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Chayanne rubbed his eyes, sleepily blinking them open in the dark room he had been sleeping in.
His first instinct, just as it always was, was to glance over where Tallulah lay curled up in her bed. He breathed a quiet sigh of relief when he saw her tiny purple tail still peeking out from underneath her blanket and her red beanie and flute carefully laid on top of the chest at the foot of her bed.
It had been scary, that day when Tallulah had . . . had been attacked. Chayanne sometimes still woke up, panicked breaths catching in his throat at the sight of his sister lying on the sands, covered in blood and lying still, so very still—
But that was a dream, a nightmare, and the clock on the wall told Chayanne that it was almost time for Phil to come and let him out so they could hang out for the day. Quickly he opened up his own chest and put on his armor, tightening and adjusting the straps methodically as he thought about the day ahead of them.
The door behind him beeped, indicating that it had been unlocked, and Chayanne turned, smiling widely at the sight of Phil opening the door for Missa, who was descending the ladder behind him. He ran up and gave Phil a tight hug around the legs, almost knocking him over in his excitement.
Phil chuckled as he tousled Chayanne’s hair. “Hiya mate,” he said kindly as Chayanne ran over to Missa, who jumped down the last rung and scooped his son up in his arms, spinning him around with wild abandon as he entered the bedroom. Phil shut the door behind his partner and moved over to Tallulah’s bed, carefully folding back the blankets and tapping her shoulder lightly.
“How did you sleep, Chayanne?” Missa asked, finally setting him down on the floor and lovingly adjusting the skull mask that was perched on the boy’s face. “Any more nightmares?”
Chayanne shook his head and quickly placed a sign for Missa and Phil, who was watching from Tallulah’s side, to read.
no nightmares, i think theyve mostly stopped by now
Phil gave Tallulah one last gentle shake before standing up. He walked over to Chayanne, knelt down, and gave him a big hug. “I’m glad,” he said earnestly, “but remember if you ever have any more, you can always wake me or Missa up.”
Missa nodded in agreement and added, “Don’t ever worry that you're bothering us, we want to make sure that you are safe and happy.”
Phil smiled and said, “Are you all ready to head out now, Chayanne?”
Chayanne nodded and skipped over toward the door, where he stood jumping from one foot to the other in impatience.
Missa laughed and said to Phil, “I’ll take him up, do you want to join us when Tallulah wakes up?”
Phil moved back to Tallulah’s bed and answered, “Sounds good, mate, I assume you’ll be checking on the farm for a bit?”
Chayanne nodded and flapped his hands excitedly. He loved checking his farm in the morning; the machine Ramon had made him to help collect the potatoes was so fun to watch move back and forth. But he still enjoyed the expeditions he would go on along the wall with one or both of his dads, gathering the potatoes that grew out of the machine’s range and replanting any bare spots so that whenever anyone wanted food, they could always find freshly grown potatoes waiting for them.
Missa laughed and opened the door for Chayanne, calling back to Phil, “That’s a pretty solid answer, we’ll meet you up there then.”
Chayanne poked his head out the trapdoor and took a deep breath of the crisp fresh air. He clambered up onto the ground and waited impatiently for Missa to arrive, panting slightly and laughing wrily at his son’s impatience.
“I know you’re excited,” he said, gently pushing Chayanne’s shoulder toward the potato farm, “you can go run ahead.”
Chayanne grinned and jumped up, running over to the edge of the farm. He opened up the large chest at the end of the farm, smiling proudly at the piles of potatoes that lay piled on the bottom, half-filling the chest. Moving to where the switch to turn on the harvester was located, his hand stilled over it as he gazed at the quiet field that lay peacefully in the early morning glow.
Maybe he would farm by hand just a little, just until Phil and Tallulah came back. It would be nice, and nothing dangerous ever spawned up on the wall anyway.
Chayanne slowly moved down the rows of potatoes, filling up an empty backpack with dirty tubers. Birds chirped overhead and he waved at them playfully, watching some sparrows scare a crow away from their nest in Phil’s avocado trees. The large black bird cawed at the smaller birds and flew past the boy, heading toward . . . toward something that stood next to the farm, something that hadn’t been there last night.
