Spider-Boy

When he was younger, Tommy loved to collect bugs. His mother didn’t approve of her son putting the bugs in jars, but she loved how much he loved nature. So to prevent the young Tommy from entrapping the little bugs, she would take her son's hands, and together they would make up lives for the bugs. ‘The grasshopper is actually a musician, who uses his chirp as his instrument. Then after they made the stories they’d let the bugs go together. It became their thing, at dinner they’d reference the ladybug who was an astronaut and their family would look at them confused. After his mom got sick they still tried to make up lives for bugs, even if Tommy made up the stories himself and told her about them. After she died Tommy stopped having his love for bugs, he ignored them and pretended they didn’t exist because when he did, he’d see the beetle who was on his way to a beach party, and then he’d think about his mother. So when he got bitten by a spider at 14 at first all he could think about was his mom. All he could think about was the spider being a superhero, saving people. So when he had the ability to be that spider, he took it. He didn’t know doing that would end up with his big brother in his arms, dying when he was only 21. So when that did happen, he broke. Tommy stopped being Tommy and became fully Spider-boy. He moved out of his childhood home and became a walking talking shell of himself. Once he met Ranboo though, it felt like a piece of himself came back, the piece that died with Wilbur. 

“Tommy you have to wake up, what are you doing?! Stop standing there and help!” Someone screamed. After the exclamation for help, everything went quiet, and then he heard a bunch of footsteps. But he didn’t focus on the sounds around him because when he turned his head he saw… 

“Wil..?”

Then there was nothing, everything went dark. 

Once it went dark, he felt so much better. So he stood up, when did he lie down? He looked around and there was darkness everywhere, it was all around him, he could feel it squeezing him, trying to consume him if only he gave the darkness the chance. So in Tommy fashion, he screamed at it. 

“HELLO?!” The void-like thing seemed to just muffle his volume making it sound like he whispered instead of yelled. He was frantically looking around, for anything to grasp upon. There was nothing, just darkness, just void. He hated this, hated the void, despised this lonely feeling. 

Until he didn’t feel so alone.

He felt eyes and hands on him, everywhere he turned. There was no escape no matter how much he struggled to just get away, it was no use.

He soon gave up and just let the hands take him. He fell to his knees and let out a sob as the hands consumed him. One of the many hands stretched his eye as he fell, he covered the cut with his hand, trying to stop the blood he felt on his face from falling anywhere else. 

Moments later the hands disappeared and the bleeding from the wound grew more persistent. When he took his hand away from the wound he noticed something odd about the blood. It was… green? Why the hell was it green, was all he could think before he placed his hand back on the wound. He was hyperventilating as he looked around wildly. 

He suddenly felt as if everything was shaking, until everything around him shattered. He fell into the void, being forced to allow it to swallow him. He fell for so long it could've been seconds, minutes, hours, he wouldn’t know. All he knew was… the smiley face. The smiley face that ruined his life, the one that took his brother, the thing that haunted his every move, the brand that belonged to… Dream. 

He shot up with a throat-aching scream. He fell off the couch and tried running but fell into someone's arms instead. He tried to break free from Dream's grasp, but he was too weak. 

He’s always too weak. 

“Please… Dream, don’t do this” Tommy cried, letting his body go limp in… Dreams? arms. 

“Tommy, breathe with me okay? In for 4… hold for 7.. Out for 8..” Someone, Dream, asked with a panicked tone. “I can't, I can’t do it..” Tommy cried, now realizing the fact that he couldn’t breathe. He tried to follow, he really did, but it was too much, he was going to die before he got revenge for his brother. Suddenly he felt someone running their hand through his hair… something Techno did when he had nightmares as a child.

