Chapter Text
Three lives. That’s what everyone got. Three chances before death became permanent and the person never got revived again.
Wilbur lost one before Techno was even in the picture, he wasn’t exactly sure about the details since Wilbur didn’t remember much and Philza pretty much refused to talk about it. His brother also lost another when they were 12 to hypothermia after sleepwalking, so Wilbur only had one life left.
Tommy hadn’t lost any lives by the time he came to them, which was a miracle in itself considering he survived the night without any weapons the day they found him. He still had all three.
Philza had only lost one despite his age and experience in fighting. Techno had to say he’d always been inspired by his father’s pure skill when it came to survival. It was kind of funny though to think that he lost that life to a baby zombie. They only came up to his knees!
And Techno only had one left, just like his brother. He wasn’t exactly sure how he lost the first one. He thought he’d had three when he died the last time, but Dad had told him when he’d woken up last time he needed to be careful because there was only one left. He remembered that day very clearly.
Far too clearly.
He stared down into the lake below him as the moon lit it up, looking at his shirtless reflection as he gently traced his hand over the nasty large scar that decorated his stomach. He remembered it well.
—
They never went to cities often. Daddy just didn’t like them much for whatever reason, but Techno didn’t understand why. The 7-year-old was constantly amazed by the almost never-ending rows of houses and the towering walls protecting the people inside from the monsters on the outside. There were always so many people too… Techno had never seen so many people in one place before.
Cities were also one of the only places where he saw people that looked like him.
People that weren’t quite human. People with animal ears, people with glowing eyes, people with sharp teeth… It put Techno at ease to know that he wasn’t a freak here.
Sure, his father always told him that he wasn’t, but he wasn’t sure if he always believed him… even if Daddy never lied.
Anyway, Techno loved cities.
“Listen, boys, I need to go trade-“ Philza didn’t even get to properly finish his sentence before both his sons were groaning. Watching Daddy trade and barter was sooooo boring! And it took so long! And then just when they thought he was done he moved on to the next person and the whole process started again!
It was the most boring thing ever!!
“Listen, listen.” Daddy tried to get their attention again, voice stern as he furrowed his eyebrows. That was dad’s serious face so they probably needed to pay attention. “I know it’s boring, but it needs to be done and you boys need to stick with me and hold hands the whole time, okay?”
“Why?” Wilbur asked.
“Yeah! Why?” Techno asked too because Wilbur did. Wilbur was so big and brave!! He always asked the big important questions that Daddy couldn’t answer.
Dad just furrowed his brows and sighed again. It was going to be one of those kinds of days then huh? “Just… trust Daddy, alright? Promise?”
Techno turned to Wilbur, waiting for him to make a decision first, and he heard Daddy sigh again. Often he called Techno ‘Wilbur’s little duckling’, whatever that meant. Daddy was silly sometimes, he wasn’t a duck. “I promise.” Wilbur finally said. Techno grinned and nodded at their father.
“Then I promise too!”
Finally satisfied, Philza took both their hands again and walked them over to the market area. It was very busy, so once again their dad stressed the importance of sticking close and sticking together before dropping their hands and talking to one of the traders, already pulling his bag of emeralds from his pocket.
Techno looked around with wide eyes, gazing at the place with a look of wonder yet again. All the booths looked almost identical, except some had different stuff on display and only some of the traders were villagers. That was the difference in trading in cities rather than villages, here there were humans to trade with too.
After a little while, Daddy took their hands again and moved them to a different booth before starting the process again. He had no idea how Daddy knew what each of the stalls was for since they looked so similar, it must be one of those Daddy superpowers.
What a boring superpower.
“Hey… psst.” There was suddenly a whisper from beside him and he turned to look at his twin brother. “Let’s go explore.”
Techno furrowed his eyebrows. “But we promised Daddy we would stay here.” He whispered. They couldn’t break a promise! That was really really bad!!
The 7-year-old watched as his twin pulled his other hand out. “Nuh-uh, I had my fingers crossed!” He whispered proudly, trying to keep his voice down so their Daddy didn’t hear them. “So my promise doesn’t count.”
Wilbur really was the smartest person ever!! Techno grinned before his expression fell again. “But I didn’t have my fingers crossed… so I can’t break my promise.” He had to stay here with Daddy and Wilbur had to stay with them too, because they had to hold hands.
