Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

A century ago, about-maybe 15 years ago, the overworld humans had to win a war against the nether and End. Of course, no sane overworld mobs like the hybrids would help the humans, because they liked to kill them! So, the humans were by themselves- yada yada- they lost the world and were forced into the end as the Enderman sealed the portal to the end so humans couldn’t get in or out.

Yeah.... it's a lot.

But what is rather funny is that the ender-people, enderman? Ender hybrids…? Doesn’t matter. They are afraid of pumpkins, and quite literally BLIND to people wearing them. Too bad the nether was also in the war or the humans would win- right? 

Anyway, some humans escaped the grasp of being banished- exiled from their own homes, by wearing the pumpkins! Yay!

Too bad that the ender queen (Aka the ender dragon wannabe as they and their husband have wings) banished pumpkins, as all the overwolders, and Netherlings had to throw them into fire, seeds and all! Good thing black markets exist, right?

Anyway, yadda-yad the queen actually had a son- Wilbur- a snob really, and stuff, took over the overworld, and they’re like rulers of their own section of the overworld… cool right?

So, that's where I come in! Big bad Tommy innit! Probably one of the only living beings that still has a pumpkin farm- past down from his grandma who gave me a pumpkin seed way back when I was a little baby!

But now, I'm about 15, a big boy- A big man!! A big man who wears a Jack-o-lantern on his head because he wants to and isn't afraid of getting beat up by Ender and Nether people!

…

Tommy climbs into the kingdom of the end through a crack in the wall that's been there for about a year now- should really invest in patching it, King Phil… this is important though, it's dangerous too. If he gets caught, a search will be out for him- and he wouldn’t want to start another farm for at least another year or so…

But it’s fine, he’s been doing this for years! Sure, the king now has a bodyguard who's a Netherling, specifically a Piglin, who could see him if he looked at him- but that's only if another entitled snob decides to come down from their oh-so-fancy castle!

he looks through the streets as my eyes land on an easy target, a bakery, a bread shop! Of course, Tommy has been stealing from this shop for a while now… will they get suspicious? Maybe, but that's not his problem!

Tommy peeks in a window, then I see it- usually big man tommy-innit only goes for the bread- but this- that! That my good sir is a fresh apple pie! Just sitting there! It’s golden, almost crispy, as the brownish apples flow over the top breading.

Who is Tommy to not accept this offer? I mean, he’s been working so long without a treat… surely one apple pie wouldn’t do anything- right?

He looks at the nice little owner behind the counter, an Ender person, her hair is a pinkish purple, more pink than purple though. She seems distracted with a customer though, a brownish-haired haired Person. What's intriguing is that the man has wings! A royal? Down here? That's surprising, but the bakery is near the castle… should he risk it? 

He’ll get the pie another day… just some bread would do, he has crops at home, but some bread would add some flavor.

Tommy waits for a customer to open the door, he slips in behind him. Tommy looks at all the loaves of bread, he's done this before, once he touches it, he has to wait about 2 seconds for the bread to “disappear” from the sight of the ender-people, or else it’d look like a floating loaf of bread.

“I don’t know Niki- there's no one here yet and it's been hours…” the prince boy says- Wilbur- right?

“I’m telling you wil, someone has been taking bread!” Tommy pauses in his actions, she knows? “Random loaves would just disappear! You’ve seen the cameras!” Cameras?! From what Tommy knows, the Ender people have a Victorian, old, type of life, why- how would they have cameras already?

“If my father knew about you going into the human scrap yard- he’d be at my throat, Niki…” Wilbur replies, “Is one little thief worth all this? I’ll be fine, but he might have your head for treason!”

“It’s more than a thief- you've seen it… I think- I think someone is using a pumpkin..” Niki states, Tommy is interested in this conversation, sure, he’s been here once or twice a week, but would that cause this much alarm?

“Niki- you’re speaking out of line- you know talking about that forbidden fruit…” Wilbur replies, “I think you should just drop it- look… I'll ask Techno to come around every once in a while, to see if he sees anything. Okay?” If Tommy remembers correctly- then Techno is that new Piglin guard.. If he sees him, then it’ll be all over. Say goodbye to your home Tommy! You’ll have to move…

“I’ll ask him to stay around here during the festival, okay? But I severely doubt someone is stupid enough to use… use a pumpkin ” Wilbur's words sound sour, almost like even talking about it leaves a taste in his mouth. 

Niki nods, Tommy nods, not that they could see him. Looks like he needs a new bakery to steal from.

The festival, Tommy knows it well, is celebrated every five years, for a week straight, celebrating the capture and exile of humans… Tommy always just stays home during it, why should this year be different? The answer is, it’s not going to be. He’s going to sit in his home all through the week, farming and caring for his crops, maybe even making a new pumpkin head as this one is starting to smell…

The festival always ends with the banishment of any humans they find through those five years, they also burn any pumpkins to make the civilians more comfortable with a pumpkinless environment. It’s always a big ordeal, even after the festival, he hears people talking about it, apparently, gamblers bet on how many humans there are… usually only 1 or 2, but still, he doesn't want to get caught, especially around this time.

As the prince walks out of the bakery, so does Tommy, a loaf of bread in Tommy's hand. He bids the bakery fair well, and leaves.

Chapter Text

Tommy sits in his living room if you could call it that. He really just dug into a mountain and called it “home”, the floor is dirt, and occasionally when it rains, it rains in the home. But, he’s working on that, for today, it’s going to rain! He can tell by the way the city is quiet, no one in the streets, Ender-people get hurt by the rain, another disadvantage.

They used this in the war, both Nether and End were weak to rain, it was almost a safe grace for humans, a win.

But, because it's going to rain, the human scrap yard will be unguarded! That means, free stuff.

“Free stuff, free stuff!” Tommy sings to himself, getting his shoes on, “maybe i’ll get some new shoes…” He looks down at his sneakers, they’re worn down and torn, muddy all around. “But after that, I'll get some scrap wood, and make a roof.”

Tommy opens his front door, grabbing an umbrella, something else that's forbidden for being ”human”, honestly, the Ender people are dumb.

A year after the war, the Ender people declared anything owned by the humans shall be scrapped on the other side of the kingdom, this place has been dubbed, the human scrap yard.

Sometimes, rarely, he’ll see another human! Collecting, trying to survive, but then the festival comes, and Tommy never sees them again.

Making his way to the scrap yard, he notices something, even the houses are abandoned, and empty. All the lights in the city are turned off, he hears a crowd near the castle… he shouldn’t really go- should he? 

But Tommy is curious, questioning what is happening, he’s never seen this.

A crowd is huddled around the Castles gate, a guard is there with a scroll, and he opens it.

“As some of you heard, the queen is sick!” The guard reads, “Under a curse, an illness brought by the humans.”

Tommy knows this is bullshit! Humans can’t curse people.

“Years ago, Humans too got this illness, but they had a cure. We are quickly trying to find anything in the scrap yard, but please be patient as there will be no festival this year.” There's some murmuring around the crowd as he says this, it’s clear this is a punch to their morale. “Looking at some books, the kingdom has called this, the flu.”