Chayanne dropped his potato backpack and pulled out his sword and shield. He carefully walked toward the mysterious object—no, it was a figure, a person—all thoughts of farming gone from his mind.
The crow that the sparrows had scared off landed on the shoulder of the man and let out a disgruntled caw. The stranger chuckled, a deep sound that simultaneously scared and reassured Chayanne, which was in and of itself a confusing thought.
“What do you want me to do? Tell you to get better?” he said to the crow, waving it off his shoulder, which was covered by a floor-length scarlet cloak.
He suddenly stood up straighter and turned to face Chayanne, a great axe seemingly materializing in his hands. Gold chains that hung from his pointed ears jangled with the sudden movement, and his long pink hair, which was intricately braided and woven into a thick rope, spun with him, landing over his shoulder.
Chayanne wasn’t scared—he wasn’t— and stood firm, bravely meeting the man’s deep brown eyes and holding his sword out toward the stranger, although when compared to the other’s great shimmering purple axe, his diamond sword seemed inadequate.
“Uh, hullo kid,” the stranger said, straightening up and leaning his axe against the stone he was standing on, “where did you come from?”
Chayanne glared at the man, but his sword started to drop as well. He knew everyone here and had spent countless hours with them and their kids, and he knew that this man was not one of the inhabitants of Quesadilla Island, not even one of the new arrivals.
So why did he seem so familiar?
Suddenly, Chayanne heard footsteps running up behind him and, before he could react, Missa had swept him behind himself and faced the man, his own axe ready and waiting.
“I don’t know who you are,” he said quietly, with accusation dripping off every syllable he uttered, “ I don’t know why you’re here—”
Missa leveled the axe at the man’s chest, fire sparking dangerously in his eyes.
“—but get the fuck away from my son.”
The stranger quickly spun his axe in his hand and the weapon disappeared in a shower of purple particles as he raised both of his hands in a placating gesture.
“Look,” he started, “I’m just looking for an old friend, so I’ll be out of your hair as soon as I find out where he lives.”
Missa glared at the man, clearly not trusting a single word he said, but before he could answer, a broken voice from behind Chayanne said, “Te-Techno?”
Chayanne whirled around and saw Phil standing just to the side of the potato farm, holding Tallulah’s hand tightly. The little girl seemed just as scared as Chayanne felt, staying close to Phil’s leg and gripping her flute tightly. But Phil stared at the stranger with tears in his eyes—why was his dad crying?—and moved forward to where Missa was staring at his partner in astonishment.
“Phil, you- you know him?” he asked incredulously, slowly lowering his axe and stepping back from the man—Techno, apparently—while still keeping Chayanne safely behind him.
Phil nodded and smiled tearfully. “He’s an old friend,” he said quietly, stopping in front of Techno and holding out a hand, “from before I arrived here.”
Techno stared at the other man’s hand briefly before shrugging and pulling him into a giant embrace. Tallulah dropped Phil’s hand quickly and hopped backward, nervously humming as she latched onto Chayanne instead. But Phil didn’t seem to mind or even notice. His hands rose to grip Techno’s shoulders tightly and he whispered, so quietly that Chayanne almost couldn’t hear him at first, “I thought you were gone. I didn’t know if I would ever see you again.”
Techno snorted and pulled back from the hug, grinning mischievously at Phil. “Come on Phil,” he teased, “you know what happens whenever someone tries to get rid of me.”
Phil laughed and quickly wiped tears from his cheeks. “You come back stronger than ever,” he said fondly, “and beat their asses when they least expect it.”
Techno chuckled. “Technoblade never dies,” he said matter-of-factly before turning to where Missa, Chayanne, and Tallulah were watching the two old friends with confusion, curiosity, and apprehension. “Ah, new people, allow me to introduce myself.”
He made a sweeping gesture, the red cape he wore billowing out behind himself. “Technoblade, ruler of the Antarctic Empire, the strongest warrior on Hypixel, and the one and only number 1 potato farmer on Skyblock.” He straightened up and grinned. “And also Phil’s friend, which may be my greatest achievement.”
Chayanne’s eyes widened and he looked at Phil for confirmation. His dad nodded and smiled.
“Yup,” he said softly, “the same Techno from all those stories I told you.”
