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The ship heaved and the lights flickered. This was his chance. Tommy leaped up and banged his arm against the door opening it a bit but not completely. Taking a long bar he jammed it into the wires making the door open. He was pissed. These fuckers thought they could just snatch him from his friends and take his blood? Tommy ran throughout the corridors. A few growls could be heard behind him, it only made him quicken his pace.
Tommy saw a door open with one of the lanky bitches and ran past them into it. It had a few control panels and some more people in there who began shouting in alarm once seeing him. Tommy gripped the bar in his hand and began swinging at all who came close. It didn’t take long for the stronger ones to be down and the weaker ones to cower
Tommy felt sick at those cowering beneath him. He didn’t want to be a monster like some of them. In his thought process, another one attacked him from behind making him lean back into the control panel. This pressed a lot of buttons and had a lot of them shrieking random noises as they frantically tried to stop whatever was happening.
Tommy took this as a way to grab the thing on his back and throw it off into the panel again. This made them shriek again and some ducked underneath some counters and the planet near them began getting closer much faster than he would have liked. This was very bad. Tommy quickly scrambled back and jumped in a chair thing and braced for impact.
Tommy refused to die here as they broke through the atmosphere. There was a weird blue build-up on the front glass before he was rocked forward, his thighs hitting the panel keeping him from going too far. Holy shit that hurt so bad. Tommy gave a groan and looked around. He seemed to be the lucky one with the walls being coated in liquid. Most likely blood.
As he got more aware he heard a weird siren that sounded more like a ringtone than an `everyone gets the fuck out` sound. The aliens suck at making alarms. Tommy can write them a strongly worded email, like a Karen. He snorted to himself at this and winced from his body contracting at the movement. His arm still had a red puffy line going from the inner being to his elbow. It hurt like a bitch whenever he bent his arm.
There was a loud banging sound that snapped him out of his daze, it was getting closer and whatever it was Tommy did not want to find out. This was most likely going to kill him since he did crash a ship and is most likely not supposed to be in space. Getting up off the floor with only breathing smoke for the last five minutes was not a very good combination but he has to make do.
The banging was getting closer so he quickly half crawled half limped to the farthest wall from it and saw some light. Either he was dead or he found a way out, so naturally, he quickly went to it as fast as he could, breaking free into a jungle-looking place. The light was a blue tint with plants everywhere.
The ship was also slightly suspended, giving a look of it crashing throughout the trees and just hanging a few feet from the ground. Definitely looks stable. Tommy should probably run given the banging has gone quiet but not gone away. Tommy doesn't want to get mauled to death by a space monster so running it is.
The fresh air felt very nice in his lungs, the odds of being on a mostly oxygen planet were slim but in his favor. With all the adrenaline he could keep running, weaving through the trees, and jumping a bit when needed. It felt nice, after being cooped up for so long, it may have been a week or month Tommy doesn't know. What he does know is that he's out.
Those space fucks won't ever get to him again. Tommy was willing to fight tooth and nail to never have to go through that again. The smiley fucker was the worst. Even thinking about it had Tommy shuddering and speeding up, in fear he might be there. Tommy shook his head a bit and looked around. It seemed he was at the edge of the forest.
He put his hand on one of the trees and looked out to the grassy plains.It was mostly a grayish purple with these huge mushrooms. Tommy, though it’s really pretty with all the flowers and some animals. They looked like cows that were mixed with mushrooms. Looking mossy and fluffy all in one. He wasn't sure if they could fly but he really wanted to pet one.
Tommy was a bit hesitant when approaching one of them, it was almost as tall as him and had some rather large horns. What was he thinking just walking up to one of them? There was no self-preservation instinct going through his head as he stood in front of one. What was he supposed to do now?
The Cow mushroom looked at him and didn’t seem to care at all and sniffed his head a bit, it seemed to deem him not a threat and continued grazing. A few other cows watched before also continuing grazing. Tommy could feel a small grin come onto his face.
“I’ll name you Henry.” Tommy scooped a bit of grass in one of his hands and held it out to his new friend. This earned him a comforting chuff and a giddy feeling as Henry ate from his hand.
“You guys seem to be a cow mushroom type thing…How about a mooshroom?” Tommy glanced at another mooshroom that seemed to be a bit younger with white spots. They were also rather fluffy looking and stumbled towards him. Tommy crouched down a bit and held out a partially eaten flower to him. Henry seemed a bit confused from his flower being taken away but went back to grazing.
Tommy saw that it seemed to be a double sunset? There were two suns setting on each side of the plains, it looked cool with double moons rising on the other ends. Tommy watched the mooshrooms begin to walk in a general direction. Tommy not knowing where else to go decided to follow.
There was a head bull who everyone was following so Tommy stayed back a bit with Henry and a calf. Tommy was rather glad that the other mooshrooms accepted him so quickly into the herd. Tommy had only known Henry for about ten minutes and was already willing to die for them. Tommy wasn't sure what gender they were so big man and neutral man they were.
As Tommy kept walking with Henry occasionally bumping with the calf in a form of playing they stopped at a large river. The herd seeming to be content with this spot started laying down close to each other. Tommy felt a shiver run down his spine and Henry mooed at him.
“What? Do you need something Henry?” Tommy laid down next to them and saw the calf curl up with him. “Oh…thank you, Henry.” Tommy patted Henry's head a bit before Henry laid his head in Tommy’s lap. “Henry, you are the only mooshroom ever.” This gave him a small nudge from the calf. The calf looked over at him expecting something.
Tommy rolled his eyes and started petting the calf as well, this seemed to lull the calf to sleep and Tommy as well. The twin moons got higher and Tommy drifted off with the occasional moo being heard. The dull ache of his body served as a reminder of what he had to deal with in the morning. Something he was not looking forward to.
—-
Wilbur flicked his tail with impatience, the ship should have been at the mushroom planet an hour ago but Phil got sidetracked by the Ship crashing there and wanted to wait for a bit. Wilbur rolled his eyes at that reasoning and wanted to just go there, if they got attacked they could deal with it. No pressure, no need to wait for so long.