S̶o̶m̶e̶t̶h̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶h̶e̶ ̶d̶i̶d̶ ̶a̶f̶t̶e̶r̶ ̶W̶i̶l̶b̶u̶r̶ ̶d̶i̶e̶d̶

 “T-Techno..?” Tommy muttered, finally opening his eyes and looking at Techno. Techno smiled slightly, barely noticeable but Tommy knew it was there, before he nodded his head in confirmation. They looked almost like it didn’t believe his eyes, which confused Tommy, but he didn’t say anything. So instead he followed Techno’s order to breathe, it took a couple of tries, but he eventually found a normal breathing pace. That's when common knowledge kicked in, why the hell is Techno here? He looked around and noticed he was in a very destroyed version of his childhood home, and the confusion grew even more. He hadn’t been here since he moved out.

“Techno..? How did I get here?” He asks his big brother, the one he left behind, so he won’t get him killed. He looked down and noticed he was wearing his spider-boy costume, and he panicked more, jumping away from Techno quickly. Is this even really Techno? Dream has made Tommy see Wilbur before with his hallucinations, did he find out about Techno?!

“You uh, fell through the roof, runt..” Techno muttered quietly, Tommy noticed a hesitation in his tone as he spoke, and it freaked Tommy out more. If this was Dream, how did he find out Techno’s nickname for him? “That's not Dream Tommy” He heard Ranboo say from behind him. Ranboo! Shit, are they alright?! He quickly ran to Ranboo and checked for any injuries, he looked them over before putting his hands on their masked cheek noticing a cut on their forehead. 

Ranboo quietly chuckled and held the hand on their masked cheek, only to pull it away, so he could hold it with both hands. “I’m okay Toms, but… I need to tell you something, so you don’t panic when you see it…” Ranboo said slowly, obviously hesitating with his next words. Tommy looked around the room, feeling watched from every angle. He noticed Techno’s eyes on him, watching him with weary eyes. Tommy then looked back at Ranboo, confused. “What's going on Ran, how did we get here…?” As Tommy talked, he started to wonder if any of this was even real, was he real? Did he even wake up? Or was he still stuck, stuck in Dream’s grasp forever? He can’t be stuck he- he has to get revenge for Wilbur. 

Tommy started spiraling more, but then he felt Ranboo squeezing his hand, bringing Tommy back to reality, like he always does, even if only a bit. “Tommy, I theorize that… we may be in another universe?” 

…

“ANOTHER WHAT?!” Tommy suddenly exclaims as he jumps back surprised by Ranboo’s ridiculous theory. But as Tommy looks around he starts to see differences. He looks around his childhood home and notices the misplaced things admittedly. The first different thing he noticed was obviously the hole in the ceiling. But the second thing he noticed was the pictures on the walls and floor. 

The last time he was home there were dozens of photos of Wilbur on the wall, but now the photos were replaced with… photos of himself? He slowly bent down and picked up a photo that was near his foot. The frame was broken, making the photo hard to see, unless you knew what the photo was. Tommy did, he had memorized every photo with Wilbur in it. Tommy smiled softly when he realized he remembered when this photo was taken.

“Techno! Tell Wilbur that this looks stupid!” Tommy screamed while running towards Techno, who was simply just sitting on the couch reading (studying for his English midterms, which Tommy didn't know at the time). “Techno, tell Tommy that I am a fashion expert, and he clearly has none.” Wilbur quipped back as he walked into the living room and jumped into a sitting position beside Techno. The boy in question simply sighed and looked up from his book, and turned his attention to the upset child known as Tommy. Techno had to stop himself from laughing when he looked at the 9-year-old, he looked like one of those Pinterest board guys.

“Technooo! Look what he did to me!” Tommy whined standing beside the couch armrest. All Techno did was sigh and ruffle Tommy’s hair. “He definitely… did something?” As it said that they heard Wilbur burst out laughing beside him, which did not make Tommy happy at all. He suddenly climbed onto the arm of the couch, climbing over Techno to try to attack Wilbur. Tommy was suddenly grabbed and flipped by Techno causing the boy, who was stuck in Techno’s grasp, to start laughing. 

