Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Yelling echoed throughout the tower, rooting from the central war headquarters that was currently occupied by five very important people.

“Dude, I’m just saying that I could be a threat if I wanted to be,” the man in the white hoodie leant back in his chair, looking up to meet the supposedly terrifying smiley mask in a heated gaze.

The room they were in was very dimly lit, the only sources being a few lightbulbs and the moon, illuminating the table of four men who were in a heated debate, the one woman sitting back and listening intently.

“Oh, please Punz, you could never be a threat to me! Your weak, stupid, and you could barely hold your own! The only person I ever even considered to be a threat to me and my country was Y/N, but she’s dead, which did everybody a favour,” the masked man scoffed.

“No offence taken by that Dream. But could you just humour me for a minute? Yeah, everybody thinks her death was an accidental suicide, but just think about it. She was making some shady deals with the wrong people, so she probably did what she always does and screwed them over, and they wanted her dead. Something’s fishy, and I’d be willing to bet she’s still alive,” this time it was Punz’s turn to scoff in Dream’s face.

“Plus she’s hot, and everybody either wants to be her or be with her, so jealousy could be an extra motive if someone wanted her dead,” Sapnap snorted, shooting Punz a knowing look.

“Guys, they found her body on the bottom of a cliff with a camera and some food at the top. They reckon she went up there to watch the sunset and have a picnic, but somehow fell off the mountain,” a man with white clout goggles piped up, wanting to share the supposedly ‘secret’ information.

“But the body was completely disfigured and mangled; they have no official evidence that it was her body, aside from the one photo of her on the camera. It had no teeth, man. No traceable DNA. Trust me, George, it wasn’t her,” Punz leaned forward on his chair, putting his face in his hands.

“I’m actually with Punz on this one; she and I went way back, I’m talking before she became what she is now; there’s no way she would ‘accidentally fall off of a cliff’, she’s too smart to do that.” The only woman in the room wanted to add her opinion, but kept her face hidden in the darkness.

Little did they notice the door silently open behind them, letting a certain slippery woman in to join the meeting.

“Well, if she isn’t dead, then I sure as hell got a run for my money,” Dream laughs, pushing himself up off of his chair to stretch his legs.

Everyone in the room shot him many confused looks, to which he simply smiled, and said, “I was the one who wanted her dead. As I said, she was a threat; I couldn’t risk having her around. So, I hired a guy to take her out, and it cost me a fuck ton of money, but at least he did his job.”

“Yeesh, that’s gotta be a bit awkward for you. You get completely screwed out of a lot of money, and your hitman can’t even get the right gal? That’s gotta suck for you, Clay.”

All eyes turned to the woman hiding in the shadows of the doorway, who had always found it difficult to hold her tongue in precious situations.

Your voice was very distinct, very memorable. You could even say it was one of a kind.

“What, didn’t save me a seat? I’m sorry, how rude of me to intrude on your little gossip group,” you laughed, sarcasm prominent in your voice.

The five people were shocked into silence at your sudden appearance, stunned that you had somehow come in without them noticing. Tension hung in the air, clinging to your every word.

“You really think of me as a threat, Dream? That’s actually very flattering, thank you. but I must say, you’ve never been more than a weak fight to me.” you giggled, emerging from the darkness, so they could see you properly.

A smug smile rested on your face, your clothes warm, a cloak wrapped around your shoulders.

“Told you, Dream. She’s still very much alive,” Punz smirked.

“Great observation, captain obvious. But look, I’m just here to tell you all to stop coming after me. Don’t you think the whole cat and mouse thing is getting old?” you yawned, briefly making eye contact with the other woman who still hid her face in the shadows.

She looked so familiar to you, but you couldn’t put a pin on where you knew her from.

“Y/N, I think it’s time you leave. Guards!” Dream called, sitting back down in his seat.

“Come on Clay, after all this time you can’t even escort me yourself? Yikes, I see how it is. Well, it was nice seeing you all again,” you began, slowly turning around to face the nearest window, “but like I said before; leave me the fuck alone and we won’t have any problems. Comprende?”

And with that, the doors burst open the castle guards snatching at your arms, but you were already running and jumping out the window.

The glass pane immediately shattered on impact, cutting and scraping your skin on your fall down.

The war headquarters was on the second floor of the west tower, so jumping out of a window from that height probably wasn’t the smartest idea on your behalf.

You landed on your feet, somehow not breaking anything on impact, but it still shot multiple shock waves through your nerves.

Little slices and gashed littered your arms and face, even some glass protruding from a few wounds. Pulling out as much as you could, you heard shouting coming your way.

They were coming for you, and you needed to get the hell out of there.

You took off, running wherever your legs would take you, hearing a large sum of guards chasing you as you went.

Arrows flew past you multiple times, one whooshing past your ear. But you were smarter than them. you weaved and dodged the oncoming ammo, running into a forest, hoping that would get them off of your tail.

The moon lit up your line of vision as an arrow landed straight in the back of your knee, making it impossible to keep running.

You limped behind a tree, hoping to hide for as long as possible, and yanked out the tip of the bloody arrow with a harsh groan.

 You set back off, still having a big lead on the guards, but this time you were running at a much slower pace.

You had to have been running for half an hour when there was only one man still hot on your tail.

He finally slowed to pull back his bow and fire his final arrow straight at the back of your head.

Thank the god’s above his aim wasn’t perfect but it still managed to land deep in your left shoulder with a hard thump.

The impact alone was enough to send you flying into the snow, hitting your head hard on the ground.

A rough whimper came out of your throat before you could stop it. You groaned, attempting to push yourself back up to your feet.

It took a few tries, but you got back up and were limping away as best you could, blood dripping down your back and leg.

Your pursuer had left, leaving you to work your way out of this snowy forest, leaving a bright red trail behind you.

Your head was spinning; all of your senses were being overwhelmed.

The arrow must have been laced with some bullshit poison.

You could’ve sworn you could see light ahead, but it could’ve just been a hallucination. You had absolutely no idea.

Chapter Text

Your head was aching, your heart felt like it was pounding to escape your ribcage. You could hear the blood rushing through your ears, your heartbeat faster than ever.

Since when was it this easy for them to kill me?

The bottom half of your leg had become a deadweight, the blood loss beginning to take its toll. On the other hand, your shoulder, however painful it may be, became very useful in holding your body up against trees when needed.

You were a few steps away from where the trees would end, and where a lively village would start. Light beamed from each and every store and house, somehow still alive at this ungodly hour.

Maybe it was close to daybreak.

A hot surge of pain trailed through your back, a harsh reminder that the tip of the supposedly poisoned arrow was still rooted deep in your muscles. It was too late to pull it out know, plus everybody knows that if you get stabbed, you never pull out the blade, it will lead you to die of blood loss every single time.

You couldn’t die out here, let alone by a stupid arrow! Stupid thin coat, absolutely no protection at all!

One step away from the stability of the forest. Two steps. Now three. Four? Fi-

Another swirl of agony up the back of your thigh was enough to let you tumble to the ground, dirtying the pristine white snow in your scarlet red blood.

You attempted to call for help, for anyone to see you and rescue you, but all that your body would allow was a strangled moan.

Cursing yourself out for not being strong enough to even speak, you pushed yourself up and  onto your elbows, deciding crawling was your next best option.

Six steps- or crawls, if you will- out, seven, eight, nine – nearly at a building!- ten, man this is using a hell of a lot of energy, eleven, twelve – you pushed yourself up to lean against the back of what you assumed to be a house. Taking a minute to regain your breath, you suddenly became frighteningly aware that any of these could easily be your last.

Sucking in one last deep breath, you used all your strength just to get back on your feet. Holding yourself up on the wall, you looked down just to see a small puddle of a dark red liquid. And it was all along the wall too.

You were almost tempted to dip your finger in it and write a little sorry on the cobble but decided to conserve what little energy you had remaining.

Speaking of energy, you noticed it was becoming harder and harder to keep your eyes open.

Using the wall as a temporary crutch, you pushed yourself forward, willing yourself to get to people, to civilisation, hoping that at least one of them would be kind to you, and be generous enough to dig you a grave.

But there was no one out. The town that you could hear had died down, almost as if they heard your miserable pleas for help and wanted to hide away from you.

That, or they mixed you up with monsters. Which, they weren’t completely wrong about.

You head was pounding, your heart beat pulsating as if trying to jump out of your skin.

The majority of all of the torches and lamps in the town had either gone dim or completely out, leaving the moon in all its brightness to be your only source of light. But what did it matter? You could barely see a few feet in front of you anyway.

Actually, it wasn’t just your vision. All five of your senses were being completely overwhelmed;

Your vision was dark and blurry, all you could taste was that stupid bitter metallic-ness, the only scent your nose was picking up on was the sickly-sweet fumes from the poison, your hands (along with your feet, lower legs, knees, arms, ears and nose) had gone completely numb from the frost, and your ears could only hear the overwhelming sound of your heart racing.

I guess that’s how you completely missed the tall figure standing right in front of you.

You ran head first into them, stumbling back, but they managed to catch you before you fell onto the ground.

The cuts from the glass were beginning to sting, too. Your whole body was in agony, and you just wanted everything to be over. You were miserable.

You didn’t even notice when the rough hands let go of you and began to walk off. You didn’t even notice when you fell ass first into the snow, immediately passing out from exhaustion, blood loss, and most likely hypothermia.

All you cared about, was that you couldn’t feel any pain anymore, and it was like ecstasy.

You just hoped that if you did die that it would be quick, and not bring any more suffering.

But what you just couldn’t figure out, was how they shot you down so easily.

You were a tough gal, known for dodging bullets and being smart. You had survived a fair share of rough situations, and 99% of the time came out unscathed. So what was different this time?

-

A rough thump sounds from over the persons shoulder. They turn around, only to view that same woman they just helped fallen over, slumped on the ground.

Though this time, they noticed the cuts, the arrow head, and all the blood.

They were much more concerned for the woman’s safety now, briskly lunging over to where you lay in the snow. You were awfully pale, your right leg completely smothered in blood. Shaking your right shoulder in a weak attempt to wake you up, they realised you were fully unconscious, most likely in a coma, ready to die at any given moment.

Flipping you over to check if there were any more major injuries, they almost gasped at how bloodstained your thin cloak was. Lifting it to the assess your wounds, they realised they were in too deep to leave you here now. Your blood was so dark, it could probably pass as black.

If they walked away, you be dead in under an hour. They couldn’t leave you here, it’d be on their conscience for months, possibly years. And also for the fact that you would most definitely die if they left. Totally not just because of the whole conscience thing.

Wrapping their arm around your hips to flip you back over again so you were facing the sky, they prepared themselves for a long journey.

Lucky me that I brought my horse this time.

Scooping you up like you were a mere bag of flour, the mysterious figure walked you back over to where a beautiful brown horse was trotting around, occasionally snacking on the village hay.

Pulling you closer, they impossibly manoeuvred themselves up and onto the saddle of the horse, without managing to drop you.

Your breathing was light, short and sharp.

“Let’s go home, Carl,” they whispered, leaning in close for the horse to hear, patting its groomed mane.

The horse immediately began to make its way back to the trail made by the very same hooves at a light canter, enough to be quick to get home, but not enough to knock you out of their arms.

They began to put pressure on the wound on the back of your knee, hoping to keep as much blood in your body as possible. The hooded figure ripped the bottom of your cloak, using it as a temporary bandage for your knee.

Whilst keeping a firm hold on your leg, they moved your cloak off of your shoulder, to be greeted with dark blood, oozing around the embedded arrow head. They didn’t have the right supplies to pull it out right now without it killing you, so that would have to wait.

All they could do was put pressure on it and hope they would be home in time to treat your wounds so you would at least survive until sunrise.

This would be another one of their many sleepless nights. But at least tonight they had the chance to save a life.

Chapter Text

The pair of you made it back to a cabin by the break of dawn, your skin pale as ever. You had lost quite a lot of blood before running into the stranger, and at least they had managed to put a cork in it for now.

Still applying pressure to both your knee and your shoulder, they carried you off of the brunette horse, and onto the front porch. Lying limp over their back, you weren’t much help to them.

Maybe if you were awake, you would feel bad. But you weren’t. You were unconscious, teetering on the edge of life and death.

Kicking open the front door with a lot of force, they repositioned you in their arms, lying you down on their couch with surprising gentleness.

They left you alone for a bit, needing to quickly tend to their horse first, then they could help you out of your sticky situation.

Within minutes, they had returned with a stack of logs in hand. Throwing them in the fireplace and striking a match, they turned their attention back to you.

They picked you up and lifted you off of the couch and onto the floor in front of the small-but-warm flames, walking over to a chest, digging through it.

They pulled out two potions, and rich golden apple, and many, many medical supplies.

The first thing they needed to do was remove the arrowhead, so that’s what they did. They only hoped that the pain of taking it out wouldn’t wake you up.

Sitting down next to you, they flipped you off your side and onto your back, removing your cloak. They were tempted to throw it in the fire, seeing how bloody and torn it was. But they didn’t, as they thought it would be very rude of them.

The ripped cloth that had been tied onto your shoulder was now also bloodstained, and they didn’t even think twice before throwing it into the flames.

Part of your shirt and pants were covering your injuries, and they almost felt bad for having to cut out chunks of your clothes, but it was the very least of their current worries.

Taking a deep breath, they pulled out the head of the arrow leaving a gaping wound, immediately pouring a bottle of a glistening red liquid over your wound. Your arm flinched subconsciously, a sign that you weren’t completely dead just yet.

They repeated the process for your knee. Removing the cloth, pouring the potion.

Standing up and heading up to the bathroom with a towel in hand, they went over and dampened the fabric.

Sitting by your side again, they began to clean up the blood as best as possible.

The sun had begun its journey into the morning sky, mixing with the luminescence of the fire, casting a warm glow upon the two of you.

The whole back of your top was dirty, along with the majority of your pant leg. For now, they would focus on your skin, they could change your clothes later.

Dabbing lightly at the tender skin, the once white towel was beginning to become a dark shade of red.

But hey, at least they stopped the bleeding.

Once they got as much of the blood off your back as possible, they moved down to your leg.

You had been a really good patient, apart from the one involuntary flinch, you hadn’t moved at all. Some would probably be concerned that you had died, but they could see the faint movement of your chest, indicating your breathing.

They were surprised you even made the ride home alive, let alone the bandaging and cleaning.

Once they had finished wiping off your knee, they sterilised both injuries and sat you so you were propped up against the leg of the coffee table, still chilling in front of the fire.

Again, they were very surprised that you didn’t have hypothermia, but made sure to keep you in the warmth just in case.

Using the only remaining clean part of the towel, they softly touched the little cuts that littered your face, collecting as much dry blood as possible without angering the healing cells.

They got up, grabbing the remaining potion and apple off the table and went into the makeshift kitchen.

They knew that you were extremely weak right now and needed some form of an energy boost. They grated up the golden apple, so it was easy enough for it to just slide down your throat and wash it down with a regeneration potion.

They hoped that you were worthy of all this trouble and resources, because if you weren’t they might just kill you themselves.

From the apple and potion alone, the colour began to return to your face almost immediately, but it wouldn’t be enough to wake you up, not yet.

But now came the hard part, having to change your clothes so you wouldn’t be sitting in your bloodstained attire for however long you would be unconscious. Or die in.

Sighing to themselves, they climbed up a ladder into an unknown room, and returned moments later, hands full of new garments for you. They almost wanted you to wake up now so they wouldn’t have to deal with this, but they knew there was no chance of it happening and it was best just to get it over and done with.

Rubbing their eyes to get rid of the exhaustion, they slowly began to peel your shirt off of your chest and over your head, leaving you in just a skin-colour bra. A slight bit flustered, they immediately looked away, feeling sheepish knowing that they had seen you half-naked before even speaking to you, but there was nothing they could do either way.

Pulling the shirt they had grabbed over your head and slotting your arms in their respective holes, they began to try and work out a way of getting your pants off.

Firstly, they laid you back on the ground again, this time face up. They undid your button and zip and began to shimmy your loose pants off your legs.

They stiffened at the sight of how soft your legs looked. They looked weirdly clean in contrast to your bloodied pants.

Shaking themselves out of their thoughts, they pulled the new attire up over your limbs, not missing their face heating up when they accidentally skimmed their fingers over your outer thigh.

Straightening themselves out, they picked you back up again and placed you back onto the couch, wrapping a thin blanket around your torso so as not to overheat you.

Although they would never admit it out loud, but they found you weirdly pretty. Maybe if you weren’t in the state that you were in, you could’ve become good friends.

Standing over you for a moment, they contemplate if it’s worth going back into the village to see if anyone knows you. Eventually, they conclude that it couldn’t hurt, and they might even get some answers.

Picking up the rich coloured cloak they had so kindly discarded on the floor on their way in, they walked out the front door, making sure to lock it on their way out. Jogging over to their horse’s stable, they hoped on the back of the saddle and rode off into the forest.

They were hoping that you wouldn’t be dead by the time they returned.

-

It had been just shy of an hour of asking around the village, and no one knew who you were, or even that you had been here the night before. It was almost as if you didn’t exist. But it was a very possible outcome that you had just never been to this exact village, or lived locally.

But they kept hope, not leaving the village in the slight chance that even one person might know of your existence.

-

Your conscience was wavering from awake to asleep, not staying in one position for too long. You couldn’t think of one solid thought, your mind whizzing at a million miles a minute.

You had zero idea if you were alive, or maybe even if you were dead.

You willed yourself to wake up, to open your eyes. But you couldn’t.

You were stuck in this limbo of constant uncomfortableness, withering away what little energy you had.

You had a headache, but it wasn’t so bad that it would knock you out, just hurting enough to the point where it was extremely annoying.

Your knee and lower leg ached, along with your shoulder and your face. Your whole body was on fire but freezing at the same time.

It was like you were in a modified hell, where you would forever be in a state of persistent agony.

Using all the remaining energy you had, you forced your mind to wake up, to be alive.

Finally, after what felt like eternal hell, you opened your eyes.

Your vision was swimming, unable to focus on any solid object. Your ears felt like someone had let off a bomb nearby, a harsh ringing echoing throughout your head.

Pushing yourself up off the soft surface you had been lying on, you had realised that it was probably best not to use your arm for a while, as doing such a simple action put you in an unexplainable amount of pain.

But the one thing you noticed above all, was that you were alone in this homely room.

Chapter Text

It had been at least half an hour since you originally woke up, but your mind was too fuzzy to focus on anything.

A dull ache of both your head, shoulder and knee was what was most prominent throughout the time you had been alone. Your vision adjusted itself to the sunlight, and your ears had stopped ringing, which were both good signs.

Whoever’s place this was left a glistening bottle of a deep purple liquid on the table in front of you. you hoped that it was a potion of regeneration and gave it a whiff. It most definitely was your original thought, so you took a large swig hoping its owner wouldn’t mind.

A shiny golden apple sat by the side of the bottle, almost asking you to eat it by how appetising it looked. Or maybe I’m just hungry.

You stared at the apple for a solid minute before deciding it would benefit you to just eat it, and so you did.

