Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

tubbo_ understands technoblade sometimes.
when techno explains he's weak to peer pressuring, he understands. he forgives if only because he knows what it's like for voices to shout at you to do what they want.

("phil, phil, they won't stop talking."
"who? who tubbo? what's wrong?"
"they're fighting, phil, phil make it stop, please make it stop!"
"tubbo? tubbo what's wrong i can't help if i don't know what's going on."

he wonders if technoblade was why phil was able to help him with his alters.)

he knows from tommy it's worse for technoblade. that he has thousands of voices screaming at him sometimes.

tubbo has to deal with three hijackers. they're all one system, big crime, big law, and toob. when the others refer to him, they usually call him by his true name. which is odd, since he didn't know it till philza registered his user id, which was when they learned his true name.
not who his parents were, however.

he hears big law screaming for him just to get rid of tommy, that peace will never come unless they get rid of him, that tommy will tear what they want apart.

he hears tommy say that the disks are the only thing that matters. big crime suddenly hates the boy, telling tubbo to kill him. they gave up everything for him, only for him to do this?
it pisses them off.

toob never lets go. it's both toob and tubbo against big law and big crime. toob never says anything outside of a few growls and grunts, so he's not much help.

tubbo can't remember exiling tommy.
(he can't remember he can't remember he can't remember he can't, he can't, he can't. )

so yeah. he knows what it's like to have voices.

what he doesn't understand is why quackity has locked in this jail. now he knows what that bastard has been working on.

he sighs, listening to big law and big crime fight with each other. they both agree on the same thing, but they are always fighting.

leaning against the wall, he brushes his hand through his hair. how was he such an idiot? he should've known. toob sits in the corner of his mind, upset.

toob attaches to people. he considers them part of his herd. not that he's the leader, but they're herd, they're like family.

tubbo feels toob's hurt. honestly, he feels hurt too. he's upset, he's scared.

looking around, it's obvious quackity plans on putting more people here. across from him is another cell, and more cells spanning further. that's just great.

tubbo curls into a ball, and rests his head on his arms. it's cold. he's tired. he slips away into the welcoming arms of rest.

technoblade doesn't trust the message he receives from tubbo. phil and tommy, though mostly tommy, tell him to at least see. they're hopeful that it's an apology.

quackity meets him outside of l'manburg. "come with me." the duck demands, not even bothering with the illusion of politeness. alright then. technoblade sets all his items into a box, and hides it away. quackity does the same.

technoblade follows, looking around. it's not as if anything is different, people walk around with smiles. they greet qauckity, and ask after tubbo.

apparently, he hasn't been seen walking around. though, that's only from two people who technoblade doesn't know, citizens who are new and don't fear technoblade.

quackity cuts them off. "please return to your homes. this is official buisness." their stares turn harsher, and they walk away.

huh. did tubbo actually start feeling guilty? they get to the white house. And then they walk through the white house, onto el rapids.

what.

quackity takes him to a hut, built out of logs. it doesn't seem that grand, and constructed on short notice.

quackity stands aside. "go in. then you'll see the president."

technoblade really should get better at reading people. he steps in, ignoring the voices screaming at him to look at quackity once more, screaming at him that something is wrong.

he steps in. there's nothing in there. just darkness. techno hears a click, when suddenly the ground under him is gone. he's barely able to grab onto the edge of the floor before he falls.

the door swings open, and quackity looks at him with disgust. "you make nothing easy." he insults. raising his foot, he stomps on technoblade's hands.

he falls.
that motherfu-

tubbo wakes up with a start. looking around, he finds technoblade in the cell across from him. fantastic.

"hello, technoblade." he spits out bitterly. while he may have forgiven technoblade, he hasn't forgotten.

("techno! techno! teach tubbo and i how to fight while you're still here to visit! c'mon! c'mon please!"

the man sighs, and shakes his head. "sun tzu once said have paitence. practice that."

tubbo laughs. "that's not an actual sun tzu qoute! he never quoted that!" tommy turns to him. "how do you know that? you can't read!"

he looks at his brother with tears in his eyes. "i can read! i really, really can! it's just- it's just a little hard but i can read just fine as anyone else!"

technoblade interrupts before it turns to a full on crying session. "okay you two- i'll teach you a few different moves okay? just don't cry!")

maybe technoblade never considered him as family. but toob said he was part of the herd, once upon the time.

toob now stays silent, while big crime and big law shout for control. tubbo has forgiven technoblade, the others have not.

the pig man looks up at him, shock on his face. "tubbo? what the hell? why are you here?"

he shrugs, looking away. "quackity put me here. let me guess, he tricked you too?" tubbo says, looking at his hands. anywhere but technoblade.

"why would he lock you away? you're the- the president!" technoblade says, sitting up. tubbo can't help the harsh laugh that leaves him.

"some president i am." the teenager snarks, feeling like he's about to cry. betrayed by his cabinet, just like schlatt. is he that much like schlatt? a monster?

he's been filing his horns, is that not enough? how much does he have to do, how much does he have to give? he listened to quackity, he did what he was asked to do, so why is he here?

a trapdoor opens, and technoblade is the first to look over. tubbo doesn't bother.

quackity walks in, head held high. techno glares, hands holding onto the iron bars. it's clear to see that techno's cell was designed for him, made from obsidian and iron bars.

the man fixes his beanie, giving technoblade a sickening smile. but instead of focusing on technoblade, he turns to tubbo instead.

"how are you liking your stay, mr. president?" his tone is mocking, and even he takes offense to that. the kid doesn't even look up, just pushes himself harder against the wall.

technoblade can't see quackity's face, but he can tell he isn't please by the lack of reaction. "well, be glad. this is all to make sure you don't fuck anything up, okay? plus! you're real nice and safe here." quackity says, waving his arms around.

tubbo is quiet, and techno sees the boy look up. his eyes are cold.

"yeah, as safe as you can be stuck with technoblade." he says, sarcastically. techno is slightly surprised at how snarky the teen can be, it's not something he shows off often.

the teenager must be pissed. it doesn't help that he's shaking, however. quackity seems to get even more cockiness from seeing the kid shake.

waving a hand, the man laughs. "it's not that big of a deal, stop getting so upset. lighten up, twobo."