The flu? The fucking flu? That's all she has? No cancer or tumors? Man, this is bullshit.

Tommy goes to walk away, clearly upset that the kingdom is on standby that's to the fucking flu. He stops, hearing the guard speak again.

“We are talking to the humans we collected this year, seeing if they know a cure for this sickness, as of now, they aren’t cooperating-” the crowd riots and boos people scream.

“Of course, humans are heartless” someone yells “They’d like to see our downfall, wouldn’t they?” Tommy scoffs, of course, we won't help, you guys were literally going to banish us a week from now, selfish bastards.

If they’re looking in the scrap yard for anything that could help, it’s best if Tommy just heads home, maybe it won't rain, this is the reason it’s quiet.

He looks up at the sky, it’s cloudy, and it smells like rain in the air, Tommy guesses the Ender people aren’t paying attention to that though. Tommy looks up, holding his hand out, he feels a raindrop. This will be interesting.

Tommy watches as the crowd screams in anger, turning into screams of pain as the water hits them, and everyone scatters, running around. Tommy laughs, watching them panic, it’s karma he guesses.

Tommy holds up his umbrella, standing in the middle of the chaos as now, even the guard is running back to the castle. Tommy starts walking to the scrap yard, maybe he’ll actually get to find something he likes.

As he arrives, just as expected, it’s deserted. Tommy walks around, looking through the pile of trash, looking for anything that could help him. By now, all the electronics have been damaged beyond repair thanks to the rain, he remembers as the Ender-king Phil had to send guards to take care of a big fire that had started because the water touched something that made something short circuit and caused a fire.

He finally finds something that still would work for a roof, it’s a big plank of wood, It has moss on it, and it’s going to be wet, but it’s better than Tommy getting wet every time it rains. Tommy looks around for anything that could help drag it, he spots some rope on an old tether pole. He pulls out his pocket knife and cuts it, he then latches the rope around the wood.

He starts to drag it on the ground, realizing how heavy it is, along with the mud, it’ll be a hassle to drag there. But, nothing Big Man Tommyinnnit can’t handle.

Sure, with his old shoes, constantly making him slip and fall into the mud will get annoying and boring real fast, he needs to tough it through until he can get home. With something this big, the pumpkin can’t hide it, meaning, he’ll have to go around the kingdom, hoping no one sees the random piece of wood dragging itself with rope.

“Halt!” he hears a voice call, he instantly drops the rope, looking at who said that. In the mud and trashy terrain is a kid.

A kid? Really? A kid scared you?

He picks up the rope again, starting to drag the wood again.

“I said halt!” The kid runs up to Tommy, it’s a Piglin kid. 

“Listen, kid, I don’t think I have time to play with you…” Tommy huffs as he continues to pull on the rope. He hears the kid mutter “Oh” almost like he’s sad.

“I’m Michael, who are you?” The Piglin kid walks beside Tommy. Tommy thinks for a second, he can’t tell this kid his name, what if he goes back to his mom and starts talking about how someone with a pumpkin for a head was stealing from the scrap yard? Oh yeah, and his name was Tommy. He’d be screwed.

“Uhh,” Tommy thinks.

“Why are you stealing that wood? It’s not even good?” Micheal questions.

“I’m not stealing it!” Tommy quickly states Micheal raises his eyebrow, “I'm simply borrowing it, I'll bring it back later- I need to… I need to use it as a platform! Human wood like this shouldn’t just sit here! Imma uses it to make a campfire later.” Tommy quickly lies. “I mean- that's all it’s really good for.”

Micheal tilts his head, thinking. “Yeah! Sounds good and fun!” Micheal states, “Is that your name? Borrower? Because I think you can’t bring it back if you burn it.”

“Uhh, yes! You can call me Borrower- 'cause I simply borrow things.” Tommy laughs a bit, and Micheal chuckles.

“What's that thing on your head?” Micheal asks, Tommy stills.

“It’s my head- obviously” Tommy replies.

“What kind of hybrid are you? I don’t think I've seen someone like you?” Micheal says.

“Uhh- I’m a- a…” Tommy thinks, “A fruit guy! We usually live on the outskirts of towns and villages, not common to see one.”

“Oh, okay-” Micheal sits on the wood, making Tommy a bit frustrated at the weight increase. Micheal plays with Tommy's umbrella.

“Does this shield you from the rain?” Micheal asks, “Cool!”

“Yeah I read a book one time- back when I thought it was okay to have human stuff, they described it and I made it- it's called an umbrella.” Tommy pauses, “Technically it's not a human item since I made it myself.”

“Were you around when humans were here?” Micheal asks.

“Barely, I was maybe 1 month old,” Tommy remembers it so vividly, his mom shoving him under some trash as guards took her, he was barely 7 at that time, and he didn’t dare go to her banishment at the coming festival…

“Oh, then I suppose you wouldn’t remember what they were like… I heard they’re mean and selfish! They refuse to help the queen!” Micheal pouts and Tommy laughs.

“Don’t forget, it was the king and queen who were going to banish the same humans a week from now.” Micheal looks up at Tommy.

“I suppose that's true,” Micheal agrees, “is it okay if I go to your home? I don’t really like the rain…”

Tommy scoffs “Don’t you know not to follow strangers?”

“But you’re not a stranger! You’re a Borrower” Micheal laughs happily, and Tommy sighs.

“No, you may not come home with me,” Tommy states, Micheal whines.

“But why? I promise I won't do anything bad.” Micheal whines.

“I mean it, No, you may not come to my home,” Tommy states, Michael huffs and gets off the wood, walking away. Tommy sighs, continuing to drag the wood away.

When he gets home, his food is muddy and there are a few worms, Tommy sighs, picking them up and throwing them outside.

Tommy puts the wood up, sticking it onto his roof, making sure the mud is secure enough to hold the wood. He looks up at his new roof, satisfied, next up, a floor. 

By the time Tommy got home, the rain had cleared up, revealing the shining sun. He walks outside, looking around the forest he calls home, checking on his crops. He picks up a pumpkin, and then walks back inside.

.

.

.

Wilbur is furious, just yesterday the queen- his mother was fine. But then, tragedy struck, she is now bedridden, and she couldn’t go five steps without throwing up, some old guy Wilbur didn’t care about said it was a human sickness called the “flu”. Techno had asked the two humans for a cure, of course, none of them cared enough to respond…

Wilbur can’t blame them, one had been there for a whole year trapped in a cell…

But still, doesn’t stop Wilbur being worried, no one, not even Phil can go see Kristen in fear it's contagious, if one fallen ruler is a sign of weakness, two would mean defeat for the empire. Ranboo had come over from the satyr village, he was here to calm Techno down. He and his friend Tubbo had recently got an orphan Piglin kid named Micheal, apparently 10 minutes after being here, he went missing…

Tubbo is worried sick, Techno looks like he’s going to start a war, and Phil is praying for Kristen and… Wilbur? Wilbur doesn’t know how to feel except disappointed in how this outcome came.

