Tommy Innit was a survivor. That was a fact no one could deny. Despite everything he had been through, he remained as cheerful as his toddler self had been. Sure, he now harbored trauma, and was prone to panic attacks at the slightest triggers. But he was happy most of the time. He could distract himself from the pain. He didn't need therapy, he didn't need people, he was fine by himself. He had always been fine alone. He learned how to be fine, because there wasn't anything that could be done if he wasn't fine. He had survived wars, the terrifying bloodshed that haunted his dreams. He had survived exile, when he was all alone with only one person to lean on- even though that person injured him on the daily. Tommy had even survived after death. He persisted in Limbo, holding his soul together long enough for Dream to yank him back. Tommy had been able to stay smiling even though everything had happened.

But... he didn't know if he could survive this. He didn't know if being faced with the fact that he had been so thoroughly replaced with someone who was leagues better than ever could be. Tommy had been fine with Ranboo's existence. He could handle Tubbo replacing him. He could handle Phil and Techno replacing him. He could handle Niki replacing him. Hell, he could even handle when Dream replaced him, finding Ranboo a much better puppet than Tommy could ever be. It was seeing Wilbur and Ranboo together that truly messed with his mind. To see his brother, the man who had scarred him the most but had loved him so sincerely at one point, sent Tommy spiraling. Nothing made any sense. He couldn't force a smile. He couldn't pretend that he wasn't hurt as he saw Wilbur through an arm over Ranboo's shoulder. His face burned with tears but not a single drop fell. His body collapsed into the muddy grass, his fingers brushing against the blades. He wanted to rage, to scream and yell and demand that Ranboo stay the hell out of his life. But he couldn't. Because Ranboo was nice to him when Tommy deserved anything but. Because Ranboo was so much better than him. Because Ranboo made people happy in a way Tommy never could.

It was this realization that Tommy couldn't survive. He was a goner. He may have been breathing, his lungs may have been moving, but nothing else worked. He couldn't think. He couldn't see or feel or hear. His soul had completely dissipated at the notion that Tommy wasn't needed. He didn't matter. He didn't matter to anyone. His best friend and family had long since decided he wasn't worth it. He only wondered when they knew. When was the moment they had realized this fact, like he had? Was he just slow? Did they all think he was useless?

The pain went away with his newfound apathy. If he didn't matter, why should he care about anything? People would hate him no matter what he said. The world would keep moving no matter what he did. The sands of time would keep trickling down even if he didn't do a single thing to make each grain worth it. Tommy laid in the grass long into the night. He didn't feel the cold. His skin tried to send responses to his brain that it was time to go inside, to huddle beneath the blankets, but his mind had turned off. It no longer took any information in. Anything that happened around Tommy- to him- didn't bypass the complete lockdown his brain had initiated. It was time to let go, every part of him decided. It was time for nature to reclaim what belonged to it. Tommy had cheated death once before. He wouldn't do it again. Whatever happened to him wouldn't be unwarranted. This was his fate. His curse. The punishment he deserved for not being enough.

He should have told someone that. At the very least, he should have told someone who still gave the barest minimum of attention to him that he had given up. If he had, Ranboo probably would have left him alone. Instead, the half-Enderman looked at the disheveled boy with blank eyes, and decided he needed to take Tommy home like he was a helpless animal on the side of the street. Tommy, obviously, wasn't aware about the change in scenery. He hadn't noticed when Ranboo tried talking to him, or when the taller one picked him up to carry him away. He was given a bath, fresh clothes, and someone had to force feed him. Tommy was none the wiser. When someone gave him a command, he did it without any fuss or change in expression. Tommy didn't notice when Michael tried to play with him, when Tubbo would beg for some remnant of who Tommy was, or when Ranboo would sit by him long into the night like he was scared Tommy would leave. He didn't care one bit when Puffy stopped by, her eyes shining with concern as she tried every trick she knew to make Tommy react in the slightest. Tommy didn't do anything. He let the waves of noise, the blobs of color, and the softness of something weighing him down whisk him away into a daze of not quite asleep but definitely not awake.

