Chapter Text
Philza tightened the rucksack, making sure it was secure for the trip into foreign territory. He had been off in one of his hardcore realms, so his clan link had been mildly weakened. Everything had seemed perfectly fine the last time he’d checked with his boys, until a large influx of negative emotions interrupted his latest architectural build (it was inspired by his memories of the great Dragon Temple- destroyed long ago by wars and humans). Philza had quite nearly panicked; something was very, very wrong judging by the sheer amount of feelings that reached him.
He had immediately transformed into a deep golden dragon, many scars dancing along his snout proving his age and ability to survive. He was going to find his clan, and he was going to make whoever hurt them regret it.
Despite usually being able to tell which of his sons was feeling what, the emotions had been so intense that they all blended together. Phil was especially worried about his youngest son, Tommy. He was a fragile human, despite his claims of being a “Big Man”, and Philza doesn’t know what he’d do if something happened to him (happened to any of his clan). Sure, the boy had been raised by some of the last surviving dragons, but that didn’t make him invincible.
He turned to look at the sky, trying to get a feel into which world his sons resided in. Once he narrowed it down, he grabbed the bag and shifted once again, powerful wings taking him into the night sky. He would find his clan soon.
-
Meanwhile, the next morning finds a bedraggled Tommy stuck under a heavy ebony tail. He yawns, rubbing his eyes as sunlight filters through the pine trees by Pogtopia. His mind feels blissfully numb, something he is extremely grateful for. It feels as though he is still exhausted from the previous day’s emotional roller-coaster.
He barely registers the steady breathing and warmth behind him until a tail lightly thwacks him before settling in his lap again, restricting movement. Tommy startles with a yelp, and despite trying to get away, he’s stuck. Wilbur, his mind says. His initial panic subsides slightly, and those weird not-his-emotions (the ones he’s subconsciously linked to his brothers ever since he was little) have only been calm and soothing so far; nothing like yesterday.
Despite this, he feels an overwhelming sadness and fear for Tubbo, for Manberg. The trees before him grow blurry, and Tommy feels a headache start from trying not to cry. He chokes on air, a shuddering wail working its way past his throat. Abruptly, the tail is gone and his chin is being tucked under Wilbur’s head. He clutches to his brother’s tattered jacket, desperate for everything to slow down and be okay again. He missed when everything was happy, when his brother didn’t act off. Before his brother started to scare him.
“It’s okay Tommy, it’s okay,” murmurs Wilbur, hugging Tommy closer (young Tommy, who was just a human, who was just as fiery and as determined as a dragon anyway). “Gods, Toms, I’m so fucking sorry.”
Tommy simply shakes his head and tries to catch his breath, but small sniffles and hiccups keep coming. Wilbur tries to send SafeComfortLove through the link directly, something he hadn’t done for Tommy since he was twelve-years-old. The boy seemed to relax more, his hands loosening from the jacket fabric.
“Wilbur, I don’t understand what’s going on. I don’t understand. I want Dad,” He sniffles, red-rimmed blue eyes looking expectantly at Wilbur.
“It’s...complicated, Toms. And it’s a lot to take in. I messed up, yesterday. But we’ll get to that later,” Wilbur patted his younger brother’s hair, causing him to indignantly swat the hand away.
“No! I should know now! You owe me a fucking explanation, Wilby, because it’s not normal for your brother to up and suddenly turn into a fucking dragon!” Tommy glared at the brunet, putting space between them. He ignored the look of hurt that flashed in the back of his mind and in the hazel eyes before him. It was gone in seconds though, as a mirthful look settled on Wilbur’s face.
“Did you just call me Wilby?” He laughed. Tommy froze in shock.
“No, I didn’t! You’re just imagining things!”
“Am not!”
“Are too!” Tommy shouts in embarrassment. He tries to refocus on the important thing, however, once he takes note of the obvious fangs in Wilbur’s smile, something he dismissed for the longest time as it used to seem normal to him. “Wilbur, have you always been able to change into a dragon?”
His older brother sighs, standing up and rubbing the grime off of his pants. A breeze began to pick up, and he quickly dragged Tommy up as well. He led them into the small entry room of pogtopia, settling down in a sitting position on the orange bed (the quilt was thick and warm, but rather coarse). “Actually Tommy, it’s the other way around. I’m a dragon that shifts into human form,” He takes a bit of glee from the shocked look Tommy gives him.
“But- but I’ve never seen you change before!” The boy shrieks loudly. Wilbur raises an eyebrow at him, and Tommy immediately looks at his feet, bowing his head and taking a step back at the silent scolding. Wilbur pats his shoulder twice, and Tommy looks up again. Wilbur is still amazed at how many dragon customs Tommy picked up just from watching his brothers and father interact.
“Well Tommy, do you remember the ‘hunting trips’ Techno, Dad, and I went on?” he asks calmly. Tommy’s eyes widened in realization.
“You mean ALL of you are dragons!?” The blonde whisper-yells.
Wilbur hummed, “Last I checked, yes.”