Chayanne turned his attention back to the stranger—Techno, this was the Technoblade—and made his decision.
Stepping out from behind Missa, who still looked confused at the fact that Phil knew this man, Chayanne carefully stepped forward until he stood right in front of Techno. The man was so tall that he had to crane his neck back to even see his face, but if Phil had been telling the truth about him in all the stories, Techno wasn’t someone who would hurt him.
Chayanne slowly took Techno’s hand and tugged it gently, pointing at the farm. He wanted to show Techno the farm and tell him how inspired he had been by Phil’s story. He wanted to take him to school and tell him stories of how Quackity was scared of him. He wanted to go exploring and finally face all the dungeons that Phil had told him were too dangerous for them to go through because surely nothing was too dangerous for the one and only Technoblade.
But he had to start small. He had to show Techno that he was– well that he was just as cool as he was. So he tugged again, hauling Techno over to the beginning of the farm where his chests were placed.
Phil laughed and picked up Tallulah, resting her on his hip as he placed a reassuring hand on Missa’s shoulder. “I told him the story of the Potato War,” he explained, following Techno and Chayanne along the wall, “and he wanted to make a farm just like you.”
Techno’s eyes widened and he looked down at Chayanne, who grinned happily up at him.
“That’s—” Techno coughed in a failed attempt to cover the smile on his face, “—that’s real sweet, kid.”
Chayanne hopped up and down in excitement and pulled him over to the chests and machine. He eagerly opened the first chest and looked for his backpack to add the potatoes he had farmed earlier to his collection.
Missa handed him the backpack and grinned. “You left it on the ground, so I figured I’d clean up after you,” he teased lightly.
Chayanne giggled and opened it up, adding the bundles of potatoes he had made to the chest. Techno picked up one of the bundles and inspected it.
“These are some good-looking potatoes, kid,” he said, and Chayanne grinned widely at the impressed tone in his voice. He quickly placed down a sign.
thank you <3 i’m glad you like them
Techno read the sign and tousled his hair roughly. “Yeah yeah, don’t you make me get all sappy and emotional now,” he muttered gruffly. “Now tell me, what does this machine do here? I assume it, like, harvests and replants the potatoes, but how does it work?”
Chayanne shut the chest, leaving his backpack leaning against the side, and ran over to the switch that turned his harvester on, beckoning Techno over to join him. He placed another sign right next to the switch.
i didnt make this, ramon did, so i dont know exactly how it works
Phil added, “Ramon is another one of the kids on the island, he’s Fit’s son. You remember Fit, right? From SMP Earth?”
Techno nodded and watched closely as Chayanne went through resetting the harvester, making sure that it would go the right way before grinning at Techno and placing down another sign.
do you want to turn it on? just push this button
Techno smiled and said, “Sure—uh, what was your name?”
Chayanne giggled and broke the sign he had just placed, quickly replacing it
chayanne, like shai-anne
Techno nodded in acknowledgment and turned toward the button. “Well then, Chayanne, if this explodes and kills me, I’m not gonna be a very happy camper.”
Chayanne hopped from one foot to the other, excitedly watching Techno’s face as he pushed the button and immediately jumped at the loud noise the harvester made starting. The man’s mouth was wide open with astonishment as he watched the harvester trundle speedily down the farm before he exclaimed, “Chayanne that is amazing! That is so much better than the minions I was using, Hypixel needs to up their game right now!”
Chayanne flapped his hands excitedly at that and placed another sign down
thank you mr techno
if you want, you can put a dirt block in this dispenser to bring it back
Techno read the last sign and looked around curiously. Chayanne tugged on his cape and, when Techno looked down at him, handed him a dirt block and pointed at the dispenser in the ground near the chests. The older man nodded in acknowledgment and placed the dirt black in the contraption, staring in amazement as the harvester quickly returned and stopped at the end of the farm. He turned to Chayanne and asked curiously, “Can I climb up on it? I just want to get a closer look at how it works.”
Chayanne nodded and Techno jumped on top of the machine, climbing across the wires and pieces as gracefully as if he was on a ballroom floor. The boy busied himself with emptying the harvester and crafting the raw potatoes into bundles before storing them in the chest.
