Chapter Text
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It was dark. It was dark and so incredibly cold. The cold wasn’t all that bothersome, it wasn’t hard to ignore the cold, just blocking it out would normally be easy. But the dark was the kicker. You can’t see in this type of darkness. It was pitch black and you can’t see, when you blink you can’t tell that you did. There was no difference when your eyes were closed or when they were open. It was terrifying. It was laughable to think you could tell what was in the dark with you as well. Was he alone? Was something out to get him? Was he here for him? It was impossible to tell at this point, who could say.
Because of the dark, it was also hard to block out the cold. So focused on the dark and fearing whatever was inside it, never allowed him to pretend he was warm. He was too busy pretending he was safe. Which probably wasn’t a good thing to pretend.
He couldn’t move. The cold wouldn’t allow it. Trying to move hurt more than any other pain he had ever felt before. The kind of pain that is numb, like dull needles pushing their way inside of your skin, tearing you muscles apart and slowly getting worse until you stopped moving or couldn’t move anymore. Whoever said hell was burning hot flames and fire had clearly never never felt this kind of pain before.
It was cold. It was cold and so incredibly dark. He wasn’t sure what scared him more. The fact that the cold was this crippling, or the fact that anyone could be anywhere near him and he would have no idea. His heart was slow, he could hear the beating in his ears, it was practically deafening. But it was slow. Distantly he knew that it was too slow. How, he wasn’t sure. He didn’t remember learning about how fast or slow your heartbeat should be. Perhaps it was something every living creature knew, that your beat shouldn’t be this slow. However there was no way to raise it. Moving hurt and he was already terrified. Shouldn’t his heart be beating faster?
Happiness caused his heart to beat faster before. At least he thinks it was happiness. He couldn’t quite remember. He thinks his brain might also be slow, like his heartbeat, but he couldn’t hear his brain so he wasn’t sure. Man his heartbeat was loud in his ears. If something moved he doubted he’d be able to hear it at this point. Maybe he was losing his hearing. Why was it so loud?
He was breathing funny, and he stopped shivering. He supposed that was a good sign, he was getting less cold? He didn’t feel any less cold. But he was getting tired. His heartbeat was loud but calming. Yeah, calming seemed right. It was a nice pattern that was lulling him to sleep. He should sleep. It was always dark when he slept and always light when he woke up. So the light would probably come back if he went to sleep. Sure, it had never been that dark before, but maybe that meant it would be brighter than it ever had been before when he woke up. He’d like that. Light meant heat, like the sun. Man did he miss the sun right now, it was both warm and bright. It’d be nice to have some sun right now. Oh well he’d have to wait until morning. When he woke up everything would be better. The sun and it would be brighter than it ever had before. That sounded really good.
He drifted off, his eyes drooping and he did nothing to try and stop them. Why would he, he’s tired and the sun would be there when he woke up. But then what was that bright light that just showed up? Oh well, he’d figure it out in the morning. He thought as he fell asleep.
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Tubbo never wanted to go to training. This was only reinforced by the fact that he wasn’t the one to do the training. He was helping Ranboo train, which would normally be fine… if today wasn’t teleportation training. Or rather, power training since technically Tubbo was training himself as well. Which is how he found himself in this situation. Honestly, if Schlatt hadn’t taken him to that restaurant around the corner Tubbo would have placed money on him being out of state. Ranboo hadn’t quite gotten the hang of his powers yet and Tubbo was now across the entire city, waiting for Technoblade to send a driver to come pick him up. This was definitely not ideal.
He was over two hours away from headquarters and his room for that matter. This was going to be one hell of a long wait, and it was in a shady part of town too. Well that’s probably why he recognized it, Schlatt could never take them to a restaurant that wasn’t shady before they joined their… organization. Well to be 100% fair their organization was probably just as shady as this part of town.
If Tubbo had been anyone else, he’d probably be fairly scared about what could happen to him. After all he was clearly not from around here, his clothes were probably worth enough to buy food for a week for someone. The bracelet Schlatt had given him as an apology for almost losing custody of him could possibly buy someone a small apartment for a good while. So a mugging was a large probability, but Tubbo wasn’t scared. In fact he almost wanted someone to try it. After all, his own training had been cut short and this would give him a real world experience.
Now that he was gone, Tubbo briefly wondered if Technoblade had taken up on helping Ranboo train. Ranboo was his apprentice, though he guessed it would make sense if Tubbo was the one he practiced teleporting on. After all, he could be hurt and teleportation was certainly going to hurt him. If he had been teleported into lava or a vat of chemicals Tubbo wouldn’t be affected besides maybe discomfort but if it had been Technoblade or literally anyone else they would’ve been dead.