“Well, I can!” Techno raised his head suddenly at that and watched as Wilbur let go of his hand. He couldn’t do that! The promise was to stay with Daddy and with Wilbur!
“I promised Daddy I would hold your hand!”
“Then come with me.”
“But I promised Daddy I’d stay with him too!”
Both boys looked up at Philza, but he was very intensely involved in a bidding war for… whatever it is he was buying. They weren’t paying attention, nor did they really care unless it was for them. It was clear that his attention wasn’t with them for the moment and he hadn’t heard them.
“Your choice, Techno!” Wilbur declared before suddenly hurrying off, leaving Techno gasp at how fast he was gone.
He needed to make the decision quickly. Daddy said they needed to stick together… and what if Wilbur got lost?! Techno was very good at remembering places, he’d be sure to get back to Daddy! But Wilbur might not if he went too far. He shot one last look at Philza, just to double-check he wasn’t looking, before running after the glimpse of mustard coloured sweater he could see between the crowd.
He ran after him for a little while, just following the trail of the occasional splash of yellow that came into his eye line. “Wilbur! Wait for me!” he yelled desperately as he pushed in between crowds of adults. They glared down at him, but he didn’t have time to apologise as he was chasing his brother. “I can’t keep up!”
Finally, Techno nearly tripped into a clearing, finally out of the market and the main crowd of people. He should be able to see Wilbur now. He looked around, expecting to see his brother laughing at him even though it wasn’t funny… but he was nowhere to be seen.
“Wilbur?” He called out in question. No one answered.
He should go back to Daddy… Tell him that Wilbur was lost. He turned back into the market and walked the way he thought he’d come from… but everywhere looked the same. The stalls, the people. He turned to try and go the other way, but the same again. People were cursing him as he got in their way so he ended up pressed with his back against a stone wall, alone and afraid. He couldn’t see Wilbur’s yellow jumper… he couldn’t see Daddy’s black coat… he was lost.
He didn’t want to cry. Big boys didn’t cry. But he started to sniff… which soon turned into a sniffle… which then dissolved into full-blown sobs. “Daddy!” He cried out in hope that he Daddy was just around the corner and would hear him and come running… or maybe Wilbur… Anyone. “D-Daddy! I’m sorry I-I was bad, please-please come find me!” What if this was his punishment for being bad? What if Daddy had just left without him and that’s why he couldn’t find him? He broke a promise, that was very bad!!
“Hey… Hey, hush, hey there, kid… You alright?” Suddenly came a soft voice to his left, to which the half piglin looked up from where he’d somehow become curled up on the ground to stare at a large man leaning out the nearby alleyway. He smiled at him so Techno relaxed somewhat. Finally, an adult was here to help. “What’s your name?”
Techno sniffled to stifle his sobs and rubbed at his damp cheeks. He needed to be a big brave boy so he could find Daddy and Wilbur again. “T-Techno. Technoblade.” Maybe he needed his big boy name so the man could help.
The man’s smile became kinder and he crouched down a little so he was less tall and scary. “Techno! You’re in luck, I was just talking to your daddy, he said that he lost you?”
Techno perked up. “Yeah! Did you talk to my brother Wilbur too? Did Daddy find him?”
“Your daddy did. Wilbur is very worried about you too… how about you come with me and I’ll take you to them, huh? I know the way real well.” The stranger held out his hand expectantly and the 7-year-old took it without much hesitation. Daddy said not to talk to strangers… but Daddy also said to get help from someone if he was lost, so that was what he was going to do.
“Is he angry at me?”
“Not at all. In fact, he told me that if you come with me then you guys are all going to go get ice cream together.”
Techno gasped in glee and happily stood and walked with the man, already excited for the ice cream to come. They only got treats like that on special occasions. He eagerly followed the stranger down the dark alley.
Little did the kid know, if he’d sat there for only a few minutes more he would’ve seen his father rush frantically past, desperately searching for him with a crying Wilbur in his arms. He’d have heard him calling his name.
--
“This doesn’t look like the way Daddy was…” Techno mentioned quietly, sticking close to the man as they walked down the back alleys of the city. The tall buildings made the thin streets dark despite the time of day and the further they walked the more mean looking people there were. They’d sneer at him and laugh and none of them was Daddy.