Techno hopped down and dusted off his hands, shaking his head in astonishment. “That is incredible,” he marveled, “I wish I had that during the Potato War.”
Phil looked up from where he was sitting with Missa and Tallulah, quietly chatting with his partner while the little girl played her flute to the turtle curled up at her feet.
“I mentioned that when Ramon first showed us how fast it was,” he said cheerfully, “figured you might have liked it.”
Techno nodded and walked over to where his friend sat, gracefully dropping onto the ground beside him. Chayanne ran over, still excited about how much Techno liked his farm and began to climb the tree that shaded the three adults.
“How long are you planning on staying?” Phil asked Techno, a hint of hope in his voice. “I don’t want to hold you too long, but it would be nice to catch up some more.”
Techno shook his head ruefully and said, “I have to leave tomorrow morning, got somewhere else that needs my help.”
Missa chuckled and asked sarcastically, “What, do they need help killing God?”
Techno laughed, “Something like that, yeah.”
Phil sighed disappointedly and mused, “Well, if you’re gonna be here for today, do you want to help us take care of the kids? We just have a few tasks that—actually, I haven’t checked the tasks for today.”
“I can do that,” Missa offered, pulling out his communicator.
“Great, thanks, Missa,” Phil smiled, pulling out his own communicator. “I might message Fit, Foolish, and Bad, see if any of them want to come join in. Are the tasks dangerous today?”
Missa groaned loudly, and Chaynne jumped off the branch he had been sitting on to land next to his dad. “You could say that,” he said, turning the communicator to show Phil the daily tasks.
Phil quickly read the list and cursed. “This island really doesn’t want these eggs to fucking live, exploring a mineshaft without netherite and dealing all those impossible mobs? Not to mention that fucking binary monster that’s still roaming around somewhere.”
Techno tilted his head and asked, “Wait, what tasks? And what’s a binary monster?”
Phil waved his hand. “I’ll explain in a sec.” His communicator buzzed and he looked down at the messages he had just received. “So it looks like Fit, Bad, and Foolish all had a bad feeling about the tasks today, so they’re gonna come with us. And Baghera asked if she, Jaiden, and Pomme could come and join as well, so we have a nice big group.”
Tallulah looked up at the mention of Pomme and danced over to where Phil was sitting before giving him a big hug from behind. Techno snorted with laughter.
“And let me guess,” he remarked, stretching his legs out in front of himself, “this musical happy-go-lucky girl with a suspiciously familiar beanie is Wilbur’s daughter?”
Phil laughed and patted Tallulah’s arm gently. “You would be correct,” he answered. “Missa and I are watching her right now while Wil is off being a rockstar in America.”
Tallulah perked up at the mention of her dad and placed a sign down. Chayanne leaned over to read what it said.
my abuelitos have been taking very good care of me while my papi is gone :D
Techno grinned at Phil and teased, “Oh, Dadza couldn’t stop himself from adopting another couple of kids. So wholesome.”
Missa laughed, and Chayanne ran over to sit down in Phil’s lap, grinning over at Techno triumphantly. Phil joined in the laughter good-naturedly, his hand dropping from Tallualh’s arm into Chayanne’s hair. “I wouldn’t be so quick to laugh,” he teased back, “you know that makes you an uncle twice over, right?”
Techno’s eyes widened briefly, but he scoffed and said gruffly, “No no no, I wouldn’t be a good uncle, not at all. Nope. Definitely not an uncle.”
Phil raised an eyebrow at him, but was interrupted by a series of pops as people began to materialize around the waystone in the middle of the garden.
It was a crazy, hectic mess, but Chayanne loved every second of it. With some late add-ons to the group, and after a lot of introductions, the group stood assembled around the waystone. Chayanne, Tallulah, Ramon, Dapper, Richarlyson, Leo, and Pomme all jumped up and down in excitement as Phil, Missa, Fit, Bad, Forever, Foolish, Vegetta, Baghera, Jaiden, and Techno all chatted noisily above them.
Phil hopped onto the edge of the trampoline and clapped his hands sharply, drawing everyone’s attention to himself. “Alright, here’s the plan,” he announced, “we’re all gonna teleport to Maxo’s house. From there, it’s a very short trek to the entrance of a cave that should lead us to a mineshaft. We’re gonna get in, loot a few chests for the task, and then get out. No dilly-dallying, and nothing too crazy, got it?”
