Chapter Text
Techno wasn’t one to think that he really cared about many people.
The thing was, he did care about some people. Phil, for instance. Another was Kristin, Phil’s wife and the goddess of death. But they were going to ignore that part of Kristin’s whole existence. She didn’t want to bring it up. Still, for them, Techno would die for them. And their kids, even though he hadn’t seen either of said kids in a long while. Phil had come to visit him, would love to see him for any amount of time. But Techno had replied that he should stay away from the kids. To keep those parts of Phil’s life separate and to keep him safe. Both of them had their legacies. It made them threats and made it dangerous for everyone around them.
Still, when Techno saw a flash of pale blond hair in the arena, he paused. Looked over. Stopped in the middle of wrapping bandages around his bruised knuckles. He had been in town, entered the fighting ring to start fighting a little bit. Just to get some extra money and have some fun. Get some anger out.
After a second, he knew this wasn’t Phil. This was a scrawny, lanky teenage boy of maybe seventeen. Looking at him, Techno walked over to the window and blinked a couple of times. This kid was greasy, grimy, and covered in bandages and bruises. Clearly, he had been there for a while. Around his wrists, there was rough, raw skin.
That immediately threw Techno for a loop. Whoever this kid was, he probably wasn’t there out of his own free will. Maybe he had been there at the start. Maybe he wanted to be a part of the ring at the start. But clearly, it had been some time.
“Looking at the new kid?” Glancing over, he met the gaze of the man who organized the fights. Arching an eyebrow, Techno looked back to the fight. The kid was thrown into the chain link fence. Then, charging forwards, he flattened the person to the ground, pinned them. “He’s a good fighter. Originally he joined as one of the newbies and cannon fodder. But then he kept winning.”
“And you didn’t like that?” He asked, glancing over. Shrugging, the man leaned against the doorway and shrugged. “So what’d you do to him?”
“We just didn’t let him go home. Doubt someone will be looking for him anyways.” Glancing over, he smiled. “Mind doing one more fight?”
Techno paused and thought for a moment. “Sure. I win, I get him.” There was a soft huffing laugh.
“Why? Need someone to take care of your armor for you?” Techno just shrugged and looked over at him.
“Do I need to say?”
Blinking, he paused. “Alright. I’ll organize the fight.” He wandered off. Smiling, Techno turned back to his supplies.
Looks like he was going to fight one more time that day.
Within a couple of hours, he was fetched once more. As he walked over to the grounding area, he saw something happening. The young man was fighting against two older men holding him. Up close, he looked worse. Shredded, torn wings dangled from his shoulders. And sure enough, they had the same barring on the feathers that Phil had, just visible underneath the blood and grime coating them. “Get off of me!” He snapped, cussing out the men. They threw him forwards and scoffed. Skidding across the ground, the young man scowled at Techno. “What are you looking at, pig mask?” He sneered out the words. Techno ignored him. Instead, he turned back to the weapons, selected a shield and something that would hurt but wouldn’t do too much damage. In the corner of his eye, he saw the kid heft himself up and groaning. He hissed in pain, pressed a hand to his side. Broken ribs. That’s not good. How long has he been there? Shaking his head, he turned back to the weapons. Checked that the blade was dull enough not to hurt. “I heard what you were planning to do if you won. You’re fighting an injured kid, and for what? A slave? Are you really that stupid?” And now he’s trying to rile me up. Smart kid. “Hey! Dumbass!” A rock clinked off of the armor on Techno’s shoulder. Still, he ignored him. For the most part.
“Just relax, kid. I won’t hurt you…much.” He mused. Behind him, he heard the kid shift. “What’s your name?”
“Pfft. Like I’ll tell you.”
“You will at some point. We both know that this fight has already been won.” Techno turned and looked at him. Scoffing, the kid crossed his arms over his stomach. Trying to protect himself.
“Fine, my name’s Big Man. ” He sneered, eyes wide.
“Grab a weapon.” Techno threw him a sword. It clattered at his feet. Face paling, the young man looked up at him. “Big Man.”
The doors on the other side opened. One of the guards reached in and dragged the blond kid out, threw him across the sand. He dropped down like a limp fish, and all of a sudden Techno guessed that the rips in his dark shirt and trousers weren’t just from the fights. He was probably being beaten behind the scenes, especially considering his attitude.
This is going to be a quick fight, he thought to himself, stalking forwards. Holding his sword, he flipped it in his grip. Tommy stumbled to his feet, held himself awkwardly. Injury to his feet. Probably sore, maybe broken bones. He probably doesn’t have a lot of energy, either. Maybe they withheld food. Water. No shoes. Has a hard time sleeping. If he tries at all. Shifting, Techno moved into a protective stance. Waited for Tommy to make the first move.
Swallowing, Tommy charged. Snapping the shield forwards, Techno smacked him with the shield. He dropped down to the ground. Gasped. Head tipping to the side, he stared off to the side for a second. Shit. More injured than that. Need to go lighter. Techno scolded, backing off slightly.
“Come on, kid. Get up.” He hissed. Rolling to the side, Tommy groaned and pushed himself up. The crowd was half-interested. Techno ducked in, kicked Tommy in the back. It was more of a shove, got Tommy back with his arms and knees beneath himself. He grabbed his sword, pushed himself up again and looked miserably at Techno. For one moment, he stumbled to the side. Swallowed. Already, he was shaking.
