Two days before Harry escapes the maze, Tommy sits alone in a gazebo at its core. Silently he watches on with dull eyes. This time, he's different, taller and slimmer, wearing casual clothes straight from earth, his body now the one of a twenty something year old. Bored, he turns to his left and finds the near translucent illusion of a little girl, the only solid part of her body being a single brain floating where her head is. Remembering all the convoluted plans and tricks she's had him pull he can't help but let out a frustrated sigh.
"I understand your frustrations but what must be done is to be done."
"Yes yes, wake up the sleeping one and reset everything and in exchange, you keep your promise."
For a few moments silence takes over. The flowers fade and bloom as the star filled sky glimmers and wavers. Beyond the pale white fourth era gazebo, red brick walls sprout and vanish, shifting like the sea every moment. Suddenly, the girl breaks silence, tilting her head and glancing at Tommy.
"Do you feel no shame manipulating that poor child?"
Tilting his head, Tommy looks at her with teasing eyes.
"Lil bastard already knew something was wrong with me long before we met. I can't say I won't miss him but I have a promise to fulfill."
She raises a brow.
"You call others bastard yet I see none more suited for the title than yourself."
Exaggeratedly, he grips his heart and leans back, looking to the sky with fake sorrow overtaking his usually jovial face.
"How cruel! Oh, how cruel! Ma'am you have no leg to stand on when your closest friend is about to enter an all out war. Besides, aren't you a selfish one allowing yourself to use people like me while those two can't. Speaking of which. Why not just outright kill Harry?"
"The eyes must be put together with the stomach, it requires a few tricks I unfortunately cannot tell you. Now cease with the drama and start exploring the maze. The faster you find other parts the faster I can fulfill our little engagement."
"Fine, fine."
Lazily, he stands up and floats far above, yet, no matter how high he flies he comes no closer to the stars above. Ignoring the outskirts, knowing he won't find the mind of anyone deeply involved he instead looks around the core of the maze. Among the evershifting walls he finds countless small houses from various parts of the world, and some from another world. Condos, cottages, stone huts, and simple brick houses from any style appear and disappear as the flowers bloom. Just as he's about to wander his favorite memory to explore. Among the sea of well built homes and walls a mound of garbage and monster corpses violently explodes from the stars above. Walking to it he reaches between the stars and the maze below.
Walking among the heap he examines it to find any new changes. There seem to be more corpses, each one the same spindly and skinny almost human-like abomination. Walking up to the shabby home atop the heap he puts on a rare genuine smile, roaring out a few words with clear kindness in his voice.
"I'm Home!!!!"
From the tarp being used as a front door a lone girl walks out, annoyance filling her bright pink eyes. She's wearing a dirty brown t-shirt with torn jeans and sandals. Her hair, just like her eyes, is a sharp pink. Without hesitation she walks up to him and tries to smack him upside the head, unfortunately she's too short to even dream of reaching his head unless she gets on her tippy toes.
"What did I say about yelling, Tommy?"
"Not to do it!"
Smiling he straightens up and salutes, his hand gliding past his long black hair. In response she lets out a heavy sigh, rubbing her temple as she's forced to accept this idiot might be the only human interaction she'll ever experience in this doomed world. Looking up she doesn't see the maze, instead she sees earth's sky, and does nothing as the torn open moon now resembling a massive eye seems to gaze at her exclusively. Seeing her so focused on the sky a somber glimpse appears in Tommy's eyes before fading away almost immediately.
"So, how is everything going on this side?"
Without a care the duo walk into the tent of a home. The inside is messy, random knick knacks sprawled across a mix of home carved furniture and scraps pulled from the heap. The girl, after entering, throws herself onto the bed while Tommy chucks himself onto a beanbag in the corner. After getting comfortable she responds.
"Same old same old. The world is in ruins and I'm still pretty sure I'm the last person left on earth. How about over on your side? Think we can fix things soon?"
"Taking the first step soon."