Chayanne could have sworn that his gaze flitted over Techno for a second during the last part, but he was quickly distracted by the chorus of agreement from the other adults.
“Okay then,” Phil said, hopping down and walking over to lay a hand on the waystone, “let’s get this party started.”
~~~~~
Chayanne looked around the corner of another hallway curiously, placing another torch down on the wall before continuing down the main hallway.
“Don’t go too far, Chayanne!” Missa called from where he was walking and chatting with Foolish, Vegetta, and Fit. Baghera and Jaiden swung Pomme step by step, the little girl giggling and flapping her red and blue wings, and Forever, Bad, Phil, Ramon, Richarlyson, and Leo were clapping along as Tallulah and Dapper played their instruments together. Techno looked over at Chayanne from where he was standing opposite the boy in front of another hallway and grinned dryly.
“Well, while they finish practicing their music,” he said, wincing as a particularly loud note from Dapper’s flute squeaked out, “I’m gonna scout out down here”—he nodded down the still dark hallway—“and I’ll come back and meet you guys if I find something interesting.”
Phil looked up distractedly and said, “What’s up, mate?”
Techno and Chayanne shared a glance and Techno gave the boy a conspiratorial wink. “Oh nothing,” he called back more loudly, “just thought I’d see how Chayanne does against a warden, there should be an ancient city somewhere around here . . .”
“Technoblade!” Phil called out in disappointment, and Missa’s head whipped around to glare at the man accusingly.
Techno raised his hands in surrender and quickly reassured, “It was a joke, it was a joke! I was just gonna scout out down this hallway by myself and meet back up with you guys in a bit.”
Phil narrowed his eyes at Techno but sighed. “Alright, just make sure to keep your communicator on and let us know if you need help.”
Techno made an elaborate mocking bow toward the group and threw a salute toward Chayanne. “See you in just a bit, kid,” he said before twisting on his heel, cape fluttering around his ankles, and striding off into the darkness.
Chayanne giggled as he turned back toward the main hallway, continuing to place torches as he slowly advanced. Techno was funny and smart and—well Phil said he was super strong, maybe they could practice fighting when they got back home to see just how strong Techno was, and how strong he was too.
Chayanne was so engrossed in his thoughts that he almost stepped into a deep crack in the rock and it was only by a quick undignified scramble backward that he was able to save himself. Standing still, Chayanne pricked his ears and listened closely.
He had wandered much further ahead of the group than he had anticipated, but their chatter and laughter were still quietly audible behind himself. Chayanne tuned them out and listened more closely, frowning at the slight humming he heard.
Where was that coming from?
What made that sort of noise besides—
Chayanne quickly produced another torch and held it high above his head. His eyes scanned the hallways that branched off to both sides and quickly glanced down the ravine before lighting something across the crevice that was . . . glowing?
Chayanne stepped closer to the edge and, emboldened by the courage of Techno, threw the torch across the gap.
Immediately, his eyes widened in horror and he stepped back in shock.
The torch rolled to a stop at the feet of a solid black humanoid figure. Its hands flexed instinctively, and the green numbers that floated around it began to change more quickly, alternating quickly between 0 and 1. Its face, completely devoid of any features, still managed to convey a sense of morbid satisfaction as it tilted its head to the side and looked at Chayanne.
Hello little one, it seemed to whisper into Chayanne’s mind, did you miss me?
Chayanne began to run. Over the sound of his feet beating the stone floor of the hallway and the harsh sobs that escaped his mouth, he could hear the cry of the wraiths which that monster, that terrifying binary monster always summoned to aid in its fights. He ran faster, pushing his body to reach his dads, aunts, uncles, and siblings as fast as he could.
He almost crashed into Forever, who was leading the group, but the blond man caught him and looked down with a look of concern on his face.
“Chayanne?” he asked nervously, “What’s wrong?”
Chayanne shook his head quickly and pointed down the hallway frantically. All the adults had fallen silent at his return, and their eyes followed his arm to where the monster stood at the edge of the light thrown off by one of Chayanne’s torches.
