In which Tommy questions if he should be growing up, and then has to.

      Or, on allowing a kid to be a kid, or not.

Tommy grunted as he hoisted himself up the steep hill, green bandana desperately clinging to his neck. The dirt dug into his fingernails, green grass glowing in the early light. 

It had been a happy past few days. And Tommy felt a little lighter, like one weight had been lifted off his shoulders. But not all of them were gone. 

Tubbo and he had fallen into their old rhythm like their fight never happened. But now Tommy listened a lot more. He listened to Tubbo's talks about bees and could sit there for hours as he worked on Redstone, explaining it. He could mine out tunnels to Manburg with him forever, listening to rants about the importance of ketchup instead of pickles, and how Subway was amazing. 

Tommy couldn't do that before. 

But now he knew that every second with him was precious. 

Because just as soon as they were happy, reality struck again, Tubbo being called back to Manburg in a rush. And Tommy could see the absolute panic on his face, rocking him to his core. And it made Tommy want to reach out and hug him, and just tell him to stay. 

Who hurt you?

But before he could do anything, Tubbo had painted that painful smile on his face, put on his stifling suit, and rushed away. 

That bastard. 

A new rage towards Schlatt burned like fire through his body, compelling him forward. 

That bastard was hurting him. 

Tommy wanted to march into that place and murder Schlatt himself. He didn't care if he was a one-man army. He needed to get his best friend out. But every time he was about to do it, he stopped himself. 

What would Wilbur do? 

He would assemble people first. He would fight with words, not weapons. 

Wilbur was acting a little weird recently. It almost seemed like he was closing himself off, like he was in denial. 

But Tommy was sure he would get out of that funk soon. 

He would go back to being the leader that Tommy knew he could be. Who he looked up to and respected. 

They were going to get through this. Together. 

Wilbur and him. 

A smile beamed across his face as he finally reached his small wooden house, bounding through the door excitedly.  

"HENRY!" A small, tired cow lifted up his head sleepily as Tommy barreled towards him. "What's up, big man?" 

Tommy pet Henry's soft coat happily as the cow mooed softly in reply, snorting. Tommy laughed, hugging the dazed animal around the neck. He felt a wet snout rest on top of his head. 

"I missed you, big man." 

Henry mooed back, annoyed as he shifted out of Tommy's grip, oblivious. Tommy smiled, patting his hide.  "Sorry, buddy. I don't do hugs often. Just been feeling a bit serious-innit lately. Things have been..... weird." 

Tommy sighed, leaning against Henry's warm stomach, something he hadn't done in a long time. "I mean, I guess it's good I'm becoming more serious-innit, right? I'm becoming a big man now. Well, I was always a big man, but now I'm even bigger! I even have a wicked battle scar to prove it, see?" 

Tommy rolled up his sleeve, revealing the puckered, red scar painting his shoulder, contrasting with his pale skin, grinning proudly. 

"But-" Tommy rolled down his sleeve again, his smile slightly fading. "It's a little hard to be a big man. I can't...... do things I used to be able to do. I have big man responsibilities now. I've got to keep Tubbo safe, and Wilbur from sleeping. He does sleep a lot lately, Henry." 

"I think...." Tommy curled up a little more into Henry's soft pelt. "I think Wilbur is very sad, Henry." He watched his hand as he clenched and unclenched it, looking at the various mining callouses. He had to do a lot of work these days because Wilbur wouldn't get up, or couldn't get up. "Wilbur used to help me when I was sad, but now I help him. But I'm sad too, Henry." 

"Who's going to help me?" 

Warm sun rays drifted through the windows, making Henry's pelt heat up as Tommy laid on it for what seemed like hours, trying to soak up the warmth he hadn't felt in the cave. He suddenly felt Henry shift uncomfortably from the heat of the sun, mooing uncomfortably. A little rope across the room caught his eye, and he leaped up with determination. 

"C'mon, Henry!" He grinned as he tied the rope gently around the cow's huge neck. "This is no place for a huge man like you. You need to see the world!" 

Tommy tugged the rope behind him as he walked out into the cooler air, leading Henry behind him. He noticed that it was quite windy actually, sending a little chill down his spine. The leaves were beginning to brown. 

Tommy paused, disoriented. He could've sworn that it was just summer. He remembered clearly the hot, sticky humidity in the air sticking to his skin as he ran from Manburg like it was just yesterday. 

How long had it been? 

The scent of smoke and wet wood floated past him, leaves being plucked from branches. 

It was fall. 

Tommy shook himself, continuing on with Henry close behind him. Fall must have come earlier. 

Had it really been that long?

Shouldn't they have L'Manburg back by now?

Tommy tried to brush off the sickening dread in his stomach as he trudged on. 

"Guess who I met, Henry?" Tommy puffed out his chest boastingly. "I met the BLADE! Can you believe it? THE BLADE!" 