“Micheal!” Tubbo said, he went and hugged the small Piglin.

“Dad! I learned about fruit people!” Micheal said happily.

“Fruit people?” Techno grumbled, and Michael nodded.

“Some guy was in the scrap yard-”

“The scrap yard? What were you doing there?!” Tubbo raised his voice a bit.

“Looked fun, anyway, he was taking a plank of wood! He had this big orange head!” Micheal laughed.

“Orange head?” Wilbur questioned.

“Yeah! He said he was a fruit person- sounded funny, but i don’t judge,” Wilbur was piecing together what this meant, a man with an orange head was in the scrap yard while it was raining, right when guards were issued to go inside…

“Micheal, did the head look like this?” Techno held up a drawing of a pumpkin, and Micheal nodded.

“Yeah! It looked funny.” Wilbur was sure of it now, it was most likely a human. Just like humans use the rain as a cover to get stuff. “He was super nice! But he did say he didn’t blame the humans for not helping the queen… I thought it was pretty weird.”

Techno huffs, quickly leaving the room. It’s clear to Wilbur that he is going to look for this “fruit person”. Wilbur can’t believe there's been a human under their noses!

“What did he look like Micheal?” Wilbur asked.

“Did the fruit person do something wrong?” Michael asked, clearly worried.

“Micheal,” Tubbo crouched down beside Micheal, “there's no such thing as fruit people. That man lied to you, he was using a pumpkin to keep himself invisible from people.”

Micheal looked like he’d been hit with realization as he just stood there.

“You mean he was a bad guy?” Tubbo nodded, and Micheal hugged Tubbo.

“I'm sorry,” The little Piglin said.

“It’s okay, you didn’t know,” Tubbo said, “but did you see what he looked like?”

Micheal nods, “he was about Wilbur's height but a bit smaller, and he had blonde hair like Phil- he also looked really muddy.” Tubbo nods, and Wilbur makes sure to keep a mental note of that.

Wilbur then realizes the idea Niki had said, “I think- I think someone is using a pumpkin…” Wilbur had dismissed her concerns, but it seemed like this human might have been messing with Niki…

“Techno- wait up!” Wilbur runs to where he sees Techno walk off.

Chapter Text

Tommy took off the pumpkin head, the only thing keeping him safe in this world, he pulled out his pocket knife, along with an Ipod his mother had given him, along with a solar-powered charger for his Ipod, he quietly played a song by someone named “Elton john” named “I’m still standing” it was one of Tommy's favorite songs. It gave him a nostalgic feeling of hearing another human, a human that was happy and safe. He puts the pumpkin in front of him, he stabs it with the knife, making a hole that could fit his head on the bottom.

He then scoops out the pumpkin guts and seeds, placing them to the side for later use. He makes two eye holes, then washes it with some water he collected from the rain.

The rain had a heavy flow, he ended up getting three full jugs of water, it should last him a while.

He hears a commotion going on in the village walls, he doesn’t bother to go see what's happening.

Tommy then drys the pumpkin, putting it on his head. He looks at himself in a broken mirror he found about a month ago in the scrap yard.

“Looking fashionable! All the ladies will be on me!” Tommy weakly laughs, and just stares at himself in the mirror. He takes the pumpkin head off for a second, looking at his face.

“You need a bath man-” a voice in Tommy's head says, Tommy sighs. He looks at a tub he has outside, it’s filled with rainwater. He gets in it, clothes still on. He watches as dirt and grime come off of him.

“Why wait to wash my clothes? They're getting clean, why I'm also getting clean!” Tommy laughs, he grabs some shampoo, squirting it on his hair, and starts scrubbing.

“That's nasty” a voice in his head states, Tommy ignores it, he’s not nasty, the voice is…

After a very successful bath, Tommy gets out of the now dirty water and shakes himself dry, he puts on the pumpkin head once more.

“Perfect! Clean, disguised, and looking good!” he says to mirror Tommy, he snaps his fingers and then finger guns at himself. “No ladies could resist this!”

The mirror Tommy moves, almost like itself.

“When will you give up and come to the conclusion that you're most likely the only human in this kingdom?” mirror Tommy says. “You know as much as I do, that little brat ratted you out! Should just give up and turn yourself in-”

Tommy shrugs and responds, he turns away from the mirror and walks over to some dry clothes, putting them on. They’re a little small for him- but it’s not like anyone is going to see him anyway.

He walks over to his farm, looking at his crops.

“I think vegetable stew today?” Tommy says, picking some vegetables like carrots and potatoes. He also picks some berries. “Need that sweet touch.”

”you act like vegetable stew isn't the only thing we can really eat here, no other food here” 

“You need to stop being so grouchy and look at the bright side of things! New roof, food, and I had a bath today.” Tommy list.

“I would hardly call that a bath.”

“Yeah, and I’d hardly call you real, you're a voice in my head- and imagination 'cause I’m lonely or something” Tommy replies “Maybe you should skedaddle 'cause you're a killjoy.”

Tommy places the vegetables that have some water in them, then, he lights a fire outside placing the pot on top.

“Aren’t you worried someone will see the smoke?”

“Nah, a lot of scavengers come out here around the time it rains to pick up worms for fish bait, they’ll just think I'm one of those.” Tommy pauses “But, if someone does come over, 1. They can’t see me because of the pumpkin, and 2. They’ll just think this place belongs to some poor crazy person who likes random things like bathtubs.” Tommy shrugs.

Tommy stirs the stew with a stick, it's unsanitary, but he’s been using the same stick for a while now and hasn’t gotten sick so it must be fine.

After an hour, the stew seems ready, so Tommy tastes it and then adds the berries.

He stirs it a bit more then tastes it.

“Perfect!” Tommy grabs a wooden bowl and pours some stew into it. Tommy then grabs a piece of bread that he stole from the bakery. He quickly puts out the fire and starts eating his food, it's not half bad.

“That is probably the most gross concoction I have ever seen.”

Tommy looks at a piece of white fur that somehow made its way onto a carrot in the stew, he shrugs, then continues eating. “Food is food, can’t complain here.”

Tommy can still hear yelling from the town, wondering what it's all about. He could go into town to find out, or, he could mind his business and not snoop around. Maybe the townspeople are still mad and upset about the queen? It’s been a while, no way they’re all still yelling about humans, maybe at the bar and stuff, but not in the streets.

He could only sit and wonder what was happening…

.

.

.

Wilbur couldn’t believe that he actually caught up to Techno, who he believed was not only the best fighter but a fast runner as well. 

He could tell Techno was concentrating, Probably on how to catch and find a human that seemed to be smart about the city's weaknesses. That being said, The royal family hasn’t wronged this guy yet so it might be good to find, and see, what he knows about the flu.

Micheal's description would help, not Wilbur, but Techno. The royal family can see people with pumpkins on their heads, but not Wilbur… He seemed to not have that ability that his mother has. Then again, Kristin always said that Wilbur got his ability more from his father, than her. His wings were too heavy to fly, unlike his mother, He got burned by the touch of water, Unlike his mother, and now he can't see this mysterious pumpkin-headed human.

