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Ghostbur jumps when he hears a pained scream coming from around Techno’s cabin. The ghost man immediately rushes forward in case someone is hurt. He notices that Phil isn’t around and the area is deathly silent other than the soft sound of the snow falling and Ghostbur’s light footsteps. Ranboo isn’t home, none of Techno’s dogs are barking and the bees aren’t buzzing around. The atmosphere is thick and dark.
The ghost approaches his brother’s door silently, hand slowly reaching down to the pouch of blue connected to his belt. He’s painfully aware of the translucency of his yellow seater and his hand as he uses the other to open the spruce door. With a deep breath the ghost pushes the door open. It's silent (other than Edward vibrating and making noises) for a few seconds before he hears loud sobbing. However it doesn’t sound like Phil. Ghostbur would know that after hearing his father cry for weeks after the death of Kristen.
So who is crying?
The ghost puts on a brace face and ventures into Techno’s house. He checks that attic but no one is there. The sellout bell has clearly not been touched for a while with the dust it managed to collect and the gold not being any more crack than before from Techno’s aggressive ringing of it. The man ignores the chills going up and down his body as he climbs down the ladder into the basement floor and nothing is there. The chests he looks into creak more than usual, though food for the animals has still been taken from the singular chest that didn’t creak and groan which meant the animals were taken care of and had been fed. On the next floor, Bob isn’t mooing and Hubert and Moon aren’t clattering around their cages. The ghost offers a small wave to the undead creatures and runs a soft hand down Bob’s back.
With that, Ghostbur turns around again and climbs down to the last level of the house, greeting some of the villagers and taking the gift softly put into his cold hands by Orphan. By now the sobbing is louder, but still no one other than the villagers are down there. The ghost man gets onto his hands and knees and starts feeling around the stone bricks. Near the back of the floor a stone brick gives under the man’s fingers. Then another, and another, until a small hole has opened up in the ground.
Ghostbur’s heart wrenches as the choke out sobbing he hears gets even louder once the stone bricks are moved out of place. He tries to stay as quiet as possible as he goes down a broken wooden ladder. Once his feet touch the cold obsidian ground he turns and almost lets out his own sob at the sight.
There Techno sits on a couch with Phil. He hugs Phil so tight that his knuckles are white and his shoulders shake violently with each low cry let out. Phil reaches up to the taller man’s shoulder, allowing their foreheads to touch- although it’s not very noticeable with Techno’s long pink hair falling in between the two of them and acting like a barrier from the outside world. Techno’s crown is on the ground next to a few shattered gems that had fallen off, most likely because he threw it, and his ripped up cloak hugs his body tight. Ghostbur immediately looks away as he sees the blood staining his brother’s shirt through the rips. He doesn’t want to know if it’s Techno’s or somebody else’s but at this point he really hopes that it’s not the former. Phil looks much better off, however. He still rests lightly on his head, and if you ignore the light bloodstains, is in pristine condition. His jacket is off and softly set to the side. The only concerning thing is the blood that stains his sleeves and seeps to the sides of his shirt.
Between Techno’s cries, Ghostbur can hear Phil murmuring sweet little nothings to the taller. The ghost doesn’t know if he should say anything or not, but clearly that decision is made for him when Phil pulls his forehead from Techno’s and looks at him. His father offers a soft smile and gestures for the ghost to sit down on the couch with them. Techno looks up soon after and Ghostbur’s heart wrenches once again at the face of his brother.
His face is red and tear tracks stain his cheeks, salty tears still following the path led by other tears. Eye bags as dark as fresh bruises rest under his dull, dark eyes as they search him up and down before turning and burying his face into Phil’s shoulder, soft sniffles joining the now quieter cries. Ghostbur sits down on the other side of Phil, unsure of what to say.
“Is he alright?” Is all that the ghost is able to manage, casting a long look towards Techno. Techno seems to relax at his soft, innocent sounding voice but not by much.
Phil sighs and whispers to his son, “He will be eventually. He’s been like this since the war. Clearly it’s been building up for a while and that was the last straw.”
Ghostbur nods, “And are you alright?”
“I’m alright. I didn’t have much attachment to L’manburg or the people there other than you, Tubbo, and Tommy. He obviously had more connection with them. And Ranboo is safe out here with us. I’m just tired.” The man then looks directly at the ghost, “But how are you holding up? I’m sure that was hard to watch.”
“Well,” the younger starts, “It was hard to lose Friend but I believe you all did the right thing.” Phil nods, taking that as enough, and turns back to Techno who passed out on his shoulder.
“A lot has happened to him.”
“I’ve never seen him like this.”
Phil shakes his head, “I’ve only seen him like this once before. It was after you and Tommy left with Tubbo. Kristen’s mother came around and that broke the damn. He’s gotten good at hiding behind his facade.”
Ghostbur tries to forget the face of his brother from just a few minutes ago. Before now, he would never have believed that Techno could get like this. Especially not after what happened just a few days ago. That image of Techno crying being replaced by flashes of the man as he stood in the middle of the pit on the last standing piece of land other than the one that Tommy and Tubbo were on. As he stood there strong with the wind whipping his cloak and braided hair behind him, his crown offset on his head. His lips were set in a permanent scowl and his eyes were stern under the boar skull mask he wore that day, dogs barking all around him.
“I’m a human Tommy!”
That one phrase rings around Wilbur’s head. It was one of the only things he had heard clearly through the explosions happening around the three in the middle. Now, instead of that strong voice he heard before- the same one the man had used when telling the tale of Theseus- all he heard were the broken sobs he had heard just a few minutes before.
After a few minutes, Phil looks to Ghostbur, “Help me take him to his bed will ya?” The ghost nods and stands up, helping his father stand up with his brother in arms. The two of them move him to his bed and head down to the main floor where they sit in front of the campfire to talk.