Henry didn't reply, suddenly distracted by a particular tuff of grass that Tommy had to pull him away from. They emerged in a clearing in the forest, and Tommy stared up in wonder at a large wooden structure rising from the ground. 

He grinned. "I think we might've found your new home, Henry."  

Tommy tied the rope tightly around one of the legs of the giant tower, and smiled as Henry mooed softly. He patted his hide affectionately. 

"Well, big man, I guess this is farewell for now. I've gotta go do big man responsibilities. Like training with the Blade." 

Tommy ruffled Henry's floppy ears. "But you don't really care about big man responsibilities, huh? All you need is ya wheat and you're happy." 

Tommy giggled as he fed Henry a clump of wheat from his hand, feeling Henry's wet tongue on his palm. 

"I wonder what that's like." 

---

Clang 

Tommy struggled to dig his feet into the rough dirt floor, pushing back against Techno's slashing sword, trying to stay within the stomped-out circle in the middle of the plains biome. 

"Stay steady, Tommy." 

Tommy nearly missed Techno's sword as it lifted up again, swift as the wind, slicing right above his head. He was forced another step back as their swords clanged again. 

"You need to be quick, fast as lightning." 

Techno's sword sliced through the air gracefully, like a swift dancer. Tommy clumsily blocked his swings, trying desperately to keep up. 

"If you blink, you die." 

Sick of losing, Tommy grunted, bounding towards Techno with his sword above his head. As soon as he had jumped, he felt his stomach drop as he was suddenly grabbed by the sleeve of his T-Shirt. He flew through the air, landing with a thud on the hard dirt, his sword clattering to the side. 

He sat up quickly, his head still spinning as he fumbled for his sword. His breathing was quick and shallow, and he could feel the sweat pooling underneath his arms, staining his white shirt. 

"This isn't the time for heroics, Tommy." 

Tommy could barely get his sword up as Techno wheeled towards him again, slicing down. 

"On the battlefield, there are no heroes." 

Tommy scrambled back in the dirt, Techno's sword coming down in an arc. 

"There are no morals," 

Clang

"No 'right thing to do,'" 

Cling

"Being a hero doesn't make you win." 

Clash

Tommy could feel the rough wood of his sword dig into his palms. He was on the ground, rolling away as Techno's sword hit right where he used to be. He barely had time to regain his composure when it came down again. 

"Think about what you need to protect." 

Techno's sword came down again, and Tommy blocked it centimeters away from his chest.

"If you don't win this fight, I'm going to kill the person you're protecting." 

Tommy pushed back, shaking as he tried to push the sword away from him. 

"Tubbo is behind you. You're the only person that can protect him. Are you going to give up?" 

"No." 

Tommy finally pushed the Techno off of him in a sudden burst of anger, able to regain his balance. Their swords clashed again, Tommy's holding steady. Techno's voice raised. 

"Are you going to let me kill Tubbo, Tommy?!" 

"No." 

New fire suffused into his limbs, making his sword slice down faster as he advanced like a storm, Techno taking his first step back. 

"ARE YOU JUST GOING TO LET HIM DIE?" 

"NO!" 

Tommy screamed as his sword lashed out like a bolt of anger, heading towards Techno's chest. Techno could barely step out of the way in time. 

Slash

Tommy's eyes widened as he saw a mound of pink hair crumble to the floor in a heap, sliced clean from Techno's scalp.  

They both breathed heavily, staring at the pile. Panic filled Tommy's stomach as Techno looked at the hair, emotionless. 

"I'm so sorry, Blade-" 

"It's fine." Tommy titled his head in confusion as Techno grinned at him. "I was looking to get a new haircut anyway. Good job, Tommy." 

Tommy watched in disbelief as Techno outstretched his hand, smirking. "GG." 

Tommy took it shakily, firmly gripping it like Wilbur taught him to. A smile burst across his face. "GG." 

"You did good, Tommy. I'm impressed." 

"Thank you, Blade." Pride bloomed in Tommy's chest as he grinned broadly. 

Techno reached inside his cloak, taking out a black box. It was sealed with a sparkling green emerald. "I think you're ready for this." 

Tommy accepted the box gingerly, tearing it open. His eyes widened at the sight. 

"HOLY SHIT!" 

He took out the mounds of dark purple armor, slipping it over his clothes quickly. The metal hardened, hanging off Tommy a bit, sorta drowning the boy. 

"THIS IS SO POG!" 

His smile became even wider as he spotted a crossbow at the bottom, and he grabbed it, examining the glimmering purple enchantment sheen. He turned to Techno excitedly, stumbling over his words. 

"Blade, thank you thank you thank you so much, this is so pog-" 

Techno chuckled. "Looks like you have some room to grow into that armor. But don't thank me." 

He reached into his cloak again, taking out a weathered book with a tough leather cover. Tommy took it eagerly, flipping to the first page. 

Ink splotched the corners of the yellowed paper, the title written in elegant, quick, and bold strokes.

Tyrant by Dream.