"you don't get to call me that anymore!" tubbo shouts, standing up. he's shaking as if he's in a snow storm. "that was back when we were friends, when i could trust you, when we were herd!"

herd. holy shit, tubbo considered him part of his herd. even quackity looks surprised. for a goat hybrid, that's practically family.

quackity is silent. "you're still part of my flock." he whispers, talking softer. "you just' got in the way a little! but that's okay, since you're practically a duckling, and this way, you're safe from anyone who wants to hurt you!"

tubbo's crying. "i'm not part of your flock, flocks don't do this." the kid's voice is shaky, as he tries and fails to hold in his sobs.

quackity slams his hand on the iron bars. "i'm doing what's best for this country! you were becoming too much like schlatt, if you're here he can't hurt you anymore!" he yells.

"schlatt is dead, quackity!" tubbo hollers back, and slumps to the ground. "he's dead, and we're left to clean up the mess."

technoblade's hands tighten around the bars. the poor kid doesn't need to be shout at by his friend(?) right now. "leave him alone quackity, sure he's a terrible president for kicking out his best friend and deciding to execute me-" oh wow that's the wrong thing to say from how tubbo curls up and turns the other way while crying.

at least it gets quackity to change his attention onto techno. "i'll have you know that was my decision! and sure. it failed, but now? you're trapped either way! no one knows where you are, and certainly no one will find you or tubbo. plus, who would care? the second choice president and the war crime pig?"

this gets tubbo's attention. "tommy will look for techno. philza too, you won't stand a chance." why can't this kid shut up and let technoblade take quackity's abuse?

"dream will kill tommy if he even so thinks of coming near l'manburg."

"that won't stop him, he has phil on his side and phil's still a good player,"

"and what about you huh? who will look for you? you're just a monster."

tubbo looks like he's been slapped. tommy called the kid a monster not too long ago, the wound must be fresh.

quackity wasn't there, which means that tubbo confided in the man and now-
this gets more fucked up by the minute. the voices scream for blood, but he's not sure whose. others say quieter that tubbo's not a monster, that they've seen a real monster, and this child isn't it.

he glares at qauckity. "are you done gloating? because the only monster i see is you."

quackity turns back to techno, and then huffs. "fine, fine! think whatever you want."

he turns back to tubbo. "happy birthday." the man says, voice going back to being sweet. tubbo doesn't even look over, going back to just crying quietly.

quackity leaves. with the sound of a trap door shutting, they're alone.

technoblade looks to the kid. "hey, uh, don't listen to a word he says, kay?" he's not good with words, but he at least wants the kid to stop crying.

(he remembers the kid on the brink of tears. techno remembers agreeing to something if only to stop the new kid his father brought in to distract him.

he remembers the proud look on his bro- the kid's face when he did a move right and knocked tommy to the ground.

he remembers feeling proud too.)

"it's like sun tzu once said, have paitence. tommy and phil will come looking soon." it's a desperate attempt to continue the conversation, he's never been good at holding one.

tubbo gives a weak, shaky laugh. "sun tzu never said that. not specifically." he retorts, before his face gets morose again. "yeah. phil and tommy will come looking for you."

the 'for you' part scares technoblade.

"they'll come find both of us." he states. the kid looks so much like when tommy talks about l'manburg. a hopeless, mourning look. a tired face.

a face that's tired of being alive.

tubbo is quiet. "yeah. they'll find both of us." he says. it's not a happy reaffirmation.

what happened to the boy who once smiled brightly at everyone, explaining his grand idea about a bee farm for the back yard. what happened to the boy who automated his farm?

(he thinks of a farm abandoned, with machines that keep going on and on, replanting and collecting for people who will never come.)

when technoblade searches the kid's face, he sees that kid gone. the ghost of him is reflected in startling blue eyes.

technoblade sits against the obsidian wall, keeping a careful eye on tubbo. they've really gotten themselves into a predicament, huh?

"it's just you and me." he says. tubbo doesn't respond, having cried himself to sleep.

technoblade wonders when the bond between snapped. he thinks the answer to that is that was ruined with a bang.

he sighs, and allows himself to fall asleep.

Chapter Text

tubbo wakes up, and instantly wishes he was asleep. his body hurts, aches. his head feels hot, and sweaty.

he hears soft snoring coming from technoblade's cell. looking up, he freezes.

quackity stands infront of the cell with a pickaxe, staring down at the man. tubbo can't really see his face, but he's pretty sure he knows that the adult is thinking.

"qauckity." it's a statement, a warning wrapped into one. a question with no mark, because the answer is clear. tubbo knows damn well what qauckity was planning to do.

said man turns around, looking shocked. "ay, mi hijo! aren't you supposed to be resting? everything's just hurting, isn't it?" his voice is sickeningly sweet, how schlatt's used to get when he'd compliment tubbo.

suffice to say, the teenager isn't amused. he continues to glare, until quacktiy get closer to his cell. the pickaxe is still in his hand but he seems less likely to commit murder, so.

"i thought, well ya know, if he's trapped and has no items on him," quackity rambles. tubbo keeps a carefully honed look of disappointment.

the man sighs, shoulders sagging. "i'm doing the right thing, twobo. last time you said you weren't safe with technoblade around, now you're defending him?"

he doesn't look at qauckity, staring at the water droplets that make their way down the cobblestone. there has to be water above. "i don't have to explain myself to a traitor." tubbo replies, easily. it's so nice, to slip on this coat of uncaring, of apathy.

it's learned, taken from when people would ask for him to switch with his alters, as if it wasn't terrifying to be thrown from his body and put in a passenger seat.

as if it wasn't scary waking up with people telling him of the things he did with no memory of it.

qauckity slams his hand on the iron bars. "me? a fucking traitor? i'm not the one who got executed by his own fucking traitor!" oh, he's mad now.

tubbo knows there's two types of angers. explosive and volatile or quiet and slow.

he's pretty sure qauckity tends to follow along the explosive side of anger. paired with the fact that tubbo just antagonized him, he scrambles to push himself against the wall when quackity pushes a button and opens the iron door.

technoblade wakes up to the sound of an iron door. he immediately looks around, because that wasn't a trapdoor. his cell doesn't have an iron door, quackity obviously thought this through, so he's not sure where the sound came from.

/tubbo, tubbo, tubbo, tubbo, not safe, not safe,/

he turns to tubbo's cell, to find quackity entering the kid's cell. any form of grogginess is gone after that.

"quackity, quackity, what are you- qauckity, please, i-" the teenager pleas, pushing himself further and further away from the man.

techno gets to his feet and grabs onto the iron bars. what does he do? "quackity what the fuck are you doing, leave him alone, he's done fucking nothing." he hardly ever curses, but quackity looks pissed to high heaven and with that pickaxe he's not sure what the man might do.

