Chapter Text
Night came once again. The darkness brought a blanket of quiet across the snow, with the occasional zombie groan or rattle of a skeleton. The silence was once again broken by the sound of footprints. A sorta of dance played out in the snow. The prints were odd at first, the prints appearing longer than they should have, as if they were dragged. Then, the steps became more apparent, more obvious, the prints made heavily in the snow, a purpose was made taking each one. One by one the trail created a path, leading into the darkness. Finally they found their destination, the faint purple glow of the portal illuminated them. And then they were gone.
A few days had passed. Everyone worked around each other in mutual silence. Techno had gone out, hoping to find some new villages to trade with, returning days later with newfound treasure and plenty of emeralds to spare. Phil had been in another world, one where he could rule the skies and build to his heart’s content. It was a few days later that they finally got back together.
“Did you get any good loot?”
Techno responds by dropping the loot onto the table, emeralds spilling out everywhere, along with name tags, enchanted books, and even a couple of maps, filled with the promise of more adventures to come.
Phil merely nods, examining the contents on the table. “You must have been busy.”
“It was okay I guess, nothing too exciting.” Techno shrugs.
The voices were chattering amongst themselves, some begging to go on another adventure, some wanting to stay back and talk to Phil, chanting Dadza much to Techno’s annoyance. Then, one, just one voice spoke up from the crowd, almost drowned out by the others around it.
How’s Ranboo?
And then they erupted
One by one, they began to repeat the phrase, some adding their own twist to it. You should go talk to him. Is he part of the family now? Go check on him. Most of them, however, seemed to stick to one phrase.
Ranboo my Beloved (this isnt italizing grrr)
“What?”
“What do you mean what?” Phil looked up at Techno, tilting his head a bit in confusion.
Techno places his hands on his temples, slowly rolling his fingers against his skull. “It’s the voices again, they keep talking about that Ranboo fella. They seem to have taken a liking to him”
Phil just laughs. “Speaking of Ranboo, I think maybe we could go talk to him again, since last time was so.. bad.”
Techno didn’t seem to have a choice. The voices all agreed in unison that this is the content they wanted today, and they were gonna annoy Techno until they got their way.
“Fineeeeeeee, I guess we could go talk to him.”
“Great, I will meet you out there.” And with that, Phil was out the door.
The voices coaxed him to follow.
-
By the time Techno made it over, Phil was knocking on Ranboo’s door. The place had been renovated a little. A small farm sat near the house, the sprouts of wheat beginning to grow from the ground. The faint sounds of cows mooed in the distance. The place seemed more homely than it had before.
The door opened slightly, a red eye peering out quickly, looking for the owner of the knock and finally noticed Phil. A sigh of relief escaped his mouth and the door swung open.
“Oh hey, I didn’t expect to see you guys here.. At all.”
“Yeah, just thought we’d check up on you is all, how are you doing?”
“Oh I’m fine, just been working a lot out here a lot, trying to make the place more homely.” Ranboo answered back. He shifted his weight into one leg, nervously rubbing his hands together.
“Well..” Phil clasped his hands together. “I thought maybe you’d like to join us and do some blaze farming in the nether, we could always use an extra hand, and when we are done, we split the loot.”
Ranboo’s eyes lit up, a slight smile forming on his lips. “Yeah, that actually sounds like fun, I wouldn’t mind stepping away from here for a bit. Let me grab my things.” And just like that he slipped back inside, slamming the door shut.
Techno looks over at Phil, what is this man planning?
Ranboo returned a few moments later, decked out in armor and brandishing a sword at his hip, along with a few fire-resistance potions. The armor just barely fit his thin frame, the chestplate unable to cover his entire stomach since he was so tall. It looked quite comical, considering he was wearing a suit underneath.
Phil smiled. “Alright let's get going.” and motioned for the two to follow.
They made it all the way to the nether portal before Phil paused, turning toward the other two in his wake.
“Ah ya know what, I think I left something important in the cabin, I need to head back and get it. You two wait here.”
Techno squinted at Techno. Phil shot him a quick mischievous smile.
Motherfucker, he did this on purpose
Before Techno got a chance to retort, Phil was already gone. Leaving them both. Alone.
They stood there in silence, making passing glances at each other before turning away quickly. They had talked before, so why was the silence so deafening?
“I’m sorry.”
Techno looked up. The teenager was looking down, shuffling his feet in the snow. He was absently rubbing his hand through his hair, making it a tangled mess. Where did this come from?
