A Splash Of Paint (MCYT Oneshots)

Drafted: Antarctic Days (Tommy-centric)

(A/N: happy 15k reads to me :D! for the whole month of December should I do December related ficlets or do I just continue as normal? anyway here have some angst about this au i have)

Tommy had forgotten how cold the Antarctic actually was. When he had left SMP Earth, he had left for good, and overtime, he'd lost the memory of how the temperature actually was.

Arriving in the past, befriending and defending the past Business Bay and offering himself up as a form to truce to the Antarctic Empire helped to remind him of its coldness, though.

Beforehand, he had no reason to side with them. He could've found one of the admins and revealed himself earlier. He could've allied with another faction. Business Bay had commented on it, even as he taught them how to fight better, and gave them some of his Netherite ingots to make themselves Netherite swords for a better advantage everyone else, especially since Netherite would only be available after an update.

But deep down, he knew he would've always chosen to side with them, if only to give advice to his younger self to not become a disaster like he was currently, and to make sure past Tommy would never have to suffer what he had gone through.

Did he love his family? Once upon a time, yes. But Wilbur had gone off to the deep end, Technoblade had betrayed him again and again, and Phil had only come when it was too late. As much as he forgave and trusted, Tommy really didn't think he could ever love them the way he used to again.

So when Business Bay ended up in the same war against the Antarctic Empire and their allies, just like he had before, Tommy knew he had to save them. Provide some sort of gift or prize that would make sure Business Bay left the battlefield safe, if on the losing side. And when he revealed himself to stand in front of them, he knew what he had to do.

After all, everyone liked knowledge, didn't they? And what better knowledge to get than knowledge of the future?

Despite how past Business Bay had did their best to stop him from going with the Antarctic Empire, Tommy refused to let them get hurt for something they had a choice in. He refused to let them get involved in a war they had a choice to run away from, and so he surrendered.

He didn't get a chance to refuse with the War for L'manburg, out of respect and pride. He didn't get a chance to refuse with the War against Manburg, not when surrendering would go against everything he stood for. He didn't get a chance to refuse during the Battle for L'manburg, not when his only other option was to die.

He would not let them die a hero's death, not when being a hero would make them die in tragedy.

He looked at the sights below him as they flew by. Watched as green grass slowly turned into white snow and blue ice. Watched as snowflakes started falling as he bundled himself up in his cloak. He could tell the others clearly weren't expecting him to be so quiet, what with the way he could feel them constantly shooting him looks.

He wondered if Tubbo would've liked the view.

Finally, after what felt like forever with the cold, the plane finally landed on the icy land. Tommy sighed quietly as someone opened the doors for him — he wasn't sure who, seeing as he was too busy steadying himself for the explanation he would be giving soon.

Tommy swallowed his nerves and pride as he stepped off the plane. 'It's for Business Bay,' he reminded himself. 'You're doing this for yourself, you gotta make sure he doesn't make the same mistakes as you did.'

Still, it was hard not to feel nervous around someone who had betrayed him multiple times and nearly killed him over several times already, no matter whether Technoblade technically hadn't done that yet or not. It was also hard to not feel nervous around people who he knew could snap his neck within mere moments, especially since he was alone and vulnerable.

The castle up ahead looked imposing and menacing. Despite it looking dull with its grey and green, it was still nerve-wracking to look at the large castle.

He took a deep breath. Let it out, and watched the mist form from his breath and fade.

"Come on, let's go," Phil spoke to him, his voice quiet and kind. Tommy wasn't going to trust him so easily, though.

He tugged in his cloak tighter, reached up to squeeze the green bandana around his neck for comfort, and walked behind Philza, to the castle of the Antarctic Empire.