Tommy didn't kick or punch when Ranboo asked him to stand up one morning. He didn't make a move to put on a jacket, forcing Ranboo to put it on him. Tommy didn't care if he froze, but Ranboo had this tight expression like it pained him to think of Tommy as an icicle. Tommy followed behind Ranboo, steps slow and measured as Ranboo gripped his hand, leading him forwards. Tommy fell once on their journey, foot catching into a pile of snow to trip him up. Tommy didn't make a move to get back up. He just laid in the snow, waiting for it to cover him. Ranboo tried to drag him, but he eventually hit his knees beside Tommy. The blonde didn't flinch when he felt a tear hit against his skin, or when he heard the sizzling of an Enderman getting wet. All Ranboo's pleading fell on deaf ears. It wasn't until Ranboo told Tommy firmly to stand up that the blonde did, and this prompted much more sobbing from the half-breed. Tommy continued following behind Ranboo until they came to a cabin in the tundra. He didn't get a sense of deja vu from the sight. He didn't flinch when a pink haired man came barreling out with a barely restrained angry expression. Someone (it was Phil) took Tommy inside, placing him in front of a fire as Ranboo and Techno argued outside. The someone who took him inside tried starting up a conversation, but was met with shock when he didn't get a single response.

When Ranboo and Techno finally came back in, they weren't alone. Niki was behind them, her lips pursed as she looked over the room. Ranboo settled down beside Tommy, pressing his forehead against Tommy's shoulder. Techno stalked off to the kitchen, muttering about coffee and racoons. Phil sat on the couch, trying to distract himself with a book but it was clear his attention was on Tommy. Niki stared at the blonde, as well. When she overheard Techno and Ranboo arguing, she expected to come in to see Tommy begging for a spot in the Syndicate while he went through chests. Instead, he sat on the floor looking aloof, unbothered by the fact that Ranboo was pressed into him. Niki leaned down on her knees between the fire and Tommy. She looked him over before deciding to speak. She didn't get a reaction. Tommy didn't meet her eyes. He didn't twitch in understanding. He didn't even shiver as she took away his heat source. Niki's eyebrows bunched together as she looked over at Ranboo. The Ender hybrid looked away from Niki with this tired and depressed expression. Niki tried speaking again, and she was met with the same thing as before. Niki finally placed her fingers on Tommy's chin, pushing his face up to force their eyes to meet. Even in the darkness of her shadow, Niki could see the gray in those orbs, an emptiness etched into every line. Niki gasped as she stumbled back. She placed her hands over her mouth, walking away that way she didn't have to see those void-like eyes again.

Techno started the meeting shortly after Niki had calmed down. His cautious eyes peered at Tommy, but the other three people made it very clear that Tommy didn't have the capacity to be a spy in the state he was in. Techno reluctantly agreed. He talked about the forming governments like Las Nevadas and how they had yet to deal with Snowchester. Even as the meeting devolved into arguments, Tommy didn't react. He supposed the yelling had once sent him into a panic, desperately clawing at himself as he begged for forgiveness. Now, Tommy didn't care one way or another. He didn't notice when the meeting had concluded. Techno had stalked off to his bedroom upstairs, Phil went back to his side of the conjoined home, and Niki went to her underground city to rest. Ranboo pushed Tommy onto the couch, wrapping him up in blankets. The blonde merely blinked as Ranboo sat down on the floor beside the couch. There was something desperate in Ranboo's expression, a pleading that he had never really worn before. He had been sad, certainly, and he would often be so upset and disappointed with himself for his memory issues. He had trembled under the intense pressure of guilt for the actions he hazily remembered being manipulated into doing. None of that had prepared him for this. He hadn't even realized how important Tommy was to him. He thought it was sympathy that had flowed through him when he first saw this side of Tommy, and he was sure it was obligation to Tubbo that got him to bring Tommy to their mansion. For the longest time, he was sure that he and Tommy weren't friends, and Tommy wasn't being selfless when he didn't mention that Ranboo burned George's house down, too. Ranboo realized how wrong he was as the days passed with Tommy not caring about anything. If Tubbo didn't force Tommy to eat and Ranboo didn't make sure he didn't wander out of bed, Tommy wouldn't have done anything vital to his survival. Tommy was so far removed from it all, and Ranboo would have done whatever to get the old Tommy back.

