CONTENT WARNING: Bad Dad Phil, Bad Brothers Wilbur and Techno, and Bad Friends Tubbo and Ranboo.
I want to clarify none of it is real- but it does exist in this chapter so please take care of yourselves <3

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Roulette- or, Quackity he supposes -takes him shopping to get a couple changes of clothes after he tucked his kid into bed that night. But what was a little odd; is the man insisted on going out in his rogue costume and mask. And he ended up giving Tommy a gold mask to cover his eyes to protect his identity too.

He didn't really understand why until Quackity drops a couple shirts and pants that fit Tommy into a bag and just..Walk out without paying. Tommy sighs, leaves them the cash that Sally gave him, and follows after him. The man tries to get him new shoes, too; but his own sneakers are fine. So Tommy declines that. Besides, he doesn't have the cash to pay for those either if Roulette just steals them.

He doesn't judge the man, of course. Tommy's done far worse in his work as a villain. But it's still annoying. When they got back to the casino; Quackity waves Tommy off as he steps into his office. Then he raises the phone to his ear like he was gonna call someone.

Tommy turned the phone back on when he reached the hotel room, and winced when the phone lagged at the amount of missed calls and messages it loads. He turns it on silent in case they start trying to contact him again, drops it into the drawer of the nightstand, and tries to get some sleep.

But as the sun slowly lights up the curtains on the far wall..Tommy realizes he can't sleep for whatever reason. He tries turning up the ac, thinking he's too warm. But he has to turn it back up when he starts shivering several minutes later.

He tries dragging all the blankets and pillows to the middle of the bed and propping himself up in that as a makeshift nest. And it helps a little; but not enough.

His chest feels hollow. His wings feel empty. Like he's just realized he's missing the core pieces to a puzzle in his chest.

Tommy watches the sun tick higher and higher into the sky until it has to be about mid-day; rolling over every now and then to check the time on the phone or to rearrange the blankets in an attempt to get to sleep.

But he just..He can't.

It's around that time that Tommy realizes why he feels so wrong; and he hits himself mentally for how stupid he is.

Because he misses Wilbur and Techno. Misses laying his wings out for them and wants to tuck them up under them so he can protect them from the world. Wants them curled up in his actual nest so he can reassure himself that they're real and ok and that they still care about him.

But what really surprises him is that his subconscious also misses Phil of all people. Misses his big, dark wings that scream safety. Wants his gentle hands to cup Tommy's face and look at him with gentle eyes. Even after what he said. He misses the hesitant touches of his wings wanting to wrap around Tommy's shoulder. Misses the feeling of comfort and safety and wings wrapped around him.

It's stupid.

He shouldn't miss the people who want him in jail. The people who wouldn't hesitate to throw him in Pandora without letting him explain or say a word. He shouldn't want to protect the people who would arrest him on sight without a second thought. The people he used and manipulated the most.

He shouldn't crave safety from the person who threw him out of the only home he's ever had in the first place.

..But he does. And he hates that he does.

He doesn't get much sleep that afternoon. He keeps jolting awake from nightmares of clawed hands or the slightest noise that comes from outside the room.

Tommy is exhausted when he jolts awake for the final time; and decides to just get up since the sun is going down and he'll need to be up soon anyways. So he drags himself out of bed, takes a quick shower, checks his scrapes again, and pockets the phone once he's dressed before slipping out to join Quackity in his office.

And it goes on like that for several days.

Every evening, Tommy would go find Quackity in his office after waking up and they'd eat dinner/breakfast together. Charlie eats with them once, but apprently that's just because his babysitter had to go home early.

He roams the halls aimlessly and watches the sunrise every time without fail. The warmth of Las Nevadas's mornings help him remember he's alive. And it's the only reason he can still get out of bed.

It's about 5 days into his stay that Quackity tells Tommy to get something from the bar down in the main casino. Apparently; Charlie went crazy with fingerpainting today, so the rogue was gonna help his babysitter clean up.