Wilbur wanted to just scoop up a few Mooshrooms and be done with it. Mooshrooms were a protected species, their skins boosted potions which made them highly sought for and their milk made a replenishable food source. There were some planets that people didn’t know of yet that had inhabited them which is where they were going.
Some other ship happened to get their first and freaked Phil and Techno out so they had to wait and send a small drone. Honestly, the ship was a small laboratory at best so Wilbur wasn’t sure what was getting them so riled up but the most he can do right now is wait for them to find out what the ship is doing.
Wilbur stayed there for about ten more minutes staring at the ceiling, occasionally throwing a ball up into the air when Phil opened the door with a rather serious look. Wilbur instantly got up both unnerved by how Phil was behaving and relieved for now having something to do.
“Will, the ship crashed by an inside force. They were holding something in the ship before it broke out and seemed to have smashed the control panels.” Phil seemed a bit bothered by it. Wilbur’s tail flicked a bit at the news.
Most ships had precautions from experiments escaping. He wanted to see it for himself but Phil shook his head. “The bodies are burned and destroyed, it's too gruesome.” Wilbur resigned himself from pushing on that and went for a new approach. “Are we still getting the Mooshrooms?”
Whatever they had must have gone far away from the ship, the mooshroom nesting sight is close to it. They should be rather far apart.” Mooshrooms were large and a bit intimidating; the thing should have steered clear.
Phil bristled at his question, “We do have to since we need some extra money to help pay for a new engine, the files on the ship seemed to be intact so if we got to it we can see what we're up against.” Wilbur nodded eagerly, wanting to see what caused the damage. Phil noticed this and got more worried about him. He didn’t do a good job at hiding his worry.”
“Relax Phil, I will be fine, I can carry a few weapons on me and we have a Technoblade.” Wilbur wrapped his tail around Phil’s wrist as a sign of reassurance. It was mostly a phantling gesture but Phil understood. “Wil it's just?” He gave a sigh and looked at Wilbur, “Whatever caused this damage is dangerous. It smashed the control panel straight through with just a metal rod. It’s clearly agitated and it could take it out on one of us.”
Wilbur nodded and started to walk out to the main control area. “We can check the files on the ship, see how dangerous it really is, and we’ll go from there.” Phil nodded and followed Wilbur out to Techno. He was currently messing with one of the drones trying to add something to it. Wilbur walked over to him and peered over the brute's shoulder.
“What are you doing with the drone?” Wilbur asked, poking at one of the thrusters before having his hand smacked away. “I’m upgrading the camera so we can get a better view of the land. The old camera couldn't focus on the files in the crashed ship.” His monotone voice drawled out as Wilbur looked through a bit of the old camera footage.
“If some of the panel is still intact we can get ahold of some of the security cam footage if they have any.” Wilbur nudged Techno's shoulder in a playful manner while speaking. Techno rolled his eyes but his tail swishing showed good humor. Phil got their attention by letting out a worried coo, having both boys turn to him. Phil had pulled up one of the earlier drones that were searching for the mooshroom sight.
“What is that by one of the mooshrooms? Looks weird.” Wilbur was looking at one of the mooshrooms, most likely a mother and a calf with a yellow pale ish-looking figure curled up with them. It was almost cute besides the blue splotches and cuts on the figure. It could be a survivor from the crash but why would it go curl up with the mooshrooms?
“Could be a survivor from the crash. We can also just ask them what they were harboring and see if they have a bounty.” Techno suggested. “Do all you ever think about is hunting someone down? `Oh I’m Technoblade Do they have a bounty? What about orphans having bounties? Monotone monotone.`” Wilbur mocked watching Techno's face screw up a bit. “I don’t sound like that. Or say `monotone monotone` out loud”
“You just did!”
Phil pushed them apart with his wings and gave an amused huff. He confirmed Techno's idea and sent them away to start packing, they would park near the mooshroom pack. To go scope out the survivor and get some info from them. They had methods that would work.
After a while they began lowering the ship to the grassy plain making sure to not disturb the mooshrooms too much, they still have a job to do. Although in Wilbur's opinion getting sidetracked to help save a crashed ship is a good thing to do. May when some brownie points if someone questions their morals.
Techno had a phaser on his hip with his hoof holding over it ready to shoot. Wilbur gave him an `are you that paranoid` look before hopping down onto the planet. It was a mostly oxygen planet which was rather annoying to have to be on. For a lot of species, too much oxygen was deadly and needed thin amounts of it.
They were a part of that and had little masks on to keep them from inhaling too much. Phil kept fussing with them making sure they were on tight and that they were safe like a dad. Wilbur made jokes with his name. Calling him `Dadza` in place of `Philza`. Techno did it as well but mostly when they were making fun of his age.
Wilbur walked around a few trees and walked out to the mooshrooms practically skipping there. He always was the more knowledgeable and recklessly driven out of all of them so Techno was following closely behind ready to strike. Not only attack any enemies but also Wilbur if necessary. He was always going to get himself into idiotic and dangerous situations.
Wilbur saw a yellow tuff sticking out behind a mooshroom and started navigating to it. The mooshrooms weren’t paying too much attention to him as long as he steered clear of the calves. Then the tuff quickly went down and peered around the other side. Making eye contact with Wilbur.
What the actual fuck is that. It had weird blue eyes, some pale pink skin, and had weird paws with little hard bits on the top of it. Wilbur reeled back and so did the blob giving him a better look. It had red and white loose skin on top of its torso and blue tighter skin on its legs. Before Wilbur could say anything, Techno barreled forward and grabbed him, tugging him back.
“Wilbur stays back, we don't know what species it is,” Techno said, holding a spear. Wilbur had to agree with him; it didn't look like anything that could pilot a ship. It looked injured and small. Rather weak compared to them. Techno was still wary though, even smaller species could still be deadly with venom or blinding flashes of light. There are many ways to defend yourself. Wilbur turned his attention back to the thing.