"Good. Now, what do you feel like doing today? I'm tired of hunting and kinda want to play some games."
"Want me to boot up Stardew?"
"Yes, please and thank you."
Tommy, a bit excited to play with her, pulls two laptops out from thin air and passes one to her. "Are you sure you're not god? Or at least a god?" Seeing her steam account active, a full charge, and a connection to wifi she can't help but wonder what exactly Tommy is. The first time he showed up he at least seemed human. She'll never forget the tears when he realized earth was long dead. Seeing him break down completely. Likewise, she'll never forget how quickly he recovered, showing up making claims of being able to restore it.
"Hey, are you doing okay?"
Tommy, seeing her lost in a daze can't help but worry. When they first met she was bordering on insanity, seemingly giving up hope on life. Then, they met. They both realized that there was someone else left on earth. Unfortunately for her, the only time she can meet Tommy is when she dreams in her sleep. Looking at him an eerie chill fills her heart.
"I might be insane."
Looking around she loses herself to her thoughts. How much of this is real? When I wake up won't I be alone again…i'm pretty pathetic aren't I. So desperate for a friend that I have to dream one up. Still, even if it's all fake, it beats the insanity of reality. And so for a few hours they play in silence, the girl farming casually while Tommy min maxes his crop yield to make as much money as possible. Suddenly, the two look up. Even without looking they can tell.
The moon will blink and she'll be forced to wake up.
Silently, Tommy stands up and walks to the bed, taking a seat next to the girl. In response, she gently leans her head against his shoulder and grabs his hand, holding it tight. "Hey, I promise we'll return earth to normal." Looking at Tommy's gentle smile she returns a warm grin. "Yeah, we can play games in a normal house, eat normal food, and look at a normal sky." Looking at the small girl next to him a bit of hope fills Tommy's heart. She glances at him, then at the laptop in front of her. Remembering the warmth he brought her, the moments she wasn't alone a bright smile fills her face.
"I'm glad you're still here."
Seeing her he can't help but remember how it all started. From overwhelming joy at the opportunity to return home he was hit by overwhelming despair. The earth he knew is gone, replaced by a monster overrun ruin. Cities scorched and deformed corpses lain across the earth. He wandered for so long, yet he never found anyone. So he returned to the other world, ready to end it all, unwilling to be her slave, at least until she promised she could return earth to what it was before. Then, one day, among the maze the heap showed in the center. There he found her, someone on earth, maybe even the last person left. And there she was, standing on a chair with a noose around her neck ready to end it all. Seeing this Tommy does the only thing he can, he freaks the fuck out as he runs screaming towards her.
"WAIT WAIT WAIT DON'T KICK THAT CHAIR!!!!!"
"The Fuck!?!"
Accidentally she kicks the chair, the noose instantly tightening around her neck. Panicking, Tommy reaches into the ground, turning a portion into a small knife and immediately tossing it towards the rope, thankfully managing to cut it. Instantly she falls down, the rope loosening as she begins to violently cough. Even so, despite the pain and tears she doesn't stop looking at Tommy for even a moment.
"I…I've gone crazy haven't I?"
In response Tommy looks to his sides then responds, making sure she's referring to him when referencing her insanity.
"Nope. I'm really here!"
"Ah…my head. Too loud, don't scream."
"Sorry, I'll quiet down."
For a few awkward seconds they just stare at each other. Eventually though, she decides to approach Tommy. Slowly, step by step she grows closer, tears starting to form with every step. Right as she's at her closest to him, she raises her arms, gets on her tippy toes, and touches his cheeks with her hands. At that moment, the dam burst. In under a second she's sobbing loudly, repeating the phrase, "I'm not alone!" again and again. Tommy, seeing this, can only stare, unsure of what to do. Hug her? Tell her it's okay? Do nothing? In the end he decides to say one thing.
"Nice meeting you, my name is Tommy."
Breaking free from the tears, with hands quivering and breath shaky she speaks.
"M-my n-name i-is Alice."