Chapter Text
“Techno!” A boy’s scream cut through the air, ringing throughout the clearing drenched in blood.
The man turned around, meeting the child’s vivid gaze. For a moment, he was brought back to the day Wemmbu arrived at his doorstep.
It was seven years ago, on a cold winter night; DreamXD had suddenly appeared, with nothing but the child -a newborn back then- a tiara and a cryptic message.
“Take care of him. Protect him like your own kid. Unstable will change, and this child will hold power that could tip the scale of balance of chaos and order.
He will be the pinnacle of the Unstable Universe.”
Techno had scoffed then, surely a kid couldn't be that important?
Nevertheless, he took him in, not because he had cared back then, but because something in Dream’s gaze and tone made it clear he wasn’t joking.
For the first few months, he’d struggled.
Taking care of a baby was no easy feat. In fact, it was about as hard as fighting a war, if not worse.
But as the child grew, Techno began to grow fond of him. He began to enjoy the loud nights, the company of having someone else other than himself in that cabin.
The kid was energetic, with a curiosity and personality that reminded Techno of himself when he was younger.
He had courage, grit, and a sarcastic tongue that he had most certainly gotten from the man himself.
The years seemed to pass in a flash. Techno was happy, at peace, something he hadn’t felt in a long time. It was almost like he could forget about his past, his wars, the old days. The titles. It was like he was just a father and son, not The Blade, not The Blood God, not Technoblade.
Just someone living peacefully with his child.
It was simple, but of course, nothing can ever stay that way.
It was when they were training one day, on a small sparring field next to their house, that it all came crashing down.
The bright glow of the sun was basking down on them as they sparred. Wemmbu’s little sword met Techno’s, the sound reverberating around the flat expanse of ground. The purple child grinned as he sprang away, his tail swishing happily.
Techno had smiled back, wiping the sweat from his brow before raising his sword again.
“Remember to angle your arm slightly, I don’t want to have to deal with another broken arm kiddo.”
Wemmbu pouted, the expression creasing his face.
“Come on, it was one time! And I was five! I’m so much bigger now!”
He was seven.
This kid and his antics.
Not giving Techno time to pause, the child launched himself at his mentor again, bringing his sword up in a wide arc.
Sighing, Techno brought his own weapon up again, and the fight resumed.
Wemmbu was a quick learner, and surprisingly smart considering his unserious personality.
He was small, but quick, and would often use that to his advantage, popping up unexpectedly behind Techno to land a hit before disappearing again.
Like right now.
But let’s not glaze him too much eyerone, he was still a kid, and Techno’s sure he’ll grow into a great fighter, but right now, he was still a clumsy seven year old.
A loud one. Sometimes, Techo’s surprised no one’s figured out where they live, with the noise Wemmbu makes.
After another thirty or so minutes of rigorous fighting, they stopped for a break. It was relaxing, sitting in the soft grass with a gentle breeze cooling their exhausted bodies.
“Techno… Can I ask you a question?” Wemmbu asked as he munched on an apple.
Techno tilted his head. “What?”
“How did you find me?” Wemmbu stopped chewing and stared up at his dad, his amethyst eyes sparkling in the sun.
The piglin hybrid paused, looking down at the child. It wasn’t exactly a secret, just something he was planning on sharing later.
“Why do you wanna know?” He leaned back, soaking up the sun’s apricity.
“Well, you’re definitely not my real dad, so I wanna know how I ended up with you.” Wemmbu gestures to himself and Techno.
This kid was smart, or the difference between them was that obvious. Maybe Techno’s brain was wearing down.
“Hmm… OK. I think you deserve to know. Well, it was during winter, when I had just moved here for like 6 months or something.
Then Dream showed up-”
“With me?” The child pointed at himself.
“Yes, who else, you little chud,” Techno ruffled his hair playfully. “And he dropped you off, saying I had to look after you, and make sure you were safe.”
“So you basically adopted me because someone else told you to?”
“Yes, now-”
“So, say if I had been left at your doorstep, would you have just abandoned me?”
God, this kid.
“Well-”
“AHA! So you would’ve!” Wemmbu leaps up, pointing an accusatory finger at Techno.
“Yes, I totally would’ve. Who wants a child like you.” Techno deadpanned.
“Hey!”
“I’m just joking. Of course not. Nothing could replace you.” Wemmbu sat down again and grinned, leaning his head against Techno’s shoulder.
