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"I don't want to talk to someone like you," Tommy said, trudging his way through the snow. Pines towered above him, shadows cascading over the forest which left little space for sunlight. "Just leave me alone, alright?" He brushed aside a branch, snow fluttering down. Cold shivers ran through his body, but he refused to acknowledge them. Now wasn't the time to show weakness. He had left his cloak back at the house. Tommy didn't want anything that belonged to Techno anymore.
"I'm not leaving you," Techno huffed as he trailed after him. Thick skin protected him from the cold, along with the insulation from his furred clothing. Each breath out from his snout fogged up the air, internal temperatures far warmer than the frigid landscape. "Tommy, come on. Don't do this."
"Don't do what?" Tommy shivered, teeth chattering as he spoke. "You and Phil can live out there in your little house, doing fuck-all. I got bigger plans than this, man! I'm sure the rest of the server misses me. I need to be with people like me. You're family- barely- doesn't mean I have to do much more than tolerate you."
Techno grated his teeth, holding back a rising tide of anger. "You have a problem with Phil?"
"I have a problem with you," Tommy reiterated, "and Phil. It's an even distribution of hate, you know? You blew up a nation, think it's well justified. And you're weird." He tugged on the sleeves of his t-shirt as if that would lengthen them by some miracle. "Bird man and pig boy, I think Wilbur and me made a better team. We had a cooler sense of style."
"Glad you think fondly of the man who lost his mind and came back from the dead," Techno muttered. "But I suppose the both of you are undead. Does that make you closer to Wilbur than to me?"
Tommy frowned. Limbo still left an invisible mark on him, a wound that would never heal. "Don't bring up limbo."
"Then don't bring up Phil." Techno ducked to avoid a high tree branch. The effort was futile, considering his bulky size left him constantly running into the underbrush.
"Not even close to the same thing," Tommy glanced back at him, raising an eyebrow. "Well I'm sorry my dad's not my only friend. I'm not overly attached to my parents, like some people."
"You know, Tommy," Techno narrowed his gaze, his patience running on a short fuse. "It's not normal to have an unstable relationship with your family. Most people like their family, or I don't know, consider them their friends and care about their wellbeing." Techno paused, but Tommy was still struggling to come up with a refute. "Why don't you tell me how much better it was being manipulated by a homeless man while in exile?"
Tommy twitched, cold hands clenching into fists as he struggled onward. "Low blow. You aren't doing a good job convincing me to go back with you, you know. This is like the opposite of what you want."
"Just proving you're wrong and too prideful to realize it. Hubris, Tommy. It's a real consequence."
Tommy breathed out a long sigh. "I don't want another Greek mythology lesson, thanks."
"It's not only Greek mythology it's-" Techno stopped himself, saving the tangent for another day. "Look, Tommy, that's beside the point. All I'm saying is there's no one else on this server who would take you in. Hate my actions all you want, but we're still family. I... still want to protect you, as my younger brother. As a friend."
"Well I don't want your protection, so consider yourself free of the job, big man! Wilbur will always help me instead." Tommy raised his hands in the air. "I don't need your help, or Phil's, or Ranboo's. You all can stay out here in your little monster sanctuary, doing whatever the hell it is you do when I'm not around to take charge."
Techno grimaced. "Monsters?"
"Ranboo's part Enderman or whatever, he looks freakish. Same goes for you, you... strange pig dude. I don't know, but it's right horrifying to me. Phil's got those wings, I think it counts. Least scary of the bunch, but part of it still." Tommy tripped in the snow, barely catching his balance.
Techno laughed, bitterness hanging off his words. "Does it make you feel better to view us that way, to see us as monsters? Helps when the villain of your story looks the part, right?"
Tommy shrugged, partly in response and in part to cover his jittering from the cold. "Come on, I'm just saying! You act the part too. Can't argue that blowing up a country is much of a good thing to do."
