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Technoblade loved his brother very much, and would sacrifice the whole entire world for him. But there was no denying that something was off about him.
Not that he cared too much, everybody had their own little quirks and routines, however Wilbur's were particularly hard to learn and get used to. Like, what sort of person's allergic reaction looks like burn marks? Originally, he wanted to question specifically how many people were allergic to metals, but that question soon became obsolete after he found out just how many weird allergies existed out in the world. Never had he heard of Wilbur's particular reaction manifesting as allergic reactions, though.
Fighting kids in the playground had also now become a routine for him - not a particularly bothersome one, because he knew when to actually start fights ("I don't start fights, I finish them," as he would always stress). Many kids were keen on picking on his twin brother because of the way he acted and processed the world around him. And while Techno couldn't specifically relate to the exact same way Wilbur processed the world, he knew what it was like to think differently than others.
So when two children cornered Wilbur and started yelling at him, before escalating it to putting their actual hands on him, Techno wasn't too happy with them.
Techno almost got expelled that day, knuckles bruised from punching so hard, as he sat in the principal's office, holding Wilbur's hand, who was still wiping his eyes with his other hand. The principal yelled threat after threat, lecture after lecture, at Techno's way, but Techno didn't give a flying fuck about anything he was being made to listen to. Because Techno didn't start anything - they started it. He just finished it.
"You did good today," was all Phil told him as he helped both Techno and Will in the backseat of the car, driving home from school. Techno looked down at his knuckles which were beginning to look more purple than red, before looking over at Wilbur.
"You okay?" he asked, leaning closer to Wilbur. Wilbur glanced at Techno before looking away and nodding.
"Yeah..." he mumbled. "Sorry..."
"... Sorry for what?" Techno asked.
"I just- I don't know, if I could just... be like you guys, then I... then you..." Wilbur began, before Techno reached over to hold Wilbur's hand and reassure him. He immediately recoiled when Wilbur hissed and slapped Techno's hand away.
"What- are you okay? What happened?" Techno asked, looking at Wilbur's hands, before he spotted the source of Wilbur's reaction. A long, worryingly red singe mark making his way along Wilbur's palm and up to his finger. How hadn't he noticed before? And why hadn't Wilbur said anything?
"Oh my god, what is that?" Techno asked.
"'s nothing..." Wilbur muttered, holding his hand close and carefully tracing the wound with his other hand.
"Phil," Techno yelled. " Phil , Wilbur's hurt."
"What do you mean he's hurt?" Phil asked, looking up to the rearview mirror to try and spot the injury.
"I'm fine ," Wilbur stressed. "It's just a little burn mark, that's all," he explained.
"Burn mark?" Phil and Techno asked in unison. Techno didn't remember those bullies using anything that could burn Wilbur - or anybody for that matter.
"Yeah, just..." Wilbur muttered, before rubbing his eyes. "One of those kids had like... a metal bracelet, and this happens when I touch metal..." he explained.
They took Will to doctors, specialists, anyone who could possibly help and offer their two-cents. And most importantly, how Wilbur could have such an affliction that Techno didn't, even though they were biological twins. Nothing ever came up. There was no answer to this conundrum, there was just acceptance and altering their lifestyle to suit Wilbur's needs, which was easy enough.
And it was fun teaching Wilbur about normal human stuff. Not that Techno knew about much of them himself, after all they were both born on the same day and were discovering the world pretty much together, but it was a fun bonding activity for Techno to discuss his thoughts and opinions with a person so inquisitive. It was never even tough in the first place - Techno had the privilege of growing used to Wilbur peering from the corner, towering over any activity, lingering in every room, observing, taking in, writing down, memorizing, contemplating. It was Wilbur's little routine that Techno had learned by heart.
That had been 3 years ago.
"Wait up, nerd," Techno yelled after Wilbur as he ran to the forest. Wilbur wasn't really a wallflower - he was decently social, especially when he felt safe. If anything, the quieter one of the two would be Techno. However, whenever they visited the woods, it was almost like he was seeing an entirely different person. Phil always persuaded the boys to explore the wilderness, both through words and through actually taking them to the woods to explore. When they were even younger, of course they were accompanied by him and were disallowed from straying too far. But now that they were decently old and aware of things, Phil felt a little more comfort letting them off on their own. Techno loved the outdoors too - but not more than Wilbur did.