"you two panic too much!" he laughs, even as the iron door swings shut on both tubbo and qauckity. can technoblade get through iron bars and an iron door fast enough if the man tries anything? what does he do in this situation?

quackity turns back to tubbo and shouts. it's not words, just a shout, but the kid freezes up.

at first technoblade thought the goat genes would at least help tubbo stay warm, now he curses them. of all the little habits to inherit, it was that? freezing up? he's gald the kid didn't fall over.

qauckity laughs at the terrified expression on tubbo's face and technoblade wonders how insane that idiot is. last time he checked, the two were close, how did it deteriorate into using the kid's biology against him?

technoblade watches as quackity gently pushes the boy down, sitting on ground. the man sits behind him and puts his hands into tubbo's hair.

"it's been, hm, five days now?" qauckity places his hand on tubbo's forehead, as if checking his temperature. "you haven't gotten the chance to file your horns down, have you?" tubbo is dead silent, but still shaking.

/he's hurting, he's scared, blood, blood, blood, he's still young, child, child, brot-/

technoblade pulls at the iron. "qauckity leave his horns alone, haven't you done enough? feel big yet?" techno isn't sure what he'd do if someone he trusted tried to file his teeth down, he doesn't know how tubbo can just sit there.

/filing it away, too much like schlatt, bad, doesn't like it, he's hurting make it stop,/

huh, so tubbo's been doing that to himself. that's a can of worms to open up later, but the kid still looks terrified as quackity pulls out a file and gets one horn that's barely peaking out of the kid's hair.

"quackity!" he shouts, starting to get desperate. it doesn't matter that the kid used to do it to himself, it's his choice. qauckity is a duck hybrid himself how would he feel if someone clipped his wings?

tubbo's shaking even harder. "god technoblade, calm down." the man says, only for the kid's shaking to completely halt.

"get out." comes from the teen's mouth, firm and harsh. qauckity let's go of the kid, raising an eyebrow.

"goat boy got brave? huh? what are you going to do?" he mocks, only to get a fist to the face.

technoblade isn't sure how the hell tubbo managed to move that fast, but now he's standing up, fists held up.

"i said get out! maybe your stupid bird brain couldn't process that!" tubbo shouts, and now technoblade is confused. it's so out of place, there was no lead up to this sudden change.

qauckity looks up, hand covering a bloody nose. he looks confused, and then glares.

"i see. the little shit went and hid behind his little alters. oh well, i guess my work here is done." qauckity opens the iron door, and takes away the button.

technoblade slumps, relieved. he hates being just a witness, but he's confused.

what the hell does he mean by 'little alters'?

tubbo breathes harshly, watching as quackity walks away. the sound of the trapdoor opening and closing doesn't seem to make the kid any more relaxed.

"are you, uh. you're fine right?" technoblade says, trying to pretend like he wasn't concerned. it's better, this way or something.

he's expecting tubbo to burst into tears, or give a shaky 'yeah i'm fine.' what he is not prepared for is the icy glare that's sent his way.

even when tubbo glared at him earlier, it wasn't like this. that's the glare of someone who wants another person permakilled.

he's startled, and the boy says nothing.

"you don't know me, do you? couldn't even be bothered to remember." he says, and it's so bitter. angry and bitter.

techno tries to think of something that can justify this personality change, but draws a blank.

there's a huff. "call me big crime. and nothing fucking else, kay? if you hear a pissybitch going 'i'm lawyer, i'm a lawyer' then that's big law. and if you hear growling or tubbo starts acting," the kid makes a vague hand gesture. "i dunno, fucking, animalistic? that's toob."

now that it's explained, he can remember the odd comment every now and then from tommy. but it always seemed like a little bit.

/like us, they're like us, voices, chant, chat, chat, chat,/

Techno ignores the steady stream of conversation at the back of his head, and tries to focus.

"like, that borderline personality disorder this? mpd, or whatever?" he asks, sitting down on the floor once again. standing takes too much energy.

the kid makes a so-so gesture. "not exactly. it's like your chat, or whatever the fuck. we talk, and talk, and talk, and if we want to, sometimes we can switch whose in control."

that's frightening. if his chat can take over his body like that, he's not sure what they would do. can his chat do that? what if they've been doing that the whole time?

there's a loud sigh. "fucking, calm down don't give yourself a panic attack about it. it's like your chat, not the same situation as your chat. you're perfectly fine, fuckhead."

funny, technoblade wanted to comfort tubbo, and it seems like the roles are reversed. "then, if you're in control, where's tubbo?" he asks, looking at big crime.

"fucking off i guess. usually when these things happen he's quiet. you guys aren't made to be put in the passenger seat. the difference between you and tubbo is that tubbo is able to be put in the passenger seat, willingly or not." big crime leans against the wall on the other side of the cell. "not as many voices bouncing around in there, though. just the four of us in there, if you include tubbo."

techno's having a hard time understanding completely. "so, he's fine, right? did he willingly switch?"

big crime is silent. techno's attention goes solely to him. oh hell no, he's not sure how he'll defend tubbo against voices.

sometimes he can't defend himself from chat.

"he wanted out of that situation, so i took control." big crime says, not meeting techno's gaze. "plus, it's not like you have much to get mad at me for."

"i've never killed him, after all." it feels like a gunshot to his chest. because the kid is right, no matter how upsetting it is to get your body taken over, he brought tubbo to his last life.

there's an echoing silence. "toob and tubbo are stupid." big crime says, his words heavy with an anger. "they hold on to this belief that herd is everything, that they should forgive you because they know what it's like but it's bullshit!" he shouts, sounding hurt.

"we trusted you! loved you, and then-"

there's no need to continue. big crime goes quiet, and technoblade looks to his obsidian walls. "i'm sorry. i'm sorry."

there's no response for few minutes. "they've already forgiven you," big crime whispers hoarsely. "i just don't know how to tell them you never cared."

technoblade tells himself he did care, tells himself that he hesitated, tells himself that he cared for tubbo.

a small part of him knows that if he truly did, then tubbo wouldn't be on his last life.

"i don't blame you. it's always been sleepy boys inc and tubbo. sleepy boys inc and tubbo."

/tubbo, tubbo, love, brother, brother, tubbo, hurting/

"sleep boys inc and tubbo." technoblade repeats, wondering if guilt would do him a favor and just drown him.

tubbo comes back all at once. quackity's fingers through his hair, grabbing onto his horn, and why can't he move, why can't he mo

/he's not there anymore idiot./big crime took control with permission./miss herd. miss qauck. miss techno, miss to/shut up./

well. that's too much to unpack, so he's just going to ignore that as usual. when he looks around, he's gald to see no qauckity in sight. technoblade, however, looks miserable.