The man’s grasp on his hand had also become tighter as he pulled little Techno along. He just wanted to get back to Daddy and hold his hand instead. His hands were nicer to hold, even if they were rough. They were warm and kind and he would always smile at him too. This man wasn’t smiling anymore.
“Oh, no it’s not, but I told your Daddy to wait here with William whilst I went to go look for you.”
“You mean Wilbur?”
“Same difference, kid.”
He didn’t sound as friendly as before and Techno was starting to get nervous… But all he could do was hope that he’d get to be with his Daddy and have ice cream soon.
Suddenly they stopped and the man knocked on a nearby door. It was crooked and old and didn’t seem very special. He knocked in a very deliberate way and the door swung open without them even touching it. It must’ve been a magic door… Techno felt more at ease now as they walked inside. Daddy would be in here and then they could leave. He was starting to not like the city and the people very much…
He looked around as the man pulled him in, more forcefully now, and Techno nearly tripped over his own feet as he wasn’t watching where he was going. There were lots of people here, men and women of all different ages, but they all looked scary. And they were all completely human, rather than the variety he saw at the market. It was also very dark, so he couldn’t make out a lot of people, but what he did know from what he saw was that Daddy wasn’t here…
“Daddy?”
“He’s in the back room.” The man insisted before pulling him into another room away from the big one full of people. This one was far smaller than the other and there were only a few people in it… none of them was Daddy or Wilbur though. None of these people even looked kind.
The man let go of Techno’s hand only to instead grip his shoulder, hard, and push him towards the old weathered desk at the centre of the room. A man sat at it. He barely glanced at Techno, but the look he gave him when he did made the 7-year-old whine a little in fear. That seemed to be enough to get some of the men to laugh, but not in a happy way.
“He even sounds like one of those nether freaks!”
“I’ve never seen a piglin hybrid before, fucking monster.”
The man holding onto Techno tightened his grip. “You should’ve heard him crying earlier if you think that is bad! He was squealing like a piglet then too.”
The man at the desk hadn’t said anything yet and Techno was feeling worse by the second. Why had the man lied to him? And why were these ones laughing at him? He didn’t get it. Where was Daddy? Why wasn’t he here?
“Daddy?”
The man at the desk leaned forward with a sickening smile at that. “Your daddy doesn’t want you anymore.” The kid’s face fell further, eyes going wide. Everyone in the room snickered like there was a funny joke Techno didn’t get.
“He told me-”
“He told you that Daddy was waiting here, right? Well, he didn’t lie. He’d never lie, would you?”
The man holding him shook his head with a smirk. “Not at all, boss. I’d never do such a thing.” Techno’s eyes started to well up in tears. But he wasn’t here? They had to be lying to him! His Daddy still wanted him!
The man at the desk’s grin got more sickening. “He got so sick and tired of you running off… so sick and tired of waiting for you to show up… He sold you to me.” There were more scattered chuckles around the room as Techno’s whole world fell apart around him, shattering into a million pieces. “He told me you were a bad little pig.”
Big boys didn’t cry. Big boys didn’t cry. Big boys didn’t cry… But what did that matter now? Daddy wasn’t here. Daddy gave him away. Daddy didn’t love him anymore. Did Wilbur not love him too? Did Daddy still love Wilbur because Wilbur crossed his fingers when Techno didn’t? He was sobbing before he could even try and control it.
Suddenly, the man was pushing him towards a cage in the corner of the room and Techno swung back into life. He didn’t want to go in there! Maybe Daddy was still near and if he heard him yell loud enough he’d come back!
“Daddy! Daddy, please come back! I’ll be good! I promise I’ll be good!”
“Oh shut it’s squealing up!”
“I have an idea.” The man behind the desk suddenly stood and pulled a golden nugget out of his back pocket, waving it in front of the young piglin hybrid. Techno’s squealing halted in his tracks when he caught sight of the object and his eyes went wide. His mind blanked for a moment.
Gold…
The men all returned to laughter as the leader threw the coin into the cage and they all watched Techno scramble in after it, picking it up only to realise he was trapped the moment that the door was slammed behind him. His eyes snapped back into realisation and he ran over to the front of it again, dropping the gold.
How had they done that?
“Let me out! Please! I’ll be good!”
“Well, you’re being a bad little pig right now, aren’t you!” The leader yelled, kicking the cage so it shook and knocked the kid off his feet. He started sniffling again but promptly shut up, just like asked. He curled up small. He was a bad little pig… He absently listened as the men discussed things amongst themselves.