Although Technoblade could probably handle this situation much better than Tubbo. Technoblade might even have started walking back by now, probably meeting the car about halfway. Not Tubbo though. He was told to stay put, that Quackity would come pick him up. He guessed it wouldn't be too long then. Quackity would catch all the green lights and have little to no traffic. Just the perks of having a luck based power he guessed.
A rustling next to him grabbed his attention. He stood up from his seat on the curb and looked down the dark alleyway. Someone was about halfway in a trash can, just digging away in it. Tubbo winced, he had been close to having to do something like that. If Schlatt had lost custody of him Tubbo would’ve been forced to live on the streets. Although legally Tubbo would be placed into foster care, it wouldn’t have been long once they discovered his power.
S-Level power of indestructibility. That was Tubbo. There were only four S-Level people in the entire world and Tubbo just happened to be one of them. While containment units and companies were legally and considered inhumane, plenty still existed. Many lower level powered people believed that anyone with a B-level power or higher should be contained. They were ‘dangerous’, like their lives didn’t matter as much as everyone else's.
But anyway, he felt for the kid that was rummaging through the trash. After all, if one thing had gone differently he would be in the same boat. So, steeling himself with confidence he didn’t really have, he walked straight into the alley.
“Um, hey!” He called. The kid jumped, and looked at Tubbo then rolled his eyes and turned and walked further down the alleyway. Tubbo blinked at him, not exactly expecting it to have gone this way.
“Hey, are you okay?” Tubbo tried again, following the kid down the alleyway. For anyone else, following a random kid down an alleyway was a terrible idea. But he was just built different… literally though, no one could physically hurt him.
“What the hell do you think?” The kid muttered, rolling his eyes and continuing through the maze of buildings, clearly knowing where he was going. Tubbo figured he’d continue to follow him. After all this, beat sitting on the curb waiting for two hours.
“I think you should stop and talk for a bit.” Tubbo answered, hoping to at least help the boy out. He was much taller than Tubbo, but he didn’t look much older, in fact he almost looked younger, in a way. Not like he had some child-like innocence in his eyes or something. No, his eyes looked like he had seen some shit, but he assumed that was natural for someone who had grown up on the streets. Surprisingly the boy stopped and turned to face Tubbo, he gave him an up-down look and rolled his eyes.
“Are you lost or some shit? You obviously don’t belong here.” The kid told him, looking bored and pissed off.
“Something like that. I’m waiting to get picked up.” Tubbo answered truthfully.
“You’re gonna get mugged or kidnapped.” The kid said plainly. “You’ve made yourself a walking target. Jewelry out in the open, clean clothes, a phone.” Tubbo was surprised the kid even noticed his phone. It hadn’t even been sticking out of his pocket or anything.
“I’ll be fine.” Tubbo answered, smiling. “Where are we going?” The kid raised an eyebrow.
“I have no fucking clue where you’re going. You said you’re going to get picked up. I’m leaving you.” The kid replied and kept walking. Tubbo followed closely.
“I have two hours before anyone gets here. You seem more interesting.” The kid stopped again and blinked.
“You’re seriously going to get mugged or kidnapped for ransom. You just admitted that you’re going to be alone, without an adult for two hours. You obviously have money so you’re going to be kidnapped for money.” The kid sighed, exasperated. Tubbo shrugged.
“I won’t.” He replied. “They can’t do anything to make me, and dad and work will find me even if I was.”
“You’d be surprised what you’d do with a gun in your face.” The kid snorted, seemingly content to stop walking and talk with Tubbo. Tubbo was happy with this development. He tilted his head at the statement.
“I wouldn’t do anything at gunpoint. Guns are kind of pathetic.” Tubbo answered honestly. Guns were kind of weak, they didn’t even hurt when they hit Tubbo. Sometimes explosions or even being hit by a car would hurt just for the impact, but bullets hadn’t hurt, like, ever. Guns were weak to Tubbo and he definitely wouldn’t be kidnapped using a gun. The kid scoffed at Tubbo, crossing his arms.
“You’d get shot.” He answered.
“Wouldn’t be the first time.” Tubbo replied, causally. The kid blinked at him, his eyes wide.
“How old are you?” He asked.
“Sixteen.” Tubbo answered.
“And you’ve been shot?” He exclaimed.
“It’s kind of my job.” Tubbo answered.
“Do your parents know about this?”
“My dad is kind of the one to get me that job?” Tubbo laughed. The kid looked pale and his eyes were wide.
