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Crowds poured in in the hundreds to watch the 1v1 one of the year: Dream vs. Technoblade. The two mostly highly regarded pvp-ers were about to duel it out to see who truly was the greatest.
Seats in the arena had sold out within minutes, as people travelled from far off and unheard of lands, just to witness two identity-less ‘gods’ (in some people’s eyes) battle it out.
Everyone in the Dream smp lands and L’manberg had been given special invites, and were scattered amongst the hords of strangers. On one side of the arena sat the Dream supporters- including; George, Sapnap, and Puffy. And on the other side, were the Techno supporters- including; Wilbur, Tommy, Tubbo. No hard feelings were held between friends, depending on who’s side they had taken, but many-a-bet had been placed on who would come out as victor.
—————
The crowd cheers when the competitors finally walk out onto the central battle ground- armour donned, shields wealed, and weapons at the ready. From one look, it was easy to infer what each of their chosen fighting styles and strategies would be.
Dream wore minimal armour over his infimous green hoodie and black jeans- a simple netherite chest plate and leggings. He was dressed for speed and agility, relying on fast hits, in the hundreds, to whittling down his opponent.
Technoblade, on the other hand, was wearing his regular, regal outfit, complete with his flowing red cape- it probably wasn’t the most practical, but trust Techno to not go all out on his appearance. His signature crown had been switched out for a helmet, to complete the full set of netherite armour. He was dressed for defense and endurance, ready to take on anything his opponent threw at him. His netherite sword (or the ‘Orphan Obliterator’, as it was more commonly known) would land hard hitting blows, enough to take down anyone in a few hits.
The two stand at the opposite ends of the grounds, seemingly staring each other down- though it was hard to tell, seeing as both of them had their faces mostly covered. The crowds cheering quietens down to a low rumbling, as tensions and anticipation rises.
“CLANG!” The sound of the arena bell going off signals the start of the duel.
The crowd watches as Dream sprints directly at Technoblade, jumps, and slams his axe down onto his shield. He tries again, axe momentarily getting stuck. And after the third hit, backs off as to re-charge for another set of attacks.
However, as he does so, Techno takes the opportunity to devour a golden apple, before charging at Dream. In the last second, before Techno brings his sword down, Dream pulls out his shield and blocks the attack.
The crowd roars in excitement!
As Tommy cheers, he can’t help but wonder why. Why was he on Technoblades side? Surely, there was an alternate universe where he was supporting Dream. Hell, he knew so little about either of them to have a bias… ok, that was kind of a lie.
He figures that the reason he’s supporting Techno, is because they grew up, under the same care, for a few years. Granted, Phil had taken Tommy in when he only was seven years old, and Techno had ran away roughly a month after Tommy had settled in.
Techno had continued to stay away from home for the next few years, with Phil mostly staying with him and randomly checking in every few months- leaving Wilbur to take care of, and practically raise, Tommy.
And when Techno had finally returned, he was already wearing his signature pig mask- covering his face from the tip of his nose up. Tommy always wondered where he’d gotten it from. Did he slaughter a boar and now wore its face? Was it from a piglin in the nether? He wouldn’t have put it past Techno to do that.
A firework going off brings Tommy out of his thoughts, and back to reality. He’d missed half of the duel, whilst he’d been zoned out, but a quick survey of the battlefield fills in what he had missed. The shields were practically splinters, and had been tossed off the the side. Glass bottles (some smashed) and apple cores were scattered on the floor. A few dozen arrows had been impaled into the walls surrounding the grounds- a couple seemed to have ricocheted off armour and were stuck in unpractically high locations. Both Dream and Techno were breathing heavily from exhaustion, now only wielding their handheld weapons.
The two charge at each other insync, weapons colliding in a tremendous “CLASH!” noise, causing a few sparks to fly. They held that position, eyes locked onto each other, when Dream suddenly shoves forward slightly, and uses the momentum to jump backwards. In reaction, Technoblade swings his sword and manages to cut a direct diagonal through Dreams mask. The surprise causes him to miss his landing, and he goestumbling- landing on his back, with his axe thrown out of reach.
Dream attempts to recover, and keep his face hidden, but is shoved back down by Techno’s foot on his chest plate. He holds his sword above Dream, and says something no one else hears over the roar of the crowd, before plunging his sword directly into Dream’s neck, and watches as he poofs into a cloud of white smoke- armour clattering to the ground under his feet.
The crowd goes wild! Shouting and cheering in support.