It seemed pretty distressed and made some weird noises. It was strung together like a language as it seemed to repeat some of them and looked frantic. It yelled something then got up making them both tense before it booked it. Wilbur gave a trill of surprise and started following it with Techno in his shadow giving grumbles on how this was a ‘bad idea’.
When the thing looked back and saw them following him he managed to pick up his face even further which was surprising and had Wilbur flapping his wings to give him more speed. The blond tuff on his head bounced with every step. The more Wilbur focused on it, it seemed to be hair-like but not short like most species.
Wilbur wanted to know more.
Techno gave a warning chuff and Wilbur managed to leap over a crevice in time. “Wilbur! Pay attention or I’m dragging you back to Phil!” Wilbur sighed and picked up the pace. The creature was heading to the woods. Maybe it was able to climb or duck very well. Wilbur wanted to make sure he would get to it first. He stretched his wings out and gilded above a bit his translucent skin giving a bit of camouflage into the sky. It was nice that the sun here didn’t affect him too much as he could withstand sun-5 type light. The human seemed resistant too.
The human was beginning to get cornered on a cliffside. This could be Wilbur’s chance to grab it. He could nab it easily. Right? Like the thing wasn’t as tall as he was and looked like a beaten-up twig.
Wilbur paused when the thing skidded to a stop at the edge of the cliff. At the bottom of it was a large lake -extremely deep in certain areas- and the thing didn’t have any flippers or webbed limbs. Didn’t have any swimming qualities and those that can withstand the sun usually stay away from the water. Wilbur grinned a bit as he heard Techno follow up behind him giving loud chuffs from running so much. “Should have stuck with running rather than lifting.” Wilbur chuckled at his own remark as Techno gave him a glare.
They both turned their attention to the creature again who was staring at the ground below. Most likely the lake. The thing’s loose skin was blowing in the wind, it looked painful having such loose layers. Wilbur grimaced a bit as it tucked it into its lower layer into the bottom layer surrounding its legs. Technoblade also seemed grossed out by this. “What now do we grab it and risk falling down?” Techno the ever-helpful brute states. “No shit, I have an idea. You stay back and get ready to grab it while I get up and try to scare it over here. If I get pushed I can boost myself up in the air a bit and glide back.” Techno nodded seemingly agreeing with the plan.
“What if it attacks?” Wilbur rolled his eyes. “Then you help me. Also, the thing is injured so I doubt it can do much.” Techno gave a grunt of acknowledgment before getting ready to follow Wilbur’s plan.
Wilbur began stalking closer while the piglin stood back a bit ready to strike. This action freaked the thing out and it got more twitchy. It could ruin everything if it slipped and just died. Wilbur wouldn't be too happy about it being dead but a body is better than nothing. There isn’t big enough marine life down there to eat it before Wilbur gets it back. Wilbur was a few meters away before its behavior changed. Maybe it made up its mind and was willing to go peacefully. Wilbur nearly chuckled at the thought of it being sentient. The chance of that was very low considering the state of the thing.
The thing gave a loud growly sound before turning to Wilbur with a new look in its eyes. It lowered its stance a bit looking ready to fight before spinning around and willingly jumping off the cliff into the lake. Techno gave an alarmed squeal before running up to Wilbur who was staring over the cliff as the thing splashed down and disappeared under the surface of the water. They both watched in suspense and in awe. “DID IT JUST FUCKING COMMIT SUICIDE?!” Wilbur squawked, still staring at the spot it landed.
Technoblade said nothing before letting out a surprised noise and pointed to something. Wilbur looked where he was directing at and saw this fucking creature swimming to shore in the most unnatural way he has ever seen. It seemed to be stretching itself out and using its limbs to push itself through the enderdamn water to make it to shore. What the actual fuck.
“Wha…What is that thing! I saw it didn’t have any swimming attributes! It just looked built for running!” Techno just looked disturbed before pulling out his coms and calling Phil. The familiar ‘hey mate’ wasn’t enough to break Wilbur’s trance of staring at the creature that had now reached shore and was staring up at them. It made a loud noise of victory before running into the forest. “Hello? Is something wrong? You guys aren’t saying anything?”
—-
Tommy was running from this bastard for so damn long before stopping at a cliff. The boar pig thing caught up and they seemed to be planning something. At least it gave him time to think. Maybe outsmart them in the process. Tommy just needed a break to either mentally break down or just stop to fix his injuries. Any break would be good actually. Tommy looked down over the cliff and saw a huge lake thing that seemed deep. It had a darker pit of green that was clear-looking. No visible rocks or things to block him.
He snapped his attention back to the two monsters when he heard the grayish one get closer. Did they think he was that dumb to not notice their plan? Lure him to the pink guy and then he gets snatched. Like what the actual fuck. They are so fucking stupid to underestimate him like that. Humans can do cliff jumping, he’s seen youtube videos. The swim team his mom made him do when he was younger. He missed her.
Tommy steeled his nerves and began contemplating which fate he would choose. Either fall to his presumed death or get taken by these guys and to his presumed death.
Tommy lowered his shoulders and took a deep breath in. The muppet guy seemed alarmed at this and Tommy turned around and ran to the edge and jumped aiming for the most likely deepest part he regretted his choices mid-air. Not just jumping off a rather high cliff but life in general. Sneaking off and getting abducted. Getting into arguments with all the adult figures in his life. Getting kicked out and lived with his aunt clementine who actually tried to help him.
Tommy hit the water and he immediately began swimming to land. He stayed underneath the water until his breath was gone and he popped up and began doing breaststroke to get as fast as he could to land. What could be underwater was suddenly dawning on him and the urge to get the fuck out was stronger than ever. The land didn’t seem to be coming soon enough. Every little brush against his leg most likely from plant life but didn’t help his fear. When the rocky beach came he breathed a sigh of relief.
