Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

When Phil had seen the flyer announcing a huge cross-server tournament seeking contestants, he had been surprised, more than anything.

His was a peaceful server, after all, kind of boring even. That was why he was here, in fact - couldn't exactly raise a kid on a battlefield. So seeing a flyer for what seemed like a pure fighting tournament, promising glory and bloodshed, was… unusual.

Not unwelcome though, exactly. It had been a while since he'd done something actually exciting.

So. He had signed himself up.

Which was how he had ended up here, the Angel of Death standing on his own in a loud, crowded Hub. Will had decided not to come along, instead opting to stay at a friend's place. Not that Phil blamed him, this sort of thing really wasn't for everyone. Especially not children.

Although, there did seem to be a good few of those around, anyway. Most of them were wearing the banner or crest of one notorious fight ring or another. He supposed that checked out.

It was still a good hour until the action would start, enough time for Phil to find and meet his teammate for the day, hopefully. He hadn't actually expected to have one, preparing himself for an uneven fight instead. After all, they were meant to be paired by servers and he'd been the only person from his place to sign up. But apparently one of the other servers had ended up with an uneven number. Lucky him.

Unfortunately, the late arrangements also meant that the only thing he currently knew about this teammate was his name and server. The Blood God, from the Hypixel Arenas. Well, he also knew the rumours, of course. Even his backwaters weren't safe from gossip, after all, and the Blood God - Technoblade? - was certainly making a name for himself, apparently.

Phil had been curious about the guy for a while now. Mostly, he wondered if that title was literal. It would be nice to meet someone like himself, after all. Well, he'd have a chance to find out today, wouldn't he? If only he could find the dude.

----

He was standing on a rock in a less crowded corner of the Hub, trying to get a better view of the place, when someone walked straight up to him. It was a child, probably a few years younger than Will. The kid stopped directly in front of him. For a moment, they didn't say anything, just looked at him intently.

Then, "Philza Minecraft?"

Huh. Why would some kid, from Hypixel judging by the crest on their cape button, want to talk to him? Then again, he supposed he did have a certain reputation. The kid was probably just curious or something. Not wanting to seem rude, he quickly gave the kid a smile and said, 

"Sure am, mate. Can I help ya somehow?"

The kid continued to look at him silently for a few moments, then nodded slowly and simply told him "Win."

Phil laughed.

----

In the end, Phil didn't manage to find the Blood God before the tournament officially started. Oh well, they'd just have to exchange greetings during the fight, then. 

For now, he supposed he'd be heading to the center of the Hub, where the contestants would be called upon, by himself. Well, not quite by himself. The Hypixel kid was still following him. They hadn't said anything else after their initial meeting, instead just sort of. Silently hanging about. Phil really wasn't sure what to make of that. But he hadn't had the heart to tell them to go away, so here they were.

Phil listened with vague interest as the various teams were called up onto the large stage to general cheering. He didn't recognise most of the names. Finally, he heard his own name announced.

The Angel of Death, Master Survivalist Philza Minecraft

He walked onto his place on the stage, doing his best to look the part. Now to finally meet his elusive teammate.

The Blood God, Technoblade, Youngest Champion of the Hypixel Arenas

The crowd, especially the one at the Hypixel block which made up a pretty large portion of the audience, cheered as the Blood God walked onto the stage. Phil looked at him with growing concern.

It was the kid. Fuck, the boy couldn't be older than eight . Youngest champion , he was, no shit. Of course everyone knew that Hypixel was… pretty laid back, when it came to things like age restriction. But Prime, what the fuck .

He didn't have time to contemplate this issue much further, for the time being, though. He could feel the pull of teleportation. The show was about to start.

----

Any concerns for the kids' wellbeing - his physical wellbeing, anyway - appeared to be very much unfunded at least. Frankly, the boy was fucking terrifying.

The kid was grinning brightly, though it was a bit hard to tell what with the mask covering most of his face. He laughed and cheered for the both of them as they defeated team after team. Phil swore he heard him yell " Blood for the Blood God! " at least once, while he was jumping at a grown man with an axe. It was overall a very unnerving experience.

Very, very, successful though. Between the two of them, they were going to win by a landslide.