With both the potion and apple in your tummy, you already felt that little bit better. Your stomach had stopped churning by now, and you didn’t feel nearly as sick.

You attempted to stand up, completely forgetting the whole arrow-in-the-knee-and-the-shoulder thing and toppled over not so gracefully onto the ground. Groaning in both annoyance and agony, you rolled yourself up and off of your back so you could get a better look around the room for anything you could use as a crutch.

You finally noticed a fishing rod hidden away in the corner, dusty as ever. It’s not the best you could do, but it’s better than nothing.

Scooting yourself along the floor over to the corner, you pushed yourself off the ground and leaned your body onto the wall, grabbing the metal rod. Up close it didn’t seem like it could hold any bodyweight without it snapping, it was that feeble.

Sighing, you put the majority of your weight on your good foot and using the fishing rod as a small amount of assistance, you began to navigate the room you had been left in.

On one side, there were many cluttered chests, a random plant, a surprising number of books, and even a brewing stand. On the other, it was a small kitchen and dining room in one. The table was on the side, slightly off middle (which was annoying but otherwise it would’ve been in the way) and surrounded by cabinets of food and other necessary items.

Ignoring the pain it caused to take a few steps, you walked around the room admiring every nook and cranny. It was peculiarly neat; unlike most places you had been to.

After looking around for a while, you noticed a ladder leading up to a room above. You had a bizarre desire to know what was up there, as if they would be hiding nukes.

It was going to be hard to climb, but you had faced worse situations. Leaning the fishing rod against the wall, you put your good foot on the first rung, pushing yourself up off the floor.

Oh man, that really hurt. This is probably a bad i-

The lock on the main door clicked, and a tall, hooded figure walked in the door. At first, they didn’t notice you hanging on the ladder, which was good.

You attempted to hop off the ladder as quietly as possible but landed on a creaky board, giving away your location.

The newcomer’s head snapped up to you, a momentary look of shock on their face, quickly replaced by a cold, neutral expression.

Grabbing the rod off the wall and holding it in front of you like a sword, you stood your ground.

“Who the hell are you?” you demanded.

“That isn’t important, who the hell are you? and how the hell did you wake up so quickly?” their voice was gruff, monotonous.

“Were you followed?”

“No, now what’s your name?”

“Were you the one who stopped me from dying?” you asked, not moving in the slightest.

“Way to dodge my question with another question. But yes, that was me.” The hood of their dark red cloak fell off their head, revealing.. a man. Well, a modified version of a man. At least, he wasn’t human. He couldn’t be. With how tall he was, the small tusks that protruded from his jaw and over his lips, the slight pink tinge to his hair and skin, the bright ruby eyes staring daggers at you, there was no way he was fully human.

He must’ve to have noticed your staring, and he seemed almost…insecure.

Walking over to you and yanking the fishing rod out of your hands, he placed it back where you had found it.

“I can put my hood back on if you’d like,” he offered, already reaching for it.

“No! no, I just… piglin hybrid, right?”

“Uh, yeah.”

“Huh, good to know my saviour is a piglin,” you say, laughing to yourself.

He straightens his posture, making him impossibly taller. “Why, is that bad?” he asks, his tone defensive.

“Depends on if you are a nice person or not,” you smile. “I’m kidding, no need to worry dude. I’m guessing you know who I am, so who are you?”

He looks taken aback by what you said, but answers nonetheless.

“No, actually I don’t know who you are. But do you not know who I am?”

Perfect, this can be my clean slate. Have a whole new life. He won’t ever need to know.

“No… should I?”

A very faint smirk appeared on his face, a little relief flooding his features as he sat on the couch. You were still standing by the ladder.

“Come, sit.” He ordered, patting the seat next to him.

“No.”

“You’re hurting your leg, now sit.”

Reluctantly, you hobbled over to him, gently sitting yourself as far away from him on the couch as possible.

“You’re welcome for the clothes and hospitality by the way.”

“Yeah well I don’t even know your name.”

“As I said, my name is irrelevant, it’s yours that is important.”

“Mine is irrelevant too.” You said.

“Fine, how ‘bout you answer the basic six?”

You stared blankly at him, as if you were supposed to know what that was.

“Y’know… the basic six questions you ask when you need to figure out what happened.”

The look he was giving you made you feel foolish, but you knew better than to show him how you felt.

Sighing, he continued. “The basic six is just who, what, when, where, how, and why. To start off, who are you and who did this to you?”

“If I tell you my name, you have to tell me yours, deal?” He nodded.

“I’m Y/N.”

“Technoblade. Who did this to you?” he sounded bored, as if he dealt with this type of thing every other day.

“Ah, I can’t say. It’ll tell you too much too quick.” Clean slate. Forget the past, I’m going to be a whole new person.

“Fine. What happened? I mean it’s pretty obvious you got shot, but is that all?”

“From what I remember, I was hit twice, and all the little cuts are from a glass pane.”

“Ok, I guess that makes sense. When is also obvious, considering it was last night.”

You stayed quiet this time, letting him continue.

“Where are you from? And where did you get hurt? I found you in the village, so it couldn’t have been far.”

Still holding your silence, you decided it was best for him not to know you were at George's castle.

“You gotta give me something to work with here, I’m only trying to help.” His gaze was hard, yet blank.

“The forest,” you sighed. That would be enough, for now.

“Good, see? That wasn’t hard. Again, the how is pretty obvious; you got shot. So, that leaves us to the why. Why did you get hurt?”

Sucking your teeth, you lowered your gaze to the table. “Yeah, I couldn’t tell you even if I wanted to.”

“You are such a piece of work,” he scoffed, standing up and walking into the kitchen.

“Oh yeah? Well you aren’t exactly the nicest person.”

“Go back to sleep, I have things to do.”

This time it was your turn to scoff at him. “Like what? You don’t seem like the type to have many friends.”

Holding his silence, he sat at the kitchen table, parchment beneath the quill in hand.

All of the bickering had tired you out, so you lay back down on the couch, being careful not to aggravate either your knee or your shoulder.

The muffled sound of ink scratching away on paper was enough to lull you into a restless sleep, maybe the worst you had ever had.

Chapter Text

A harsh knocking on the door was enough to wake you from your unsettled slumber.

You felt groggy, your whole body ached in quiet despair.

Another round of rough tapping, followed by feet shuffling along the wooden floors over to whoever was on the porch.

You decided to keep your eyes closed and pretend to be asleep for now, thinking about who this visitor could be.

Maybe it was a guard who followed Technoblade here.

No! he said no one followed him, but maybe he was wrong…

Technoblade unlocked the front door, pulling it open forcefully, whisper yelling at the guest to shhhh, you’ll wake her up.

“Good to see you too, mate,” was muttered. You didn’t recognise the voice, which was a good sign that it wasn’t a guard you knew. You kept your eyes shut tight, hoping the newcomer wouldn’t even notice you.

“I’m assuming she’s asleep, that’s why you told me to be quiet?” their voice was low, a breathy whisper.

“Yeah, she’s on the couch.” You knew that to be Techno’s voice, presumably pointing towards your still body.

Light footsteps approached you but abruptly stopped by your side. Gently, carefully, soft fingers brush the hair out of your face, they make a wounded noise low in his throat when they see the littered cuts on your head. A few seconds after, they began to back away.

“Mate,” he breathes, “who’s this?”

“Y/N,” Techno says. “I’m honestly surprised she’s even alive, with how much blood there was I wasn’t expecting her to make the night, let alone wake up a few hours later.”

One pair of steps walked away, the other following behind. Two chairs being scraped against the floor, the soft tapping receded.

Remaining as motionless as possible, your strained your ears to hear the full conversation.

“Where’d she come from?”

“Don’t know, she refused to tell me.”

A slight huff from the guest. “How long has she been asleep?”

“Around twenty-one-ish hours.”

“Alright, let’s get some food and painkillers in her, she’s awfully pale.”

The chairs screech against the floorboards, footsteps echoing around the room as the pair move around respectively.

You feel the couch lower with weight, and a gentle hand moving to trace your eyebrow.

“Hey, mate,” they say softly, “wake up for a second okay? Techno, grab them some water to take these with.”

Techno grunts and obeys, shuffling off into the kitchen. He grabs a cup from the cabinet and fills it with a bit of tap water.

“Come on mate, let me see those eyes,” you could practically hear the warm smile laced in their words.

Slowly opening your eyes, you watch as they pull a bottle out of a bag, opening it and pouring a few tablets onto their hand.

It took a second for your eyes to adjust to the beaming sunlight, a soft whine coming from your throat.

“I know it’s bright,” they croon, “I’m sorry, we’ll close the blinds.”

The man sitting next to you had flowing golden hair tied up into a rushed plait, dark green robes cascading down his body, a green and white striped hat placed onto his lap. His face held such radiating youth, but lines that could’ve only been caused by age. He also had a weirdly welcoming and comforting aura.

By now Technoblade is back from closing the curtains and by his friend’s side, holding a glass of water in one hand, a few pieces of bread on a plate in the other.

Sitting yourself up properly, you got a better look at the pair, still maintaining your silence.

Grabbing the water off Technoblade, passing both the cup and the pills onto you, the stranger gave you a soft smile.

You took the hint and swallowed both pills, taking a few extra sips from the glass as if they were about to steal it off of you.

“Hi mate,” he whispers softly, like he’s trying not to spook an animal. “I’m Phil, I’m Techno’s friend. He wrote to me to come help you.”

“Can’t handle me on your own?” your voice was hoarse, and it hurt to talk.

“Careful Phil, she’s not a big fan of hybrids,” Technoblade smirked.

“Now don’t go twisting my words, Technoblade,” you tiredly smile. “But you’re a hybrid?”

“Yeah, didn’t you notice the wings?” a slight ruffle from behind Phil, and the tip of two metallic black wings pop up.

“Wow,” you sighed, awestruck that you missed such a big thing.

“Here, eat up. You need it.” Technoblade placed the bread he was holding onto the table, sitting himself at his desk.

Not acknowledging the food just yet, you turned your attention back to Phil. “You aren’t going to kill me, are you?”

“Oh mate,” Phil coos, “it’s alright, I promise I won’t do anything, you’re safe with me and Techno. Safer than anywhere else in the world alright? We’ll protect you.”

A soft, tired smile appears on your face as you reach for the plate on the table. “Good, just wanted to make sure.” Despite the strain it put on your throat, you wanted to continue the conversation.

Taking the first bite of the warm loaf was the best thing you had done in a while. It wasn’t even that good of bread, it was just about how you had barely eaten in the last two days, and your body was starving.

“Take it easy, we don’t want you to throw it all up,” Technoblade commented, looking up at you enjoying the meal.

Finishing off your second slice, you stopped for a bit to take a drink of water.

“So, where are you from?” Phil asked.

“Like I told Technoblade, that I can’t tell you.” the past isn’t me Phil. I couldn’t control what happened.

“Why not? Not to intrude, but you’ve got me intrigued.”

“Again, like I told Technoblade, it’ll tell you too much about me too quick, better it stays a mystery,” you quietly mumbled. Like I said, clean slate. A new start, new person.

“Alright, your choice,” he sighed.

Picking up another slice of bread, you couldn’t help but wonder about the slight familiarity of Phil. It could’ve just been the fatherly way he acted or the way he spoke, but either way, a pang of unknowing shook your core.

Shrugging it off, Technoblade’s voice pulled you back into reality. “How long do you think you’ll be here?”

“What, you trying to kick me out?”

His silence was enough indicator that he probably would if it came to it.

“Look, I’m not here by choice. I’ll be out of here as soon as you let me leave and I can walk.”

“Promise me you’ll leave as soon as you can,” he growled.

“Techno!” Phil exclaims.

“Wow, you really hate me that much? But yeah, I guess if that’s what you want,” you say.

“Techno, can I talk to you in another room?” Phil asked, force evident in his tone.

Techno nodded, and they both got up and walked into the kitchen.

“Mate, you can’t just kick her out, she’s hurt and needs our- your help,” Phil accused.

“We both know I moved out here to have a quiet life, not to be taking care of some girl who I ran into half-dead,” Techno said.

“Techno, you have to-”

“Ah ah!” Techno scolds the minute your feet hit the hard wood floors, “back on there.”

You shoot him a half glare, considering you don’t have a lot of energy and you are really tired.

“I told you you have to be careful with those bandages,” Techno says, “no escape attempts.”

“Maybe I have to pee, did you think of that?”

“Then I’ll walk you to the bathroom, or Phil can,” Techno motions over his shoulder.

You blink at Phil, and he gives a warm “hi mate. You need some help?”

“No, it’s fine.”

Your eyelids began to feel unusually heavy, exhaustion hitting you like a brick wall.

“What did you give me?” you slurred, “you fuckin’ drugged me.”

“It was just some painkillers mate,” Phil reassures you. “Look, I’ve got the bottle right here, and the plastic that came off the lid too. They were sealed.”

Unconvinced, your breathing starts to get deeper, taking much more panicked breaths.

Shutting your eyes and turning away, the last bit of tension drains out of your shoulders as you fall back into a deep and restless sleep.

Chapter Text

You were standing in the middle of a flower field during a thunderstorm. Not the smartest idea on your behalf, but you weren’t in control of yourself.

You began to run towards a treehouse on the edge of the paddock, rain drenching you.

Finally making it to the shelter of the tall dark oak tree that held the makeshift treehouse, you hastily climbed up it, calling out a name you hadn’t heard in what could’ve been years.

The wrap-around porch creaked under your weight, the door that led inside already slightly open. The lock looked like it had been broken into, wooden splinters littering the entryway.

Concern filled your heart as you called her name, much softer this time. Pushing open the door with your foot, you were greeted with a torn apart room.

The couch had many rips and tears in it. The table had been flipped onto its side, missing half a leg. The small bookshelf had been pushed over, books surrounding the nearby floor.

This couldn’t have been the work of the wind but of a human.

Small, rapid breathing caught your attention, located behind the door. Immediately turning your attention, you were shocked into silence by the sight.

There she sat, the love of your life drenched in her own blood, drowning in her sorrows.

Niki, impaled by a knife, begging for your help.

-

It had to of been early in the morning, around 6 am. The sun was still low in the sky, not ready to make its journey for the day.

Your whole body was shaking; not from the cold, no, but from fear and adrenaline.

It wasn’t real, it was a nightmare. It never happened. She’s alive.

Fitting your face in your palms, your forced yourself to get up and get a glass of water, hoping to flood away last night’s terror.

You knew there was no point in trying to sleep again, so you walked over to the fireplace in a feeble attempt to gain some warmth in the room.

After many tries, you lit a spark, the small flame dancing tauntingly in front of you.

Phil must’ve heard your grunts of frustration when the damn fire wouldn’t start and emerged quietly from Technoblade’s room where he had been sleeping.

It had been 3 days since Phil’s original visit, and he decided to stay saying that it was to make sure you were ok and healed properly, but you all knew it was so Technoblade didn’t throw you out of the cabin.

“Hey mate, everything ok? It’s awfully early to be awake in your condition,” Phil sighed, taking a seat on the couch.

“I had a nightmare,” you quietly admitted, remaining seated on the floor in front of the fireplace.

“Do you want to talk about it?” he asked, patting the cushion next to him. He was to kind too you, and you felt bad for not being able to repay him.

“I’d rather not but thank you.”

He hummed in contentment, and the room fell into a comfortable silence.

It was lightly snowing outside when the sun began to rise above the horizon. The fire crackled quietly, a sense of belonging washing over you.

“D’you think I could go into the village today? I need to get out of the cabin, and maybe I could get some clothes for myself,” you asked, turning your eyes to make contact with Phil.

“Ah, you’re asking the wrong person. I can vouch for you, but you would have to talk to Techno about it,” Phil smiled.

“Alright, thank you,” you nodded, falling back into that relaxing silence.

Your knee had practically fully healed by now, apart from a small scar that would most likely always be there. The muscle was a bit tight, but Phil taught you how to stretch it so it wouldn’t hurt you.

Your shoulder, on the other hand, wasn’t close to closing up. Because it was such a high use area, the bandages kept breaking, exposing the weeping wound. Apart from a dull ache that never left, it barely ever hurt. It was uncomfortable if you moved the wrong way, but you had learnt to think about what you do first.

After 15 minutes of sitting in silence, you decided the floor was no longer comfortable, so you went and sat with Phil. He gave you a warm smile, one that sent chills down your spine, but in a good way.

It had been a while since you had met someone as welcoming as Phil. It was a change of pace that you enjoyed, not wanting to get rid of him any time soon.

Technoblade eventually made his way down from his room, climbing down the ladder rather noisily.

“Mornin’,” he grunted, making his way over to the kitchen.

“Hey, Technoblade… can I go into the village today?” you tried your best not to sound like a child asking their parent for permission.

Without looking up from what he was doing, he gave you a small thumbs up. “Sure, but you have to be careful not to hurt yourself, okay?”

“Oh, that was really easy. Cool,” you smiled, walking off to grab a cloak Technoblade had offered for you. he had said it was too small for him, and that you needed a new one considering the state of your old one.

“Breakfast first,” he pushed a plate of toast over to you, taking a seat at the table. Phil stood up from the couch, taking his plate from Technoblade and sitting beside him.

“I’m not hungry,” you said.

“I don’t care. Eat, or you’re not going.”

“He’s right, Y/N. It’ll give you energy,” Phil smiled.

Sighing, you grabbed a piece of toast and headed to the couch to lace up your boots.

Finishing the bread, you said your goodbyes, heading off in the direction of the village. Technoblade gave you a compass that had the location of the village, so you followed that.

-

After walking around the shops and houses for at least two hours, you had picked out two new casual dresses, three long-sleeved shirts, a warm fleece cardigan, a pair of woollen pants, a pair of slacks and some black dress pants.

Hiding them away in your bag, you made your way into a bakery. The display was mouth-watering, and you were starving. The employee asked if you needed help deciding, but you just asked if you could buy a chocolate croissant. Paying for your food and thanking the worker, you decided it would be best to head back to Technoblade’s.

Two steps out of the store, you saw a family talking to what seemed to be-

Palace guards.

Oh fuck no this can’t be happening! How did they find me? I have to get the hell out of here.

Pulling the hood of your cloak above your head and stashing away the croissant, you slowly moved away from the guards, attempting to be discreet. All was going well, you were nearly out of their fingers, but when has it ever been so easy?

“Hey, you, in the red cloak! We need to ask you a few questions, could you come back here?” one called out to you.

You froze, thoughts going a million miles a minute.

Do I run? If I do, would they follow? I could try and lead them away from the house, but I don’t have that much energy. I could pretend to be someone else, but they would recognise me. I could fight them all, then run. No, they are most likely stronger than me at the moment. But I’m smart-

You felt a harsh tug on your good shoulder, forcing you to face four men in Dream’s castle uniform. They couldn’t see your face just yet, which was very lucky on your behalf.

“Miss, we just need to ask if you have seen this vigilante, could you remove your hood?” one asked. His voice was deep, authoritative.

Without giving you the chance to reply, another man pulled the hood off your head, revealing your identity.