“Oh no,” Phil breathed out, axe materializing in his hand, “that fucking cunt.”
Suddenly, everything was chaos. Wraiths materialized around the small group at a gesture from the monster, and the adults quickly and instinctively formed a protective circle around the kids. Chayanne, Ramon, Leo, and Dapper all pulled out their own swords and shields and positioned themselves to protect the younger children, who were all huddled together, eyes wide with terror. As the first wraith landed a blow on Missa’s shield, Forever yelled out, “THE HOTEL!”
Quickly, Missa, Phil, Fit, Bad, Foolish, Baghera, and Forever pulled out the small buttons that would transport the eggs to their safe room in Forever’s hotel. The smaller children began to pop out of existence, with Tallulah and Richarlyson being the first to disappear. As Chayanne raised his shield to protect Leo, who was in the process of leaving, from a wraith that scored deep scratches in the wood, his eyes landed on Missa and he gasped.
The man had fallen under the attack of several wraiths, and the button that would have transported Chayanne to his bunker safely lay under the foot of one of the creatures, smashed to pieces.
A pit of cold, liquid terror began to grow in Chayanne’s stomach.
A sharp cry from behind him distracted him though, and he slashed the wraith attacking him with his sword before turning to investigate.
Pomme was hugging Baghera’s leg tightly as she smacked, pressed, and shook her button frantically. Jaiden was attempting to fend off the wraiths that were targeting the two, but she was struggling and let out a pained gasp as one of them landed a hit on her arm.
“It’s not working!” Baghera screamed, tears pouring down her face. “Why isn’t it working?!”
Chayanne barreled over, knocking down and quickly dispatching two of the four wraiths that were ganging up on Jaiden. He spun around and grabbed Pomme’s hand, and looked up frantically into Baghera’s eyes, attempting to will her into understanding that he would protect Pomme until the end.
As if reading his mind, Pomme let go of Baghera’s leg and clung to him instead, and Phil, fumbling to pull out his communicator as he sliced down the wraiths that came near him, yelled, “Baghera! Chayanne’s button is fucked too, he’ll protect Pomme! Just help us beat this son of a fucking bitch!”
Baghera straightened up, tears still pouring down her face, and nodded curtly at Chayanne. “I trust you,” she said quietly, “please keep her safe.”
Chayanne raised a hand in the same salute Techno had given him earlier and Baghera turned from the two kids, sword materializing mid-swing to lop off the head of one of the last wraiths bothering Jaiden.
The boy wasted no more time. He swiftly dragged Pomme away from the main action, eyes darting around, frantically searching for one of the panic rooms he was in the bad habit of making whenever he went on an underground expedition with anyone.
Well, guess it wasn’t so much of a bad habit anymore, was it?
He finally saw one and unceremoniously shoved Pomme inside. He met her terrified eyes, full of unshed tears, and grinned reassuringly at her.
You’ll be fine, he whispered in the language only the children spoke, I won’t let anyone hurt you. Just be quiet.
And Pomme trusted him. She hugged her knees to her chest and stared with wide eyes as Chayanne carefully stacked loose shards of stone outside the small hole until it was unnoticeable.
When he was finally satisfied with the job, Chayanne turned back to the main battle and re-equipped his sword and shield. As he expected, some of the wraiths had noticed him leaving the main group and were making their way over to him.
He grinned, a savage smile that showed every one of his pointed teeth, and moved into his fighting stance.
He was strong.
Just like Technoblade.
The battle was fierce. Every time Chayanne thought he had finally killed the last wraith, more appeared from where the binary monster stood, supervising the chaos it was wrecking on the group. He heard the cries of Vegetta and Missa as they both fell to slashes on their legs, both Phil and Foolish rushing immediately to protect their partners. He felt the claws of the wraiths trying to slice through his flesh, but he always managed to twist and dodge out of the way, leaving only shreds of his shirt in between their fingers.
But he wasn’t Technoblade.
He wasn’t a legend.
He was just a kid.
Just a bit too slow, just a bit too late.
And that was all it took.
A wraith sliced into Chayanne’s arm and he hissed and stepped back. But he was so distracted by the near hit that he missed the clawed hand aiming directly for his stomach.