Wilbur ignored Techno's faux-plea, instead booking it deeper inside the treeline, jumping on the first sloped tree that came across his path and climbing it with such ease and poise that it looked as if he was walking along the trunk. Techno paused at the bottom, hand resting on the trunk, heaving slightly. Wilbur perched on one of the thicker branches, and looked down at Techno.
"What's wrong, Blade? Too tired to continue?" he asked.
"You wish," Techno replied, jumping up onto the tree and immediately slipping, causing Wilbur to almost fall off the tree as he laughed so hard.
"Maybe try to follow me from the ground, we don't want you to hurt yourself doing these hard, unmanageable courses," Wilbur said.
"I hate you," Techno replied, still on the ground.
"Right you do," Wilbur said as he scanned the rest of the branches, still laughing slightly.
"Same spot?" Techno asked.
"Same spot."
Techno jumped up off the ground and immediately began sprinting as fast as he could, not giving Wilbur time to even process his disappearance. He could hear the rustle of leaves and trees behind him as Wilbur followed close behind from tree to tree. Techno wasn't the most athletic. He was becoming decent the more he was 'forced' to follow along Wilbur's forest escapades, but he was still nowhere near as good as Wilbur was. He wasn't sure if anyone would ever be better than Wilbur at all. As many times as Techno did indulge him, he knew that Wilbur would always win. Even if the sound of the leaves rustling grew farther and farther away, somehow Wilbur ended up at the 'spot' first regardless.
Techno had almost learned the course by heart at that point. He contemplated switching courses - he had gotten pretty good at orientating himself at this point -, but he really intensely craved to win, just once. To outsmart Wilbur's secrets, and win at this meaningless little race. It would only be fair after all.
However, not all endeavors were blessed, Techno realized, as he jumped over a grove and immediately ate his face as he lost his balance on the landing. He skidded forward across the moist dirt, barely missing breaking his jaw. He was definitely not going to win the race after that. He knew he could have just gotten up, dusted himself off, and continued running, but this one particular tumble hurt more than he cared to admit. He laid down on the dirt, feeling the burn in his feet and palms subside, leaving his hip and both of his wrists with an unpleasant, constant pain. He stared up at the canopy as his ears rung, almost mirroring the distant sound of wind chimes.
He sat up and shook his head, however the faint jingle didn't subside. He stood up and placed his hand on his hip, as if the pressure would alleviate any of the pain, or just make the pain shut up and let him focus. But the sound grew clearer - it was just from behind the grove he jumped over and fell into. He climbed back up as gently as he could, trying not to hurt himself any more than he already had, and walked around the tree. Nothing.
The jingle echoed again, followed by two sets of giggles. Techno took a step forward.
"Hello?" Techno asked no one in particular - at least as far as he was aware. He followed the direction from which he thought he heard the giggles and the wind chimes, before his eyes snapped to the rattling bush just below him.
A small brown hare jumped out of the bushes, its little nose bopping back and forth as it sniffed the atmosphere.
"Oh wow, hello," Techno said as he bent down. "I didn't know we got rabbits here," he said to the hare, although he wasn't expecting an answer. The hare hopped away, following a small path that was created by the parting of the bushes. Techno watched the hare jump away, before he heard the same giggle come from the direction the hare was headed towards.
He raised his eyebrow and got up to follow, the pain in his hip still apparent, but significantly lessened already. He followed the hare without much issue, but the more he followed, the weirder the atmosphere seemed to get. That, mixed with the fact that the hare seemed to be waiting for Techno every time he fell behind gave him a sense of unease. He looked around the place - he did not remember so many mushrooms growing on the trees, although he guessed that the moisture in the atmosphere helped nature in this endeavor. The wind chimes also seemed to grow more constant and clear, yet instead of a cluster of wind chimes, it was chime by chime, a careful melody that sounded dissonant yet harmonious at the same time.