Immediately, all four drew crossbows, aiming at your head. “Give me one good reason I shouldn’t fire right now,” the first guy snarled.

“Because then you’d kill me,” you smirked. I guess I’m going to have to fight.

Taking advantage of their momentary confusion, you managed to knock all of the crossbows out of each of their hands. Sweeping one guy off of his feet, you punched him in the side of the head, knocking him out. And then there were three.

Two held up their fists as if asking you to fight them. grabbing one of their hands and twisting it, kicking in their knees, pushing him onto the ground, and hard. And then there were two.

The one holding his knuckles in the air took a hard swing at your head and missed, miserably. Placing your foot onto the centre of his back and using your full weight to knock the wind out of him, he flopped onto the ground like a ragdoll. And then there was one.

The last remaining guy you recognised to be the one who managed to impale you with his arrows last time. He was young, around 20, and very repulsive looking.

“What was in those pathetic arrows?” you snarled.

“A little concoction of my own, I call it the potion of death,” he smiled, revealing his jagged and yellow teeth. Pulling out a small dagger from his pocket, he brandished it in front of him menacingly.

“How creative,” you breathed, taking the first lunge forward, aiming for his skull. Missing, you regained your footing, facing him again. He swung for your heart, missing by mere inches, stumbling away.

This gave you a chance to punch him hard in the face, breaking his nose.

He was good with a bow and arrow, but clearly crap at hand-to-hand, which was a bonus for you.

Little did you know, he threw his knife hitting you square in the abdomen.

Rage boiled in your blood, pushing you over the edge.

Beat him bloody.

Kicking him to the ground, you straddled his waist, repeatedly punching him hard in the face. You didn’t stop until your knuckles were close to breaking, blood completely covering his grotesque face making him unrecognisable.

The dagger still logged in your stomach, you pulled out the compass and went back to Technoblade’s as fast as possible, leaving the four guards knocked out on the ground, the one possibly even dead.

Holding as much blood in as possible, you stumbled back to the cabin, red staining your hands, shirt and pants.

But hey, at least you got your revenge.

Chapter Text

The trek back to Technoblade’s lodge wasn’t the best.

Leaving behind a small trail of blood was nerve-racking in itself, but the light snowfall was a tiny comfort that it would cover your tracks.

You thought about Technoblade, who would scold you for being so reckless and stupid, and now having to stay with him for longer. And Phil, who would probably lecture you about not being safe, but still help in any way possible.

Maybe I shouldn’t tell them? I can handle this myself. Yeah, I’m not telling them.

It was much easier to stay conscious this time, considering there was only one wound and you didn’t pull out the weapon this time. You’ve learnt not to take out the knife, otherwise you will lose a hell of a lot more blood.

The cabin finally came into sight, and you wrapped Technoblade’s old coat firmly around you, hiding the dagger and the blood as best you could. A wave of a bizarre burning sensation washed over your whole body, sending cold shivers down your spine.

Taking the final steps up to the front porch, you could finally feel nausea rising in your stomach, your breakfast sitting high in your throat.

Opening the front door, you were greeted by both Phil and Technoblade standing off towards the kitchen. You didn’t dare reply, in fear of throwing up all over them.

Slamming the front door behind you, you hobbled as fast as your dingy leg would allow you into the bathroom, locking the door behind you.

Throwing yourself harshly on top of the toilet rim, you retched your guts out.

Everything came up, from this morning’s toast to last night’s potatoes, and even some blood to add into the disgusting mixture.

Coughing up as much as you could, saliva and blood dribbled down your chin and on your neck. Flushing the toilet, you winced at the harsh pounding on the bathroom door.

“Y/N? Are you okay?” Technoblade’s gruff voice was muffled, but his words were clear as ever. Much quieter bickering could be heard, but this time the words were unintelligible.

“Hey, Y/N?” Phil this time. “Could you please open the door? We want to help you.”

A few involuntary tears rolled down your cheeks as you pulled your bag and cloak off of your shoulders, discarding it on the floor beside you.

The adrenaline was beginning to wear off, pain taking its place.

Pulling yourself off the floor by the toilet and up to the door leaning your body weight against the wall, you grimaced as you felt the dagger move slightly.

“Promise you won’t be mad,” you mumbled. You were surprised you could speak, let alone loud enough for them to hear.

“We won’t,” Phil cooed.

Unlocking the door, you pulled it open to reveal both Phil and Technoblade standing in the doorway. Their faces dropped as they saw the dagger impaling your abdomen and all the surrounding blood.

“Oh my god,” Phil gasped, immediately springing into action, pulling you away to sit on the couch.

Technoblade trailed behind, not knowing what to do with himself.

“You look like shit,” Technoblade smirks.

“You should’ve seen the other guy,” you grumble, a gentle smile on your lips.

“Alright, you’re okay Y/N, everything is going to be fine, got it?” Phil croons.

You tiredly nod your head, lying back on the couch.

“Now this is going to hurt, okay? But you have to stay awake for me.”

You nod again, not wanting to look either of them in the eye.

Phil bustles away to grab the medical kit, Technoblade replacing him. He lightly nudges you, turning your chin with his fingers to look at him.

“Can I…” he trails off, signalling at your shirt.

Nodding for the third time, you look away once again. He unbuttons your shirt, lifting it out of the way of the embedded dagger.

You don’t know why you were putting so much trust in these two relative strangers when they could so easily let you die, but there was something that made you feel safe and looked after with them.

Technoblade began to softly apply pressure to the area; enough to stop the bleeding, but not so much that it hurts you. For someone with such burly hands, he was extremely gentle with you.

Phil returned, hands full with painkillers, antibiotics, bandages and rubbing alcohol. Sitting on the coffee table, he began to sort what he needed.

With Technoblade by your side and Phil in front of you, you knew everything would be ok. You felt foolish to even think about how you wanted to hide it from them, doing so successfully probably would’ve been the death of you.

“Holy shit,” you gasped.

“What? Are you okay?” Phil asked, worry laced in his tone.

“There is a literal knife in my stomach. Oh my god there is a knife in me right now,” you could almost laugh at the stupidity of the moment, then it really hit you that “oh my god there is a dagger in me please get it out.”

“Alright, I’m going to remove the knife,” Phil said, leaning over you.

“Don’t narrate,” you grumble.

“Whatever you need, Y/N.”

Without further warning, he pulled the dagger out in one swift motion. Bucking your hips forward a harsh whine came from your throat, Technoblade moved to hold you down. One hand on your waist, one on the injury stopping you from bleeding out.

Your breathing was heavy, the blood loss taking its toll.

“I’m going to clean up the blood, you might want to bite down on something,” Phil says, uncorking the rubbing alcohol.

“No,” you whined. “No rubbin’ alc’hol.”

“What? Wh-”

“Don’t question her Techno, if she doesn’t want it then I’ll use water,” Phil murmurs, standing up to grab a glass of water.

“Saline,” you breathed.

“What?”

“Use saline. Salt water, better for wounds,” you groan out of breath.

“I’ve got some in the top left cupboard, middle shelf to the right,” Technoblade guides, still applying pressure on your abdomen.

“Got it.” Phil hustles back over to the pair of you, also holding a towel. “You wanna bite it?”

Grunting in agreement, you open your mouth for Phil to place the towel in, biting down on it, hard. Placing one of your hands on Technoblade’s forearm to squeeze, he lifts his hand off of your stomach so Phil has better access to clean.

Dipping the rag into the jar of saline, he began to slowly clean the blood on the surrounding skin. You had done a decent job of containing it, but it still managed to flow all around your front.

Eyeing Technoblade for the all good, he nodded in return, and Phil started to pour the salty water onto the injured skin.

Bucking your hips up at the sudden burning, moans and groans of your pure pain echoed around the room like a broken cuckoo clock. Tears found their way to sting the corner of your eyes, threatening to fall.

“I know it hurts, but you gotta stay with us here, okay? Stay conscious for me mate,” Phil cooed.

Technoblade was once again in charge of pushing you back onto the couch despite your many attempts to move out the way. You felt bad, because not only was he trying to help by holding you still, but you were squeezing his arm as if it was a tube of toothpaste.

You were scared that you were going to break something in his arm, but considering he was a piglin hybrid, you doubted anything bad would happen. What you were more scared of, was breaking a tooth from how hard you were biting down on the towel.

Another round of saline solution poured into your abdomen to fully clean as much blood and gunk as possible. This one hurt a hell of a lot more. The tears that were threatening to spill had fallen long ago, replaced by many new ones.

Whimpering, you heard someone ask a question, but you couldn’t make out what it was.

You felt a delicate hand reach for and hold your face, rubbing your cheek comfortingly, saying something about “…you’re doing great” and “just… stay conscious”. Smiling softly, you slightly nodded your head, finally letting go of your iron grip on Technoblade’s arm.

The tight hold on your hips was gone, and a gentle hand was applying a smooth liquid onto your stomach. A rather large bandage was placed over it, hiding it from the world.

The exhaustion was starting to catch up to you, your limbs practically going limp.

A tender hand shook your shoulder, and you looked up to see Phil, with a warm smile pressed on his face. You couldn’t fully make out what he said, but you guessed it was something along the lines of “you did great, but you can’t sleep until you’ve taken these painkillers, then I promise you can knock yourself out.”

So you did as you were told. You took the pills with some water and passed out on the couch.

Chapter Text

You had been in quite the restless slumber for who knows how long, the same damn horrific dream on repeat.

Standing in the flower field during the thunderstorm, going up to the tree, climbing the ladder and finding your treehouse completely recked, then turning to see her bleeding out.

You had finally broken out of the nightmarish state, only to wake up and not be able to move. It had happened before, and you had learnt that it was a form of sleep paralysis. The only thing it let you do was listen, which luckily came in handy today.

“I’m worried, Phil. She’s been asleep for 12 hours.”

Oh, twelve hours isn’t to bad.

“She’s breathing, right? She’s okay mate.”

A quiet huff, and silence fell.

You wanted to tell them you were awake, but your whole body was frozen. You couldn’t even open your damn eyes.

“I just… she’s been sleeping a lot, barely eating.”

“Since when did you care? You got a soft spot for her?”

“I don’t, I just don’t want to wake up one morning to a dead girl on my couch.”

Your hearing was starting to waver in and out, blurring their words together.

No, no-no-no-no. please, wake up!

Begging didn’t work, and you fell back into the boring repeated nightmare.

But this one was different…

You were standing in the middle of a flower field during a thunderstorm. Not the smartest idea on your behalf, but you weren’t in control of yourself.

You began to run towards a treehouse on the edge of the paddock, rain drenching you.

Finally making it to the shelter of the tall dark oak tree that held the makeshift treehouse, you hastily climbed up it, calling out a name you hadn’t heard in what could’ve been years.

The wrap-around porch creaked under your weight, the door that led inside already slightly open. The lock looked like it had been broken into, wooden splinters littering the entryway.

Concern filled your heart as you called her name, much softer this time. Pushing open the door with your foot, you were greeted with a torn apart room.

The couch had many rips and tears in it. The table had been flipped onto its side, missing half a leg. The small bookshelf had been pushed over, books surrounding the nearby floor.

This couldn’t have been the work of the wind but of a human.

Small, rapid breathing caught your attention, located behind the door. Immediately turning your attention, you were shocked into silence by the sight.

There she sat, the love of your life drenched in her own blood, drowning in her sorrows.

Niki, impaled by a knife, begging for your help.

But standing over her was Technoblade, soaked in her blood too.

-

Waking with a start, you immediately regretted sitting up, cringing as the pain shooting through your abdomen makes you double over.

“You alright?” a voice sounded from the kitchen.

Taking a deep breath, you thought of the perfect answer.

“Spleen-did.”

“…Did you just-”

“Yes, yes I did just make a pun about me getting stabbed in the spleen even though it was most definitely my abdomen,” you snicker.

“That was really bad,” Technoblade snorts.

“Yeah well, it doesn’t matter because I’m hurt so you have to take pity on me.”

“Right, well Miss Wounded breakfast is ready.”

Smiling, you limped up and off the couch, over to where Technoblade was eating his food.

“How long was I out?”

“About seventeen hours.”

“When did Phil leave?”

“Around hour fourteen.”

Nodding, you turned your attention to the breakfast he made.

“Is toast and potatoes the only thing you know how to cook?” You giggled, sitting across from him.

He hummed, finishing off his plate.

“Well, Technoblade-”

“Techno. Call me Techno.”

“…alright Techno, I need to teach you how to cook.”

He scoffs and walks off and up into his room.

Smiling to yourself, you finish your toast and made your way to the sink to wash your plate.

“Leave it in the sink, I’ll do it later,” Techno called from his room as if he could see you. “Go sit on the couch, I’ll be there in a second to change the bandage.”

Ignoring him, you cleaned your dish anyways, and made your way onto the couch.

A few seconds later, Techno came rushing down the stairs.

“Y/N, go into the basement. In the corner there is a barrel on top of a trap door. Move the barrel and hide in the small hole,” he huffed.

“What?”

“There are people approaching the cabin in what looks like palace uniforms, and I’m assuming they are here for you,” he began to guide you down the stairs, not wanting to ruin the bandages.

Oh shit, oh fuck.

“I’ll deal with you after, just stay hidden until I come get you.”

“Yeah, sure. And Techno!”

“What-” he was cut off by loud knocking on the front door.

“If they get nosy… punch ‘em.”

“Punch ‘em?”

“Politely.”

Smirking slightly, he left your line of vision to answer the front door. You found the wooden barrel in the corner and moved it off of the trap door. It was really light, which was a massive help. Opening the latch, you hopped into the hole.

Once you were in the hole, you realised you wouldn’t be able to move the barrel back on top, so you just had to hope that if they came down here they wouldn’t notice you or the small door.

-

Technoblade opened the front door to reveal four stubby men dressed in matching sea blue uniforms.

“Can I help you?” he asked, keeping the door half-closed.

Clearing his throat, the man standing to the very left began to speak. “We are here on official government business. We are on the search for a known criminal by the name of Y/N. Any idea of who or where she is?” His face was covered in bruises and cuts, the only one in the four in such bad condition.

“No, I’ve never heard of her. What can you tell me about her?” Techno pried, hoping he would finally get some answers.

“Y/N is a murderous vigilante who has committed several sins and needs to be brought to justice. Everything else is private government information,” a second man spoke up.

“Do you have a photo?” Techno asked.

Pulling out a coloured piece of paper, the beaten-up guard showed Techno a photo of the same woman currently hiding in his basement, although you were several years younger.

“Nah, don’t recognised her,” Techno said.

“If you see her, bring her back to Prince George’s castle,” the beaten guard said. “But be careful, she can be dangerous,” pointing to his face, he walked off into the forest, the other three following hot on his tail.

Closing the door, he hurried down into the basement and over to your hidey-hole.

“You can come out, their gone.”

“Thank god, it smells so bad down there,” you sigh, pushing open the dark oak hatch.

Holding out his hand to help you up, Techno assisted you up the stairs and onto the couch. Shuffling off to grab the med kit, you couldn’t help but wonder what had happened.

“What did they want?” you asked, turning to face Techno in the kitchen.

“They were looking for you.”

Shit. How did they find me?

“What did they say about me?” your voice wavered slightly, but you did your best to cover it up.

“They claimed that you were a ‘murderous vigilante who has committed several sins and needs to be brought to justice’, which, no offence, is very hard to believe,” he smiled.

You let out a breath you didn’t even know you had been holding. “A murderous vigilante? Wow, that’s new. How many were there?”

“Four. One of them looked very beaten up,” he smirked, walking back over to you on the couch.

“Ah, you got to see my handy work,” you snickered, showing him your bruised knuckles as if they were a very prestigious work of art. In a way, to you they were.

“Mhm,” he hummed. You pulled your shirt up so he could change the dressing, looking off into the fire. He got to work pulling off the tape that held it down, apologising quietly as it snagged your skin.

It was a peaceful moment, the flames crackling in the background adding to the serenity.

Once he was finished, Technoblade hastily stood up, cough awkwardly and let you know he was going for a walk. Before you had the chance to react, he was already out the front door.

What the hell was that?

-

What the hell was that? The voices screamed at him to go back and apologise, but he refused. He couldn’t afford to get close with someone, especially you.

Techno knew that if you did get close with him, you would either end up betraying him or getting stolen away, and he couldn’t deal with the small amount his heart broke every time it happened.

Go back!...E…blood…kill her…go back rn…blood…

Chapter Text

Night had fallen, and you were sitting on the couch opposite the small dancing fire in the fireplace. The warmth of the open flame filled your soul, a wave of calmness and serenity washing over you. Although no one was talking, the silence was pleasant. You were comfy, the comfiest that you had probably ever been.

Techno was sitting at his desk, polishing his axe. His back was to you, but when he spoke you could hear his words clear as day.

“Have you ever been in love?” Techno asked, his voice low, not wanting to startle you.

You sighed, closing your eyes.

“Bit of a random question, but I have. It’s a long story, and I’m sure you have better things to do,” you mumbled.

“Actually, I don’t. I asked for a reason, and now you are legally obligated to tell me your story,” Techno smiled, turning from his desk to face you.

“Fine, but buckle yourself in, because there isn’t a happy ending in this fairy-tale.”

A sad smile crossed your face as Techno turned his attention back to his already perfectly polished axe.

“Before we start, can I…” you trailed off, unknowingly staring at Techno’s knotted pink plait.

“Sure,” he grunted, lifting himself from his desk and over onto the floor in front of you.

Taking a deep breath, you pulled out the elastic band that held together his hurried braid.

“I was 16 when we first met. We were so young, still just kids. We didn’t know any better. We were so naïve at the time. What we had was… not allowed. Our love was forbidden. She was taken away before I even got the chance to say goodbye.” your eyes were locked on the orange flame that cast a soft glow around the room, delicately undoing his plait.

“…she?” Techno questioned, clearly taken aback.

“Yeah, she. Niki. My first love,” that sad smile was still very prominent on your face.

“What happened?”

“Well to understand the what and the why, you have to understand the how.” Running your hands gently through his hair to untangle any knots, you stopped to take a breath.

This will be a long night.

“We met through her family business. Her parents owned the only bakery in town, so inevitably, being the casual bread enjoyer that I am, I was bound to meet her at some point. She was their main worker, running the cash register and helping the customers when needed.

So, on a random Sunday morning, I went into the store and was greeted by her. Her smile was the brightest I’d ever seen, and I just knew I had to become friends with her. I struck up a conversation with her, and we immediately bonded.

I asked her to hang out after her work, and we did. Every day, for the next year. Every single day after her work, I would meet her outside the shop, and we would go do whatever we wanted.”

Techno stayed silent, his full attention back to you. He kept his head forward, but held a curious expression nonetheless.

“We had been friends for a month when she told me she liked women. At first, I was shocked. In our village, being gay wasn’t allowed. It was frowned upon. I didn’t know what to say, and I was an idiot so I ghosted her for a week, until I came to my senses and realised how much she had to of trusted me to have told me when we were in such a bad environment.

At the time, I didn’t know I was… either, but I caught myself thinking about her more than a friend would.