He heard the ripping. He felt the blood dripping onto his legs and feet. When he looked down, he could see the gigantic gash that the mob had left on his body.
But he felt . . . numb.
The sword clattered from his hand and Chayanne slowly fell back, slumping to the ground in front of the panic room. The two wraiths began to advance, no doubt to finish the job, but stopped suddenly and turned simultaneously to return to the main battle.
Chayanne fought to keep his eyes open, and through the haze that threatened to creep over them, he saw the binary monster slowly pick its way through the corpses of the mobs that littered the hallway, making its way slowly over to where he lay, slowly bleeding out.
Chayanne could feel himself slipping. Through the haze that now fully covered his eyes, he could see Phil standing over Missa, swinging his axe wildly at the wraiths that surrounded him. Through the steady thump-thump-thump of blood in his ears, he could hear the cries of Baghera as a wraith managed to land a blow on her back and the screams of Forever as his shield broke, leaving him unprotected against the hordes of mobs that surrounded him. He could hear Pomme’s muffled sobs from where she hid in the wall and a small part of his brain thought at least she can’t see me . . . at least she’s safe . . .
For some reason, Chayanne’s mind started to drift. He felt . . . loose. Free, maybe? As if he wasn’t in himself, as if he was floating above the ground, looking down at the chaos that was moving, flowing, living around his still body.
There’s a pretty flower over there.
Tallulah would have loved it.
Maybe Phil will bring it back for her.
This is how the world ends—no, this is how I end.
Not with a bang, but with a whimper.
Suddenly, a loud cry—no, shriek—rang through the narrow hallways, and everyone, players and monsters alike, stopped dead in their tracks. Chayanne’s eyes flickered open involuntarily to see a swift red figure running toward him, slicing wraiths in half with his glowing purple axe as if they were paper.
Phil started laughing, a high-pitched, maniacal sound from where he stood, blood dripping from his axe blade. “Well done, you fucking piece of shit,” he yelled, “you managed to piss off the Blood God himself!”
The binary monster turned swiftly to face the approaching threat, green code flickering around it so fast that Chayanne’s eyes could no longer make out the individual numbers. It raised its hands, summoning even more wraiths, and pointed at the advancing figure, which Chayanne now recognized as a very, very, angry Technoblade. The man—was he even still a man? Phil had called him a god—continued to wield his axe as if it was an extension of his arm, a part of his consciousness, and screamed a feral war cry as wraiths continued to dissipate under each stroke of his weapon.
The binary monster began backing away from the steadily advancing figure and Chayanne could almost taste the fear rippling off of it in thick, choking waves. It stumbled on the sword the boy had dropped when he had been hit the last time and looked down at the still body Chayanne was still desperately trying to stay in.
Its head tilted and its solid black face bored holes into Chayanne’s brown eyes. Well then, little one, it seemed to whisper, this adventure may not be entirely in vain.
Its hand began to reach toward the open gash on Chayanne’s side, claws glinting in the torchlight, and all he could do was lay there.
Hours of preparing, days of training, and this is how he would die. Lying on the ground, unable to move, as his dads, aunts, and uncles fell one by one around him.
This is how we end.
Not with a bang, but with a whimper.
Suddenly, the binary monster disappeared, thrown against the wall opposite the one Pomme was hiding in by a fist that connected strongly with its face. It hit the wall hard and slid down, green numbers flickering in and out of existence around it. Chayanne turned his head slowly, painfully, and almost gasped at the sight next to him.
Technoblade was standing, gripping his axe tightly in his right hand. His cape coiled around his feet, the white fur that lined the edge stained with the same blood that covered his boots, his axes, his hands, his face. The crown on his head was lopsided, perched precariously on one pointed ear, and the rubies that decorated it shone with the same fire that burned through his shaking limbs. But Chayanne only saw his eyes.
They were red. Red like blood, red like fire, red like the anger that bubbled close to the surface of those eyes, threatening to engulf anyone who dared to step a foot in the way of the great Blood God.
Chayanne remembered how Techno had introduced himself to Missa.
. . . the strongest warrior on Hypixel . . .
He knew why now. He believed it now.
He was scared now.
