Sam aged many years in that moment. He didn't know what was worse, seeing Tommy's bloodied corpse or Dream's maniacal laughter. Tommy had his eyes wide open, the blue faded into a gray as if he was blind. Tommy was blind now, Sam realized, as he saw the red of his blood drip from his wounds to the obsidian ground. His lips were slightly parted, not a smile or a frown or a scream. It was emotionless, empty, no longer filled with the chaotic energy Tommy oozed on a normal basis.

The laughter hit when Sam was done panicking. Sam had heard evil laughter before, fake villains on the screen or his boys going off the deep end. This... This was different. It was like an evil god's giggling. Like Dream had done the impossible, and was so happy that he had killed a child. It was loud, medium pitched, and bubbling in the air like poisonous gas.

"What did you do!?" Sam yelled when he had enough of listening. The laughter grew louder, and no matter how much Sam pleaded for answers, Dream wasn't saying a word as he stood above Tommy's body, his knuckles covered with the blonde's blood.

Sam went outside, puking into the bushes. Flashes of the corpse distracted Sam as he wretched his lunch onto the ground. When everything was gone, Sam was dry heaving still, his throat starting to burn while a funny feeling ate away at his empty stomach. Sam didn't stop until he heard his name being said.

Ranboo, Tubbo, and JackManifold. Sam didn't realize how young they looked until he had to tell them that their friend was dead. Tommy was dead. Sam's son had been beaten to death. And now Sam had to tell his son's best friend and best friend's husband who was some level of friends with Tommy, and whatever Jack was. Sam breathed out, eyes glazing over as he tried to talk, tried to explain or apologize or anything. "Tommy... he..."

"Is he free now?" Tubbo filled the silence with a hopeful expression. Sam stared at the ground. He couldn't look at them anymore. Tubbo had looked so hopeful that Sam was tempted to lie. Would Tommy want Sam to lie? Would Tommy want everyone to know he was dead? Sam didn't know.

"No... he didn't... he won't be free," Sam whispered, voice despondent and hollow. "He... Dream and him, they got into a fight and... Tommy's dead. He's gone."

Jack reacted first. He left. He listened and walked away. He had this strange expression, like he was trying to be happy but couldn't get the emotion to work. Ranboo acted next, eyes going wide with a horrified expression as it all clicked inside his head. Tubbo shook his head. "What happened to Tommy? Why can't he be free?"

"Tubbo, he's dead," Ranboo said quietly, looking to Tubbo with a subdued terrified face.

"Who? Tommy? No, he isn't. This is probably a prank, Ranboo," Tubbo responded immediately. Sam looked away, recognizing the first stage in the five stages of grief- denial.

"I wish this was. I'm sorry," Sam said his voice finally breaking as tears filled his eyes. He went back into the prison so they wouldn't see him crying, his sobs bouncing off the walls of obsidian that was meant to keep people from danger. How could Sam leave Tommy in there with Dream? He should have been able to do something. Sam hated protocol, and he hated how he was unwilling to go against. Maybe if he had taken Tommy maybe even an hour earlier, he would still be alive.

———

"He's... he's dead," Jack said to Quackity, watching the latter's face melt into pain immediately. Quackity had many expressions, but this was by far one of his most painful one. The grief hit him like a bag of bricks. He didn't want to believe it, but what reason would Jack have to lie? How could someone who was lying be able  to conjure such haunted eyes?

"Go over there. Run the hotel," Quackity said quickly, walking away before the conversation went on further. He wanted comfort in those moments, so he went to Party Island. SapNap and Karl were trying to make the neon in the dance floor work, laughing at each other as the squares flickered in color. By some cruel joke from god, the squares turned a deep, sad blue the moment Quackity arrived. Karl looked over to him, his smile fading when he saw Quackity's expression.

"What's wrong, baby?" Karl said, abandoning his project as he walked to Quackity, SapNap not far behind. Quackity threw his arms around Karl, pulling the smaller close to his chest as tears came down slowly from his eyes. His lips trembled and his breath was shaking.

"He's dead," Quackity managed, using up almost all of his energy just to get those two words out. Quackity slumped against Karl, pain and tiredness filling his brain like fuzz being shoved in a teddy bear.

