Chapter Text
There were rumours, all throughout the lands, of a monster that called itself the Blood God. A creature that thrived only on violence and fear, raised on the blood soaked soil of an infamous arena. They said he had held a sword before he even learned to speak. They said he couldn't die.
Wilbur Soot, too, had heard the rumours, of course, though he put little stake in them. Because he, unlike so many others, had met the Blood God before. He had met him many times, in fact, and not on a battlefield either. And while the boy had indeed been an absolutely terrifying fighter who had entered the Arenas the moment he could stand, he had never been a monster. No, Technoblade, the boy that Wilbur had spent so many days of his childhood with, talking about books and playing in his fathers garden, who he had come to think of as a brother of sorts, was anything but.
Of course, they hadn't really talked in some years now, not since Wilbur had left his childhood home behind to find his own place in the world. But still, he didn't think his old friend would have changed so much, since then. After all, the rumours had been around even when they were still children and his father's occasional letters still spoke just as fondly of him as they always had.
Which was why Wilbur, newly self-appointed General of L'Manburg, was currently writing a pleading letter to perhaps the most feared man alive. It was proving surprisingly difficult. Wilbur was usually quite gifted with words. They were, after all, his best and preferred weapon. And of course they were failing him now, of all times.
Then again, these weren't exactly usual circumstances. He wasn't trying to win a fight or gain an ally, he was pleading for help. And pleading did not come naturally to him. In fact, he had not earnestly pled for something since he had figured out how to get to the sweets stash without his father noticing. But desperate times called for desperate measures.
And times were most definitely desperate. War was coming and while he was ready to fight it, his daughter was not. His daughter, sweet little Sally, not even a year of age. He had meant to leave her with her mother, but now that she was gone there was noone to keep her safe.
At first he had considered asking his father for help. But Phil didn't know just how much trouble he had gotten himself in. If Will asked him to take Sally in, he'd start to ask questions, and then he might try to help. And Will couldn't risk that. This was something he needed to do by himself - as Wilbur Soot, not the son of the Angel.
Unfortunately, with his father out of the question, there weren't exactly many options left. Will didn't have many friends, nevermind ones capable of defending his daughter if Dream or his friends tried to get to him through her.
In the end, the only option he had left was Technoblade. It wasn't ideal. His old friend didn't really know how to deal with children, for one, in fact he didn't seem to like them all that much. And there was still a risk that he might tell Phil or try to offer his help with the fighting. But Will was almost certain the right words would make it work. Now if only Will could figure out what those words were .
The Blood God, Fastest Man in all Skyblock, Slayer of Dragons and Youngest Champion of The Hypixel Arenas, was on holiday. He thought he'd earned it, with the season over and another grand victory under his belt.
He was planning to spend the next week or so playing party games, gardening or even just lounging about in the sun with a nice old book. It had been too long since he'd actually had the chance to do any of those things. Between his place in the Arenas and his ever escalating quests, he'd been busy.
The first day of his break had gone well so far. He'd had a nice breakfast with only minimal interruption from Chats eternal tea vs coffee argument. Then he'd grabbed his old copy of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Volume One - a gift from Phil, for his ninth birthday - and headed outside to enjoy the sun as he read.
He almost tripped over the basket that had been placed right in front of his door. Ignoring Chats ridicule at his almost-falling, he looked down at the offending thing. It wasn't that unusual for people to leave him gifts or letters - he'd certainlty made enough of a name for himself to have fans, after all. Usually they just put them into his mailbox though, or next to it at least.
Upon closer examination, the bundle inside the basket was moving. Techno looked at it wearily. He supposed it wouldn't be the first time someone had sent him a pet. Still, it might be a trap of some sort, better to be safe than sorry. Carefully, he stepped away from the basket and pulled his sword.
He poked the basket lightly with the tip of the blade. When nothing happened, he moved the sword toward the bundle and pushed the sheet covering it to the side. There was a child under it.
"Heh?!?"
Techno stared at the child, completely bewildered. It was tiny, asleep and looked like a fox. Chat was mostly in favour of kicking it off the island.
"Guys chill, it's a baby . We don't even know if it's an orphan.", he told them. They remained unconvinced. And started calling him soft. Great.
One of them did tell him to look at the letter that was laying on top of the fox-child. Right. He carefully picked up the letter, ignoring Chats continued demands of violence, occasionally interspersed with variations of Baby , Cute and Adopt.
My old friend, he read, it's been a while.
Sorry I haven't been writing, it's been a busy couple of years. I know this is sudden and I really do apologise for just throwing this at you after years of silence. But I have no one else to turn to. So I must ask you for an immense favour. The child inside this basket is my daughter, Sally. She's ten months old now. Her mother is gone and there is no one else who I can trust to take her.
Techno, I am in pretty hot water right now. There is a war coming and my enemies are powerful and unpredictable. I can not risk my child to become a target to them, nor can I protect her while I fight. So I must ask you, no beg you, to take care of her until I can safely take her back. I do not know when that will be, or if I will be alive to do so at all. I know I am asking a lot of you, but please take care of her and keep her safe for me. Consider it a favour to an old friend, for old times sake.
Sincerely,
Your old friend Wilbur
P.S. I've added my address, just in case, but please do not come looking for me. And don't tell Dad I'm in trouble. This is something I must do by myself. I promise, if ever I shall really need you or Dad, I will call for you.
Techno brought the still sleeping baby - Wilburs baby - inside. Of course he did. It was Wilburs .
He placed it, still in the basket, on the kitchen table. Hopefully it would keep sleeping for a while longer, until he could figure out what to do with it. He had no idea what Will had been thinking. Techno had no idea how to deal with children and a reputation to uphold. Surely there must have been someone else he could have asked. Why not send it to Phil, who was infinitely more equipped to deal with it?
Chat was torn on what to do as well. The general opinion seemed to be split between finding Will to return the kid and keeping it forever. Oh, and calling Phil. Which, honestly, was probably the best option.
Techno didn't want to go against Will's wish to be left alone. He got needing to do something by oneself, needing to prove and make a name for oneself. But he really had no idea how to take care of a baby - in fact, he was reasonably sure he'd never even met one before. He supposed Chat technically had experience in the area, seeing as they more or less raised Techno. But he also knew better than to rely on Chat for advice.
So that left Simon and Phil to ask. Simon had technically helped Chat raise him, for the first two years or so. And he still occasionally helped take care of the other Hypixel Children. But he was also very busy these days and Techno didn't really want to keep bothering him, especially if this turned out to be a long term deal. He supposed he'd probably have to ask him either way though, since it would most likely take Phil a couple days to get here.
And he would have to ask Phil for help with this, if he was going to keep the kid, there was no way around that. He already dreaded the thought - it was bound to be an awkward conversation. Because something told Techno that Will hadn't actually informed Phil of his new status as grandfather. Which meant that Techno would have to deal with it. And then he'd have to explain why he had the kid instead of Will, without making him worry too much. Great.
And the day had started so promisingly, too.