Techno strode over to where the binary monster was struggling to stand upright, feet carelessly grinding against the corpses of the monsters it had summoned to protect itself. He lifted his axe and swiftly buried it deep in the monster’s chest before leaning over and grinning wickedly in its face.
“And let this be a lesson to you,” he growled, his low voice barely and also somehow incredibly audible over the lingering din of the battlefield, “never, and I mean never, dare to lay a single finger on my nephew ever again, or I swear by the Goddess of Life and Death Herself that I will never rest until you and everyone you care for burns in the deepest darkest pits that Hell has saved for you.”
The binary monster was silent.
The other players were silent.
It seemed as if the entire world was silent, standing witness to the great and terrible oath Techno had just sworn.
To protect Chayanne.
Techno’s eyes continued to bore into the binary monster, who looked up into his gaze and seemed to shrink back into itself, as if being melted by the absolute and genuine sincerity in Techno’s face. It nodded once sharply and then twisted its hand into a fist. The green numbers that were still floating around its body disappeared, and the monster dissolved into black particles that danced around in the air before being swept away by a current of wind.
Techno stepped back, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath, the axe lowering to rest against the ground. Chayanne almost smiled. Everyone was safe now. Pomme was safe now. He hadn’t failed.
Well.
Almost everyone.
There was still the tiny matter of the giant hole in his side that was slowly bleeding less and less.
Phil’s voice cut through the air like a knife. “CHAYANNE!”
Techno whirled around, brown eyes visible once again, and dropped the axe he still held as he rushed over and fell to his knees next to the boy. “Hey hey hey,” he crooned, hurriedly pulling potions from his belt and sorting through them, “you have to stay with me, ok? You can’t make me look like a fool after I just gave that big impressive speech about burning down that monster’s world for you.”
Chayanne laughed, quietly, softly, to not jostle the wound, and Techno’s lips twitched up slightly as he held a glittering dark red potion to the boy’s lips.
“Drink this,” he ordered, and Chayanne obeyed, carefully opening his mouth and trying his hardest not to grimace as the overly sweet liquid hit his tongue.
Techno made him drink half of the potion before pausing and giving him a chance to catch his breath. As Chayanne slowly sat up, wincing at the stabs of pain in the healing wound, Phil dispatched the last remaining wraith and picked up Missa, practically dragging the man over to Chayanne as he panted from exhaustion.
He collapsed on the ground next to Techno, his hands slipping from under Missa’s arms, and Techno quickly caught the wounded man and leaned him up against the wall next to Chayanne. Digging through the potions stacked next to him, Techno pulled out two more potions of healing and handed one to each of the older men. Missa took the bottle and downed it without any hesitation, sighing as the wide gash on his leg began to heal, but Phil ignored the bottle, electing instead to reach out and hug Chayanne, taking care not to jostle the still-healing wound.
“I’m so sorry,” he whispered into Chayanne’s ear, “I’m sorry you were hurt, I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you, I’m just—I’m so sorry.”
His voice cracked and a single tear fell from his face onto Chayanne’s shoulder.
Missa’s hand landed on Chayanne’s arm, and he turned to see the other man also on the verge of tears. “It was so scary,” he admitted, blinking the tears from his eyes quickly, “I thought—I thought we had lost you, for good.”
Chayanne carefully wiggled out of Phil’s hug and placed a sign down.
im sorry you were scared. but im glad youre all safe.
Phil smiled down at his son. “Don’t you ever apologize for anything that fucking coward piece of shit does. It’s not your fault.”
Missa nodded in agreement and added, “We’re happy you’re safe too, thanks to Techno.”
Chayanne turned to see the man shifting uncomfortably as he watched the family reunion. Techno looked up and muttered, “No problem, it wasn’t that bad.”
Chayanne reached over and tapped Techno’s knee, and when he looked down at him, placed another sign.
did you really mean it? that you would burn the world for me?
Techno was silent, his eyes resting on the sign for far longer than they needed to, and for a moment, Chayanne began to fear that his answer would be no, that he had been exaggerating to scare the monster, that he didn’t see him as a nephew.
But Techno finally looked up and met Chayanne’s eyes, and the honesty and compassion behind his gaze made it all the more meaningful as he said, “For you, Chayanne, the world.”
And Chayanne was happy.