Okay, okay. Just go light. He’s going to fall. He’ll fall soon, he thought to himself. Ducking in, he darted to the side. Tommy tried to track him. Smacking the shield against Tommy again, Techno watched him stumble back. Tommy’s sword thwacked uselessly against the shield. He dropped back a couple more steps. As he moved, the collar of his shirt shifted, too. There were bruises at his neck.
No wonder he doesn’t have the same energy. Definitely got beat right before this. Probably put up a fight. Techno mused. Shaking his head, he decided, Time to end this.
So he darted forwards, shoved Tommy down, and then smacked the pommel of his sword into Tommy’s head. Instantly the teen dropped to the ground. The sword fell from his grasp, and he was just conscious. A blue eye darted back to look at Techno as he braced a knee between Tommy’s shoulders and wings.
“Stay down, kid. It’ll be better that way.” Techno said. Outside the ring, the announcer said the fight was over. Groaning, Tommy closed his eyes, dropped into unconsciousness. The crowd grumbled, clearly having expected more of a fight. Meanwhile, the organizer strode out to Techno, boots sinking into the sand.
“Well, I’m sorry that you couldn’t get a good fight. I don’t know what’s up with him.” He sighed, kicking Tommy in the ribs with a steel-toed boot. Behind the mask, Techno’s eyes narrowed. “Well, he’s all yours now. Good luck.”
“Right.” Techno said, lifting Tommy up. When he was offered money, he ignored it.
He had better things to do.
+++
Tommy didn’t wake up until Techno had set up their camp, laid him out on a bedroll, and then treated the injuries to his legs.
Groaning, the blond tipped his head to the side. “Mom?” He murmured. Then, he paused. Looked to Techno. “You’re not…no stop it.” He shoved at Techno when he reached over. Then, he seemed to process that he was half-dressed. That Techno had managed to get him into some loose gray sweatpants. “What did you do to me?”
“I changed your pants.” Tommy stared at him. “Ugh, fine. Your trousers. Your father’s Phil, isn’t he? Philza Minecraft?” Tommy swallowed.
“What do you want me for?” Sighing, Techno shook his head. Dipped the wet cloth back in his bucket and then gently wiped at the cuts across Tommy’s chest. “What? Is that drugged?” There was a pitch up in his voice. Swallowing, he tried to move. “What did you do to me?”
“Splinted your leg. It was fractured in three places.” Gently, Techno touched Tommy’s leg to indicate. “Here,” He touched above Tommy’s knee. “Here,” his fingers pressed about halfway down Tommy’s shin, “and here.” He indicated Tommy’s ankle. “Sprained ankle. Fractures in your hip from being smacked into walls again and again. You’re pretty wrecked, you know.”
“Sure.” Tommy looked to the side.
“I’m being honest, Theseus.” Tommy froze. Swallowing nervously, he forced out more words.
“You don’t know me.”
“I was there when you were born.”
Scoffing, Tommy flinched when Techno gently smoothed an iced towel across the young man’s ribs. “What, did you hold my mom’s hand or something?”
Rolling his eyes, Techno shook his head. “No. I held your dad’s.” A small smile crossed Tommy’s face. Good. Smile, little one. “The midwife was delivering you, though. Sometimes, when he’s too stressed, he holds his breath, right?” Tommy closed his eyes and nodded. “Yeah. He used to pass out when he did it. Idiot.” He couldn’t keep the fond tone out of his voice. Blue eyes darted to him. “Do you want a rundown of how many injuries you have?”
“Give me the bad news, pig man.” Tommy replied, laughing and then wincing.
“Alright. Broken ribs. Slashes and whip marks on your back. You have sores on your feet which I haven’t gotten to yet because you didn’t have shoes. You have a lot of cuts and scrapes, the leg injuries obviously. You’re dehydrated and malnourished, probably sleep deprived and exhausted, too. So I’ll take you to your parents’ closest hideout if the Four Realms allow it and don’t turn against us.” Rolling his eyes internally, Techno took a breath. Then, he added, “Do you trust me enough not to kick me in the face?”
“What do you mean?”
“Tommy, your ribs are injured and you have sores on your feet. If I don’t treat them they’ll end up being really infected.” Tommy stared at him. “Tommy, someone’s going to need to treat them. If it’s not me, it’ll be someone else.”
“O-okay.” Tommy whispered, swallowing. “I trust you.”
+++
Much to Techno’s shock, the cabin he took Tommy to was inhabited for the moment.
Pausing, he crept up the steps, leaving Tommy behind on his horse. There was kicked up snow around the front of the house. Someone had been there recently. Frowning, Techno made his way into the house. As he moved, he stepped carefully. Once he got into the kitchen, he paused for another moment. The lights were on. It didn’t look like anyone had broken in. Better not to take any chances. Cautious, he licked his lips and whistled like a chickadee.
There was a response. The same sort of three-note chickadee whistle. Then, Phil appeared from the living room. His eyes widened and he grinned. “Techno?” He asked, blinking. Smiling, Techno looked at him. Casually, he gestured to outside.
“Found your little duckling. Might want to come get him, he was in a fighting ring and got a bit roughed up.” Nodding, Phil hurried outside. Two other faces appeared.
“Techno!” Kristin said, walking over. She wrapped him in a hug. Standing behind her, her older son blinked and shook his head. Stared at Techno with his mother’s dark brown eyes. Clearly, he didn’t recognize Techno.
“Wait, what?”