A couple of the staff question him- which is fair since he's a teenager in a casino -but he just shows them a sleek black card that Quackity gave him. It has the feathery letter Q planted firmly in the middle, and they back off pretty quickly after seeing it.

Tommy's sitting at the bar with a virgin cocktail and a plate of cheese fries, when someone unexpectedly taps his shoulder. Tommy looks- a little too quickly -and relaxes slightly when it's not anyone he recognizes.

The man's got light brown hair framing dark eyes, and he's in a dulled red sweater. It actually looks similar to one of Wilbur's sweaters if it was a little more vibrant. But what really catches his eye are the bright red macaw wings folded behind him.

"Is this seat taken?" He questions, gesturing at the stool beside him.

Tommy shakes his head. "Go for it." And promptly goes back to eating his fries.

The man sits down beside him, and orders something called a Scarland Surprise. Tommy's never heard of it- but the bartender starts making it almost immediately. He wrinkles his nose at the amount of sugar that gets poured into the shaker, but just shoves another fry into his mouth.

As he eats; he can feel the mans eyes on him. Glancing him up and down like he holds the answers to a complicated question he needs to solve. Tommy does his best to ignore it, though. He doesn't really want to give himself a reputation with the staff as being someone who starts bar fights every time someone mentions they might recognize him. That would also raise some unnecessary questions and issues for Quackity to solve.

Then a hand is held out to him. "I'm Grian."

Hesitantly, Tommy reaches out and shakes his hand.

He opens his mouth to respond, but the words die in his throat when he feels something cold slip down his spine like a snake. The man's dark eyes flash a vibrant purple, and he leans forward suddenly with a death grip on his hand. "Don't shake his hand."

His hand is let go before Tommy can even fully register what's happening- and the avian is walking away with the abomination of a drink in hand.

..Ok, that was fuckin weird.

Once the man has vanished into the crowd, Tommy wipes his hand off on his napkin and leaves after throwing out what's left. He walks -he doesn't run , shut up -to the nearest elevator, and hits the button for the 7th floor. He takes a couple deep breaths to calm himself down as he tries to understand what the hell just happened.

He still hasn't come up with anything by the time he steps into the hotel room. And he's still got nothing a couple hours later when Quackity takes him from the hotel room and to a sitting room instead.

Tommy nearly jumps out of his skin when Quackity opens the door, and the avian is standing there beside a man littered with scars.

"Tommy, this is Scar." Quackity introduces; and the man in question bows dramatically. "And this is his fiance Grian." He gestures to the avian he met earlier.

Grian's watching him with a pretty blank expression, and Tommy shifts his wings uncomfortably. But Scar stands up straight and beams at him like he's always wanted to meet him. "Nice to meet you!" He crows, sticking a scarred hand out. "How's it goin?"

"Um," Tommy starts, uncertainly. He reaches out to shake the man's hand like he'd done with Grian earlier- but he catches the avian's eye before he can fully extend his hand. He subtly shakes his head, and Tommy retracts his hand quickly and stuffs it into the pocket of his hoodie. "..I'm fine. Thanks."

Scar pouts at the refusal to shake his hand, but doesn't comment. Instead, Quackity brings Tommy to a couch and sits on it with him as the other two take a seat on the couch across from them. "They're here to help you."

"Help me?" Tommy questions, his feathers rising anxiously as he glances between all of them. "With what?"

"You need to talk to someone." The rogue says, like that explains everything. "And they're the most qualified people I know to help with trauma without outright signing you up for therapy."

"Wh- It's not trauma. " Tommy frowns. "I mean- Maybe Raptor beating me after he disowned me is considered traumatic- but everything else doesn't count."

"That's- Kid you're contradicting yourself." He pinches his eyebrows. "But that's why they're here. Grian can manipulate the mindscape."

