(I ran out of chapter title names oof >3< )

TW/CW: talking about the exile, mentions of manipulation, I guess signs of Stockholm Syndrome. Ya the fun stuff /s

I think I'll make this book Mature later

(Third Person PoV)

It's been four days since Tommy kind of moved in with Techno.

By that, he just kind of stays in the basement.

Techno would slip him a plate of food three times a day and after a while, would return to the plate either empty or half eaten.

Mainly half eaten on the first few times.

They wouldn't talk to each other during those four days. Just an occasional good morning, the food is here, and are you done?

That's it really.

Tommy didn't really mind this since he doesn't want to talk to Techno and Techno likewise.

Until one day...

Techno just came back from mining stuff and was placing them in his chest when he heard a crash.

That came from the basement!

Techno ran down and opened the door to the basement.

He looked around and saw that a stand of armor has fallen over.

...

"Tommy?" Techno asked.

The chest where Techno initially found Tommy opened up and two blue eyes peeked out.

"........sorry.........that's my fault," Tommy murmured.

He got out of the chest and faced Techno with his head down.

"I thought you broke something valuable," Techno said, folding his arms.

"So...that wasn't valuable to you? That was diamond armor for f*cks sake!" Tommy said.

"Ehhh just because it has diamonds doesn't mean that it's valuable to me. It is but not in that way where I would get mad," Techno explained.

"Oh...well then," Tommy sounded a little happier.

"Still, you got to pick that stand up. I'm not mad, just clean up after yourself," Techno explained.

"Yeah...," Tommy said.

Techno left the basement as Tommy went over to pick up the armor stand.

There was a small knock on the door. It was rhythmic knocking like a secret code.

For the first time in what felt like forever, Techno smiled as he opened the door.

"Hello mate. Hope I'm not barging in on something important," Philza apologized as he went into the house.

"Phil, you're never barging in on things. You are one of the few people I welcome in my house," Techno assured him.

"I appreciate that," Phil chuckled softly.

He went to place his things in the guest room where he usually stays whenever he visits Techno.

He came back to where Techno has prepared some tea because Phil is old and Techno likes pointing that fact out.

"So what's new with the Blade?" Phil asked as he took his cup.

"Nothing much. Still very much wanted by L'Manberg. Almost got caught last week but I managed to escape," Techno explained.

Phil sighed, "L'Manberg is acting more ridiculous every day. Well their government at least. I understand that they would get mad at you for blowing up things but nowadays you haven't done that much. Besides, you want to be kept by yourself."

"Yeah...I do feel kind of bad for Tubbo though. It feels like all of his decisions as President hasn't been his own, they feel dictated by others. I blame Quackity," Techno noted.

"Quackity was always power hungry from what...he told me in his more recent letters. Well as recent as the Schlatt election," Phil explained.

Techno tapped his fingers nervously against his cup.

He took a deep breath.

"Hey Phil...have you heard from Tommy recently?" He asked.

"Tommy? No I haven't. I tried finding time to visit him in exile but Dream always cuts me off and gives me more tasks to do," Phil explained.

"Wait exile? What do you mean by that?" Techno asked suddenly.

"You haven't heard? Tommy got exiled from L'Mamberg. He has been exiled for a while. The only ones who visited him frequently are Ghostbur and Ranboo, I don't know if you know who Ranboo is. I tried many times but Dream would always be there and say that Tommy is too tired for visitors or he would give me something else to do. I stopped trying recently," Phil explained.

"Exiled? What did he do that was so bad that it got him exiled?" Techno asked.

"Apparently, and this is according to Ranboo, burned down George's holiday home. Apparently, I wasn't there. Of course no one in power wanted to exile Tommy but it was either him or the country," Phil explained.

"Bruuuh that's it? People have been burning things down since before L'Manberg was formed. Wait, either him or the country? What does that mean?" Techno asked.

"Dunno. They wouldn't tell me," Phil replied.

I guess that would explain why Tommy looked so bad when he first arrived, Techno thought.

"Why this sudden interest? You and Tommy haven't spoken to each other in a long time," Phil asked and drank some tea slowly.

"I...I was just wondering," Techno lied.

Phil rose an eyebrow and seemed like he didn't believe him. He didn't push though and just kept it at that.

After that conversation, nighttime came and Phil went to the guest room to sleep.

Techno, however, went down to the basement to check up on Tommy.

Tommy was sitting there in his corner, with the blanket wrapped around him.

"I heard your conversation with Phil," he said before Techno even said anything.

"Oh you did?"

"Yeah...guess not everyone was aware that I was gone. I wonder why Dream wouldn't let me have any other visits," Tommy muttered.

"So Dream was mainly by your side during exile?" Techno asked and Tommy nodded.

"Ranboo would drop off presents whenever Dream wasn't around and Dream would always chase off Ghostbur. And I guess someone else who looked like him but smelled differently and was more friendly," Tommy explained.

This made Techno narrow his eyes.

"So no one was allowed to visit you?" He asked.

"Well they could for a short while until Dream made it a rule that without his permission, no one else was allowed to visit," Tommy said.

"Was he that controlling?" Techno asked.

"What? Controlling? N-no he was just looking after others, I'm a danger to them, he told me. He cares, he cares," Tommy said.

"If he did care, then he would patch your injuries up," Techno pointed out.

"I deserved them. I deserved to be exiled. It's my own fault," Tommy sighed.

"Look, anyone could have burned down George's holiday home and not be exiled. Though knowing everyone, they might go through a mini war over it. So why exile you?" Techno asked.

"Then L'Manberg would be in danger! It was either me or the country and Tubbo had to pick between those two choices and he-," Tommy explained but cut himself off as if he said too much.

However, that was enough information for Techno.

"Rest up Tommy. You are still injured to go out," Techno said.

"But what if I don't want to get better," Tommy murmured.

"What was that?"

"Nothing!"

".....well good night then," Techno left the basement.

He went to his room and wrote down what he heard in a journal.

So this is their way of justice? Tommy is far from innocent sure but exiling him with Dream out all of people? Tommy never liked Dream and Dream never liked him either. So give him the power over Tommy...oh, Techno thought.

If Tommy hadn't escape, how long would he had lasted being under Dream's thumb?

What would have happened? Would Tommy snap? Or would he...be that broken that he would follow Dream's orders without question?

Dream also never liked L'Manberg because to him, it must have felt like new competition was moving into his territory.

With one of the founders on his side, what would Dream do? Destroy L'Manberg?

Now usually, Techno would have no problem with destroying L'Manberg. They would have to invite him though.

But if his theory is correct, then Dream's method would be...

Inhuman.

Tommy has been on the front lines of war since he was nine and he's almost seventeen!

He has gone through so much for someone his age.

So mold that trauma into something that benefits you? That's where Techno would have to put his foot down.

One things that almost everyone on the server, minus a select few, doesn't know is that Tommy and Techno are brothers.

Adopted sure but they grew up under the same roof until Wilbur and Tommy left.

They played it off as "oh they aren't actually family, they are just close friends."

They were under the impression that only Phil and Wilbur are family but never knew that there were two others.

It was for each other's safety that this had to kept a secret.

Techno shook his head to empty it so he can fill it up with more thoughts.

I'm just digging deeper and deeper into this rabbit hole, he thought.

A/N: I know that canonically the SBI aren't a family in the DreamSMP but in this book, they are. It's just kept a secret.

Yeah like Techno said in this book, we're digging deeper into the rabbit hole!

Hope you all enjoy this chapter!

Cya in the next one -Flare