"Shit, where'd the rabbit go?" Techno said as he looked around for the hare. He had just taken his eyes off of it for one second, and it had already poofed into thin air. "Hello? Uh... bunny rabbit?" he called, still walking forward, scanning the shrubbery for any potential movement, before his eyes spotted a peculiar formation.
A mushroom circle, big enough for at least 10 people, made up of small white mushrooms. That's pretty fucking cool , Techno thought to himself. I wonder where Wilbur is, he'd love this .
He approached the mushroom circle cautiously, making at least one round around it, to make sure nothing was amiss. Not that he could tell, anyway. A rustle beyond the treeline startled him right out of his skin before he could react further, and he positioned himself in fighting motion. His wrists couldn't take much more, but he wouldn't hesitate.
A minute passed. Two minutes passed. Nothing.
"Uh... rabbit?" he asked. Probably not.
He looked back at the circle before gulping. He lifted a foot up and raised it over the mushrooms, careful not to trample them on accident.
"What the hell are you doing?!" Wilbur yelled and Techno almost slipped and fell into the circle, but managed to catch himself last second. "What the hell?! I've been looking for you for like 20 minutes!" Wilbur complained, before his eyes spotted the mushroom circle.
"Oh yea, I found this," Techno said and pointed at the circle. "'S pretty cool, right?" he asked. Wilbur shook his head.
"Techno, there's dirt all over your sweater. Are you ok? Did you fall? How many fingers am I holding up?" Wilbur asked as he went closer and held up a peace sign, shaking it violently.
"Yea I'm fine, I just kinda... fell and tripped while I was runnin'," he explained.
"... Let's get out of here," Wilbur said, grabbing Techno by the wrist. "I don't like how silent this place is."
Techno was about to protest before he noticed it as well - the complete silence he was left in. No more wind chimes, no more giggles, no more rustling. Techno still thought the mushroom circle was pretty cool, but he didn't want to push Will. He knew he was trying to make light of the situation, but he could tell Will was worried. His lack of smile gave it away. He let himself be led away by Wilbur, still trying to examine his surroundings. This place really did look like an entirely new forest - the trees seemed thicker and the leaves more lush. Not to mention all the shrubbery and low grass that covered the floor. And the mushrooms. All the different mushrooms.
Wilbur continued dragging Techno away from the forest, but never closer to the spot where they all hung out.
"Where're we goin'?" Techno asked.
"... I don't really feel like doing outdoorsy stuff anymore, if that's alright with you," Wilbur said. The vitality and confidence in his tone, however, made Techno think otherwise about Wilbur's statement.
That was two years ago.
Otherwise, high school rolled around and everything else went smoothly for the most part - save for those two hiccups they met along the way. Wilbur was still the weird one out of the two, although there were times when Techno was acting almost as aloof as Wilbur was. But the bullies shut up quickly enough when they could make out Techno cracking his knuckles from the corner of their eyes.
They'd been too slumped with studying to actually go out to the forest. That added with the fact that Wilbur seemed to be growing more and more weary, more and more jumpy, more cautious of Techno. A topic which Techno tried to approach Will about, but was met with prompt dismissal and excuses. Not that he could do much to push Will for answers anyway.
So when Will came to his room and asked him to go out to the forest, he was a little more than just surprised.
"What's the occasion?" Techno asked as he hoisted his backpack on his back. Wilbur fidgeted with his fingers slightly. He had been doing that increasingly as he got more stressed with exams rolling around.
"Nothing, I just- I just need some fresh air, y'know? And I don't really wanna go alone, so," he explained, making his way out of the door.
Techno looked up at the sky, as the sun hid behind the gray clouds that were starting to roll in from the horizon.
"Man, we should've done this when it was still sunny outside," Techno commented. He looked to Wilbur for a reaction, but Wilbur was just following a straight line - almost as if he didn't want to look at Techno at all.
"It's fine, the rain is fine too," Will replied.
But it's not even rainin' , Techno thought, but said nothing. He couldn't blame Wilbur, the tension from exams was getting to him as well. The headaches and the sleepless nights made him see things from the corner of his eyes, and also hear things. Things like his name, or "come", stuff like that. He really needed to sleep better, but he was saving it for after exams. So he supposed Wilbur must have been having similar issues.
