Chapter Text
“Get back here!”
Tubbo and Tommy ran across the street, ducking behind market stalls and bumping into customers. Two storm troopers chased after them, shoving people out of their way. Tommy didn’t know why they were chasing them. They hadn’t done anything wrong. Well besides throwing pebbles at their helmets (to be fair it makes a very satisfying sound) and hiding their armor (it always takes them so long to find it) and pretending to steal their hover bikes (they brought it back an hour later) and a whole lot of other stuff. But other than that they’d done nothing wrong. They ducked and weaved and ran down the street until they came to a narrow alley. The rushed down it, ducking into a nearby building, crawling through a hole in the floor, to the vast underground sewer system. Growing up on the streets, the two kids had memorized the entire layout. They easily navigated the winding tunnels, finally reaching their destination, a small, scrap metal hatch. Pushing it open, they emerged into a small living area they had dug out below an abandoned home. The only entrance and exit was through the sewer. This was their home and had been for seven years now, since the first bombings. Before this, they had lived in a comfortable home with Tubbo’s family. That was until the wave of bombings that wiped out the house and everyone inside. Tubbo’s parents were dead, that much was sure. His sister was never found. Tubbo still had scars from the burns he got that day. Tommy never had a family, at least not one he could remember. Tubbo was his family, and that was all he needed.
Tommy untied the red bandana he wore around his neck, placing it next to Tubbo’s green one. He lay down on his makeshift bed. One day, they’d leave this planet forever. Start again far, far away from here. One day.
“Tommy! Tommy!” Tubbo was shouting his name. Explosions rang out around him. Blaster fire filled the air. Someone was crying, and he couldn’t tell if it was him.
“Tubbo!”
“Tommy! Tommy! Please wake up!”
Tommy jerked upright. Tubbo was crying, shaking him, begging him to wake up. Another explosion went off and the house above them shook. Tommy barely had time to grab his bandanna before Tubbo dragged him into the sewer system. They both knew the path they needed to take like the back of their hands, but they were both so blinded by tears they could barely see where they were going. Why was the Empire attacking them again? They already had control of the planet. Did they just want to see them suffer more?
At last they emerged into the moonlight on the outskirts of their small village. Star fighters whizzed by above their heads, but they weren’t the Empire’s fighters, these were X-wings. And there, across the sands of the desert was a ship. And they ran, stumbling through the sand, praying to whatever gods were listening that they’d make it out of this. There was a whistling noise above their heads. It took Tommy a moment to register what it was, and by the time he did, it was too late. He hurled himself at Tubbo, pushing him to the ground, shielding him with his body. He felt shards of metal bury themselves in his arm and he cried out in pain. Tubbo was speaking to him, but Tommy couldn’t understand what he was saying. He could feel warm liquid pooling underneath him. He felt Tubbo dragging him away from the burning crater and towards the ship, coarse sand scraping against his exposed skin. The ship’s door creaked open, blinding Tommy with the fluorescent lights of the ship’s interior. There were voices speaking a language Tommy couldn’t understand. Tubbo crying, holding him, his hands stained red. And then darkness, nothingness, peace.