When he looked up both the creatures seemed a lot less intimidating and smaller. He shouted, “SUCK MY DICK BITCH I WON!” Tommy gave a cheeky grin before running into the woods letting out breaths of laughter. He won. He got away and is free. He may not be home but he is away from the torture. He can take a break. He can notice how his ankle is throbbing and his skin is stinging a bit from hitting the surprisingly not acidic water. Tasted sweet so he has a water source that he won't feel bad if he dies from it.
Tommy looked around and sighed. A tree kind of looked climbable. Tommy winced as he placed a bit of weight on his foot and used his nonexistent upper body strength to pull himself up into the tree. It had a bit of moss where the branches spread out making a nest of sorts. It looked nice to sleep in. He felt the adrenaline wear off and he laid his head down in his arms and curled up into the moss. He can deal with injuries in the morning. Just in case he placed his injured foot up to be elevated because that's what you do with foot injuries. Right?
Tommy looked up and had a nice view of the stars. It was a different constellation than Earth’s. A friendly reminder that he was thousands of miles away from home. Millions most likely. If his cheeks had tears going down them. He refused to notice them. It was merely the rain in the clear sky.
He closed his eyes and let sleep take him.
-
In the morning Tommy was sore as all hell. His legs felt like jelly and his ankle felt like it was on fire. Upon looking at it, it looked like it was either broken or very strained with its balloon inflamed appearance. He won’t be able to run for a while or walk properly. The sun was right above him, did he really sleep through the entire day? His body was really needing the rest from all the running he did. Maybe working out more would have been useful now.
Tommy slid down the tree, his stomach the thing that prompted his effort to move and find food. The world looked eerily similar to Earth but very different. It gave a sick sense of nostalgia and homesickness that twisted in his gut but that could have been hunger for all he knows. He winced as he placed weight on his ankle again but he needed to. A walking stick was close and he needed it to walk properly. Like how it was so cleverly named.
Once he bent down and grabbed the stick, it looked like a wizard staff. It had a curved hook at the top and was a twisted bark. It made a small grin appear on his face. Once he got over his harry potter daydream. The stick worked pretty well and was surprisingly strong for its thickness. He named it Henry stickman, from his favorite game. It was a slight uphill walk and Tommy made sure to leave a small trail to make it back to his tree on his quest for food. Random bushes that had flowers became more frequent before he found one with berries.
Tommy inspected the berries before eating one. It tasted a bit salty but not bad. Ignoring the idea of a salty blueberry he ate a few more before placing some in his pockets and moving on. He refuses to survive off salty blueberries for the rest of his life. Oh yeah. He will be here for the rest of his life. He can’t get home.
He…can’t go home.
Ever.
Tommy freely let the tears flow. Not like anyone could point it out. Nobody can really talk to him.
Tommy wiped his eyes and continued on. The forest seemed to change into a different type with the trees getting higher and more spread apart and the ground having more stones than dirt. Tommy preferred walking here and thought of it as a nice stroll in the park rather than a hunt for food to avoid crying again. There wasn’t any edible-looking fruit around so he changed directions and started heading out again. Determined to find non-salty fruit. Was it a fruit? Tommy grabbed one from his pocket and tore it open to find a seed.
He found none. Maybe it had a different type of seed than the ones on earth. Tommy had a new goal of finding out if this salt-berry was a fruit. He didn’t find anything that resembled a seed, just more goop. He sighed and ate the rest of it before turning to the edge of the forest. He saw the cows again. Tommy’s eyes widened and he ran up to them trying to find Henry and her calf. He was wanting to see some sense of nostalgia for cows -the best animal- and see if they were okay.
Before exiting the forest he peeked out a bit wondering if the aliens were nearby, he probably shouldn't be here. If he managed to walk this quickly back to where he used to be then the aliens could get to him easily too. The Mooshroom could have also moved since he last saw them. Tommy looked around where they were, to see if he recognized the area. No ships were around, which was very nice. Tommy smirked at that. He also didn’t see any hostile-looking things or aliens. So it seemed very safe. As safe as a foreign planet can get.
Tommy limped to the Mooshrooms, the stick acting like a third leg rather than support, it helped but not enough for him to pick up speed like he did yesterday. They didn’t mind that he was walking past and checking all of them. He gave a sigh of relief when he saw Henry and her calf. They didn’t show too much emotion about him being back but Tommy was happy. Once he sat by Henry again he laid back against her and relaxed a bit. He felt her calf nudge his hand.
“You need a name. Hmmm, what about shroud? You seem like a shroud.” Shroud just nibbled his hand for any flowers before going back to grazing. Tommy noticed a bush with fruit next to them and picked a few off. They were different colors, most likely representing the stages of ripeness. To see which one was edible he held them out to Henry who sniffed them. They went from a pale green to a dark yellow. Not very appealing but beggars can’t be choosers.
Henry went for the more appealing dark yellow instantly and ignored the other ones. Tommy looked over at her “You better not have just gotten me poisoned I would feel very betrayed at that.” The serious tone did nothing while Henry continued to munch on a berry. Tommy sighed and grabbed another dark yellow one. “Oh well…. Bottoms up!” He was pleasantly surprised by the sweet taste and it reminded him of a sugar-coated watermelon. Almost overwhelmingly sweet but it was better than a salty fucking blueberry.
“These will do. I could combine them with salty things but it could be toxic. Like the salt and vinegar experiment, you know? The volcano thing for a science festival. Or how movies portray it..” Tommy was rambling and when he looked at Henry she had a resting bitch face and seemed to want Tommy to be quiet already. Tommy chuckled at this and looked up. The duel suns seemed to be setting. “I’ll have to get going to avoid another run-in with the aliens. I won't keep you here all day…er rest of the day.”
Tommy patted Henry’s nose before getting up and giving Shroud a pat before leaving. He began walking back to the forest and looking for where his trail left off. It was a thin line easy to miss but once you spotted it, the line was looking more out of place and easy to follow. He glanced back and noticed an odd figure circling in the sky. Tommy sometimes hates being a human, mostly for their curiosity. The thing that Tommy will proceed to blame as he walks out to the field once more and looks at this winged figure circling the Mooshrooms. It seemed to be wearing robe-like clothing that blew in the wind. It had a rather long tail with feathers at the end and it would occasionally make the figure turn.