Two weeks later, she told me. She told me she had a crush on me, and it was fine if I didn’t feel this same.

So, I did what any sane person would do if a pretty girl told you that she liked you: I kissed her.”

A soft chuckle escaped your lips, still holding your gaze on the fire. Techno had held his there too, intently listening to your tale. By now you had gotten the majority of the knots out of his hair, and you were just trailing your fingers through his soft pink locks.

“We didn’t know what to do from there. We were obviously more than friends, but not exactly girlfriends? I began to question my sexuality, and I knew that I liked her.

Four months after we met, she asked me to be her girlfriend. Of course, I accepted, and that’s what we were. But no one knew. No one could ever know, or they would’ve split us up.

We even built a little treehouse in this beautiful dark oak tree that overlooked a flower field, right on the edge of town.

We spent most of our time there, talking and doing… other things,” you laughed fondly to yourself at the bittersweet recollections.

“But every story has some sort of fault. For us, it was that we were foolish. We were sloppy. You name it, and we were probably it. We weren’t exactly discreet about our relationship. But could you blame us? We were young and in love, of course we wanted to show it off.

Nine months in, she told her family. They were surprisingly accepting, which was a nice break from the harsh reality. Because of how cool her family were about it, I worked up the nerve to tell my parents.”

The smile on your face faltered at the thought, but you continued nonetheless.

“I told them that I liked both men and women first, just to test the waters. They weren’t exactly overjoyed, but still promised that they loved me. I couldn’t tell them about Niki just yet, she would have to wait.

Three more months of sneaking behind my parents’ and the towns’ backs, I finally got the courage to tell them. And I did.

I’ll never forget the look on my father’s face when I said I had a girlfriend,” you scoffed, disgust littering your features.

“He and my mother were eating at the time, and he threw his plate right at my head. That’s how I got this scar, actually,” a faint trace of a smile found your lips, pointing to a faded mark on your forehead.

“I ran out of my house and to our treehouse, hoping she was there. Unfortunately, she was. Little did I know, my father had a few guys follow me.

They jumped us when we were going home. They beat us to a pulp, threatening her and her family if they didn’t leave.”

Your eyes were glassy, still focused on the fireplace, your gaze never wavering. Unconsciously, you had re-braided Techno’s hair and were beginning to undo it again.

“According to my parents, she was ‘a bad influence on me’, and ‘gave me the wrong ideas’.

The day after, she was gone. I didn’t have any way of contacting her to make sure she was okay.

I was devastated. It only took a week of my mother’s constant nagging for me to run away, in an attempt to find her and redeem myself, but I never did find her.

So yeah, now you know my tragic love story about Niki Nihachu.”

Wiping away the few tears that’d slipped out, you finally pulled your stare up to meet Techno’s already looking back up at you.

“Wait, Nihachu was your first love? As in pink hair, pale skin Nihachu?”

“Yeah that’s the one, do you know her?” you asked, eyes glinting in hope.

“I… used to. Not anymore.” He looked away, turning back to the dancing flames.

“Ah, unfortunate timing on my behalf,” you smile, leaning forward on the couch, letting go of his hair. Your elbows sat on your knees, your chin resting in your palms.

“What about you? you ever been in love?” you asked, tilting your head to face his back.

He stiffened for a second, then relaxed. “No,” he grunted, not taking his focus of the fire.

“Come on, you gotta give me more than that. I just told you a very personal story. Have you ever had a crush? Surely you’re not completely heartless,” you joked.

“I never gave myself time for love or silly little crushes. I can’t afford to get close with anyone in that way,” he explained, roughly standing up.

“Oh well, you’re missing out, big time. Women, or men, are awesome,” you smile to yourself.

“Yeah, sure. I’m going to bed, and you should too. Goodnight.” He gathered his belongings and shuffled off into his bedroom.

“Goodnight, Technoblade.”

Chapter Text

“Why didn’t you want Phil to use rubbing alcohol on your abdomen?” Techno asked, already checking it out to make sure there wasn’t any sign of infection.

“Because if you put rubbing alcohol on an open wound, it can cause tissue damage and even slow the healing process. Saline is a much safer and healthier option,” you stated matter of factly.

“Ah, good to know.”

Gently pressing down on the dressage tape, he got off from the couch and shuffled into the kitchen. Digging through one of his shelves, he pulled out two bottles.

“Should I throw it away?”

“Of course! What is this, a madhouse? Get rid of that vile liquid immediately!” you laughed, a poor British accent excusing your dramatics.

“Good heavens, how silly of me!” he snickered, joining you with an equally as bad accent.

Smiling, he returned by your side on the couch, holding out the other bottle to you.

“Drink up, it should finish healing your puncture.”

Uncorking the plum purple potion, you drank it all in one go, feeling the effects almost immediately.

Mumbling a quiet thank you, you relaxed against the back of the couch.

The pair of you fell into a comfortable silence, the only sound being the soft crackling of the fire that seemed to never go out.

“You’re not busy, are you?” you asked, thinking out loud.

“Right now? No, I couldn’t say that I am.”

“Can I teach you how to cook?” you grinned, looking over at him.

“Depends, what are we making?” he smirked, also turning to look your way. You noticed a small dimple in his left cheek that you had never seen before, at least not consciously.

“Depends, what do you have?”

“Not much, but I could go into the village.”

“Sure, but I’m coming with you.”

Techno knew there was no point in arguing, he had come to learn that you were very stubborn when you wanted something.

Helping yourself off the couch, you walked over to the chair that was holding both your new sweater and your cloak. Pulling them both tightly around you so you wouldn’t get hypothermia from the walk there alone, you went to the front door and grabbed your boots. Techno followed closely behind, grabbing his own and sitting next to you on the couch.

Once you were both fully prepared, you left the cabin, you heading for the forest, Techno heading for his stable.

“D’you think we were walking?” he snorted, his tall figure walking further away.

“Not going to lie, I forgot about Carl,” you smiled to yourself, trudging over to Techno and his horse.

Carl seemed more than overjoyed to be going out for a ride, cantering over to the pair of you.

Techno offered his hand to you first, telling you to hop on the front of the saddle.  Once you had gotten comfortable he jumped up behind you, reaching in front of you to grab the reigns.

Ignoring the slight tingle in the bottom of your stomach that you felt when Techno’s arms were secured around you so you wouldn’t fall, you began your journey to the village.

It took less than ten minutes to get there, both of you staying silent the entire time. You didn’t mind, as you were too busy admiring the passing beauty of nature, Techno quietly and discreetly admiring you.

Sliding off of Carl’s back once he was securely in the village’s community paddock, you set off towards the bright group of shops.

“So, you decided what we are making?” Techno asked, slowing down as to not walk faster than you, considering he had much longer legs than you.

“I thought we could make a cake. It’s fairly simple, you should be able to grasp the concept easily,” you teased, increasing your pace.

Rolling his eyes playfully, he directed you towards the bakery that doubled as a food supplier.

You were happy that with all the potions and bed rest that Techno made you do that your leg and shoulder didn’t hurt in the slightest. Your abdomen however was aching partially, but you didn’t bother saying anything so you wouldn’t worry Techno.

Buying all of the necessary ingredients, you made shopping in the village quick work.

Walking back over to Carl, you holding the lighter bag because Techno insisted not to hurt your shoulder even though you knew he just wanted to look strong.

You wanted to make conversation, but had no idea was to talk about.

Once again holding his hand out to assist you onto the leather saddle, you got on the horse’s back first, Techno sliding in behind you.

The ride back was also quiet, you holding both bags in front of you, Techno holding the reigns.

Sliding back off the horse, Techno grabbed the bags from your hands and walked back off to his cabin. You made sure to give Carl many loving pets, even sneaking him a carrot to get on his good side before hearing Techno yell from inside to “hurry up and get in here or else I’ll make it myself.”

Jogging back over to the house, you walked inside to be greeted with a nice wave of warmth washing over your body. Stripping yourself of your cloak and boots, you met Techno in the kitchen unbagging the ingredients.

Rolling up your sleeves, you made Techno wash his hands along with yours.

“Got any fun conversation topics we could talk about whilst we make a kick-ass cake?” you asked, grabbing a bowl out from a cupboard.

“Not much of a conversationalist myself, but I do have one thing I have been waiting to ask you about,” he says, passing you the wheat.

Setting it aside and placing some coal in the furnace, you search the bench to grab the milk. “Shoot.”

“What are your thoughts on Governments?”

“My thoughts on Governments? that’s a loaded question,” you smile, placing the milk and an egg on the table.

He had already put the sugar next to the bowl and was sitting at the table, watching you mix all of the ingredients together.

“I must say I’m not a big fan of the social patriarchy nor the treatment of the LGBT+ community,” you sigh, putting the cake batter into the furnace and taking a seat across from Techno.

“So would you say you’re an anarchist?” he implies.

“I’m not one for labels, but yes, I guess you could say that.”

“Good to see we are in agreement about that.”

“You’re an anarchist?” you ask, your interest piquing.

He hums, looking away and into the fire. You hold your gaze on his face, intently studying his features. You loved how the little tusks slightly overlapped his lips, leaving faint marks behind. You loved how he managed to make his vermillion eyes hold so much character yet be completely void of emotion.

“Tell me more about yourself,” you murmur, sincerity clear in your tone.

“You already know the important stuff.”

“All I know is your name, that you’re a piglin hybrid, and that you are an anarchist,” you tilt your head slightly, willing him to look at you. “Also that you don’t know rubbing alcohol is bad for open wounds, and that potatoes and bread are all you can cook.”

“Like I said,” he turns to face you, a small smile tugging at his lips, “the important stuff.”

A soft ding indicated that the cake was cooked. Pulling it out of the furnace, you set it on the counter to cool for a bit.

Turning back to face Techno, you were met with his gaze already looking at you. He stiffened at the sudden eye contact, like a deer in headlights. You pretended like you didn’t notice it, but he wasn’t exactly subtle.

“I have voices,” he stuttered. It took both of you a second to realise what he had said.

“What? What do you mean voices?” you asked. You realised your tone sounded a bit condescending, but you hope he hadn’t noticed.

Coughing awkwardly, he stood up from his chair and grabbed his cloak, excusing himself and saying he was going for a walk.

What the hell?

He had done it again. You hoped that it wasn’t your fault that he had left, but some part of you wanted to feel guilty and take the blame.

I haven’t even done anything wrong, why would he leave because of me?

Chapter Text

Technoblade hadn’t said one full word to you since yesterday’s whole I have voices incident, which was twenty-two odd hours ago. So, waking up to a completely quiet house wasn’t the biggest shock.

You noticed within the first three hours that’s his only replies were grunts or half-assed words. You bugged him about it for the next hour, and he made it blatantly obvious he didn’t want to talk to you.

Why? You had absolutely no idea.

By the end of hour four, you had completely given up on trying to get him to have a proper conversation. You held your tongue as well, the cabin being completely quiet for 18 straight hours.

The last thing you had said to him was that “once he was ready to stop acting like a fucking child and have a conversation, I’ll be in the basement.” You had spent the majority of your day down there, and he didn’t come down once.

You felt kind of bad for snapping at him like that, but he had been really odd with you lately. Either this is what he did when he got to know people better, or he held a massive grudge against you for no reason, you had no idea.

But he wasn’t like this with Phil?

The comfort of the couch was more than enough to lull you back to a soundless sleep, but you had noticed something felt off.

There wasn’t a flame dancing in the fireplace.

…what?

Technoblade had lit the fire every morning you had stayed (with the exception of one or two mornings seeing as you did it yourself), so why hadn’t he done so today?

Pushing yourself away from the warmth of your new bed, you looked around the room, and was met with no movement except your own.

Maybe he’s still sleeping?

You hadn’t been up the ladder and into his room, you knew it to be an unspoken rule that you can’t go in there. You didn’t exactly want to go yelling his name, either.

So you started a fire, made some breakfast and changed into more appropriate clothes, all the while waiting for him to emerge from his room.

An hour passed, then two. He was still in his room, doing God knows what. Still not wanting to bother him, you went outside and sat on the front porch for a while, admiring the snowy tundra surrounding you.

Another hour wasted away, and still no sign.

It was way past midday, where the hell was he?

After debating yourself for a few long minutes, you decide that now seemed like an appropriate time to go into his room.

Climbing the sturdy oak ladder, you knocked lightly on the trap door above you that hid his room from society.

“Technoblade?”

Silence.

“I made breakfast, it’s definitely cold but it’s still there for you.”

More silence.

Pushing open the hatch, you were expecting to be told to get out, or to fuck off, but no such thing.

The room was completely empty, no sign of life whatsoever.

What the hell?

Jumping back down the ladder, you called for him down in the basement.

Still, dead silence.

You were sure he wasn’t outside, so where the fuck was he?

-

Three days.

No sign of him for three days.

No note, no letter, no proof he hadn’t been kidnapped and left of his own volition.

You had been surviving off of small rations of potatoes and bread.

You spent the entirety of yesterday in the village, a weak attempt to locate his whereabouts, yet you still came back empty-handed.

You were thinking about going back today and trading for more food. There was no point going back there just to look for him, so you may as well benefit from it.

You had begun to worry for his safety. Maybe he was dead? Or possibly seriously injured? Only time would tell.

-

Five fucking days.

It’s been five fucking days.

Five whole days since you last saw Technoblade, six since you last spoke.

Would’ve been nice if the fucker left some food behind before he abandoned you, but no, God forbid.

The bandages on both your stomach and shoulder had gone untouched. Not that they were necessary anyway, he had made sure to heal them then ditch you.

His horse had been left behind and neglected for the most part; you only went out into the snow when needed, which was really only to feed and nurture Carl.

At this point you were convinced he was dead, which you wouldn’t be completely mad about. It would just be having to tell Phil that would make you feel bad.

You were going to go into the village again today, but you realised there was no point. You had little to no energy and spent the majority of the snowy day curled up on the couch.

You hadn’t eaten in over 24 hours, and every time you attempted to sleep you had that same stupid nightmare you’ve had every night since you were sixteen. But anytime you did pass out from exhaustion and starvation, the vividness of the dream would increase.

You were on the verge of passing out, lying flat on the couch and staring holes at the ceiling. You were bored out of your mind. You had already read all of the books you found appealing in the basement, you had cleaned all the dishes, tidied the living area, and even chopped more wood.

Your stomach began to scream for attention, gurgling and popping. Groaning, you got off the comfort of the couch and walked into the makeshift kitchen.

The only food left was a remaining chunk of bread. Breaking off small bits so as not to overwhelm yourself and throw it all up, you sat back down, a little energy returning.

Fitting the last piece into your mouth, the front door clicked open to reveal a hunched, hooded figure.

“Well well well, look what the cat dragged in,” you scoffed, “long time no see.”

Unclasping the boar-ish skull mask off of his face and placing it onto his desk, Techno made his way into the kitchen.

How did I never notice that mask?

“So you’re just going to ignore me forever? Not complaining, just curious,” you jeered.

He paused his search around the kitchen, not making eye contact. “You ate all my food.”

Gasping dramatically, you put a hand to your forehead as if you were a damsel in distress. “He speaks! Oh what a miracle it is to have you back Mr. Blade!” sarcasm oozed through your tone, lying back onto the couch.

He huffed, repeating his statement as monotonous as ever. “You ate all my food.”

“You abandoned me.” The comedy of the situation flew out the window, your voice as cold as ever.

Remaining silent, Techno strode over and up to his room.

Although you couldn’t see him, you knew there was a debate going on behind his eyes, whether he had a say in it or not.

He stayed hidden away for a solid five minutes, before he came back down, huffing his way around the house.

Curiosity on what was so important that he had to leave and not return for five days got the best of you. “Where were you?”

“The village,” he mumbled.

“The village?” you repeated.

“mmhm.”

“Right, well that answers all my questions, thank you so much.”

Shuffling around the living area, he picked up some logs to do God knows what with them.

“Did I do something?” you asked, your voice wavering in the slightest.

Remaining quiet, Techno didn’t even bat an eyelid.

“I’m going to leave.”

That finally caught his attention, freezing where he was working.

“…what?”

“You heard me. I’m leaving. As in walking away and never returning. Most likely to die out in the freezing winter,” you mocked, a fake smile plastered onto your face.

“You’re not fully healed.”

“How the hell would you know? You haven’t been here for five fucking days.”

Holding his silence, he slowly began to get back to what he was doing.

“That’s what I fucking thought,” you breathed, more to yourself than him.

Moving to pick up your belongings, you grabbed your cloak and bag out of a nearby chest. You didn’t care that you were running on less than an hour sleep, you needed to get the fuck out of this hell hole.

Securing the straps onto your shoulders, you took one final look at Techno.

“Thank you for saving my life,” you smiled, partially sincerely.

Grabbing the front door, you twisted the knob open, only to reveal two people already standing on the front porch, one with his hand raised to knock on the door.

“This a bad time?”

Chapter Text

Phil had mentioned before that he had three sons, and that one of them would be visiting soon, the other two… much less chance of getting to meet him.

He had told you bits and pieces about Tommy, like how he was the youngest, and undoubtedly the loudest.

He told you about how Tommy basically started a few wars over a few meek discs but insisted that said discs had a much deeper connection to him.

He told you that he and Tommy were knees deep in a questionably bad situation, and needed Techno to… lend them a hand, and they needed his help badly.

They had come over to spend the night saying they were there to visit, but in reality, you all knew that they just needed to speak to Techno and hopefully get him to agree to help.

Alone.

The four of you were sitting around the small coffee table, Phil and Tommy on the couch, Techno on a chest opposite them, and you on the floor beside him.

The conversation was light like the snow falling outside the window, about something you weren’t really paying attention to.

Your primary focus was on the two opposite you.

You didn’t know Tommy. You only just met him mere hours ago, so you didn’t expect him to talk to you much.

But Phil? He was one of two of your only friends here, and he had barely talked to you. He brushed you off. He ignored you.

Techno cleared his throat to get the attention of the room and asked the question that had been begging to be answered.

“It’s come to my attention that you guys want something from me, right? Why else would you be here? You have been pacing all day Phil,” Techno yawned, clearly already bored of the conversation.

“We… are kind of in a bad spot, and we need you to help us out. We, uh, kinda…” Tommy trailed off, sending you a few quick, definitely not subtle, glances.

Within seconds it was obvious none of them wanted you to be a part of the oncoming conversation.

“What, you want me to leave, but you’re too pussy to say so? Fine, how ‘bout I make this easier for you?” you snapped, standing up and grabbing your cloak off of the back of the couch, heading towards the front door.

“Y/N wait-” Phil started but was cut off by the loud bang of the front door slamming behind you.

Oh, you were mad.

You were so mad.

First, Technoblade ignores you for just under a day. Then, he abandons you for just under a week. And now, they don’t even want you around? He was going to leave you behind yet again?

You were seething, pacing over to the horses, kicking the snow as you went when an idea came into your head.

He wants to treat me like some disposable toy? Let’s see how that goes for him.

-

“Techno, you don’t even have to talk. We just need you to stand behind us, and just.. ya know… intimidate them, so they will give us what we need.” Tommy’s shrill voice reasoned.

