Work Text:
This was it.
This was the moment Tommy lives or dies.
Being a descendent of heroes truly fucking sucked.
You see, Tommy was descended from the legendary hero Perseus. If you know your mythology, you know the greatest accomplishment of Perseus’: Killing the gorgon Medusa.
However, it didn’t stop with Perseus. Thing is, a battle between the Perseus Family Tree and the Gorgons was a tradition. Every member of each family must survive a duel to the death with the other or die trying.
The challenge could be issued by either party once both opponents are at least fourteen years of age. Often it is waged later since neither feel they are ready to take on the other in their early teen years.
To be clear, the duel is not necessarily to the death. It can be won by one party surrendering. No, it is not the battle that kills them, it’s what happens after.
The victor has the right to do whatever they wish with the loser once they’ve won. And there’s only one thing that each family does with those they’ve defeated. Perseus and his descendants create weapons out of the eyes of the gorgons which can turn something to stone with a single scratch.
And the gorgons…
Well, they get to add another statue to their collection.
And they’re likely to soon have a Tommy shaped statue in that collection.
It’s the unfortunate truth. Tommy was challenged by the gorgons soon after he became eligible for the duel. The gorgon he’d be facing was several years older than him and was trained by the one who killed Tommy’s brother.
Tommy’s brother Dream had been felled by the gorgon Technoblade when the human had issued the challenge. It was abundantly clear Tommy would face the same fate.
He still dawned the armor and took up the perfectly polished shield that served as a mirror. He still raised his sword and said goodbye to his uncaring family. He still stepped into the empty arena across from the hooded, snakelike figure of his opponent.
No one was allowed in the arena while the duel was in progress. If they were they would risk being turned to stone by a stray glance of the gorgon or interfering on behalf of their loved one. So the battle happens away from public eyes, the victor is whoever comes out alive and returns to their family lugging the body of the loser.
Looking over his opponent, Tommy notes how pretty his scales are. They’re a mottled brown, green, and yellow that reflected in the light beautifully. He could tell his opponent was looking over him as well, at his straw colored hair and stormy blue eyes.
“May I know the name of my challenger?” the Gorgon called, as was custom. It was odd that he called first however because usually it was the one who received the challenge who asked first, not the other way around.
“Only if I may know the name of mine.” Tommy called back, not custom but fuck that.
“Well, well, witty are we? Very well, my name is Wilbur, and you?” the gorgon– Wilbur apparently– chuckled.
“Tommy, and your name fuckin’ sucks.”
Wilbur laughed at Tommy’s blunt response.
“Oh I like you, a shame we have to fight each other, perhaps we could’ve been friends under better circumstances.”
“Doubtful, I don’t make friends with bald people, let alone bald people who are dickheads.” Tommy deadpanned.
“I’m not bald–”
“Do you have hair? No, you have snakes. Therefore, you are bald, and a prick.”
Wilbur wheezed another laugh. It took him quite some time to regain composure. Tommy was beginning to lose patience, or more accurately, he was losing his stability. The longer he stood there the worse his legs shook and more his blood spiked with fear.
He really didn’t want to die.
“Quit your bitching and let’s get on with this, Wilbitch.”
“Alright, are you ready?”
What the fuck kind of question was that?! In what world would Tommy be ready to be turned to stone. But the sooner they got this over with, the better. So instead of breaking down and begging to be spared, he gritted his teeth and settled into a fighting stance.
“Fuck no, but that’s never going to change so let’s go!”
With that, Tommy lunged. He charged straight for the gorgon, taking advantage of his free field of vision while he could.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw Wilbur’s tail strike towards him from the right so he dodged left, whipping around to attack again.
By then, however, Wilbur had gotten a hand on the edge of his hood and was pulling it back. Tommy flicked his eyes to his mirror-like shield to see the molten honey colored eyes of the gorgon reflected there. He shuddered at the thought that those would be the last thing he saw.
Wilbur lunged for Tommy but he used his shield to bash him aside and swung his sword at the gorgon’s tail. He miscalculated and it landed in the dirt.
Of course, bashing Wilbur with his shield gave the snake-man the opportunity to grab it and he did. He ripped at the shield in an attempt to yank it off. Only problem with that was that the shield was attached to something, namely: Tommy’s arm.