What brought him out of his thoughts was it making a sharp trill that echoed throughout the field startling a few cows. Tommy frowned at him, turned around, and bent down to pick up a rock. Instead, he was met with the same alien from yesterday, with it being so close he could see it was slightly translucent. Tommy gave a shriek and jumped back. He didn’t hear a fucking thing! How did it approach so quietly? The thing started coming towards him and he heard a thump behind him. He was spinning his head back and forth trying to keep his eye on both the ghost alien and the bird alien.
“STAY THE FUCK BACK!” Tommy shouted, it startled the bird creature and only seemed to encourage the ghost one. Tommy was truly terrified now. A deep unsettling feeling was swimming through his body the more he stood there between the two.
The ghost gave a weird noise that seemed to combine two sounds and the bird unsurprisingly chirped back. Tommy decided to not hang around and dug the stick into the ground and launched himself back, away from both of them. He grit his teeth and dug his bad foot into the ground and launched himself into a run, a squeal came from behind him but he didn’t look back and kept going. Tommy refused to become some sort of fucked pet or lab rat….or whatever space fucks do to other random space fucks.
Tommy stumbled a bit from the sharp pains climbing up his leg getting stronger and stronger. Tommy took a quick look behind and noticed he was not being chased. Huh. Did he just fuck up his leg for no reason? He was quickly proved wrong when the same shadow flew over him and dropped the ghost fucker who apparently has wings and began gliding down to him. Tommy gave a surprising very manly cry before going down the hill. Unaware that them leading him out to open land with no hiding positions was their plan.
Tommy was using the stick to launch himself forward again and again. The stick was making concerning noises and he was sure it would break any moment. It only worsened his anxiety and made it spike up every time he used the stick. Which was constantly if the flapping noises behind him were anything to go on. Tommy jumped a bit on his good leg to give Henry stickman a moment to rest. The one thing he so desperately needs.
Tommy felt tears building up in his eyes on how unfair he had it right now. He was taken and dissected alive. Tommy shuddered at it remembering the scabs that covered his stomach and arms. How it stung when he jumped in the water. The adrenaline and the will to live are the only things keeping him going. Even those were dwindling down, Henry would miss him. Right?
Tommy tripped and fell tumbling down to a creek that seemed to divide the land, it wasn’t too small but he could wade through it and get to the other side. Hopefully, it can slow the gliding one down since it has to have landed now. He could probably take the bird one out with just a wack of Henry stickman. Everything would be fine. Everything is fine. Tommy hopped out on the other side. Tommy looked back and saw the ghost fucker staring back at him. It was making small huffing sounds most likely out of breath as well.
It took a step closer and Tommy took one back ready to bolt making the other freeze. It took one step back so Tommy took one step forward. If Tommy wasn’t so freaked out he would have laughed. The thing made a weird trilling noise and very carefully took something from its pocket or bag. Looked like a bag but attached to its clothes. Tommy tensed slightly if it took out a laser gun, or whatever aliens used in space. Tommy didn’t know and he wasn’t about to stick around and find out.
It wasn’t a gun, it was a weird digital screen that was slightly transparent. Had odd purple symbols on it, Tommy leaned forward slightly wanting to see what was on the screens. This freaked Ghosty out, yes he nick-named it Ghosty. Ghosty jumped a bit and Tommy took a step back which calmed it down a bit. Ghosty took a hesitant step forward making Tommy step back one. It didn’t seem as threatening anymore, more docile. Tommy gave a small amused breath and Ghosty gave a small trill while adding more symbols to the transparent plate.
Their little dance kept going on for a little while. Tommy can’t guess how long it must have gone on. Sometimes it would be two steps back and one step forward, they remained on opposite sides neither daring to cross the stream or get too close. It lifted a small weight off his shoulders just giving him some time not to have to overthink. Only step forward one take one or two back. Tommy would talk a bit, talking about whatever came to mind. Sometimes Ghosty would respond, other times he would put down more symbols.
Tommy grew more curious and noticed that the symbols tend to follow a pattern of sorts. Like writing. Ghosty trilled in a more happy tone and took two steps forward holding out the item. Tommy didn’t step back wanting to see what was on it.
Tommy paused and a thought went through his head. “Are those notes? You’re taking notes of me?” Ghosty grew wary of his voice being slightly raised and gave a small hiss. Not threatening nor good. Tommy calmed down and took a step back. Ghosty took one forward and wrote some more notes down. Tommy got irritated, “Just writing and provoking me like some sort of animal, that's kinda fucked innit?” Ghosty only trilled and leaned forward a bit. Tommy made a shooing motion and Ghosty took a step back seeming disappointed but added an especially long note. The writing is a bit less neat.
Tommy glared a bit which Ghosty didn’t care too much about, mostly trying to get more reactions out of him. Or so he thought it really seemed like it. Tommy continued with the little game a bit more. Ghosty didn’t notice his revelation and seemed content to continue going back and forth. Tommy tried to remain as normal as possible. He looked up at the alien, taking a deep breath. Ghosty was writing more, not bothering to look up at him. Barely acknowledging him as a threat. Tommy refrained from chuckling at how he was going to confuse the shit out of Ghosty.
Ghosty gave a small trill and took a step forward.
Tommy took a step to the left.
Ghosty looked like he was rebooting. He gave a weird chuffing noise and pulled up his notes, erasing some and taking a cautious step to the right with him. Tommy gave an angry noise. Not sure what it is but it got Ghosty to step back to his original spot. Ghosty took a step to the left and Tommy repeated the noise. Ghosty clicked some sort of undo button and the writing came back up. He erased a bit and hesitated, looking up from the tablet to Tommy a few times. Its tail lashed on the ground. Tommy pinched his sides to stop from laughing.