“It won’t take 10 minutes. Please mate, I promise this will be the last time.” Phil smiled.

At first Technoblade refused, saying he left the violence and bloodshed in the past. He couldn’t risk letting the voice take over him again, he didn’t want to wake up and have to deal with the consequences.

But the pair were very persuasive together, and Techno eventually caved and agreed, setting off to get his things ready.

Techno walked outside and over to his horse, pulling out its armour.

It had been half an hour since you stormed out. You had found an ender chest and grabbed the best armour you had out, and your favourite enchanted axe.

You waited by the door for Phil and Tommy to join you outside, hoping that they would reason with you and just comply.

Attempting to keep your aggravation at bay, you took a deep breath and began to talk once Tommy closed the front door behind him.

“Phil, let me come with you. I’m sure you could use another pair of hands, right? I can be very aggressive and scary when I wan-”

“Y/N, stop. You can’t come with us. Techno’s orders. I’m sorry,” Phil pushed past you, walking over to Techno and his horse, pulling Tommy along behind him.

Anger boiled in your blood, rage swirling in your stomach. You were already pissed off for being left out of the meeting, so this just tipped you over the edge.

You ran up to Techno, both of you decked out in your dazzling netherite armour, and pushed him in the back, hard.

“Techno’s orders?! Techno’s fucking orders?!? ” You screamed, your patience on very thin ice. “I’m not a fucking child! I can make my decisions for myself, Techno! Why won’t you let me come? I can handle myself Techno! You’ve seen the situation I’ve survived, I’m a fucking god!”

“No. You’re not going.” He growled in response, keep his back facing you.

You scoffed, turning away from him.

What he was least expecting, was a loud swoosh and the feeling of being pushed in the back.

You had swung your axe into his chest plate.

You ripped it out of his back and stood a couple of feet back in a battle stance.

He turned around to fully face you, “I’m not going to fight you over this.”

“Fight me Technoblade,” you growled, force evident in your tone.

You showed no sign of standing down, so he got his axe and wielded it in front of his eyes.

“Don’t make me hurt you,” he pleaded.

“Then let me come with you,” you spat.

He took a deep breath and bowed, and it began.

You made the first offensive move, moving to the left to try and hit his side, failing miserably.

Your axe swung and missed, giving Techno the chance to sweep out your legs from underneath you.

You landed hard on your tailbone, the cold white powder beneath you acting as a small pillow, slightly cushioning your fall.

You quickly somersaulted backwards and onto your feet, squaring up again.

The tension in the air was so thick, you could cut it with a knife.

Phil and Tommy just stood off to the side, knowing that you were both very stubborn and that neither of you would give up, and that this would end very poorly.

This time Techno made the first move, swinging for your legs, but you jumped just in time to avoid them.

You managed to land a hard punch on his face, which only pissed him off more.

You dug your feet into the ground as you landed and swung your axe into his back. You had done it so hard, that your axe got lodged into the chest plate again, the force of the hit throwing you off of your feet.

You lay on the ground face down, weaponless, and albeit, a bit winded. Frost bit at your body as you attempted to push yourself back up.

Pulling the axe out of his back and throwing it just out of your reach, Techno took this as an opportunity to step on your spine, not hesitating to use his full body weight.

You gasped, not expecting the sudden weight gain, chest becoming too tight to get air.

Your whole front was being held onto the snow, frost soaking through your armour and into your clothes.

He was suffocating you.

“‘M… sorry!” You sputtered, barely taking in any oxygen.

Tears pricked the corner of your eyes, begging to escape.

Your chest ached for air, heaving in what little supply it was getting.

He didn’t take his foot off, just stood still.

He wanted you to hate him.

He wanted you to despise him. To think that he was a monster, an asshole, so you would leave, and he wouldn’t have to deal with the constant conflict in his head.

He wanted you to be mad at him. To fucking hate him to the core, so he wouldn’t have to deal with all the new emotions and feelings you made him experience.

 Phil and Tommy began to worry, considering interfering if things somehow got even worse.

You wanted to reason with him. To apologise. To say that you were sorry. Anything for him to just let you breathe.

Hot tears rolled down your face, leaving a slight burning sensation on your freezing face.

“Stay down,” a faint voice growled in your ear.

You were on the verge of blacking out from the lack of oxygen when the weight finally left your back.

You coughed and gasped for sweet, precious air as he just walked away, back over to his horse.

Phil and Tommy knew to follow him, or they would be left behind. Sorrow and anger swirled in the air as they walked away from your shaking form struggling to breathe.

Techno knew in the back of his mind that this was your last straw. You were going to be gone by the time they were back. You had told him that you were going to leave anyway, so this most definitely was your final reason. You would be nowhere to find, all evidence of your existence wiped from his house.

The voices in his mind were on a high, loving everything that had happened. They screamed at him to apologise, to kill, to apologise then kill, but he just blocked them out.

At least when you would be gone, he wouldn’t have to deal with whatever he was feeling for you.

So there you were, left all alone, freezing, crying and heaving in the middle of Technoblade’s front yard, saturated, hurt and angered.

Goodbye, Technoblade.

It was nice while it lasted.

Chapter Text

You don’t think you had ever been so mad in your life.

Your chest ached at the fact that he despised you.

He wanted you to hate him too, and you knew it.

What hurt the most wasn’t the fact that he had done all this to you, but that fact that you wanted to forgive him. You would’ve given the world just to spend one last normal hour with him, but you knew it was stupid.

You’d only known the hybrid for less than a month, why were you so drawn to him?

You lay on the ground for what felt like hours, your body in a state of constant shaking, partly from the cold nipping at your skin, partly the tears and sobs that’s racked your body.

Your hair, face and clothes were saturated by both your tears and the snow that had been melted from your withering body heat. When that slight breeze kicked in, you realised how cold you really were.

You finally stopped crying, or at least the dry whimpers that left your throat, and pushed yourself off of the frozen dirt. Your whole body yearned to lie back down and pass out, but you knew you couldn’t.

This was your chance for payback.

Taking a few deep breaths, you got fully to your feet, grabbing your axe that Techno had kindly discarded in the snow and made your way back into his cabin.

Before doing anything else, you decided it would be the best idea for you to either dry off or change clothes. So, grabbing a nice set of woollen pants, shirt and a fleece sweater that had been sitting in front of the fire, you headed into the bathroom and hastily got changed.

Throwing your wet clothes by the open fire to dry, you grabbed your backpack off of the living room floor, beginning to harshly stuff it with the necessary things needed for your survival. Food, extra clothes, medical supplies and a few spare tools filled your bag, seeing as you were already wearing your best armour and holding your favourite axe.

Anything that was yours was now gone, hidden away in your backpack or on your person. The clothes that were drying by the shrinking flame were Technoblade’s, so you decided to leave them there for him when he got back.

Tears still streamed down your face, but you paid no mind to them. These weren’t tears of hurt or sadness, no, they were tears of anger and resentment.

Clasping the ruby red cloak around your neck, you stood in the living area overlooking all of Techno’s tidily placed belongings.

Not for long, you thought.

You put your bag and axe down next to the front door and walked over and up the ladder leading to his bedroom.

Pushing open the trap door, you walked around his room, stopping at his desk.

You scoffed at how neatly everything was arranged, ghosting your fingers over his ink and paper.

Should I write him a note?

No, what am I, crazy? After the way he nearly killed me, he doesn’t deserve anything from me.

Without a second thought, you threw all of his stuff off of the desk and right onto the floor.

You kicked the table, the leg-breaking under the pressure hit.

Exasperation ran rampant throughout your veins, hurt powering you to ruin his home.

You walked over to his bedside table and pushed it to the ground.

You threw his pillows and blankets off the bed.

You grabbed anything you could and hurled it to the other side of the room, not stopping until you were satisfied that everything was out of its original place.

Making your way back down the ladder, you pushed over his kitchen table on the way out, just for good measure. You didn’t bother closing the door either, hoping that the cold would be another way to show him that he would be missing your warmth.

Checking one last time that there were zero traces of your stay, you stood on the porch. A small part of you begged you not to leave, knowing you were going to miss its welcoming arms, and the owner. But you suppressed that stupid voice. There’s no chance I’m staying, not after the way they- he treated me.

With your bag on your shoulder, your cloak on your back and your axe in your hand, you set off to the village, trying to hide your footprints behind you, but soon realising that nobody would come looking for you, so you stopped. A light breeze and snowfall began to cover you and your tracks anyway, so all would be well in the end.

Tears still burnt lines down your face, but at this point, you didn’t even realise that they were there.

You walked in the direction you hoped the village to be, wanting to do a bit of trading, then hopefully set off to find a new area to build and live out the rest of your life.

But the harsh reality was that you could run all you wanted, but the past would always catch up to you. Always.

And you knew that better than anyone, in fact that being the whole reason you got stuck with these people in the first place.

After treading through the thick new layer of snow for over half an hour, the soft glow and light buzz of the villagers could be heard over the whistling of the wind in your ears.

You didn’t know any of the locals, so you just had to hope that they would be kind enough to you with the little emeralds you had, so you could at least survive the next couple of days.

Stepping foot inside the small town you spotted multiple shops, all lit up and open for business, ready to make your acquaintance.

This will be fun.

-

Techno, Tommy and Phil had made it to their meet up location.

The whole way there, Techno was dead silent, the same clouded neutral expression never leaving his face.

His eyes were glossed over, his posture straighter than usual, his axe at the ready for any potential threat.

For once in his life, he willingly let the voices control his body.

Techno’s mind was way over a million miles away. He was thinking about how he hurt you, and how much you probably hated him right now. He doesn’t blame you; he did almost kill you.

But that’s what he wanted. If he knew that you loathed him, it would be easier for him to push you away and not have to think about how much he wanted to be around you.

To talk to you. To be with you. To hold you.

He knew that when he started to ignore you that it would hurt you, but as long as you didn’t end up dead because of him he would let it slip.

Tommy and Phil were beyond worried for the hybrid. They knew he cared more about you than he would let on, and with the whole situation that just happened? There was definitely something deeper going on there that the duo weren’t aware of.

But for now, that worry would have to wait. They had been itching to get this issue off their backs for a while now, so they had come fully prepared to shut down their opposition.

Techno stood a step back from them wielding his axe at his chest, his threatening and intimidating aura radiating around the room.

His mind slowly began to return to his body, but still not fully in control. He had made a mistake letting the voices in, knowing full well they weren’t leaving until they got what they wanted: blood.

The negotiation was already beginning to go sideways, Phil at one point having to stop Tommy from screaming at their adversaries.

Techno could tell that if things started to spiral anymore, the voices would start killing, and he would have no choice but to sit back, watch and pray that they didn’t get him into too much trouble.

“Look, mate, that’s our final offer. You’re going to have to take it or leave it,” Phil huffed, crossing his arms over his chest.

“I’m gonna have to leave it. It’s not what I asked for, and you know it,” the masked man said, pushing himself to stand up.

“Well, you’re not exactly in an ideal position to turn us down here buddy, so if I were you, I’d take the damn deal and get the hell out of here.” Tommy threatened, puffing out his chest defiantly.

“I guess you didn’t hear me correctly then. What I said was it’s not what I asked for, so I decline your off-” the masked man was cut off by an axe being thrown past his head, right into his wingman’s skull.

“Techno don’t do this,” Phil warned, putting a hand out onto the piglin’s chest in a weak attempt to steady him. To stop him from the potential harm he could cause.

But Technoblade wasn’t in control. The voices were. And they demanded blood.

Chapter Text

Time felt awfully different today. You couldn’t tell if you had been in the village for 10 minutes, or way over an hour. Maybe it was closer to half a day?

No, it couldn’t have been more than an hour. Otherwise it would be dark by now, right?

Techno, Phil and Tommy left a few hours past midday, and you left his about an hour after, plus the extra 45-ish minutes to get here. Your guess was as good as anyone else’s.

You could’ve sworn the village was a different length away every time you came, but it may have just been your crappy memory.

So far you had traded a few emeralds for fresh bread, carrots, multiple golden apples and a few different health and strength potions.

You had been extremely lucky with the few villagers that you bargained with. Either they were feeling really nice today or they were just cheap people, you would never know. Or care, for that matter.

One guy even gave you a potion of swiftness, two of healing, and regeneration for only 2 emeralds. Now you weren’t the biggest fan of trading, considering you would much rather make your own potions so you know they were safe, but you were well aware when you got a bargain deal.

Now that you think about it, maybe the potions were a bit sketchy. Why were they so cheap? There’s got to be something wrong with them.

You turned to ask the guy you had just purchased them off but he had disappeared, nowhere to be seen.

Huh. I’m just going to have to trust that these aren’t faulty and most likely going to kill me instead of doing their intended purpose.

You had gotten everything you needed for your tedious journey but were slightly delayed by a small snowstorm. The chalky white powder covered the ground and made its way up your shins to your knees.

The woman who ran the town bakery was kind enough to let you seek shelter in her shop until the light snowfall passed, which it did in just shy of an hour.

You thanked her for her selfless hospitality and set off on your trip to who-knows-where. You thought that you may as well just start walking in a random direction and hope it would lead somewhere nice.

You were barely a few metres out of the store when you heard frantic, almost indistinguishable yelling coming from the forest. The voice sounded faintly familiar, but no, surely not, it can’t be-

“Y/N!! Y/N PLEASE TELL ME YOU’RE HERE!!”

At the sound of your name being called you froze where you were standing, your cloak swaying in the slight breeze.

A blonde-hair blue-eyed kid came bursting through the tree line into the village, immediately causing a ruckus amongst the locals. He looked like a mess, covered in dirt, snow and… blood?

No, you’re jumping to conclusions, Y/N. It could be a trick of the light, and just be mud?

Turning your body away from him, you began to walk away as stealthily as possible without being spot- oh no.

No, no-no-no. I just got rid of you people!

“Y/N! PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD BE HERE- oh my god Y/N! You have no idea how happy I am to see you!” Tommy came bolting over to you, roughly wrapping his thin frame around your body, practically tackling you.

“Tommy, get off of me. Let me go, I’m leaving. Plus you smell like shit,” you pushed him off of you, pulling the hood of your cloak up and over your head. But before you could fully hide your identity from the world he grabbed your hand in protest, stopping you from leaving.

It took a second of staring at him to register that he was actually covered in blood, but he seemed to be injury-free, so it mustn’t his own.

If it’s not his, who’s is it?

“Y/N, please, you have to help us- help him. He’s hurt and bleeding out. Phil sent me to come get you but you weren’t at the cabin and I began to freak out and ran here as fast as I could but I-” his frantic stature leaned over you, quietly begging for your cooperation.

“Tommy stop. I swear to the gods above, get your dirty hands off of me- look kid, I don’t care anymore, I’m leaving,” you ripped his hand off your forearm, and began to walk back over to the opposite way he had just run from.

“No, Y/N, please! You can’t go, he-he’s going to die! Please, Phil can’t do anything he’s too freaked out and I-I wouldn’t know what I’m doing even if I wasn’t under this much pressure, you’re our only chance. Please. Please don’t go,” Tommy pleaded, trailing behind you like a wounded puppy.

You stopped and turned to face him.

“…He…he’s going to die? We are talking about Technoblade, right?”

I mean, you were mad at him, but you didn’t want him to die… right? It seems a little bit extreme.

“Yes! He can’t die, Y/N. Technoblade never dies! He- he got in a fight, a-and the voices were in control, we couldn’t do anything. He got injured an-and it’s bad, Y/N. please you have to h-help us,” Tommy whined, virtually on his knees, weak from exhaustion.

Although you had known him for just shy of a day, you knew Tommy was the confident type – the type who don’t stutter. Ever. So when he started messing up his words, you knew something had to have been seriously bad.

His hysterical expression was more than enough to pull at your heartstrings – you could tell from that alone he was completely overwhelmed.

Taking a deep breath, you started to speak, “What happened? There probably isn’t much I can do anyway-”

“There isn’t much time to explain – I promise Phil and I will when we get there, just- please, put everything that happened aside, and help? If he lives, then I promise you can leave, but please, he needs you.” Tommy’s tone was frantic, pleading. He was distraught.

He grabbed your arm in a final attempt of persuasion, tugging slightly at your sleeve.

How could turn down a poor, young boy who just wanted to help his family?

“Fine, but I swear if anything-” Tommy cut you off by yanking your arm forward, sprinting back the way he just came.

“There’s no time – just follow me and keep up,” he yelled from behind his shoulder, keeping hold of his tight grip on your wrist.

You ran behind him, keeping a fast but steady pace, hoping you would conserve the needed energy.

“WAIT-” you abruptly stopped and dug through your bag, searching for something you were sure was in there. It had to be.

“Y/N, we are running out of time, let’s go-”

“For once in your life, shut up and trust me. AHAH!”

You pulled out a potion of swiftness and shattered to bottle on both of your feet.

Pulling you forward yet again, he returned to the route you were taking, but this time the pair of you were a hell of a lot quicker.

You made it back to Technoblade’s house in no time, but he and Phil were nowhere in sight.

The sun had begun its journey downwards, the sky a pretty orange, which you would’ve loved to enjoy if you weren’t in the situation you were in.

“PHIL? PHILLLL?? WHERE ARE YOU?” Tommy began to yell at the top of his lungs, his voice cracking with exhaustion.

You wanted to join in, to get this over with.

“PHILLLL?”

“PHILZA FUCKIN’ MINECRAFT?”

“PHILLL! TECHNOBLADE!” Your voice was hoarse from both the crying and screaming, your throat aching for a lozenge or some water.

“PHILL-”

Tommy’s yells were cut off by loud swooshing right above your heads; Phil had been flying around in search of your duo.

He landed, and immediately picked the pair of you up without a word, and flew off, presumably back to wherever Technoblade was most likely bleeding out.

After flying for what could’ve been less than a minute, you landed in front of a clearing, which you were sure would’ve been gorgeous if it wasn’t blanketed in both blood and darkness.

Techno had been propped up against a tree near a cave, blood pooling around his body. His axe and other important belongings had been discarded, tossed to the side.

You could tell from afar he was in a terrible condition, but up close? He was as pale as the snow, his skin cold to touch.

His breathing was shallow, chest hardly moving.

You had never seen him so weak, so vulnerable.

This is going to be a hell of a long night, Technoblade.

Chapter Text

Your hands were beginning to shake, along with your whole body, at the sight of Technoblade’s dying form. You knew you had to take charge here, or there would be a dead hybrid on your hands.

“Alright Tommy, go get some wood and start a fire, and make it big,” you stressed, turning to watch him run into the forest.

You wanted to keep him distracted from the horrific sight in front of you. After all, he was still just a kid who didn’t deserve to go through such trauma. You could argue the same for Phil, and maybe even Techno.

“Phil, you are the lucky bastard who gets to help move and hold him do for me, got it?” nodding his head, you and Phil moved to Techno’s side. His chest was barely moving up and down, his eyes cloudy, as he stared at your form.