"Are we gonna go to the spot?" Techno asked.
"No, we're, uh..." Wilbur mumbled. "... You'll see."
Techno remembered the route like it had been yesterday - dashing and weaving across the trees when his stamina was still feeble, trying to outrun Wilbur, and almost succeeding, before Wilbur dragged him by the hand out of the forest, and 'never felt like' going to the forest ever again. The pang of nostalgia spread from his chest to his feet, making him want to race Wilbur again. He would have asked, had he known where they were going. But then again, Wilbur was being so avoidant that he figured he could ask about racing him another day.
"... So," Techno began. "Are ya gonna tell me where we're goin', or am I gonna hafta guess?"
Wilbur froze for a second. "You know what?" he said, trying to hide the shake in his voice and failing miserably. "Name some names. I wanna see if you're wrong or not."
Wilbur was not enjoying himself, and Techno could tell.
"Alright, let's see here..." Techno began. "... So it's not the spot," he said. Wilbur shook his head. "Then is it the old fountain area?"
"Nope," Wilbur replied.
"What about... the little cave thingie?"
"Not that either."
"Then is it the sanctuary?"
"Nope."
"The ranger station?"
"Nope."
"That one place where we found the foxholes?"
"Nope."
"Alright, where the hell are you takin' me," Techno asked, and Wilbur laughed half-heartedly.
"I can't tell you if you can't guess, Techno," Wilbur said. Techno looked down and thought.
"... I mean the only other place I can think of is that little mushroom circle area, but you didn't seem to really like that place," he finally said. And Wilbur paused. "... Wait, really?"
Wilbur never replied. He just continued walking.
Techno was going to joke about being murdered by Will, but the more silent Wilbur became, the more concerned he was about his actual life being on the line. Logically, he knew he wasn't in grave danger. Not if he was in Wilbur's hands. But every time Wilbur was serious about something, it was usually cause for concern.
They made the turn at the grove Techno last fell into and continued along the small path that Techno followed the hare on. Now that Techno could actually look at his surroundings, as he wasn't busy trying to follow a rabbit jumping around, he could see the gradual turn of the surrounding environment. How the trees became more lush, how there were more flowers. And of course, the sudden appearance of mushrooms on the tree bark. He hissed as his eye flashed for a second, before he rubbed it gently. What was that...? He turned around to look at what had just blinded him, before he looked back at the forest and saw darkness. And he turned around again, and the ground was illuminated by spotty little rays of sunshine.
The sun was peeking through this part of the forest, and this part of the forest only. Everywhere else was cloudy. Techno turned to look at Wilbur and alert him of this sudden change, but Wilbur seemed steadfast and focused on the path in front of him.
He didn't like what was happening.
Eventually, Wilbur stopped in front of the mushroom circle that Techno had found years prior - still unscathed and almost untouched.
"Everythin' alright?" Techno asked. Wilbur didn't reply. He lifted one of his legs up and over the mushrooms, before he stepped inside the circle, making a few rounds before he stayed near the center of the circle. Techno approached cautiously. He could almost feel Wilbur tug at his arm to pull him away from the mushroom circle and take him back home. But this time, Wilbur turned to him and nodded inward, beckoning Techno to join him inside the circle. Techno lifted his eyebrows quizzically, before Wilbur nodded once.
Techno followed along Wilbur's steps, lifting his legs carefully over the mushrooms with each step, and his ears began to ring. He almost missed the faint "I'm sorry" Wilbur mumbled, the ring seemed to bounce against every part of his brain inside his skull. It made his eyes water.
"What the-" Techno managed before he covered his ears and tucked his head between his elbows. But the ringing didn't stop. It wasn't a sound, it was inside his brain, and it hurt. His ears then popped. A nice, satisfying pop, that seemed to relieve whatever pressure was making his head ring.
Techno wiped his eyes to look up at Wilbur. He looked unscathed. And he looked miserable.