“Well- then why’d, why’d you guys keep me arou-” They’re interrupted by Technoblade pushing through the door, slamming it shut seconds after. Suddenly, Tommy’s anger comes back; Technoblade was going to shoot Tubbo! Thoughts of dragons are pushed to the back of his mind as he turns and growls at Techno, hands tightened into fists. “Oh Technoblade, do I have a few choice words with you,”
Now, don’t get Techno wrong, he understands why Tommy was upset. That doesn’t mean he was just going to let his baby brother yell at him without even letting Techno have a chance to explain himself. Not to mention, he’d just spent the past 16 hours dealing with a shocked server and covering for Wilbur’s stupid ass. Needless to say, Techno was not in the best of moods right now. “Tommy,” he snaps, “choose your next words very wisely.”
Being the eldest of the brothers, he was the second highest ranking in their small clan, right after Philza. This meant both Wilbur and Tommy naturally deferred to him, and instinctually listened to him. Unfortunately, it also meant he had to take responsibility for a lot of their actions as well. A key example being the Battle of the Lakes.
“Aha, by a few choice words I meant, um, how is the Blade himself doing..?” His voice pitched higher towards the end. Gods, he really hoped Techno wasn’t angry enough to punish him by forcing him to farm potatoes for a whole day again (or make the feelings of disappointment appear in his head).
“Tired. I could sleep for a hundred years.” The monotone voice is back, Tommy sighs in relief. Before he can go back to asking questions, though, Technoblade flicks Wilbur lightly on the forehead and gathers both Tommy and Wil into a brief hug.
“Wait, Techno, you’re a dragon too?” Tommy asks.
Techno stiffens. “Yes.”
The youngest scrutinizes his form before nodding to himself. “I could see it with you, but how is Wilbur a dragon of all people?” The question startles a laugh out of both his brothers. Tommy smiles for a split second, it was a sound he’d missed a lot. It fades after he realizes something. “Why’d you guys never tell me?” Hurt curls into his stomach, and he can feel it in the palms of his hands. Tommy’s feelings unknowingly (to him, at least) travel through the link to his clan. The older two share a look, trying to decide who will answer and how to solve the hurt. Something decidedly dragon in them keeps urging them to wrap Tommy into their wings and protect him. But this was the kind of hurt they couldn’t physically attack.
Philza forces his wings to fly faster. He’s so close. He can sense his family more, feel more of their link.
“Tommy,” Wilbur starts, “you know we love and care for you, right?” The way the younger looks away causes Wilbur to sigh. “Oh Toms, of course we love you.” The brunet gathers Tommy into another hug, and Tommy melts into it.
“It’s not that we don’t trust you, Tommy. If anything, we were just scared you’d leave us. That you’d… hate us.” Techno continues for Wilbur. His voice would seem emotionless to anyone else, but the underlying tremble is clear to both Tommy and Wilbur. “There’s also other rules us dragons have to follow, believe it or not. Humans are not supposed to know of our continued existence.”
“What? I’d never hate you!” Tommy exclaims. Did his family really have such little faith in him? No, of course not. He couldn’t let himself think like that. He fiddles with the fabric on Wil’s coat. He didn’t want the warmth the hug gave him to end yet. “Also, since when have you ever cared for rules?”
“If only it were that easy,” The pink-haired male said, tilting his head back slightly.
“I’m hungry,” Wilbur stated bluntly.
“No shit, Wilbur, after a forced shift like that. If only someone had warned you about what would happen,” came Technoblade’s sarcastic drawl. Tommy snickered while Wilbur gave a huff of annoyance. Regardless, Techno headed down into the ravine to grab some food for his family, gently bumping his head with Wilbur. It would have worked better if they were both in their dragon form, but it sent the same message all the same: It’s going to be okay .
Tommy whined in jealousy, he hadn’t been head-bumped by Techno in a long time. Wilbur laughed and repeated the action with Tommy. Wilbur closed his eyes in frustration as the dark thoughts started to wriggle back into his mind like an infection; the shift had helped keep them away for a bit but it looks like it wasn’t a permanent solution. He let go of Tommy and turned around, a hand running through his hair (a nervous habit he could never break). Tommy whimpered and grabbed the sleeve of Wil’s other arm. He didn’t want to lose his brother again after just getting him back. He still hadn’t fully processed everything, and he needed his siblings to be there for him.
The thoughts caused a sudden longing for his father; Phil knew how to fix everything. He knew what each of his sons needed most. “Wilbur, I want Dad,” he pleaded.
“I know Toms, I want him here too. But you know he’s very far right now. I’ll write to him soon,” Wilbur promised.
Their eldest brother returned with potatoes and steak, two for him, but three for Wilbur. He handed Tommy a plate with a mashed potato and cooked chicken. He cringed slightly as he watched Wilbur easily chomp into raw beef, so he instead focused on his own meal.
-
Unknowingly to the boys, their father had just reached the Dream SMP. A large barrier surrounded the land, but like hell was that going to keep Philza out. He reared back before throwing his body at the shield. It cracked. A few more times, and he was through. He dropped into the woods, quickly shifting into a human form. He followed the scent of his sons; he’d be there to help soon. He couldn’t help but smile as the link finally felt fully back in place, it was one of the things he missed the most, other than his actual sons.
It was exceptionally difficult to leave them at first, because his mind constantly yelled about how clan was supposed to stay close. But he couldn’t smother his kids; they deserved to experience the world to its fullest just as he once had. With Tommy it was somewhat worse, as even though he logically knew Tommy was sixteen, his instincts told him Tommy was but a young child. The woes of having a human son, he supposed.
He gripped his pack. He hoped his family would be happy to see him.