“Hey, Tech. You’re gonna be okay, yeah? I got you. Everything is going to be fine, I promise,” you whispered in his ear. Tiredly and faintly smiling, Techno tilted his head so he could keep his gaze on your blurred face.

All previous anger and hatred went flying out of the window. You could deal with all that later, now the only thing that mattered was keeping him alive.

“Phil, you and I need to get his cloak off of his back to use as a makeshift blanket for him to lie on. He’s too weak to move to the cave, so we’ll just have to work out here,” you guided, peeling the ruby layer off of the piglin’s shoulders.

Phil was too freaked and distressed to talk, so you decided you would be the one to do all the directing and make sure that Techno didn’t die.

“Stay with us Techno. This is gonna hurt, so you gotta try your best to stay with me okay?” you encouraged, digging through your bag. “Phil, take off his shirt please.”

You were so happy that the random villager man was able to give you such a discount earlier for the potions, because otherwise…well, we all know how it would’ve gone.

Pulling out two shining glass bottles filled with miraculous liquids, you watched Phil discard the blood-soaked shirt as Tommy came hustling back to the three of you, arms brimmed with wood.

“Tommy, once you get the chance, burn that shirt.”

Nodding frantically towards you, he ran back off to chop down more wood.

“Alright Phil, here comes the fun part,” you glanced up at him, taking a shaky breath in a weak attempt to calm your buzzing nerves. “You’re going to need all your strength to hold him still, we both know he won’t go down without a fight.”

Moving to sit on Technoblade’s legs, Phil leaned his whole body weight on top of the piglin’s lower half.

Delicately holding Techno’s hand in your own, you gave it a soft squeeze. “Hey, you still with me?” You felt a soft squeeze in return, a nice reminder that he was still conscious. “Stay awake for me, okay?” you reassured, uncorking the bottles.

With how much blood there was, you had no idea how bad or what the size of his injuries were; you were going in blind.

You hoped to the Gods above pouring two healing potions on his front then one down his throat would be enough to keep him alive, at least long enough to get him to safety and properly assess the severeness of the situation at hand.

Slowly draining the crimson elixir over Techno’s bloodied chest, his hips bucked towards the sky, Phil holding him down as gently as he could whilst still maintaining a rough grip on him.

“Hey Tech, I know it hurts, but you have to stay still okay? Stay still for me, please,” you soothed, tenderly using the end of your cape to wipe as much blood away as possible.

From what you could see, he had one major gash across his chest, then a few smaller ones below it.

Tommy came rushing back over, piling all of the logs he had collected into a firepit styled mound. He looked over at the three of you, completely distraught at the sight.

“Focus on the logs, Tommy, okay? Don’t worry about Techno, I got him,” you console, not taking your eyes off of the whimpering body in front of you.

“I know it hurts, but just listen to my voice, okay?” you smile softly, once again talking to Technoblade, uncorking the next bottle. “I’ve been in your spot, Techno. I know it’s no fun and a lot of pain, but you gotta stay conscious for me.”

You slowly pour the remnants onto his chest once again, a harsh pig-like grunt sounding from the back of his throat.

Next thing you know, his chest stops moving.

Noticing immediately, you feel his inner wrist for a pulse. No luck.

“Phil, get rid of Tommy for me,” you breathe, panic and horror rising in your chest.

Finally finding his voice, Phil seems startled. “…what?”

“Just take Tommy away from here. Now,” you whisper yell, climbing atop of Techno to start compressions. Tears absentmindedly streamed down your face as you felt both presences leave hastily.

“Please Tech, don’t leave me,” you cried, pushing down on his chest hard.

His eyes remained closed, his heart remained quiet. But at least you had managed to stop all his blood from flowing with the potions coming in clutch.

“Don’t you dare fucking die on me!” you panicked. “Technoblade, wake the fuck up right now!” you screamed, colliding your lips with his in another feeble attempt to bring him back to life. Blocking his nose, you transferred as much oxygen from your lungs into his as you could.

Lifting your face from his, you started doing compressions again.

“Please, tech,” you begged, your voice cracking with exhaustion.

Repeating the same steps, pressing his chest repeatedly then providing him with the air that his body wouldn’t, your arms began to grow tired.

No, I can’t give up on him. Not now. Not ever.

Pressing your lips to his again, you felt his torso move ever so slightly as he took in his own ragged breath, coughing and heaving.

Flopping of him, you helped him turn over so he could throw up a mix of blood and food, you laughed in relief.

“You’re okay, I promise. You’re okay Tech,” you reassured, a soft expression on your face as you rubbed comforting circles on his back.

The fire Tommy had lit was raging beside you, warming up your fully clothed body. You hope it was providing Technoblade with some warmth too, considering he was shirtless in the middle of a snowy tundra.

Eh, he’s a piglin hybrid, he is always warm.

“I need two things from you, okay? Then I’ll leave you alone, I promise,” you crooned.

You could tell he wanted to pass out on the spot from the pained look on his face, but he nodded lightly.

“I need you to drink this for me, it’ll help the pain. I’ll guide you, you just need to swallow, okay?”

You took him turning his head to face you as a yes, so you pulled out the next glass vial containing a glimmering dark magenta and held his chin in place. Smiling gingerly to yourself as he showed off his small tusks, you began to slowly tip the regeneration potion into his mouth bit by bit.

He was halfway through the bottle, and gently pulled his chin out of your hand, silently telling you he needed a break. “Hey, you did so well, Tech. You’re doing amazing for me, we just need to finish the bottle okay? I promise you’ll feel better,” you cooed.

You watched a battle rage behind his eyes for him to both continue and stay awake as he lifted his chin back into your palm. “Good boy, now let’s get this over with, yeah?”

You don’t think you had ever been this soft and quiet for someone in your life.

You could sense Phil and Tommy timidly walking back over to you from the forest line. Without turning your attention from Technoblade, you used your free arm to beckon them over to the warmth of the burning fire.

By the time they were back by your side, Techno had finished the bottle and was lying his head back on the ground. You somehow found your hand back intertwined with his as he gave you a weak, yet relaxing, squeeze.

Tearing your gaze from the tired hybrid, you made eye contact with Phil who immediately sent you an is-he-going-to-live? look, which you simply smiled and lightly nodded.

“Alright, before you all pass out let’s move to the cave,” you directed, standing up and letting go of Technoblade’s embrace. “Phil, you and I are going to have to carry Techno, so you hold his torso and I’ll get his legs.”

You were lucky Techno decided to crash so close to the cavern, otherwise it might have been a much longer and drawn out journey of dragging him by his feet.

You and Phil made moving him quick work considering how tall and burly the hybrid was. You sat Techno against the wall, you on his left, Phil on his right, Tommy on your other side.

You knew all three were exhausted, so you let Techno’s head rest on your lap, Tommy hugging your arm and laying his head against your shoulder. Phil managed to look both completely drained and unable to sleep all at once, and it pained your heart to see him like that.

“What happened?” he mumbled after hearing two sets of snores echo around the dark cavern.

“I could ask you the same,” you tiredly snickered, today’s events finally catching up to you.

“Did he…” he trailed off, distraught stopping him from finishing his sentence.

“Yeah,” you smiled sadly. “I had to give him CPR and mouth to mouth, but he’s okay now, and that’s all that matters.” You began to lightly stroke the pink hair that scattered across your lap, emotions working overtime.

“Yeah, your right,” he quietly sighed to himself.

Silence fell between the two of you, and you just assumed he had fallen asleep. Pulling the cloak off of your back and using it as a makeshift blanket for the half-naked hybrid, Phil spoke up again.

“I owe you a debt of gratitude,” his voice was so low, barely audible. You were surprised you even heard it over the outlandish snores coming from the pair asleep on you.

“Nonsense Phil, don’t worry about it.”

“I don’t know what I would’ve done without you,” he whimpers. You had never seen someone so physically, mentally and emotionally shattered, and it broke your heart to see him like this.

“Go to sleep Phil.”

Chapter Text

The sun had risen in its bright and early hours of the morning, waking the trio that had fallen asleep on top of you. Unlucky for you, you didn’t get the chance to rest the night prior. You had too many things on your mind, plus you needed someone to watch over the rest.

During the night, Tommy had managed to squeeze your arm and use it as a pillow, your arm tingling until the break of dawn. Techno was still situated on your lap, barely moving at all for the entire time he was passed out. Phil was leaning on your other shoulder, but not clinging to you as Tommy did.

Phil was the first to wake, rubbing away the sleep from his eyes. He looked confused for the first few seconds, then the haunting memories of yesterday’s events came flooding back into his mind.

“How’d you sleep?” You murmur, turning your head to face Phil.

“Better than you, apparently. Did you sleep at all?” he replies, pushing himself onto his feet to stretch.

“Couldn’t, not with the adrenaline and these two bozos snoring my ears off,” you snicker quietly as to not wake the others.

“Ah, makes sense. I hope I was too loud myself,” he jokes, walking to the entrance of the cavern to scope out the scenery. Extending his luscious metallic black wings from behind him, he looks over his shoulder at you. “I’m going to locate Techno’s cabin in the air, I’ll be right back,” he smiles.

 Nodding as a reply, he runs out into the forest, pushes off the ground and soars into the morning sky.

Sighing in awe, you thought about how he and his wings never failed to amaze you. You absentmindedly started playing with the pink locks displayed on your lap, running your fingers along Technoblade’s scalp. He let out a faint groan at the sudden pleasure, adjusting slightly in his sleep.

Ignoring the tingling butterflies in your stomach and the sudden blush on your cheeks, you continued trailing your hand through his hair. What you didn’t ignore, was Tommy finally releasing his tight clutch from your arm and lifting his head from your shoulder.

Shaking your arm to relieve the pins and needles but keeping your other in Techno’s hair, you made eye contact with Tommy as he repeatedly blinked to get the exhaustion out of his eyes.

“You look like shit,” he grumbled, pulling his legs up to his chest and leaning his back on the rough cavern wall.

“Right back at you,” you smirked, nudging his shoulder. His golden mane was in complete disarray, his clothes dirtied and crumpled, lines and indents littering his inner arms and cheeks, marks of a much-needed sleep.

“How bad do I look?” you asked, posing as if you were a model in a photoshoot.

“You have big fuckin’ bags under your eyes,” that’s a given, “you’re really pale,” starvation and hypothermia have that effect, “you have goosebumps all over your arms,” again with the cold, “and last you have a pig hanging off of you,” he muttered, gently rocking back and forth.

“Mere moments ago I had two, so…” you teased.

“Hey!” he groaned, slapping your arm.

You were about to retort, but the loud swoosh of a certain hybrid interrupted your train of thought.

A swift nod of Phil’s head was enough to know it was time to evacuate the cave and head back to the comfort of Technoblade’s arctic cabin.

Gently shaking the piglin’s shoulder, he weakly opened his eyes. “Hey, Tech. We are moving back home, okay? Do you think you can walk?” you asked, helping him push himself up. He handed you back your cloak, which you just wrapped around his shoulders. It looked disproportionally small on him, almost comical.

Taking a second to yourself to stretch out your tight limbs, a harsh crack rooted from your upper back, concerning everyone in the room. Brushing it off, you started to notice a dull ache wear your bones just clicked, but you pushed it to the back of your mind.

Once Techno was fully to his feet, he took a small and feeble step forward, immediately swaying wearily. Rushing to his side to assist him, you wrapped your arm around his waist, him weaving his onto your shoulders.

“You can lean on me, just save your energy,” you murmured, helping him manoeuvre towards Phil. Tommy was on his left, gazing out over the light snowfall. Phil went to the other side of Technoblade and pointed out which direction to go.

The four of you exited the cave and the snowy meadow, Technoblade, Phil and you leading with Tommy trailing behind. No one attempted to make conversation, yesterday’s trauma and emotions taking their toll.

Tommy seemed to be the most exhausted of the group, which was ironic considering he was the only one not pulling his weight. His feet would catch on each other or the ground every now and then, making him trip onto the cold ground. Every time without fail, you would laugh quietly at him, and he would grumble at you to ‘shut the fuck up’ which just made you giggle more.

15 minutes of walking in practical silence, the piglin began to feel heavier on your arms. Phil seemed to have noticed too, glancing at you quickly. “A few more minutes then we’re back and you can crash, okay? Just hold out a bit longer,” the crow hybrid reassured.

‘a few more minutes’ turned out to be less than 60 seconds, the forest line breaking to reveal Technoblade’s lodge.

Oh shit, I completely trashed the place! Oh fuck, this might not end well, you thought, quietly giggling to yourself. He deserves it.

The front door was already swinging open with the wind as you climbed the steps. Guiding you into the front room and onto the couch, Phil bustled into a chest in search of some saline and gauze’s, completely ignoring the mess that you had made.

“Phil, take Tommy and go into Techno’s room and get some sleep, I’ll take care of Techno,” you told him, gently pulling the medical equipment from his hands.

“No, Y/N, if anyone needs sleep it’s you,” he reasoned, attempting to stifle a yawn.

“Trust me, you both need it more than me, now go before I have to yell,” you smiled.

Mouthing you a thank you, he took ahold of Tommy’s arm and persuaded him up the ladder, hiding the duo from the world. Cringing at the thought of the ruckus you made in his room, you hope that they wouldn’t mind and just go to sleep as you’d instructed.

Sitting back next to Techno and shaking him awake, you gave him a warm smile. “Hey, Tech, how you holding up?”

Pulling your cloak off of his back, he grunted in response.

“I’ll take that as an ‘I’m holding up fine, Y/N, thanks for asking’.” You grinned, pouring saline onto a white cloth. “This may hurt, so you’re probably gonna want to hold onto something.”

“Wanna…hold…han’…” he huffed, tripping on his words.

“You wanna hold my hand?” you confirmed, a small smirk on your face.

“Mhm,” he hummed. He’s tired, he isn’t thinking straight, you convinced yourself.

“Well, I need both my hands, so will a knee do?” you purred, guiding his fingers onto your left knee. He gripped it tightly, as if it would be taken away from him at any moment.

Without another word, you softly wiped any dried blood surrounding his many gashes. For the most part, they had closed over and stopped bleeding.

The one big slash lining right across his chest was weeping slightly, so you poured the salty mixture all down it.

Ignoring the butterflies that soared around your stomach when his grip on your leg tightened, you focused on the wound. You cleaned it up as much as you could, then moved on to the smaller ones.

The potions had done their job in closing and healing the cuts, small scars taking their place. Caressing a soft finger over his new scars, you felt him shiver under your touch.

Smiling to yourself, you felt a weak hand squeeze your knee.

“What’s up?”

“Bathroom,” he murmured, pushing himself to stand.

Standing with him, you slid your arm around him in support, and slowly walked him to the bathroom.

Locking the door behind him, you turned to face the damage of the living room. The only thing you had done was knock over the table, which wasn’t too bad compared to the blown around blankets and paper by the wind.

You thought about how mucked up his room must’ve been.

You thought about why you did it. About how he neglected you, abandoned you, and even hurt you.

You mustn’t have heard the click of the bathroom door opening, and Techno limping to your side.

“You ‘k?” he asked drearily, exhaustion slurring his words.

“Fine,” you replied a bit too harshly, but you don’t think he noticed your tone.

After making sure Technoblade was safely back on the couch without breaking any skin, you pulled up his blanket. Once you had fully pulled it up to cover his chest, a calloused yet gentle hand clutched your wrist.

“Technoblade…” you warned.

“Please stay,” he whispered tiredly. He isn’t in his right mind, Y/N.

“Let me go.”

“Y/N please,” he quietly begged, “please don’t leave me.” The way your name so effortlessly rolled off his tongue normally would’ve made you weak at the knees, but you couldn’t fold now.

“Don’t make this harder than it needs to be, Technoblade. Let me go,” you roughly whimpered, tears beginning to form in the corner of your eyes.

He sighed tiredly, finally dropping your wrist and falling asleep immediately.

Quietly climbing down the ladder and into the basement, as soon as your feet hit the floor the tears began to flow.

Sliding down the wall, you hugged your knees to your chest, silently breaking down. Sobs racked your body as muffled whimpers echoed around the tranquil room. You hoped that Technoblade and the others were blacked out and couldn’t hear you bawling your eyes out.

Deciding that it would be best to sleep down here, you found a bed in the corner and made yourself as comfortable as possible.

What the hell goes on in his mind to think it’s okay to treat someone like this?

Chapter Text

“How come you’re still around, Y/N? I thought you were leaving,” Phil asked, not looking away from the lightly frosted forest in the distance.

The pair of you were standing out on Technoblade’s veranda, sleep deciding not to take you like it had the hybrid and the child. Phil was leaning back on the chair that sat comfortably under the table, you playing in the snow like a little kid. It had to of been just past midnight, the moon and the stars shining brighter than you had ever seen.

“Why, trying to get rid of me?” you joked, reaching out your hand to catch a few snowflakes. Phil stayed quiet, not because what you said was true, but because he was not in a kidding around mood.

Taking a deep breath to yourself, you tilted your gaze up towards the moon, taking in its beauty. “I was leaving, but he’s injured. I can just ghost him.”

“Tommy and I are here.”

“You’re not going to be for long. Aren’t you leaving in the morning?”

“Depends on if Tommy can last the trip. But I would stay if he needed me.”

“But you have a home, Phil. A family. Business to take care of elsewhere. Besides, where would I go?” you sighed, sitting down on the stairs, still gawking at the celestial body.

“Didn’t seem like a problem before,” he countered, shifting in his seat to look down at you. You didn’t know what to say, so you just held your silence. It stayed like that for a while; You watching the moon make its rounds, and him watching you.

God, the night sky is so pretty. I wish I were as pretty as-

“Y’know, he really likes you,” Phil smiled softly to himself.

Immediately feeling the blood rush to your cheeks, you bit your tongue not wanting to say something idiotic, anticipating his every next word. Obviously he was talking about the half piglin knocked out on the couch, who else would it be?

“He’s never been this way with anyone. I’ve never seen him be so… bipolar? No that’s not the right word, uh… well, I’m sure you understand,” he smirks, tapping your shoulder with his foot. You look over at him, and he gestures for you to sit next to him at his table.

“He has been very two-sided with me, Phil. One day he is so accepting and bubbly, the next he’s shutting me out and shunting me away,” you admit, sitting on the wooden chair with a huff. “I can’t seem to figure him out; does he hate me? Does he like me as a friend?”

“He can’t seem to figure this out either, Y/N. He hasn’t ever had girl problems because he hasn’t ever liked a girl. Or anyone, for that matter. But he likes you,” you knew he wasn’t joking around; his words were too sincere. “And you like him too.”

Shocked at his sudden statement, you couldn’t seem to string together a proper sentence. “I-… no I…it’s-…ugh look it’s- it’s compl- it’s not like-… I-,” you managed to murmur, cut off by Phil chuckling at your flustered state.

“Philllll,” you whine, not hesitating to slap his shoulder hard. “It’s pretty obvious, Y/N. All the physical contact, and the blush, the ‘secret’ exchanging glances. You should go for it, you guys work together really well,” he teases.

“Have you completely forgotten about what we were just saying? I was about to leave, Phil. And it wasn’t- isn’t for no reason. I’m still really pissed off about it,” you bit, your words being firmer than intended.