"what, what happened?" he asks, getting out of the uncomfortable position big crime got him in.

technoblade looks over, muted surprise on his face. "well, uh, that big crime guy punched quackity?" he says, after a few seconds.

his expression scrunched up. "you are tubbo, right?"

so, guess that means the cat's out of the bag. "yeah, it's me. good old tubbster." he says, trying to lighten the mood.

techno gives a hum.

they sit in silence, neither of them wanting to confront the tension at hand. tubbo's stomach hurts, it's been a day since quackity last gave food.

there's the sound of something plopping just outside his cell. a potato.

he looks up, confused. techno doesn't meet his gaze. "you haven't eaten since i've been here. you might as well get to eat."

tubbo is hesitant, but he pulls the potato into the cell anyways. it's wrapped in some napkins, so that he stores away. it takes all his self resistant to not dig in, but tubbo needs to go slow.

"tommy and philza should've notice we were gone at this point." techno idly says as tubbo takes a bite. "we'll be out before you know it."

tubbo is quiet. "maybe i should just...stay here." he whispers. he's scared to look at techno, he's pretty the man would just agree.

"you don't deserve this! sure you might have fucked up as president but that's government! government corrupts!" technoblade shouts, sounding less monotone than usual. tubbo fumbles with his potato, having nearly dropped it from surprise.

the torch lights give technoblade's face an eerie glow. "when we get out of here, we can go to my home. it's getting real crowded, but we can always add on. hell, you can make your little redstone things and make another automated farm."

technoblade rambles on and on, while tubbo leans against the cobble wall. "maybe we could have some bees?" he tries, trying to think positively. it's so hard nowadays.

he's certain that when he gets out of this hell, technoblade will just kill him. no one wants a monster around anyways.

techno shakes his head. "bees in the cold? i'm not a scientist but i'm sure that's not how it works, kid."

tubbo let's techno ramble about phil and tommy, about wilbur and his new partner, about everything and nothing.

he doesn't speak a single work about the poison that's been draining him since qauckity used it on him five days ago.

Chapter Text

(tubbo walks with quackity, feeling relaxed for the first time in awhile.

"thanks for hanging out with me," he says, giving a smile. he's so tired, but quackity and him have been goofing off like the good old times.

qauckity gives him a wide smile, and hands him a sweet treat. it's a concha, a sweet kind of bread dessert. he loves them.
"thanks qauckity!" he says, before digging in.

"no problem twobo, no problem at all." qauckity says, guiding them over to el rapids.

tubbo realizes something is wrong after he eats the whole thing. "quackity i don't, i don't feel well." he whimpers, clutching at his stomach.

qauckity just rubs his back, continuing the guide them away from l'manburg, away from people.

"i know mi hijo. everything's gonna be just fine, okay? don't worry, don't worry." tubbo collapses to his knees. qauckity only picks him up, and hums quietly.

he's out before they even get to the prison.)

techno knows there's something wrong with the kid. he's been getting quieter as the time goes on. at first he assumes that he's just tired, but chat has some firm feelings about that.

/hurting, hurting, help him, fix it, milk,/

paired up with how pale the kid is, he's getting worried. eventually the kid just falls asleep, he decides to try and work on a way out.

even if phil and tommy are coming, it's always better to get out soon. he's pretty sure phil snagged his compass on the way back, and even they didn't, they had tubbo's compass.

but they're not looking for tubbo, huh.

according to qauckity, tubbo has been here for five days. how the hell has no one come looking yet? could he be working with someone?

niki would never do this, from what techno's seen, so he doubts it's her.

fundy would've come to brag by now, so it's not him either.

karl could be working with him, so could sapnap. but from what techno knows, sapnap and tubbo used to be close. it's more vague than anything, but he's pretty sure that sapnap might still care.

/first death, first death, sapnap traitor, friendship still there, broken, betrayal/

never mind, sapnap is back on the list.

he wanders around his cell, looking for a way to escape. the only feasible way was if he broke the iron bars, since there's no door for him. that's honestly a bit fucked up, but then again.

he starts fiddling with the iron bars, trying to pry them open. tubbo shifts in his sleep, but doesn't show any real signs of a nightmare.

/hurting, pain, sick, milk, help, need help, pain/

chat is deeply concerned for the kid however. he's not sure what he can do, they're both kept apart, and he doesn't have any milk on him.

the bars are enchanted or something, because they won't break.

keeping a careful eye on tubbo, technoblade falls into a light sleep, think of all the people that should come looking for tubbo.

(it's a long list. he doesn't want to think of a list of people who will come look for tubbo, because he's not sure if he can handle anymore guilt.)

phil looks at his youngest son, and pats his hair. "i won't let dream touch you, okay? we grab techno and then we're out."

he gets a nod, while tommy shakes his nerves away. they send ghostbur ahead, who promises to look hard.

they threaten the sheep just incase.

tubbo wakes up in pain, but it's a bit less. the leftover poison seems to be latched onto the potato he ate, so that means he's a bit safe for now. he's pretty sure quackity has been slipping something into his food however.

techno and him make small talk, with tubbo getting a bit animated while he explains about the cool transportation system with the ravagers, which the other man especially likes.

"the coolest mob," he says, causing tubbo to chuckle.

they argue about bees being better, with techno even saying that while bees are cool, ravagers are cooler.

it's been going better than before.

the trapdoor opens, and they both shut up. tubbo inches further away, trying to at least hide in the shadows.

tubbo hears two people land. a small bit of hope fills him, there's a chance that phil and tommy are here, that he gets to leave.

he sees two shadows approach, and let's himself hope. hope that tommy will look at him and smile, and things will go back to normal and then

dream and qauckity step out into the light.
tubbo curls up again, and tries his best to hide.

on the bright side, they're not looking at him. on the downside, they're looking at techno instead. concerning.

"why, why, why, isn't it the manipulating bastard." techno drawls, standing up. tubbo wishes he had his bravery, as he cowers.

/hide, hide, they're not herd, techno is herd/technoblade fucking killed us! techno is not herd/hate to agree with the criminal, but he's right/

tubbo wishes that they would shut up.

"so, the pig got caged like the animal it is."

"didn't know you had something against hybrids, dream. or is that nice guy persona all an act?"

the two most powerful people on the server glare at each other. once upon a time, tubbo and qauckity would've shared a look and rolled their eyes.

qauckity makes eye contact and tubbo looks away.

once upon a time.