"Right.." He drawls, looking over at the man in question. "And what the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"It means I can make a room in your mind." Grian explains, gesturing vaguely. "I can pick up your consciousness and have it sit in the room I make and manipulate to make you see things."

"Like a hallucination?" Tommy questions, frowning even more in confusion.

"Not quite. You won't.." He pauses like he isn't sure how to explain it. "It's like dreaming, but you're awake. But not quite daydreaming..?" He squints into the air, then makes a frustrated noise before shaking his head. "Now you've confused me and they're my powers."

"Right.." Tommy cuts his eyes to the other man. "And what do you do?"

"Oh, I make deals- but that's not why I'm here!' He beams as Tommy just blinks at him. "I'm also an Anchor!"

"An..Anchor?" Tommy questions, even more confused.

"People with mind powers need an anchor to tether themself to reality." Grian explains, gesturing to Scar. "And since our fiance is gone, he's here."

"But I thought-" He shakes his head with a groan; rubbing at his temples. "This is so confusing."

"You can trust them, Tommy." Quackity reassures gently, putting a hand on his arm. "They can be a little chaotic; but they mean well. And they're the only people I could think of to help you sort out your mental health while you stay here."

"I don't need to "sort out my mental health"." Tommy frowns. "I'm perfectly fine."

Quackity grimaces and flicks his eyes all over his face. "..No offense kid, but you don't look like you've slept since you've gotten here."

"Plus Q said you tore apart his office on day one." Grian points out almost nonchalantly.

Shame crawls up onto Tommy's face; and he turns sharply to glare at the rogue beside him.

Quackity puts his hands up with an apologetic look. "I had to explain why I needed them here so quickly. I want to make sure you're ok, but they wouldn't have rushed here if I didn't explain."

That..He's not sure how he feels about that, actually.

Because he knows Quackity is coming from a good place. That he had good intentions and was just worried about him. He didn't know or want to embarrass Tommy by sharing what he did.

But it still makes him feel ashamed. Makes him seem like he can't control himself when he's upset when he can. He knows how to behave. He doesn't know why he acted like that.

"They're not gonna judge you." Quackity tries to reassure, but he doesn't know that. Tommy doesn't know that. None of them can know that except for Grian and Scar themselves.

"I mean, I don't really care how you react." Grian shrugs and adjusts his wings. "I'm just here to try and help you sort it out."

"..How, though?" Tommy frowns. "What do you do with mindscape manipulation?"

"We're gonna sit in here," He gestures around the room. "Preferably on the floor but that's up to you. Then I'm gonna burn some mushrooms-"

"What-??"

"-and then we're gonna sit in your mindscape for a bit while you sort things out." He finishes.

Tommy sighs and rubs at his forehead. He doesn't understand half of this. Why does he need mushrooms? Why couldn't he shake Scar's hand? Why did Grian warn him downstairs earlier?

Why do they want to help him? Do they know what he did? What he is?

"..Whatever." He mumbles, too tired to really try and understand any more of this.

"Wonderful!" Scar chirps, clapping his hands together. "I'll get the mushrooms!"

Tommy and Grian sit together while Quackity and Scar go off down the hall. Apparently, Quackity had to deal with two teenagers causing a fuss at the entrance; and Scar had to dig through their luggage to fond the "Totally legal" mushrooms.

Tommy fiddles with his hands and shuffles his wings awkwardly at the silence in the room; and he squints at Grian. "..So." He starts. "Why mushrooms?"

"Normally I don't need anything to channel my powers- let alone mushrooms." Grian sighs, looking out the window along the back wall. "But our fiance can "borrow" bits of people's powers. And he thought it'd be funny to take mine and then go on a bike tour around the country."

Tommy blinks. "Wait- I thought Scar was your fiance? And he's with you?"

The avian sighs, not turning from the window. "He is. But I miss him. "

He doesn't have any idea who He is, but he brushes it off when he realizes Grian's lost in his own head. So instead, Tommy takes a deep breath and prepares himself mentally for whatever the fuck is about to happen.

