Tricks and Treats

16 - All's Quiet

Sam never felt so old. It had been few  weeks since Tommy died. The SMP was thrown into a period of silence. People were still working, plotting and scheming behind closed doors, but there wasn't any confrontations. Even the people who celebrated Tommy's death couldn't bring themselves to do something.

Sam's house was filled with most of the people who cared deeply. George threw himself into his work, absolutely refusing to speak to anyone. It took Sam hours to get George to eat. SapNap trained, creating dummies with a Dream mask on their pumpkin heads. Quackity was mostly quiet, occasionally striking up a conversation with anyone who cared. Karl had disappeared without a trace. Foolish found solace in his temple, saying that it made him feel better. Captain Puffy promised that she would come back, but she locked herself in Tommy's house most of the time.

Sam. He was a mess. He couldn't get his body to feel anything. It was numb and empty, filled with regretful thoughts and wishes for more time. Ranboo had went from denial to anger and depression, yelling at and sobbing beside Sam for what he had done. Sam didn't even know Ranboo was that close with Tommy.

Sam didn't want to be around Dream. He didn't trust himself not to push the green blob into the lava. But, Sam was a responsible person. He needed to feed Dream. The sedatives had finally worked. With Dream unconscious, Sam could get the body out. It was disgusting to leave the body in there for that long, but Dream was never asleep when Sam arrived and the sedative took forever to find the ingredients to.

"Hey," Sam muttered to let Dream know that he was there. He wanted Dream to know food was coming so he would eat immediately. Sam wanted to bury Tommy sooner rather than later. They didn't even have a proper funeral. Tubbo, Ranboo, Puffy, Eret, and the boys all had their own. There was at least two graves. Sam told Tubbo he would bury Tommy at Snowchester's if Tubbo would prepare funeral arrangements.

"Sam?" It was a quiet, broken voice that was much higher than Dream's without a trace of insanity or greed. It was the voice of a boy long dead.

"Tommy...?"

"Sam, please! Thank god, you're here! Get me out!" Tommy yelled back, hope flushing his tone like a nuke. It didn't cross Sam's mind that this could have been a trap or that Dream was manipulating the situation. He wanted his son in his arms.

Sam hit the buttons and levers. As the lava fell away, Sam saw the faded red and white t-shirt that his boy always wore. Dried blood coated his head and arms, but his eyes were alive and blinking. It was him. Dream stood against the wall with a smirk on his face. Dream whispered something that made Tommy freeze.

"No! Don't listen to him, Tommy. Come here. Come home. We miss you," Sam panicked. What if Dream had manipulated Tommy into thinking he had to stay? Sam wouldn't put it past the asshole.

"Yeah, okay," Tommy whispered, crawling across the bridge. When he was on the other side, Sam allowed the lava to fall. It took a mere second for Sam to have his arms around Tommy, squeezing tightly. Tommy felt tears rise in his eyes as he returned the hug. It was a second after that Tommy pushed Sam away.

"You left me in there! With that thing!" Tommy screeched with rage in his tone but pain in his eyes. "I wanted to move on. I wanted to be a better person. I wanted a loving family and a peaceful existence without wars or drugs or murder. Is this my punishment, Sam? Has the universe decided that I should never be happy? No matter what I do, or who I trust, I'm the one who suffers."

Sam held back everything, body trembling as the words poured out of Tommy's mouth. He expected anger. He could deal with anger. But the existential sadness threw him for a loop. "Sam, what do I have to do? Life and death are both painful places to be. People hurt so fucking much. I wish I could run from it, but where can I go that agony won't follow? I'm so tired, Sam."

Tommy fought the hug at first, but Tommy's resistance lost to Sam's patience. They stayed there for awhile, ignoring the entire world. It wasn't until Sam got a message that he realized they should probably continue there way outside. "Hey, I have to help someone with the Egg, but I'll be back home later so we can talk about plans moving forwards."

"Yeah, okay," Tommy muttered, all emotions drained from him. Tommy and Sam went their separate ways once they left the prison. Tommy wandered around. The first person he met was Tubbo. The boy was exiting a building right next to Tommy's hotel.

"I- you're not real," Tubbo muttered tiredly, closing his eyes tightly like this was a nightmare. Tommy pretended that didn't sting that his best friend thought seeing him again was a nightmare.

"He cares about you," A woman's voice echoed in Tommy's mind. Freya crystallized behind Tubbo, eyes locked with Tommy.

"Long time, no see," Tommy told Freya. Tubbo was the one who reacted. He hesitantly opened his eyes, pulling his hands down from his ears. He looked at Tommy with mixed emotions.

"Are you real?" He whispered.

"I'm alive, if that's what you mean," Tommy replied quietly. He walked from Tubbo, not wanting to spend more time in that conversation. He didn't need Tubbo. That man had abandoned Tommy, and he was returning the favor. It did make Tommy slightly happy that Tubbo followed him. Tommy knew it was because Tubbo didn't trust him, but he convinced himself it was because Tubbo was worried.

Tommy peeked into his house to see that no one was there. The bed wasn't made, but Tommy never made his bed so it wasn't unusual. He didn't even try his hotel. He would leave it to Jack or whoever wanted it. Tommy didn't care about bringing peace or having a better life. He just wanted one that wasn't constantly misery.

Tommy saw Ranboo on the street. They stared at each other from afar. An understanding passed, like the ones they usually had. Tommy acted like he despised Ranboo, but it was because Ranboo had experienced similar pain to Tommy yet was faring better. It wounded him to see Tubbo cling to Ranboo, but he ignored it as he trudged forwards.

The next face was Quackity. "What kind of twisted joke is this? Who the fuck would do something this sick? Are you a psycho? Dressing up as a dead man? Halloween was awhile ago, buddy, now go change before I hurt you."

"Hey, Big Q," His voice was different but still his. Everything about him was Tommy. The size, looks, name, voice. The attitude was subdued, but that was the only noticeable difference. "I came back to life."

"T-Tommy!" Quackity said with a stunned expression. He held Tommy like he would disappear at any second. Tommy smiled softly, tense underneath the gaze of Quackity. "I have to tell Karl and SapNap! They'll be so excited! Go home later! We'll be there!!"

Quackity rushed off. Tommy felt a small glimpse of happiness rise in chest. Quackity and Sam seemed to care. They were wonderful actors, if they didn't. Tommy wondered if he could find happiness.

Tommy continued walking around. He found Puffy's therapy house. With a grim face, he put a book in. Maybe therapy could help him work out his issues. If he understood what made everything fail around him, maybe he could fix himself and move on as a happier person. Tommy was sure he could be better.

He found himself at Wilbur's grave. All of the hope he had managed to scrounge up was lost. He was a weak and tired child again.

Who other to find him in this state than Niki?

Next chapter will be Angst with a capital 'A'. I am stopping at nothing to put them both in unbearable pain and suffering. Good luck and I'm not sorry.