"with the prison i commissioned from sam, i'd be able to hide techno away pretty easily."

qauckity looks back to dream. "techno could blab about tubbo being here. tubbo and sam are close, i've been saying that the kid is sick but sam's asking for his help with redstone."

dream points to a place in the iron bar where it's been wedged open. techno curses.

"sam's prison is the only place we can lock him away."

qauckity crosses his arms. "fine, but we had an agreement."

dream sighs, sounding annoyed. "in exchange for the pig, i help you bring back schlatt. whatever."

tubbo stands right up. the world wobbles, but he's pissed. "are you insane! what do you mean bring schlatt back?" he shouts, grabbing at the iron bars.

qauckity looks delighted he's come out of hiding. "think about it mi hijo! we can prove him wrong, get revenge! and then once i become president next election, you can come outside again!"

"ranboo will sweep the floor with you and we both know it!"

quackity's expression turns darker. tubbo's too pissed off to care. "so i'll make schlatt help, he won the election last time."

"by pulling votes! ranboo is your main rival, and there's no way fundy would ever get over his own hubris to pull with you!"

quackity's expression gets even more sour. "at least i didn't get elected as someone's second choice!"

"oh i'm sorry, mr vice president! at least i was chosen!" it's a low blow, but quackity aimed low first.

"just shut up and die already!" the adult grows his pickaxe down, like a toddler throwing a tantrum.

qauckity looks enraged. dream pulls him away, while tubbo breathes harshly.

the pair walk away, and the trapdoor closes once again. if they don't get out now, tubbo will most likely be left to rot.

techno needs to process a few things. everything that just happened was a bit much.

the more time he spends in this jail, the more he sees a different side of tubbo. he guesses that before he never angered the kid that much.

he's surprised at how tubbo's able to use his words as a weapon so effectively. the kid is still breathing harshly. before he's able to give the kid some praise, he collapses to his knees in a coughing fit.

/sick, sick, sick, worse, worse, it's getting worse, bad, help him, dying/

maybe techno should pay more attention to his chat. "are you sick?" it's not too cold in here, and tubbo's a goat hybrid, they're usually resistant against the cold.

with or without fur.

still, tubbo's been getting worse and worse. techno has been handing the kid potatoes, but it's not doing much.

the kid will get a little better, but it's not curing it.

he doesn't know what to do. they're in different cells, and even if techno managed to get out, he wouldn't be able to release tubbo too.

they'd have to wait for techno to get energy back, and that's too much. tubbo's pretty much dead weight, and as easy as it would be, he can't leave the kid there.

tubbo takes a deep breath, before forcing himself up. techno watches him with worried eyes, resisting the urge to tell the kid to sit down.

"techno, aim your potato at the button. quackity left his pickaxe here, and i can-" he coughs heavily, and techno can see red on his hand.

techno nods. "you can break me out. that's- that's not half bad actually." he says, aiming his potato. it takes a few tries, but the door swings open and the kid hobbles out.

he looks worse closer up. "maybe you should rest, quackity might take awhile,"

tubbo shakes his head. "he's in a meeting right now, it was scheduled. he'll probably be in there for thirty minutes, minimum. it'll take twenty for me to get the bars down. that leaves ten minutes for you to run. you need to be gone by sundown."

techno nods along, trying to ignore chat.

/he's lying, sick, dying, help, planning, help, fix him/

he has no idea what they're trying to say anyways. tubbo starts hacking away at the iron, and techno wishes he wasn't weak.

phil and tommy look nervously at each other. wilbur hasn't come back yet. "do we-" tommy says, and phil shakes his head.

they have to be careful. looking at his clock, it's almost sundown. it'll be easier to sneak around at night.

the last of the bar is cleared, and that enough for techno to wiggle out from. he gives tubbo a smile, full of manic energy.

"when you were antagonizing quackity,"

"yep!" tubbo cheers, leaning against the cobble. he gives techno a small smile.

techno waits for him to get up, but the kid looks exhausted. "you gotta run now, tech." it's tired, it's an exhausted sentence and tone.

it makes techno's brief excitement vanish. "we're going together, right?" he says, looking at the kid with horror.

tubbo sighs. "tech, i wouldn't be able to keep up. you're in the most danger here, sam's a master redstone user, wherever dream plans to take you would be inescapable."

techno grabs at tubbo's hand. "you're talking bullshit, you could keep up just fine,"

"tech, i'm poisoned. you aren't."

"i'm not leaving you, you're just a kid,"

"i'm tired, tech."

techno knows that the kid is right. it's more trouble than it's worth getting the kid up the latter, and running through the dream smp with him. they only have ten minutes, and with tubbo that time would be doubled.

he picked the kid up regardless. technoblade never dies, and he's not letting his brother die today either.

tubbo's a limp ragdoll. the teenager tries to help, but he's basically useless. it takes three minutes just to get up the latter, that's too much time.

he continues on. tubbo points out quick alleyways they can use to hide, that most people don't use. it's times like this when techno remembers tubbo isn't bad leader.

even while suffering, he's able to guide techno around with practiced ease.

the sun goes down, and techno starts to relax.

phil looks down at the clock. "okay tommy, let's go." the two blondes enter the nether portal, and are transported back to the overworld.

quackity leads ghostbur down a latter. "you can tell your stupid family that's i, president
quackity-"

"but, uhm, aren't you vice president? tubbo's not dead or anything..." ghostbur trails off at quackity's expression.

"n,nevermind."

"i, president quackity, with no help, captured the great technoblade!"

ghostbur looks at the empty cell. "uhm, quackity, is this a joke?" quackity turns to tubbo's cell and finds a bunch of potatoes at the button.

"GOD DAMNIT!" he shouts, and ghostbur simply floats away from the angry vice president.

Chapter Text

tubbo's barely holding onto consciousness. "turn, turn here and then a right i think."

techno doesn't hesitate, he turns and runs along where tubbo points. they're already out of l'manburg, but quackity has claimed that techno kidnapped tubbo.

he suggested just handing him over, but techno had simply reminded him that quackity would've killed him. so, they continue, with tubbo getting an awkward piggyback ride.

techno wanted to go through the nether, so tubbo was trying his best to get him there. without being caught.

people are walking around in full netherite armour, shouting for either tubbo, or technoblade.

they continue forward.

as they get closer, tubbo leads them into an alleyway only to find two people already there.

phil scratches at his beard, confused. so far, what he's been able to gather is that technoblade and tubbo had a conversation. somewhere in that conversation techno simply plucked tubbo up and ran off.

which is confusing, considering technoblade would've told him that he was going to kidnap his other son.