Secretly, because of this, he knows most citizens believe that Kristin should’ve married someone more fit to be king, and thinks that they should have another son as heir to replace Wilbur.

He knows that because of this, the increase of betrayal and assassins sent to his father and himself has grown. If the king and heir died, Kristin would be forced into marrying another, trying to find a more suitable heir to the throne.

“Techno!” Wilbur shouted, He saw Techno whip his head around to look at Wilbur.

Wilbur takes a moment to catch his breath.

“Micheal has a description that might help your search.” Wilbur joyfully said he was happy to inform Techno of things rather than the more common things of Techno informing Wilbur. “He said he’s about my height, only shorter. Blonde hair and muddy- obviously.”

“Thanks, Wilbur,” Techno grumbled, obviously indulging in Wilbur's joy of informing him. In honesty, it's more than common for a human to be shorter than an Enderman hybrid, as well as a human to be muddy as they don’t really have a welcoming home to go to. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

Wilbur watched as Techno mounted his horse, Karl, probably the fastest and most athletic horse Wilbur had ever seen. Karl wasn’t bred in the Arctic empire, in fact, it was bred in Pogtopia, one of the few standing cities of humans, abandoned and deserted by some different hybrids that took it over, known as a no man's land as the hybrids there are hostile towards outsiders and themselves.

It’s strange to admit, but Techno is from there, he was the one who bred Karl, and Karl wouldn’t let anyone ride him except Techno, much to Wilbur's frustration and confusion.

“Be safe,” Wilbur reminded Techno, “if things get too out of hand, you know Dad would want you here instead of catching one lousy human.”

“I’ll be fine Wil,” Techno spoke, “I'll be fast, won’t even notice I'm gone…” Wilbur knew of Techno’s condition, and in fact, Techno wasn’t hired at all! Instead, the guards had found Techno in a puddle of blood, not his blood though, when Phil was informed he instantly held the young boy in a cell. But, as days went on, Phil noticed it was a normal boy with a curse, a curse that caused bloodshed and bloodthirst.

The voices in Techno’s head were something even the Ender-dragon would be scared of.

Wilbur watches as Karl runs off, Techno on his back.

Wilbur can do nothing but watch as Techno rides off, he stands there for a while, and once he can’t see Techno anymore, he walks back inside.

He takes his time going back to the hallway in front of Kristin's door. It’s gloomy there, too gloomy for Wilbur who’s used to the upbeat funny family he knows and loves! Not the one panicking and trying not to die.

Almost on cue, A loud scream envelopes the hallway, and suddenly, Wilbur finds himself running to his mother’s hallway.

He can smell it, smoke, and gunpowder. An attack? Now? But Techno just left- did they plan that?

As he arrives, he sees… no one? He hears people- but it’s too smoky to see anything. 

“Dad?” Wilbur called out, he heard a groan and mumble on the right side of the hallway. He quickly rushed over, he could see a silhouette, was it Phill… it had wings, meaning it must be Phil!

Wilbur crouches beside his father, he places his hand on Phil's chest and sighs in relief as it goes up and down.

“Dad- what happened? Are you okay?” Wilbur spoke quickly.

“Yeah mate-” Phil coughed, “I think they’re going towards Kristin- get Techno-”

“-Techno went off to find the human!” Wilbur spoke, cutting off Phil, a groan could be heard from Phil.

“I think… I think whoever they are has a pumpkin on… I think there's more than one.” Phil explained, Wilbur nodded as the smoke finally cleared revealing his father.

“I’ll call for the other hybrid guards,” Wilbur spoke, god, he wishes he could see people in pumpkins… Pumpkin? Didn’t the human that Michael saw have a pumpkin? Are the humans attacking now? It would explain why they'd ignore Phil and go for Kristin.

Wilbur ran over outside, looking around for any guards, but there weren’t any.

Only blood…

So much blood.

If someone was killing them, Wilbur couldn’t see them. That scared Wilbur…

The next thing Wilbur noticed was the civilians noticed. They were screaming, so loud. Everyone was panicking, Wilbur didn’t know what to do, where was Techno? Surely he would’ve heard the yelling and come back right? He shouldn’t be that far away, right?

So where was Techno?

.

.

.

Tommy could still hear yelling, and screaming even! Should he see what’s happening? Maybe… but with that much chaos Tommy’s near positive that the guards are on high alert, meaning, he shouldn’t go.

On the other hand, it would be good for information to see what the ruckus is about.

Tommy starts walking towards the city, then he hears fighting.

Tommy climbs a tree, looking around. Then, he spots them.

That Techno guy is fighting two people with pumpkins on, should he help? Which side would he help?

“You should stay in the tree, it’s safer- you don’t need to help.” the voice rings out. It was right, if those two are fighting Techno, that's their own fault.

“God- What did his mom feed him?” One of the pumpkin people says- Tommy dubs him, Pumpkin dude A.

“It’s like he never gets knocked down…” Pumpkin B says. Pumpkin A has what looks like a demon tail, Pumpkin B has crystals coming out of his skin, they were not human, so, Tommy doesn’t care what happens to them.

Almost like a six sense, Techno turns and looks straight at Tommy, and then he runs. Tommy can see he’s running towards the castle-

Wait. Did he just leave these two bastards with Tommy?

That bastard!

Chapter Text

Techno knows he knows something is happening at the castle, something with the family he could call his own… as soon as he heard something wrong, he tried to return. But these two people stopped him. They wore pumpkins, and red robes to hide what weapons they held.

They ran up to him, coming from the town, the way Techno was headed.

“We’ve been sent to stop you!” One of them said as Techno noticed blue crystals coming out of this boy's skin, what was he?

“Can’t have you interrupting our plans… Techno.” The other one said he had a black tail, most likely a demon.

“I would ask how you knew my name,” Techno gets off Karl, then he unsheathes his blade. “But I have gotten a reputation in this town.”

The crystal boy laughs, bringing out his own blade, the demon brings out his bow, ready to fight.

Techno knows he has the height advantage against the crystal one, but the demon is about his height.

Techno watches closely as the diamond one charges toward him, Diamond swings his sword, and Techno stops it. He holds his sword on the diamond guy’s when an arrow shoots his shoulder. Techno groans in pain and annoyance as he’s forced to back away from the sword exchange. 

“That's a nasty move,” Techno mutters, he puts his hand on his shoulder and then looks at his blood-covered hand.

Blood?

Technohurt

Technolate

/rainbow chat

Blood?

Dadza needs help!

Blood for the blood god!

E

…

E

E

E

Techno sighs in annoyance.

“What? Do you expect us to play fair? We know we’ll lose if we do that!” The diamond one laughs “Good shot Bad.”

“Two-on-one seems a bit unfair,” Techno grumbles, pulling out his crossbow, and loading three arrows. The diamond one charges forward.

“You think we’ll let you load your crossbow?” Diamond Boy sarcastically states. The demon, who Techno assumes is named Bad, shoots arrows at Techno.