Once Tommy was asleep, Ranboo settled down in the chair by the fire. He would have gone home even though it was late, but he didn't want Tommy going back in the coolness of night. For one thing, Tommy wouldn't hold onto a trident, and even if Ranboo convinced him to, his grip strength was severely lacking. Ranboo would have been fine with walking to the mansion, but Tommy was slow enough during the day when he could see the path he was trodding (or he could see where Ranboo wanted him to go). It was easier on Tommy if they just stayed the night. The only real problem with staying with Techno and Tommy's tense relationship. As long as Tommy wasn't aware enough to annoy Techno, Ranboo was sure they would be fine, but he didn't know for certain. It was easy to tell that Techno's philosophy was all about retribution, whether it was fair or not was up to Techno to decide. If Ranboo wasn't careful, Techno would abandon Tommy as revenge for Tommy betraying Techno during Doomsday. Ranboo hoped that Techno just wouldn't care enough.

When the sun started to peek above the horizon, Ranboo was fast asleep. Tommy was decidedly not, but it wasn't like he was going to do anything. To him, wakefulness was the same as sleep. There wasn't a difference in his behavior. He was sleepwalking through life in a sense. Techno was awake, also. He was quiet, near silent, as he meandered through his house. He started the coffee pot, waiting for it to make his morning medicine. He looked over at his living room. He raised an eye upon seeing Ranboo and Tommy still there, but he wasn't all that surprised. It was strange but not alarming. What did strike him as something worth worrying over was Tommy himself. When Techno leaned over the couch to get a better look at Ranboo's sleeping position (how did someone that tall fit comfortably in a chair of that size?). Techno looked down to see Tommy's blank eyes staring at the fireplace that had gone out sometime in the night. Tommy didn't react to Techno. He didn't turn his head or flick his eyes. Techno snapped his fingers once. He didn't receive anything from Tommy. Even if it was early, Techno expected some sort of reaction. While Tommy was as much of a morning person as Techno and Wilbur, he was always the nicest with the sunrise. Techno even poked Tommy's cheek, but nothing came about from this. Techno knew Tommy enough to have a general idea of what the blonde should have done, but this was almost the exact opposite of expectations.

"What are you doing?" Ranboo asked, eyes fluttering open. Fear gripped his heart as he imagined what Techno would have done if he hadn't woken up in time. All this prompted an argument between Ranboo and Techno about what Ranboo thought Techno's intentions were, how it was unfair for Ranboo to assume he would straight up kill the blonde. Ranboo reasoned that Techno was all about delivering vengeance, and Ranboo still wasn't sure that Tommy was in the clear yet. The argument got so bad that Phil ran in to shut them down. When the dust settled, they all couldn't help but notice that Tommy hadn't moved an inch, his gaze locked on the spot it had been before Techno had even showed up. Ranboo sighed despondently, asking Tommy to stand up. The blonde complied, unbothered with the blanket that fell to the ground off him. Ranboo forced his jacket on him, and the two disappeared out the front door. Phil and Techno shared a look between each other. Techno muttered something about feeding the animals as he stalked out the backdoor, taking a bucket to the chicken coop. Phil remained behind. He poured a cup of coffee as he watched out the kitchen window to see Ranboo leading Tommy through the snow. It was alarming to see Tommy so... lifeless, so obedient. Phil didn't know what brought this about but he hated it.

I don't know what else do lol