Tommy cried out as his arm was nearly ripped out of socket and he had to use every ounce of his strength to yank in retaliation and try to get his shield, and his arm, back. Then ensued a short tug-of-war that ended in Tommy bashing Wilbur’s face once again and getting him to loosen his grip so Tommy could get some distance. Tommy stood panting in the middle of the arena, carefully watching the scaled reflection in his shield as the gorgon circled around him.
“That shield really limits your field of vision, Toms, you should just drop it and look around like a normal person. Is my face really that ugly that you can’t stand to look at it? That’s quite rude, you know.”
Wilbur was taunting him now, trying to distract him. It only really served to stress him more.
“Fuck you!”
Truly Tommy’s most eloquent response.
Wilbur was right though. The shield was limiting and Tommy could track his swift movements with it. He could, however, hear Wilbur’s scales slide along the ground and hiss of his snake-hair.
So with a deep breath, Tommy closed his eyes and listened for those tell-tale signs. He heard them coming from behind him.
Tommy jumped to the side and felt the wind of Wilbur’s strike blow inches past his face. Tommy took his chance and slashed down, he made contact with something and Wilbur cried out in pain.
There wasn’t much time to celebrate his success because Wilbur retaliated by grabbing Tommy’s shield again, and this time, he wasn’t letting go.
With a vicious hiss he ripped the shield from Tommy’s arm and tossed it aside.
Tommy grimaced in pain but ducked away from another grab and jumped behind one of the many columns that gave the arena some terrain. He slipped through the various dilapidated walls and pillars, evading Wilbur’s detection while moving closer to his shield.
He could hear the hissing from Wilbur as he crawled behind a falled column. He was nearly there…just a little farther–
A green, brown, and yellow wall appeared in front of him and he shrieked and scrambled backwards on his belly. He closed his eyes quickly before he could catch a glimpse of the gorgon’s eyes.
Something pounced on Tommy’s legs and sharp claws dug into his calves. Tommy screamed and flipped around, swinging his sword around blindly.
One of the claws left his legs and caught his wrist in a painfully tight grip. It hurt so badly Tommy was forced to release his sword. It fell to the ground with a clatter.
Tommy whimpered and kicked at the hands grabbing his legs. He actually managed to shake the gorgon off for a moment before he pounced again. This time he aimed higher and pounced on Tommy’s chest.
The snakes on Wilbur’s head hissed close to Tommy’s ears and he flinched, jerking his head away. Tommy could feel long coils wrapping around his body, pinning his arms to his sides and stilling any struggles.
The coils were so tight Tommy had to breathe very shallowly.
“Well,” a hissing voice purred in his ear, “I take it this means I won.”
“No!” Tommy shouted, this couldn’t be it, “Lemme go!”
“Come on, Toms, you didn’t genuinely think you could beat a fully grown gorgon at the ripe age of fourteen, did you? Now, what to do with you…Dad will probably want me to go the traditional way and add you to the garden but I like to be a bit different.”
Tommy whimpered in confusion. What was he talking about? Did he think…
“What? You think just because I’m not as strong as my brother you’ll be able to beat me and make a weapon of my remains?”
“No!” Tommy shouted, desperate. “I–I didn’t–”
“You didn’t what? You didn’t think you’d lose to me?!” WIlbur sounded furious.
“I DIDN’T CHALLENGE YOU! YOU CHALLENGED ME!” Tommy wailed, “I didn’t want to fight! I don’t wanna die!”
Wilbur seemed stunned, the angry hissing stopped and they just sat there for a minute.
“I… didn’t send the challenge, it was you, I have the letter in my room. It was even signed by you…” Wilbur trailed off as if in thought.
“I– I couldn’t have signed anything–I was never taught how to read or write.” Tommy choked back a sob, he wasn’t sure when he’d started crying but he had been for a while now.
“You–you weren’t taught how to read or write? You’re fourteen how…? Y’know what, it doesn’t matter, they just told you that we sent you a challenge and sent you out here?”
Tommy nodded quickly. It was so embarrassing to be crying like he was in front of his death but he couldn’t help it.