Techno easily dodges the arrows, then shoots at Bad while blocking the diamond one with his crossbow, the crossbow breaks in half, but it gives Techno enough time to back away and dodge the diamond one's attack.

Bad screams in pain as two out of the three arrows hit. The diamond one turns around to look at Bad, Techno swings his sword, hitting the diamond one's shoulder, causing him to groan in pain. The bleeding and wound of the diamond one had quickly stopped as the blood crystalized, intriguing Techno.

“God, what did his mom feed him?” Bad states.

“It’s like he never gets knocked down!” The diamond one says in frustration.

“Well, unfair for you two at least.” Techno stares, Techno looks up at a tree, and there sits a person. He had long blond hair and a scrappy oversized T-shirt that was red and white. He was muddy and wore a pumpkin that looked freshly carved, this must be the human he was looking for.

Was he with these two? No. The others were more well-kept, they also had matching robes and uniforms. The human did not.

He needs to get back to the castle, at this point, he could see smoke! Humans are known to be territorial right? That means if he left these two with the human, Techno could get away.

Techno looks at the human who seems to be just watching the three of them, with no aggression.

But, it's the only chance he’s got.

Techno whistles for Karl who rushes over, Techno starts running, and once he has gotten away he jumps onto Karl, rushing to the castle.

He saw smoke, and everyone in the streets was panicking. The town's buildings are burning, the castle is burning! He looks at the castle, in the front yard of it is Wilbur, who stands in shock. From the side is Phil coming out of a door coughing with the help of Ranboo as Tubbo is carrying the queen, Micheal walking by Tubbo’s side.

“Phil! Are you okay?” Techno rushes over, helping Phil out. “Yeah mate.” he coughs a bit, “glad we’re all safe.”

Some civilians walk over, crowding the family.

“It was you!” one says, pointing at Techno. “That pigling burned down my shop!”

“Heh?” Techno questions, What were they talking about? He was too busy dealing with two idiots to burn anything down.

“Yeah! A piglin burned down my hay supply! It made my house catch on fire!” another civilian accuses.

“Now, now, Techno wouldn’t-” Wilbur tries.

“-I bet he got his buddies to let the humans escape too!” what? The humans are gone? “It was because he wanted the queen to die!”

“The festival starts three days from now! Of course, they’d let the humans out! He’s all buddy-buddy with them!”

“Traitor!”

“After everything this kingdom has done to help you!”

Techno stood there, what should he say? What should he do? Now thinking about it, this isn't the first time this has happened…

He turns to look at Phil, who seems to be wide-eyed in wonder of what his subjects are saying!

“Phil,” Techno whispers, “I didn't do this.”

“I know mate,” Phil whispers back, “but you should leave for now, we’ll try to prove your innocence.” Techno nods, getting back on Karl and riding off, back into the forest.

.

.

.

Tommy is running, why? Because an ASSHOLE named Techno decided to leave two psychos with Tommy! Rude, I know. But, The Great Tommy has a plan! He’ll lead these two into a human trap! You know, the ones the kingdom uses to try to catch Tommy but fails cause he’s too awesome.

Tommy rounds a corner, jumping over a net, carefully disguised with leaves. He hears the two shouting at each other, Tommy guesses something like “why is he so fast and amazing?” .

He hears them shout in frustration as he waits to hear a…

Snap!

And they’re caught! And Tommy is not. He wins, they lose.

He slows down, and eventually, he stops walking altogether! Then, he swiftly turns and walks triumphantly towards the trap.

“Well, well, well…” Tommy laughs as he walks over to them, the sword one was holding is on the ground, now covered in mud. He then looks up at them, they’re trapped in a net, just hanging there. “Pleasure to see you two are doing well.”

Tommy looks at the two of them, the demon is about his height, just a little over. Well, he has been needing new clothes right? This would also give him new equipment!

Tommy walks over to them, grabbing and taking off their pumpkins.

“Don't think you deserve these innt’?” Tommy says with a big grin on his face, even they could hear his smile behind his pumpkin.

He grabs the demon's robe, pulling it off him.

“Give that back!” the demon shouts, Tommy takes notice of the uniform under the robe, it is new and unique. Tommy hasn’t seen anything like it before, has he missed news of a new country or something?

Well, it doesn’t matter to Tommy, he picks up the muddy sword off the ground.

“Welp, these are mine now, thanks for the stuff.” Tommy states, “Have fun in that net until the kingdom checks them, which should be about when the sun rises tomorrow.”

Tommy turns and walks away, hearing them shout.

“I knew we should’ve gone for Techno!”

“Boss said to go for any humans we find!”

“Well, the boss is an idiot and an asshole!”

“Language Skeppy!”

Tommy looks over his new loot and, for once in his life, feels armed and protected. He for once, feels warm and comfortable against the fall breeze.

Walking across the path he saw Techno and the two idiots fight on, he saw that Techno was back. He quickly turns and hides behind a tree.

What is he doing back here?! 

“He’s probably back for you” the voice states, hate to admit it, but it’s probably right.

“I can hear you, you know?” Techno says Tommy stays quiet. He could outrun those two, but this guy has a horse! And he’s the one who probably set the human traps so he can’t just trick him like he did the others, right?

“You are so screwed,” the voice laughs.

“I can see the robe.” Techno states, Tommy looks down, a bit of the red robe is sticking out, damn new clothes, giving him away like that!

Tommy peaks out.

“What do you want?” Tommy asks.

“Are you with the other two?” techno asks.

“You answer my question first asshole!” Tommy shouts in frustration. Techno stays quiet.

“No, I'm not with the two dumb people.” Techno raises an eyebrow, then points at the robe. “Oh yeah, stole this from the demon guy.” Tommy shows off his new robe. “Now you answer my question!”

“People think I started a fire in the town,” Techno explains, ah, exiled.

“Did you?” Tommy asks.

“No?” Techno says.

“Is it a no? Or a no.” Tommy asks, “I mean it shouldn’t be a question! Did you commit arson? Or did you not?”

“No, I did not commit arson.” Techno says, “Where are the dumb ones anyway?”

“I tricked them into falling for one of those net human traps you guys set,” Tommy explains.

“You know about those?”

“If I say no will you believe me?” Tommy asks.

“No, you just confirmed you knew about them,” Techno states.

“Don’t know what you’re talking about, Big man.” Tommy says “What were you talking about?”

“I’m not falling for”

“You alright in the head? Need a therapist? I'm great at therapy.”

“What?”

“You heard me! Or maybe not, might be deaf in the head after committing arson.”

“I didn’t do it!”

“That's what they all say, then you stick them in a room and they say they did.” Tommy says, “Make up your mind big man. You do it?”

“No, I didn't do it. How about you human, you committed arson before?” Techno asked.

“How dare you think of me so lowly, I only do minor terrorism and thievery,” Tommy spoke, putting his hand on his chest. It was silent after that, they were just standing there staring at each other.

“Where are they,” Techno started, “the two numbskulls?”

