I Can't Remember

[26] Put A Ring On It

Warnings: mentions of a dead body, some depressing and suicidal thoughts

If someone requires a summary, kindly ask in the comments and I will summarise the chapter to my best capabilities. Please do not read if you are not comfortable with reading about such topics.

He looked back at Dream's b– Dream. The question, the hesitance, was apparent.

Which brother?

Because... yes. He considered the man his brother. Hey, brothers fight, right? Maybe not as brutally as they did. Still, he couldn't help the sentiment.

Holy shit. He just lost his brother.

Remembering that there was still a question to be answered, Tommy glanced around at the other occupants of the room.

Tubbo and Ranboo were whispering to each other, the latter looking distressed. He kept glancing back towards Dream; Sapnap and George, who were finally realising the bitter truth and quietly sobbing in each others' arms.

Tommy knew what he wanted.

He wanted to go home.

He wanted to see if Schlatt was truly gone. He wanted to comfort Wilbur and seek some comfort for himself too. He wanted to gossip with Karl and Quackity, he wanted to discuss hotels with Jack. He wanted to bake and have food at Niki's. He wanted his family.

For the first time in– what was it, a decade?– he felt like the kid that he really was. Hell, he would even take one of Phil's lectures or Tubbo's mischief. He would take Ranboo's ramblings and Michael jumping on his shoulders with shocking ease. Even Technoblade's sarcastic drawl was welcome.

He wanted to hear their voices... because he would never hear his voice ever again.

Tommy wanted to sleep and never wake up again.

He hugged Wilbur first.

***

Karl was home. He brought that weird pizza again. Tommy laughed at his jokes a lot. Wilbur grinned at them too. Tommy later realised that it was his first smile since.... Since then.

He dreamed of the days before L'Manberg.

***

He walked away from the corner of the gathering, where he was leaning against a tree, towards the coffin. He placed a pair of flowers inside– a yellow and crimson daffodil.

He remembered someone teaching him the meaning of those colours. Yellow meant friendship, bond, and hope. Crimson stood for deep sorrow and grief. At least, yellow and crimson roses did. But he couldn't find roses on the server, so he stuck to daffodils.

The young man placed his hand on the wooden edge. A gold glint shone in the sunlight. There was a ring adorned on his friend's cool hand. (cold hands.) The letter 'A' was embossed in the smooth metal.

Remembering the friend's last words, he took the ring off and wore it.

A surge of power and energy coursed through his veins. Letting out a light gasp, he stared at the ring. It was still innocently glinting in the bright day.

(A day too bright in his opinion.)

As he went to walk back to his spot near the tree, two men approached him. They had dropped their usual formal clothing and appeared in casual clothes. They surely stood out from the crowd, but it was okay. They had taken turns giving eulogies and explaining what had happened in the past few days– two days felt like a whole year of events– so most of the server had understood what Dream had done, if not forgiven. No, too many wounds were still open to forgive. Still, it was important that they knew at least, that it wasn't really the Dream they knew who did all that.

As Tommy opened his mouth to talk to them, they kneeled in front of him and bowed. Tommy baulked at the two, looking at Wilbur (who was coming to comfort his brother). He was also flabbergasted at the sudden turn of events.

"Um... George? Sapnap?"

They stayed as they were.

"Guys?"

Other people stared shamelessly at the scene in front of them– why were two of the most powerful people on the server bowing down to the resident troublemaker and delinquent?

"You're wearing the ring now."

Tommy looked down at his hand; he indeed was wearing the ring. He didn't get what the big deal was– weren't they present when Dream asked him to keep the ring? Was he not meant to wear it?

Either way, why were they kneeling?

Wilbur quickly came to Tommy's rescue. "gentlemen," he said curtly. "You're making a scene, that too at your best friend's funeral. Please stand up."

Sapnap stayed still. George hesitated before looking up at them, before saying, "Only if he agrees," while looking at Tommy. Tommy's eyes widened as he hastily agreed.

Both men stood up, still looking at Tommy with loyalty glistening in their eyes. They looked ready to pledge allegiance to him. Tommy didn't know what he had done to gain their respect but he kept quiet as he waited for an explanation.

George spoke first, "See, Tommy, there's the letter 'A' on that ring. Do you know what Dream's position on the server was?"

Tommy thought for a moment. "Leader? Owner?"
"Yeah, but what's the official name?"
"Admi--? Oh."

Tommy looked back at his ring. He remembered the energy that seemed to flow into him when he put on the ring. Sudden realisation rushed into him.

"Wait, no–"
"Tommy's an admin?!"
"Wilby don't shou–!"

It was too late. The people nearby– which was almost everyone– had heard him. Sudden exclamations rose through the crowd, both good and bad.

"SHUT UP AND LISTEN, YOU MORONS!" Shouted a voice. A choking laugh suggested that it was Tubbo who had said that.

Sapnap coughed what sounded suspiciously like a snicker, as he continued.

"You see, when an admin di- ahem, dies... They– um– Sorry. They transfer their power to a worthy successor. Usually, it's a predetermined one, but that used to be JSchlatt, then Dream went on a rampage of... Well, being not Dream, then he was in jail... So he never really changed it.

When he was dyin– when he was holding your hand, he was transferring– uh, essentially transferring ownership of the server to you. That day you got passive powers. That ring, when worn by the rightful owner, cannot be taken off against their will and gives active powers. You're an admin now, wearing the ring gave you the full extent of admin ownership and powers. That's why we bowed, you're our leader now."

Tommy paled. He looked like he wanted to run away. Admin? Leader? Powers? He was no leader, and he sure as hell couldn't handle any powers! He couldn't even handle his disks, how would he handle a whole server?! He looked up as a hand was placed on his shoulder. Wilbur was looking down at George and Sapnap with disdain and he held Tommy's shoulder protectively.

"And what if he declined?"

I love you, Wilbur.

Sapnap paused, thinking about his answer before speaking.

"The server has been running just fine without active admins, it should still be fine– though you should know, threats keep growing if admins don't do a regular clean-up job of the land. You can bet there's some nasty shit growing around since Dream has been inactive. We can handle ourselves... But it's not exactly preferable." Sapnap looked at the two brothers intently.

"Guys, look, don't feel pressured about this," started George. Wilbur scoffed. His grip on the shoulder tightened. George gave him a side-eye before continuing. "You have all the reasons not to accept the position, I'm sure we can figure out something so that you don't have to take up the responsibility at all, only lend your hand when we need it, we did it for Dream too, we were friends after all. You don't have to do this, Tommy. We have put you through enough."

Admin, huh...

Tommy would never have peace, would he?

[29-06-2023]