(can he still consider tubbo a son? does tubbo consider him his father?)

and even if it was a surprise, he would've returned after a day or so.

even more confusing is why it took almost three days for this information to be released.

technoblade would've returned to the cabin with tubbo by that time.

tommy is hiding behind him, getting nervous everytime they so much as hear a footstep.

so they hide, with phil keeping an eye on the compass. the arrow points behind him as he turns to tommy.

"so, we're going to start heading techno's way. do you know any good spots to dodge around or-"

"hi mr minecraft." a drowsy voice calls. phil spins around, sword already drawn when he sees something he would've never have seen before.

tubbo is on techno's back, head resting on the pig hybrid's shoulder. he looks...tired. worn out and drained, and sickly.

technoblade doesn't look too hot either. his face looks semi panicked, and angry all at one.

"phil, he needs your help, quackity drugged him with something," techno calls, drained.

this is phil's turn to look confused as he reaches for tubbo, and techno hands his son over. he's unnaturally light, phil shouldn't be able to carry him.

he looks to techno for an explanation, because tubbo's already drifting off to sleep. "that meeting was a lie, set up by quackity." techno explains, already looking around for ways to help slip away.

"threw me into an obsidian cell, and when i looked over tubbo was trapped too."

tommy's been remarkably quiet until now, so phil's getting worried. he looks over to the blond, but he's solely focused on the boy phil has in his arms.

techno continues on, after getting them into another hiding spot. "we were just stuck while i tried pulling at the bars. quackity would come to gloat every now and then."

"he's lost his mind, phil. kept switching from being nice and loving to tubbo and wishing for him to die." technoblade's expression never gave anything away, but he look angry.

phil looks down at the president in his arms and wonders what happened down there for technoblade to get angry on tubbo's behalf.

"you know that thing sam's been building? it's a prison. dream came along and talked to quackity about transporting me there."

this time, tommy cuts in. "didn't he address tubbo? like, at all?" phil sends tommy a look, reminding him to keep his voice low.

they look to technoblade for answers.

"he might've, if tubbo hadn't started his plan. quackity brought up bringing back schlatt as payment for trading me to dream, and tubbo started an argument with him."

that doesn't seem like it would do much, but techno seems proud.

"quackity threw down his pickaxe, and leaves with dream. then this kid tells me to throw my potatoes at the button to his iron door and he uses the pickaxe to break me out! the kid planned to get quackity to drop his pickaxe."

tommy looks proud too. "big t's real smart with that shit."

they're at the nether portal. phil's worried about tubbo's hot temperature being put into a even hotter atmosphere, but they need to get through.

they get on through, with tubbo never stirring. it's only because of his harsh breathing are they even able to make sure he's alive.

tommy's more relaxed. phil hadn't noticed, but he looks content. wilbur might never really be with them again, but the little family feels like before.

before.

phil looks at his three sons. this isn't truly over, is it? techno and tubbo are with them, but people will probably be heading for the cabin.

phil looks at tubbo, who's too small. his face is flushed and hair sticks to his forehead.

they go through yet another nether portal, and the sudden change in weather makes brown eyes peer around.

"oh. hallucinations." is the first thing from tubbo's mouth. he's looking at tommy, who is also focused on tubbo. before they can have some emotional moment, phil takes off his cape and wraps it around tubbo. his christmas sweater and jeans will not do in this cold.

"c'mon boys. we're going home." phil says, and everything feels right.

technoblade watches as tommy runs around, cleaning things up. this is confusing, considering tommy's not known for cleaning. or being neat. or doing chores willingly.

"tommy, while i appreciate you cleaning up, why now?" phil asks. techno was content just to let it happen, but he supposes answers might be needed in this situation.

the boy shoves more things into a chest before he answers. "tubbo is a real wanker when it comes to cleaning, he always hated the way i put things in chest. which is totally unfair and rude, since he does it too!"

tubbo, who is buried under blankets cracks open a lazy eye. he's been given a totem of undying, along with regeneration potions.

techno offered to make potato soup but the kid had given him a nasty glare about that.

/e, e, e, e,/

chat seems calm, so he's guessing that the immediate danger is over.

"you're just messy. you leave your socks everywhere, and then get mad at me for my books. the pot and the kettle." tubbo says, and then yawns.

tommy sputters. "my socks aren't everywhere!" he shouts indignantly.

"i found one in my book! in the white house! when you weren't even there!" tubbo responds, mock anger in his words.

tommy and tubbo continue to argue, but it's a nostalgic sound. it's not really arguing, it's just friendly bickering.

techno's surprised by how much he missed this.

alas, not things last long and he needs to make sure tubbo will be okay. "tubbo, can i ask you some questions about big whatever and the rest?"

tubbo looks over, a questioning expression on his face. "you'd have more luck asking tommy, if i'm honest. they talk in my head but tommy's the one who puts more thought into it."

tommy puffs his chest out. "my iq is in the thousands, just so you know. but yeah, i know a bit more about them. what do you need to know?"

techno thinks about that for second. he's not sure what he wants to know to be honest. he'll start with the basics.

"are they dangerous?" he asks first.

tommy and tubbo share a look. "well, not really?" tubbo says, rubbing the back of his head.

"big crime and toob are the more violent ones. even then, big crime doesn't do anything that would endanger tubbo, so he doesn't come out too often." tommy explains, still rummaging around in chests.

techno notices the lack of of toob being mentioned. "toob's the more animalistic one, right?"

tommy and tubbo nod. there's a silence, before they realize he wants more information.

"toob's the one who'll front more. he's not too violent, unless to monsters." tubbo says, looking a bit red for no reason.

tommy gives a grin. "toob's like a puppy! he's all like 'ooo im scary' and then if you pet him, he's all soft. he also will attack anyone who threatens who he considers part of tubbo's herd."

tubbo turns beetroot red. "it's not- oh you're awful tommy, he doesn't turn all soft or none of that!"

they go back to bickering, and techno feels something settle in his bones.

/home, loved, brothers, safe./

chat isn't wrong. but as he looks at the way tubbo trembles, and how he coughs, he gets angry.

this anger festers and grows. tommy and tubbo fall asleep on the same bed, tubbo clinging to tommy, clutching as if the boy will disappear.

the kid has made mistakes, and that will be dealt with and handled, but he deserves rest. techno and phil watch them.

"i'm going to kill them, phil. their own damn president and no one thought to even look-"

phil rests his hand on techno's shoulder. "you'll have to get in line. quackity kidnapped two of my children, i'm not letting him off easy."

there's knocking at the door. they open it, and a drippy wilbur is quickly let in.

he starts reforming immediately, a smile on his face when he sees tubbo and tommy. "quackity took me to see techno, but i guess you left! why is tubbo here?" wilbur says, hovering over to them.

