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Roaming around the nether was Tommy’s favorite thing.
He gets to explore all the caves, it was warm at all times and the woods were nice to look at, blood red vines and blue vines intermingling as the two different forest biomes merged at their borders. Though what he had forgotten was that he wasn't alone in these woods which would be his downfall.
Phil had told him to stay close, not stray too far away and be in the hearing range of at least one of the three of them. But Tommy, of course young, boisterous, adventurous, Tommy, decided that he was bored watching his brothers mine the quartz from the sides of the cliffs they were next to, deciding to go on a little expedition himself.
He roamed the edge of the woods, picking up one or the other mushrooms, putting them in his pockets and moving on before he spotted something shiny. Gold Nugget ore! The kid was jumping up and down with joy, excited to show his find to his family after he mined it with the iron pickaxe Phil gave him so he wouldn't be as bored.
Worked wonderfully, didn't it?
What he did not see were the piglins behind him, one holding a crossbow up high and shooting at him, missing his arm by a small bit, grazing it. Before he realized what was happening a sword knocked him on the back of his head, making him fall unconscious on the ground, dropping his iron pickaxe while he was bound and slung over the shoulder of one of the piglins, being carried off back to their base.
Phil was getting worried.
Tommy didn't react to any of his calls, not when he told him to stop playing hide and seek with him, and when his other two boys came back, telling him that they didn't find the smaller one anywhere, he was definitely getting worried. They all went into the woods together, Techno conversing with some stray piglins he saw, if anyone had seen a small blonde human child while Wilbur and Phil had called out to Tommy some more, hoping that the kid would just jump out behind a tree and they could come home.
But when the piglin hybrid came back to them, a crumpled paper in his hand and his face set into a scowl, it didn't seem like anything good happened to him.
Phil reached out to Techno, taking the paper while the former smashed a hand into the tree next to him, making piglins in his near vicinity flinch and back away.
When their winged father was done with reading he was fuming as well, locking eyes with Techno as Wilbur just stood next to them, confused and very much worried.
“What's going on? Where is Toms?”
“He got kidnapped by some stupid assholes that think they can use them as leverage against him. Something about “teaching the blood god a lesson”.”
Wilbur frowned, anger evident in the way he clenched his fists.
Behind them, Technoblade already pulled the pig skull mask over, blood red eyes glancing over to Phil and then Wilbur, fuming anger contained in these ruby orbs.
“Today someone pays with crimson. Blood for the blood god.”
Tommy woke up with a splitting headache and a dry mouth. When he slowly opened his eyes, all he could see was red. The red netherrack that surrounded him from all sides glinted dangerously but the worst thing was that he was suspended in the air in a small cage of iron bar, right over a lava pool. That wasn't very good for him.
“Alright, whoever did this you are gonna regret this! My big brother is Technoblade, the Blade ! He will rip you apart!”
He called out to practically nothing, putting the cage in motion with his struggles. Behind him echoed a loud laugh and he turned around, looking right onto a podium that looked strangely like a PvP arena, from what he had seen at the last championship at least. A big piglin in kingly clothing sat on a throne next to it, right above the arena.
He leaned on his hand as he looked over to Tommy, giving him a smug grin.
“And why would you think this wasn't our intention all along? Everyone has a soft spot and your dear brother’s is his family. Hes weak .”
The raspy voiced piglin spoke, slamming his fist down on the throne as he spoke the last words as to make his point across.
Tommy didn't give in, feet hanging through the metal bars of the cage, lazily swinging above the lava. He was too high up to get burned so he didn't care for the time being.
“Fuck you too, I bet youre just afraid of him. Otherwise why would such a proud warrior use such a weak tactic. Absolute incompetence.”
He stuck out his tongue to the man, the piglin grunting angrily, standing up from his throne.
But Tommy only continued, not interested in any threat the other posed.
“I bet you didn't even kidnap me yourself, used one of your lackeys to do it. And what is that arena for? Do you wanna fight him or what? I didn't think you would try to fight him- Wait you're probably gonna use your lackeys for that too! A low king hiding behind his soldiers, how pitiful!”
He started laughing when the man angrily shouted at him, holding his stomach while he did so. Although when something hit his shoulder he stopped, looking at the arrow in it. Alright, he may have gone a bit too far.
While he dug his nails into his skin to prevent himself from crying out, the king only smirked.
“Not so cocky anymore aren't you child-”
“I'M NOT A CHILD YOU BASTARD! AND YOU WILL DIE, YOU CAN BET YOUR ASS ON THAT!”
When another arrow grazed his cheek he still held up, only holding his bleeding shoulder while he kept up eye contact with the piglin who still had his crossbow in hand, pointing at him.
He lowered it.
“I will not hesitate to kill you, child, but I need you alive for now. Count your blessings.”
He left, walking out through a big gate and closing it behind him, leaving the kid alone in the big room. After he repeated what the man said in a stupid tone he assessed his shoulder, seeing that the arrow wasnt in too deep. Deciding that it was safe enough to pull it out he did so and wrapped it up tight with a stripe of his pants, trying to at least stop the bleeding. His family had taught him as much as they could, all of them way too paranoid for their own good. But it was good for Tommy now who immediately looked around the cage bars to see if he could slip through somewhere or find a weak point. When he did find one rusty bar that was starting to disintegrate, he got to work, using the now acquired arrowhead to slowly wear it down making himself an exit that was just big enough for him to slip through. The wound on his shoulder burned but he ignored it, trying his best to squeeze through the bars, landing himself on top of the cage. Now for the hardest part.
After kicking his shoes off and watching them burn in the lava he decided not to look down anymore as he started climbing up the chain links, all of them big enough to fit a whole foot in it. When he finally found himself up in the room where they probably threw him into the cage, he looked around for potential weapons and hiding places. If they didn't have leverage then everything would go way more smooth and his family could kill them just as easily.
After taking a gold sword that was lying on the weapon rack to the side he jumped behind some netherrack, a small hole in the ground giving him perfect access to look at the arena, watching wide eyed as his brothers and father stepped in, all with stoic faces but confused the moment they stepped into the room.
Tommy chuckled very quietly when they looked back at the equally confused king before glancing at the cage, seeing the missing bar and laughing. All of them said something before his father held a sword out, pointing it at the piglins face as the man screamed for his soldiers, taking a sword of his own out. Tommy really wanted to join in but he knew it was a bad idea as his shoulder was injured and he was practically on naked soles which would only hurt him in the long run.
He also wanted to see his family fight, Technoblade gracefully slaughtering every single one of piglins that came his way, eyes a deep red and lighting up dangerously. WIlbur was no better as he threw his trident, impaling piglins and ripping at their skin and flesh as it was summoned back to his master.
But lastly, his father, the angel of death, Phil.
He had always been an enigma while fighting, taking on the piglin king with his own sword, stabbing and slashing at him, as if he was playing with his prey, luring him into a false safety before he attacked.
What was left was only blood and carnage, not a single piglin being left alive by the end of their fight.
Tommy took this as a sign and went back over to the hole, sticking his head out of it as his blond locks fell over his ears, face in a big smile as he looked at his brothers and father from above, all of them upside down from his perspective.
“So, did you have fun?”