“I mean if you’re going to take notes about me, I might as well make it as confusing as fucking possible.” Ghosty looked up at him and Tommy jumped up straight in the air doing a little spin. Ghosty seemed frozen then started furiously writing and erasing. Tommy stood there watching Ghosty slowly dissolve into madness. The writing and erasing kept going on until his wings drooped a bit and he bonked his head on his tablet. Tommy felt a little bit of guilt go through him. Tommy shook his head. No! This alien fucker has been chasing him and provoking him. Fuck this guy.
Tommy spun again and Ghosty gave a frustrated chirp and stomped back a bit and seemed to be gripping the tablet harder. Tommy gave a soft chuckle which Ghosty replied with a defeated trill he had sunken down to the ground his head hung low. Tommy was a bit surprised at how well it worked. Ghosty’s wristband started glowing in beat with the noises coming from it. Ghosty perked up and responded with similar grunts and chirps. This got Tommy’s attention he stepped closer and watched as Ghosty swiped onto a map-looking thing. There were two dots near each other and one coming closer rapidly.
Tommy tilted his head in confusion, those were them. Right? So the bird and Ghost were here then the boar would be the one coming over. Tommy snapped his head up and looked around, Ghosty made a sharp squeak and tried to get his attention again. Tommy took a step back, noticing a pink figure behind him getting closer alarmingly. Tommy tensed up and looked around for his walking stick. Ghosty and he both lunged at it. Ghosty got it first and pushed him back a bit.
Tommy stumbled a bit and very muscular limbs wrapped around him causing him to start struggling. Tommy began yelling swears and tried to bite the pink bitch who was starting to carry him somewhere. He got squeezing particularly hard, knocking some breath out of him. Tommy began breathing heavily. He kicked his legs out again trying to grab anything to stop the boar. Tommy got squeezed again canceling his efforts and a sharp trill came from his right and Ghosty reached out a claw to his face. Tommy -naturally- tried to bite it, Ghosty pulled back with a sharp chirp. Tommy tensed waiting to be squeezed but all he felt was the boar alien’s breath go over his neck as he made a chuckling noise.
Tommy hung his head down in fear, weighing his body down. Tommy can wait for a bit. He can do sneak attacks.
Tommy won't go down. Without a fight.
—-
Wilbur watched as the scavenger, (cleverly named from how they witnessed it gather food) had its head down in a defeated pose. Wilbur was rather pissed at Techno for harming it. He could have killed it! Leaving Wilbur without any more research. He must figure out what the actual fuck it was doing earlier. Like was that some sort of offense mechanism? Or a thing to intimidate him? Wilbur needed answers and some medical supplies as he was limping. Could be a ruse to lure in prey and attack them. Most likely not but the theory is there.
Wilbur looked up and noticed that they were at the ship already. Phil opened the hatch, he had flown overhead making sure nothing went wrong. Phil always was a mother hen, making sure his flock was okay. Techno and Wilbur always liked to make fun of him for being older than them. Wilbur looked back over to the scavenger who had lifted its head to look around a bit. Its eyes have widened a bit and let out a soft whimper. Wilbur felt sorry for it. The need for research outweighed the guilt. Wilbur always had a thirst for knowledge and the unknown. Now that he has something that can fill that void. He isn't going to let it go.
Wilbur skipped a bit onto the ship making Phil let out a small laugh at his antics. When he got to the holding chamber he fluffed up the pillow a bit and looked back just in time to see Techno approach. The scavenger looked very stressed and made weird breathing noises. “Techno how tight are you holding it?” Techno looked down at it. “Not tight. I think the breathing noises are a panic response. Best to give it some time to settle down.” Wilbur nodded and stepped out while Technoblade set it down on the bed and quickly made his way back to the door.
The scavenger didn’t move once it was sat down and stayed in a statue-like state, Wilbur’s heard of other species doing that before but they tended to be on the younger side. Wilbur didn’t want to harm a literal child, it could not be a child. It had basic survival skills. He had seen it take berries from an old bush bat carcass. It had managed to find out which ones weren’t poisonous which was fascinating. Could have something to do with how it moves to the side. Wilbur lashed his tail a bit thinking about it.
Wilbur walked off only glancing back a few times. Techno has long since left saying something about how he wanted its germs off him. Wilbur wasn’t paying attention, Tech most likely knew this when he walked off. Wilbur walked towards his sleeping quarters and sat at his desk. Each room based on what someone did for the ship gives them access to the compartments and files that pertained to their job. Since Wilbur was the medic/scientist he has access to all of the medical supplies and files on his crewmates; food allergies, medical history, and cultural restrictions.
He pulled up a new file and began copying and pasting his new notes into it with some security footage of its behavior from when it first got on the ship. He continued editing his notes until he got a ping from Phil. It was a simple message. One very clear with no ulterior motive. Just a ‘Get to fucking bed’ also Techno telling him something about not letting the creature out or something. Wilbur narrowed his eyes at the screen and continued writing. Ignoring the increasingly more frequent pings before they went silent. Wilbur sighed and continued writing.
Halfway through the anatomy sketch of it, a loud bang came from outside his door followed by a very tired yet determined elytra that started coming towards him. Wilbur sideways fell out of his chair and began trying to book it away, a futile attempt but an attempt nonetheless. The elytra quickly scooped him up and began booking it down the hallway with a tired Technoblade looking out slightly from his door. He quickly backed away into his room to not also be snatched by the elytra. It was not successful as he heard pitiful chirping outside his door. Techno sighed and followed them into Phil’s room.
Phil chirped happily and quickly tucked them all away, his wings protectively covering both of them as he got ready to sleep again. Techno glared at Wilbur and harshly whispered, “This could have been avoided if you fucking went to bed at a reasonable time instead of focusing on a freaking scavenger!” Phil gave a scolding trill to which Wilbur smugly looked at Techno that pinched him taking the smirk away.
Phil gave a soothing trill to convince them to sleep as he pulled more blankets over them and tried to separate them with pillows to end the bickering. It worked partially before Wilbur slid his arm underneath it to pinch Techno back before quickly rolling to the side confusing Phil. Techno glared at him before a feathery limb went in between them and the lights dimmed quickly.
Wilbur chuckled and laid back in the warmth.
