"Of all the words of mice and men, the saddest are, "It might have been."
― Kurt Vonnegut

Tommy kicks his feet up, shifting his body weight as quickly as he can. He lands on his toes. He continues, rolling forward. He puts some distance between him and Azrael. When he gets back to his feet, he twirls his body with enough force that he hears the soles of his boots cutting into the pavement of what seems to be a rooftop. Tommy angles his body, stomping his foot down on the edge of his baton. It flips in the air, landing in Tommy's awaiting palm. Tommy shifts his touch, and it expands into a staff. Tommy holds the staff near his body, eyes narrowing at the villain in front of him.

Azrael rises to his feet with the grace of a timeless man. His wings stretch out behind him, and his eyes seem to glow with the power of a million haunted spirits. Azrael raises his hand, the discolored skin giving way to sharp claws. He looks like he's pacifying a wild animal instead of coming into direct contact with the person who wants him to die the most. "Vendetta, I want you to take a deep breath and-"

Tommy launches himself at Azrael. His power spreads across his staff, increasing the weight of it tenfold. Tommy maneuvers his body so that the staff hits the ground without throwing out his shoulder. Azrael leaps out of the way, his wings flapping to give him extra distance. The place where he once stood crumples underneath the weight of Tommy's assault. The roof cracks, part of it falling into the building it is meant to protect from the elements. Tommy releases the threads of gravity on his body as he jumps across the ravine. He lands haphazardly on the edge, aiming to swing his staff at Azrael once more.

"I need you to listen to me just for a moment-" Azrael begins. As Azrael dodges, Tommy's entire body spins with the force of his swing. Tommy catches himself after one full rotation. He faces Azrael once more. The villain is staring at Tommy as if he's a mere nuisance. Tommy's blood boils inside his body at being so carelessly dismissed as a non-threat. Tommy throws his hand towards the hole in the roof. The crumpled pieces float into the air, bathed in a bloody light. Tommy uses his staff to knock them each large chunk towards Azrael. Some chunks crash together before they can make it to Azrael, but the ones that manage to get to the villain are easily tanked by his folded up wings.

This creates a powdery dust in the air that Tommy takes advantage of. Since Azrael cannot see him, Tommy throws his staff upward. He releases a downward arc towards the villain, falling out of the dust cloud. Azrael's eyes widen in surprise. He lifts his hand up, catching the edge of Tommy's staff. Tommy's feet hit the ground, and he feels something sick laugh in his gut at the flush of pain in Azrael's eyes. The villain looks back at Tommy. The hero notices the talons that aren't occupied with holding the staff coming to strike Tommy in the stomach. Tommy expertly ducks under his staff. He throws his body up into the air, feet pointed towards the sky. He activates his power, making the staff and his body heavy. Azrael hits his knees underneath the weight. Tommy takes the opportunity to set both of his feet down on Azrael's spine with as much force as he can.

Azrael does not take kindly to this. His large wings lift up to swat Tommy off his back with enough power that Tommy launches towards the next building over. Tommy hits the rooftop harshly, and he keeps rolling until his back slams against the parapet. Tommy lifts up to his feet with a cough shuttering through his entire body. Azrael is staring at Tommy with an apology in his eyes. Tommy feels his entire body begin to shake with rage. He cannot stand Azrael looking at him like that. The only thing Azrael should be sorry for is murdering Tommy's family, not whatever pitying bullshit he's concocting in his mind.

"Vendetta, you have to know what is going to happen if you keep trying," Azrael yells from the other building. His wings shoot out as if to gesture towards the horizon. The red mist that once permeated over Sandlands is dissipating. Tommy can hear people moving around. He knows that everyone from the Syndicate is here. He knows how keenly they will defend their masters. He knows that in their minds, when his life is put on one scale and Azrael and Inchling's lives are put on the other side, he will be ever closer to the heavens.

The problem with Azrael's warning is that Tommy simply doesn't care. He has a scale of his own: his family will always weigh more than the Syndicate in his heart. Tommy is going to get vengeance for them. This debt can only be paid for in blood, and the very source of all of Tommy's anger, grief, and suffering is standing right in front of him. Tommy does not care whose lives he needs to take in order to get what he wants, what he's been fighting to achieve for ten years.

