he processed his grief and confusion a little at a time. Kristin cautiously sat down on Tommy's cot, her hands coming up to smooth out his blonde curls. She looked down at him with a soft smile, and Tommy knew that he would begin sobbing if this kept up.

"I'm a Big Man. Of fucking course, I'm okay. I'm better than fucking okay. I'm super," Tommy shook his head, sitting up. Kristin shifted slightly so they could both sit on the cot. Kristin's legs were hanging off the cot, and Tommy pulled his thighs up to lean his chin against his knees. He tilted his head slightly as he looked at Kristin. She looked thin from hunger and gaunt from burnout. She seemed a little more relaxed now that they were in Pogtopia, but her muscles were still tense as she tried to figure out what to do with her hands. Tommy knew the answer before he asked, but he couldn't stop the words from coming. "Are you okay?"

Kristin opened her mouth to say something, but her dark eyes dotted over to Tommy. Her body folded into itself like a puppet with cut strings. She dropped her head into her hands, and Tommy was certain that she would start crying. He quickly moved forward. One of his legs slid off the cot as he wrapped Kristin up in a sideways hug. She tucked her chin on top of Tommy's forearm. She hadn't begun crying, but her voice was wet with unshed tears when she spoke. "I'm really trying to be. It's just that everything is a little too much, and I don't know what to do. I have no clue what the right choice is."

"Everything has gone to shit. I don't know what to do, either, and I fucking hate this... but you have me, and I know that I have you. We don't need to know what right or wrong is. I think we should just be happy, y'know? We'll slaughter all the bastards of Oceania, and then we'll think about what to do with the future. I just know we have to live because..." Tommy stopped. He wanted to continue living because Wisp told him to live seconds after Wisp took an arrow for Tommy. He also said this a half hour after Wisp was revealed to be a traitor that resulted in Business Bay's demise and his friend's executions. Tommy was willing to listen to that traitor, but he didn't want to remind Kristin of that. She was probably blaming herself for that, and Tommy didn't want to contribute to her guilt. It wasn't her fault. "... We'll live because I fucking said so."

"You're right. One step at a time. We'll listen to King Wilbur and Commander Techno. They'll help lead this army to victory," Kristin acknowledged. Tommy almost smiled to himself for helping Kristin out, but she had this dark look on her face as she stared down at her open palm. "What happened to us today?"

Tommy swallowed thickly. That was one of the parts of the day he didn't want to think about. King Wilbur had been walking away, and Tubbo was having another reunion with someone from his past. Tommy wanted to track down Captain Puffy. He was stopped when he noticed Kristin walking towards the weird statue of a woman sitting on a throne. He had been casting it glances several times, but he could never figure out why it was there. Kristin, however, was going in for a closer look. Kristin got close enough that she tore the glove off her hand to touch the statue. Tommy raced toward Kristin to stop her from precariously destroying the statue, especially when Kristin hated her powers, but he was enveloped by something the moment he reached the statue. An ancient energy filled the air that compelled him to match Kristin's actions. His reasoning skills must have been turned off because he didn't even question the urge to use the Touch of Life on an ice statue while Kristin used the Touch of Death. It was the mixture of their powers that broke the ice structure to reveal a living woman.

If that wasn't enough, seconds later, a humanoid with ebony wings dropped into the ballroom from an open window. Tommy had been laying on the ground as he watched the birdlike creature that exuded a powerful energy that terrified Tommy but also... there was an undertone to his emotions that resembled affection. Tommy hated the feeling, and he felt something get stuck in his throat when he noticed how Kristin and the creature looked at each other. There was something in those eyes. Tommy hoped he was wrong when he identified the emotion as love. And not just a childish crush or appreciation for someone's appearance. It was a genuine love that was created by years of being with someone, not looking at them for the first time.

"Our powers might be stronger than we think they are, Toms," Kristin said when she was met with silence. Tommy sucked in a breath. For most people, being more powerful wasn't a bad thing. Most people went their entire lives trying to attain more power. Kristin and Tommy were not among those people. Tommy was fine with his current power level. He was able to strengthen objects, heal others, and give them additional strength, speed, durability, and agility. It was an amazing ability, Tommy supposed, except it usually drained him as a result of using it. Kristin, on the other hand, would be fine without her powers altogether. She wanted to be able to touch people without worrying they would die agonizingly slow. She wanted to hold objects that would usually crumple into dust beneath her skin. Her gloves helped, but Kristin hated wearing them because they made her hands feel hot and stuffy. Neither would want an upgrade.

"Just in time to fucking kill Ocenia," Tommy said. He squeezed Kristin tighter. "We can get through this together, yeah? We'll be a fucking nightmare for Oceania, and then everything will be okay. We'll figure out our powers. All we know right now is that when we see some awful shit, our powers make us fix it. Mind control is a shitty move, of course, but it doesn't make us do anything bad. We can't assume that it will."

"We can't assume that it won't, Toms. What if we accidentally free our enemies or hurt our allies because of this... force that compels us to use our powers?" Kristin said. Her hand closed into a fist, and Tommy could see the purple lines of energy start to sprout across her skin. Tommy was brought back for a moment to his past when he found Kristin screaming as she held a rapidly decaying corpse. Tommy, a mere toddler, had pulled Kristin away from the body. He was a child, so he curiously touched the corpse without knowing what it was. His hands glowed gold as the rotting process reversed. Tommy held a freshly healed body. A shock of white hair was now in the person's hair, but they were breathing. Kristin had held Tommy as they explained to their father, and they were later informed of the two blessings (curses) they possessed.

"We could always fucking hurt our friends and save our enemies. We could always be dickhead, with or without powers, with or without some batshit crazy voice in our heads. You told me once that we have to choose good, and that'll make us good. I still believe that, so you should, too. We'll be fine... I know we will. We are Big Man TommyInnit and motherfucking Kristin."

Kristin laughed, leaning her head against Tommy's. "You're right. We should test our powers soon, though, just to make sure they still work the way we think they do. Until then, however, we should get some sleep."