“Are you, like okay? Do you need CPS or something? I don’t know the number for this city but I’m sure we could get it.” The kid hurried to tell him. Tubbo’s smile faded when he realized the kid was concerned for him. As the kid continued to ramble he quickly pulled out his card from his pocket.
“Hey, it’s okay. Look.” Tubbo said, holding out his card. The kid looked at it and looked like he wasn’t going to take it but he quickly grabbed it and read it fast. His eyes widened and he gaped, dropping the card in shock. Tubbo grabbed it quickly, a little upset that he had dropped it in the wet alleyway.
“You’re…” The kid trailed off.
“Yep, S-Level. I’m indestructible. They can make me do anything. I can kick, hit and break bones without any damage to myself. It’s why I get shot at. I work for a company that kind of requires it. My dad freaks out but honestly, I don’t really care.” Tubbo shrugged. He wasn’t afraid of his S-Level status like Ranboo was. He didn’t care who knew, it wasn’t a secret for him. He understood why Ranboo didn’t like talking about it, or advertising he was S-Level, after all he couldn’t control his powers, but Tubbo couldn’t care less.
“I-'' The kid thought for a moment. “Are you resistant to- to like power reversal types?” The kid asked. He looked hopeful, like he was hoping Tubbo would deny his statement. Tubbo blinked, not remembering any people who could cancel out other powers in this city.
“Um, no actually. I mean not completely. I don’t injure as easily as a normal person so, kinda. I’m not invincible but I’m less damageable than most people.” Tubbo laughed, seriously hoping this kid wasn’t planning on trying to take his power. The kid deflated a bit.
“Oh.” He replied.
“What’s your name? Mine was on the card so I think this is only fair.” Tubbo hummed. The boy hesitated.
“Tommy.” He answered, finally.
“Where do you live?” Tubbo asked, looking around.
“Down the alley a bit.” Tommy told him, pointing to a group of buildings. Tubbo was relieved to hear the kid at least had a home, although it was concerning that he was digging through the trash. Tommy had mentioned not knowing the CPS number for this city, meaning he probably knew it for another city. Had he needed it before? Tubbo wondered.
“Why were you digging through the trash? Doesn’t seem very sanitary.” Tubbo commented as casually as he could, trying his best not to offend him. Tommy scoffed.
“I was looking for something. I lost a very important thing and I thought I might’ve thrown it out by accident but I couldn’t find it.” Tommy told him. Tubbo suspected he was lying but didn’t say anything else. Instead he hummed and looked around.
“Come around here often?” Tubbo asked. Tommy snorted
“What, are you flirting? I guess, I mean I live over there, plus this is one of the better parts of the slums.” Tommy hummed. “It could be worse.”
“Are you, like, okay?” Tubbo asked.
“I have the necessities. I have my whole life ahead of me. Again it could be worse.” Tommy told him, before picking up a rock and tossing it at the fire escape. Tubbo jumped at the noise, but relaxed when nothing followed it. He looked to see Tommy smirking at him.
“What?” Tubbo asked, slightly defensive.
“You were expecting the ladder to fall down, weren’t you?” He replied a little too smug for someone who was just digging in the trash a couple of minutes ago. Tubbo scoffed, crossing his arms.
“No.” He lied. That was exactly what he was expecting. He saw it happen all the time in movies and cop shows. Sure he never did that, but he could have swore Technoblade had done something similar before. Right?
“Nice, but that doesn’t happen in real life. But,” Tommy said, reaching up and pulling the thing down with a loud shuttering sound. “It does help loosen it a bit.” He laughed at Tubbo’s gaping expression.
“Come on! That was basically the same thing!” Tubbo whined, walking over and holding on the ladder.
“Did it fall down when I hit it with a rock?” Tommy asked. Tubbo remained quiet. “Exactly Bitch boy.” Tommy stuck out his tongue at Tubbo, as he climbed up the fire escape.
“Who are you calling Bitch boy?” Tubbo asked, following him up. “I’m not the one who can’t knock a simple fire escape without a rock.” He shot back. Tommy stopped dead on the platform. He crossed his arms and looked down at Tubbo as he was climbing.
“Okay, you do the next one.” Tommy told him, knowing something that Tubbo didn’t. Tubbo paused for a minute, but was certainly not one to back down from a challenge like that. As he resumed climbing he thought to himself and then nodded to Tommy.
