Chapter Text
As if the day couldn’t have gotten any worse, he stood slightly trembling, hiding behind Techno. Discs hadn’t been returned to him, the plan didn’t seem to benefit him at all and the reunion he had had with Tubbo was extremely lacklustre and rushed that he didn’t even get to say what he had wanted to say. The only good thing that happened was Techno managed to retrieve some of his items and even then, it was a matter that didn’t concern Tommy. So once they planned to take their leave, he thought to himself that today had been pretty bad but it could’ve gone worse, right? So many terrible things could’ve happened and they didn’t, so that was good.
Now the naive assumptions left a sour taste in his mouth.
Stood in front of them both was the masked maniac. A psychopath who thrives on others peoples pain. Sickeningly green hoodie, a mocking mask. Tommy wished he could just disappear.
Dream ranted on about how Tommy had betrayed him. How Tommy broke the one goddamn rule he should’ve followed. He abandoned the only man that had acted like a friend to him. He was causing so many more problems, including a hostage situation. At the back of his mind, he felt the familiar feel of guilt bubble up, as if he almost did feel bad for leaving Dream. Forcing the thoughts down, he stared back at the dangerous man.
Attempting to hide his fear, he argued back. Out of everyone on this server, he was the only one brave enough to go against Dream. Obviously the whole purpose of this was to contain him. Tommy even taunted him, claiming that Dream was the one that was scared.
That was a mistake.
“Tommy, listen. You’re gonna come with me or I’m gonna burn your disc,” he snapped.
Frozen in shock, he didn’t know how to react. The discs were the one thing that was keeping him from just giving up. But he didn’t want to go with Dream, he would rather do anything but that. Clenching his fist, he searched his brain for a suitable response.
“Well, that’s gonna be a bit of a problem, Dream.” Luckily, the sound of a monotone voice accompanied by the clatter of netherite boots on stone stepped in to protect him, “because this guy’s with me.”
A sigh escaped his lips. Shoulders relaxing, he silently thanked the piglin for protecting him. It meant that they were going to be able to retreat, they were going to get home safe-
“Unless dream, you wanna cash in that favour?”
Tommy’s heart dropped. He glanced between the hybrid and the masked man. What favour? What was Techno on about? Attempting to open his mouth to question what the hybrid had meant he found himself being stopped.
“You know what Techno? I think that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”
Twisting his head back round, he realised how close Dream had gotten. And just like minutes before, moving netherite boots could be heard as Techno shifted to the side, completely exposing Tommy.
Everything happened extremely quickly. A tight grip wrapped around his wrist as he was dragged towards the nether portal. Yelling out to Techno to only have another hand clamp over his mouth. Biting into it, the taste of copper coating his lips as the hand retracted swiftly. Once again Tommy begged Techno to help. The anarchist just stared at him though, eyes emotionless and cold like they always were. He cursed himself at never being able to read man because right now it would’ve been extremely useful to know what the piglin was thinking. He could’ve sword he saw a smirk form on his face, tusks slightly showing. Tommy didn’t have time to register it though because a blunt object was smashed into the back of his head to end all of thrashing. The last thing he saw before the black dots took over his whole vision was the face of a man that he had stupidly trusted. A man who now seemed to find amusement in the whole situation.
When he awoke he realised he was somewhere he hadn’t been before. Everything felt fuzzy and his bones ached. Wincing at the sudden intrusion of light, he attempted to get up. Head throbbing, he immediately fell over. Both his wrists and ankles were tightly bound together as he struggled to understand his situation.
Faint footsteps sounded from behind him. Once they got close, they stopped, and a firm grip landed on his shoulder. Tommy struggled to twist around, unable to see who was behind him.
“Well Tommy,” a familiar voice sent shivers down his spine, “I’m going to teach you why you should never betray me again.”
-----
Tubbo had watched the whole thing unfold.
As soon as he caught sight of Tommy he was sent spiralling into a whirlwind of emotions. The pillar he saw when attempting to visit him indicated that he would never be able to se his friend again. Well, he still considered the blond as his friend, but he doubted that Tommy felt the same way about him. Despite that, immense guilt suffocated him as he realised all the regretful decisions he has made in the past.
So when he first saw him, there was so much to say and so much to do. And yet the younger boy seemed to brush over everything, simply stating he has sided with Techno in order to get his discs back. Tubbo wanted to deny it but the action had hurt him even after everything that had happened.
A rushed reunion and a quick exchange of items was all he got before the duo decided to leave. Desperately craving more than just that, he closely followed the pair whilst attempting to maintain a suitable distance so he wouldn’t be noticed.