/ghost pog, dripbur, dead pog/

phil and techno share a look. "it's nothing, wil. don't worry about it." phil says, as wilbur floats above the two boys.

techno leans against the wall, thinking to himself. "people think that tubbo was kidnapped, they'll come here."

phil nods, and his eyebrows furrow. "tubbo will probably vouch for you, but..." he trails off, looking concerned.

"but what?" techno asks, looking over. what could he mean?

"tubbo's weak to peer pressure, like you. what if they try and convince him to go back?" it's not a good outcome. tubbo going back could mean getting put back into another cell.

techno fiddles with his shirt. "not with quackity there, right?"

phil looks away. "quackity's taken charge, techno. they'd probably sweep tubbo away with assurances that quackity didn't mean to hurt him."

"with what you said about how quackity was acting, tubbo would probably forgive him too." it's bullshit. it's so stupid and naive that it's possible tubbo would really forgive quackity for it.

techno crosses his arms. "what about his alters? they wouldn't let him, right?"

phil shakes his head. "tubbo forgave you, but tommy mentioned that not all his alters agreed with his decisions. big law wanted tommy exiled but tubbo still asked him to defend tommy in court."

techno makes a humming sound. "so basically his alters can't do anything?"

"if they're not in control, no."

that's going to be problematic. techno looks out the window, watching the stars outside his cozy shack.

quackity stands infront of ranboo and quackity, carefully spinning the tale of how tubbo was kidnapped by techno.

fundy looks actually upset. "the kid must be terrified out of his mind, and with tommy's grudge on him from being exiled-"

"tommy would never let technoblade hurt tubbo, they're best friends!" ranboo cuts in, glaring at the fox hybrid.

"last time they saw each other, tommy called him a monster!"

quackity scoffs internally. tubbo was gone for days, and suddenly these idiots are concerned? he has this in the bag.

soon, tubbo will back in his grasp. thanks to fundy, he now knows tubbo knows how to bring schlatt back.

it's perfect.

his eyes trail to the night sky. come morning, everything will fall into line. quackity will not allow tubbo to slip away like schlatt did.

he will keep his flock together. one way or another.

Chapter Text

when he awakes, he feels safe.
tubbo has not felt safe for a long, long time.

tommy sits next to him, passed out. the sun comes through the windows, and tubbo is content to lay his head on the pillow for a little longer. he can hear phil and techno talking downstairs.

his alters, for once, are dead quiet. it’s a safe kind of silence. they have no opinion, or they possibly agree. or maybe they think that just maybe, tubbo deserves some silence.

he gets up slowly. tommy wakes up easily, and tubbo is barely able to ease out of bed. he walks to where phil and techno sit. in all honesty, tubbo isn’t sure where him and phil stand. there’s an unspoken truce, for now.

techno stands up to greet him, but tubbo waves him off. for once his stomach doesn’t burn.

the seats are comfortable, and he makes sure to leave space between him and the sleepy bois family. his mind reminds him that techno isn’t dangerous, yet-

(“i’ll make this as painless and colorful as possible.”)

tubbo will not be caught lacking by fate. “quackity isn’t an idiot, he’ll come here.” he says, his voice raspy. techno doesn’t look surprised, but phil looks taken aback.

“surely he isn’t that stupid?” phil says, but tubbo laughs.

“it’s not a matter of stupidity, phil. it’s a matter of power.” tubbo says, feeling the agreement of big law. “quackity, he wants power. after schlatt, he’s been craving it. he’s not satisfied with me out of the way, i guess.”

(“twobo, you know i’d never hurt you right?”

the boy had pressed himself against the wall as quackity entered. He’d only been trapped for a day, if time served him right. he taught himself how to keep track of time back in pogtopia, and the skill stays.
many skills have stayed with him from the wars.

his friend walks closer, and gently wipes a tear from his cheek. “you’re insane.” the boy spits out. yet he still leans into the gentle touch he remembers from the whitehouse.

“mijo, everything i’m doing is to bring our family back.”)

tubbo doesn’t air the truth, he can’t bring himself to say it.
so, he instead comes up with a plan in one night and asks phil and techno to help. they, miraculously, say yes.

techno keeps a careful eye on the door. it doesn’t surprise him when he hears a knock, and opens the door with an icy glare to the three men standing there.

quackity gives him a smile. “hello, blade.” the monster greets, back in his butcher army attire. the piglin hybrid lifts a brow.

before the man can say anything, the fox interrupts. “just give us tubbo, man! he’s just a kid!”

/blood for the blood god. kill them. kill them. death! fuck orphans./

something in techno rages. “just a kid? then why is a kid a president? tubbo is just a kid when it benefits you!” he shouts, coming out of his house and towering over them. fundy cowers back, and ranboo straightens.

“is tubbo okay?” the enderman asks, and before techno can say anything, a certain someone squeezes past him.

the brunette, in all his glory, simply sighs. “i’m fine, ranboo. it was an emergency family meeting, to discuss some things.”

the duck hybrid grins, his mouth too wide and his teeth on display. see, ducks don’t have teeth so much as they have something called lamellae. sharp, malleable almost teeth. it’s something about his smile that almost convinces techno that instead of being prey, he’s a predator.

“twobo! mijo, i was so worried when you disappeared. you should’ve said something!” quackity grips tubbo’s face, looking him over as if you make sure he’s okay. it makes the piglin sick.

the teenager goes still. he’s shaking, but his fists are balled. “i apologize, quackity, but there were pressing matters to attend to. surely you’d understand, with you often disappearing yourself to help out el rapids.”

there’s a moment when quackity’s expression turns ugly, and techno holds on to the hilt of his sword. the man quickie changes it back to caring one, and shakes his head. “you look awful, twobo. we need to get you back to l’manburg, and away from these...traitors.”

techno isn’t good with reading into words, but he can now.
the message is clear, come back with me, or become a traitor to your country.

tubbo, however, does neither. “you must understand quackity, with phil’s old age…”

ranboo and tubbo share a look, and ranboo nods sagely. “jeez, quackity, let the kid spend some time with his family.” the enderman hybrid harshly nudges fundy, and the other man nods too.