Techno punches his sword into the air, cheering for himself. He looks through both crowds, before his eyes lock on one specific place, and he stops cheering and makes a subtle nod. Tommy follows Techno’s line of sight to where Wilbur is staring directly back at him- his cheering now reduced to a clap, and a smirk of satisfaction plastered across his face. He nods back, and Tommy wonders what unspoken thing they just communicated.
The two had always been oddly close, and that still confuses Tommy. When he had asked Wilbur why, he had said it was because they grew up side by side, and left it at that. Infact, Tommy is sure that Wilbur is probably only one of two people to have seen Techno’s face (other than himself, obviously), Phil being the other person.
Speaking of, where even was Phil? Tommy assumed he’d show up for something like this, especially considering it involved his ‘favourite’ son.
—————
Eventually, Techno walks off the battlegrounds, and the crowds start to file out. Wilbur ushers Tommy and Tubbo to stay and wait in their seats, for a bit, until it had quietened down.
When most of the people had cleared out, Wilbur becond for the other two to come with him. Without saying a word, they follow him down a spiral staircase, and through a quiet corridor- finally stopping in front of a door with a crown plaque on it. Wilbur knocks out an unusual rhythm on the door, and a gruff “Yeah,” from the other side signals for them to enter.
Inside was a decent size room with a table, a few chests, and some armour stands. And, over in the far corner, leant over an ended chest, was Technoblade- placing what could only be assumed his winning, into it.
His armour had been placed onto one of the stands, and the crown was back on his head- but something still looked off about him.
Wilbur walks over to Techno, and pats him on the shoulder, “Congrats on winning, man. That was a good fight.”
“Well,” The two turn, and Techno leans back on the now closed enderchest, facing the room, arm folded, “I couldn’t have done it without your strategy.”
The two continue to talk as Tommy and Tubbo stand on the other side of the room- their jaws on the floor in shock. Finally, they’d realised what was off about Techno. He wasn’t wearing his mask. They could see his face.
“WHAT THE FUCK?” They shout in unison, drawing the other pairs attention.
“What? What is it?” Wilbur asks, slightly concerned.
“Why the fuck does HE,” Tommy points at Techno, “Have your face?!” He points to Wilbur.
Techno and Wilbur look between each other in confusion, when it finally dawns on them. A sly smile grows across Wilbur’s face.
“Well, you see, Tommy. A few years ago, our good friend, Technobalde here,” He pats Techno shoulder, and rests his hand there, “was cursed, by a swamp witch, to wear the face of the person he fears the most.”
Tommy and Tubbo stare back still utterly in shock and even more confused.
“Heh? Hey wait a minute!” Techno lightly punches Wilbur’s arm, realising what he’d just said. “If that were true, I’d currently look like Bad.”
The two begin bickering, completely forgetting about the other presences in the room.
“I call bullshit on that!” Tommy finally interjects, “There’s no way that’s true.”
“Why BadBoyHalo?” Tubbo mumbles quietly to himself.
Techno rolls his eyes, “Well of course it isn’t, Tommy.”
“Then why the fuck do you have the same face?”
“We’re twins. Identical twins,” Wilbur says, finally responding with a logical answer.
Tommy’s face shifts from annoyed to neutral, as he processes what Wilbur had said. “Oh, well I guess that’s pretty cool… But then why do you hide your face?” He looks to Techno.
Techno sighs, “Because I’ve pissed a lot of people off, and they’ll do anything to hurt you- including hurting those around you. So, if people found out 1) what I look like, and 2) had a brother who looks identical to me,” He gestures to Wilbur, “That would put him in danger.”
“So it’s to protect Wilbur?” The two nod in unison.
“But you’re not identical,” Tubbo chimes in after standing in silence for the past few minutes.
“Tubbo, we have the same face,” Wilbur responds, slightly amused.
Tubbo nods, “Yeah yeah, I know that. But your hair, the way you talk, and your mannerisms are all different. Hell, even your height isn’t the exact same.”
The room falls silent, “Kids got a point,” Techno says.
“And it was a great one,” Tommy turns around, “Thanks, Tubbo.” He turns back, “But that still doesn’t explain why you never told me you were identical!”
“We literally told you like five minutes ago!” Techno responds.
“Yeah, but I would ask everyday, and no one would tell m-”
As they continue to bicker, Wilbur makes his way over to Tubbo and ruffles his hair, “Thank you. What you said was good.” he says, before making his way to the door and gesturing for Tubbo to come with him.
They walk back down the quiet corridor, and the sounds of Tommy and Techno arguing gets more distant. “So, where are we going?” Tubbo finally asks.
“To find Sapnap and George. They just lost one hell of a bet.”