Tommy is either going to kill Azrael right here and now, or he's going to die trying. There are no alternatives. There is no backing down. It is now or it is never.

Tommy reaches down to his thigh. He pulls out his dagger. He holds it defensively in front of him. He hears Azrael's sigh as he throws away Tommy's staff. Tommy doesn't watch the metal go as he lands against the sandy ground. Tommy races forward. He jumps off the edge of the roof, his powers lifting him high into the air. Tommy lands a second later. It is rough on his ankles, but the adrenaline drowns out all of the pain. Tommy tries slicing the air in front of him. Instead of merely dodging, Azrael grabs Tommy's wrist to stop the dagger. Tommy drops the hilt, letting it fall in his other hand. He shoves the dagger forward. Instead of striking through flesh, it barely grazes Azrael's side...

But there is blood on the blade. Tommy relishes at the sight. Anything that can bleed is something that can die, and Tommy is certain he can do it. He will be the one to fell the Angel of Death. What absurd title will follow him after this monumental victory?

Tommy's victory is short-lived. Azrael's wing slams against Tommy's hand. His grip is momentarily weakened by surprise, and Azrael uses the opportunity to pluck the dagger out of Tommy's hand. Instead of killing Tommy with his own weapon, Azrael throws the dagger away from them.

Like his staff before it, Tommy doesn't show that he cares. He switches his tactics immediately. He balls his hand up into a fist, launching it forward. It makes contact with Azrael's mask. Azrael's head snaps back into an upright position with mere annoyance flashing in his eyes. Azrael grabs Tommy's wrist. With both of his hands occupied, Tommy pulls. He is able to lift his legs up, bending them against his chest. He pushes back out, his feet colliding with Azrael's stomach. The villain grunts, releasing Tommy's hands. Tommy drops back to the ground, adjusting his position. He attempts to knock Azrael off his feet, but the winged man steps over Tommy's attempt. Tommy just keeps spinning across the ground, letting his other leg come up in a kick that slam against Azrael's thighs.

Azrael quickly disengages, stepping away with his wings flaring. Tommy rises to his feet, ready to throw another punch. He expects Azrael to do the same, but the villain is somewhat insistent on talking. "Vendetta, listen to me. The Syndicate weren't the ones to kill your family. Inchling and I were hardly active ten years ago. We only fought Moderators at the time, not even heroes."

"I don't fucking believe you," Tommy practically sings. He launches another punch. Azrael bats it away. Tommy falls forward. As his body comes close to Azrael's, he lifts his knee to hit the villain in the stomach. Azrael makes a quiet noise that is similar to pain, but he isn't doing anything. He isn't trying to fight back. He isn't making too many attempts at holding Tommy down, either. He's dodging where he can. He's completely disarmed Tommy, just short of cutting his limbs off. Tommy feels his rage grow hotter at this observation. He needs Azrael to treat him like a treat. He wants Azrael to have some fear for his life, even briefly. Even if this kills Tommy, he wants to know that he caused Azrael a little bit of suffering.

"We were so small-time that we didn't even have explosives at the time. We were just thieves, really. We were gathering information. We were trying to do something because I'm-" Azrael says as Tommy slams the heel of his boot against Azrael's thigh. Traces of a footprint are left behind. Azrael huffs in distress. His wings move, and Tommy recognizes the way they work only because he has been around Jimmy and Grian too much. Azrael is frustrated and desperate. Tommy hesitates, not understanding why Azrael is trying to convince Tommy so much. The Azrael Tommy knows would have dealt with him by now. "What would you make you believe?!"

Tommy doesn't respond. He only narrows his eyes. There is nothing that would make Tommy believe the words of his family's killers.

Azrael sighs. He jumps back to put a fair bit of distance between him and Tommy. His wings begin to droop, and his talons come up to his face. Tommy is about to use his powers when Azrael grabs the edges of his mask. Tommy stops, eyes widening as Azrael pulls his mask off. He lets the mask dangle against his talons, dropping down to his sides. His bare face examines Tommy, searching for a reaction from the hero.