Wilbur seemed to take this and think on it. They sat like that, Tommy wrapped in Wilbur’s coils immobilized while Wilbur considered what he’s learned. Eventually though, he came to a decision.
“Well it’s not very fair to kill you when you were tricked into this hmm? Besides, I quite like your personality, you wouldn’t make a good addition to the garden…”
Tommy shuddered as Wilbur muttered to himself about Tommy’s fate right above his head. Wilbur shifted, the flapping sound of a satchel being opened registered in Tommy’s ears. Wilbur rummaged around in his satchel until he found whatever he was looking for and pulled it out.
“Alright, I’ve got an idea. You won’t like it at first but you’ll get used to it. Now…”
Tommy felt clawed hands grab his face and tilt it up. Once his head was in the position WIlbur wanted, a coil of his tail wrapped under Tommy’s chin while another supported the back of his head, keeping it in that position.
Tommy’s breathing, which had calmed slightly in their brief intermission, picked up again and his breaths were coming fast and short. He could hear his heart hammering in his ears to an almost deafening degree.
“Alright Toms, I’m going to need you to open your eyes for me. Don’t worry, I have my eyes obscured now, but I get the feeling you’re not going to believe I won’t turn you to stone will you?”
Tommy just whined in response, his heart fluttering and threatening to falter. Wilbur just crooned as if to try and soothe him, and spoiled alert, it didn’t work.
“I know, this is all very scary huh? It’s alright, soon you won’t have to worry about that anymore but I need you to open your eyes, one at a time for me.”
Tommy shook his head as best he could with the position it was in. Wilbur sighed but didn’t press Tommy to open his eyes voluntarily. He just did it for him.
Something popped and a bitter scent filled the air and Tommy felt clawed fingers reach for his eye. He tried to thrash around but his head was pinned well.
Wilbur managed to pry one of Tommy’s eyelids open and Tommy stared up at a liquid dropper. It was held directly above Tommy’s eye by Wilbur’s hand and with a squeeze of his fingers a drop fell out into Tommy’s eye.
It stung.
It stung really badly.
It burned .
Tommy cried out in pain but Wilbur shushed him. He shut his eye as soon as Wilbur released it.
“I know, I know it hurts, but it’s the only way. Any other way and you might accidentally catch a glimpse of our eyes and be petrified. Don’t worry we’re half-way done.” Wilbur attempted to soothe him but it didn’t help.
The process was repeated on Tommy’s other eye and suddenly Tommy wasn’t being restrained anymore. Instead he was being held carefully and gently in Wilbur’s arms while the gorgon stroked his hair.
“You did so good, sunshine! I know it hurts a lot but now you won’t ever have to worry about being turned to stone ever again. It’ll be scary at first but I’ll help you, you won’t have to go through this again. And then we can get revenge on that family of yours for setting you up hmm? Wouldn’t that be nice? It’s about time we put an end to this stupid tradition anyways.”
Tommy wasn’t listening anymore, all he could think was how his eyes hurt so badly. He just wailed into the gorgon’s chest and bunched his fists in his shirt.
“I know, I know, I’m so sorry Toms, but it was the only way. You’ll understand someday, but for now I think you just sleep this off alright? I know you must be exhausted from today so just let it out and let the tiredness wash over you.”
And Tommy did. He sobbed and yelled and cried until he couldn’t. It had been a long day and he couldn’t keep up anymore.
Eventually his tears dried and his cries pittered out. His head ached, his eyes burned, his throat was raw and he was tired .
So, ever so slowly, Tommy drifted off into a fitful slumber.
~~~~~
Tommy woke up with a splitting headache. He was in what felt like a strangely nest-like bed. A heavy, warm weight lay over his stomach. He was warm and cozy where he was and didn’t want to move.
But something was nagging the back of his mind
After several moments of trying to go back to sleep, Tommy groaned and stretched, reaching up to rub the sleep from his eyes. But when he blinked his eyes open nothing happened.
He went to rub his eyes again, to make sure he’d gotten everything. Someone cooed at him.
Wait, what?
Tommy blinked, trying to see who had cooed at him but he just couldn’t. There was nothing to see no matter how hard he looked.
Then it hit him.
Yesterday, the battle, losing, the potion dripped into his eyes.