“Did you find out if he’d lost any lives?”
“He wasn’t much of a chatter, but he said he hadn’t lost any. He still has them all.”
“But we don’t know if he has three? He is a monster and all that.”
The man that brought him in simply shrugged. “We’ll find out. Set him up for three rounds, It’ll definitely be entertaining anyway.” He held out his hand. “Payment? And I expect a little more than normal. Have you seen this freak? I assure you, he’s one of a kind.”
The leader glanced at Techno before sighing and grabbing a bag that clinked as he carried it, presumably filled with gold and emeralds. “This is what you’ll get for one round. If he lasts longer, you’ll get more.” He turned back to the cage. “Now. Dump him in the pit. And treat him… get him and his opponent golden tools… our bad little pig boy here definitely seems to have an affinity for the metal…”
Suddenly there was a pair of hands picking up the cage by the handles and Techno was whimpering and shaking yet again. What was the pit? Where were they going? What was happening? They walked back into the main room and people cheered and sneered at him as they passed down the middle of the crowd. They stuck their hands into the cage and pulled at his hair, tore his clothes, pinched his skin, and all Techno could do was scream.
There were so many of them! He just wanted his Daddy! Where was his Daddy?! He’d never be bad again! He would promise him that and this time he’d never ever break it.
They approached a centre to the large room and as Techno leaned over the edge, he realised it was a deep pit dug out in the floor. It was far too tall to climb out of if he got in there. They tilted the cage over the edge of the fence that surrounded it and his breathing hitched. They wanted him to get in there.
They unlatched the cage and tilted it over the edge, the cheers getting louder as he nearly fell out and was left grasping the barred cage entrance to stop himself. He didn’t want to fall! That was a big drop.
“Please!”
They didn’t listen, they just laughed as they picked at his fingers until he couldn’t hold on any longer. He screamed as he fell, tumbling backwards until he hit the bottom with a thump and a loud groan.
The laughter was so loud, it made his brain hurt. His ears… He pressed his hands against them and cried out again, but he could barely even hear himself now. He took a few deep breaths. His chest felt so tight… It didn’t feel right. He didn’t feel right. He finally looked up when he heard a noise to his right, only to find a golden sword discarded there.
He’d never used anything sharper than a wooden sword… and even then he’d never properly used it for much more than annoying his brother. Daddy had been teaching Wilbur for a few months now… but he still said that techno was too young, so he just watched in on Wilbur’s lessons.
He crawled over to the golden sword, everything feeling too loud and heavy to stand up, and shakily grabbed at it. Despite everything, the shimmer of gold brought him comfort. A bright distraction in the too dark room. He held it close, careful not to cut himself, and focused on it to calm himself down.
Just as he settled enough to be able to stand, there was another clang of a cage above him. His head snapped up and eyes widened at what he saw. Another small cage, just like his was, but inside this one… a baby zombie.
A monster.
Techno had never fought a monster before. Daddy didn’t let any monster near them. Daddy was very good at fighting them.
Techno had never fought anything that fought back in his life.
He held his sword out in front of him protectively, shaking from head to toe as the cage latch was open and the small zombie fell into the pit opposite the 7-year-old, along with a golden sword of it’s on to use.
The crowd above cheered, betting money on who would win as the zombie started to come to after the disorientating fall. If he was Daddy, he’d use this moment to charge, but he didn’t know how.
“RIP HIM TO SHREDS!”
“THAT FREAK DOESN’T STAND A CHANCE.”
“IT'S SHAKING.”
“MY MONEY IS ON THE ZOMBIE.”
“WHAT EVEN IS THAT THING?”
Techno could only make out some phrases being shouted and tried to block them all out as the monster slowly stood, having grabbed the sword. Its eyes were unfocused and it groaned when its mouth opened. Not in the same way someone who was hurt groaned… but it was almost like it was trying to make words but wasn’t able to. The noise shook Techno to the core. He whimpered.
Big mistake.
The monster’s head snapped over to look at Techno before suddenly running at a speed he didn’t realise things were capable of running at. He screamed and moved his sword up to block like he remembered Daddy showing Wilbur how.
Blocking was sometimes more important than hitting, he’d said.
He’d managed to push the baby zombie back off his feet, the creature fast but clearly not coordinated, before running over to the other side of the pit. Maybe he could use the sword to climb up the dirt walls?