Techno stopped, putting out a hand to steady himself against a tree. "That's why it's so easy for you to leave. You don't see us as people, just animals. I have caused my share of anarchy- but you're running back to Wilbur now, hoping he'll take you in. Wilbur's done the equivalent to what I have, if not worse. I'm the only person who's shown you genuine kindness in months, Tommy! You don't see that, you don't believe that?"
Tommy paused as the footsteps quieted behind him. He turned to face Techno, crossing his arms. "Wilbur's changed since his revival. You don't change. You just run around in circles spouting about anarchy and how society's bound to collapse or something."
"God, Wilbur hasn't changed," Techno closed his eyes for a long second, gathering his thoughts before opening them again. "Wilbur's the same as when we were kids. Every time he pretends he's gotten better, but he hasn't. He'll play you like a fiddle and manipulate you as he has before. Just let me help you! Why are you so determined to hurt yourself? At least I'm honest with you. But I guess for a child like you it's easier to find comfort in the lies than admit to the truth. Grow up, Tommy. Wilbur doesn't love you. He doesn't love any of us." His hand gripped tightly to the tree, bark chipping off beneath his fingers.
"Only a monster would say my brother doesn't love me anymore!" Tommy shouted, his voice echoing through the lonely woods. "You're just jealous Wilbur and I care about each other. Because you're an outcast, no one loves someone who looks like you. No one could love a beast, and I'm sorry this isn't a fairytale like you wanted where we all end up happy and together. You're one to talk about lies, I think you lie to yourself all the time when you compare us to those stories, Theseus or whatever. You want it all to be for a bigger purpose, some better world or bullshit. But no, things happen for no reason sometimes, and sometimes, there's a kid who doesn't fit in with the rest. You've always been different from Wilbur and I, from appearances to actions. So maybe it's time for you to finally admit to yourself we're better off separated."
Techno grated his teeth. "Wilbur and I are two sides of the same coin. Did you forget we're twins? I'm closer to him than you'll ever be, for better or worse. I am trying my hardest to cut out the problems in my life, Tommy, and I don't think you're one of them. Don't prove me wrong."
"Twins look alike," Tommy complained, "Phil probably made that up when we were little. It doesn't matter, anyways. I'm done here." Tommy turned to walk away.
Techno reached out, putting a sturdy hand on his shoulder and turning him back around. "No. If you don't understand that Wilbur and I are the same, then I'll show you."
"Techno, I said I'm done!" Tommy went to brush off his hand, but he paused.
Techno's form shifted somehow as if it were the rippling reflections in pondwater. Sturdy and muscled shoulders faded away, pink skin fading to white. A gruff face and snout transitioned to smooth skin, sunken eyes, and pointed features.
It was distinctly human. More than that- it was Wilbur.
The same tangled brown hair, tired eyes digging into him. The only thing off was the clothing. Techno's outfit was now drapery, loose and unfitting for his wiry frame. "Twins," Techno repeated, his voice the same as before, besides the irritated tone it had taken. "You probably don't remember my shapeshifting- Phil helped me practice it. He would've helped you, too, if you ever came to him for anything. Wilbur is my doppelganger without the skills I've learned. I never use my original form- it... hurts too much to look like him, be associated with him. But this is the truth, Tommy. You're leaving one evil for another and I hope you realize that. There is no good option, no right choice. So stop acting like you're so righteous and dignified for choosing Wilbur over me."
Tommy's breath caught in his throat. He didn't know what to say or what to think. This was too much, it was impossible. Techno and Wilbur were different in every way, at least to him. Yet now something was defying his beliefs, something incomprehensible. "This doesn't change anything," Tommy whispered, barely able to find his voice. "You're still worse than him. You're still a monster."
"As long as you admit Wilbur's one too," Techno sighed, lowering his head, "that's fine with me. Please, Tommy. Know what you're getting into. Don't make the same mistakes twice."
Tommy sought for the words to argue, but there was nothing he could say. Nothing he could say as Techno turned away, trudging back through the snow and shifting back into the form Tommy had known for years. There was no home for him back at Techno's place. But did Wilbur have a home for him either?