Tommy started breathing fast and shallow. Then he felt arms snake around his waist.
“Awake so soon little one?” Wilbur’s voice whispered from somewhere behind him.
Before Tommy could think ‘wait don’t look at the gorgon that could turn you to stone’ or ‘if you can’t see in front of you there’s no point in looking behind you’ he whirled around to see the speaker.
“Oh my, looks like I made a good choice huh? You’d be stone cold right now if I hadn’t.” Wilbur chuckled.
“Wh–what did you do? Where the fuck are we?” Tommy was shaking now, he had no idea where he was with no way other than Wilbur to find out.
Tommy now realized a bit of his surroundings, what he could feel at least. What drew him to noticing this is the fact that whatever he was laying in moved . He was in some sort of cup shaped thing that he now realized was Wilbur’s coils. That weight in his stomach was part of Wilbur’s tail.
He must be in Wilbur’s nest.
“The only thing I could do to keep you alive. That’s what you wanted right?” sharp nailed fingers caressed Tommy’s cheek, “a Tommy statue would’ve been a waste and there was no way I could send you back to your family when they sent you to your death, besides, that would be seen as a loss on my part. The only way was to bring you home with me but…I needed to make sure you were safe from our gazes.”
Wilbur sounded regretful and guilty as he spoke. Tommy began to shake as he realized what exactly had happened to his eyes. He reached up and brushed right under his eyes, grazing against Wilbur’s claws in the process. He flinched away when he felt them but his fingers came away wet with tears.
“I’m sorry Tommy, if it’s any comfort, there are ways to undo the effects of the potion but they can be dangerous and would have to wait until you are at least eighteen, preferably twenty-one. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of you though. It’ll be hard at first but we’ll figure it out together.” Wilbur was rambling on, oblivious to the fact that Tommy’s entire world just ended.
Taloned fingers started to gently comb through Tommy’s hair. It was comforting in a strange way and gave Tommy the courage to speak up.
“Why—“ Tommy choked but continued shortly “why couldn’t you just give me a blindfold or wear some glasses yourself…” Tommy finally asked in a weak voice.
The soothing ministrations stilled and Tommy felt the coils surrounding him tense. Oh shit.
Ohshitohshitohshit —
Wrong question.
Now Tommy was gonna pay for being too nosey, too demanding, too selfish .
Was it really selfish to want to be able to keep your sight?
The head scratching started up again slowly. It didn’t help calm Tommy this time however.
Wilbur sighed.
“The last time we tried the blindfold and tinted glasses method…let’s just say I will always regret what happened to her. I don’t want you to meet the same fate.”
“Why?”
Wilbur rumbled quietly in thought. He reached the hand that wasn’t carding through Tommy’s hair up to cup his jaw and tilted Tommy’s head back until he was facing up and behind his head slightly. Tommy’s eyes stared searchingly into the impenetrable darkness that he could hear the faint hissing of Wilbur’s hair-snakes coming from.
“Why what, sunshine? Why’d I help you? Why did I choose this instead of making you a statue par tradition? Is that what you mean?” Questioned Wilbur.
Tommy’s voice failed him, having the deadly monster you thought would be the end of you hold you in their lap after a horrible battle will do that to you. So he opted to just nod.
“I’m not entirely sure…you’re different than most of the other humans I’ve met. Frankly, I hate the whole tradition our families have upheld since your old ancestor; it’s cruel and brutal. We both went into that arena thinking we were going to die, saying goodbye to my father and brother was the worst experience of my life. And you’re just a kid, forced into this as a method to get rid of you conveniently and that’s plain cruel.”
“What…what are you gonna do now?” ‘ What’s going to happen to me now’ is what Tommy really wanted to ask but he couldn’t force the words out.
“Take care of you.” Wilbur answered as if it were obvious. He must have not noticed Tommy’s unreasured appearance for a while because the silence stretched on for several minutes before he continued. “I can’t just leave you to go back to your family as they clearly don’t want you—“ ouch “—and you need some kind of support system. So you’re gonna stay with us for now, and if it’s truly intolerable, then we’ll go through the process of removing the effects of the potion and help you back into the real world. Or we could…well, we’ll cross that bridge when we get there, okay?”