In the morning Wilbur needed to get up and check on the scavenger. It seemed panicked and Wilbur wanted to make sure it didn’t die. Techno did a number on it when he thought they were threatened. Wilbur speed-walked down the hallway. His wings did a fluttery swoosh in beat with his steps. Techno noticed this and stopped him. Wilbur opened his mouth to argue before a piece of fruit was stuck in his mouth. Wilbur stood there confused before Techno walked away without a word.
Wilbur stopped for a moment to process before eating more of the fruit. He walked down the hall more calmly. The door to the scavenger could turn semi-transparent to view the interior. Wilbur calmed his excited nerves and opened the door. Calm him an idiot but the thing seemed easy to take down. Wilbur lost in his thoughts barely had time to process before the thing pushed him to the side and ran out the door. Wilbur let out a shocked squeak before getting up and running after it.
It was making sharp turns down the hall with Wilbur yelling at it to stop, hoping to alert his crewmates. The ship wasn’t too big, just two stories with a shipping room attached on the side to transport items for jobs. It wasn’t too helpful now since it provided escape routes and hiding places for this little fucker who won't stop running. Its leg seemed a bit better with a weird purple splotch where it was injured. Wilbur continued staring at it and tripped. The thing gave a weird breathy noise like when Wilbur got frustrated with it.
Wilbur narrowed his eyes at it. This bitch continued running down the hall making the fucking huffy sound. Was that how it fueled itself? Wilbur got back up and did not learn from his mistakes. Wilbur was comparing the situations in which it made this sound. It made the sound when things either went its way or when something unfortunate happened. What the fuck did it mean? Wilbur looked up just in time to narrowly make a sharp turn and saw the end of it get bounced back into sight. A very pissed-off piglin who may or may not have said to not let the fucking scavenger out.
Wilbur chuckled and stood up walking as smoothly as he could and cleared his vocal shifters, “Heyyyy Techno, funny seeing you here. Uhh….erm…How are the kids?”
Nailed it.
Techno narrowed his eyes and stormed past him bumping Wilbur on the way with the scavenger in hand looking thoroughly pissed off. Wilbur gave a nervous huff and followed after him. Phil would most likely find out if he walked through the hallways and saw this circus show but Wilbur had another idea. It was bound to fail, yet worth a try.
Wilbur not so subtly walked in front of them and pointed behind Techno giving a very convincing shout. “HOLY FUCK WHAT IS THAT!?” Techno whirled around and Wilbur snatched the scavenger away and started booking it down the hallway. The scavenger didn’t fight too much and looked amused at the situation. With its weird hairs above its eyes turned upward and its paws doing little grabby things in his hair. It looked cute in an ugly sort of way.
Wilbur made a sharp turn and used his wings to gain speed which sparked a squeak from the scavenger as Technoblade crashed into the wall and immediately got back up to chase after them. Wilbur always won in their games of tag when they were younger. He has still proven to be able to outrun Techno now. It's just he's carrying an increasingly heavier animal in his arms and one very pissed-off piglin brute.
Oh fuck. He's going to die.
Wilbur picked up the pace a bit and once he got to a garage that held the plants that had an open pathway above them. Wilbur spread out his wings and tried to pick them up. Techno let out an angry growl as they flung out of reach. They both crashed onto the railing that gave a dangerous sway before going still once more. Wilbur let out a breathy trill of relief and the scavenger looked back at Techno through the grated floor and Wilbur. Wilbur wondered what it was thinking if it was even sapient. Wilbur relaxed a bit which had the scavenger also relax some to his surprise. Maybe it began to trust him?
This was all shattered when Techno fucking blade decided to cheat against the non-existent rules. “PHILL!!” Techno called making direct fucking eye contact with Wilbur. Wilbur started trying to get the now panicking scavenger to haul ass out of there before an elytron burst through the doors looking panicked. Techno rarely ever called for him so desperately. Phil followed his gaze up to Wilbur who was shoving the scavenger away not so discreetly. Phil’s face almost had Wilbur burst out laughing from the sheer confusion on it….. if the situation was different.
Wilbur gave a nervous chuckle. “Lovely weather isn't it?”
Phil narrowed his eyes, the confusion was gone, and the payment for such disturbance was death.
The scavenger let out another squeak but it seemed more aggressive than the others and it was mostly directed towards Phil who puffed up his feathers in a warning response. Wilbur, not wanting to start a fight in the middle of the garden, grabbed the scavenger's paw and booked it, hearing Phil give a squawk at their departure. Phil was the fastest out of all of them and was quickly gaining on them. Wilbur finally found the laboratory and quickly pushed both of them into it and locked the door.
Wilbur heard Phil banging on the door telling him to open it while Wilbur yelled back, “Just trust me on this!” Wilbur chuckled as Phil gave an annoyed trill and seemed to be pacing. Wilbur turned around with a victorious beat in his step and looked around for the scavenger. He saw him staring at the notes about him. There are a few drawings of him on it. Maybe he recognized them. He’s heard of other animals knowing their reflection. This would be remarkable though if it can see itself through Wilbur’s awful drawing skills.
Wilbur walked up to it making sure his footsteps were loud enough to not spook it when he stood beside it. Wilbur put a hand on its shoulder area and guided it to the window that pointed to space.
It had multiple galaxies shown about in a vast array of colors from purple to a bright green. It would be impressive to Wilbur if he hadn't seen it a million times in different colors and such, but there was always something magical in watching someone else see it for the first time.
The scavenger pressed its face up to the glass and seemed to be excited and pointed at it. Wilbur laughed a bit and indulged it, “Yeah! It’s a galaxy! It's one that has over a thousand planets including the one I’m from! Maybe I can take you there one day.” The scavenger seemed much more relaxed the more Wilbur talked. This was a clear sign of intelligence and Wilbur was going to figure out what made it click.
The scavenger leaned back a bit against the wall and chattered back. They couldn't understand each other but the simple aspect of the company was enough for them. After a while, the scavenger made a weird sound and opened its mouth very wide. Wilbur stiffened thinking it was a sign of aggression before it slumped down a bit and its eyes fluttered a bit.