“And in good reason. I’m not saying you should disregard it, but you should talk to him. You both need it,” a warm smile spread across his face as he put his hand on your shoulder, giving you a loving squeeze.

“Phil,” you murmured. Your voice was low, almost indistinguishable from the premature howling wind. “You know we can’t…”

Brushing off your statement as if he didn’t hear it, he stood up from his seat, offering his hand to you. “Let’s go inside mate, it’s getting a bit chilly.”

Taking his hand, you smiled at him. A real, genuine, smile. “We are in the arctic Phil, being chilly is to be expected.”

-

It had been a day and a half since Phil and Tommy had bid you farewell, leaving you alone with Technoblade. Techno was on a steady path to a full recovery within days, the piglin half of him blessing him with amazing healing genetics. That, and your handy nursing.

A lot of your lonesome time together was spent with Techno trying to talk to you, and you ignoring him at all times. Just like he had done to you. Following your footsteps, he eventually stopped trying to get you to talk, resorting to sending you silly faces anytime you looked his way.

The gentle, babying Y/N that Techno had experienced so much as of late didn’t exist anymore, disregarded in the cavern.

Your and Phil’s conversation was replaying in your head every moment you had to yourself.

Does he actually like me?

Ew, what am I, in second grade? Get over yourself Y/N!

“I want to talk to you,” Techno huffs, breaking you out of your head.

“You sure you’re not going to push me onto the ground and attempt to suffocate me to the point where I nearly blackout?” you ask, your tone sickly sweet topped with an overly sarcastic smile. He knew it was fake and tried not to take it to heart.

Rubbing his eyes, he quietly sighs to himself. “You had it comin’.”

“Oh I’m sorry, do you think I was overreacting to being completely abandoned for five whole fucking days with no food, and also be ignored by two of the only people I trust with my life, and have proven to be worthy multiple times?” you snap.

Getting up from your place on the couch, you trudged into the kitchen to fill a cup with water in an attempt to clear your head.

“That’s not what I meant and you know it. Your reaction was totally justified, and I concur. Just come sit back down so we can talk.”

Scoffing to yourself, you place the now empty glass into the sink and sit back next to Techno.

“I’m sorry for what happened. I was stupid, Y/N. I thought that if I wasn’t around you, the voices would stop talking about you. I wouldn’t have to think about you.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” you scoffed.

“Shit that came out wrong, I just-”

“Drop it Technoblade, I don’t want to hear it.”

“Hear me out, Y/N,” he snapped, his tone harsh. Rolling your eyes, he continued. “I didn’t want any of this to happen. I didn’t want to run into you half dead. I didn’t want to have to live with you. I moved out here to get away from people.”

“Some apology this is,” you mocked quietly to yourself. “You realise you had a choice in all of those things, right? You took the one fucking choice of mine away from me!”

“How was not leaving you to die a choice? Sorry I didn’t want that on my conscience.”

“Your conscience is all your worrying about? Not my fucking life?” you yelled, walking back into the kitchen for space.

“That’s not what I said, Y/N. none of the things I had to do were choices.”

“You easily could’ve left me in the village, someone would’ve found me eventually! Or you could’ve taken me back in to the town when I had woken up for someone else to deal with me!”

“I’m not inhumane, Y/N. I wouldn’t have just let you die, or left you stranded on the side of a curb.”

“That’s inhumane? So is ignoring neglecting, abandoning and starving me fucking humane to you, Technoblade?!” you slammed your fist on the table, bottled up anger coursing through your body.

“I’m not saying I’m perfect-”

“-that’s a fucking given.”

Technoblade’s eyes were swirling with immense rage, and if looks could kill, you’d be dead on the spot. But so would’ve he.

He sat back on the couch, defeated. Taking a few breaths to calm himself, he spoke up.

“Come to the waterfall with me,” he muttered, holding his gaze on the floor.

“What? No. Fuck you, I’m leaving,” you fumed, moving to pick up your cloak.

“It’s a five-minute walk east, you can scream and yell all you want, and no one else can hear. Then if you still want to leave, I promise you can,” he reasoned.

Considering his proposition for a minute, you stood by the door, your mind running a million miles a minute.

He doesn’t deserve shit from me. But it could be therapeutic? It’ll get out a lot of bottled up emotions, and no one can hear. But he’s such an asshole!

Yeah, but a hot one.

Startling yourself out of your own head, you gave Technoblade a curt nod and hurried out the door.

What the hell was that? Was that…me?

Chapter Text

Five minutes of walking in silence. Ten. Fifteen. Twenty.

With every step you took you got more and more agitated, waiting for the final tick to set you off like a bomb. Technoblade’s every word from your heated discussion rang throughout your head as you journeyed south towards his waterfall.

The snow was beginning to melt beneath you, beautifully nurtured grass poking out from under it. The environment he was leading you into seemed much more suited to have a waterfall than the arctic tundra he resided in.

“Are we lost?” you huffed, kicking the white powder onto a patch of glowing turf.

“No.”

“We’ve been walking for nearly half an hour, you said it took five minutes.”

“We have been walking for just under four minutes. You have a terrible sense of time,” he retaliated, not stopping in the direction he was striding.

“It has been more than four minutes! There’s no way…” you trailed off, beginning to doubt yourself. “How do you even know; have you been counting the seconds?”

“No, but I’m aware.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“Who cares, we’re here.”

His shadow was looming on the greenery surrounding you as he stepped aside to reveal a gorgeous waterfall cascading off the top of a snow-peaked mountain. The water flowed down into a lake that formed into a river that weaved away from the cavern, and into the surrounding jungle. Flowers were blooming all around you, vibrant and untouched. The whole habitat was thriving as if no human had ever set foot there before.

The sounds of the environment enveloped your ears; the birds chirping a sweet melody, the water crashing into the pond, the breeze swaying the leaves in the trees. You couldn’t help but smile at how amazing nature could be, awe washing away all your previous problems.

That was until you felt a hand lightly nudge your shoulder, pushing you towards the waterfall.

“There’s a cave behind the waterfall, small and private,” Techno said, leading you down a worn-out path. You couldn’t tell if he was implying something deeper, but you brushed it off as nothing.

The harsh rushing of the waterfall flooded your eardrums, unable to pick up on anything else. He was right, there was no chance anyone could hear you if you tried.

You stuck your hand under the running water, the cold wrapping its way around your fingers.

You could see Techno’s lips moving as he turned to fully face you, but no sound was heard. You sent him a confused look, knowing there wasn’t any point in trying to communicate verbally. He shot back an eager look, egging you to scream all you wanted.

Taking a deep breath, you began.

“I don’t even know where to start, Techno. I guess I’ll start at the beginning.

When you first found me, I was weak as hell. I was basically dead at your side.

I don’t know why you chose to help me, or even keep me around, but I’m grateful you did. I really am, even if I don’t show it.

But you can’t be all nice and comforting to me, the switch up and ditch me.”

You hadn’t done it consciously, but you were beginning to pace up and down the jagged stone, keeping your eyes away from his.

“That first day that you ignored me, I felt so guilty. More than I had ever in my life. More guilty than when I made a family flee town. I don’t know why, but you had that effect on me.

Then you left me alone for five days. I have never felt worse in my entire life. Like for once, everything is my own fault. Like I was the one who made you run away and not return. Which is probably true, but I’d rather not think about it.”

Techno held his gaze on you, even though he couldn’t hear a single thing you were saying. What he could pick up on, was with every word how your shoulders relaxed from their previously tensed state more and more.

“And then you came back. I wanted to leave but Phil and Tommy came, so I couldn’t, at least not just yet. Then, I threw the first punch. Yeah, I’ll admit that I started the fight, but that didn’t give you the right to step on my back to the point where stars flooded my vision.

So I trashed your house whilst you were gone. It made me feel a little better, but I would’ve much rather gotten to hit you. It would’ve been more therapeutic, but you get what you get.

When Tommy came screaming for me in the village I wanted to run, to let you die as revenge. But I couldn’t do that. I couldn’t let you die when you had saved me from death’s clutches twice before. I couldn’t let you die because…” you stopped, not wanting to admit it to both him and yourself. You looked over at him, meeting his invested gaze.

He can’t hear me.

“…because I like you and felt betrayed. You hurt me, yet I couldn’t stay away. I wanted more and more of you, but you kept pushing me away.

I’ve only ever felt this way about someone once, and we both know how that ended.

And I even thought for a minute there that you liked me too, but… I don’t know. You’re sending so many different signals it’s impossible to tell. Phil says you do, but… I just. I don’t know anymore. I’ve lost my touch,” you smile softly, looking away from the piglin and over to the gushing waterfall. By now your ears had adjusted to the initial thundering of the gushing water, but it was still all you could hear.

“I don’t even know what to say anymore. I guess I’m sorry for everything. I’m sure you would’ve much rather I ended up at someone else’s feet, so I’m sorry you felt like you had to take care of me. I’m sorry that I got hurt again, making me stay with you for longer. I’m sorry that I was rude and snappy. I can’t really help it, but I thought I should still apologise.

I’m sorry that I stuck around for so long. I just didn’t want to leave. It was selfish to stay, but I felt drawn to you.

Lastly, I guess I’m sorry that I ruined your life. And thank you for everything you have done for me.”

You hadn’t realised that talking about everything that had happened might lift the nagging weight off of your chest, but look where we are.

Taking another deep breath, you signalled to him that you were done, and it was his turn to get some things off his chest.

He began rambling, cradling a gentle hand on his chest. His mouth was moving rather rapidly, his face holding a gentle expression.

You weren’t the best at lip-reading, but you were able to pick up a few words every now and then.

Sorry…hurt…Phil..…voices…quiet…like….you…cake….alone…..uncomfortable……Phil…voices…you…sorry…

You had zero idea what any of it meant, but a small part of it hoped he had said something along the lines of:

I’m sorry, Y/N. you got hurt because of me.

Phil said some things that got in my head, and the voices agreed with him which made it worse.

They hadn’t been that loud since we had met, and you had made them quiet. They like you. I… I like you.

And when we made that cake, I haven’t been that happy in probably years.

But I couldn’t stay, because I didn’t think I’d be able to stop myself if I allowed myself to be alone with you. I didn’t want to say or do anything to make you uncomfortable. I may be an anarchist, but I do have common decency.

Then Phil and Tommy came back begging for my help, and the voices had the brilliant idea of hurting you so you would stay away from me so I wouldn’t have had to deal with my stupid crush on you.

So I am sorry. For everything.

You knew he didn’t actually say anything like it, but it was comforting to think that he did.

You watched him run his hand through his hair, nodding in acknowledgement. He was finished, and it was time to go. After climbing back through the way you came, you felt the hybrid standing flush against your back.

Awkwardly stepping away from each other, he cleared his throat.

“Feel better?” he asked, moving back into the sun-soaked environment.

“Much,” you replied, hot on his tail.

Chapter Text

A light conversation about nothing important slowly evolved into a comfortable silence as you and Technoblade sat on his front porch, soaking up each other’s presence. The midday sun was beaming onto you, the warmth providing you with a sense of safety and stability.

You had come to realise that Technoblade’s cabin always managed to make you feel safe. It may have been the cabin, or it may have just been the fact that you were with him… only you would ever know.

By now five days had passed since travelling to the waterfall together, and you had decided to elongate you stay with Techno for a little while longer. Although neither of you would never admit it, no one wanted you to leave. Not even Phil.

Techno was reading one of his many books on the history of war as you were just staring into space, thinking about your many different irrelevant ideas.

“Ya know, this chair is really uncomfortable,” you said.

“Uh… heh? That’s such a random thought,” he laughed, clearly taken aback by your abrupt outburst.

“I was just thinking, sitting on the floor is pretty much always more fun.”

“Okay? Then sit on the floor.”

“Challenge accepted,” you grinned, standing up and pulling the chair out from under you, sliding your back down the cabin exterior, until you were sitting upon the hard dark oak planks.

“Somehow, I think this is the first time I’ve been more uncomfortable on the floor than on a chair,” you lightly punched Techno’s knee. “Good to know your front deck isn’t fun or comfortable to sit on-”

You were suddenly, and albeit very rudely, interrupted by a harsh tapping on the glass of the living room by one of Phil’s many black crows.

Uh oh. That can’t mean anything good. Or maybe it can? Maybe Phil was on his way over, and was just letting you know in advance?

You looked over at Techno with a very confused look on your face, only to see your expression mirrored by him.

“Were you expecting-?”

“No,” he finished, as if he knew the rest of your question.

He stood up to walk over and reach for the parchment tied to the bird’s foot. Pulling off the ribbon that held the paper, Techno patted the bird, and with a loud squawk it flew off into the distance, undoubtedly back to Phil.

It must have been instructed not to wait around for a response.

Techno’s face paled as he unfurled and read the letter to himself, immediately setting off and jumping into action.

He dropped the letter on the table for you to read and left the room. Pushing yourself up and off the hardwood boards, you stood over the table. The parchment read:

Techno,
They found your compass. I don’t know how long you have.
I’m under house arrest.  I’m sorry I can’t help.
Stay safe. Protect the girl.
Phil

The handwriting was messy, barely eligible. You could tell it had been scribbled in a hurry, but you didn’t have the slightest clue what any of it meant.

What compass?

Who’s coming?

Techno came back out onto the porch, decked out in his most dazzling netherite armour. He grabbed your arm pulling you inside and dead bolted the front door behind you.

“Techno, what’s going on?” You attempt to reason. He let go of your arm, lightly pushing you aside.

“Bad people are coming for my head. My past is catching up to me,” he huffed, shuffling up the ladder to his room in a hurry. You follow, hot on his tail.

“Well can I help? You’ve seen how much damage I can do, plus it’s been a hot minute since I’ve been on a battlefiel-”

“No. You have to stay up here in my room, hidden. They can’t find you Y/N. Promise me you’ll stay safe.”

“Promise me you will first.”

“I promise.”

“Then I promise too, Techno.”

“Good, now stay here. Don’t come out unless you’re sure it’s me on the other side, got it?”

You nodded your head in understanding, and with that he left, closing the trap door behind him.

Worry swirled around your stomach as you thought about what the letter could’ve meant.

Who would ever want to hurt Techno?

What could he have done that was so bad that they wanted his head?

Extremely faint voices filled the eerie silence coming from the forest.

You sat on the edge of Techno’s bed gazing out the small window at the snow surrounding his property. Weird situation to be sitting on his bed for the first time.

You laughed quietly to yourself but stopped when you could make out people in the forest, headed right at you. Not you exactly, but the place you had called home for the last month. You stiffened, doing a headcount as they walked into your line of view.

Four.

Four mysterious men began to walk up to his cabin, meeting Techno halfway between the forest line and his home.

One in the front, wearing a beanie. One to his side, covered head-to-toe in orange fur. Two in the back, one looked too young to even be of age, and the other with two different coloured skins. All four were wearing what seemed to be enchanted netherite armour, which lowered Techno’s chances severely.

He could take on four people, right? And they didn’t exactly look capable to fight as well as Techno did. Everything would be fine… right?

You could see lips moving, but barely any sound could be heard. You could see threats being thrown around, but not one proper word reached your ears.

Everything was muffled.

You didn’t dare open the windows in fear of being discovered, breaking your one promise to Technoblade.

The only words you could string together were Techno’s infamous war cry.

“there’s no other way.. I CHOSE BLOOD!!”

There was more yelling, potions breaking, and then the real, violent fight began. Swords, axes, armour and shields clash in a roar of built-up anger and hatred.

The man in a beanie stood a bit further away from the mess of combat, looking for something to use as leverage over the Blade.

“You step foot in that house Quackity, and I’ll make sure you never live to see the light of day,” Techno threatened, knocking over the target in front of him.

Blood stained the once pristine white snow, the cold powder melting in the heat of the dogfight.

Fire lit up the battlefield, as the man assumed to be Quackity finally spotted Carl and put his axe to the horse’s throat, jumping on his back.

“Technoblade, you get away from them. You pull any shit I’m going to fucking kill Carl,” Quackity snarls.

“That horse is innocent, leave the horse out of this, Quackity. What do you want?”

“Drop your shit Techno. We are going to bring you back to L’manburg, and you’re going to stand for trial. Do you understand?” Quackity states.

Reluctantly, Techno nods his head and threw all of his belongings onto the ground.

They begin to pick up his stuff and push him towards the direction they originally came from.

“You guys go ahead, I’ll catch up with you,” Quackity explained, slowly walking back towards the cabin.

You were sitting on the floor of Techno’s room, unaware of the situation. The violence and the fear of Techno seriously getting hurt became too much to watch, so you were sitting underneath the window so you wouldn’t have to see anything, also with the added bonus that you would avoid being spotted.

Ironic that I’m back on the floor.

Everything went from a muffled buzz into silence, and you heard the click of the front door open and close, assuming Techno was back, and all was well. This stupid fight was over. Who the hell were those guys anyway?

But the footsteps coming towards you seemed lighter than his.

His movement less calculated.

His breathing more ragged.

The trap door flung open to reveal the one and only man in a beanie.

“Well well well, look what the cat dragged in.” He smirked, twirling his enchanted blood-stained axe between his fingers.

Good to know the lock on the front door doesn’t work.

“Who the hell are you supposed to be?” you spat, reaching to grab your sword.

Before you even had the chance to register what he was doing, he was on his feet and moved to be next to you.

Surprisingly, all it took was one swift punch to the temple for him to knock you out cold.

Chapter Text

You could hear faint voices, but you couldn’t make out what they were saying.

Your head was pounding. You could feel your heart pumping in your chest, blood rushing in your ears. Many different emotions were running rampant in your head, you had no idea how to feel.

Groaning, you opened your eyes, immediately regretting it as the light flooded into your line of vision.

You were in uncharted territory; must be wherever that group lived. You didn’t recognise anyone or anything, except that one familiar piglin hybrid.

It didn’t take you long to feel out the ropes roughly tied around your wrists holding you to a metal pole several feet away from the group.

You took in your surroundings, seemingly in a town square above a body of water. Techno is surrounded by what seems to be a mass of iron bars, an anvil hanging far above his head.

If dropped, there was no question that it would kill him in a heartbeat.

You can finally tune in the voices and properly understand what they are saying.

“Technoblade, this is actually not a trial. It’s an execution,” Quackity taunts. “Or it can be an opportunity to wipe some red from your ledger.”

Despite the pain it causes, you perk your head up to see the group better.

“You have a choice to make here Techno. If you make the choice, you can walk free with no punishments whatsoever. However, if you fail to make the decision, you will be killed immediately. Easy enough, right?” The Mexican paces in front of Techno’s jail cell, smirking to himself.

Out of the house next to them, the shorter, younger male from earlier walks out with Phil’s hands bound behind his back. He looks tired and old as ever, but still willing to fight. You smile slightly as you hear a faint ‘Tubbo, I’m your freaking father let me go,’ coming from Phil.

You feel rough, furry hands untie your ropes, forcefully pulling you up off of the ground and onto your feet. You were positioned to be standing in front of Techno’s jail, next to Philza and the younger male presumably named Tubbo.