Tommy nodded without truly processing, he was still shell shocked. Later he would cry, later he would scream and beg. Later he would fling insult after biting insult. Later he would fight.
And later, he would accept his new family.
~~~~~
It was years later, after many happy memories made with his serpentine family, that Tommy was presented with a choice. On his eighteenth birthday, Wilbur offered Tommy his eyes back.
It was a hard choice to make, but Tommy made it.
“No.”
Wilbur let his mouth fall open, he’d been so sure he was about to have to truly accept that he’d have to say goodbye to his little brother. Yet he’d said no…
“I’d rather stay with you and Techno and Phil, even if I can’t see.” Tommy was stubborn, there would be no convincing him to change his mind.
Phil came forward then, he was the oldest of them and leader of the den. He knew all the secrets of those who’d come before them.
“Tommy—“
“No Phil. If regaining my sight means I’ll have to leave you all then I’d rather keep things the way they are.” Tommy said, immovable.
He had thought a lot about this before, for many years the chance to see again was the only thing he held onto. But now, the idea of leaving his family behind made Tommy feel sick at just the idea.
“But what if those two things weren’t mutually exclusive? What if you could see and still be with us, even see us ? Would you like that?”
What?
That’s not—that’s not possible…
Phil’s offer was like a bombshell dropped in Tommy’s brain.
“There is a way, although it is long, tedious, and excruciating, for me to turn you into a halfbreed. You would be able to change between being a human and a gorgon. You wouldn’t be a full Gorgon, you won’t get snake hair or a gaze that turns those who catch it to stone instantly. You’d have to work hard to turn something and only in your Gorgon form could you do it. You’d stop aging at a normal pace but you’d be immune to our venom and gazes.”
“You—you mean…” Tommy couldn’t find the words to express how he was feeling. Frankly he couldn’t even figure out what he was feeling.
It’s okay though, because Wilbur has plenty of words to fill the silence.
“There are various other perks like being practically invincible thanks to hard scales and that also happen to be fireproof. And you get venom that you can use in either state but you will be more susceptible to cold, not as much as we are obviously since you’re still warm blooded—“
“Wilbur,” Techno interrupted, “shut up.”
Tommy opened his mouth but Phil stopped him from saying anything with a raised hand.
“However, the process is not pretty nor is it pleasant. We have to slowly inject you with our venom over months. You’ll be in immense pain and barely conscious for most of the time. We’ll take care of you during that time but we can’t do anything for your pain.”
Phil’s warning was duly taken into consideration. And promptly ignored, what’s a few months of excruciating pain in comparison to finally being a full member of the family?
Tommy swallowed hard before nodding.
“Yeah, I can handle a little pain. Bring it on.”
And with that, three scaled bodies encircled Tommy. Three pairs of arms dragged him into their grasps and they were moving.
Soon the families sent of the nest filled Tommy’s nose and he was placed in the pile of warm blankets that made it up. Fingers carded through his hair and held him gently.
“This is going to hurt, and I can’t promise it will be better soon. I’m sorry, sunshine.”
It was Wilbur’s voice that whispered right in Tommy’s ear. He knew it was a lie however, he knew Wilbur had been waiting and hoping that this would be the outcome.
“No you’re not, now just get on with it.” Tommy snapped.
With that, three sets of fangs sunk into various places on Tommy and he screamed. Molten lava flowed through his veins and it didn’t take long for him to pass out, lovingly held by his family.
~~~~~
Time passed and a new hero rose in history.
He was powerful, but in what ways were unknown to the world.
Some say he was cursed. Some say he was blessed. Some say he was a descendant of the gods. Some say he was just an extraordinary man, the biggest ever even.
Wherever he appeared, he never showed his cards. Not even the group of tightly knit friends that all traveled together with him knew his secrets. Because he would only play his ace when no one was looking.
Truth of the matter was that all the rumors were correct.
He was cursed with a horrible secret.
He was blessed with an amazing power.
He descended from Zeus himself through a long line of heroes.
And he would say, he was quite the extraordinary man. The biggest ever in fact.
And when he was tired and weary after a long journey, he had a scaled family full of the warmest stone cold gazes ever to be found waiting for him in a cozy cave marked as a home for monsters.