Stopping at the exit of the community house, he watch as the two slowed down due to the confrontation from Dream. Barely being able to hear them, he listened. Dreams mocking tone and stern commands. Techno joking around, mentioning something about someone being homeless. Strong words escaping Tommy’s lips yet a hint of fear lacing them. Wincing at the sight of Tommy retreating behind the piglin when Dream took a step forward. He tentatively watched them.
Then Dream demanded Tommy go with him, his voice full of malicious intent. Tommy’s hands balled up into fists. Whilst he was unsure on how to feel about the masked man, Tubbo would admit that he was definitely afraid of him. So all he could do was listen to Dream rant about how Tommy broke the rules and needed to learn. He was too much of a coward to step in. Pathetic. But then Techno stepped in, lifting up his axe to Dream’s chest. Simultaneously with Tommy, he let out a sigh. Maybe his friend was better off with Techno, he seems to be treating him much better than he ever could.
Then the monotone voice mentioned something that Tubbo didn’t quite catch.
Followed by Dream letting out a sinister chuckle.
Wide-eyed, he stared as the hybrid retreated back to the side, allowing Dream to grab Tommy’s wrist. Tubbo’s feet remained planted in the ground as the hooded man dragged Tommy into a tight embrace, covering his mouth with his hand. Observing Tommy’s struggles stop as the handle of Dream’s sword came crashing down into the back of the blonds head. Retracting his previous thoughts about thinking Techno was better than him, he begged his feet to move to step in. Fear kept him locked in place. And in the blink of an eye, Tommy’s limp body was dragged into the nether portal, disappearing into the purple swirls.
Everything stayed completely still for a few moments. Neither himself nor Techno dared to move, trying to comprehend what happened.
Footsteps brought Tubbo back to reality. Glancing up at the pink haired man, he noticed he was retreating back to the portal. His body movements, his mannerisms, his steps, they all looked far too calm. This didn’t look like the same man who had just betrayed his own friend. It infuriated Tubbo. A soft hand was placed on his shoulder, almost making him jump but he forced himself not to. He didn’t want to alert Techno of his presence.
Turning around, he was greeted by the tall enderman hybrid. His red and green eyes sad, his face coated with concern.
“Tubbo, are you okay?” he asked wearily.
“I-” well he obviously wasn’t okay. Today had been utterly terrible. He was reunited with his best friend, who he had exiled. Only to be brushed aside and disregarded, as if Tommy had easily replaced him. Then he watched said friend get hauled away by the most powerful guy on this server.
So no, Tubbo was definitely not okay.
“Yeah I think I know the answer,” Ranboo stated, as if he had read the boys mind, “What are you going to do?”
Tubbo knew how to answer this question, “I’m going to follow Technoblade.”
Before he could reach the portal, long fingers caught his wrist, halting his progress. “Tubbo are you insane, what are you going to do when he sees you?”
“Ranboo, I will cross that bridge when I come to it. All I know is that I’m pissed off and I don’t even know who I’m angry at,” he snapped.
Silence was the response he got. Ranboo was a good guy, he probably shouldn’t have gotten so angry but at the moment he couldn’t bring himself to care. Instead he turned to the hybrid, “are you coming with me or not?”
Ranboo contemplated the question for a second before letting go of Tubbo’s wrist and noodling. Smiling at the answer, the two followed the Techno through the portal.
Luckily, the aforementioned hadn’t made that much distance so it was pretty easy to track him. Both boys kept a safe distance away as they weren’t prepared just yet if Techno was to confront them. Following him through the nether, they soon came across another portal. Waiting for a couple of moments after Techno stepped through it, they did the same.
They were greeted by snow covered ground and biting winds. Noticing the footprints imprinted in the soft white power, they followed them until they neared a quaint house. Tubbo had only visited the secluded area once before in order to capture the man, other than that he actively tried to stay clear of this place. As they came closer, the hybrid in front of them stopped. Without turning around he spoke, “okay are you two going to explain why you’ve been following me?”
Well, turns out Tubbo wasn’t as stealthy as he thought he was. Unable to think of an answer, he just waited as Techno turned around to face them.
“Well?” Techno tapped his foot, growing impatient.
