Upon the Ruins of a Broken World II A Dreamsmp AU

A Life for a Life

Bad dashed down the polished hallways. He reached out with his mind, searching... searching... 

Where was Tommy?! 

As if he had extended an arm to the void itself, Bad felt part of his consciousness leave his body.

He was still running through gleaming hallways but he was also soaring. 

He saw himself rise through several floors of the building and then bursting into sunlight, almost flinching away from the bright rays. 

Then he saw it. Hundreds of people gathered by the building's entrance, clapping as someone walked onto stage. The figure was a bear of a man, tall and muscular. His deep voice boomed across the crowd.

"WELCOME LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!" He exclaimed. 

"WHAT YOU ARE ABOUT TO WITNESS TODAY IS THE BRITH OF A NEW GENERATION!" 

Did this man only talk in exclamations? It was making Bad's head hurt. 

And there was Tommy!

The boy appeared from the shadows, his black wings gleaming in the sun and crouched at the roof's edge, right behind the Boss. His spines were carefully neutral but Bad saw one twitch in apprehension. 

Oh no. 

"Tommy! Nooo-"

He slammed into something. Like the was an invisible barrier around Tommy. Or no... 

Bad felt this part of his consciousness lurch downward, towards his body. And then he was there. 

"What the muffin are you-- Techno?!" 

Before the pink hybrid could react Bad threw his arms him, holding him tightly. He hadn't seen Techno in weeks. How long had it been? 

"Bad!" Fundy exclaimed coming to stand beside them and earning a hug too. 

"You're all here!" Bad said, a smile on his face. 

And there were a lot of people here. There was Jack and another hybrid that bore a striking resemblance to the man. A girl with night black hair and sapphire like eyes. She had black scales and a tail swishing behind her, two horns perched majestically on her brow.

And even Tubbo and Schlatt. 

Bad embraced both of them in turn and Tubbo held him too. 

They were all back together again. 

And then his vision struck him. 

"Tommy is going to try and kill the Boss." 

The hallway fell deathly silent. 

"Where?" Techno asked. 

"I don't know how to get there but not far and that way." Bad pointed in the general direction. 

"Techno," He said softly. "We can't let Tommy kill the Boss. It's.... it's not going to help him." 

"I know... but we can sure as hell give him a head start. If anyone should suffer it would be that rat of a man." 

"Let's go." 

With that they all set down a hallway, following Fundy's keen ears and Bad guidance. 

...

A life for a life. 

The phrase kept repeating in Tommy's head. It had become a mantra, a war cry. It fueled him, kept his muscles taut and unflinching. He perched like a gargoyle on the lip of the building, his claws sinking into the concrete like butter. 

Like the would sink into the Boss's neck. 

Tommy's face was devoid of emotion, his body like the stone he sat on. 

The Boss had been ranting about a new source of power for the past five minutes now, orating about his great discovery and how this would set them years ahead in science. 

How two opposite forces would collide and create a vortex of pure energy. 

Finally, he finished and the crowd applauded, some whistles and shouts rising up from the people. 

"AND NOW, I PRESENT TO YOU, A MARVEL OF MODERN SCIENCE, THE LUMINA!" 

The Lumina?! 

Tommy felt his breath hitch as the stage started to sweep away like a well oiled machine, revealing a round hole in the floor. White smoke streaked out of it and the top of a metal cylinder with the radius of about two meters rose out, glinting in the sun. 

And inside it... what looked like a white marble statue lay within water, bubbles rising from the depths of the canister. 

Tommy felt nauseous and darkness slipped in his peripheral vision, hands reaching out to grab him. That was his brother. That was Wil in there. The marble statue had it's knees clutched close to it's chest, it's hands over it's heart, head bowed low. 

And the crowd went wild. Yells of excitement rose from the people, whistles and clapping deafening Tommy. It was a cacophony of mad men, people who delighted in the suffering of others. 

Tommy felt that darkness in him rile and he could see the shapes of hands squirming in the shadows of the building begging to be released. 

But this would be his fight. 

A life for a life. 

The Boss had taken Wil's and now Tommy was going to avenge him. 

And then the boss pressed a button on his microphone and the cylinder powered on. 

Through the raucous sound of people, Tommy heard an inhuman cry of agony rise up from inside the cylinder. He glanced to the marble statue and saw it twitch almost imperceptibly. 

Tentacle-like pipes fastened themselves to the statue and blinding white light was sucked into them and then all the lights in the compound flared. 

The cylinder was a power generator. 

Then the eyes opened, a void of white with nothing in them, no sign of Wibur in them. But something within that husk was still alive. 

And Tommy was going to safe him. 

With a cry, louder than even the crowd could muster Tommy leapt from the roof, his wings tucked in close to him and dove for the Boss, claws outstretched and ready to slice the man open.