“Techno!” Tommy screamed in the middle of his laughter as Techno continued to tickle him. Techno smiled watching Tommy as he tickled the boy more. Wilbur decided to join in, making the boy's cries of laughter even louder. They stayed there holding the boy and making him laugh into…

Click

All three boys whipped their heads toward the sound of a camera going off and were met with the smiling face of their mother. Wilbur started laughing more while getting up to join his mother's side (he was always a momma’s boy). Tommy stayed upside down in Techno’s arms, Tommy always felt the safest in them, so he had no problem staying there even if he was upside down. 

Tommy smiled more at the memory slowly rubbing over Wilbur's head in the photo, he was in the middle of a laugh. He’d be definitely stealing this when he left. 

“... Tommy?” He heard Phil, his father whisper. Tommy sighed already understanding what it meant if the photos were of him instead of Wilbur. “I’m… I’m not your Tommy…” He said truthfully, not looking at Phil, still staring at the photo. It was silent for a while. Tommy just kept staring at that damn photo, wanting to memorize Wilbur’s face even if he already had it memorized by heart. He heard another voice talk, it was quiet and without his super hearing he wouldn’t have heard it but… he did. 

Tommy dropped the photo letting the frame shatter as he whipped his head towards the voice… that fucking voice. “... W… Wil..” Tommy said in a small voice, he felt like a little kid who was previously lost, being found by his parent. Tommy started hyperventilating when he made eye contact with Wilbur, his dead big brother. This definitely can’t be real, it’s settled. Dream somehow found out all of Tommy’s secrets and this is one big hallucination created by Dream. Tommy started squeezing his nails into his palms, trying to return to reality. 

“Tommy” He numbly heard Ranboo call out to him, but this isn’t real, next time he looks at his hands they’ll be bloody, covered in Wilbur's blood and that's when the true nightmare will begin. He can’t, he just can’t see his brother die again. Surely Lady Death isn’t so cruel as to force Tommy to watch Wilbur die, again. Wilbur didn’t say anything either, most likely just as stunned as Tommy was, which brought another question to mind. 

How did this Tommy die? Was this Wilbur given the same fate as Tommy? Being forced to hold the weight of grief and guilt on his shoulders? Does this prove that if Tommy died instead of Wilbur, Wilbur would still be alive?

Suddenly he feels a hand hesitate to touch his shoulder but when it finally lands there, he flinches slightly looking away from Wilbur just to make eye contact with Techno again. 

“Breathe..” He barely heard Techno over the static in his ears.

This isn't real. This isn't real. This isn't real. This isn-

“TOMMY!” Ranboo exclaimed, clapping his hands in front of Tommy's face. Tommy flinched back and probably would've fallen if not for Techno's steady hand on his shoulder. Tommy's eyes fell back on where Wilbur had been. Keyword: had. Phil and him disappeared, maybe into the kitchen as Tommy could hear faint talking, too quiet for his super hearing to pick up on.

“Sorry… you just… weren't responding…” Ranboo said sheepishly off to the side. Tommy could still feel Techno's hand on his shoulder and he weirdly felt safer, so he leaned into it only slightly. He knew Techno felt him lean into it from how Techno gave his shoulder a comforting squeeze. “You're alright Ran…” he whispered, not taking his eyes away from the kitchen door frame, was Wilbur even really there? Perhaps Tommy made him up. 

“Wilbur went into the kitchen to get you some uh... Water..” Techno piped up awkwardly shifting on his feet making sure to also keep a strong, comforting grip on Tommy's shoulder. It helped to keep the panic from pulling him back under, so he welcomed the touch. They stayed there for a while in silence, worried about the blonde as the boy in mention just kept his eyes on the door frame. Kept watching, waiting to see if his dead big brother would come back. He leaned more on Techno, laying his back on Techno's chest. Techno didn't seem to mind, although out of all three of the Watson kids, Techno was the least touchy-feely one. But Technos always had a soft spot for Tommy. When Tommy was younger, Techno allowed him to lean onto its side on the couch. Tommy would watch something on the TV (either up the movie or a documentary about animals) while Techno read a book. Wilbur and Techno used to argue about who was older and more 'responsible', but in Tommy's eyes, Techno had earned that spot (although Wilbur will always be Tommy's older brother, no matter what). Techno was like another parent to Tommy, especially after their mother died. 