“Sorry for what?” Techno questioned
“The whole Butcher Army thing. Holding Carl against his will, bringing you to your own execution, putting Philza under house-arrest. That thing.” Ranboo didn’t look up, his voice quiet as he spoke.
Techno paused. He could still remember that fateful day. Being forced to strip off his armor and drop his weapons, how humiliating it was. He remembered being forced into the cage, a wild animal to be publicly executed. He could still see the gleam in Quackity’s eyes, a bloodlust he was all too familiar with himself. He remembered his grip on the Totem of Undying, turning his knuckles white, holding onto his salvation. And he remembered Phil’s voice, his pleas as the anvil was dropped.
And for a moment there was silence, a silence he had never been able to experience with the voices as they all collectively held their breath.
And then he felt the breath in his lungs return, a gold and green glow encased his body, reforming his body that he nearly lost.
He had cheated death
He didn’t have time to waste, he broke free from the bars, and escaped. He heard shouts of confusion behind him, but they didn’t matter, he needed to run. He caught a glimpse of neon green tugging on Carl’s reigns as they disappeared into a tunnel. He followed behind quickly, the entrance being blocked up behind him. Techno turned toward him, to the white mask with the plastered smile on his face.
“I owe you one.”
And then the green man disappeared.
The rest of that day went by quickly. He remembers being found by Quackity, and then promptly putting a picaxe into his skull, Quackity’s body falling limp and disappearing. He remembers breaking through the tunnel, gently pulling Karl along as he mined. He remembers making it home and just collapsing into his bed, his bones ached and his head felt like it had been split in two.
So he slept.
A week later, Phil had escaped his home in Lmanburg. He had swung open the door, and immediately headed to Techno’s room. Techno had just woken up from the sound of the door, putting his guard up, not even getting a chance to react as Phil pulled Techno into his arms and hugged him tightly, reassured that his adopted son was fine. Techno arms dropped to his side, offering no resistance to the embrace.
Phil checked on Techno, assessing his wounds that Techno hadn’t bothered to treat. Techno had a few small lashes from his fight with Quackity, but those were treated easily. What concerned Phil was Techno’s head. When he touched his son’s head, he winched slightly, the voices screamed out. His head had a permanent dent in it, a token from the anvil.
In total, that was not a “fun” week.
However, fortune was to come his way.
“You brought me my armor back, I consider us even.” Techno simply retorted back. He looked over at Ranboo, he still hadn’t looked up, clearly that explanation wasn’t enough.
Techno sighed, rubbing his head in thought, feeling the slight indentation in his skull. “You were the only one who had the guts to face me after that.”
“Guts?” Ranboo couldn’t help but let out a quick pained laugh before going quiet again. “That is far from what I have. I didn’t really want to be a part of their group, I was dragged into it.” Ranboo clenched his hands, his voice getting shaky. “I-I should have said something, I could have done something…” He let out an exasperated sigh. “But I am weak, I succumbed to their pressures. God…” He sucked in his breath, his whole frame starting to shake.
Techno seemed frozen in place, watching the teen let out his frustrations. Why was this bothering him? And then he realized.
He reminded him of himself.
“I…” Techno spoke slowly. “I understand what you mean, I’ve also.. fallen victim to pressure.”
The teen looked up, His eyes were glossy, tears threatening to spill over at any moment. He looked in disbelief. Techno decided to keep talking.
“I had been pulled onto a stage by a tyrant, a government, and demanded to kill their traitor. I had been working with that traitor to take down that same government. I was to kill my ally at the time for some sick kicks. And then I did.. I committed the deed. I killed him.”
Ranboo stayed silent, his shaking had stopped.
“So.. don’t be so hard on yourself. It happens.” Techno shrugged his shoulders.
Ranboo smiled slightly.
“I don’t care or anything like that, just so you know.” Techno added on quickly.
“Yeah no of course, I get it.” Ranboo said, laughing slightly to himself.
…
“Thanks.”
Techno just huffed in response. He saw Phil in the distance walking towards them, about time.
They went to the nether and hung out by the spawner. A few conversations started up, but their attention was focused on the blazes, the screams of blazes ringing out in the red sky. They got about a stack in total, and split in between themselves. Satisfied with a day’s work, they headed home. They walked Ranboo to his door, they exchanged farewells and Phil and Techno started on their way home.
“What did you forget at the house?” Techno questioned.
“Oh…. nothing.” Phil smiled widely, Techno sighed, he wasn’t even surprised.
“You’re cruel.” Techno spat, no hint of malice in his voice.
Phil just laughed
“I know.”