He's never had anyone mess with his mind before. And he's not sure what it's gonna feel like or look like. Maybe he'll fall asleep? Grian said it was like dreaming; so maybe he'll just see some weird shit his subconscious conjures up? But then what's Grian gonna do? What does he mean he's gonna make a room in his head?

Scar comes bursting back into the room with a purple bag embroidered with a silver moon; and Tommy nearly jumps out of his skin. "Got them!" He crows cheerfully. "You two ready?"

"Wait- Are you gonna be in the room with us?" Tommy frowns, watching as the man sits beside Grian and hands over the bag..

"I have to be next to him to strengthen the anchor." He explains as Grian pulls a bowl and little crushing stick out of the bag. "But I won't be in the way, don't worry."

"You better not.." Grian grumbles as he pulls what looks like an incense burner out and sets that to the side. But there's no real heat in his words. There's actually a small smile creeping up on his face before he dumps the contents of the bag into the bowl.

The mushrooms clatter into it and Tommy scrunches his nose up at how..Weird they look. He's used to red and white mushrooms or the flat brown ones. Not..Whatever these are. These are dull and purple with crumbling stems and flaky tops like they've been dried out.

Grian raises his wings a bit from his spot on the floor, and Tommy coughs when he flaps his wings and crushes a bit of the mushrooms at the sametime; sending dust into his face.

"What the hell, man?" Tommy barks, covering his nose with his elbow/

Grian gives him an unimpressed look. "We gotta get it in your system so I can do my thing. Just calm down." And he wafts more in Tommy's direction.

He reluctantly obliges, and pushes down the coughs as he breathes in the ground up mushrooms.

Once they're ground up to an acceptable level; Grian lights them up.

It takes a minute for the crumbled remains to start smoking, and by then Tommy's head is starting to feel a little funny. All fuzzy around the edges and throbbing against his skull like he's starting to get a migraine. He presses a hand to his temple when the world spins a little, and Grian looks up from where he was previously staring at the mushrooms like they'd kicked his dog.

"Oh good! It's working." He rolls his sleeves up. "Alright kid, this is gonna feel really weird for a minute. But you need to let me in, ok?" That's all the warning he gets before Grian's grabbing his hands, and a frigid cold seeps into his bones.

The entire room is gone in a blink. The smell of the mushrooms are gone. Even his headache is gone. There's just..Nothing. Nothing but a cold, empty void so dark Tommy can barely see the hand in front of his face.

Then, slowly, eyes start appearing.

First it's just one pair of glowing, vibrant purple eyes peering at him from the void. It feels like it has far more weight behind it than it seems- but it's just one. So he can handle it.

Then he blinks, and more eyes appear. Then more. And every time he blinks, more and more eyes appear until there's an entire wingspan of them just boring down on Tommy.

"St-Stop it!" Tommy shrieks, covering his head with his wings to hide from them. "St-Stop looking at me!!"

"Let me in, Tommy." A voice echoes around him, and he looks up sharply at the brightest pair of purple eyes in the center of the mass.

"..Grian??" He balks.

There's a hum of confirmation all around him that reverberates through his lungs. "You need to let me control your mindscape."

"Can you put all the fuckin eyes away first??" He snips, uncomfortable with the weight and the sheer number of them. Thankfully, most of them close. Not all of them- hell, not even most of them. But it's enough that Tommy relaxes, and lets Grian take control of his mindscape..

It feels like the world is turned upside down.

Like his entire being is plucked from its normal spot and is placed somewhere else entirely. Somewhere it's not supposed to be.

He groans and blinks hie eyes open- and blinks in surprise when he actually sees something.

It looks like a box. A gray box that's somehow glowing from all directions- but not actually emanating any light when he puts a hand on one wall. He shrieks and leaps away though when Grian appears on the other side of the wall like it's transparent.