The duo mustn’t have noticed your presence earlier, as both Phil and Techno’s expressions drop when they realised you had gotten mixed up in this mess with them.

“Who the hell are you people?” you hissed.

“The Butcher Army, duh. Now, Techno, you ready for your decision?” Quackity taunts.

Way to break my promise, you mouthed to the hybrid, smirking slightly.

Techno doesn’t move or speak, in fear of what will happen if he does.

“You, ya lucky bastard, get to choose who lives and who dies. Only one can survive out of the two in front of you, and you have 2 minutes to choose, good luck. Oh, and if you don’t choose in time.. well, you see that anvil? Yeah, it’ll be dropped on your head,” Quackity laughs as he runs a line across his neck to signify Techno’s impending death and walks off back to his little posse.

Phil shows no emotion on his face, but his eyes hold a look of pure horror.

Techno has gone completely pale, knowing one of the three of you were bound to die.

There’s no way out of this one. Only two of you would be going home alive.

You were the one to break the silence, “well, that took a turn I was most definitely not expecting,” you sigh, shock prominent in your tone. “But at least we all know Phil isn’t going to die today. He has too much to live for, so that leaves him out of the question. So that just leaves them to kill Techno or me. But Technoblade never dies, right?” a sad smile breaks on your lips.

“So I guess that just leaves me. I have nothing to lose anyway. You guys have families, pets, and homes to take care of. I have none of that. The smartest option would be me,” you say, pulling your eye level to meet the anvil chilling up above Techno.

The latter knew you were right but refused to admit it.

Phil was gazing at Techno, but the piglin held his stare on the ground.

“Techno, look at me. You know I’m right. You both do. Tell them before it’s too late,” you encouraged, a soft smile playing on your lips.

You wanted so badly to hold up a strong façade for them, but you were breaking inside. Your heart tore at the thought of Techno and Phil having to watch you die, but at least it wasn’t them on their last breaths.

“Quackity, I’ve decided,” Techno croaked, his voice breaking slightly.

The four men walked back over, the Mexican in the front.

“Well, who?” The younger man who handled Phil asked.

“Me,” “Me,” both you and Techno say at the same time.

“You aren’t one of the options, Techno. So that means you have to say goodbye to the precious little girlfriend of yours,” Quackity snickers.

“She’s not my girlfriend,” Techno mumbled.

“Oh wait, did you tell them the best part?” The fox man asked, his voice holding a funny accent.

“Oh Fundy, I had forgotten! How silly of me,” Quackity laughed in your face, his voice dripping sheer malice.

Tubbo pulled Philza away from the little gathering, back towards the house to presumably lock him inside again.

The bars to the temporary prison began to pull apart, letting Techno step out.

“Yeah, the best part is that you get to do the honours of killing her. Oh and don’t bother trying to escape or anything, all three of you will end up dead then, and that’s no fun for any of us,” Quackity smiled, his voice laced with pure venom and hatred.

Techno was handed an iron sword, and the so-called ‘butcher army’ backed away, watching from a distance.

“Not going to lie, these idiots know what they are doing,” you shrugged, impressed they had such nerves to speak that way.

Your hands had been freed, so you grabbed and placed the tip of the sword in the middle of your chest, guiding him.

Techno was in a state of shock, in no way willing to take your life. Adrenaline coursed through your veins to make up for Techno going blank.

“Techno don’t make me do all the work here. Just push the sword through my chest, it’s not that hard,” you joked, trying to make light out of such a dark situation.

“Y/N… I can’t do this.”

“You have to. Just…” you took a deep breath in, “let’s get this over with.”

You closed your eyes, the blade already slightly impaling your ribs.

“I can’t. You know I can’t. I could never hurt you on purpose,” he quietly whined.

“Technoblade. We both know that isn’t true. And I know you can’t, but you don’t have much of an option here. Don’t make my last moments be ones where I’m mad at you. Just push the sword, I’ll help guide you,” you spoke, silently preparing yourself for the rollercoaster of emotions and agony you would be feeling.

“Oh! One last thing really quick. The lock on your front door doesn’t work.”

Techno was clearly taken aback by the change in subject, not knowing how to reply.

“Sorry, it’s just that that beanie-wearing guy kind of just opened the door when you deadlocked it, so… just thought you should know so you can replace it,” a soft smile spreads across your lips, gazing at Techno as his hands begin to shake.

“I’m sorry, Y/N. I’m so sorry for dragging you into this mess. Please forgive me.”

“It’s not your fault. Now do it before I get cold feet.” You smiled and nodded, taking a deep breath, readying yourself.

One that would end up being one of your last.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered one last time, using all the strength he had left in him to push the blade through your chest. It took him a bit of extra strength to get it fully through, hesitating slightly when it first went in.

All of your emotions came flooding through your mind as the sword impaled your already fragile body.

You thought about how in love with him you were, but now would never get the chance to tell him.

Maybe he even liked you too.

Maybe you could’ve been together.

Maybe you could’ve even had kids with him.

I guess we will never know now.

There was a literal sword protruding from your chest, and all you could like about was how in love you were.

Then it really hit you, there’s a fucking sword in my chest.

Pain and agony.

Agony and pain.

It was all you could focus on; how much this hurt, and how weirdly light you felt from the immediate blood loss. The initial adrenaline had fully worn off by now, anguish taking its place.

Your mind and vision began to blur, as you felt burly hands softly hold your body close to his.

You could feel warm liquid slowly dripping down from your nose and into your mouth, along with the blood surfacing from your throat. Coughing up as much as you could without throwing up, you turned back to tiredly gaze at Techno.

You kept your eyes open for as long as you could, holding eye contact with him, mustering all your remaining strength, just so you could tell him what you had wanted to for so long now.

“I-… I love yo..you…Technoblade.”

“No, no no no no. Stay with me, I can’t lose you. Please, Y/N, stay.”

It was getting harder and harder to hear, see, and even think.

You could make out a couple of his words, begging you to stay with him.

You both knew no help was coming.

You were going to die.

You were actually going to die.

No jokes, no pranks. This was real.

And it was all his fault.

You felt horrible for making him endure such trauma and just wanted to apologise. To his face this time. You were laying in his arms; short sharp breaths were all your body gave you the ability to do.

His grip on you tightened, holding you as close as possible without suffocating you.

But what did that matter? You were on your last breaths anyway.

You could feel death approaching you slowly. There wasn’t any point trying to fight it, once you were in death’s clutches there was no leaving.

You took your right hand from where you were holding your wound, and brought it up to his face, in one last attempt to comfort him.

He put his hand atop of yours, leaning into your touch, tears staining both of your faces.

“Please don’t go,” it was a low whisper, so only you could hear. It was all he could make himself say.

“I’m sorry.” Your voice was so faint, he almost thought he was hearing things.

And with that, your gentle grasp on him went soft.

Your body went limp in his hold, your eyes closing for what would be the final time.

Your heart beating for the last time ever.

Your hand slipped from his, blood forever staining his cheek. Love forever tainting his heart.

But at least you got to spend your last moments with the man you loved dearest.

Chapter Text

Chaos ensued once the crowd had realised you were dead in the hybrids arms. He was cradling your body so close to him, it looked as if he was trying to hide you from the world. Which, in a way, he was.

Technoblade didn’t move from your side until he felt a golden item drop onto his lap, the hoodie-wearing gifter throwing around amounts of TNT to distract the butcher army.

For a second Punz hesitated, previously unaware of the identity of Technoblade’s mystery person. In fact, not even Dream knew who you were. Techno’s hands were still holding your head to his chest, so neither Punz nor Dream could confirm their suspicions.

The piglin could hear screaming and crying all around him, but all he could focus on was you. Your cold, dead body shaking from his sobs. Your chest that was no longer moving from your breathing. Your eyes, closed off from the world for forever.

What he would’ve done to see your eyes one more time.

He felt a whoosh and a wood-splintering thump next to him, mere inches away from where he was sheltering you. Quackity had dropped the anvil in an attempt to kill you both.

The voices roared in his head, louder than they had ever been before. They screamed for vengeance, for blood, for a revival. But all Techno wanted to think about was getting the two of you out of this hell hole. Looking around in desperation, he spotted Dream straddling Carl near a tunnel.

Hurriedly picking you up, he snuck you in his arms away from the chaos of the failed execution. Dream blocked off the entrance as soon as he had made it through, whispering to head down, there’s a chest.

The piglin grabbed the horses reins with one hand, thanked the green man, and began walking to the end of the tunnel before Dream had the chance to ask the girls name.

Placing you as gently as he could onto the ground, he dug through the chest that was left under his name in the final control room. Gearing himself up, Techno heard footsteps echoing around the path behind him.

Standing up straight, he didn’t even need to look to know who was now with him.

“I’d advise you leave, Quackity.”

“We both know that isn’t happening until you’re dead.”

“You see this pickaxe? I’ll put it through your fucking teeth,” Techno snarled, lunging forward to begin the fight.

I don’t think fight is even an appropriate term, it was all one-sided. Techno killed Quackity within mere seconds, making quick work of the Mexican’s empty threats.

He knew he had to move fast; totem’s only worked for a certain amount of time.

It was crazy, but it was possible to be too far gone to be revived, and he hope that it wasn’t too late for you.

Totems were extremely rare items, this being only the second the piglin had ever encountered, the first he wanted- needed to use. Although they were extremely uncommon, he had made sure to read up on them so he would know what to do in a situation like this.

Lifting your limp form off of the ground and onto Carl’s back, he set off to find some open ground to try and revive you.

Please, hang in there. Don’t be too dead. I can’t lose you, Y/N.

The man-made tunnel eventually fizzled out into some paddock in the middle of nowhere. The sky was really overcast, threatening to pour down rain at any given moment. Techno hoped it would hold off until he had brought you back, then it could rain all it wanted.

He had read that when a totem is to be used on a dead body, it is to be put onto the chest and secured by the figure hand. Once completed, it should begin to glow and resurrect the person from the land of the dead.

So, he did exactly that. He gently lay you on the grass, placing the totem in your hand, then your hand on your chest. Nothing.

Maybe it was the wrong hand?

He switched your hands, and nothing changed.

Maybe it’s both?

Placing both, one on top of the other, he stepped away. There was still no sign of life. No glowing like he had read.

Maybe I need to turn away?

He knew in the back of his mind that all of this was pointless; either the totem works or it doesn’t.

The voices were silent. The ones who didn’t know what to do stayed quiet, and the ones that did also stayed quiet. They didn’t want to help, no, they wanted to see Techno hurt.

He didn’t want to turn around, to have to face the fact that you were dead. Reviving you was useless. Now he was stuck in the middle of nowhere with your still figure at his feet.

What the hell was he supposed to do now?

-

Two weeks had passed since you had been killed. Technoblade had been holed up in his arctic cabin the whole time, not even leaving to feed Carl.

Phil seemed to be the only one to grasp (and care) about why Techno never left his home anymore. The piglin was lucky to have Phil as a friend, or else he and his horse would be as dead as you.

One week in, Phil decided it would be best for him to come live with Techno until he had recovered but didn’t want to invade his personal space. He ended up building a house similar to Techno’s next door so he could keep an eye on him without intruding.

Phil cooked every meal for the pair, took care of the horse, cleaned both places, fixed the lock of the door, and provided Techno with comfort when needed. However tedious it may be, the bird hybrid didn’t mind taking care of things for a while. He knew the feeling of losing someone he loved, and how much it can affect a person.

The piglin barely ever spoke, too distraught to use his voice. His only sounds were grunts of appreciation, and even the occasional mumble that Phil couldn’t pick up on.

It was a cold morning, colder than every other day, when Phil trudged through the thick snow to deliver Techno’s breakfast. He didn’t bother knocking, just walking in and closing the door behind him. Placing the plates on the table, he called up to Techno’s room. He got no reply as usual and sat down to eat.

After five minutes of Phil eating alone, Techno still hadn’t surfaced. Phil was starting to get concerned; Techno hadn’t missed a meal in his life.

He climbed up the ladder and knocked on the trap door. Phil could hear muffled sniffling and didn’t hesitate to enter the room.

Techno was sitting on the edge of his bed, facing away from Phil. He was running a piece of red fabric through his fingers, holding it close to him.

It was your cloak.

“Oh, mate,” Phil whispered, taking a seat next to his friend.

Tears were unapologetically streaming down the piglin’s face, soaking his cheeks and your cloak. Rubbing comforting circles on Techno’s back, Phil tried his best to calm him down so they could talk.

“What up, Tech?” he asked, his voice was gentle, not wanting to break Techno’s fragile form.

“I…” he couldn’t bring himself to speak. Every time he tried to talk about you, it just choked Techno up more. No death had ever affected him like this, not even Wilbur’s.

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to mate,” Phil cooed.

“I-…I didn’t say it back…” Techno whispered; his words were so quiet he wouldn’t have been surprised if Phil didn’t hear him.

“Didn’t say what back?”

“She told me she loved me, Phil. I didn’t say it back,” Techno whimpered, more tears falling. “She died thinking I didn’t love her too.” His voice was hoarse from both misuse and constantly sniffling.

“Oh mate,” Phil crooned. “She knew. You didn’t have to tell her, she was smart. She would’ve known Tech.”

“But she didn’t hear it from me. She…” he couldn’t finish his sentence, his sobs preventing him. He held your cloak closer, as if someone would take it away from him.

Phil pulled Technoblade into his chest, hugging him as he cried his heart out. He had never seen the piglin in such bad condition. He knew that it would take a while for Techno to start healing, and just hoped that everything would be okay in the end.

Chapter Text

Chaos ensued once the crowd had realised you were dead in the hybrids arms. He was cradling your body so close to him, it looked as if he was trying to hide you from the world. Which, in a way, he was.

Technoblade didn’t move from your side until he felt a golden item drop onto his lap, the hoodie-wearing gifter throwing around amounts of TNT to distract the butcher army.

For a second Punz hesitated, previously unaware of the identity of Technoblade’s mystery person. In fact, not even Dream knew who you were. Techno’s hands were still holding your head to his chest, so neither Punz nor Dream could confirm their suspicions.

The piglin could hear screaming and crying all around him, but all he could focus on was you. Your cold, dead body shaking from his sobs. Your chest that was no longer moving from your breathing. Your eyes, closed off from the world for forever.

What he would’ve done to see your eyes one more time.

He felt a whoosh and a wood-splintering thump next to him, mere inches away from where he was sheltering you. Quackity had dropped the anvil in an attempt to kill you both.

The voices roared in his head, louder than they had ever been before. They screamed for vengeance, for blood, for a revival. But all Techno wanted to think about was getting the two of you out of this hell hole. Looking around in desperation, he spotted Dream straddling Carl near a tunnel.

Hurriedly picking you up, he snuck you in his arms away from the chaos of the failed execution. Dream blocked off the entrance as soon as he had made it through, whispering to head down, there’s a chest.

The piglin grabbed the horses reins with one hand, thanked the green man, and began walking to the end of the tunnel before Dream had the chance to ask the girls name.

Placing you as gently as he could onto the ground, he dug through the chest that was left under his name in the final control room. Gearing himself up, Techno heard footsteps echoing around the path behind him.

Standing up straight, he didn’t even need to look to know who was now with him.

“I’d advise you leave, Quackity.”

“We both know that isn’t happening until you’re dead.”

“You see this pickaxe? I’ll put it through your fucking teeth,” Techno snarled, lunging forward to begin the fight.

I don’t think fight is even an appropriate term, it was all one-sided. Techno killed Quackity within mere seconds, making quick work of the Mexican’s empty threats.

He knew he had to move fast; totem’s only worked for a certain amount of time.

It was crazy, but it was possible to be too far gone to be revived, and he hope that it wasn’t too late for you.

Totems were extremely rare items, this being only the second the piglin had ever encountered, the first he wanted- needed to use. Although they were extremely uncommon, he had made sure to read up on them so he would know what to do in a situation like this.

Lifting your limp form off of the ground and onto Carl’s back, he set off to find some open ground to try and revive you.

Please, hang in there. Don’t be too dead. I can’t lose you, Y/N.

The man-made tunnel eventually fizzled out into some paddock in the middle of nowhere. The sky was really overcast, threatening to pour down rain at any given moment. Techno hoped it would hold off until he had brought you back, then it could rain all it wanted.

He had read that when a totem is to be used on a dead body, it is to be put onto the chest and secured by the figure hand. Once completed, it should begin to glow and resurrect the person from the land of the dead.

So, he did exactly that. He gently lay you on the grass, placing the totem in your hand, then your hand on your chest. Nothing.

Almost immediately, a soft vibration rooted from the ground beneath you, the totem beginning to crack and shine.

Techno couldn’t believe this was actually working; you were coming back to life. He couldn’t take his eyes off of the gold in your hand, amazed that it wasn’t a fake.

He was blinded by beautiful golden rays bursting from your fingers, brightening the surrounding scenery. It got to the point of total brightness that Technoblade had to shield his eyes.

The glowing abruptly stopped, and for a second he was convinced it hadn’t worked. He almost didn’t want to open his eyes in fear of failure.

Gasping and coughing, you reared back to life. Techno was kneeling by your side within milliseconds, holding you as close to him as he could.

“You’re okay. You’re okay, I got you,” he whispered, tears of relief dripping down his cheeks.

You were too busy trying to catch your breath to understand what was going on; it was a given that with a chest wound your lungs would be affected. But that’s the thing, you didn’t have a gaping hole in your chest anymore. The totem had completely healed every injury on your body, except all of the blood it had left behind.

“What…the- hell...happened,” you managed to rasp, heaving in as much oxygen your lungs would allow.

“You’re alive. I revived you,” Techno smiled, rocking you gently in his arms.

“That- that fuckin hurt,” you snickered. Your mind was fuzzy, adrenaline pulsating throughout your veins.

“I love you too.”

“Huh?” Your heart was beginning to beat back to a somewhat normal pace.

“You told me you loved me.” Techno froze for a moment, a dark thought occurring to him. “You…you meant it, right?”

“Oh! Yeah. Yeah, I meant it, memories blurry,” you sighed, your words slurring slightly.

“Thank god,” he chuckled, pulling you impossibly closer to his chest.

Humming in contentment, you felt your eyelids begin to feel heavy. “Tech…” you mumbled, exhaustion hitting you like a brick wall.

“Let’s go home, Y/N.” The hybrid couldn’t wipe the smile off of his face, joy overcoming all of his other senses. Everything had happened so quickly; he couldn’t process anything but pure relief at the moment.

He helped you to your feet, looping a secure arm around your waist, walking you over to Carl. Techno held his hand out for you to use as a step, you wearily climbed onto the saddle, facing the wrong way.

“What’re you doing?” he asked, slightly smirking.

“Get up,” you grumbled, patting the seat in front of you, barely keeping your eyes open.

Swinging his leg over the back of Carl’s side, you immediately snuggled yourself into his chest. You fell into a deep slumber almost right away, earlier events taking their toll.

Techno smiled to himself, remembering he had no idea where he was, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. You were safe sleeping in his arms, and that was the only thing that would ever matter to him.