----

They did, in fact, win with almost double the points of second place. They got crowns placed on their heads as the audience cheered for them. Phil looked out victoriously over the enthusiastic crowd. The Blood God didn't, because his crown had immediately fallen over his eyes.

----

He managed to catch the kid - Technoblade - before he could run off after the victory ceremony was over. He just wanted to make sure the scrawny demon child was actually alright, sue him. 

His offer of a meal was accepted with only slight hesitation. They made their way to the various food stands at the side of the Hub in silence, only interrupted a few times by someone congratulating Technoblade on his win. He didn't seem all that thrilled about it. Whatever confidence had possessed him during the tournament had apparently disappeared again already.

----

One conversation and multiple burgers later, Phil had successfully acquired an increasingly concerning list of information on the little Blood God:

- He liked old literature and did, in fact, quote the Illiad and The Art of War from memory unprompted.

- He didn't have friends, but "sometimes his teammates call him Techno".

- He was clearly some sort of hybrid, but referred to himself as just "a pig" and apparently considered "other pigs" his "brethren".

- He spent his whole life thus far on Hypixel.

- He really liked to stab things. And blood. And blood produced via stabbing things. 

- He had been fighting in Hypixel's various Arenas since he was "about three, probably, but it was mostly Chat back then."

- He had a parent? guardian? handler?? called Chat, who was definitely abusive, though Techno did not appear to realise this.

And nobody on Hypixel apparently thought any of this was in any way concerning. Which, to be fair, checked out. But it still annoyed him.

----

Before leaving, Phil also managed to acquire an invitation to Hypixel. Or rather, Technos home there. Which was good, because it probably meant an opportunity to talk to the kids possibly-parent. He had things to say to them.

For now though, it was time for him to get home.

Chapter Text

Phil entered Hypixel's grounds with a certain amount of unease. The place did have quite the reputation, after all. Despite this, he had managed to get to the area that would apparently allow him to enter Technos home islands without running into any trouble.

The kid was already waiting for him when he reached the island, though his allusive parent was nowhere in sight.

"You're late.", was how Techno chose to greet him. Though he didn't sound particularly accusatory or upset about it.

Phil looked at his watch. It was two minutes past three. He was supposed to be here at three. Well.

----

Techno showed him around his home with a certain amount of childish enthusiasm. Which was good, because he was a child. Also somewhat unexpected, considering his behaviour thus far. But good.

His parent continued to be absent, though he mentioned them often enough. Phil's opinion of them failed to improve. If anything, it somehow managed to sink even further. He wasn't exactly what anyone would consider ideal parenting material but even he had some standards. Standards that Chat clearly lacked.

On the upside, Technos home seemed overall nice enough, concerning reminders of the Blood God aside. It wasn't a particularly safe place, admittedly, but he couldn’t exactly talk there, he supposed.

----

By the time Techno had dragged him to a makeshift kitchen and offered him some steak and bread, Phil had collected an updated but in no way less concerning list of information on the kid. More the opposite, in fact. So far it went:

- He really liked old literature and philosophy and seemed genuinely unhappy about the lack of books available to read on Hypixel.

- He didn't have any friends but he did apparently have "goons", which turned out to be mechanical farm hands he had given names to.

- He considered himself as "just a pig" and apparently multiple people have threatened to eat him in the past?? which he did not seem to find nearly as concerning as he probably should.

- He spent his whole life thus far on Hypixel and had managed to garner enough of a reputation for bloodshed to earn his title of Blood God by the time he was five.

- He really liked stabbing things. And blood. And violence in general, really. Chat strongly encouraged this, and complained if he didn't stab things often enough.

And most pressingly:

- He didn't actually have any sort of parent, after all. What he did have, apparently, was a lot of chaotic, often immature, yet very demanding and bloodthirsty voices in his head. Which he considered to be the closest thing he had to a parent because they apparently raised him.

Which. Actually explained a lot, honestly. But it did nothing to ease Phil's ever-growing concern for this weird, stabby Hypixel child.

----

By the time he left the island, Phil had already made up his mind on coming back. Regularly. Someone had to actually keep an eye on the kid. Someone other than Chat, anyway. And clearly noone else was going to do it. So.