Philza is standing in front of Tommy where Azrael once stood, wearing the same outfit and bearing the same sable wings. Philza wears a pleading expression, generally disrupting Tommy's train of thought. This was Philza... the same man who was training Tommy, the same man who ate dinner with him, the same man who explained religion to him, the same... Tommy feels something in him snap. He's so angry that tears are starting to form on his eyes. Tommy feels stupid for having them, but he doesn't do away with them as he launches himself at Azrael- Philza- whatever.

The flesh feels real when it collides with Tommy's fist. Philza's entire face flushes with pain, and Tommy's fist leaves a mark against his skin. Tommy raises his other fist to strike Philza's stomach. He clasps his hands together, trying to swing down. Philza's hands lift up to grab Tommy's wrists, holding them away. Before Tommy can swing a leg up, Philza's wings drop down to protect his torso. He makes direct eye contact with Tommy, forcing the blonde to remain where he's standing. "I'm also the hero, Crowfather. I faked my death to create the Syndicate after realizing how corrupt the hero system is. I was tired of not being able to save as many lives as I could have, so I made this group to force those results."

Tommy doesn't believe a word, and he knows that his expression makes that abundantly clear. Tommy activates his power on himself. Philza nearly crumples under the weight. He's forced to let go of Tommy's wrists to avoid being brought to ground. Tommy releases gravity's tight hold on him as he takes a step forward to deal with Philza again.

Tommy stops in his tracks when something happens. Philza's body starts to morph, molding into something much smaller than his current form. It absolutely disgusts Tommy to watch. Philza's limbs seem to snap and reform into different shapes, but the end product is evidently clear even before the bird is resting on the parapet. Those knowing black eyes stare at Tommy with an emotion eerily similar to anticipation.

"Okay, so, you don't trust the food I would give you, but you trust the food-"

"A- Phil was probably the most accurate. I just want to see what he saw in you."

"Uh... Vendetta, I think you're a little confused. You do know that Crowfather is-"

"Wait. How do you know-"

"Look, Vendetta, from one friend to another, I just want you to know that you can't trust what you see."

All those interactions play in Tommy's mind as he gazes at the face of his friend. Azrael is Crowfather, both the hero Tommy admired and the bird he confided in. Azrael is also Philza, someone who Tommy saw as something of a father when he's never really had one. Azrael is also the person Tommy has been hunting for the better part of his life, but in all his other variations, Tommy thought of him as a good and honest... Well, not person, not in the bird's case, but damn it if Tommy didn't trust the bird.

Tommy shakes his head. As Crowfather's body starts undergoing a reverse process, Tommy bolts. He runs away. He darts across the rooftops, unable to stop himself from colliding with nearly every surface. He is certain he's broken something by the time his legs give out, depositing unceremoniously on a building on the outskirts of the Sandlands and Prime Heights. Tommy can almost see the guildhouse, but he doesn't have the strength to hide himself within their walls. He is stuck at the edge of the roof, breathing so heavily he isn't sure there will ever be enough air in the world for him.

Tommy has been trusting his enemy for upwards of four or five years. He's been admiring his enemy. Tommy has been holding him aloft in some versions, held him close in other forms, and plotted the demise of him, too. He has multiple secret identities, and Tommy had a different relationship with each mirrored image. It makes Tommy feel sick to think that he's had any sort of positive relationship with Azrael, but at the same time, he doesn't think Crowfather and Philza are liars. What if he wasn't lying? What if he and Inchling weren't responsible for the death of Tommy's family?

But if they weren't the ones to plant and trigger the bombs, who did? Tommy can think of hundreds of people who had a grudge against Minotaur during the era of L'Manberg, but Tommy hasn't spent nearly half his life tracking down those people. He doesn't know who to go after if it wasn't Azrael and Inchling.

Tommy throws his mask off, a scream spilling from his lips a moment after. It burns his throat, but the release of emotions is good for his mind. When the scream finally finishes, Tommy feels marginally better. He has so much he needs to process and work through right now. He has to start planning for a different enemy, right after he finds them.