“Uhh,” Tommy looks at the direction they’re in, should it be east? Or west? “That way” Tommy points in a direction which is south-east.

Techno looks in that direction and then sighs. “Why not just show me where they are? You’re making me do too much work.”

Tommy groans.

“For someone who looked like they were hunting me, let's say… 10 minutes ago?-”

“-more like 34 minutes”

“Whatever! Why should I trust you hmmm?” Tommy asked, Techno thinks for a second.

“Because that was in the past?” Techno says his voice going a bit higher in pitch, “Plus, if I even turn you in right now, I think I'll get shot before I even enter the town's walls.”

Tommy hums why he thinks.

“Fine!” Tommy finally agrees, “But first I'm going home to store my new loot” Tommy starts heading in the direction of his home, Techno follows suit, but Tommy feels like even if he told this guy not to follow him, he would. So, Tommy just sighs in annoyance.

He makes it especially hard for Techno as he goes home, hoping to shake him off or something. Eventually, he arrives home, unsuccessful as Techno still is behind him.

.

.

.

“Dad, you know Techno is innocent!” Wilbur shouts, and Phil sighs.

“Until we can prove that, Techno has to deal with being wanted.” Phil says, “It doesn’t matter if we know he’s innocent, if the town doesn’t think so then we’ll just lose their trust Wil,”

“But still! You know Techno! By now he’s probably got frustrated and killed every animal he’s found… we’ll have to deal with trying to save the animal population before it goes extinct…”

“Wilbur, I know you worry about Techno, but he’s fine, he’s probably out there somewhere finding the culprit of all this.” Phil says, “For now we should do the same. A mass of piglins don’t attack unless provoked, so, why were they here?”

“Maybe someone provoked them and led them here?” Ranboo suggested.

“No, piglin are very picky on who they attack, they wouldn’t attack a town for one person,” Tubbo explains, holding a stuffed toy that was Michael.

“We should be grateful that nothing important got burned…” Wilbur sighed, and everyone hummed in agreement.

“Do you think they could’ve been spooked?” Tubbo asks, “Like someone scared them to go on a rampage?”

“It's very hard to make one piglin scared, let alone a whole herd,” Phil says.

“I wonder what Techno is thinking right now,” Wilbur says, “I miss him.”

Chapter Text

The kid's “home” was a wreck, there were random jars on the floor and trees, a random bathtub in the yard, and a lot of trash on the ground. If Techno didn’t know any better, this would just be a miniature human scrap yard. The kid kicks open a door that was semi disguised, this must be where he sleeps. 

The floor was dirt, yet the roof was wooden, the wood had moss on it and was not stable. There was a mattress on the ground that was wet, probably from rain. Overall, it was a good home for someone who had nothing and could get nothing.

This was the first time Techno had seen a new human home, a home that was meant to hide and shield them from…well, Techno and his family.

There were jars stacked up against the wall, and some wood on the ground with what Techno assumes is pumpkin guts. The jars are filled with water, some were also filled with what Techno assumes is homemade jam.

“This is… an interesting home,” Techno says, hoping not to sound too rude.

“Yeah, but I've been working on this for like, 8 years?” the kid says, Techno goes back outside, looking at his yard. In the back, there's a small farm of carrots, potatoes, and pumpkins. On the outskirts of the farm are some berry bushes, this place is a mess. Techno knows that. But, this place is neatly organized, the jars on the floor and trees are for rainwater, a fresh source of water, he had a farm where they aren’t shielded by any leaves from trees, and he has a home that shields the kid from the weather and guards.

This kid's hard work shows.

“Hey kid, what's your name anyway?” Techno asks, going back to the front of the door, and looking at the kid.

“Tommy.” the kid, or Tommy says. Techno sees why they couldn’t catch this guy, he’s smarter than he looks, acts, and sounds.

“Okay, Tommy.” Techno starts, “about the queen's illness.”

“You mean the flu?” Techno is shocked at how much this kid knows, which means he must go into town a lot. “Yeah, she should be fine, simple disease.”

“Is there a cure?” Techno asks, at least this kid is willing to talk about it.

“First, who told you idiots that we humans could curse people?” Tommy looks at techno after putting the sword down.

Tommy walks out of the house and stretches.

“Can’t you?” Techno asks, “I mean, curse people? When we fought you guys in the war a lot of people got weak and threw up like the queen.”

“Nah, that's not our fault” Tommy laughs, “oh yes! We humans can’t walk through fire, teleport, or shoot fireballs at our enemies, yet we can make you feel weak and throw up!” Tommy says sarcastically.

“Then why-”

“There's these little things in the air, germs or whatever.” Tommy explains, “A lot of bad germs make people sick like the queen is. Even us humans get sick from time to time.” Techno somewhat understands, so it wasn’t a curse, it was something natural in the overworld.

But that asks another question, why hadn’t anyone informed the Endermen about this, like Tubbo? The goat species had been on the overworld far longer than the Netherlings or Enderpeople.

“Did the other species not know of this? Like the goat hybrids?” Techno asks.

“It took us humans a long time to understand the importance of germs and hygiene, we used to think it was a punishment by god!” Tommy explains, “The hybrids were born after us, we didn't know them very well. Therefore they probably think the same as you, that it's a curse or punishment.” Tommy seems proud and confident in his explanation. Techno can tell by the way Tommy’s tone of voice is.

“Okay…? But then why don't humans help and say something about that?” Techno asked, he knew the answer, they were selfish. It’s the only reason, all humans are selfish.

“Because you guys were going to exile them,” Tommy said, Techno froze. Tommy started walking a certain way, and Techno followed.

“Just think about it, the assholes who captured and told you they were gonna get exiled into a wasteland they don’t know about” Tommy started, “you’d wanna delay that as much as possible.”

Techno understood that he had thought of it but not in the eyes of the humans. Usually, this is what helps him be able to track down and capture humans. If you want to catch something sentient, Techno doesn’t sympathize with the thing he’s hunting down.

“Why do you guys call it an exile?” Techno asks. “I know it's because we’re kinda banishing you guys but can’t you guys come back or something? Like the Ender people do?”

“Nope, can’t do that,” Tommy says blankly ducking under a tree branch. “To do that we’d need a portal to be opened on that side, but we can't use magic or anything like that.”

“Plus, most of the humans still here don’t even know if we’d survive in the end,” Tommy explains.

“Why can’t you?” Techno says, following suit, ducking under a tree branch.

“One, we need a food source, a diverse one, not just fruit that makes you teleport. Two we need water, from how the Enderman reacts, there's none of that, lastly, we need air.”

“So that means?”

“Probably all the people you sent there are dead.” Techno blinks at that, Dead? No, they couldn't be dead, could they? 

All the kids and babies they sent there could be dead.

Some enderman must’ve gone there right? Seen if they're okay? Then again, no one has told Techno about that… No one has done that.

Techno gulps at that thought as a tight clinch of guilt invades his heart.

“That can’t be true, Phil wouldn’t allow it,” Techno says, still trying to believe this human was wrong. That this human is trying to manipulate his feelings.