Wilbur caught on and realized they have been up for a long time, while Wilbur may be nocturnal the scavenger from what they have gathered wasn’t. Wilbur finally unlocked the door and guided the scavenger back to its room. It didn’t protest and went with Wilbur willingly and made little chattering noises. Nobody ran into them as they made their way back to the cell and the door was still open when they got there. Wilbur watched as the scavenger went back to its odd nest and seemed into a ball and fell quickly asleep.
Wilbur chuckled and closed the door hearing the click of the lock as he went back down the hallways, this could be the start of something good.
In the morning Wilbur got quite a scolding from the others for locking himself with something potentially dangerous. Phil kept dotting on him and seeing if he was injured in any way, while Techno took a more psychological approach and ignored him and made irritating chuffs at him along with side glares. That petty bastard. Every attempt at conversation was shot down with silence and a back turn. Wilbur always started his morning off by talking with the crew and now all he has is Phil trying to squirrel him away into the nest before he had anything to eat. Wilbur sighed and began talking about all that went on last night to finally gain their attention and to stop the fucking side glances whenever he did shit.
“So I needed to prove I would protect it so I bolted from you guys which is definitely not because I was doing something I wasn’t supposed to do.” Wilbur quickly said the last part ignoring the pointed looks he got. “So we gain this thing's trust and then train it to be our pet?” Technoblade narrowed his eyes and seemed skeptical. The plan was rather sketchy with it solely depending on it being intelligent enough to not see them as a threat yet also dumb enough to train. It sounded like shit the more he thought about it but worth a try, this could be the best pet or the worst. Wilbur grinned as Phil seemed more and more on his side, Phil always wanted something a bit on the smaller side to coddle.
Besides, what could go wrong?
Wilbur had a pep in his step as he walked down with the other two in his toe, the first thing they needed to do was to make sure they wouldn't poison it and needed to get a quick scan. Make sure it wouldn't die before they got to the fun part. The door slid open a little creakily which was odd. It slowly revealed what the problem was when he saw the scavenger using it as a stepping stool to climb into the ceiling tiles. What the fuck.
Wilbur grabbed one of its legs making it shriek as Phil and Techno came into the room concerned. They quickly dissolved into laughter at Wilbur trying to drag the scavenger back while it made angry chattering noises and swatted at him. They both fell down as the scavenger continued to chatter at Wilbur. It seemed like it was pissed but still wary, damn Wilbur hoped that the fear had worn off after a night's sleep. Guess not.
Wilbur glared at his pseudo-family who didn’t help but a more threatening sound came from it as it noticed the other two. It stood a bit behind Wilbur and had its mouth open showing dull canines. Wilbur bapped its forehead in an attempt to teach it not to growl. It repeated the action on Wilbur's head and bapped him back. It became a contest while Techno continued to lose his shit while Phil watched carefully to make sure nobody got hurt but he seemed to ease up after a while.
Wilbur got the last bap in before grabbing the scavenger's weird limb and taking off to the lab. The lab was originally a split room between the mechanical area and flammable chemicals, nothing as definitely never went wrong. They fixed it eventually and made a wall and a door separating them. Easy solution. The door was a bit flimsy yet functional. Wilbur burst through rattling a few jars and startling the scavenger who looked confused as fuck. Wilbur sat it down on one of the chairs before grabbing some charts for food allergies and such to make sure he never forgets.
The scavenger kind of looked around, its pupils seemed to dilate in the light a bit becoming smaller and more pinpointed. Wilbur quickly wrote it down in the general notes. It noticed this and narrowed its eyes to which Wilbur wrote more. The thing gave a huffing sound similar to Techno which had him perk up and look over. Techno repeated the chuff to which it mimicked it back and added some more chittering on the end. Phil looked surprised and intrigued. Wilbur grinned and walked to the door leading to the mechanical room.
The scavenger followed which made them a bit concerned if it got any prototypes for weapons or tools. That could be very bad but Techno stuck by its side most likely getting a bit broody from it mimicking a chuff at him. He always acted tough but when you reminded him of his pack he got into a huge softy and was very sweet. Wilbur always had a soft spot for Techno, it was a running joke that they were from the same litter even though they were entirely different species. The scavenger tried to pick up an automatic nail gun which Techno quickly steered it away.
Wilbur chuckled and continued to look for an analyzer to make the process go quicker and some rope in case it tried to fight for real. Best to be prepared at all times. Wilbur grabbed the supplies and saw Techno distracting it with an older model of a decipherer, Wilbur chuckled and called for them to come back. They both seemed to be bickering which was surprising then again Techno always had a soft spot for animals and such. Wilbur set off the table and began to clean it and Phil walked briskly over to them and fiddled with it after seeing Techno fail three too many times. The scavenger seemed agitated and made a half-hearted attempt to bite Phil but Techno pushed its head back and Phil adjusted the thing on its neck.
Wilbur sighed at the realization that he would have to undo all of the headgear to do a professional check-up. Wilbur begrudgingly moved over to try and undo it before Phil pushed him back a bit. “We just got it on and he honestly looks a bit adorable with it, so let me at least get a photo.” Wilbur gave another look at it, with its face all scrunched up. It kind of looked cute with a little earpiece and collar-like machinery on it. “It’s not fucking cute!” Wilbur barely sparred a glance while Phil looked for the camera. “Yes, it is Techno.” he replied without missing a beat.
“Will…” Wilbur turned around to glare at Techno who seemed surprised.
“What?”
“I didn’t say anything.”
Wilbur looked back at Phil who now grew concerned from listening to the conversation.
“What? You honestly think that this little guy just got up and became sapient?”
Wilbur felt a kick on his leg and he looked at the source of it. This little shit just kicked hi-
“I’m not fucking little you massive dickhead. I am sapient! And can kick your fucking ass you dumb-looking prick.” The scavenger made direct eye contact while cursing him out.
“WHAT THE FUCK”