"Wilbur, what's going on?" Techno asked, but Will's focus was elsewhere. His gaze was pinned to the far distance, back at the place that had just come from. Techno turned to look, and instead of the dark, cloudy forest in the horizon, he saw two giant trees making an upside down arc, with a staircase leading up to the bottom. There was a man there, sat on a sort of throne, with guards by his side, who seemed weirdly tall for humans. "Uh... Will?" Techno looked back at Wilbur, who was still staring at the man, lips pursed and holding his wrist, nails digging into it ever so slightly.
"Took you long enough," the man on the throne said and stood up. He started descending the stairs.
"Uh... who're you?" Techno asked. The man smiled.
"Yes, I was afraid I had made a mistake but... Under the eternal sun, the similarity is uncanny," the man said. "Well, save for... some... aesthetic choices."
"What?"
"My name is Cyberknife. I am the Prince of the High Court, Headmaster of the fair folk, and Lord of Tir na nOg," the man explained. "I am also your brother, Technoblade." he smiled at Techno.
"... What are you talking about?" Techno asked.
"You see, there was this... grievous, and... blasphemous mistake," he said, giving Wilbur the deadliest glare Techno could recognize, "and... one of my changelings went rogue. You see, this here changeling, Wilbur, he wanted a piece of the human world's pie all to himself, and went about to take that piece of the pie by force. He and I were swapped soon after birth."
"So wait, I don't think I'm followin'. You're my biological brother and Wilbur is... what, a fairy?" Techno asked. Cyber nodded.
"Precisely. Changelings are a fae clan that specialize in trickery by method of transformation," he began as he approached Wilbur and Technoblade. "And this one there, that convinced you for so long he was someone other than who he was, was particularly stubborn about surrendering."
" 'Surrendering' ?" Techno asked.
"I had given the command for you to be brought here as soon as I could have. This... truly blasphemous creature thought he could disobey my command, and he could keep you all to himself. But, as is with all fae creatures, they are bound by fate to obey their master."
"So, wait, you-" Techno turned to Wilbur.
"I'm sorry, Techno, I didn't- I promise, I-"
"Silence," Cyber raised his hand in the air. Wilbur's throat hadn't finished talking, but his mouth made no coherent words. Just garbled stutters.
"... We'll talk later, Will," Techno said, placing his hand on Wilbur's shoulder, and Wilbur almost immediately relaxed. "... So now what happens?" he asked. "Am I supposed to just... come with you and like... we'll live out this nice life together here in... wherever this is?"
"I would greatly appreciate it if you stayed here, after all a throne is waiting for you, with quite a few domains that require the management of such a skillful mind. But, as it is within my infinite reign, I could arrange for our permanent residence to be in the human world alongside our father," Cyber explained. Hearing Phil be called 'father' almost made Techno shudder. He wasn't quite used to it yet.
"... And Wilbur?" Techno asked.
"Ah, yes. Well," Cyber approached, eyes trained on Wilbur. "People who go against the law of any fae lord are punished."
"Excuse me?" Techno asked.
“Now I would appreciate it if you could step away from that creature,” the prince said, producing a steel sword that glinted against the light peeking through the canopy. He heard Wilbur’s breath hitch for a split second.
The prince rushed forward and swung, stopping just a split second before he hit Techno, who had rushed to cover Wilbur.
“What are you doing?” the prince said. “I could have hurt you, Techno, I don’t want to hurt you. Step aside, we need to get rid of his nuisance,” he said, walking around Techno. Techno’s eyebrows furrowed.
“... I’m sorry did you just call my brother a nuisance?” Techno asked.
“... What?”
“Did you. Just call. My brother. A ‘nuisance’?”
The prince scoffed. “Techno, he’s not your brother. I’m your brother. Me! I’m here. This thing separated us for so long, but now I’m here! I know this is hard for you but-”
“I’m gonna stop you right there,” Techno said, extending his hand to make a sushing motion. “What’s my favorite food?”
“... Excuse me?” the prince asked.
“Bruh,” Techno groaned. “How many times am I gonna hafta repeat myself? Just answer the question.”
“I…Techno, I don't see how that's important-"
"I'm tryna prove a point here, can you just go along with it?" Techno asked, seeming more and more ticked off as the minutes rolled by.