“Phil is a king, he does the best for his people. I mean, look at you! He knew it wasn’t you but he still made you run. Still made you wanted.” Techno didn’t want to believe it. “If he knew you didn’t do it and still outcast you, then what about humans? Who did something, who murdered his citizens?” Techno covered his ears, this human was wrong, he had to be. Phil took him in, even when he was all bloody and bruised and hostile! But Phil turned his back on Techno at the words of his citizens. Techno isn’t a citizen of his...

He's a piglin, he isn’t an enderman like the rest of them. He isn’t Phil's child, he’s a piglin he found, he’s a weapon, a guard.

Phil is killing humans, maybe he doesn’t know? We didn’t know about human illnesses until now so we don’t know much about their anatomy, about their world.

But who will say what's enough is enough? Who will say that the humans today are the humans 15 years ago?

‘We’re here.” Tommy says, pointing at a net.

Techno looks at it, the demon and diamond person are inside of it.

“Skeppy- ow!” Bad groaned as Skeppy stood on his back trying to untie the net.

“Hold still Bad!” Skeppy says, then, he falls right on Bad causing both of them to groan in pain. “I don’t think this is going to work.”

“I’ve said that for the past 30 minutes!” Bad says, Just like how Tommy said, Bad no longer had a robe on, just a red shirt with a weird symbol on it.

They take notice of Tommy and Techno and fall silent.

“So you’re with the ones who set the city on fire?” Techno says, trying to sound intimidating, “Who are you two working for?”

“We’re not telling you!” Skeppy says, trying to sound confident, key word, Trying.

“Oh, I think you will.” Techno grins, making Skeppy flinch a bit. Techno places his hand on top of Tommy's pumpkin head. “I think you will find that when you pair up a human and a piglin together, they can be particularly cruel.”

Tommy doesn’t move or say anything, only staring at the two.  This gives Techno confirmation that Tommy will help with this. Techno doesn’t plan to harm the two, torture is one of his specialties what he doesn’t want is for the town to see how cruel he can be. So Techno plans on scaring the shit out of them.

It seems to be working as Bad seems to look up at Skeppy who seems to have a worried look on his face. 

Techno pulls Tommy aside.

“No hurting, only scaring!” techno explained.

“Awh- what? You’re taking all the fun out of torturing people!” Tommy retaliates. 

“Advanced interrogation techniques,” Techno says.

“It's called torturing people!” Tommy shouted.

“Advanced interrogation techniques,” Techno repeated, Tommy stayed quiet for a bit, staring at Techno, Techno chuckled a bit.

“You asshole!” Tommy yells.

They turn back to the dumb duo, who seem to be having their own side discussion. Techno looks down at Tommy, who just sighs and responds.

“Advanced interrogation techniques,” Tommy grumbles.

Techno smiles again and laughs.

“Now you’re getting it!”

Techno and Tommy walk back up to the two.

“The boss is going to kill us-” bad whispers.

“He won't know…” Skeppy says, they pause and look back at Techno with a slightly annoyed look on his face.

Chapter Text

Wilbur was going crazy, he knew he was, the queen- his mum! Was getting sicker and sicker with each day that passed and Techno not being here didn’t help. He would never admit it though. He was a crowned prince- he wasn’t supposed to be scared of feel worried…atleast he couldn’t show it. It would mean the crowned prince was worried and scared, meaning he was weak. And with Techno gone, there was no one to protect him from the ones who want to prove those allegations!

“Wilbur, are you alright?” Phil asked, “You barely eaten any of your food.” Wilbur looked down and couldn’t help the disgusted scowl that crept onto his face.

“I’m just- I want Techno back home…Where it’s safe.” Wilbur said, picking at the mush that was in his bowl. “Especially with this attack- wouldn’t it be safer if he was here? Protecting us? He’s the best knight in the kingdom!”

“Techno will find the culprits and prove his innocence,” Phil spoke confidently. “That's his job to find and capture the kingdom's enemies.”

“But with that human out there- and all those pumpkin people-”

“Techno will be fine mate,” Phil said, getting up from his chair and going over to Wilbur. Gently placing his hand on one of Wilbur's shoulders, he spoke, “He’s endured worse.”

“I hope you're right…” Wilbur sighed. “Is Ranboo alright? I know he and Techno are close.”

“Ranboo hates it, but he understands the situation- it's best to just try to protect his family,” Phil said walking away over to a window, looking down at his kingdom. He gestures for Wilbur to come over next to him.

Wilbur stands up and goes over to Phil, looking down at the kingdom. The people were trying their best to fix the damage, guards patrolling the streets and helping out when they could.

“I don’t understand why someone would want this…” Wilbur sighed, “All this destruction is well enough to make me sick.”

“You don’t try to understand the enemy, Wilbur, anyone idiotic to attack another nation is an evil person who only likes bloodshed.” Phil spoke, turning to Wilbur, “They just hide that fact behind a smile saying it’s for the best.”

“We’re not telling you assholes-”

“Language.”

“Anything!” The crystal one- who Tommy was sure he heard the demon call him Skeppy. Tommy was confused at the dynamic these two were giving. One giving the other the devil's eye, why the other looked confident, almost, his hands were shaking.

“Listen, you don’t have to say any names - just who set the kingdom on fire.” Techno tried to reason, the crystal one stuck his tongue out, and the Demon looked away.

“Or you know, we could just slice your fingers off,” Tommy said, much to the gasp of Techno. “Try escaping from that net without thumbs.” Tommy had to ignore Techno, trying his best to not look at the Piglin.

“We don’t know,” The Demon says, “they were mercenaries our boss hired- a bunch of foxes…”

“Foxes?” Techno asked, and the Demon nodded. “What would Foxes want with our kingdom?”

“What did our kingdom do to piss them off?” Tommy commented.

“Nothing that I know of…?” Techno questioned, “But they’re sneaky, good with disguises that's for sure.”

“Sounds stereotypical.” Techno rolled his eyes.

“We’re leaving,” Techno announced.

“We?” Tommy asked, Techno dodged the question.

“You two will stay here till morning when I will come and collect you.” Techno grabbed Tommy’s wrist and pulled him away with him, much to Tommy's refusal.

“There's no we in this,” Tommy said when away from the two Techno released his wrist.

“There is now,” Techno spoke.

“No-”

“You can deny it, but either way you’re gonna help me with this.” Techno said, “Then you’ll explain to Phil the queen's curse, then why you think everyone in the end is dead.”

“Or- I go home, and pretend I never met you,” Tommy said.

“Then I’d treat you like a normal human and capture you.” Techno said, “I know where you live- don’t want 8 years to go down the drain do you?”

“This is blackmail.”

“No, this is a convincing argument.” 

“Blackmail.” Techno shrugged.

“The choice is yours,” Techno said, even when facing away from Tommy, he could hear the grin in the Piglin's mouth.

“Fine- but the pumpkin stays on.” Tommy sighed, Techno huffed in victory.