But despite Tommy's allegiance to his family, all of that is secondary. The betrayal is worse. It simmers in his body. It shreds through his insides like a prowling beast devouring his body. Tommy can't figure out what he's supposed to be feeling right now. He's mad at himself for trusting the bird and Philza. He's mad at Philza for having so many secret identities. He's even mad at the hero Crowfather for letting everyone think he was dead, and he's mad at Azrael for not being the person he was looking for. The rage, however, falls flat underneath the weight of his sheer sadness and guilt and grief. Tommy's old companions, loneliness and pain, roar inside his body, threatening to tear down everything Tommy holds close.

Tommy hears something behind him. He whirls around, ready to yell at Azrael. Instead of Philza, Serenade is carefully taking small steps across the rooftop. Tommy's eyes narrow at the hero. He takes his mask, throwing it at Serenade. The villain dodges out of the way, his veil swirling around to hide whatever expression he's wearing. The green light of his eyes diminishes a little, and Tommy is able to bring forth another scream, "Leave me the fuck alone!"

"I don't want to leave you alone," Serenade whispers, concern very much evident in his tone. Tommy wonders if the villain knows that Tommy is now very much aware of how much of an idiot he's been. Serenade must have known all along. Tommy really feels like an idiot right now. It wasn't just Philza who betrayed Tommy- it was everyone. All of them. Every single one of them must have known that Azrael was Crowfather. Hell, they tried to tell him!

"I don't want the company of a damn villain," Tommy hisses, turning his back. He steps onto the parapet, ready to return to the guildhouse.

"Wilbur Soot."

Tommy stops. His arms fall to his side. His breath is taken from his chest. He turns very slowly, looking at Serenade. His eye twitches. His entire body is shaking. He can barely breathe as he asks, "What?"

"Wilbur Soot... that's my name," Serenade says. He takes his veil off. His mask comes off next, revealing his bare face. Serenade runs a hand through his hair. "I've been wanting to tell you since Techno revealed his identity, but I could never find the right moment. I think this is the right moment. You don't want to hang out with a villain, that's fine. But Wilbur Soot isn't a villain, you know? So, just... stay with me right now."

"Niki," Tommy says slowly. He watches Serenade's expression shift, surprise and terror filling every pore of his muscles. Tommy continues, "Jack... Eret... Fundy... Tubbo..."

If Serenade is Wilbur... the others... Dyscardia, Thermoculus... Jolt... Tommy doesn't know where Eret and Fundy are. Maybe they didn't survive, maybe they did. Either way, Wilbur is alive. Niki is alive. Jack is alive. Tubbo is alive. They have to be, or this is some cruel joke.

"How do you know those names?" Wilbur hisses, a threat evident in his eyes.

Tommy pulls down his hood. He takes his glasses off his face, slamming them onto the ground. He can identify the exact moment Wilbur recognizes him. Tommy's blue eyes are a staple of who he is. They are the one trait he's carried from childhood. Even his blonde hair took on a dirtier shading after time. It was his eyes that connected him to his younger self, and it is his eyes that prove who he is to Wilbur. "Because I'm Tommy, and you're supposed to be fucking dead."

"Tommy," Wilbur breathes. Funny, because Tommy can't seem to. He can only hiccup half-broken sobs. He is shaking where he stands, and Wilbur is as still as a statue. They are staring at each other. Tommy wipes his eyes when the tears come pouring, trying to keep his eyelids from sliding shut. He's terrified that Wilbur will reveal that he's an illusion or that he isn't the same Wilbur Tommy grew up with despite the similarities that Tommy can see clearly without the mask.

A million thoughts rush into Tommy's mind. A few in particular stand out, grabbing at his limbs like chains ready to hold him down. The second Wilbur takes a step forward, mouth parting, Tommy throws his hand up. A red light flashes across Wilbur's body, and his brother crumples to the ground. Tommy takes a few steps backward. He keeps moving until he's at the edge of the roof. There is desperation and tears in Wilbur's brown eyes, and Tommy can't stand to remain there for a second longer. He takes a step off the roof, using his power to lift him into the air. Tommy flies away, ignoring Wilbur's plea for him to come back.

Tommy flies with no destination in mind. He flies as if he could actually outrun his trauma and the damning truth.