Truth is, Tubbo was unsure on why he chose to follow Techno. Being spurred on by his emotions was primarily why he had done this. He decided that he wanted to talk to the anarchist but didn’t know where to start. So many emotions had previously flooded him. Frustration, sadness, confusion. But he didn’t need to tell the piglin all this. In fact, he was slightly scared to confess his anger towards the man. This is the Blood God, a man who is feared by most. And Tubbo was stupid enough to follow him, without hardly any protection, to the man’s own home. His mind was split in two. He wanted to confront the man, yell at him for easily giving Tommy up. But at the same time he wanted to run away. Run away from not just Techno, but from everything. He remembers a time where he and Tommy used to joke about doing that. It was a simpler time. Now their relationship had been shattered. Broken by the stress of war and bloodshed and conflict and exiles. Being forced into too many terrible situations. Being controlled by your own desires and emotions. Tubbo wasn’t sure who he was annoyed at any more he just knew that anger bubbled inside of him.
A quiet click sounded as the front door of the house opened, gentle footsteps hitting the wooden planks of the porch. Out walked Phil, looking slightly confused at the sudden intrusion of two new guests, “Tubbo? Ranboo? What are you two doing here?”
“That’s exactly what I want to know,” Techno spat, becoming more and more irritated with each word.
Tubbo opened his mouth, deciding that he needed to at least say something in an attempt to relieve the tension. Instead he was interrupted by another question from Phil, “wait Techno, where’s Tommy?”
For the first time it was Techno’s turn to be quiet. Tubbo struggled to read his face, unsure on what the piglin was thinking. Finally, the man spoke, “It’s a complicated story.”
“No it’s not, you let Dream take him away,” Tubbo hissed. Techno seemed taken aback by the sudden statement. To be completely honest, Tubbo was also surprised at himself. It was another moment where his emotions got the better of him and coerced him to speak.
“What?” A frown formed on Phil’s face before he continued, “Techno what does that mean?”
“Philza it’s exactly as I said! He just let Dream take Tommy and who knows what’s going to happen to him!” Tubbo’s tone became more frantic the more he explained.
“Oh please, don’t act like you really care, you were the one that exiled him,” Techno interjected.
“You cannot talk to me about hurting others Technoblade. I have every right to be angry at you for allowing Tommy to just be dragged away like that.”
“Do you really? Because as I recalled, you were the one who just left him with Dream. All alone in exile. Did you even try to visit him?”
“Yes I did! And do you know what happened when I did? Instead of seeing him, I was greeted by a huge tower. Everything had been blown up. I thought Tommy was dead. I had to mourn the loss of my friend.”
Techno flinched. Tubbo was unsure on what that meant. Did the anarchist care for the blond? He didn’t know the answer. And a part of him said that he didn’t want to know. Then the piglin retorted back, as if hadn’t shown a sign of weakness, “Well you ever think that all of that was your fault?”
“Techno that is enough, I get you hate the government, but he is still just a kid-” Phil attempted to calm both of them down.
“No Phil. Even kids have to learn from their mistakes. Reality is cold and harsh, it’s better to learn young than to be destroyed later in life.” Techno stopped him.
Frozen in place Tubbo remained silent. All of that was your fault. The words echoed in his mind. He had done what was best for his country, right? In politics you can’t let petty feelings stop you from doing what is best, right? Surely he wasn’t the reason Tommy had almost killed himself, right?
His mind refused to come up with a coherent answer.
“See? I’m pretty sure that silence just confirms my answer,” Techno sneered.
“What if it was Dream who did it?”
Tubbo almost jumped at the quiet voice that spoke out next to him. In fact, he had completely forgotten that the enderman had followed him as he hadn’t said a word up until now. But the words he did say lingered in the air. Amongst the guilt that swirled in his mind, a glimmer of hope peaked out. Maybe Dream was at fault here too, maybe it wasn’t all completely his doing.
“Apart from Dream and probably Ghostbur, I think I visited him the most in exile,” Ranboo continued, “of course maybe we should have handled things differently instead of exiling him but I don’t think Dream was treating him well either. Tommy was scarily quiet and flinched at the slightest movement, I doubt just being exiled could do that to him. I think Dream played a factor into it all.”
“You think I don’t know that? He came running to me once he escaped, I had to hide him from Dream countless times. Of course I don’t know what happened whilst he was exiled, non of us do. But I’m not stupid, I can tell something was up with him,” Techno retorted.
“And yet you still just gave him to Dream with no hesitation?” Ranboo whispered. Tubbo knew how much the tall boy hated conflict, so chances were he probably didn’t enjoy the predicament they were in right now. But he still challenged the piglin, even if his voice was quite and obviously showed fear. Ranboo was a kind, he was probably a better friend to Tommy than Tubbo was.
