Tiny - Tomatt

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A blinding flash enveloped his vision. Familiar tearing, burning, stabbing pain through every nerve of his body. A cry of fear, of surprise, of agony. Was it his own? Was it Edd's, or even Matt's? He couldn't tell. He couldn't think.

Before Tom knew what was happening, a crushing weight was pressing down onto his back and arms. He could barely move. It was hard to expand his lungs to breathe. He felt like he couldn't bear the pressure for much longer, or his body would collapse. What was is? What was happening?

His instincts forced his arms above his head, muscles bulging, straining, burning, pushing the weight off of him. How was he doing it? How was he able to lift such a heavy weight off himself? He growled with strain. Adrenaline coursed down his spine.

Suddenly, the pressure gave way with a heavy crackling and he could see around him. The dark walls and ceiling of the cave had fallen inward, closing Tom and his friends in.

And then he noticed his arms. The skin was dark black and they were thick, muscular and clawed.

...Oh. That explains a lot.

He turned his head so that he was looking down under him. Hiding under him as shelter, quivering, looking up at Tom's monstrous black eye, was Edd. The green-clad adventurer seemed horrified. Shocked. Frozen. His headlamp was still going strong, shining directly into Tom's face.

Tom turned his head to look at his shoulder. He was just barely able to spot the tiny, tiny form in the darkness, clinging onto the rubbery black skin of the monster. He couldn't make out Matt's appearance but he did feel the faint, telltale vibrations of him shaking with fear.

Tom removed a clawed hand from the crumbling ceiling, leaving his other arm shaking and straining to hold up more weight. He reached over with the free hand and held it out for Matt to climb on. Without any hesitation, the tiny person jumped onto his hand and wrapped his arms around one of his claws.

He lowered Matt down to Edd and held him out. Edd looked baffled and terrified.

I'm gonna have a lot to explain to him when we get out of this.

Edd hesitantly reached out and scooped up Matt from the creature's palm, then snatching him quickly away as if he were afraid it was a trap. Edd looked at Matt for a moment and then stowed him safely away in his hoodie pocket.

It's the monster again, thought Edd with wonder. The one who attacked Eduardo and I. But how does it have Matt? And where's Tom? Is it trying to hurt us? Or save us? Edd's mind raced with questions that he expected he'd have to fight to get the answers to. Edd had the correct suspicion in the back of his mind, but he refused to acknowledge it.

The strange beast reached down again and, without warning, grabbed Edd and then held him close to its body. Edd gave a cry of surprise. He put a hand to his hoodie pocket to make sure Matt was okay. After feeling Matt's squirming, he pulled away. He struggled in the grip, kicking and pushing at the body and the hand pressing around him. But it was too strong, too sturdy. "Let me go!" He wasn't sure if he would even be safe in a cave in if he were let go of, but he sure wasn't able to defend himself against the creature now that his powers were gone.

A growl of irritation emanated from its chest, causing Edd to freeze. It suddenly began to move through the rocks, somehow pushing through the incredible weight of the ceiling and walls.

Edd's stomach dropped. "Wh- wait! We have to get Tom!" His heart broke at the thought of his friend, buried in the rocks, body being crushed, never to be found again. "Tom..."

The creature simply huffed in acknowledgement.

He soon ran out of energy for struggling and just hung limply in the monster's hold. He felt numb. Would he never see Tom again? Would he have to suffer the grief of losing his friend a second time?