"Well... I'm sure whatever it is, you'll find something you enjoy tenfold here," Cyberknife tried.
"So my favorite food according to you is 'whatever', got it. What's my favorite class?" Techno replied.
"Class...? Well, the class system is a bit outdated, we use domains now-"
"In school, dumbass," Techno asked. Cyber grew tense.
"I..." his fingers shook gently, and he almost dropped the sword.
"Let me get one thing clear," Techno said, stepping forward towards Cyberknife. "You can be my biological mother, father, brother, twin brother, whatever, I don't care if we're literally from the exact same cell. Whoever you are, you're not my brother. And that's for certain."
"Techno, let's try to be logical about this-"
"If we're goin' by logic, then why are you surprised I'm choosin’ my actual brother over you?"
"You're spewing nonsense! He's just a fairy!"
"And what are you then?!" Techno asked. "You mean to tell me you, the fae king, someone who grew up alongside fairies, rules over them, follows their customs and their traditions, is more human than Wilbur? Someone who slaved over tests alongside me, someone who got hype when new books came out alongside me, someone who uses the same slang as I do, is less human than you?! Please, I think this whole 'fae king' thing is gettin' unhealthy for you."
"Techno, I-"
"Listen. Just... focus on your 'domains' and 'classes' or whatever it is you have here. Better yet, maybe just... I dunno, hand those domains over to the public or somethin'. You should know, as my brother, I'm not really that big into this whole 'government' business." Techno began moving back towards Wilbur's direction, who was staring dumbfounded between the prince and his brother. "Maybe, if you ever get bored of this entire shebang and decide to take up geometry or Chinese history or whatever, maybe then you could possibly be considered the honorary third brother. Oh, and I have a good book to recommend you for that last part too. Just... don't bother us again 'til you get yourself sorted, okay?"
Wilbur drifted closer to Techno as if on impulse. "Techno, I..."
"Do you know like... a way to get outta here? We got into here just fine, but like, what are we gonna do about gettin' out?" Techno asked.
"Yeah, I can get us out..." Wilbur replied.
"This is nonsense! Techno, you are staying right here! And you , you're going to be punished for your treachery!" Cyber yelled, pointing wildly at Wilbur.
"How much do you bet he has no idea how to get us to stay here?" Techno asked.
"I mean... He's the fae king..." Wilbur hesitated as he walked Techno back to the mushroom circle.
"Yeah, the human fae king. He probably knows how to keep us here as much as I know how to get us out," Techno reminded, making Wilbur pause for a split second. He rubbed his face with his hands, pulling his cheeks down and groaning. "What's wrong?" Techno asked.
"Nothing, I just... I was afraid of the magical capabilities of a human?!" Wilbur groaned as he stepped over the mushrooms again, with Techno following suit.
"Hey, I don't blame ya, fear does weird shit to you sometimes," he explained.
"That much is right... Do you think Phil will get mad?"
"Mad at... what?" Techno said as the sunlight shifted again, only for him to blink and be met by pure darkness. Not even the cloudy canopy overhead. Just pure darkness. "What the..."
"Yeah, time moves differently in the fae world... Let's see here, do you have your phone with you?" Wilbur asked, gently leading Techno out of the circle again.
"Yeah I do..." Techno muttered as he took his phone out of his pocket. "We've been gone for a day and then some?!"
"Yeah, that tends to happen... I thought it would be less, honestly, but I can't be too mad, at least we showed up within the week."
"Wilbur it's been a day! A whole day, Wilbur! We lost a day of studyin'!" Techno yelled, and Wilbur's face dropped once again.
"FUCK," Wilbur yelled. "Dude, we gotta run." he grabbed Techno by the arm, and they wasted no second - they immediately dashed back home, as fast as their legs could carry them. After today, or both of the days they had apparently just spent together, rather, Techno still found himself annoyed at the fact that Wilbur was so much faster than Techno. Annoyed, yet satisfied. Because, slowly, things began to make sense about his brother, and he could never be mad at finding out more ways to help his brother process the world a little better.