“Bet.” He answered with a similar smirk. Tommy stepped aside and allowed Tubbo complete access to the next ladder, it had also been up. Honestly, you wouldn’t need to let it down if you were Tommy. He was tall enough to climb on the safety railing and reach the next ladder. Which is exactly what Tubbo planned on doing. But there was a small issue. Tubbo was small. Well not small, average really but he was shorter than Tommy and probably wouldn’t be able to reach the ladder, even if he was standing on the safety railing. Still he had a plan. Dangerous plan, one that would kill a normal person, but if it went wrong Tubbo would just have a bruised ego instead of a bruised body, so it would be fine. He balanced on the railing, almost losing his balance right away because he overestimated the thickness span of the railing. He caught his footing and walked as close to the ladder as he could.
“What are you doing?” Tommy asked, raising an eyebrow at him.
“Winning this bet.” Tubbo answered, focused on walking and not falling, struggling a little bit. He supposed this was a lot like training. He was doing work he would probably have to do in the real world someday. He liked this a lot better than teleportation training with Ranboo, plus Tommy didn’t seem as nervous as Ranboo. Tubbo liked this a lot.
“I don’t remember betting anything.” Tommy told him, watching him with rapt interest. Tubbo rolled his eyes.
“What would you call this then?” Tubbo countered as he stood in the just right spot. Tommy thought for a moment.
“A challenge of sorts.” Tommy answered, shifting and watching Tubbo’s footing on the railing. Tubbo scoffed and shook his head.
“Fine, then I’m winning this challenge.” Tubbo told him as he jumped with no hesitation. He heard Tommy make some sort of a noise of surprise. Perhaps a gasp or maybe an exclamation but Tubbo didn’t pay him any sort of mind. Instead he focused on the metal bars his face was hurtling towards. He caught the second to last bar, one of his hands slipped off but the other one held tight. He was thankful for his tight grip and honestly this was so much better than the training back at home and headquarters. Plus this was much more fun.
“What the fuck!” Tommy yelled. “Are you actually insane?” He looked worried for Tubbo which felt nice but Tubbo could only laugh, this was nothing.
“Possibly?” Tubbo laughed as he regained his hold on the ladder and started climbing up it. He figured it would probably be easier to push the ladder down rather than try to tug it down, especially since his feet weren’t even anywhere near a foot hold, let alone the ground. He made it to the top and was met with Tommy smirking again, apparently over the stunt he pulled, jumping from the railing.
“What are you smiling about?” Tubbo asked, leaning on the ladder.
“Oh nothing bitch boy. Have fun.” Tommy called back, tossing a rock he had in his hand up and down. Tubbo scoffed again and shoved on the ladder. It didn’t move, it didn’t even budge. That was strange, Tubbo was often overlooked by his short-er height, but he was actually pretty strong. He could pick up Ranboo for fucks sake and he was 6’6. Sure he was a twig but still!
“What the fuck?” Tubbo whispered as he failed, yet again, to even make the ladder move a bit. It was like the thing was welded in place. It couldn’t have been, it was a fire escape, if that happened it would be literally illegal and while this place didn’t seem like the type to care about illegal activity they probably didn’t want to be sued for everything they owned because of a welded shut fire escape. Tommy laughed at him from down below, he clearly knew the thing wouldn’t move no matter how hard Tubbo pushed at it. However, he wasn’t going to let Tommy win this bet- challenge. Tommy was probably planning on climbing up by himself and then give Tubbo a hand.
“Ready to admit defeat! These things have been sticking for years! No one’s managed to knock it down!” Tommy called, still laughing at Tubbo.
“No fucking chance!” Tubbo yelled back. If the ladder was just stuck, then all he had to do was get it unstuck and gravity would do the rest. Blunt force seemed to do the trick with the other ladder, so why not this one too. Tubbo maneuvered so that he was now sitting on the ladder, and his eyes lined up with where the ladder was stuck to the platform.
“What are you doing now?” Tommy scoffed, although Tubbo could tell he wasn’t actually annoyed.
“Winning!” Tubbo replied.
“You already said that!” Tommy shook his head.
“Then, shut up and let me win!” Tubbo smirked, Tommy rolled his eyes but stayed quiet, probably curious as to what he was going to do. Oh he was going to scare the shit out of the taller boy. He titled his head back and rammed it as hard as he could against the ladder. He heard Tommy yelled something but his ears were ringing a little too loud for him to figure it out. Not only that, but the ladder was now unstuck and was now down. Tubbo turned and smiled at Tommy, like he hadn’t just hit his head as hard as he could against solid metal. Tommy’s mouth was opened and his eyes were wide. He was a little pale and Tubbo felt a little bad about scaring him. Just a little.
“I’m indestructible.” Tubbo hummed before he stood up and climbed back up to the second platform.