“To the kingdom!” Techno says, pointing onwards much to Tommy’s dismay. 

“If I die, I’m going to haunt you in the afterlife,” Tommy exclaimed.

“You can do that?” Tommy almost laughed, these guys don’t know anything- do they?

“Yes.” Tommy lied, of course he did. But it was a funny lie, a good lie.

“I’ll… I’ll keep that in mind.”

“You better.”

“People might not be so happy with you being there,” Techno spoke his voice wavering.

“No shit captain obvious.” Tommy deadpanned.

“I mean- other than the enderman- we have a goat hybrid and his son, a piglin…” Techno spoke, a little Piglin? Why did that seem familiar? “Who you lied to fruit person.”

Ah

So that kid is really important…

“What was I supposed to say? I’m a big scary human, here to kill you!”  Tommy exaggerates by waving his hands and making gestures. “Then you’d really be on my ass.”

Techno shrugged.

“Halt!” A guard yelled. “A wanted man is no longer welcome here!”

“I have evidence to prove my innocence,” Techno spoke, the guard shook his head.

“King’s orders!” Techno’s eyes widen. “Now stay away Techno! I don’t- I don’t want a fight.”

Tommy followed as Techno walked away from the gate.

“How’s your great Phil doing now?” Tommy snickered, earning a glare from Techno. “You want me to get you in?”

“You can do that?” Techno asked.

“Theres always more than one entrance to a kingdom this big.” Tommy snicked, and Techno nodded.

Tommy walked his little crack in the wall on his mind.

“You better not fix this later,” Tommy said, pushing a push to reveal his little hole in the wall.

Techno goes to look at it.

“But-” Tommy said making Techno stop in his tracks, “Do you think Phil wants you there? Give you the time of day to plead your case?”

“What do you mean?” Techno asked.

“He ordered the guards to keep you out.” Tommy said, “Even with the promise of evidence, you still weren’t allowed in.”

“So… do you still want to risk it?” Tommy finally asked. “Risk that Phil would look at you and shun you away?”

“You don’t know Phil-” Techno said, “He’ll listen, and if not him Wilbur will- Ranboo will- Kristin! Will…” Tommy was shocked to hear the Queen's real name.

“Fine, but you talk to them, I’m gonna go see this Queen myself,” Tommy said, earning a confused nod from Techno.

Tommy watches as Techno nuzzles into the crack, Tommy takes off his new cloak and hands it to Techno.

“Seems like you might need this more than me.” Tommy points to the pumpkin, “I’ll be fine.”

“Thanks,” Techno said, wrapping the cloak around him and putting the hood up.

“Good luck to you Big Man,” Tommy said, giving a thumbs up before running off into a direction.

Techno watches Tommy as he runs off, turning a corner out of his eyesight. Techno turns and looks at the castle, he just needs to make it to the castle, just needs to make it to Phil, just to Wilbur.

He hesitantly starts walking, the words of Tommy echoing in his head. What if Phil doesn’t want to see him? No, Techno is Phil’s unofficial son, he’s said that before. Phil’s the one who comforted Techno when he was sick, the one who made him soup. The one who watched Techno grow up, who Techno would consider the closest thing to a dad he has.

Phil wouldn’t just betray him.

But… it does seem more possible that Phil’s been hiding things from Techno. Important things.

Techno shook the feeling off, walking through the streets, there seemed to be more hybrid guards out here now. That can’t be good for Tommy.

Tommy.

The kid was a mystery, with no allies, yet he decided to come with Techno- Help Techno. His biggest enemy. Techno has seen the kids home, it wasn’t anything impressive to him- but to a human, it must be a stable way of living.

Which brings him back to why? Why would Tommy help him, do all these things for him? Humans were selfish little things, worth sparing no pity as they sit in a cell and rot. But Tommy isn’t selfish, he’s quite the opposite. How many others have been worth Techno listening to, worth being friends allies with?

Techno stopped

How was Techno supposed to get into the castle, the most guarded place in the kingdom? He should’ve thought this through. Techno looks to his left, panning across the castle with his eyes, he spots something orange on the wall. Someone scaling the wall.

Tommy.

How could the kid climb the wall, the wall is designed to be smooth for this exact problem.

Techno makes his way under Tommy and looks up at him, Tommy seems to take notice and looks down at him.

“Need some help, big man?” He calls down.

“How did you-?” Techno is about to ask, but Tommy jumps in through an open window. There is some silence for a few minutes, and then a rope comes down. Techno climbs the rope, trying to ignore how many people probably see him.

“Where did you get a rope?” Techno asked, huffing as he went through the window.

“Had help,” Tommy says, pointing down at a little Piglin.

Micheal.

“He little guy- didn’t you’re parents tell you not to trust…” Techno looked at Tommy, “Fruit…people?”

“Fuck you,” Tommy said.

“He said- he said he was helping you! And my dads didn’t like that you weren’t here…” Micheal muttered, Techno nodded.

“Speaking of your fathers, why don’t you bring me to them?” Techno offered his hand, Micheal nodded and took it.

Micheal looked at Tommy and raised his hand to grab him as well, much to Techno's surprise.

“No thanks Big man, I think you two can do that task, I have another big man task.” Tommy gave a thumbs up and Micheal laughed. “Plus, you have Techno, the baddest of badass!”

“Not a word.”

“Shut.” Tommy pointed at Techno, Micheal just laughed.

Micheal dragged Techno away from Tommy, Techno didn’t mind, but he would rather not have a human running around the castle. Micheal brought Techno to a door and knocked on it, Ranboo answered.

“Techno! What are you doing here?” Ranboo asked, looking around the hallway before pushing Techno into the room.

“Found out what species is helping the arsonist, are you okay? Seem paranoid?” Techno asked, Ranboo nodded.

“Yeah- Phil’s just- he’s being so unfair!” Ranboo said, “Anyone that isn’t on the guards that aren’t an Enderman is on lockdown!”

“He’s got Tubbo locked up in some other room- he tried to put Micheal in with him!” Ranboo huffed, “I get he’s under pressure- after the attack and Kristan getting sick… he won't let anyone near Kristan anymore!”

“It’s unfair…”

Techno nodded, understanding. Phil is under a lot of pressure, sure, but locking people away just for their race? That might be where Techno draws the line…

“Nope, can’t do that,” Tommy says blankly ducking under a tree branch. “To do that we’d need a portal to be opened on that side, but we can't use magic or anything like that.”

“Plus, most of the humans still here don’t even know if we’d survive in the end,” Tommy explains.

“Why can’t you?” Techno says, following suit, ducking under a tree branch.

“One, we need a food source, a diverse one, not just fruit that makes you teleport. Two we need water, from how the Enderman reacts, there's none of that, lastly, we need air.”

“So that means?”

“Probably all the people you sent there are dead.” Techno blinks at that, Dead? No, they couldn't be dead, could they? 

All the kids and babies they sent there could be dead.

Was that really where Techno drew the line? In that case he should’ve tried to stop the festival, stop throwing people into the end for having to be birthed Human…