They Rely On Hope. What Do I Rely On? - Tommyinnit Adoption AU

Chapter 93

TW: mentions of: abuse, violence, neglect, death

As soon as Drista said the last words 'Never let them win,' her voice hushed, as a creaking came from just the up the stairs Tommy still stood by.

"They're coming," Drista's warned, her voice barely audible. Instantly, Tommy moved to stand in the corner furthest from the stairs and, thankfully, he was out of reach of Drista. He knew better than to trust her. Knew better than to trust anybody. He'd tried to trust people and look where that had gotten him, his heart aching and mind racing, barely able to hold back tears. He didn't know why it hurt so bad, but he knew he needed it to stop. He needed it all to just STOP!

"Hello Tommy," A voice sneered from the doorway, and when Tommy's head whipped up, his gaze met a man with a white mask covering his face and a simple creepy smile plastered on it. Everything about the way he stood screamed danger, screamed insults, screamed punches that hadn't quite come yet. The man didn't move from his position a he spoke, "How are you liking your new home? I bet you're used to the cold stones and chains. Seems like the sort of place your annoying habits would make people stick you in. Don't worry, we'll get rid of those soon. Just like we got rid of Tubbo."

What? Tubbo? No. No. No. Not Tubbo. Not Tubbo. They hadn't hurt Tubbo. No one had hurt Tubbo. They hadn't. They- They hadn't. Tommy had protected him. Tommy had taken the hits! Kept his brother safe! No one had hurt Tubbo. Not that much. Right? Tommy hadn't been perfect, but he'd tried. He'd made it better. Made Tubbo better. He knew he had. He knew it!

"Take his name out of your mouth," Drista snarled before Tommy could fumble over the words he wanted to scream. Her chains rattled as she launched up and forwards, towards the figure as though ready to punch him. The man however didn't move, and the chains held Drista far back from where he stood.

"Now, now Drista, there's no point trying to attack me, you can't, because of the chains you put on yourself.'

"Dream put them on me!"

"You're the traitor. You knew what you were doing. You put those chains on."

The two continued to fight, the masked man standing calmly, and Drista screaming and furious, clearly not caring about the warning she had given Tommy. The warning to never give into the rage. To never let them win.

While they screamed at each other- well Drista screamed and the masked man mocked her, Tommy stood, frozen, trying to understand why the man had said that. There was no way they could've done anything to Tubbo. He'd been gone for years. Tommy had seen his body. He was dead. He was dead and it had nothing to do with these people. Tommy knew that. He knew it. They were just trying to get in his head. Make him angry. That's what Drista had said. She'd said they'd do anything they could to make him angry. Turn him into a fighter. He wouldn't do that.

They had just read his file and found a sore point. That's all. That's all. They hadn't touched Tubbo. They couldn't've. Tommy had never seen those masks before. He would've seen them if they'd done anything to Tubbo. Plus Tubbo would've warned him. He knew that and he wouldn't let them mess with his head. He had to stay calm. Had to simply observe. Had to be numb.

Eventually Drista's yelling was cut off when the masked man stepped forward and in one swift movement landed a punch to her face. She reeled back, clearly having not expected it. Her hands automatically moved to grasp he injured cheek, but the chains she had been pulling on were too short, and she was forced to retreat.

"Don't make me do that again Drista," The man sighed, before turning to Tommy, who still hadn't moved from his corner, "You're coming with me, understood?"

Tommy nodded meekly and the man swiftly moved to a door that Tommy hadn't even noticed was there. It was in the corner across from him, on the wall opposite Drista.

The masked man fiddled with the keys for a long moment, before the door open and he stepped forward. When Tommy hesitated, Drista's eyes turned on him, frantic.

"Go. Remember what I said," She hissed desperately, and Tommy shakily stepped forward, following the man. As the door closed behind him, he heard Drista's last whispered words, "Goodbye Tommy..."

Goodbye? Did she mean forever? They weren't going to kill him just yet we're they? No. No. She had said they wanted to train him to fight. That meant they'd want him alive. Goodbyes weren't always forever anyway. He just paranoid. He knew he shouldn't claim he was paranoid. Shouldn't distrust his own fear, but he didn't want to face the idea that he would almost certainly die in this place. It didn't look like he was getting out any time soon, and he knew this was dangerous. He could sense the danger in every inch of this place. In the fear he felt radiating of the other kids he walked past. The kids who were fighting, or training or being yelled at by people in the same masks as the one he was following. He forced himself not to flinch at the sounds. Forced himself to keep his head straight and his posture perfect. Following carefully behind the man. He didn't move when a kid, who looked to be around 9, came stumbling back from a punch, almost running into Tommy. He calculated it perfectly, knew the kid wouldn't hit him, and Tommy didn't move to help him, however much he wanted to.

He did however, stop when he found his path led directly through the middle of one of the people with the masks and a child, 5 at the oldest, potentially only 4. He knew he should dodge around them, or slow so they would move, but instead he stopped, directly in front of the man, and took the blow aimed for the child. His hand instinctively reached behind him, grabbing the younger kid and pulling her safely behind him, the movement well practised from the worst of the group homes. Tommy stood, glaring at the man, who seemed stunned at the interaction. He didn't show any of the screaming agony coming from his chest where the punch had landed right on his broken rib. He doubted it had done enough to undo all of the healing, but from the pain screaming out of the injury, Tommy knew it had damaged it enough to make the recovery even longer. Of course it had.

"What are you doing?" The man asked, his voice low and threatening, each word sharp and biting, hitting Tommy like 4 new punches to his face, even though the man hadn't moved to hurt him. Yet.

Tommy wanted to scream at him, demand he leave the child alone, but before he could, a hand gripped around his arm, pulling him stumbling backwards, almost pulling him over.

"New kid, he'll learn," The first masked man said, and the other nodded, seeming to understand.

"It's not like he needs to eat anyway," The other man sneered, before turning back to the child, hitting her with new ferocity. Tommy wanted to scream at him to stop, to leave her be, but before he could, he was dragged away, nails biting into his arm, the grip far to firm to break free.

"Don't do that again. Don't interrupt others. Don't fight The Masked Ones. I need you eating, I need you strong for the fights, and that means you obey. You'll do what you're told and respect The Masked Ones. I'm you're trainer, but that does not mean they can't punish you. You need to be spending your energy in the arena, not up here trying to save worthless brats who'll never get close to beating you, let alone anyone else," The man snarled as he dragged Tommy after him, his pace faster now, his gaze set firmly on the far end of the massive room. The room was at least 300 meters wide, and 500 long, filled with pairs of trainers and children of varying ages. Some children were set to fight each other, while others were using training devices, or being yelled at.

The walls of the room were scattered with doors, and Tommy was amazed at how much space this underground complex must take up. It explained the massive empty property, but it still felt insane. How long had this place been running? How much money did they make? It had to be a lot to fund this, right? He had no clue how any of this was happening, but he did know that there was no chance he was escaping. Not with this level of security.

Words: 1500

A/N: last chapter of the year! Happy New Years Eve everyone! Do u guys have any goals for next year? Mine is to get my book (not on here) finished and published :]