“You’re a fucking asshole is what you are. You gave me a heart attack! I thought you just killed yourself or something!” Tommy exclaimed.
“Nope! Just won our challenge!” Tubbo laughed. Tommy rolled his eyes but then smiled dangerously as he too reached the platform.
“Fine, but all I gotta say is I may have used a rock but you had to use your powers so… you’re still the bitch boy.” Tommy laughed as he pulled down the next ladder. Tubbo rolled his eyes but followed Tommy anyway.
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Going up a shit ton of more fire escapes and walking over a couple roof tops they were finally where Tommy wanted them to be. Or at least where he wanted to go and Tubbo just happened to gain his attention and was allowed to tag along.
“So why are we up here?” Tubbo asked, looking around. He had to admit, this rooftop had a pretty good view of the rest of the city. It made the city look really cool and almost on fire with the reflection of the sun on all the buildings. Tubbo could swear he saw the headquarters building. Although that was pretty impossible since it was behind most of the building that he could actually see. Tommy laughed at him and Tubbo frowned looking at him.
“What?” He asked. “I thought the view was nice. Sorry if that’s not ‘manly’ enough for you.” Tubbo scoffed. Tommy raised an eyebrow at him before laughing at him again, Tubbo could feel himself turning red.
“Every big man can appreciate a good view!” Tommy exclaimed. “You’re just looking in the wrong direction.” Tubbo turned around and his eyes immediately widened as he saw what was behind him. The bay was behind him, the sun was setting right on the water, the reds, oranges and yellows combined in a perfect display. It was warm and yet the breeze that had been blocked by the building before was cooling the air to just the right temperature. It felt amazing, not to mention the water itself. The blues combined with the read of the sunset making the water appear purpled, the sun’s reflection in the water only added the beauty of it all.
“Holy shit.” Tubbo muttered. “Now I realize why you were laughing when I was looking at the city.” Tubbo laughed.
“It’s nice to just sit here, take up the sun’s heat. It’s so warm but not in an overwhelming way. You know?” Tommy asked, sitting at the edge of the building, his legs dangling over the side.
“The breeze really makes it.” Tubbo commented, neither looked away from the sunset, reds becoming dark blues and oranges becoming purples as the sun dipped deeper down. It was a strange and yet comfortable silence, neither one of them felt the need to talk, which was weird since they had just met, but it felt like they knew each other. Like they’ve known each other for a long time. The site wasn’t any less beautiful when the sun was gone, it was dark but the reflections of the sky on the water and the street lights were great. Just all around a great sight.
“It’s going to get really cold soon. We should at least head down. Are your parents going to show up anytime soon?” Tommy asked.
“Yeah probably. Also the breeze from before was appreciated but now it’s a little chilly.” Tubbo huffed. Tommy rolled his eyes but stood and stretched. The two of them went down the ladders, making sure to put them back up on their way down.
“I can’t believe you dented the fire escape . It’s supposed to put a dent in you, not the other way around.” Tommy scoffed. “You’re fucking insane!”
“You bet. High five!” Tubbo exclaimed happily, holding up his hand for Tommy. Tommy flinched, but just frowned and stared at him. Tubbo looked at him expectantly and shook his hand a bit. Tommy just frowned and shook his head.
“What are you doing?” He asked. Tubbo rolled his eyes.
“I’ll show you.” He said and grabbed Tommy’s wrist. The reaction was instant, Tommy’s wrist twisted out of Tubbo’s grasp and he looked horrified. For a second Tubbo wondered if he hurt him, but Tommy suddenly took off down the alley away, much faster than he had before.
“Hey! Wait up! I’m sorry!” Tubbo called as he ran after him. Tommy had longer legs and was definitely faster than Tubbo. He didn’t even realize he ran out into the road until bright lights were in his face and a horn was honking. Tubbo simply blinked not quite knowing what to do, it wouldn’t hurt him, but it might hurt the car. Luckily it stopped before it hit Tubbo and he knew exactly who had that kind of luck.
“What the fuck Tubbo!” Quackity exclaimed, running out of the car. “You could have been hit!”
“I would have been fine.” Tubbo muttered.
“You shouldn’t be running out in traffic. You could get in a lot of trouble.” Quackity sighed. Tubbo shrugged, looking in the direction Tommy had run in. “Let’s just go, your dad is about ready to have an aneurysm.” Tubbo winced.
“Not my fault.” He muttered.
“Never said it was. Come on.” Quackity led Tubbo back to the car.
“Okay.” Tubbo said quietly.
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“I have someone who might be interesting.” Tubbo said. “I like him and he could definitely be useful.”
“Oh?” Phil asked.