“yeah, don’t worry about it tubbo. you’ve been working hard, quackity and i can run the country for a little bit.”

tubbo, instead of looking relieved, stiffens. techno can understand why. trusting his country to the man who imprisoned him, it can’t lead to good things.
techno can’t help but feel a little proud. just seconds ago, these men were ready to kill him, and tubbo managed to spin things around and get them, or well, two of them, to agree with him. that’s more people skills then anyone in this family had, wilbur not included.

“twobo, how can you call these people your family?” quackity says.

the tension that is born through this simple statement can be cut with a sword. chat roars, their anger filling his veins. however, he forgets that tubbo is a boy raised surrounded by warriors. he forgets, that in spite of tommy’s comment years ago, he learned to hack, he learned a second language of harsh words that cut like knives.

the two kids has always looked up to techno, but tubbo has always learned from wilbur.

“and yet, quackity, you’re the one who was married to schlatt.”

fundy gasps. ranboo covers his mouth, despite the fact that he already wears a mask. techno straight up gapes.

the two men face off. quackity leans in, and tubbo goes still.
quackity pulls away with a smile, and he watches as the brave persona that tubbo put up shatters.

“i- i’ll come back to l’manburg with you.” the boy says. techno turns to look at him in shock. He tries to make eye contact with tubbo, but he looks down.

tubbo told him to let him solve this his way. so, he did. but this language that they were speaking wasn’t working, and techno was not allowing his brother to be taken away when he just got them back.

quackity reaches out. “we’ll be going now.” he says, and he refuses.

“i’m sorry quackity, i can’t let you do that.” techno says, his sword out and standing in front of tubbo.

it’s a message that all will understand, a simple sentence not littered with double meanings and harsh words.

this simple action means one thing: tubbo is not going back to l’manburg.

he looks back, and he doesn’t think he will ever forget the look in the teenager’s eyes.
it’s relief. it’s a pure look of relief, disbelief, and gratefulness. it’s a look that screams that tubbo genuinely believed techno would just let him be taken. and it would hurt, if it wasn’t for the gratefulness into his eyes.

it’s not a gratefulness for saving him, it’s a gratefulness for not betraying him too.

the door opens behind techno, and he hears two swords pulled out behind him.

“well, i, for one, believe that as tubbo’s father, he really shouldn’t leave.” phil says, standing next to techno. tommy grabs onto tubbo and stands before the teenager.

techno was never close to his twin. he was never the perfect brother like wilbur, but it’s moments like this that he can feel the blood his shares with his sibling flowing through him. as he stands, he can imagine wilbur standing along beside him.

quackity glares up at the one thing he will never be able to control, his own fear and weakness.

fundy and ranboo glance at each other, and step away. “you’re kidnapping the president of l’manburg, technoblade.” the man borderline shouts. phil laughs.

“he is my son, quackity. i don’t think it’s illegal to ground your son.” phil smirks, standing back. quackity finally, finally, backs down.

the trio leaves. the family of four is triumphant.

tubbo’s day begins like this. he is slowly being crushed by the weight of his younger brother, and despite the odds he’s able to slip away silently. he wakes up with the sun, and sits on the porch. ranboo will wake up next, and sit right next to tubbo like he did the first day he woke up in their house.

they will not speak, content to sit in both the silence and desperately loud screaming in their heads. sometimes, ranboo will lean against tubbo and tubbo will lean back.

after a few minutes, tommy will stumble out and sit next to them, soaking up the early sun’s rays.

after an hour, phil will force them inside and they will eat the breakfast techno made, and get to work. tubbo works on expansion, slowly turning their small farm into a town with no government. there is no structure to tubbo’s madness anymore, he builds to his heart’s content and if anyone has a problem with it, he will take it down.

he shys away from any l’manburg styles, and never officially gives out any of the houses. however, much to techno’s displeasure, people move in anyways. niki opens a bakery and fundy opens an ice cream shop that ranboo will work at.

they never ask permission, but techno allows it anyways because technically it is not his land, and he refuses to become government.

people try to come to tubbo, yet it never works. he will give a small shrug, and walk on.

his afternoons are spent tending to his bees, gathering their honey into jars. he makes sure that their house is stocked for tea, and then he will give a bottle to everyone and then the rest to niki and her bakery.

he and phil will then start preparing lunch while techno loudly complains that cooking is his thing, before leaving to tend to his own farms. tommy is off tending to cattle and ranboo will look after the dogs and run around delivering mail will ghostbur.

everyone will stop by to eat, and once they have made sure that everyone has eaten, phil and tubbo will break off.

tubbo and tommy will drag ranboo to the jungle base, that tubbo pours his heart back into with renewed vigor as ranboo and tommy help him out. they no longer call it the jungle base, it is their clubhouse for those who have been broken by the wars.

karl comes without either of his fiance’s knowing, and confesses all his fears about his memory.

niki comes without her usual gentleness, full of rage and anger at the man who swept in and rearranged her view of the world.

jack comes without his usual humor, full of apologies for never truly being there while the world burned and he sat in blissful ignorance.

sapnap and george comes without their smirks, full of indecision and self hatred at choosing the same man over and over again.

the teenagers do not help them with their issues, but they provide a place to talk, to heal.

and they do.

close to dinner time, ranboo and tommy and tubbo return home. they split off.
tubbo goes into techno’s farms, and helps the man learn the secrets of redstone and tricks that the boy hopes that he will never have to use again.

techno’s day ends like this. he will visit dream in his cage he made for himself, the children he has hurt blissfully unaware. techno will smile at the man in the cage, and walk away once again.

when he comes home, he makes dinner and watches as his family eats. he will walk around the sanctuary he never meant to exist, as people turn off their lights and go to bed. the piglin will walk into a graveyard, dedicated to people who never deserved to be buried but are anyways, with tubbo’s handwriting sprawling across stone.

he will leave feeling lighter, and sits down.

eventually, tubbo will wander down and sit next to him. techno will not smile, and tubbo will not speak. he pulls out a random book, and will read aloud his voice mixing in with the sound of the fire that ghostbur strokes.

the ghost will glare at him when techno mispronounces a word, and tubbo will laugh, and it all happens like the world’s strangest clock.

tubbo will fall asleep the moment he finishes the book, and techno will carry him to bed. he watches as tommy and tubbo wrap around each other like yin and yang.

techno will look at ghostbur’s soft eyes and will sit with his brother. and ghostbur will send him off to bed after they talk for another hour, his eyes still soft but his form more strong. techno will promise to bring him back and ghostbur will laugh, and-

techno’s day ends like this. chat will scream at him to go to bed, and he will go to sleep knowing that this?
this is what he had wanted when he decided to retire.

he goes to bed knowing that finally, finally, he is no longer a monster.