He pierced the wall with the sword and started his weak attempt at climbing whilst the zombie was still getting it’s bearings, doing his best not to let the crowd’s laughter get to him. He screamed in surprise when suddenly something grabbed his foot and pulled him down with strength he didn’t have.
In his shock, he dropped his sword, leaving him defenceless as he slid down towards the monster’s emotionless unfocused face. He flipped so he was facing him and watched in horror as it pulled back its arm, sword in hand, for that final blow.
Techno then glanced to his side and saw his sword had landed beside him and, with faster thinking he thought he was capable of, he picked up the blade and sliced the creature's arm clean off. The sword clattered to the ground, arm still gripping onto it, and Techno breathed a sigh of relief.
The zombie grunted and groaned as it scrambled back and Techno shook shakily. The crowd was weirdly quiet, seeming just as surprised as him. The kid took a deep breath and just stared at the cowering monster. He’d done it. He’d won.
“Techno?! Techno!”
His head jerked up. He knew that voice. He turned around and stared up at the railings just in time to see his father pushing to the front of the crowd. He looked panicked and… was Daddy scared? Nothing ever scared Daddy.
He didn’t need to be! He’d won!
“Daddy?” He grinned, relieved. Did Daddy want him back now that he’d won? Was it all a big test? “Daddy, you came back!”
Daddy’s eyes widened and his face morphed into a look of horror much to Techno’s own confusion. “Techno! Behind you, LOOK OUT-!”
Techno didn’t get an opportunity to see exactly what scared his father so much because that feeling of not being able to breathe was back… except this time it was different. This time it felt really warm in his stomach and he almost felt frozen. He swore time stopped as he looked down at his middle in confusion, not sure how the blade of a sword got there. It was like… was it coming from behind him? He heard the zombie groan from just behind his ear. Oh.
He hadn’t won.
He heard a terrified scream that sounded familiar, but it was very far away. He heard cheers too but he wasn’t sure if they were real or not.
It started to hurt when the monster pulled the sword out of him and he fell forward on his hands and knees, blood rushing to his ears. He didn’t realise his eyes were closed until opened them to see Philza decapitating the baby zombie who was still holding the golden sword drenched in Techno’s blood in his only remaining hand. He held the netherite sword, shimmering purple with enchantments, and stabbed the dead monster a second time for no reason more than he wanted to.
When did Daddy get down here? He didn’t hear him get down?
He didn’t hear much now he realised.
“Daddy?” Was that his voice… it was so quiet. His mouth tasted of metal.
The man’s murderous gaze disappeared in an instance and he dropped the sword, scrambling to his knees as he pulled his youngest son into his lap. “Hey… hey, buddy… it’s okay, you’re okay, you’ll be fine. See? Daddy’s here. You’ll be fine.” Daddy said, but he was tripping over his words and his eyes were filling with tears. “You’re okay, see I found you, you’re okay, Daddy’s here.”
He whined when his Daddy pressed against his stomach, the hand immediately drenching with blood. That looked like a lot of blood. “I-I… I feel bad, D-Daddy.” he cuddled closer into Philza’s coat. “And… and I’m so-so-so… cold.” When did it get so cold? He was too warm, what felt like a second ago and now he was cold?
Without hesitation, Philza was removing his coat and wrapping Techno in it to try and warm him up. “Shhh…. Ssshhh I know, sweetheart, you’re okay… you’re okay… you’re okay...” The man’s voice broke. “How about you get some rest, huh?.. A nice big sleep, and then when you wake up you’ll be all better.” His smile was shaky and tears flowed down his cheeks. He looked terrified like he didn’t believe his own words. “I promise. All better. I promise.”
Techno nodded slowly. He was tired… Daddy was right. Daddy was always right… He’d wake up, Daddy was always right. He never lied… but he had something to ask first.
“D-Daddy… am… am I a bad little pig?”
Daddy shaking his head before he even finished his question. He smiled the best he could and cupped his cheek, accidentally smearing a little blood there. “No. No, Techno, you’re the best boy… My best boy…”
“Even if I b-broke my pro-promise?”
“Yes. You’ll always be my good boy.” Daddy pressed his forehead against his and he felt better. He closed his eyes. “I love you, sweetheart. So so much… To the moon and back, remember? I always tell you that… I’ll never stop. The moon and back..”
He didn’t respond.