Whistling wind filled the silence that followed. No one dare move. No one dare speak. Ranboo was right. Even if Techno cared, even if Tubbo cared, both had still let Tommy down. Both of them still abandoned him when the boy probably needed them the most. And that thought cut deep into Tubbo like a blade of sword through flesh.
Phil coughed, a failed attempt to relieve the thick tension that had built up. “You three come inside, we can talk about this in the warmth.”
“Phil I’m not letting the goddamn government into my house-”
“I know you don’t like the government, I’m sure the feeling is mutual. But right now, standing outside in the snow isn’t helping any of us or the situation.”
Techno grunted before turning towards the door. Phil stepped to the side, letting his friend walk past. He the gestured for both boys to follow him inside. Tubbo was wary as Phil was correct, he didn’t really like Techno. In fact, he had tried to execute him literal days ago, so no wonder their relationship was so strained.
Despite that, he walked inside anyway, the warm air immediately hitting him. It was a quaint home, one that didn’t match the Blood God’s appearance. An array of chests, a small kitchen to the side and a table and chairs situated in the middle of the room. On the far right wall there was a ladder that took you up into the attic or down to the floors below. It was simple yet it was effective.
Awkwardly, Tubbo pulled out one of the chairs and sat down across from Techno. All the piglin did was deliver a solid glare at him, before turning his attention to Phil who was bringing over mugs of steaming coffee. Tubbo quietly thanked. Once all four of them had sat down, the tension still prominent. Tubbo regretted his decision to follow Techno in the first place.
“Okay, let me get this straight,” of course it was Phil who spoke first, he was always the best in these types of situations. “Techno, you left with Tommy in order to retrieve some of your items back from L’Manberg. At some point you bumped into Dream and you handed Tommy over to him. Tubbo you saw the exchange happen?”
Both of them nodded in response so the winged man returned to trying to understand the whole situation, “somethings have happened in exile but we are suspicious of Dream. Techno you had your suspicions and you still handed Tommy over?”
“He cashed in the favour.”
Tubbo was confused. Favour? What was he on about? Before Tubbo could even ask, Phil continued, “okay so you kind of had to do that. Tubbo and Ranboo then followed you back home and I’m guessing it’s because Tubbo is annoyed about what you did.”
“Tubbo has no right to be annoyed though,” Techno argued.
“I do though. And yeah, you can complain that I exiled him and all that, but do you think I don’t regret my action? Because I do. At least when he was with you, chances are he was with someone who he actually trusted because he chose to run to you. And what do you go and do? You hand him over to Dream.” He countered. He hated how the corners of his eyes stung, tears threatening to spill. He held them back though, there was no way he was going to cry in front of Techno.
“Okay boys, this constant bickering isn’t going to get us anywhere,” Phil stated matter-of-factly.
“But what are we going to do? No one knows where they went and who knows what Dream’s plan is considering none of us really know what happened in exile.” Ranboo’s voice was still hushed, his question just barely audible. If they had still been outside Tubbo was sure that the wind would have overpowered it.
“You know,” Techno replied, then seemed to contemplate whether he wanted to continue or not. He glanced around at the three other people sat inside his house before opening his mouth again, “I do have a plan.”
“Oh yeah, what is it?” Phil asked. Tubbo also wondered what the hybrid had thought of.
Said hybrid turned to face Tubbo head on, “I’ve only got the first part mapped out, but it’s a start. We both know we aren’t fond of each other Tubbo. You are the government, I am an anarchist, we don’t mix well. But for now, let’s call a truce. If you agree to work with me then we can work on my plan, for Tommy’s sake.”
Tubbo coined up the pros and cons of agreeing. Techno stretched his hand across the table. The past they have with each other was complicated, he couldn’t deny that. But the regrets and guilt plagued his mind. Tubbo needed to make it up to Tommy. He had to make things right.
He grabbed Techno’s hand a firmly shook it, “just this once. For Tommy’s sake.”
The piglin smirked as he stood. He walked to the end of the table so he could see everyone, “The favour Dream wanted was for me to hand Tommy over. No where does it say that I can’t come and rescue him.”
Ranboo made a soft “oh” sound, Phil chuckled and how proud Techno looked, Tubbo lips parted in shock. Oh, of course. Of course the man was already planning ahead. Of course, he didn’t hand Tommy over without thinking it through first. Sometimes Techno’s intelligence and quick thinking scared him. Tubbo smiled, maybe this temporary alliance wasn’t going to be so bad after all.