Tommy slowly looked away from the door frame and towards Ranboo, they were standing there staring right back at Tommy, which made Tommy squirm in his spot. After Tommy left home and moved out, he didn't feel safe anymore. He didn't have a Techno with him when he had nightmares, when he had a bad day, or when his thoughts got so unbearable he felt like he was Atlas (holding the world on his shoulders). That was before he met Ranboo. He didn't know why he felt so safe with the scrawny 6'6 man, who is so unlike Techno that it just doesn't make sense. But once Ranboo moved in, he was able to sleep again, to rant about his lousy day to Ranboo, and he now had an extra pair of hands when the weight of the world got too much. 

Breaking Tommy out of his thoughts, he heard a sound from the kitchen. Suddenly Phil and Wilbur re-entered the destroyed living, Wilbur went to say something, but Tommy stopped him. Tommy, now having calmed down, and had time to understand the situation, knew what he had to say.

“I'm not your Tommy, as I said earlier… so that means whatever you say won't matter,” Tommy states kind monotone, similar to Techno. Tommy watches Wilbur's face crumble slightly, guilt is written all over his face, Tommy thinks to himself as he moves closer to Wilbur. “Ranboo and I were in the middle of a fight with a villain known as Dream. I think he somehow flung us here?” Tommy paused looking up at the damaged ceiling as he spoke, then at Phil with an apologetic smile. “Sorry, big man, I would have fallen softer if I had known the damage it'd cause '' Tommy jokes, only being half serious. 

“It's..” Phil starts, trailing off as he makes his way towards Tommy. Tommy flinches back into Techno more, not out of fear, never out of fear. But out of worry.

 What if this Phil knows what I did? 

Phil pulled his hand back and stood there a bit shocked before he continued. “How… How did you guys get here?” He asked with a slight stammer in his voice. 

Right, Dream. He was in the middle of a battle with Dream. Tommy had heard from an inside man where Dream would be and when. So Tommy went after Dream, planning to surprise attack him. Ranboo was supposed to be back up in case something happened. Tommy hated the idea of having Ranboo anywhere near the fight, but after an hour of back-and-forth arguing Tommy relentlessly agreed. When Tommy (and Ranboo, who was hiding out of view) arrived at a warehouse, Dream was there. Tommy, after 5 years, finally had the upper hand! He could finally get revenge, he could finally die without guilt. 

But of course, when Tommy finally thought he had the upper hand, the gods decided to laugh at his naivety. They laughed at Tommy's despair like Tommy's cruel life was a joke, at this point that's exactly what it was. Tommy Innit Watson was a joke to the world, and he couldn't do anything except take it. So when Dream charged at him, with no hesitation, it didn't really surprise Tommy. But when he turned and started targeting Ranboo, the person who he shouldn't have known was there, that’s when Tommy broke. Tommy fought with all he had. Swinging, kicking, dodging, and webbing everything in his way. After a while, Tommy got a little too cocky and grabbed a crowbar that was left in the abandoned warehouse, he was ready to smash Dream’s head in with it until he went limp. But when Tommy slammed the crowbar near Dream, he grabbed the crowbar with both hands. Tommy's eyes went wide, with surprise, and terror. Suddenly everything went bright, he distinctly heard Ranboo run towards him screaming his name, and then the next he was in the Watson family home. 

“Uhh…” Tommy started, looking for Ranboo's help. Ranboo didn't say anything either, which was very inconvenient for Tommy if he was being honest. He then sighed looking at his feet, like an ashamed child about to admit to breaking a vase. “I was in the middle of a fight with Dream when we suddenly were thrown into your universe.” “I was there as backup!” Ranboo said quietly, with a proud tone in his voice. Usually, Tommy would laugh at Ranboo's input, but all Tommy felt right now was anger. He failed again.