"Who's dead?" SapNap asked as he joined the hug, arms wrapping around both Quackity and Karl. With the added support, Quackity's knees decided to buckle together all on their own. Quackity held on tightly so he didn't fall on his butt.

"Tommy. Dream... beat him to death," Quackity whispered. It was those words that made Quackity crash to the ground. SapNap backed away at the same moment Karl lost his balance, and the latter and Quackity were now sprawled on the ground in each other's arms. Karl had the same reaction as Quackity, instantly tearing up and clinging to the people he loved.

SapNap... he was mad. No, that wasn't the right word. Mad was when someone took your lunch out of the fridge, or bumped into you without apologizing. SapNap was pissed, looking like the fires of Hell ignited in his eyes. His netherite sword was in his hand, and his armor snapped into place without much movement. The shining of the armor paled in comparison to see fiery eyes. This was a man who had his psuedo little brother killed by his previous friend who admitted to never caring about him.

"I'm killing him. I will fucking beat Dream until he can't be recognized. I will shove that damn smile mask into his beating heart," SapNap said, turning towards the portal with nothing but murder on his mind.

"Don't, SapNap," Someone whispered, a fragile voice that was trying so hard to be firm. GeorgeNotFound stood at the portal. His glasses covered his eyes, but his lips were wobbling against each other. His skin was as pale as Ghostbur's, but he was standing on his feet without shaking.

"No," SapNap said in sheer disbelief. "Don't you dare tell me that you're okay with this? With Dream beating a sixteen year old to death?"

"I'm not okay with it, but you shouldn't kill Dream," George replied, not a hint of offense in his voice, like he accepted that everyone would feel like he was okay with anything Dream did. Maybe in the beginning, but George had learned and grown.

"Why not, George? What has he ever done to us? Give me one reason I should stay right here instead of giving that green shit a taste of his own poison," SapNap said, anger centralizing on George since the color-blinded man was opposing SapNap.

"He was our friend. Can you live with yourself if you take his last canon life?" George asked, each word giving him strength that neither Karl or Quackity could manage. They sat helplessly in each other's arms, too upset to tell George and SapNap to stop fighting.

"He was never our friend. George, friends are supposed to care about each other. Dream used us, just like he did Tommy and Wilbur and so many others. We saw Dream as a good guy because that's all he showed us. Dream didn't tell us that he pushed a kid to suicide or that he helped drive a mad man deeper into insanity so he blew up a nation. Dream destroyed countless nations, and for what reason? Why did Dream do any of that?" SapNap yelled, no longer holding back. "How can I live with myself if I let Dream get away with this? Prison isn't working. Tommy... he's dead. And no one did anything. We let Tommy stay in that prison knowing full well that Dream was mentally unstable and had a traumatizing affect on Tommy. I let Tommy down, George, but I won't let Dream get away with this."

"We all feel horrible about Tommy, but should you do this, Sap?" George pleaded, sounding winded.

"Don't you dare tell me that you still care about Dream. God forbid that you love him after everything he has done," SapNap sounded shocked, eyes widening as he took a step backwards. There was silence. George looked like he was about to argue, but he didn't say anything. SapNap looked angrier. "No. Dream isn't human, George. He is narcissistic and a sociopath, and maybe a literal demon. No matter what he is, though, it's not human. He won't care about you or anything else. He manipulated, gaslighted, drove to suicidal tendency, gave PTSD to, and beat to death a child that I know you feel like was your little brother, too. As long as he is alive, he will bring pain and suffering. I tried to see some good, but there isn't, George. You will be a fool to love him. Now, get out of my way, or I'll make you."

George stepped to the side, eyes cast darkly to the ground as SapNap walked past him, into the portal. When SapNap was gone, George started crying. Karl sat in Quackity's lap, both silent and drained. It must have been sundown before one of those three decided to leave.

——

"Why does Bad want to meet at Tommy's old house?" Captain Puffy muttered quietly, feeling tired. She had spent the past few weeks worrying about Tommy, and supervising Foolish has he built the Temple of Undying. She would try sleeping, but nightmares of what could happen to any of her new children kept her awake. She would walk outside to fish instead of sleeping, catching chests full of fish that she would never have use for.