Right now, it must’ve looked like a simple moment, father and son, enjoying the sunny day.
But what Techno said were true words, words that he would never say to anyone else, and would probably never utter again.
He wasn’t sentimental or sappy, and when he spoke, it was either truth or lies. The word praise had felt foreign to him, until Wemmbu came along. Wemmbu filled a gap he didn’t know he had, a gap he had tried to fill with violence and deceit.
It was so easy and natural to talk to him. It felt right, it felt warm, it felt safe.
Wemmbu was a gentle calm lake, after the tsunami of his life.
So, he had also purposely left out the darker parts of the story.
Dream’s warning, the tiara… and the letter. Those were excluded, something that would definitely wait till he was older.
Right now, he just wanted to live in the moment, and forget about the worries to come.
But apparently the universe had other plans.
There was a split second change in the atmosphere, and Techno tensed, too late. Shadowy figures burst from the trees, weapons already drawn. The pair immediately leapt to their feet, Wemmbu clutching Techno’s side in surprise.
The players marched closer, their movements fluid and precise, the body language of experienced fighters.
Techno drew his own sword, pushing Wemmbu back. The little demon peered around him, his eyes wide.
“Who are they, Techno?” Instead of answering, he knelt down, placing his hands on Wemmbu’s little shoulders.
“Kiddo, Imma need you to run, OK? When I say so, I need you to run as fast and as far as you can. Get as far away from here as possible.”
The kid’s eyes welled with tears. “You’re not gonna leave me, are you?”
“No, who do you think I am?” Techno put on a smirk, “Here, take this, something to remember me by, so you know that you need to find me again.”
He pulled out a pendant from underneath his collared shirt, and pressed it into the child’s hand.
“Now, go.” Wemmbu gave his father one last pleading look, before turning and sprinting into the bushes.
Surprisingly, no one moved, the intruders stayed fixated on him.
Techno watched him go, before turning back to the attackers. They stared back at him, faces hidden under black cloaks. He hadn’t fought anyone for the past eight years. (Not including Wemmbu, he doesn’t count.) But a Blood God doesn’t forget the thrill of battle so easily.
The air seemed to pause for a moment, the tension thick and tangible, before they charged and it snapped, like a thread.
Techno dodged the first slashes, bringing his sword up in a wide arc. Thick red blood spurted forth, spraying like a grotesque rain. It spattered around the clearing, the green of the grass dyed a wine crimson.
More and more flooded into the clearing, their own weapons drawn. He needed a better vantage point.
Pearling onto a tree Techno paused, and grinned, switching to his famous axe. Although old, it still glowed with enchantments, the deadly edge gleaming in the sun. He could feel it hum in his grip, ready to fight after years of being hidden in his inventory.
His eyes seemed to flash, as though something inside him stirred.
Leaping down, it was a bloodbath after that. Heads fell, bodies toppled, one after another, Oh, he hadn’t felt the thrill of a battle in so long, it was rejuvenating.
He laughed, slashing through attackers easily like they were only stalks of grass. Lost in the bloodlust, he failed to notice the streamlined arrow releasing. OK, maybe he was a bit rusty…
A sharp pain bloomed in his shoulder, and he winced. The abrupt spasm made him drop his axe, and they took that momentary weakness to rush in. A slash in his side, a slice on his arm, it happened suddenly. Before he could reach for his axe again, Techno was forced to his knees. Someone held his arms firmly behind his back, forcing some kind of shackle onto him.
Something rippled through the crowd, and they slowly parted, revealing a figure. It looked similar to the others, black hood drawn over them. But this one had visible netherite armour, covered in ruby trims.
It made its way over to Techno, speaking in a voice warped by a voice changer.
“The Blood God, the Blade, forced into submission. How pathetic.”
“Well, I’ve had like eight years off, and ya’ll didn’t give me much of a warm up, so…” Techno shrugged, well as best as he could with someone pinning his arms back.
“It doesn’t matter, where is the child?”
“The child, what child?”
“Don’t play dumb, I know you have him.” Weird, didn’t they see him run off?
“I don’t know.” It wasn’t a lie, he really didn’t know where Wemmbu was right now.
“Well, we’ll just have to bring him back won’t we?” The figure unsheathed its own sword, the silver blade sparkling dangerously.
It raised it, and Techno didn’t bow his head, instead, he looked straight up at it, as if daring it to cut his head off.
Just as the weapon was brought down, a child’s scream cut through the air.
“Techno!”