BadBoyHalo had sent a message that Puffy should meet him, AntFrost, and Punz at Tommy's house for something. He would tell what, only that it was good news. Puffy was suspicious since Bad was under the influence of the Egg. Any 'good' news must be take with a grain of salt.

"Bad," Captain Puffy called out as she swung the door open. Bad, Ant, and Punz were all inside, eating cake like this was there house. Puffy felt something bad in her stomach. Tommy would never let the Eggpire into his home. Tommy didn't care about the Eggpire, and would rather they stay away from him. Especially recently since Tommy told Puffy that he wanted to live a somewhat normal life.

"Puffy! Oh my! We have the best news! The absolute best news! Come over here," Bad said, gripping Puffy's shoulders to pull her over. He brought her to behind the chests Tommy kept in the middle of his front room. A cake was sitting on a box with a sign across the surface. Everyone was celebrating but Puffy felt like hyperventilating.

Tommy Is Dead!

"Wha...?" Puffy couldn't manage more. An unbearable pain sprang from her chest, choking the air out of her. What does someone call it? What is the name of this pain, of losing a child? Like salt in the wound, everyone that she once believed in as people were celebrating, all because of a stupid egg.

"What kind of sick people are you?! That was my son! He can't be dead. Say it's not true, Bad, promise me that it isn't true! Tell me that he's alive. That he's free. Bad!" Puffy panicked, squeezing the side of Bad's arms, eyes wide and irises shaking. More than tears were in those orbs, something much sharper than panic.

For a single second, Bad's own eyes looked normal. They were the eyes he had before the Egg, his red orbs that were kind and comforting. He was that dad-like figure that would yell out 'language' and help people. For that one moment, the Bad that Captain Puffy believed in was there. The Egg took control over Bad again, and that stupid entity used Bad's voice to speak. "This is good news, Puffy! Sam said that Dream beat Tommy to death. The Egg never liked Tommy, and now he's gone."

Dream beat Tommy to death...

The pain doubled. It shouldn't have been possible, but Puffy had fallen to her knees in anguish. A scream ripped from her chest, spiraling into the day. Her little duckling had lost all chances at redemption. Captain Puffy wanted to believe in Dream but now she couldn't. Her little duckling and Tommy were both dead in Puffy's eyes. "I can't, I can't, I can't... make it stop. Make the pain stop, Bad!"

The Eggpire was more confused than anything else. They took the cake and left, leaving the sobbing Puffy on the dirt floor. She dragged herself to Tommy's bed, laying down above his blanket. She hugged his pillow. When she closed her eyes, Puffy could convince herself that it was Tommy she was hugging, not the last of his property.

——

"Do dododo do~" FoolishGamers sang to himself in a cheerful tone. He hit the tree with his axe, collecting stacks of wood for the Temple of Undying. He looked through his inventory to make sure that he had everything he needed.

"Foolish," Someone asked, a broken voice filled with emotions dragging it in every direction. The Totem god turned around to see JackManifold, looking lost and desperate.

"Hey, Jack, what's up?" Foolish asked, concerned laced in his voice as he ignored the trees. He kept his axe in hand in case this emotion was a joke Jack was playing.

"Dream and Tommy... they got into a fight... and Tommy didn't win," Jack said slowly, like he didn't know how to say what he needed to. Foolish blinked. Maybe he was a child. It took him a moment to understand. Tommy had been in prison with Dream. Foolish had seen how shaken up his Papa was, and that led him to see how close he was to Tommy. They had become something like brothers, despite their troubled meeting.

"He's dead?" Foolish whispered, hoping that Jack would disagree with him. Foolish prayed that Jack was just being a horrible person playing a cruel joke.

"Sam told me earlier. I should be happy but I'm not. Kind of," Jack probably wanted to confide in Foolish. He didn't know how Foolish felt about Tommy. Jack thought they were strangers. If they were, Foolish would have listened to Jack complain. But they weren't strangers.

Foolish sat on his butt, leaning against a tree. Everything felt strange. The grief crept slowly towards him. It wasn't there. Then it was a mild discomfort. Then it was an overwhelming sadness. Then it was a never ending grief that corrupted everything. All of his thoughts, his feelings, his actions were slowed down. Everything seemed gray. Some part of him knew that he should go comfort his Papa or Sam or Karl or someone else.

"Are you okay?" Jack asked.

"No... I'm not."